[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 2 (Monday, January 5, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 324-326]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-31276]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 52-036]


Entergy Operations, Inc.; River Bend Station Unit 3 Combined 
License Application; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental 
Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping Process

    Entergy Operations, Inc. (EOI) on behalf of itself; Entergy 
Louisiana, LLC (ELL); Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, L.L.C. (EGSL); and 
Entergy Mississippi, Inc. (EMI) has submitted an application

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for a combined license (COL) to build Unit 3 at its River Bend Station 
(RBS) site, located on approximately 3,330 acres in West Feliciana 
Parish on the Mississippi River, approximately three miles southeast of 
St. Francisville, Louisiana and 24 miles north-northwest of Baton 
Rouge, Louisiana. EOI submitted the application for the COL to the U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on September 25, 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 
November 17, 2008 (73 FR 67895). A notice of acceptance for docketing 
of the application for the COL 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 of the application 
will be the published in a future Federal Register.
    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 COL application and 
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 on 36 CFR 800.3 through 800.6.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 51.45 and 51.50, EOI submitted the ER as 
part of the 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 (PARS) 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. The accession number in 
ADAMS for the environmental report included in the application is 
ML082830263. 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 
to [email protected]. The application may also be viewed on the 
Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/river-bend.html. In addition, the following libraries have agreed to make the 
ER available for public inspection:
    1. State Library of Louisiana at 701 North 4th Street, Baton Rouge, 
Louisiana;
    2. West Feliciana Parish Library at 11865 Ferdinand Street, St. 
Francisville, Louisiana; and
    3. Point Coupee Parish Library; at 201 Claybourne Street, New 
Roads, Louisiana.
    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, 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 ERR 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 
COL application for the River Bend Station site. Possible alternatives 
to the proposed action (issuance of the COL for RBS Unit 3) include no 
action, reasonable alternative energy sources, and alternative 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, 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, EOI on behalf of itself, ELL, EGSL, and EMI,
    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,

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    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 will hold a public scoping 
meeting for the EIS regarding the RBS Unit 3 COL application. The 
scoping meeting will be held at the West Feliciana Parish High School 
Auditorium, 8604 U.S. Highway 61, St. Francisville, Louisiana, 70775, 
on Thursday, January 29, 2009. The meeting will convene at 7 p.m. and 
will continue until approximately 10 p.m. The meeting 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; 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 the 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. Andrew Kugler or Ms. Jessie M. Muir by telephone at 1-
800-368-5642, extension 2828 or 0491, respectively, or via e-mail to 
the NRC at [email protected] no later than January 21, 2009.
    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 Ms. Jessie M. Muir's 
attention no later than January 14, 2009, 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 
RBS3 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, 
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 23, 2009. 
Electronic comments may be sent via e-mail to the NRC at 
[email protected]. Electronic submissions must be sent no later than 
March 6, 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. Notice of a hearing and opportunity to request leave to 
intervene in the proceeding on the application for 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. Andrew Kugler at 301-415-2828 or via 
e-mail at [email protected], or Ms. Jessie M. Muir at 301-415-0491 
or via e-mail at [email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 24th day of December 2008.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Scott C. Flanders,
Director, Division of Site and Environmental Reviews, Office of New 
Reactors.
[FR Doc. E8-31276 Filed 1-2-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P