[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]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P