[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 50 (Thursday, March 13, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13589-13591]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-5009]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 52-017]


Dominion Nuclear Power, LLC; North Anna Power Station Combined 
License Application; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental; 
Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping Process

    Dominion Nuclear Power, LLC (Dominion), has submitted an 
application for a combined license (COL) for its North Anna Power 
Station (NAPS or North Anna) site to build Unit 3, located in Louisa 
County, Virginia, approximately 40 miles north northwest of Richmond. 
The application for the COL was submitted by letter dated November 26, 
2007, pursuant to the requirements of Title 10, Part 52. A notice of 
receipt and availability of the application, which included the 
environmental report (ER), was published in the Federal Register on 
December 12, 2007 (72 FR 70616). A notice of acceptance for docketing 
of the application for the COL was published in the Federal Register on 
February 4, 2008 (73 FR 6528). 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 COL application and to provide the public an opportunity 
to participate in the environmental scoping process, as described in 10 
CFR 51.29.
    In addition, as outlined in 36 CFR 800.8(c), ``Coordination with 
The National Environmental Policy Act'' the NRC staff intends to use 
the process and documentation required for the preparation of an EIS to 
the comply with section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, 
in lieu of the procedures set forth in 36 CFR 800.3 through 800.6.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 51.45 and 10 CFR 51.50, Dominion 
submitted the ER as part of the application. The ER was prepared 
pursuant to 10 CFR Parts 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, 
or from the Publicly Available Records component of the 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. The 
accession number in ADAMS for the ER is ML073321238. 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 sending an e-mail to 
[email protected]. The application may also be viewed on the Internet at: 
http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-licensing/col/north-anna.html. In 
addition, the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library in Mineral, Virginia; 
Hanover Branch Library in Hanover, Virginia; Orange County Library in 
Orange, Virginia; Salem Church Library in Fredericksburg, Virginia; and 
C. Melvin Snow Memorial Branch Library in Spotsylvania, Virginia have 
agreed to make the ER available for public inspection.
    The following key reference documents related to the COL 
application 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, Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals 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. Fact Sheet on Nuclear Power Plant Licensing Process,
    g. Regulatory Guide 4.2, Preparation of Environmental Reports for 
Nuclear Power Stations,
    h. Regulatory Guide 1.206, Combined License Applications for 
Nuclear Power Plants, and
    i. NRR Office Instruction LIC-203, Procedural Guidance for 
Preparing Environmental Assessments and Considering Environmental 
Issues.

[[Page 13590]]

    The regulations, NUREG-series documents, regulatory guides, and 
fact sheet can be found under Document Collections in the Electronic 
Reading Room on the NRC Web page. 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 the COL at the North Anna COL site. Possible 
alternatives to the proposed action (issuance of the COL at the NAPS 
COL site) include no action and consideration of alternative sites.
    The NRC is required by 10 CFR 51.20(b)(2) to prepare an EIS in 
connection with the issuance of a COL. This notice is being published 
in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) 
and NRC 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 the scoping process by members of the public 
and local, State, Tribal, and Federal government agencies is 
encouraged. The scoping process for the EIS will be used to accomplish 
the following:
    a. Define the proposed action which is to be the subject of the 
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. Identify parties consulting with the NRC under the NHPA, as set 
forth in 36 CFR 800.8(c)(1)(i);
    g. Indicate the relationship between the timing of the preparation 
of the environmental analyses and the Commission's tentative planning 
and decision-making schedule;
    h. Identify any cooperating agencies and, as appropriate, allocate 
assignments for preparation and schedules for completing the EIS to the 
NRC and any cooperating agencies; and
    i. Describe how the EIS will be prepared and include any contractor 
assistance to be used.
    The NRC invites the following entities to participate in the 
scoping process:
    a. The applicant, Dominion;
    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; and
    f. 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 scoping meeting for 
the EIS regarding the North Anna COL application on Wednesday, April 
16, 2008, at the Louisa County High School, 757 Davis Highway, Mineral, 
Virginia.
    The meeting will convene at 7 p.m. and will continue until 
approximately 10 p.m. The meeting will be transcribed and will include: 
(1) An overview by the NRC staff of the NEPA environmental review 
process, the proposed scope of the EIS, 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 EIS. Additionally, 
the NRC staff will host an informal discussion one hour before the 
start of the meeting. No formal comments on the proposed scope of the 
EIS will be accepted during the informal discussion open house. 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 scope of the NEPA 
review by contacting Ms. Alicia Williamson or Ms. Laura Quinn at 1-800-
368-5642, extension 1878 or 2220, respectively. In addition, persons 
can register via e-mail to the NRC at: [email protected], no 
later than April 10, 2008.
    Members of the public may also register to speak at the meeting 
within 15 minutes of the start of the 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 EIS. Ms. Williamson 
or Ms. Quinn will need to be contacted no later than April 7, 2008, 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 scope of the 
North Anna COL environmental review to the Chief, Rulemaking, 
Directives, and Editing 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, comments should be 
received by the end of the scoping comment period, which is May 16, 
2008. Written comments should be postmarked by date May 16, 2008. 
Electronic comments may be sent via the Internet to the NRC at 
[email protected].
    Submissions should be sent no later than May 16, 2008, to be 
considered in the scoping process. Comments will be available in the 
meeting summary report electronically and accessible through the NRC's 
ERR link at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
    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 a COL will 
be the subject of a future Federal Register notice.
    At the conclusion of the scoping process, the NRC staff 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 NRC's ERR link. The 
staff will then prepare and issue for comment the draft EIS, which will 
be the subject of separate Federal Register notices and a separate 
public meeting. A copy of the draft EIS 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, the NRC staff will prepare a

[[Page 13591]]

final EIS, (which will also be available for public inspection). 
Information about the proposed EIS and the scoping process may be 
obtained from Ms. Alicia Williamson, Environmental Project Manager, 
301-415-1878.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 7th day of March 2008.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James E. Lyons,
Division Director, Division of Site and Environmental Reviews, Office 
of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. E8-5009 Filed 3-12-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P