[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.

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    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