[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 2 (Monday, January 5, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 323-324]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-31280]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 52-027 and 52-028]


South Carolina Electric and Gas Company Acting for Itself and as 
Agent for the South Carolina Public Service Company (Also Referred to 
as Santee Cooper) Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station Units 2 and 3; 
Combined License Application; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping Process

    South Carolina Electric and Gas Company (SCE&G) acting for itself 
and as an agent for South Carolina Public Service Company (also 
referred to as Santee Cooper) has submitted an application for combined 
licenses (COLs) to build Units 2 and 3 at its Virgil C. Summer Nuclear 
Station (VCSNS) site, located on approximately 3,600 acres in Fairfield 
County, South Carolina, on the Broad River, approximately 15 miles west 
of the county seat of Winnsboro and 26 miles northwest of Columbia, 
South Carolina. SCE&G submitted the application for the COLs to the 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by letter dated March 27, 
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 July 9, 2008 (73 FR 39339). A notice of acceptance for 
docketing of the application for the COLs was published in the Federal 
Register on August 6, 2008 (73 FR 45792). A notice of hearing and 
opportunity to petition for leave to intervene in the proceeding on the 
application was published in the Federal Register on October 10, 2008 
(73 FR 60362). 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 on 36 CFR 800.3 through 800.6.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 51.45 and 51.50, SCE&G 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 (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 
ML081300569. 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/summer.html. In addition, 
the Fairfield County Library, 300 Washington Street, Winnsboro, South 
Carolina 29180 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:
    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 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 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 the COLs at the VCSNS site. Possible alternatives to 
the proposed action (issuance of the COLs for the VCSNS Units 2 and 3) 
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;

[[Page 324]]

    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, South Carolina Electric & Gas;
    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 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 staff has elected to hold two identical 
public scoping meetings for the EIS regarding the SCE&G COL 
application. The first meeting will be held at the Fairfield Central 
High School, 836 U.S. Highway 321 Bypass S, Winnsboro, SC 29180 on 
Tuesday, January 27, 2009 at 7 p.m., and will continue until 
approximately 10 p.m. The second meeting will be held at the McCrorey-
Liston Elementary School, 1978 State Highway 215 South, Blair, SC 29015 
on Wednesday, January 28, 2009 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 
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 Ms. Patricia Vokoun or Mr. Mark 
Notich at 1-800-368-5642, extension 3470 or 3053, respectively. In 
addition, persons can register via e-mail to the NRC at 
[email protected] no later than January 20, 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 Ms. Vokoun's attention no 
later than January 13, 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 
VCSNS COLs 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. 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 ensure that comments will be 
considered in the scoping process, written comments must be postmarked 
or delivered by March 6, 2009. Electronic comments may be sent by e-
mail to the NRC at [email protected]. Electronic submissions must 
be sent no later than March 6, 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 ERR 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. The notice of hearing and opportunity to petition for leave to 
intervene in the proceeding on the application for the COLs was 
published in the Federal Register on October 10, 2008.
    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, will make this summary publicly available and will 
send the 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 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 Ms. Patricia Vokoun or Mr. Mark Notich at 
1-800-368-5642, extensions 3470 or 3053, respectively; at the U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, mailstop T-6D32 or T-7E30, Washington, 
DC 20555-0001; or via e-mail at [email protected] or 
[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. E8-31280 Filed 1-2-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P