[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 245 (Monday, December 22, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71174-71175]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-31568]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-368]


Entergy Operations, Inc., Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 2; Notice of 
Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping 
Process

    Entergy Operations, Inc. (Entergy) has submitted an application for 
renewal of Facility Operating License NPF-6 for an additional 20 years 
of operation at Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 2 (ANO-2). ANO-2 is located 
in Pope County, Arkansas, approximately 6 miles west-northwest of 
Russellville, Arkansas. The operating license for ANO-2 expires on July 
17, 2018. The application for renewal was received on October 15, 2003, 
pursuant to 10 CFR part 54. A notice of receipt and availability of the 
application, including the environmental report (ER), was published in 
the Federal Register on October 24, 2003 (68 FR 61020). A notice of 
acceptance for docketing and notice of opportunity for hearing 
regarding renewal of the facility operating license was published in 
the Federal Register on November 24, 2003 (68 FR 65963). 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 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 51.53(c) and 10 CFR 54.23, Entergy 
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, 20852 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/ano-2.html. In addition, the Ross Pendergraft Library at Arkansas Tech 
University, located at 305 West Q Street, Russellville, Arkansas, 72801 
has 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 ANO-2 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, Tribal, and Federal 
government agencies is encouraged. The scoping process for the 
supplement to the GEIS will be used to accomplish the following:

[[Page 71175]]

    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, Entergy Operations, Inc.
    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 ANO-2 license renewal supplement to the GEIS. The scoping meetings 
will be held at the Holiday Inn, 2407 North Arkansas, Russellville, 
Arkansas, on Tuesday, February 3, 2004. 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 at the Holiday Inn. 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. Thomas J. 
Kenyon, by telephone at 1-800-368-5642, extension 1120, or by e-mail to 
the NRC at [email protected] no later than January 28, 2004. 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. 
Kenyon will need to be contacted no later than January 28, 2004, 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 ANO-2 license renewal 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 the NRC, Room T-6D59, Two White Flint North, 11545 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, 20852 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 February 20, 2004. Electronic 
comments may be sent by e-mail to the NRC at [email protected]. Electronic 
submissions should be sent no later than February 20, 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 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 (68 FR 65963). 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. Kenyon at the 
aforementioned telephone number or e-mail address.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17th day of December 2003.

    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. 03-31568 Filed 12-19-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P