[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 138 (Thursday, July 17, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41132-41133]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-16444]



[[Page 41132]]

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 52-017]


Virginia Electric And Power Company, D/B/A Dominion Virginia 
Power, and Old Dominion Electric Cooperative North Anna Nuclear Station 
Unit 3 Combined License Application; Correction and Supplement to 
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and 
Conduct Scoping Process

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Correction and Supplement.

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SUMMARY: This document corrects and supplements a Notice of Intent to 
Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping Process 
(regarding an application for a combined license) published in the 
Federal Register on March 13, 2008 (73 FR 13589). This action is 
necessary: (1) To correctly identify the document the Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff intends to prepare, the applicants 
for the combined license (COL) and the matters that the scoping process 
is intended to accomplish, (2) to inform the public and other scoping 
participants that alternative sites will not be considered in the 
review of the staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or 
Commission) or in the environmental impact statement (EIS) prepared in 
connection with the COL application, and (3) to reopen the scoping 
comment period so as to provide the public with an opportunity to 
participate in the environmental scoping process, as described in 10 
CFR 51.29, in regard to the correctly identified matters that the 
scoping process is intended to accomplish. With respect to item (3), 
this action provides thirty (30) days from the date of this Notice for 
the submission of written comments on the scope of the North Anna Unit 
3 COL application environmental review. Comments should be submitted in 
accordance with the procedures specified in the ADDRESSES section.

DATES: The scoping comment period is reopened for thirty (30) days and 
closes on August 15, 2008.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document corrects a notice published on 
March 13, 2008 (73 FR 13589). The Notice of Intent to Prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping Process is corrected 
as follows:
    (1) On page 13589, second column, the heading is corrected to read, 
``Virginia Electric and Power Company d/b/a Dominion Virginia Power and 
Old Dominion Electric Cooperative; North Anna Power Station Combined 
License Application; Notice of Intent to Prepare a Supplement to the 
Early Site Permit Environmental Impact Statement.''
    (2) On page 13589, second column, the first complete paragraph, the 
first two lines, replace ``Dominion Nuclear Power, LLC (Dominion)'' 
with ``Virginia Electric and Power Company, doing business as Dominion 
Virginia Power (DVP or Dominion), and Old Dominion Electric Cooperative 
(ODEC).''
    (3) On page 13590, in the first column, the second complete 
paragraph through paragraph i are removed, and replaced with the 
following:
    On November 27, 2007, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 
issued ESP-003 to Dominion Nuclear North Anna, LLC, for the North Anna 
ESP Site (the site of proposed Unit 3), located in Louisa County, near 
Lake Anna, approximately 40 miles north northwest of Richmond, 
Virginia. An early site permit (ESP) is an NRC approval of a site as 
suitable for construction and operation of one or more new nuclear 
units. The NRC's detailed review of the environmental impacts of 
constructing and operating the proposed North Anna Unit 3 is documented 
in NUREG-1811, ``Environmental Impact Statement for an Early Site 
Permit at the North Anna ESP Site,'' dated December 2006. Pursuant to 
NRC regulations in 10 CFR 51.50(c)(1), a COL applicant referencing an 
ESP need not submit information or analyses regarding environmental 
issues that were resolved in the ESP EIS, except to the extent the COL 
applicant has identified new and significant information regarding such 
issues. Pursuant to 10 CFR 52.39, matters resolved in the ESP 
proceedings are considered to be resolved in any subsequent 
proceedings, absent identification of new and significant information.
    The application dated November 27, 2007, for a COL for North Anna 
Unit 3 submitted by Virginia Electric and Power Company d/b/a Dominion 
Virginia Power and Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (Applicants) 
references the ESP for the North Anna ESP site, ESP-003. For a COL 
application that references an ESP, the NRC staff, pursuant to 10 CFR 
51.75(c), prepares a supplement to the ESP EIS in accordance with 10 
CFR 51.92(e). Accordingly, the purpose of this notice is to inform the 
public that the NRC staff will be preparing a supplement to NUREG-1811, 
the ESP Final EIS, in support of the review of the COL application for 
North Anna Unit 3 at the North Anna ESP site described in ESP-003 
referenced in 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 accordance with 10 CFR 51.45 and 10 CFR 51.50(c)(1), the 
Applicants submitted an environmental report (ER) as part of the COL 
application, which need not contain information or analysis submitted 
in the ER for the ESP stage or resolved in the final EIS for the ESP 
stage. The ER for the COL stage, in addition to the environmental 
information and analyses otherwise required must provide:
    a. Information to demonstrate that the design of the facility falls 
within the site characteristics and design parameters specified in the 
ESP;
    b. Information to resolve any significant environmental issue that 
was not resolved in the ESP;
    c. New and significant information related to impacts of 
construction and operation that were resolved in the ESP;
    d. A description of the process used to identify new and 
significant information regarding the NRC's conclusions in the EIS for 
the ESP; and
    e. A demonstration that all environmental terms and conditions that 
have been included in the ESP will be satisfied by the date of issuance 
of the combined license.

ADDRESSES: The COL ER 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 (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

[[Page 41133]]

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. NUREG-1555, Standard Review Plans for Environmental Reviews for 
Nuclear Power Plants,
    d. NUREG/BR-0298, Brochure on Nuclear Power Plant Licensing 
Process,
    e. Fact Sheet on Nuclear Power Plant Licensing Process,
    f. Regulatory Guide 4.2, Preparation of Environmental Reports for 
Nuclear Power Stations,
    g. Regulatory Guide 1.206, Combined License Applications for 
Nuclear Power Plants,
    h. NRR Office Instruction LIC-203, Procedural Guidance for 
Preparing Environmental Assessments and Considering Environmental 
Issues, and
    i. NUREG-1811, Environmental Impact Statement for an Early Site 
Permit (ESP) at the North Anna ESP Site (Dec. 2006).
    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 a supplement to the ESP EIS related to 
the review of the application for a COL at the North Anna COL site in 
accordance with 10 CFR 51.92(e).
    This notice is being published in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and NRC regulations found in 10 CFR 
part 51. The NRC will first conduct a scoping process for the 
supplement to the ESP EIS and, as soon as practicable thereafter, will 
prepare a draft supplement for the ESP EIS for public comment. 
Participation in the scoping process by members of the public and 
local, State, Tribal, and Federal government agencies is encouraged. 
Pursuant to NRC regulations in 10 CFR 51.92(e), the scoping process for 
the supplemental EIS to the ESP Final EIS will be used to accomplish 
the following:
    a. Identification of the economic, technical, and other benefits 
and costs of the proposed action, to the extent that the EIS for the 
ESP did not include an assessment of these benefits and costs;
    b. Identification of other energy alternatives, to the extent that 
the EIS for the ESP did not include an assessment of energy 
alternatives;
    c. Identification of the issues related to the impacts of 
construction and operation of the facility that were not resolved in 
the ESP proceeding; and
    d. Identification of the issues related to the impacts of 
construction and operation that were resolved in the ESP proceeding but 
where new and significant information exists, including but not limited 
to, new and significant information demonstrating that the design of 
the facility falls outside the site characteristics and design 
parameters specified in the ESP.
    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 has submitted a petition for leave to intervene.
    In light of the above information, the NRC staff has determined to 
reopen the scoping comment period for thirty (30) days to enhance the 
ability of members of the public to participate in the scoping process. 
Members of the public may send written comments on the environmental 
scope of the North Anna COL application 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. 
Written comments should be postmarked by August 15, 2008. 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. Electronic comments may be sent via e-mail to 
[email protected]. To be considered in the scoping process, 
comments should be received by the end of the scoping comment period, 
which is August 15, 2008. The NRC staff is considering all comments 
submitted in response to the March 13, 2008, notice, and members of the 
public need not resubmit any comments previously submitted. In 
addition, participation in the scoping process for the supplement to 
the ESP EIS does not entitle participants to become parties to the 
proceeding to which the supplement to the EIS relates.
    The NRC staff will prepare and issue for comment the draft 
supplemental EIS, which will be the subject of separate notices and a 
public meeting. A copy of the draft supplement to the ESP 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 final 
supplement to the ESP EIS, which will also be available for public 
inspection.
    Information about the scoping process and development of the 
supplement to ESP EIS may be obtained from Ms. Alicia Williamson, 
Environmental Project Manager, by phone at (301) 415-1878 or via e-mail 
at [email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 14th day of July, 2008.

    For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Scott C. Flanders,
Director, Division of Site and Environmental Reviews, Office of New 
Reactors.
[FR Doc. E8-16444 Filed 7-16-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P