[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 38 (Friday, February 26, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 9889]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-4810]



  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 38 / Friday, February 26, 1999 / 
Notices  

[[Page 9889]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Changes to Requirements for Environmental Review for Renewal of Nuclear


Power Plant Operating Licenses, Availability of Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is announcing the 
completion and availability of NUREG-1437, Vol. 1, Addendum 1, 
``Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear 
Plants: Main Report Section 6.3--`Transportation,' Table 9.1 `Summary 
of findings on NEPA issues for license renewal of nuclear power 
plants,' `Draft for Comment' (February 1999).

DATES: Submit comments by April 27, 1999. Comments received after this 
date will be considered if it is practical to consider them, but the 
Commission is able to ensure consideration only for comments received 
on or before this date.

ADDRESSES: Copies of NUREG-1437, Vol. 1, Addendum 1 are available for 
the Reproduction and Distribution Services Section, OCIO, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555.
    Comments may be sent to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemakings and 
Adjudications Staff, Mail Stop O16C1.
    Deliver comments to: One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, 
Rockville, Maryland 20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. on Federal 
workdays.
    Copies of comments received may be examined at: NRC Public Document 
Room, 2120 L Street, NW. (Lower Level), Washington, DC.
    You may also submit comments via the NRC's interactive rulemaking 
website through the NRC home page (http://www.nrc.gov). From the home 
page, select ``Rulemaking'' from the tool bar. The interactive 
rulemaking website can then be accessed by selecting ``New Rulemaking 
Website.'' This site provides the ability to upload comments as files 
(any format), if your web browser supports that function. For 
information about the interactive rulemaking web site, contact Ms. 
Carol Gallagher, telephone: 301-415-5905; e-mail [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donald P. Cleary, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-3903; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On June 5, 1996 (61 FR 28467), the Commission published in the 
Federal Register a final rule amending its environmental protection 
regulations, 10 CFR Part 51, to improve the efficiency of the process 
of environmental review for applicants seeking to renew a nuclear power 
plant operating license for up to an additional 20 years. The amendment 
is based on the analyses reported in NUREG-1437, ``Generic 
Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants'' 
(May 1996). The rulemaking was initiated with the objective of 
improving the efficiency of the license renewal process drawing on the 
considerable experience of operating nuclear power reactors to 
generically assess many of the environmental impacts, to report the 
analyses and findings in NUREG-1437, and to codify the findings in the 
Commission's environmental protection regulations so that repetitive 
reviews of those impacts that are well understood could be avoided. In 
61 FR 28467, the Commission stated that before the final rule became 
effective, the Commission was seeking comments on (1) the treatment of 
low-level waste storage and disposal impacts, (2) the cumulative 
radiological effects from the uranium fuel cycle, and (3) the effects 
from the disposal of high-level waste and spent fuel.
    After considering the comments received on the rule, the Commission 
published the rule with minor nonsubstantive changes in the Federal 
Register on December 18, 1996 (61 FR 66537). In response to comments, 
the Commission stated that:

    As part of its effort to develop regulatory guidance for this 
rule, the Commission will consider whether further changes to the 
rule are desirable to generically address: (1) The issue of 
cumulative transportation impacts and (2) the implications that the 
use of higher burn-up fuel have for the conclusions in Table S-4. 
After consideration of these issues, the Commission will determine 
whether the issue of transportation impacts should be changed to 
Category 1.

    In NUREG-1437 and in the rule, Category 1 issues are those 
environmental issues for which the analysis and findings have been 
determined to be applicable to all nuclear power plants or to plants 
with specific types of cooling systems or other common plant or site 
characteristics. Absent new information that significantly changes the 
finding, these generic findings may be adopted in plant license renewal 
reviews. Category 2 issues are those environmental issues for which the 
analysis did not result in a finding common to all plants or to plants 
with common characteristics. Plant-specific reviews are required for 
Category 2 issues.
    The NRC staff has completed analyses of these topics as reported in 
NUREG-1437, Vol. 1, Addendum 1, ``Generic Environmental Impact 
Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants: Main Report Section 
6.3--`Transportation,' Table 9.1 `Summary of findings on NEPA issues 
for license renewal of nuclear power plants,' Draft for Comment'' 
(February 1999). Addendum 1 provides the bases for designating 
transportation of high-level waste a Category 1 issue. Addendum 1 would 
supplement the analysis and amend the findings and the Category 2 
category designation for the issue of Transportation in Section 6.3 and 
Table 9.1 of NUREG-1437. These amendments to NUREG-1437 contain data 
supporting Table B-1 of Appendix B to Subpart A in 10 CFR Part 51.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd day of February 1999.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette L. Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 99-4810 Filed 2-25-99; 8:45 am]
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