[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 186 (Monday, September 28, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49407-49408]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-23318]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 52-025 and 52-026; NRC-2008-0252]


Southern Nuclear Operating Company Vogtle Electric Generating 
Plant, Units 3 and 4 Combined License Application; Notice of Intent To 
Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement

    Southern Nuclear Operating Company (Southern) has submitted an 
application for a combined license (COL) for its Vogtle Electric 
Generating Plant site to build Units 3 and 4, located in Burke County, 
Georgia, approximately 26 miles southeast of Augusta. The application 
for the COL was submitted by letter dated March 31, 2008, pursuant to 
the requirements of Title 10, part 52. A notice of receipt and 
availability of the application, which included the environmental 
report (ER), was published in the Federal Register on May 5, 2008 (73 
FR 24616). A notice of acceptance for docketing of the application for 
the COL was published in the Federal Register on June 11, 2008 (73 FR 
33118).
    On August 26, 2009, the NRC authorized the Vogtle Electric 
Generating Plant Early Site Permit (ESP) and Limited Work 
Authorization. An ESP is a Commission approval of a site as suitable 
for construction and operation of one or more new nuclear units. The 
NRC intends to prepare a supplement to the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement (FEIS) for the Early Site Permit (ESP) at the Vogtle Electric 
Generating Plant, NUREG-1872, as required by 10 CFR 51.92 for a COL 
referencing an ESP. The supplemental environmental impact statement 
(SEIS) for the COL will be prepared in the same manner as the FEIS for 
the ESP except that the NRC staff will not conduct a formal scoping 
process. This notice advises the public that the SEIS will, however, 
analyze any new and potentially significant information since the ESP 
FEIS was published on August 21, 2008, in the Federal Register. This 
notice is being published in accordance with the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) and NRC regulations found in 10 CFR part 51.

[[Page 49408]]

    In addition, as outlined in 36 CFR 800.8(c), ``Use of the NEPA 
process for section 106 purposes,'' the NRC staff plans to coordinate 
compliance with section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act 
(NHPA) with steps taken to meet the requirements of NEPA. Pursuant to 
36 CFR 800.8(c), the NRC staff intends to use the process and 
documentation for the preparation of the SEIS on the proposed action to 
comply with section 106 of the NHPA in lieu of the procedures set forth 
in 36 CFR 800.3 through 800.6.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 51.45 and 10 CFR 51.50, Southern 
submitted the ER as part of the application. The ER was prepared 
pursuant to 10 CFR Parts 51 and 52 and is available for public 
inspection at the NRC Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White 
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland, 
or from the Publicly Available Records component of the NRC's 
Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is 
accessible at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html, which provides 
access through the NRC's Electronic Reading Room (ERR) link. The 
accession number in ADAMS for the ER is ML081050181. 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 
at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by sending an e-mail to 
[email protected].
    The staff will prepare and issue for comment the draft SEIS, which 
will be the subject of separate notices and a separate public meeting. 
A copy of the draft SEIS will be available for public inspection at the 
above-mentioned address. The application may also be viewed on the 
Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-licensing/col/vogtle.html.
    In addition, the Burke County Library in Waynesboro, Georgia has 
agreed to make the ER available for public inspection.
    The following key reference documents related to the COL 
application and the NRC staff's review process are available through 
the NRC's Web site at http://www.nrc.gov:
    a. 10 CFR part 51, Environmental Protection Regulations for 
Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions;
    b. 10 CFR part 52, Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for 
Nuclear Power Plants;
    c. 10 CFR part 100, Reactor Site Criteria;
    d. NUREG-1555, Standard Review Plans for Environmental Reviews for 
Nuclear Power Plants;
    e. NUREG/BR-0298, Brochure on Nuclear Power Plant Licensing 
Process;
    f. Fact Sheet on Nuclear Power Plant Licensing Process;
    g. Regulatory Guide 4.2, Preparation of Environmental Reports for 
Nuclear Power Stations;
    h. Regulatory Guide 1.206, Combined License Applications for 
Nuclear Power Plants.
    The regulations, NUREG-series documents, regulatory guides, and 
fact sheets can be found under Document Collections in the Electronic 
Reading Room on the NRC Web page. After receipt and consideration of 
the comments on the DSEIS for the COL, the NRC staff will prepare a 
final SEIS, which will also be available for public inspection.
    Information about the proposed SEIS may be obtained from Ms. 
Mallecia Hood, Environmental Project Manager, 301-415-0673.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 18th day of September 2009.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Nilesh Chokshi,
Deputy Director, Division of Site and Environmental Reviews, Office of 
New Reactors.
[FR Doc. E9-23318 Filed 9-25-09; 8:45 am]
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