[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 193 (Thursday, October 5, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58882-58884]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-16559]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 52-011]


Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc., Vogtle ESP Site; Notice 
of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct 
Scoping Process

    Southern Nuclear Operating Corporation (SNC) has submitted an 
application for an early site permit (ESP) for its Vogtle ESP site, 
located on the west bank of the Savannah River in eastern Burke County, 
in east-central Georgia. The site is approximately 100 miles northwest 
of Savannah, Georgia, and approximately 26 miles southeast of Augusta, 
Georgia, and across the river from the U.S. Department of Energy's 
Savannah River Site (Barnwell County, South Carolina). The application 
for the ESP was submitted by letter dated August 15, 2006, pursuant to 
10 CFR Part 52. A notice of receipt of application, including the 
environmental report (ER), was published in the Federal Register on 
August 29, 2006 (71 FR 51222). A notice of acceptance for docketing of 
the application for an early site permit for Vogtle was published in 
the Federal Register on September 26, 2006 (71 FR 56187). 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 ESP application and to provide 
the public with 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 52.17 (a)(2), 51.45 and 51.50, SERI 
submitted the ER as part of the application. The ER was prepared 
pursuant to 10 CFR Part 51 and 52 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 (ERR) link. Persons 
who do not

[[Page 58883]]

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/new-licensing/esp/vogtle.html. In addition, the 
Burke County Library, 130 Highway 24 South, Waynesboro, GA 30830-4572, 
has agreed to make the ER available for public inspection.
    The following key reference documents related to the ESP 
applications and the NRC staff's review process are available through 
the NRC's Web site at http://www.nrc.gov:
    a. 10 CFR Part 51, Environmental protection regulations for 
domestic licensing and related regulatory functions.
    b. 10 CFR Part 52, Early site permits; standard design 
certifications; and combined licenses for nuclear power plants.
    c. 10 CFR Part 100, Reactor site criteria.
    d. NUREG-1555, Standard Review Plans for Environmental Reviews for 
Nuclear Power Plants.
    e. NUREG/BR-0298, Brochure on Nuclear Power Plant Licensing 
Process.
    f. Regulatory Guide 4.2, Preparation of Environmental Reports for 
Nuclear Power Stations.
    g. Regulatory Guide 4.7, General Site Suitability Criteria for 
Nuclear Power Stations.
    h. Fact Sheet on Nuclear Power Plant Licensing Process.
    i. Draft review Standard RS-002, Processing Applications for Early 
Site Permits.
    j. NRR Office Instruction LIC-203, Procedural Guidance for 
Preparing Environmental Assessments and Considering Environmental 
Issues.
    The regulations, NUREG-series documents, regulatory guide(s), and 
fact sheet can be found under Document Collections in the Electronic 
Reading Room on the NRC Web page. The draft review standard is at 
http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-licensing/license-reviews/esp/esp-public-comments-rs-002.html. Finally, Office Instruction LIC-203 can be 
found in ADAMS in two parts under accession numbers ML011710073 (main 
text) and ML011780314 (charts and figures).
    This notice advises the public that the NRC intends to gather the 
information necessary to prepare an EIS in support of the review of the 
application for an ESP at the Vogtle ESP site. Possible alternatives to 
the proposed action (issuance of the ESP at the Vogtle ESP site) 
include no action and alternate sites. The NRC is required by 10 CFR 
52.18 to prepare an EIS in connection with the issuance of an ESP. This 
notice is being published in accordance with NEPA and the NRC's 
regulations found in 10 CFR Part 51.
    The NRC will first conduct a scoping process for the EIS and, as 
soon as practicable thereafter, will prepare a draft EIS for public 
comment. Participation in this scoping process by members of the public 
and local, State, Tribal, and Federal government agencies is 
encouraged. The scoping process for the draft EIS will be used to 
accomplish the following:
    a. Define the proposed action which is to be the subject of EIS.
    b. Determine the scope of the EIS 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 EIS 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 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 EIS to the 
NRC and any cooperating agencies.
    h. Describe how the EIS will be prepared, including any contractor 
assistance to be used.
    The NRC invites the following entities to participate in the 
scoping process:
    a. The applicant, SNC.
    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 
including the State Historic Preservation Officer.
    d. Any affected Indian tribe including the Tribal Historic 
Preservation Officer.
    e. The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.
    f. Any person who requests or has requested an opportunity to 
participate in the scoping process.
    g. 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 will hold a public meeting for the 
Vogtle early site permit application EIS. The scoping meeting will be 
held at the Augusta Technical College, Waynesboro Campus Auditorium, 
216 Hwy 24 South, Waynesboro, GA 30830, on Thursday, October 19, 2006. 
The meeting will convene at 7 p.m., and will continue until 10 p.m., as 
necessary. The meeting will be transcribed and will include the 
following: (1) An overview by the NRC staff of the NEPA environmental 
review process, the proposed scope of the EIS, and the proposed review 
schedule; (2) an overview by SNC of the proposed action, the Vogtle 
ESP, and the environmental impacts as outlined in the ER; and (3) the 
opportunity for interested Government agencies, organizations, and 
individuals to submit comments or suggestions on the environmental 
issues or the proposed scope of the EIS. Additionally, the NRC staff 
will host informal discussions during the two hours prior to the start 
of the public meeting at Augusta Technical College. No formal comments 
on the proposed scope of the EIS will be accepted during the informal 
discussions. To be considered, comments must be provided either at the 
transcribed public meeting or in writing, as discussed below. Persons 
may register to attend or present oral comments at the meeting on the 
NEPA scoping process by contacting Ms. Cristina Guerrero by telephone 
at 1 (800) 368-5642, extension 2981, or by Internet to the NRC at 
[email protected] no later than October 12, 2006. Members of the 
public may also register to speak at the meeting within 15 minutes of 
the start of the 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 EIS. If special equipment or 
accommodations are needed to attend or present information at the 
public meeting, the need should be brought to Ms. Guerrero's attention 
no later than October 12, 2006, so that the NRC staff can determine 
whether the request can be accommodated.
    Members of the public may send written comments on the 
environmental

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scoping process for the EIS 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 be hand-delivered to the NRC at 11545 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. on 
Federal workdays. To be considered in the scoping process, written 
comments must be postmarked or delivered by December 4, 2006. 
Electronic comments may be sent by the Internet to the NRC at [email protected]. Electronic submissions must be sent no later than December 
4, 2006, to be considered in the scoping process. The staff will not 
consider comments submitted later than as specified above unless time 
permits. Comments will be available electronically and accessible 
through the NRC's ERR link http://www.nrc.gov/nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html at the NRC Homepage.
    Participation in the scoping process for the EIS does not entitle 
participants to become parties to the proceeding to which the EIS 
relates. Notice of a hearing regarding the application for an ESP will 
be the subject of a future Federal Register notice.
    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 through the ERR link. The staff will then 
prepare and issue for comment the draft EIS, which will be the subject 
of separate notices and a separate public meeting. 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 EIS, which 
will also be available for public inspection.
    Information about the proposed action, the EIS, and the scoping 
process may be obtained from Mark Notich at (301) 415-3053 or 
[email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day of October, 2006.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas A. Bergman,
Acting Director, Division of New Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E6-16559 Filed 10-4-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P