[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 154 (Wednesday, August 11, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48900-48901]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-18313]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-220 and 50-410]


Constellation Energy Group; Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, 
Units 1 and 2; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement and Conduct Scoping Process

    Constellation Energy Group, Inc., (Constellation) has submitted 
applications for renewal of Facility Operating Licenses, DPR-63 and 
NPF-69 for an additional 20 years of operation at the Nine Mile Point 
Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2 (NMP). NMP is located on the 
southeastern shore of Lake Ontario in the town of Scriba, Oswego 
County, New York. The operating licenses for NMP, Units 1 and 2, expire 
on August 22, 2009, and October 31, 2026, respectively. The 
applications for renewal were received on May 26, 2004, pursuant to 
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 54 (10 CFR). A notice 
of receipt and availability of the applications, which included the 
environmental report (ER), was published in the Federal Register on 
June 8, 2004 (69 FR 32069). A notice of acceptance for docketing of the 
applications for renewal of the facility operating license was 
published in the Federal Register on July 21, 2004, (69 FR 43631). 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 
applications 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 of 1969 (NEPA).
    In accordance with 10 CFR 51.53(c) and 10 CFR 54.23, Constellation 
submitted the ER as part of the applications. 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 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 applications may also 
be viewed on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications.html. In addition, the Penfield Library, 
located at State University of New York, Oswego, NY 13126, 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 applications for renewal of the NMP 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 of 1969 (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 scoping:
    a. The applicant, Constellation Energy Group.
    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 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 NMP license renewal supplement to the GEIS. The scoping meetings 
will be held at the Town of Scriba Conference Room, 42 Creamery Road, 
Oswego, New York 13126, on Tuesday, September 21, 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

[[Page 48901]]

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 Town of Scriba Conference 
Room. 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 Ms. Leslie Fields, by telephone at 1-800-368-
5642, extension 1186, or by Internet to the NRC at 
[email protected] no later than September 17, 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. Ms. 
Fields will need to be contacted no later than September 17, 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 NMP license renewal review to: 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 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Room T-6D59, Two 
White Flint North, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, 20852-
2738 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 October 11, 2004. Electronic comments may be sent by the 
Internet to the NRC at [email protected] and should be sent no 
later than October 11, 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 applications was the subject of the 
aforementioned Federal Register notice (69 FR 43631). 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/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 Ms. Fields at the 
aforementioned telephone number or e-mail address.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day of August 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. 04-18313 Filed 8-9-04; 10:17 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P