[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 55 (Tuesday, March 24, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12399-12401]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-6413]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-331; NRC-2008-0618]
FPL Energy Duane Arnold, LLC; Duane Arnold Energy Center; Notice
of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct
Scoping Process
FPL Energy Duane Arnold, LLC has submitted an application for
renewal of Facility Operating License No. DPR-49 for an additional 20
years of operation at Duane Arnold Energy Center (DAEC). DAEC is
located near Cedar Rapids, IA. The operating license for DAEC expires
on February 21, 2014. The application for renewal, dated September 30,
2008, was submitted pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR) Part 54. A notice of receipt and availability of
the application, which included 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 renewal of
the facility operating license was also published in the Federal
Register on February 17, 2009 (74 FR 7489). 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) related
to the license renewal 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,
``Coordination with the National Environmental Policy Act,'' the NRC
plans to coordinate compliance with Section 106 of the National
Historic Preservation Act in meeting the requirements of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).
In accordance with 10 CFR 51.53(c) and 10 CFR 54.23, FPL Energy
Duane Arnold, LLC submitted the ER as part of the application. The ER
was prepared pursuant to 10 CFR Part 51 and is publicly available at
the NRC Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North,
11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, or from the NRC's
Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). The ADAMS
Public Electronic Reading Room is accessible at http://adamswebsearch.nrc.gov/dologin.htm. The Accession Number for the ER is
ML082980483. 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 by telephone at 1-800-397-4209, or 301-
415-4737, or by e-mail at [email protected]. The ER may also be
viewed on the Internet at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/duane-arnold-energy-center.html. In
addition, the ER is available for public inspection near DAEC at the
following public library: Hiawatha Public Library, 150 West Willman
Street, Hiawatha, Iowa.
This notice advises the public that the NRC intends to gather the
information necessary to prepare a plant-specific supplement to the
Commission's ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for
License Renewal of Nuclear Plants'' (NUREG-1437), related to the review
of the application for renewal of the DAEC operating license for an
additional 20 years. Possible alternatives to the proposed action
(license renewal) include no action and reasonable alternative energy
sources. The NRC is required by 10 CFR 51.95 to prepare a supplement to
the GEIS in connection with the renewal of an operating license. This
notice is being published in accordance with NEPA and the NRC's
regulations found in 10 CFR Part 51.
[[Page 12400]]
The NRC will first conduct a scoping process for the supplement to
the GEIS and, as soon as practicable thereafter, will prepare a draft
supplement to the GEIS for public comment. Participation in the scoping
process by members of the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal
Government agencies is encouraged. The scoping process for the
supplement to the GEIS will be used to accomplish the following:
a. Define the proposed action which is to be the subject of the
supplement to the GEIS.
b. Determine the scope of the supplement to the GEIS 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 ElSs that are
being or will be prepared that are related to, but are not part of, the
scope of the supplement to the GEIS being considered.
e. Identify other environmental review and consultation
requirements related to the proposed action.
f. Indicate the relationship between the timing of the preparation
of the environmental analyses and the Commission's tentative planning
and decision-making schedule.
g. Identify any cooperating agencies and, as appropriate, allocate
assignments for preparation and schedules for completing the supplement
to the GEIS to the NRC and any cooperating agencies.
h. Describe how the supplement to the GEIS will be prepared, and
include any contractor assistance to be used.
The NRC invites the following entities to participate in scoping:
a. The applicant, FPL Energy Duane Arnold, 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.
f. Any person who has petitioned or 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 has decided to hold public meetings for
the DAEC license renewal supplement to the GEIS. The scoping meetings
will be held at the Hiawatha City Hall, 101 Emmons St., Hiawatha Iowa
52233. There will be two sessions to accommodate interested parties,
which will be held on April 22, 2009. The first session will convene at
1:30 p.m. and will continue until 4:30 p.m., as necessary. The second
session will convene at 7 p.m. with a repeat of the overview portions
of the meeting and will continue until 10 p.m., as necessary. Both
meetings will be transcribed and will include: (1) An overview by the
NRC staff of the NEPA environmental review process, the proposed scope
of the supplement to the GEIS, 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 supplement to the GEIS.
Additionally, the NRC staff will host informal discussions one hour
prior to the start of each session at the same location. No formal
comments on the proposed scope of the supplement to the GEIS will be
accepted during the informal discussions. To be considered, comments
must be provided either at the transcribed public meetings or in
writing, as discussed below. Persons may register to attend or present
oral comments at the meetings on the scope of the NEPA review by
contacting the NRC Environmental Project Manager, Mr. Charles H.
Eccleston, by telephone at 1-800-368-5642, extension 8537, or by e-mail
to the NRC at [email protected] no later than April 15, 2009.
Members of the public may also register to speak at the meeting within
15 minutes of the start of each 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 supplement to the GEIS. Mr.
Eccleston will need to be contacted no later than April 15, 2009, if
special equipment or accommodations are needed to attend or present
information at the public meeting, so that the NRC staff can determine
whether the request can be accommodated.
Members of the public may send written comments on the
environmental scope of the DAEC license renewal review to: 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.
Comments may also be delivered to the NRC, Room T-6D59, Two White Flint
North, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, from 7:30 a.m.
to 4:15 p.m. during Federal workdays. To be considered in the scoping
process, written comments should be postmarked by May 25, 2009.
Electronic comments may be sent by e-mail to the NRC at
[email protected], and should be sent no later than May 25, 2009,
to be considered in the scoping process. Address questions about NRC
dockets to Carol Gallagher 301-492-3668; e-mail
[email protected]. Comments will be available electronically and
accessible through ADAMS at http://adamswebsearch.nrc.gov/dologin.htm.
Participation in the scoping process for the supplement to the GEIS
does not entitle participants to become parties to the proceeding to
which the supplement to the GEIS relates. Notice of opportunity for a
hearing regarding the renewal application is included in the Federal
Register dated February 17, 2009 (74 FR 7489). Matters related to
participation in any hearing are outside the scope of matters to be
discussed at this public meeting.
At the conclusion of the scoping process, the NRC will prepare a
concise summary of the determination and conclusions reached including
the significant issues identified, and will send a copy of the summary
to each participant in the scoping process. The summary will also be
available for inspection in ADAMS at http://adamswebsearch.nrc.gov/dologin.htm. The staff will then prepare and issue for comment the
draft supplement to the GEIS, which will be the subject of separate
notices and separate public meetings. Copies will be available for
public inspection at the above-mentioned addresses, and one copy per
request will be provided free of charge. After receipt and
consideration of the comments, the NRC will prepare a final supplement
to the GEIS, which will also be available for public inspection.
Information about the proposed action, the supplement to the GEIS,
and the scoping process may be obtained from Mr. Eccleston at the
aforementioned telephone number or e-mail address.
[[Page 12401]]
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 13th day of March, 2009.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
David L. Pelton,
Branch Chief, Project Branch 1, Division of License Renewal, Office of
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E9-6413 Filed 3-23-09; 8:45 am]
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