[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 238 (Wednesday, December 10, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75142-75144]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-29178]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 52-033]


Detroit Edison Company Fermi Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 3 Combined 
License Application Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement and Conduct Scoping Process

    Detroit Edison Company (Detroit Edison) has submitted an 
application for a combined license (COL) to build the Fermi Nuclear 
Power Plant, Unit 3 (Fermi 3) at its Enrico Fermi Atomic Power 
Plant (Fermi) site, located on approximately 1,260 acres in Monroe 
County, Michigan, on Lake Erie, approximately 25 miles northeast of 
Toledo, Ohio and 30 miles southwest of Detroit, Michigan. Detroit 
Edison submitted the application for the COL to the U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission (NRC) by letter dated September 18, 2008, 
pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 
52. A notice of receipt and availability of the application, which 
included an environmental report (ER), was published in the Federal 
Register on Friday, October 17, 2008 (73 FR 61916). A notice of 
acceptance for docketing of the application for the COL was published 
in the Federal Register on December 2, 2008, 73 FR 73350. The purposes 
of this notice are (1) to inform the public that the NRC will be 
preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) in support of the 
review of the COL application, and (2) to

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provide the public with 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 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 the 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 and 51.50, Detroit Edison 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 20852, or from the 
Publicly Available Records 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 link. The accession number in ADAMS for 
the ER included in the application is ML082730660. 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 by e-mail to [email protected]. 
The application may also be viewed on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/fermi.html. In addition, the 
Ellis Reference & Information Center, Monroe County Libraries, located 
at 3700 South Custer Road, Monroe, Michigan 48161-9716 has agreed to 
make the ER 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:
     10 CFR part 51, Environmental Protection Regulations for 
Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Function;
     10 CFR part 52, Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals 
for Nuclear Power Plants;
     10 CFR part 100, Reactor Site Criteria;
     NUREG-1555, Standard Review Plans for Environmental 
Reviews for Nuclear Power Plants;
     NUREG/BR-0298, Brochure on Nuclear Power Plant Licensing 
Process;
     Regulatory Guide 4.2, Preparation of Environmental Reports 
for Nuclear Power Stations;
     Regulatory Guide 4.7, General Site Suitability Criteria 
for Nuclear Power Stations;
     Fact Sheet on Nuclear Power Plant Licensing Process;
     Regulatory Guide 1.206, Combined License Applications for 
Nuclear Power Plants; and
     Nuclear Regulatory Commission Policy Statement on the 
Treatment of Environmental Justice Matters in NRC Regulatory and 
Licensing Actions.
    The regulations, NUREG-series documents, regulatory guides, and 
fact sheet can be found under Document Collections in the Electronic 
Reading Room on the NRC webpage. The environmental justice policy 
statement can be found in the Federal Register, 69 FR 52040, August 24, 
2004.
    This notice advises the public that the NRC intends to gather the 
information necessary to prepare an EIS as part of the review of the 
application for a COL at the Fermi 3 site. Possible alternatives to the 
proposed action (issuance of the COL for Fermi 3) include no action, 
reasonable alternative energy sources, and alternate sites. As set 
forth in 10 CFR 51.20(b)(2), issuance of a full power license to 
operate a nuclear power reactor is an action that requires an EIS. This 
notice is being published in accordance with NEPA and the NRC's 
regulations 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 this scoping process by members of the public 
and 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
    i. 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, Detroit Edison;
    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. Any affected Indian tribe;
    d. Affected State and local government agencies, including those 
authorized to develop and enforce relevant environmental standards;
    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 the 
proceeding, or who has submitted such a petition, or who is admitted as 
a party.
    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 two identical public scoping 
meetings for the EIS regarding the Fermi 3 COL application. The scoping 
meetings will be held at the Monroe County Community College's La-Z-Boy 
Center Meyer Theater, located at 1555 South Raisinville Road, Monroe, 
Michigan 48161, on Wednesday, January 14, 2009. The first meeting will 
convene at 1 p.m. and will continue until approximately 4 p.m. The 
second meeting will convene at 7 p.m., with a repetition of the 
overview portions of the first meeting, and will continue until 
approximately 10 p.m. Additionally, the NRC staff will host informal 
discussions during an open house for one hour prior to the start of 
each public meeting. In the event that the La-Z-Boy Center Meyer 
Theater is closed due to weather conditions on January 14, 2009, the 
open houses and scoping meetings would be held on Thursday, January 15, 
2009, during the same hours as listed above. The meetings will be 
transcribed and will

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include the following: (1) An overview by the NRC staff of the NEPA 
environmental review process, the proposed scope of the EIS, 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 
EIS. No formal comments on the proposed scope of the EIS will be 
accepted during the open house 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. Stephen 
Lemont or Ms. Michelle Moser by telephone at 1-800-368-5642, extension 
5163 or 6509, or by e-mail to the NRC at [email protected] no later 
than 5 p.m. EST on January 6, 2009. Members of the public may also 
register to speak at the meeting prior to 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. Stephen Lemont's attention no later than 5 p.m. EST on December 
30, 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 
Fermi 3 COL EIS to the Chief, Rulemaking, Directives, and Editing 
Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration, 
Mailstop TWB-05-B01M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
DC 20555-0001, and should cite the publication date and page number of 
this Federal Register notice. To ensure that comments will be 
considered in the scoping process, written comments must be postmarked 
or delivered by February 9, 2009. Electronic comments may be sent by e-
mail to the NRC at [email protected]. Electronic submissions must 
be sent no later than February 9, 2009, to ensure that they will be 
considered in the scoping process. Comments will be made available 
electronically and will be accessible through the NRC's Electronic 
Reading Room link http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. The NRC 
staff may, at its discretion, consider comments submitted after the end 
of the comment period.
    Participation in the scoping process for the EIS does not entitle 
participants to become parties to the proceeding to which the EIS 
relates. A Notice of a hearing and opportunity to petition for leave to 
intervene in the proceeding on the application for a COL will be 
published in 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 
on the scope of the environmental review, including the significant 
issues identified, and will send this summary to each participant in 
the scoping process for whom the staff has an address. 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 of the draft EIS 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 comments on the draft EIS, 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. Stephen Lemont at 301-415-5163 or by 
e-mail at [email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day of December 2008.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Scott Flanders,
Director, Division of Site and Environmental Reviews, Office of New 
Reactors.
[FR Doc. E8-29178 Filed 12-9-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P