[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 207 (Friday, October 24, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63517-63519]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-25381]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 52-029 AND 52-030]


Progress Energy Florida, Inc.;

    Levy Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 and 2, Combined License 
Application And Limited Work Authorization;
    Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental
    Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping Process
    Florida Power Corporation doing business as Progress Energy 
Florida, Inc. (PEF), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Progress Energy, Inc. 
has submitted an application for a limited work authorization (LWA) and 
a combined license (COL) to build Units 1 and 2 at its Levy Nuclear 
Plant (LNP) site, located in Levy County, Florida. The nearest 
incorporated municipality is the Town of Inglis located approximately 
four miles from the nearest boundary of the LNP site; the site is 
approximately 10 miles northeast of the Crystal River Energy Complex, 
also owned by PEF. The application for the LWA and COL was submitted by 
PEF by letter dated July 28, 2008, pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations 10 CFR, Part 52.
    A notice of receipt and availability of the application including 
the environmental report (ER) was published in the Federal Register on 
October 14, 2008 (73 FR 60726). A notice of acceptance for docketing of 
the application for the COL was published in the Federal Register on 
October 14, 2008 (73 FR 60726). A notice of hearing and opportunity to 
petition for leave to intervene will be published at a later date.
    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) as part of the review of the LWA and COL 
application and to provide the public with an opportunity to 
participate in the environmental scoping process as defined in 10 CFR 
51.29. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, has 
requested to participate in the preparation of the EIS as a cooperating 
agency; the NRC has accepted their request.
    In addition, as outlined in 36 CFR 800.8(c), ``Coordination with 
the National Environmental Policy Act,'' the NRC staff plans to 
coordinate compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act (NHPA) with steps taken to meet the requirements of 
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA). 
Pursuant to 36 CFR 800.8(c), the NRC staff intends to use its process 
and documentation for the preparation of the EIS on the proposed action 
to comply with section 106 of the NHPA in lieu of the procedures set 
forth on 36 CFR 800.3 through 800.6.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 51.45, 51.49, and 51.50, PEF submitted 
the ER as part of the LWA and COL 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 
20852 or from the Publicly Available Records (PAR) 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 have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing 
the documents located in ADAMS should contact the NRC's PDR Reference 
staff at 1-800-397-4209/301-415-4737 or via e-mail at [email protected]. The 
application may also be viewed on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/levy.html. In addition, the Citrus County 
Coastal Region Library located at 8619 West Crystal Street in Crystal 
River, Florida; Bronson Public Library at 600 Gilbert Street, Bronson, 
Florida; and the Dunnellon Branch Library at 20351 Robinson Road in 
Dunnellon, Florida have agreed to maintain a copy of the ER and make it 
available for public inspection.
    The following key reference documents related to the application 
and the NRC staff's review processes 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. 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. Regulatory 1.206, Combined License Applications for Nuclear 
Power Plants,
    j. NRR Office Instruction LIC-203, Procedural Guidance for 
Preparing Environmental Assessments and Considering Environmental 
Issues, and
    k. Interim Staff Guidance for Limited Work Authorizations to 
Support Early Site Permit and Combined License Applications (ISG-004) 
and the Supplement to the Interim Staff Guidance on Limited Work 
Authorizations.
    The regulations, NUREG-series documents, regulatory guides, and the 
fact sheet can be found under Document Collections in the ERR on the 
NRC Web page. The Office Instruction LIC-203 can be found in ADAMS in 
two parts under the 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 as part of

[[Page 63518]]

the review of the LWA and COL application for the LNP site. Possible 
alternatives to the proposed action (issuance of the LWA and COL) 
include no action, reasonable alternative energy sources, and alternate 
sites. The NRC is required by 10 CFR 51.20(b)(1) and (b)(2) to prepare 
an EIS in connection with the issuance of an LWA and COL, respectively. 
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 
thereafter will prepare a draft EIS for public comment. Participation 
in this scoping process by members of the public, 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 that 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 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; PEF,
    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 staff has elected to hold two identical 
public scoping meetings to be held at the Florida National Guard Armory 
located at 8551 West Venable Street, Crystal River, Florida 33426, on 
Thursday, December 4, 2008. The meetings will convene at 1 p.m., which 
will continue until approximately 4 p.m., and again at 6 p.m. which 
will continue until approximately 9 p.m. The meetings will be 
transcribed and will include the following: (1) An overview by the NRC 
staff of the environmental review process, the proposed scope of the 
EIS, and the proposed review schedule; (2) the opportunity for 
interested government agencies, organizations, and individuals to 
submit comments on the environmental issues or the proposed scope of 
the EIS. Additionally, the NRC staff will host informal discussions for 
one hour prior to the start of each public meeting. 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 
scope of the NEPA review by contacting Mr. Douglas Bruner or Ms. Jessie 
M. Muir at 1-800-368-5642, extensions 2730 or 0491, respectively. In 
addition, persons can register via e-mail to the NRC at 
[email protected] no later than November 26, 2008.
    Members of the public may also register to speak at the meeting 
prior to 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 Mr. Bruner's or Ms. 
Muir's attention no later than November 20, 2008, 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 
Levy LWA and COL environmental review 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 the comment period end date December 23, 2008. Electronic 
comments may be sent by e-mail to the NRC at [email protected]. 
Electronic submissions must be sent no later than the comment period 
end date of December 23, 2008, to be considered in the scoping process.
    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 COL will be 
noticed separately in the Federal Register.
    At the conclusion of the scoping process, the NRC will prepare a 
concise summary of the determination and conclusions on the scope of 
the environmental review reached, including the significant issues 
identified, and it will be made publicly available. The staff will then 
prepare and issue for comment the draft EIS, which will be the subject 
of a separate Federal Register notice and a separate public meeting. 
Copies will be available for public inspection at the PDR through the 
above-mentioned address 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 to the public. 
Information about the proposed action, the EIS, and the scoping process 
may be obtained from Mr. Douglas Bruner or Ms. Jessie M. Muir at 1-800-
368-5642, extensions 2730 or 0491, respectively, or via e-mail at 
[email protected], or [email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17th day of October, 2008.


[[Page 63519]]


    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Andy Campbell,
Acting Director, Division of Site and Environmental Reviews, Office of 
New Reactors.
 [FR Doc. E8-25381 Filed 10-23-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P