[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 227 (Tuesday, November 25, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66130-66131]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-29351]
[[Page 66130]]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 52-007]
Exelon Generation Company, LLC, Clinton Early Site Permit; Notice
of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct
Scoping Process
Exelon Generation Company, LLC (Exelon) has submitted an
application for an early site permit (ESP) for property co-located with
the existing Clinton Power Station facility near Clinton, Illinois
identified as the Clinton ESP site. The site is located near the town
of Clinton in DeWitt County, Illinois. 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 24, 2003 (68 FR 61020). A notice of acceptance for docketing of
the application for the ESP was published in the Federal Register on
October 30, 2003 (68 FR 61835). 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 with 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), 51.45, and 51.50, Exelon
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/clinton.html. In
addition, the Vespasian Warner Public Library, located at 310 N. Quincy
Street, Clinton, Illinois 61727-1300, 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 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 EIS in support of the review of the
application for an ESP and the site redress plan at the Clinton ESP
site. Possible alternatives to the proposed action (issuance of the ESP
at the Clinton 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 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 this scoping process by members of the public
and local, State, Tribal, and Federal government agencies is
encouraged. The scoping process for the draft 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.
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 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, including any contractor
assistance to be used.
The NRC invites the following entities to participate in the
scoping:
a. The applicant, Exelon Generation Company, 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
[[Page 66131]]
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 meeting for the EIS
regarding the Clinton ESP application and the associated site redress
plan. The scoping meeting will be held in the Vespasian Warner Public
Library, located at 310 N. Quincy Street, Clinton, Illinois, on
Thursday, December 18, 2003. The meeting will convene at 7 p.m. and
will continue until 9:30 p.m., as necessary. The meeting will be
transcribed and will include the following: (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 prior to the start of the meeting at the
Vespasian Warner Public Library. 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 during the transcribed
portion of the public meeting or in writing, as discussed below.
Persons may pre-register to attend or present oral comments at the
meeting on the scope of the NEPA review by contacting Ms. Jennifer
Davis by telephone at 1 (800) 368-5642, extension 3835, or by Internet
at [email protected] no later than December 5, 2003. Members of the
public may also register to speak at the meeting within 15 minutes of
the start of the 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 EIS. If special equipment or
accommodations are needed to attend or present information at the
public meeting, the need should be brought to Ms. Davis' attention no
later than December 5, 2003, 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 Clinton 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 hand-delivered to the NRC at 11545 Rockville Pike,
Rockville, Maryland, Room T-6D59, 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 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 http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html at the NRC Homepage.
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. 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 EIS,
which will also be available for public inspection.
Information about the proposed action, the EIS, and the scoping
process may be obtained from Ms. Davis at the aforementioned telephone
number or e-mail address.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day of November 2003.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
K. Steven West,
Acting Program Director, License Renewal and Environmental Impacts,
Division of Regulatory Improvements Program, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 03-29351 Filed 11-24-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P