[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 163 (Thursday, August 22, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54501-54502]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-21416]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Notice of Receipt of Supplemental Environmental Report for the 
Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility and Notice of Public Meetings

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of receipt and notice of public meetings.

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SUMMARY: On July 11, 2002, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 
received a supplemental Environmental Report (ER) from Duke COGEMA 
Stone & Webster (DCS), for the proposed Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel 
Fabrication Facility. The need for the supplemental ER arose, in 
January 2002, when the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced its 
decision to alter its planned hybrid approach for surplus weapons 
plutonium disposition [65 FR 1608]. The Plutonium Immobilization Plant 
(PIP) that DOE had planned to build and operate as part of its hybrid 
approach will not be built. Instead, DOE decided that 34 metric tons of 
surplus weapons plutonium would be converted into MOX fuel at the 
proposed MOX facility. DOE's decision not to build the Plutonium 
Immobilization Plant (PIP) and convert all of the plutonium into MOX 
fuel requires design changes to the proposed MOX facility. The NRC 
staff found that due to these changes, DCS would be required to submit 
a supplemental ER. A notice of delay in issuance of the Draft and Final 
Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) for the proposed MOX facility was 
published in the Federal Register on April 24, 2002 (67 FR 20183). This 
Federal Register notice also discussed changes to the proposed MOX 
facility and DOE surplus disposition program.
    The NRC will host three public meetings. The meetings are part of 
the continuing process to keep affected stakeholders and the public 
informed of plans, schedules and important issues related to the 
preparation of the EIS, and to answer questions. The purpose of the 
meetings will be to inform the public of changes in the supplemental ER 
and the DOE surplus disposition program. NRC staff will also discuss 
how these changes have affected the scope of the Draft EIS summarized 
in the Scoping Summary Report dated August 2001. In the April 24, 2002 
Federal Register notice, public comment was solicited on two issues.

    (1) How the immobilization of surplus plutonium as a No Action 
Alternative should be discussed in the DEIS, since DOE has canceled 
plans to build the Plutonium Immobilization Plant.
    (2) Whether there are additional reasonable alternatives not 
identified during scoping that should be considered in the DEIS, in 
light of the changes described above. As discussed in the Scoping 
Summary Report, NRC is considering the environmental impacts of the 
proposed action (construction and operation of the proposed MOX fuel 
fabrication facility), continued storage of surplus plutonium at 
existing DOE sites, and immobilization of surplus plutonium. If the 
immobilization alternative is not considered, then the DEIS would 
only evaluate the proposed action and one No Action Alternative.

    NRC staff will summarize the responses received and solicit views 
of people at the meetings. Information will be provided on the EIS 
review process and stakeholders will be updated on the revised EIS 
schedule. The meeting dates, times and locations are listed below:
Tuesday, September 17, 2002, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., North Augusta Community 
Center, 495 Brookside Avenue, North Augusta, South Carolina.
Wednesday, September 18, 2002, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., Coastal Georgia 
Center, 305 Fahm Street, Savannah, Georgia.
Thursday, September 19, 2002, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., Charlotte-Mecklenburg 
Government Center, 600 E. Fourth Street, Charlotte, North Carolina.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information on the NRC 
NEPA process, please contact: Tim Harris at (301) 415-6613. For general 
or technical information associated with the proposed MOX facility, 
please contact: Tim Johnson at (301) 415-7299, or Drew Persinko at 
(301) 415-6522.

Availability of Documents for Review

    Information on the supplemental ER and other documents associated 
with the proposed MOX project are available for public review through 
our electronic reading room: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm.html or the 
MOX web page: http://www.nrc.gov/materials/fuel-cycle-fac/MOX/licensing.html. Documents may also be obtained from NRC's Public 
Document Room at U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Public Document 
Room, Washington, DC 20555.

    Signed in Rockville, MD, this 15th day of August, 2002.


[[Page 54502]]


    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Cheryl Trottier,
Chief, Environmental and Performance Assessment Branch, Division of 
Waste Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 02-21416 Filed 8-21-02; 8:45 am]
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