DOE/EA-2285: Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact (May 2025)

Palisades Nuclear Plant Reauthorization of Power Operations Project; Van Buren County, Michigan

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO) has issued an Environmental Assessment (EA) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for Palisades Nuclear Plant Reauthorization of Power Operations Project (DOE/EA-2285) to consider the environmental impacts associated with providing potential financial assistance (a federal loan guarantee) in support of the refueling and resumption of power activities at the Palisades Nuclear Plant (Palisades or PNP), an 800-MW electric nuclear generation station.

The Palisades is located along the shoreline of Lake Michigan in Covert Township, Van Buren County, Michigan, and consists of a single unit pressurized water nuclear reactor. Palisades permanently ceased operations on May 20, 2022. This EA describes the environmental review conducted by the NRC staff for the set of licensing and regulatory requests submitted by Holtec Decommissioning International (HDI) in support of the reauthorization of power operations of Palisades through March 24, 2031, the end of the current operating license term under the Palisades RFOL No. DPR-20. The NRC staff conclude that the potential direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts from the reauthorization of power operations of Palisades would not be significant and has determined that a Finding of No Significant Impact is warranted.

For more information, see Palisades Nuclear Plant Reauthorization of Power Operations Project.

• DOE/EA-2285: Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact (9.1 MB)