[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]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P