[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 141 (Friday, July 24, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36781-36782]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-17687]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2009-0157]


Extension of Public Scoping Period for the Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Proposed General Electric--Hitachi Global Laser 
Enrichment Facility

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Extension of Public Comment Period.

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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is extending the 
public comment period on the scope of the Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the proposed General Electric--Hitachi (GEH) Global 
Laser Enrichment (GLE) facility in New Hanover County, North Carolina, 
to August 31, 2009. The original Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS, 
which was published in the Federal Register on April 9, 2009 (74 FR 
16237), indicated public comments should be submitted by June 8, 2009.
    On June 26, 2009, GEH submitted additional information to complete 
an application for a license to authorize the construction and 
operation of the proposed uranium enrichment facility. The public 
comment period on the scope of the EIS is being extended to allow 
members of the public to review publicly-available portions of the 
license application during the scoping period for the EIS. Members of 
the public are invited and encouraged to submit comments regarding the 
appropriate scope and content of the EIS.

DATES: NRC is extending the public comment period on the scope of the 
EIS to August 31, 2009. Comments should be postmarked by that date to 
ensure consideration. Comments mailed after that date will be 
considered to the extent practical.

[[Page 36782]]


ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent electronically to [email protected]. 
Comments also may be sent to the Chief, Rulemaking and Directives 
Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Mail Stop TWB 5B01M, 
Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001. Please note Docket No. 70-7016 when 
submitting comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general or technical information 
associated with the licensing review of the GLE application, please 
contact Tim Johnson at (301) 492-3121 or [email protected]. For 
general information on the NRC environmental review process or the 
environmental review related to the GLE application, please contact 
Christianne Ridge at (301) 415-5673 or [email protected].
    Information and documents associated with the proposed GLE 
facility, including the Environmental Report (ER) submitted by GEH on 
January 30, 2009, are available for public review through NRC's 
electronic reading room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. 
Members of the public may access the applicant's ER in NRC's Agencywide 
Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) at accession number 
ML090910573 or on NRC's materials environmental reviews Webpage at 
http://www.nrc.gov/materials/active-nepa-reviews.html.
    A copy of the applicant's ER is available for public inspection at 
the New Hanover County Library, located at 201 Chestnut Street, 
Wilmington, North Carolina 28401. Documents also may be obtained from 
NRC's Public Document Room at U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
Headquarters, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 30, 2009, GEH submitted an ER 
that addresses the impacts of constructing, operating, and 
decommissioning a laser-based uranium enrichment facility. GEH proposes 
to locate the facility on the existing General Electric Company (GE)/
Global Nuclear Fuel-Americas (GNF-A) site near Wilmington, in New 
Hanover County, North Carolina. The NRC, in accordance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), and NRC 
regulations at 10 CFR Part 51, will prepare an EIS evaluating this 
proposed action.
    On June 26, 2009, GEH completed the license application by 
submitting additional information related to facility safety and 
security in accordance with the Atomic Energy Act. NRC will conduct a 
30-day acceptance review to determine whether it will accept the 
application for detailed review. If NRC accepts the application, 
publicly-available portions of the license application will be made 
available in ADAMS. In addition, the project Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/materials/fuel-cycle-fac/laser.html will indicate how to 
access publicly-available portions of the applicant's license 
application. Portions of the license application that contain 
proprietary, classified, security-related or export-controlled 
information will be withheld from public availability. The public 
comment period on the scope of the EIS is being extended to allow 
members of the public to review publicly-available portions of the 
license application during the scoping period.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17th day of July 2009.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Patrice M. Bubar,
Director, Environmental Protection and Performance Assessment 
Directorate, Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection, 
Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management 
Programs.
[FR Doc. E9-17687 Filed 7-23-09; 8:45 am]
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