[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 93 (Thursday, May 13, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26624-26626]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-10854]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-266 and 50-301]


Nuclear Management Company, LLC, Point Beach Nuclear Plant, Units 
1 and 2; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
and Conduct Scoping Process

    Nuclear Management Company, LLC (NMC) has submitted an application 
for renewal of Facility Operating Licenses DPR-24 and DPR-27 for an 
additional 20 years of operation at the Point Beach Nuclear Plant, 
Units 1 and 2 (PBNP). PBNP is located on the western shore of Lake 
Michigan in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, approximately 30 miles southeast of 
Green Bay, Wisconsin. The operating licenses for PBNP, Units 1 and 2, 
expire on October 5, 2010, and March 8, 2013, respectively. The 
application for renewal was received on February 26, 2004, pursuant to 
title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations part 54 (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 
March 8, 2004 (69 FR 10765). A notice of acceptance for docketing of 
the application for renewal of the facility operating licenses was 
published in the Federal Register on April 13, 2004, (69 FR 19559). 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 title 10 of the Code 
of Federal Regulations, section 51.29 (10 CFR 51.29). In addition, as 
outlined in title 36 of the Code of the Federal Regulations, section 
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 title 10 of the Code of the Federal Regulations, 
section 51.53(c) (10 CFR 51.53(c)) and title 10 of the Code of the 
Federal Regulations, section 54.23 (10 CFR 54.23), NMC submitted the ER 
as part of the application. The ER was prepared pursuant to title 10 of 
the Code of the Federal Regulations, part 51 (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.aov/reading-rm/adams.html, which provides access through the NRC's Electronic Reading 
Room 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/point-beach.html. In addition, the Lester Public Library, 
located at 1001 Adams Street, Two Rivers, Wisconsin, 54241 has made 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 PBNP 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 title 10 of the Code of the 
Federal Regulations, section 51.95 (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 of 1969 (NEPA) and the NRC's regulations found

[[Page 26625]]

in title 10 of the Code of the Federal Regulations part 51 (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 ElSs 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 scoping:
    a. The applicant, Nuclear Management 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 has petitioned or intends to petition for leave 
to intervene.
    In accordance with title 10 of the Code of the Federal Regulations 
section 51.26 (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 PBNP license renewal supplement to the GEIS. The scoping meetings 
will be held at Fox Hills, 250 West Church Street in Mishicot, 
Wisconsin, on Tuesday, June 15, 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 Fox Hills. 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 
Mr. William Dam by telephone at 1-800-368-5642, extension 4014, or by 
e-mail to the NRC at [email protected] no later than June 11, 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. 
Dam will need to be contacted no later than June 7, 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 PBNP 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 July 14, 2004. Electronic comments may 
be sent by e-mail to the NRC at [email protected] and should be 
sent no later than July 14, 2004, 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 was the subject of the 
aforementioned Federal Register notice (69 FR 19559). 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 in ADAMS at http://www.nrc.gov/readina-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 Mr. Dam at the 
aforementioned telephone number or e-mail address.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 7th day of May, 2004.


[[Page 26626]]


    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samson S. Lee,
Acting Program Director, License Renewal and Environmental Impacts 
Program, Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 04-10854 Filed 5-12-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P