[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 212 (Thursday, November 2, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64566-64568]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-18466]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-387 and 50-388]


Notice of Acceptance for Docketing of the Application, Notice of 
Opportunity for Hearing and Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping Process for Facility 
Operating License Nos. NPF-14 and NPF-22 for an Additional 20-Year 
Period PPL Susquehanna LLC., Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Units 
1 and 2

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is 
considering an application for the renewal of Operating License Nos. 
NPF-14 and NPF-22, which authorizes PPL Susquehanna LLC. (PPL), to 
operate the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station (SSES), Units 1 and 2 at 
3489 megawatts thermal. The renewed license would authorize the 
applicant to operate the SSES, Units 1 and 2 for an additional 20 years 
beyond the period specified in the current license. SSES, Units 1 and 2 
are located in Salem Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, 
approximately five miles northeast of Berwick, Pennsylvania. The 
current operating licenses for the SSES expire on July 17, 2022, and 
March 23, 2024, for Units 1 and 2, respectively.
    On September 13, 2006, the NRC staff received the application from 
PPL to renew the Operating License Nos. NPF-14 and NPF-22 for SSES, 
Units 1 and 2, pursuant to 10 CFR Part 54. A Notice of Receipt and 
Availability of the license renewal application (LRA) was published in 
the Federal Register on October 2, 2006 (71 FR 58014).
    The NRC staff has reviewed the LRA for its acceptability and has 
determined that PPL has submitted sufficient information in accordance 
with 10 CFR 54.19, 54.21, 54.22, 54.23, and 51.53(c), and the 
application is acceptable for docketing. The current Docket Nos. 50-387 
and 50-388 for Operating License Nos. NPF-14 and NPF-22 will be 
retained. The docketing of the renewal application does not preclude 
requesting additional information as the review proceeds, nor does it 
predict whether the Commission will grant or deny the application.
    Before issuance of each requested renewed license, the NRC will 
have made the findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as 
amended (the Act), and the Commission's rules and regulations. In 
accordance with 10 CFR 54.29, the NRC may issue a renewed license on 
the basis of its review if it finds that actions have been identified 
and have been or will be taken with respect to: (1) Managing the 
effects of aging during the period of extended operation on the 
functionality of structures and components that have been identified as 
requiring aging management review, and (2) time-limited aging analyses 
that have been identified as requiring review, such that there is 
reasonable assurance that the activities authorized by the renewed 
license will continue to be conducted in accordance with the current 
licensing basis (CLB), and that any changes made to the plant's CLB 
comply with the Act and the Commission's regulations. The Commission 
also must first find that the requirements of Subpart A of 10 CFR 51 
have been satisfied, and that matters raised under 10 CFR 2.335 have 
been addressed.
    Within 60 days after the date of publication of this Federal 
Register Notice, the applicant may file a request for a hearing, and 
any person whose interest may be affected by this proceeding and who 
wishes to participate as a party in the proceeding must file a written 
request for a hearing and a petition for leave to intervene with 
respect to the renewal of the license. Requests for a hearing and a 
petition for leave to intervene shall be filed in accordance with the 
Commission's ``Rules of Practice for Domestic Licensing Proceedings'' 
in 10 CFR part 2.
    Interested persons should consult a current copy of 10 CFR 2.309, 
which is available at the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), 
located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 
Maryland 20852 and is accessible from the Agencywide Documents Access 
and Management System (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the 
Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. 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 
by telephone at 1-800-397-4209, or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail at 
[email protected]. If a request for a hearing/petition for leave to intervene 
is filed within the 60-day period, the Commission or a presiding 
officer designated by the Commission or by the Chief Administrative 
Judge of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel will rule on the 
request/petition; and the Secretary or the Chief Administrative Judge 
of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board will issue a notice of a 
hearing or an appropriate order. In the event that no request for a 
hearing/petition for leave to intervene is filed within the 60-day 
period, the NRC may, upon completion of its evaluations and upon making 
the findings required under 10 CFR parts 51 and 54, renew the license 
without further notice.
    As required by 10 CFR 2.309, a petition for leave to intervene 
shall set forth with particularity the interest of the petitioner in 
the proceeding, and how that interest may be affected by the results of 
the proceeding, taking into consideration the limited scope of matters 
that may be considered pursuant to 10 CFR parts 51 and 54. The petition 
must specifically explain the reasons why intervention should be 
permitted with particular reference to the following factors: (1) The 
nature of the requestor's/petitioner's right under the Act to be made a 
party to the proceeding; (2) the nature and extent of the requestor's/
petitioner's property, financial, or other interest in the proceeding; 
and (3) the possible effect of any decision or order which may be 
entered in the proceeding on the requestor's/petitioner's interest. The 
petition must also set forth the specific contentions which the 
petitioner/requestor seeks to have litigated at the proceeding.
    Each contention must consist of a specific statement of the issue 
of law or fact to be raised or controverted. In addition, the 
requestor/petitioner shall provide a brief explanation of the bases

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of each contention and a concise statement of the alleged facts or the 
expert opinion that supports the contention on which the requestor/
petitioner intends to rely in proving the contention at the hearing. 
The requestor/petitioner must also provide references to those specific 
sources and documents of which the requestor/petitioner is aware and on 
which the requestor/petitioner intends to rely to establish those facts 
or expert opinion. The requestor/petitioner must provide sufficient 
information to show that a genuine dispute exists with the applicant on 
a material issue of law or fact.\1\ Contentions shall be limited to 
matters within the scope of the action under consideration. The 
contention must be one that, if proven, would entitle the requestor/
petitioner to relief. A requestor/petitioner who fails to satisfy these 
requirements with respect to at least one contention will not be 
permitted to participate as a party.
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    \1\ To the extent that the application contains attachments and 
supporting documents that are not publicly available because they 
are asserted to contain safeguards or proprietary information, 
petitioners desiring access to this information should contact the 
applicant or applicant's counsel to discuss the need for a 
protective order.
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    The Commission requests that each contention be given a separate 
numeric or alpha designation within one of the following groups: (1) 
Technical (primarily related to safety concerns); (2) environmental; or 
(3) miscellaneous.
    As specified in 10 CFR 2.309, if two or more requestors/petitioners 
seek to co-sponsor a contention or propose substantially the same 
contention, the requestors/petitioners will be required to jointly 
designate a representative who shall have the authority to act for the 
requestors/petitioners with respect to that contention.
    Those permitted to intervene become parties to the proceeding, 
subject to any limitations in the order granting leave to intervene, 
and have the opportunity to participate fully in the conduct of the 
hearing. A request for a hearing or a petition for leave to intervene 
must be filed by: (1) First class mail addressed to the Office of the 
Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC, 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications 
Staff; (2) courier, express mail, and expedited delivery services: 
Office of the Secretary, Sixteenth Floor, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, 20852, Attention: Rulemaking and 
Adjudications Staff; (3) e-mail addressed to the Office of the 
Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, [email protected]; 
or (4) facsimile transmission addressed to the Office of the Secretary, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC, Attention: 
Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff at 301-415-1101, verification 
number is 301-415-1966.\2\ A copy of the request for hearing and 
petition for leave to intervene must also be sent to the Office of the 
General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001, and it is requested that copies be transmitted either by 
means of facsimile transmission to 301-415-3725 or by e-mail to 
[email protected]. A copy of the request for hearing and petition 
for leave to intervene should also be sent to the attorney for the 
applicant, Mr. David Lewis, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, 2300 N 
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20037.
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    \2\ If the request/petition is filed by e-mail or facsimile, an 
original and two copies of the document must be mailed within 2 
(two) business days thereafter to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; Attention: 
Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff.
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    Non-timely requests and/or petitions and contentions will not be 
entertained absent a determination by the Commission, the presiding 
officer, or the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board that the petition, 
request and/or contentions should be granted based on a balancing of 
the factors specified in 10 CFR 2.309(a)(1)(i)-(viii).
    In addition, the purpose of this notice is to inform the public 
that the NRC will be preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) 
related to the review of the LRA and to provide the public an 
opportunity to participate in the environmental scoping process, as 
defined in 10 CFR 51.29. In accordance with 10 CFR 51.95(c), the NRC 
will prepare an EIS that will be used as a supplement to the 
Commission's NUREG-1437, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement for 
License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants'' (GEIS), dated May 1996. 
Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.26, and as part of the environmental scoping 
process, the NRC staff intends to hold a public scoping meeting. 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, PPL prepared 
and submitted the Environmental Report (ER) as part of the LRA. The LRA 
and the ER are publicly available at the NRC's PDR, located at One 
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, or 
from the NRC's ADAMS. The ADAMS Public Electronic Reading Room is 
accessible at http://adamswebsearch.nrc.gov/dologin.htm. The ADAMS 
Accession Numbers for the LRA and the ER are ML062630225 and 
ML062630235, respectively. 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 by telephone at 1-800-397-
4209, or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail at [email protected]. The LRA and the ER 
may also be viewed on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/susquehanna.html. In addition, 
the LRA and the ER are available for public inspection near the SSES, 
Units 1 and 2 at the following public library: Berwick Public Library, 
205 Chestnut Street, Berwick, Pennsylvania 18603, and the Mill Memorial 
Library, 495 E. Main Street, Nanticoke, Pennsylvania 18634.
    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 10 CFR 51.26.
    The NRC staff 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 are encouraged. 
As described in 10 CFR 51.29, 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.

[[Page 64568]]

    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, PPL Susquehanna, 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 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 public meetings for the SSES, 
Units 1 and 2 license renewal supplement to the GEIS, at the Eagles 
Building,107 South Market St., Berwick, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, 
November 15, 2006. There will be two identical meetings to accommodate 
interested parties. The first meeting will convene at 1:30 p.m. and 
will continue until 4:30 p.m., as necessary. The second meeting will 
convene at 7 p.m. 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 NRC's license renewal review process; (2) 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 (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 supplement to the 
GEIS. Additionally, the NRC staff will host informal discussions one 
hour prior to the start of each session at the same location. 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. For more information about the proposed 
action, the scoping process, and the EIS, please contact the NRC 
Environmental Project Manager, Mrs. Alicia Mullins, at Mail Stop O-
11F1, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, by 
telephone at 1-800-368-5642, extension 1224, or by e-mail at 
[email protected]. Persons may register to attend or present oral comments 
at the meetings on the scope of the NEPA review by contacting Mrs. 
Mullins. Members of the public may also register to speak at the 
meeting within 15 minutes of the start of each meeting. 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. Mrs. Mullins will need to be contacted no later than November 6, 
2006, 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 SSES, Units 1 and 2 license renewal review 
to: Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative 
Services, Office of Administration, Mail Stop 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, Mail Stop T-6D59, Two White Flint North, 11545 Rockville 
Pike, Rockville, Maryland, 20852, 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 18, 2006. Electronic comments 
may be sent by e-mail to the NRC at [email protected], and should 
be sent no later than December 18, 2006, to be considered in the 
scoping process. Comments will be available electronically and 
accessible through ADAMS.
    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. 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 viewing in ADAMS. 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 viewing at the above-mentioned addresses, and one 
copy per request will be provided free of charge, to the extent of 
supply. After receipt and consideration of the comments, the NRC will 
prepare a final supplement to the GEIS, which will also be available 
for public viewing.
    Information about the proposed action, the supplement to the GEIS, 
and the scoping process may be obtained from Mrs. Mullins at the 
aforementioned telephone number or e-mail address.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th day of October 2006.

    For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Frank P. Gillespie,
Director, Division of License Renewal, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation.
 [FR Doc. E6-18466 Filed 11-1-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P