[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 64 (Monday, April 6, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15523-15525]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-7653]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-302; NRC-2009-0039]
Crystal River Unit 3 Nuclear Generating Plant; Notice of Intent
To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping
Process
Florida Power Corporation (FPC) has submitted an application for
renewal of Facility Operating License No. DPR-72 for an additional 20
years of operation at the Crystal River Unit 3 Nuclear Generating Plant
(CR-3). CR-3 is located approximately 35 miles southwest of Ocala,
Florida.
[[Page 15524]]
The operating license for CR-3 expires on December 3, 2016. The
application for renewal, dated December 16, 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 February 4, 2009 (74 FR 6060). A notice of acceptance for
docketing of the application for renewal of the facility operating
license was published in the Federal Register on March 9, 2009. 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 review of the license renewal
application and to provide the public 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, FPC 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 ML090080053. 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/crystal-river.html. In addition, the ER is available for public
inspection near the CR-3 at the public library: Coastal Region Library,
8619 W. Crystal St., Crystal River, FL 34428-4468.
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 CR-3 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.
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 are 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, Florida Power Corporation.
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 CR-3 license renewal supplement to the GEIS. The scoping meetings
will be held at the Plantation Inn, 9301 W Fort Island Trail, Crystal
River, FL 34429, on April 16, 2009. There will be two sessions to
accommodate interested parties. The first session will convene at 2
p.m. and will continue until 5 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 Project Manager, Elaine Keegan, by telephone at 1-
800-368-5642, extension 8517 or by e-mail at [email protected] no
later than April 9, 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. Elaine Keegan will need to
[[Page 15525]]
be contacted no later than April 9, 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 CR-3 license renewal review to: Chief,
Rulemaking and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services,
Office of Administration, Mailstop TWB 5B-01M, 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 should be postmarked by May
15, 2009. Electronic comments may be sent by e-mail to the NRC at
[email protected], and should be sent no later than May 15, 2009,
to be considered in the scoping process. 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 also included in this
Federal Register. 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 Elaine Keegan at the
aforementioned telephone number or e-mail address.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 31st day of March, 2009.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
David J. Wrona,
Chief, Projects Branch 2, Division of License Renewal, Office of
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E9-7653 Filed 4-3-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P