[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 211 (Tuesday, November 2, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67406-67408]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-27631]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 52-042; NRC-2010-0165]


Exelon Nuclear Texas Holdings, LLC; Victoria County Station Early 
Site Permit Application; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental 
Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping Process

    Exelon Nuclear Texas Holdings, LLC (Exelon) has submitted an 
application for an early site permit (ESP) for Victoria County Station 
(VCS) site, located approximately 13.3 miles south of the city of 
Victoria, Texas. The application for the ESP was submitted by Exelon by 
letter dated March 25, 2010, pursuant to title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), parts 51 and 52.
    A notice of receipt and availability of the application, including 
the environmental report (ER), was published in the Federal Register on 
Wednesday, April 28, 2010 (75 FR 22434). A notice of acceptance for 
docketing of the application for the ESP was published in the Federal 
Register on June 14, 2010 (75 FR 33653). A notice of hearing and 
opportunity to petition for leave to intervene in the proceeding of the 
application will be published at a later date.
    The purposes of this notice are: (1) To inform the public that the 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff will be preparing an 
environmental impact statement (EIS) as part of the review of the 
application for the ESP and (2) to provide the public with an 
opportunity to participate in the environmental scoping process as 
defined in 10 CFR 51.29. The NRC has invited the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers, Galveston District, to participate in the preparation of the 
EIS as a cooperating agency.
    In addition, as outlined in 36 CFR 800.8(c), ``Coordination with 
the National Environmental Policy Act,'' 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 
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA). 
Pursuant to 36 CFR 800.8(c), the NRC staff intends to use the process 
and documentation for the preparation of the EIS 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 51.50, Exelon submitted the ER 
as part of the ESP 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 20852 or from the 
Publicly Available Records (PAR) component of 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 environmental report is ML101120186. 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 1-800-397-4209/301-415-4737 or via e-mail to [email protected]. 
The application may also be viewed on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/esp/victoria.html. In addition, the 
Victoria Public Library located at 302 North Main Street in Victoria, 
Texas, has agreed to maintain a copy of the ER and make it available 
for public inspection.
    The following key reference documents related to the application 
and the NRC staff's review processes 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 Function;
    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. Regulatory Guide 4.2, Preparation of Environmental Reports for 
Nuclear Power Stations;
    g. Regulatory Guide 4.7, General Site Suitability Criteria for 
Nuclear Power Stations;
    h. Fact Sheet on Nuclear Power Plant Licensing Process;
    i. Regulatory Guide 1.206, Combined License Applications for 
Nuclear Power Plants; and
    j. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Policy Statement on the Treatment 
of

[[Page 67407]]

Environmental Justice Matters in NRC Regulatory and Licensing Actions.
    The regulations, NUREG-series documents, regulatory guides, and the 
fact sheet can be found under Document Collections in the Electronic 
Reading Room on the NRC webpage. The environmental justice policy 
statement can be found in the Federal Register, 69 FR 52040, August 24, 
2004.
    This notice advises the public that the NRC intends to gather the 
information necessary to prepare an EIS as part of the review of the 
application for the ESP at the VCS site. Possible alternatives to the 
proposed action (issuance of the ESP) include no action and alternate 
sites. As set forth in 10 CFR 51.20(b)(1), issuance of an ESP under 10 
CFR part 52 is an action that requires an EIS. This notice is being 
published in accordance with NEPA and the NRC's regulations in 10 CFR 
part 51.
    The NRC will first conduct a scoping process for the EIS and, as 
soon as practicable thereafter, will prepare a draft EIS for public 
comment. Participation in this scoping process by members of the public 
and local, State, Tribal, and Federal Government agencies is 
encouraged. The scoping process for the draft EIS will be used to 
accomplish the following:
    a. Define the proposed action that is to be the subject of the EIS;
    b. Determine the scope of the EIS 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 EISs that are 
being or will be prepared that are related to but are not part of the 
scope of the EIS being considered;
    e. Identify other environmental review and consultation 
requirements related to the proposed action;
    f. Identify parties consulting with the NRC under the NHPA, as set 
forth in 36 CFR 800.8(c)(1)(i);
    g. Indicate the relationship between the timing of the preparation 
of the environmental analyses and the Commission's tentative planning 
and decision-making schedule;
    h. Identify any cooperating agencies and, as appropriate, allocate 
assignments for preparation and schedules for completing the EIS to the 
NRC and any cooperating agencies; and
    i. Describe how the EIS will be prepared, including any contractor 
assistance to be used. The NRC invites the following persons or 
entities to participate in the scoping process:
    a. The applicant, Exelon;
    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 Native American;
    e. Any person who requests or has requested an opportunity to 
participate in the scoping process; and
    f. Any person who intends to petition for leave to intervene in the 
proceeding, or who has submitted such a petition, or who is admitted as 
a party.
    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 staff will hold two public scoping 
meetings for the EIS regarding the ESP application. Both scoping 
meetings will be held at the Victoria Community Center Dome located at 
2905 E. North Street, Victoria, Texas 77901, on Thursday, December 2, 
2010. The first meeting will convene at 1 p.m. and will continue until 
approximately 4 p.m., and the second meeting will convene at 7 p.m. and 
will continue until approximately 10 p.m. Both meetings will be 
transcribed and will include the following: (1) An overview by the NRC 
staff of the NEPA environmental review process, the proposed scope of 
the EIS, 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 EIS. Additionally, the NRC staff will host 
informal discussions for one hour prior to the start of each public 
meeting. No formal comments on the proposed scope of the EIS will be 
accepted during the informal discussions. To be considered, comments 
must be provided either at the transcribed public meeting or in 
writing, as discussed below. Persons may register to attend or present 
oral comments on the scope of the EIS by contacting Ms. Tomeka L. Terry 
or Ms. Alicia Williamson by telephone at 1-800-368-5642, extension 1488 
or 1878, respectively. In addition, persons can register via e-mail to 
the NRC at [email protected] no later than November 29, 2010.
    Members of the public may also register to speak at the meetings 
prior to 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 EIS. If special equipment or 
accommodations are needed to attend or present information at either 
public meeting, such requests should be brought to Ms. Terry's or Ms. 
Williamson's attention no later than November 29, 2010, so that the NRC 
staff can make arrangements to accommodate the request.
    Members of the public may send written comments on the scope of the 
VCS ESP environmental review to the Chief, Rules, Announcements, and 
Directives 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. To ensure that 
comments will be considered in the scoping process, written comments 
must be postmarked by January 3, 2011. Electronic comments may be sent 
by e-mail to the NRC at [email protected]. Electronic submissions 
must be sent no later than January 3, 2011. Comments will be made 
available electronically and will be accessible through the NRC's 
Electronic Reading Room link at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. The NRC staff may, at its discretion, consider comments 
received after the end of the comment period.
    Participation in the scoping process for the EIS does not entitle 
participants to become parties to the proceeding to which the EIS 
relates. A notice of hearing and opportunity to petition for leave to 
intervene in the proceeding on the application for the ESP will be 
published in a future Federal Register notice.
    At the conclusion of the scoping process, the NRC staff will 
prepare a concise summary of the determinations and conclusions reached 
on the scope of the environmental review including the significant 
issues identified, and will send this summary to each participant in 
the scoping process for whom the staff has an address. The staff will 
then prepare and issue for comment the draft EIS, which will be the 
subject of a separate Federal Register notice and a separate public 
meeting. Copies of the draft EIS will be available for public 
inspection at the PDR through the above-mentioned address and one copy 
per request will be provided free of charge. After receipt and 
consideration

[[Page 67408]]

of comments on the draft EIS, the NRC will prepare a final EIS, which 
will also be available to the public.
    Information about the proposed action, the EIS, and the scoping 
process may be obtained from Ms. Tomeka L. Terry or Ms. Alicia 
Williamson at U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mailstop T-7E30, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, by phone at 1-800-368-5642, extension 1488 
or 1878, respectively, or via e-mail at [email protected] or 
[email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th day of October 2010.

    For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Scott C. Flanders,
Director, Division of Site and Environmental Reviews, Office of New 
Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2010-27631 Filed 11-1-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P