[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 244 (Thursday, December 18, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77076-77078]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-30052]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 52-034 and 52-035]
Luminant Generation Company LLC; Comanche Peak Nuclear Power
Plant Units 3 and 4 Combined License Application; Notice of Intent To
Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping Process
Luminant Generation Company LLC (Luminant) has submitted an
application for two combined licenses (COLs) to build Units 3 and 4 at
its Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant (CPNPP) site, located on
approximately 7,950 acres in Somervell and Hood Counties, Texas. CPNPP
is located on Squaw Creek Reservoir, approximately 5.2 miles (mi) north
of Glen Rose, Texas. Luminant submitted the application for the COL to
the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by letter dated September
19, 2008, pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10
CFR) Part 52. A notice of receipt and availability of the application
for the COLs, including the Environmental Report (ER), was published in
the Federal Register on November 7, 2008 (73 FR 66276). A notice of
acceptance for docketing of the application for the COLs was published
in the Federal Register on December 10, 2008 (73 FR 75141). A notice of
hearing and opportunity to petition for leave to intervene in the
proceeding will be published at a later date. The purposes of this
notice are (1) to inform the public that the NRC staff will be
preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) as part of the review
of the application for the COLs; and (2) to provide the public with 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(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 in 36 CFR 800.3 through 800.6.
In accordance with 10 CFR 51.45 and 51.50, Luminant 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 environmental report included in the application is ML083240374.
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
[[Page 77077]]
be viewed on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/comanche-peak.html. In addition, the Somervell County Library
located at 108 Allen Drive, Glen Rose, Texas 76043, and the Hood County
Library located at 222 North Travis Street, Granbury, Texas 76048, 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 Function;
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;
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 Guide 1.206, Combined License Applications for
Nuclear Power Plants; and
j. 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 the
fact sheet can be found under Document Collections in the Electronic
Reading Room on the NRC Web page. 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 the COLs at the CPNPP site. Possible alternatives to
the proposed action (issuance of the COLs for the CPNPP Units 3 and 4)
include no action, reasonable alternative energy sources, and alternate
sites. As set forth in 10 CFR 51.20(b)(2), issuance of a COL under 10
CFR Part 52 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, Luminant Generation Company LLC;
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 two identical public scoping
meetings for the EIS regarding the Luminant COL application. The
scoping meetings will be held at the Glen Rose Expo Center, 202 Bo
Gibbs Blvd., Glen Rose, Texas 76043, on Tuesday, January 6, 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. The meetings will be transcribed
and will 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. 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. Michael
Willingham or Mr. John Fringer by telephone at 1-800-368-5642,
extension 3924 or 6208. In addition, persons can register via e-mail to
the NRC at [email protected] no later than December 30, 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. Willingham's
attention no later than December 23, 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
CPNPP COL environmental review to the Chief, Rules and Directives
Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration,
Mailstop TWB-05-B01M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington,
[[Page 77078]]
DC 20555-0001, and should cite the publication date and page number of
this Federal Register notice. To be considered in the scoping process,
written comments must be postmarked or delivered by February 17, 2009.
Electronic comments may be sent by e-mail to the NRC at
[email protected]. Electronic submissions must be sent no later
than February 17, 2009, to 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.
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 request leave to
petition to intervene in the proceeding on the application for the 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. The summary will include the
significant issues identified. The NRC staff 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. Michael Willingham at 301-415-3924, by
e-mail at [email protected], or by mail to the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop T6-E38M, Washington, DC 20555-0001 and
from Mr. John Fringer at 301-415-6208 or by e-mail at
[email protected].
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 12th day of December, 2008.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Scott Flanders,
Director, Division of Site and Environmental Reviews, Office of New
Reactors.
[FR Doc. E8-30052 Filed 12-17-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P