[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