[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 190 (Monday, October 3, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57628-57629]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-5356]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Notice of Extension of the Public Comment Period for Scoping 
Process To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the License 
Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants

    On June 3, 2003, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the 
Commission) issued a Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental 
Impact Statement for the License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants and To 
Conduct Scoping Process in the Federal Register (68 FR 33209). Notice 
is hereby given that the Commission has extended the public comment 
period for the scoping process on the update to the ``Generic 
Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for License Renewal of Nuclear 
Plants,'' NUREG-1437 (May 1996) and Addendum 1 (August 1999). The 
comments already received by the Commission will be considered; this 
provides additional opportunity for public to reflect on issues that 
may have emerged during the period that this project was inactive. The 
public comment period is extended to December 30, 2005.
    In 1996 and 1999, the Commission amended its environmental 
protection regulations in 10 CFR Part 51, ``Environmental Protection 
Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions,'' 
to improve the efficiency of the environmental review process for 
applicants seeking to renew a nuclear power plant operating license for 
up to an additional 20 years. The final rules were published in the 
Federal Register on December 18, 1996 (61 FR 66546), and September 3, 
1999 (64 FR 48507). The amendments are based on the analyses reported 
in NUREG-1437, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for 
License Renewal of Nuclear Plants'' (May 1996) and its Addendum 1 
(August 1999).
    The GEIS, prepared by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 
staff and its contractors, summarizes the findings of a systematic 
inquiry into the environmental impacts of refurbishment activities 
associated with license renewal and the environmental impacts of 
continued operation during the renewal period (up to 20 years for each 
licensing action). The significance of environmental impacts were 
analyzed for each of nearly 100 issues. Thereafter, the NRC categorized 
which of these analyses could be applied to all plants and whether 
additional mitigation measures would be warranted for each 
environmental issue. Of the 92 issues analyzed, 69 issues were resolved 
generically, 21 require a further site-specific analysis that 
applicants are required to address, and 2 require a site-specific 
assessment by the NRC. As part of its application to renew its 
operating license, an applicant submits a supplemental environmental 
report and the NRC staff develops a site-specific supplement to the 
GEIS and includes a recommendation for each license renewal 
application. The environmental protection regulations for any NRC 
licensing action is contained in 10 CFR Part 51 and may be viewed on 
the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/part051/index.html. The license renewal process also includes a safety 
review and inspections prior to issuance of a renewed license.
    In the introductory remarks to Appendix B to Subpart A of Part 51, 
``Environmental Effects of Renewing the Operating License of a Nuclear 
Power Plant,'' the Commission stated that, on a 10-year cycle, it 
intends to review the material in Table B-1 and update it, if 
necessary. This update effort began in 2003; the goal of the NRC staff 
is to complete this GEIS Update Project by the end of 2009.
    The purpose of this notice is to inform the public that the NRC 
continues to plan to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS), 
in this case it is an update to the GEIS, and to provide the public an 
additional opportunity to participate in the environmental scoping 
process, as defined in 10 CFR 51.29. The scoping process is the initial 
opportunity for stakeholder participation in the GEIS update and it 
occurs before the NRC has determined results or recommendations for the 
update. The environmental review process for license renewal will 
continue under the current regulatory framework throughout the course 
of this effort. If, as a result of this scoping process, it is 
determined that an update is not necessary, then that result will be 
published in the Federal Register as well.
    The GEIS and Addendum 1 to the GEIS were prepared pursuant to 10 
CFR part 51 and are 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 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 GEIS, its Addendum 1, and its supplements 
may also be viewed on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1437. As indicated, the NRC prepares 
site-specific supplements to the GEIS for each license renewal 
application assessing the environmental impacts specific to that power 
plant location; these reports may be useful to scoping participants to 
understand the environmental review process and the environmental 
issues associated with the review for license renewal. The supplements 
to the GEIS also can be viewed on the Internet in the context for each 
project and are listed by project at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications.html. The update of the GEIS 
is a generic activity; therefore, is not the appropriate forum to 
consider site-specific issues or concerns.
    In keeping with the framework outlined under the National 
Environmental Policy Act, the NRC conducts this scoping process for the 
update to the GEIS and, thereafter, plans to prepare a draft addendum 
to the GEIS for public comment outlining the results of the NRC review. 
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 addendum to the GEIS will be used to 
accomplish the following:
    a. Determine whether the purpose and need for the update (the 
proposed action) is clear.
    b. Determine the scope of the addendum to the GEIS and identify

[[Page 57629]]

whether there are any significant issues that should be analyzed in 
depth.
    c. Identify and eliminate from detailed study those issues that are 
peripheral or that are not significant or which have been covered by 
prior environmental review.
    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 addendum 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 addendum 
to the GEIS to the NRC and any cooperating agencies.
    h. Describe how the addendum to the GEIS will be prepared including 
any contractor assistance to be used.
    The NRC invites the following entities to participate in the 
scoping process:
    a. 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.
    b. Any affected State and local government agencies, including 
those authorized to develop and enforce relevant environmental 
standards.
    c. Any affected Indian tribe.
    d. Any person who requests or has requested an opportunity to 
participate in the scoping process.
    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 
conducted four public meetings on the GEIS in July 2003. These meetings 
were transcribed; the transcripts are available for public inspection 
at the NRC PDR or from the Publicly Available Records component of 
NRC's ADAMS. ADAMS is accessible at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html, which provides access through the NRC's Electronic Reading 
Room link. Written comments already received by the Commission are 
available electronically and accessible through the NRC's Electronic 
Reading Room link in ADAMS. As described above, 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].
    Members of the public may send any additional written comments on 
the environmental scope of the GEIS Update Project 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 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 December 30, 2005. Additional electronic 
comments may be sent by e-mail to the NRC at [email protected]. 
Electronic submissions should be sent no later than December 30, 2005, 
to be considered timely in the scoping process. Comments will be 
available electronically and accessible through the NRC's Electronic 
Reading Room link at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
    At the conclusion of the scoping process, the NRC will prepare a 
summary of the determinations and conclusions reached, including the 
significant issues identified, and will send a copy of the summary to 
participants in the scoping process. The summary also will be available 
for inspection at the NRC PDR or through the Electronic Reading Room 
link. If necessary, the staff will then prepare and issue for comment 
the draft addendum to the GEIS, which will be the subject of a separate 
Federal Register notice, to report the results of the NRC's review. At 
this time, the NRC plans to conduct separate public meetings, at 
similar locations as the public scoping meetings, on the draft addendum 
to the GEIS. Copies of the draft addendum to the GEIS will be available 
for public inspection at the above-mentioned address, and one copy per 
request will be provided free of charge. After receipt and 
consideration of the comments on the draft, the NRC will prepare a 
final addendum to the GEIS, which will also be available for public 
inspection. Should the review indicate that one or more environmental 
issues enumerated in Appendix B to Subpart A of Part 51, 
``Environmental Effects of Renewing the Operating License of a Nuclear 
Power Plant,'' requires change, then the proposed and final rule 
amendments will accompany the draft and final addendum to the GEIS.
    For Further Information Contact: Mr. Barry Zalcman, License Renewal 
and Environmental Impacts Program, Division of Regulatory Improvement 
Programs, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555. Mr. 
Zalcman may be contacted by telephone at 1-800-368-5642, extension 
2419, or by e-mail at [email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 27th day of September, 2005.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jacob Zimmerman,
Acting Program Director, License Renewal and Environmental Impacts 
Program, Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E5-5356 Filed 9-30-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P