[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 250 (Wednesday, December 31, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75656-75658]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-32147]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 52-009]


System Energy Resources, Inc., Grand Gulf Site; Notice of Intent 
To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping 
Process

    System Energy Resources, Inc. (SERI) has submitted an application 
for an early site permit (ESP) for its Grand Gulf site, located in 
Claiborne County, near Port Gibson, Mississippi. The application for 
the ESP was submitted by letter dated October 16, 2003, pursuant to 10 
CFR part 52. A notice of receipt of application, including the 
environmental report (ER), was published in the Federal Register on 
November 14, 2003 (68 FR 64665). A notice of acceptance for docketing 
of the application for an early site permit for Grand Gulf was 
published in the Federal Register on December 1, 2003 (68 FR 67219). 
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 of 1969 (NEPA).
    In accordance with 10 CFR 52.17(a)(2), 51.45 and 51.50, SERI 
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 
20852, or from the Publicly Available Records component of NRC's 
Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS

[[Page 75657]]

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/grand-gulf.html. In addition, the Harriette Person Memorial County 
Library, located at 606 Main Street, Port Gibson, Mississippi 39150, 
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 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 4.2, Preparation of Environmental Reports for 
Nuclear Power Stations.
    g. Regulatory Guide 4.7, General Site Suitability Criteria for 
Nuclear Power Stations.
    h. Fact Sheet on Nuclear Power Plant Licensing Process.
    i. Draft review Standard RS-002, Processing Applications for Early 
Site Permits.
    j. NRR Office Instruction LIC-203, Procedural Guidance for 
Preparing Environmental Assessments and Considering Environmental 
Issues.

    The regulations, NUREG-series documents, regulatory guide(s), 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 an ESP for the Grand Gulf site. Possible alternatives to 
the proposed action (issuance of the ESP at the Grand Gulf ESP site) 
include no action and 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 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 environmental 
impact statements (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 process:
    a. The applicant, SERI.
    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 
including the State Historic Preservation Officer.
    d. Any affected Indian tribe including the Tribal Historic 
Preservation Officer.
    e. The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.
    f. Any person who requests or has requested an opportunity to 
participate in the scoping process.
    g. 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 meeting for the 
Grand Gulf early site permit application EIS. The scoping meeting will 
be held in the Port Gibson City Hall, located at 1005 College Street, 
Port Gibson, Mississippi, on Wednesday, January 21, 2004. The meeting 
will convene at 7 p.m. until 10 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; (2) an overview by SERI of 
the proposed action, Grand Gulf ESP, and the environmental impacts as 
outlined in the ER; and (3) 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 each session at the Port Gibson City Hall. 
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 NEPA scoping process by contacting Ms. 
Cristina Guerrero by telephone at 1 (800) 368-5642, extension 2981, or 
by Internet to the NRC at [email protected] no later than January 14, 
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 EIS. If special 
equipment or accommodations are needed to attend or present information 
at the public meeting, the need should be brought to Ms. Guerrero's 
attention no later than January 14, 2004, so that the NRC staff

[[Page 75658]]

can determine whether the request can be accommodated.
    Members of the public may send written comments on the 
environmental scoping process for the EIS 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 be hand-
delivered to the NRC at 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, 
between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. on Federal workdays. To be considered 
in the scoping process, written comments should be postmarked by 
February 12, 2004. Electronic comments may be sent by the Internet to 
the NRC at [email protected]. Electronic submissions should be sent 
no later than February 12, 2004, to be considered in the scoping 
process. Comments will be available electronically and accessible 
through the NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room (PERR) link http://www.nrc.gov/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 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 Mr. Wilson at the aforementioned telephone 
number or e-mail address.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 23rd day of December 2003.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Pao-Tsin Kuo,
Program Director, License Renewal and Environmental Impacts, Division 
of Regulatory Improvements Program, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 03-32147 Filed 12-30-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P