[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 226 (Monday, November 24, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65961-65962]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-29249]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 52-008]


Dominion Nuclear North Anna, LLC, North Anna Early Site Permit; 
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and 
Conduct Scoping Process

    Dominion Nuclear North Anna, LLC (Dominion) has submitted an 
application for an early site permit (ESP) for a location in central 
Virginia identified as the North Anna ESP site. The site is located 
near the Town of Mineral in Louisa County, Virginia, on the southern 
shore of Lake Anna. The application for the ESP was submitted by letter 
dated September 25, 2003, pursuant to 10 CFR part 52. The application 
also includes a site redress plan in accordance with 10 CFR 52.17(c) 
and 52.25. If a site redress plan is incorporated in an approved ESP, 
the applicant may carry out certain site preparation work and limited 
construction activities. A notice of receipt and availability of the 
application, which included the environmental report (ER), was 
published in the Federal Register on October 16, 2003 (68 FR 59642). A 
notice of acceptance for docketing of the application for the ESP was 
published in the Federal Register on October 29, 2003, (68 FR 61705). 
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 ESP application 
and to provide the public an opportunity to participate in the 
environmental scoping process, as defined in 10 CFR 51.29. In addition, 
as outlined in 36 CFR 800.8, ``Coordination with the National 
Environmental Policy Act,'' the NRC plans to coordinate compliance with 
section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act in meeting the 
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
    In accordance with 10 CFR 52.17(a)(2), 10 CFR 51.45 and 10 CFR 
51.50, Dominion submitted the ER as part of the application. The ER was 
prepared pursuant to 10 CFR parts 51 and 52 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/new-licensing/license-reviews/esp/north-anna.html. 
In addition, the Louisa County Library, located at 881 Davis Highway, 
Mineral, Virginia, has agreed to make the ER available for public 
inspection.
    The following key reference documents related to the ESP 
applications and the NRC staff's review process are available through 
the NRC's Web site at http://www.nrc.gov:
    a. 10 CFR part 51, Environmental protection regulations for 
domestic licensing and related regulatory functions.
    b. 10 CFR part 52, Early site permits; standard design 
certifications; and combined licenses for nuclear power plants.
    c. 10 CFR part 100, Reactor site criteria.
    d. NUREG-1555, Standard Review Plans for Environmental Reviews for 
Nuclear Power Plants.
    e. NUREG/BR-0298, Brochure on Nuclear Power Plant Licensing 
Process.
    f. Regulatory Guide 4.7, General Site Suitability Criteria for 
Nuclear Power Stations.
    g. Fact Sheet on Nuclear Power Plant Licensing Process.
    h. Draft Review Standard RS-002, Processing Applications for Early 
Site Permits.
    i. NRR Office Instruction LIC-203, Procedural Guidance for 
Preparing Environmental Assessments and Considering Environmental 
Issues.
    The regulations, NUREG-series documents, regulatory guide, and fact 
sheet can be found under Document Collections in the Electronic Reading 
Room on the NRC Web page. The draft review standard is at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-licensing/license-reviews/esp/esp-public-comments-rs-002.html. Finally, Office Instruction LIC-203 can be found 
in ADAMS in two parts under accession numbers ML011710073 (main text) 
and ML011780314 (charts and figures).
    This notice advises the public that the NRC intends to gather the 
information necessary to prepare an environmental impact statement 
(EIS) in support of the review of the application for the ESP and the 
site redress plan at the North Anna ESP site. Possible alternatives to 
the proposed action (issuance of the ESP at the North Anna ESP site) 
include no action and consideration of alternative sites. The NRC is 
required by 10 CFR 52.18 to prepare an EIS in connection with the 
issuance of an ESP. This notice is being published in accordance with 
the NEPA and the NRC's regulations found in 10 CFR part 51.
    The NRC will first conduct a scoping process for the EIS and, as 
soon as practicable thereafter, will prepare a draft EIS for public 
comment. Participation in the scoping process by members of the public 
and local, State, Tribal, and Federal government agencies is 
encouraged. The scoping process for the EIS will be used to accomplish 
the following:
    a. Define the proposed action which is to be the subject of the 
EIS.
    b. Determine the scope of the EIS and identify the significant 
issues to be analyzed in depth.

[[Page 65962]]

    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 EIS 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 EIS to the 
NRC and any cooperating agencies.
    h. Describe how the EIS 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, Dominion Nuclear North Anna, LLC.
    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 will hold a public scoping meeting for 
the EIS regarding the North Anna ESP application and the associated 
site redress plan. The scoping meeting will be held in the Forum at the 
Louisa County Middle School, 1009 Davis Highway, Mineral, Virginia, on 
Monday, December 8, 2003. The meeting will convene at 7 p.m. and will 
continue until 10 p.m., as necessary. The meeting will be transcribed 
and will include: (1) An overview by the NRC staff of the NEPA 
environmental review process, the proposed scope of the EIS, 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 
EIS. Additionally, the NRC staff will host informal discussions one 
hour before the start of the meeting outside the Forum in the Louisa 
County Middle School. No formal comments on the proposed scope of the 
EIS will be accepted during the informal discussions. To be considered, 
comments must be provided either at the transcribed public meeting or 
in writing, as discussed below. Persons may register to attend or 
present oral comments at the meeting on the scope of the NEPA review by 
contacting Ms. Stacey Imboden, by telephone at 1-800-368-5642, 
extension 2462, or by Internet to the NRC [email protected]">at[email protected] no 
later than December 3, 2003. Members of the public may also register to 
speak at the meeting within 15 minutes of the start of the meeting. 
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 EIS. Ms. Imboden will need to be contacted no later than December 
3, 2003, 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 North Anna ESP and site redress plan review 
to the Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative 
Services, Office of Administration, Mailstop T-6D59, 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 T-6D59, Two White Flint North, 
11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. 
during Federal workdays. To be considered in the scoping process, 
written comments should be postmarked by January 9, 2004. Electronic 
comments may be sent by the Internet to the NRC [email protected]">at[email protected]. Electronic submissions should be sent no later than 
January 9, 2004, 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 EIS does not entitle 
participants to become parties to the proceeding to which the EIS 
relates. Notice of a hearing regarding the application for an ESP will 
be the subject of a future Federal Register notice.
    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 NRC's PERR link. The staff will 
then prepare and issue for comment the draft EIS, which will be the 
subject of separate notices and a separate public meeting. A copy will 
be available for public inspection at the above-mentioned address, and 
one copy per request will be provided free of charge. After receipt and 
consideration of the comments, the NRC will prepare a final EIS, which 
will also be available for public inspection.
    Pursuant to the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended, 
the applicant for a Federal license for an activity in Virginia is 
required to conduct its activities in a manner consistent with the 
federally approved Virginia Coastal Resources Management Program (see 
section 307(c)(1) of the Act and 15 CFR part 930, subpart D, Sec. Sec.  
930.50 et seq.). In this case, the applicant will submit a consistency 
certification to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality 
(VDEQ) as part of its compliance with the Federal consistency 
requirements and request that VDEQ provide its concurrence in the 
consistency determination.
    Information about the proposed action, the EIS, and the scoping 
process may be obtained from Ms. Imboden at the aforementioned 
telephone number or e-mail address.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 18th day of November, 2003.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
K. Steven West,
Acting Program Director, License Renewal and Environmental Impacts 
Program, Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 03-29249 Filed 11-21-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P