[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 197 (Thursday, October 10, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63171-63173]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-25983]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-244]


Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power 
Plant; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
and Conduct Scoping Process

    Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation (RG&E) has submitted an 
application for renewal of Facility Operating License DPR-18 for an 
additional 20 years of operation at the R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant 
(Ginna). Ginna is located in Wayne County, New York, approximately 20 
miles east of Rochester, New York. The application for renewal was 
submitted by letter dated July 30, 2002, pursuant to 10 CFR part 54. A 
notice of receipt of application, including the environmental report 
(ER), was published in the Federal Register on August 26, 2002 (67 FR 
54825). A notice of acceptance for docketing of the application for 
renewal of the facility operating license was published in the Federal 
Register on September 30, 2002 (67 FR 61354). The purpose of this 
notice is to inform the public that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (NRC) will be preparing an environmental impact statement 
(EIS) in support of the review of the license renewal application and 
to provide the

[[Page 63172]]

public an opportunity to participate in the environmental scoping 
process, as defined in 10 CFR 51.29.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 54.23 and 10 CFR 51.53(c), RG&E submitted 
the ER as part of the application. The ER was prepared pursuant to 10 
CFR part 51 and is available for public inspection at the NRC Public 
Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville 
Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland, or from the Publicly Available 
Records component of NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management 
System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/
adams.html, which provides access through the NRC's Public Electronic 
Reading Room (PERR) link. Persons who do not have access to ADAMS, or 
who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, 
should contact the NRC's PDR Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, or 301-
415-4737, or by e-mail to [email protected]. The application may also be 
viewed on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/
licensing/renewal/applications/ginna.html. In addition, the Ontario 
Public Library, located at 1850 Ridge Road, Ontario, New York 14519, 
and the Rochester Public Library, located at 115 South Avenue, 
Rochester, New York 14604, have agreed to make the ER available for 
public inspection.
    This notice advises the public that the NRC intends to gather the 
information necessary to prepare a plant-specific supplement to the 
Commission's ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for 
License Renewal of Nuclear Plants,'' (NUREG-1437) in support of the 
review of the application for renewal of the Ginna operating license 
for an additional 20 years. Possible alternatives to the proposed 
action (license renewal) include no action and reasonable alternative 
energy sources. Section 51.95 of 10 CFR requires that the NRC prepare a 
supplement to the GEIS in connection with the renewal of an operating 
license. This notice is being published in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the NRC's regulations found in 10 
CFR part 51.
    The NRC will first conduct a scoping process for the supplement to 
the GEIS and, as soon as practicable thereafter, will prepare a draft 
supplement to the GEIS for public comment. Participation in the scoping 
process by members of the public and local, State, and Federal 
government agencies is encouraged. The scoping process for the 
supplement to the GEIS will be used to accomplish the following:
    a. Define the proposed action which is to be the subject of the 
supplement to the GEIS.
    b. Determine the scope of the supplement to the GEIS and identify 
the significant issues to be analyzed in depth.
    c. Identify and eliminate, from detailed study, those issues that 
are peripheral or that are not significant.
    d. Identify any environmental assessments and other EISs that are 
being or will be prepared that are related to, but are not part of the 
scope of the supplement to the GEIS being considered.
    e. Identify other environmental review and consultation 
requirements related to the proposed action.
    f. Indicate the relationship between the timing of the preparation 
of the environmental analyses and the Commission's tentative planning 
and decision-making schedule.
    g. Identify any cooperating agencies and, as appropriate, allocate 
assignments for preparation and schedules for completing the supplement 
to the GEIS to the NRC and any cooperating agencies.
    h. Describe how the supplement to the GEIS will be prepared, and 
include any contractor assistance to be used.
    The NRC invites the following entities to participate in the 
scoping process:
    a. The applicant, Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation.
    b. Any Federal agency that has jurisdiction by law or special 
expertise with respect to any environmental impact involved, or that is 
authorized to develop and enforce relevant environmental standards.
    c. Affected State and local government agencies, including those 
authorized to develop and enforce relevant environmental standards.
    d. Any affected Indian tribe.
    e. Any person who requests or has requested an opportunity to 
participate in the scoping process.
    f. Any person who intends to petition for leave to intervene.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 51.26, the scoping process for an EIS may 
include a public scoping meeting to help identify significant issues 
related to a proposed activity and to determine the scope of issues to 
be addressed in an EIS. The NRC has decided to hold public meetings for 
the Ginna license renewal supplement to the GEIS. The scoping meetings 
will be held in the Betty Rissberger Community Room of the Webster 
Public Library in Webster, New York, on Wednesday, November 6, 2002. 
There will be two sessions to accommodate interested parties. The first 
session will convene at 1:30 p.m. and will continue until 4:30 p.m., as 
necessary. The second session will convene at 7 p.m. with a repeat of 
the overview portions of the meeting and will continue until 10 p.m., 
as necessary. Both meetings will be transcribed and will include (1) An 
overview by the NRC staff of the NEPA environmental review process, the 
proposed scope of the supplement to the GEIS, and the proposed review 
schedule; and (2) the opportunity for interested government agencies, 
organizations, and individuals to submit comments or suggestions on the 
environmental issues or the proposed scope of the supplement to the 
GEIS. Additionally, the NRC staff will host informal discussions one 
hour before the start of each session in the Webster Public Library. No 
comments on the proposed scope of the supplement to the GEIS will be 
accepted during the informal discussions. To be considered, comments 
must be provided either at the transcribed public meetings or in 
writing, as discussed below. Persons may register to attend or present 
oral comments at the meetings on the scope of the NEPA review by 
contacting Mr. Robert G. Schaaf, by telephone at 1-800-368-5642, 
extension 1312, or by Internet to the NRC at [email protected] no later 
than October 30, 2002. Members of the public may also register to speak 
at the meeting within 15 minutes of the start of each session. 
Individual oral comments may be limited by the time available, 
depending on the number of persons who register. Members of the public 
who have not registered may also have an opportunity to speak, if time 
permits. Public comments will be considered in the scoping process for 
the supplement to the GEIS. Mr. Schaaf will need to be contacted no 
later than October 30, 2002, if special equipment or accommodations are 
needed to attend or present information at the public meeting, so that 
the NRC staff can determine whether the request can be accommodated.
    Members of the public may send written comments on the 
environmental scope of the Ginna license renewal review to the Chief, 
Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, 
Office of Administration, Mailstop T-6 D 59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, and should cite the publication 
date and page number of this Federal Register notice. Comments may also 
be delivered to Room 6D59, Two White Flint North, 11545 Rockville Pike, 
Rockville, Maryland, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.

[[Page 63173]]

during Federal workdays. To be considered in the scoping process, 
written comments should be postmarked by December 11, 2002. Electronic 
comments may be sent by the Internet to the NRC at [email protected]. 
Electronic submissions should be sent no later than December 11, 2002, 
to be considered in the scoping process. Comments will be available 
electronically and accessible through the NRC's PERR link at http://
www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
    Participation in the scoping process for the supplement to the GEIS 
does not entitle participants to become parties to the proceeding to 
which the supplement to the GEIS relates. Notice of opportunity for a 
hearing regarding the renewal application was the subject of the 
aforementioned Federal Register notice of acceptance for docketing. 
Matters related to participation in any hearing are outside the scope 
of matters to be discussed at this public meeting.
    At the conclusion of the scoping process, the NRC will prepare a 
concise summary of the determination and conclusions reached, including 
the significant issues identified, and will send a copy of the summary 
to each participant in the scoping process. The summary will also be 
available for inspection through the PERR link. The staff will then 
prepare and issue, for comment, the draft supplement to the GEIS, which 
will be the subject of separate notices and separate public meetings. 
Copies will be available for public inspection at the above-mentioned 
addresses, and one copy per request will be provided free of charge. 
After receipt and consideration of the comments, the NRC will prepare a 
final supplement to the GEIS, which will also be available for public 
inspection.
    Information about the proposed action, the supplement to the GEIS, 
and the scoping process may be obtained from Mr. Schaaf at the 
aforementioned telephone number or e-mail address.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 7th day of October, 2002.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Pao-Tsin Kuo,
Program Director, License Renewal and Environmental Impacts Program, 
Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 02-25983 Filed 10-9-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P