[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 213 (Monday, November 5, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62497-62499]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-21683]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-334 and 50-412]


FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company; Beaver Valley Power 
Station, Units 1 and 2; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental 
Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping Process

    FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (FENOC) has submitted an 
application for renewal of Facility Operating Licenses Nos. DPR-66 and 
NPF-73, for an additional 20 years of operation at Beaver Valley Power 
Station, Units 1 and 2. Beaver Valley Power Station is located in 
Shippingport, Pennsylvania.
    The current operating licenses for Beaver Valley Power Station, 
Units 1 and 2, expire on January 29, 2016 and May 27, 2027, 
respectively. The application for renewal, dated August 27, 2007, was 
submitted pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 
CFR) Part 54. A notice of receipt and availability of the application, 
which included FENOC's environmental report (ER), was published in the 
Federal Register on September 24, 2007 (72 FR 54301). A notice of 
acceptance for docketing of the application for renewal of the facility 
operating license was published in the Federal Register on October 26, 
2007, (72 FR 60916). 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) related to the review of the 
license renewal application 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'' (NEPA), the NRC plans to 
coordinate compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act in meeting the requirements of NEPA of 1969.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 51.53(c) and 10 CFR 54.23, FENOC 
submitted the ER as part of the application. The ER was prepared 
pursuant to 10 CFR Part 51 and is publicly available at the NRC Public 
Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, 11555

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Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, or from the NRC's Agencywide 
Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). The ADAMS Public 
Electronic Reading Room is accessible at http://adamswebsearch.nrc.gov/dologin.htm. The Accession Number for the ER is ML072430913. 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 via e-mail at 
[email protected]. The ER may also be viewed on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/bvalley.html. In addition, the ER is available for public inspection 
near Beaver Valley Power Station at the following public libraries: 
Beaver Area Memorial Library, 100 College Avenue, Beaver, Pennsylvania 
15009 and the Beaver County Library System, 1 Campus Drive, Monaca, 
Pennsylvania 15061.
    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), related to the review 
of the application for renewal of the Beaver Valley Power Station, 
Units 1 and 2, 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 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 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, FENOC.
    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 scoping 
meetings for the Beaver Valley Power Station, Units 1 and 2, license 
renewal supplement to the GEIS. The scoping meetings will be held at 
the Embassy Suites Pittsburgh-International Airport, 550 Cherrington 
Parkway, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15108, on Tuesday, November 27, 2007. 
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 the Embassy 
Suites Pittsburgh-International Airport in Pittsburgh. 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 NRC's Project Manager, Mr. Kent L. Howard, at 1-800-368-
5642, extension 2989, or via e-mail to the NRC at 
[email protected] no later than November 15, 2007. 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. 
Howard will need to be contacted no later than November 15, 2007, 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 Beaver Valley Power Station, Units 1 and 2 
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, 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 January 2, 2008. Electronic 
comments may be sent by e-mail to the NRC at

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[email protected], and should be sent no later than January 2, 
2008, to be considered in the scoping process. Comments will be 
available electronically and accessible through ADAMS at http://adamswebsearch.nrc.gov/dologin.htm.
    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 (72 FR 60916). 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://adamswebsearch.nrc.gov/dologin.htm. The staff will then prepare and issue for comment the 
draft supplement to the GEIS, which will be the subject of a separate 
notice 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. Howard at the 
aforementioned telephone number or e-mail address.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 29th day of October 2007.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Rani Franovich,
Branch Chief, Projects Branch 2, Division of License Renewal, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E7-21683 Filed 11-2-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P