[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 10, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11462-11464]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-5339]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-259, 50-260, and 50-296]
Tennessee Valley Authority, Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1,
2, and 3; Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
and Conduct Scoping Process
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has submitted an application for
renewal of Facility Operating Licenses, DPR-33, DPR-52, and DPR-68 for
an additional 20 years of operation at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant,
Units 1, 2, and 3. The Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant (BFN) is located in
Limestone County, Alabama, 16 km (10 mi) southwest of Athens, Alabama.
The operating licenses for Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and
3 expire on December 20, 2013, June 28, 2014, and July 2, 2016,
respectively. The application for renewal was received on January 6,
2004, pursuant to 10 CFR part 54. A notice of receipt and availability
of the application, which included the environmental report (ER), was
published in the Federal Register on January 13, 2004, (69 FR 2012). A
notice of acceptance for docketing and notice of opportunity for
hearing regarding renewal of the facility operating license is also
published in the Federal Register today. 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, TVA 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 Electronic Reading
Room link. Persons who do not have
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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/browns-ferry.html. In
addition, the Athens-Limestone Public Library, 405 East South Street,
Athens, Alabama, 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 BFN operating licenses for
an additional 20 years. Possible alternatives to the proposed action
(license renewal) include no action and reasonable alternative energy
sources. The NRC is required by 10 CFR 51.95 to 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:
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:
a. The applicant, TVA.
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 license renewal supplement to the GEIS. The scoping meetings will
be held at the Athens State University, Student Center Cafeteria
Ballroom, 300 North Beaty Street, Athens, Alabama, on Thursday, April
1, 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 Athens State University,
Student Center Cafeteria Ballroom. No formal 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 Dr. Michael
Masnik, by telephone at 1-800-368-5642, extension 1191, or by Internet
to the NRC at [email protected] no later than March 24, 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. Dr.
Masnik will need to be contacted no later than March 24, 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 BFN 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, 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 no later than 60 days from today's
date. Electronic comments may be sent by the Internet to the NRC at
[email protected] and should be sent no later than 60 days from
today's date to be considered in the scoping process. Comments will be
available electronically and accessible through ADAMS 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 is the subject of a separate
notice published today in the Federal Register. Matters related to
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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 in ADAMS at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. 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 Dr. Masnik at the
aforementioned telephone number or e-mail address.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 4th day of March, 2004.
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. 04-5339 Filed 3-9-04; 8:45 am]
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