[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 72 (Friday, April 13, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22361-22362]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-8809]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2010-0029; Docket No. 50-397]
Energy Northwest, Columbia Generating Station; Final Supplement
47 to the Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of
Nuclear Plants
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Final Supplement 47 to the Generic Environmental Impact
Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants; issuance.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC or the Commission) has published the final plant-
specific supplement 47 to the ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement
for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants (GEIS),'' NUREG-1437, regarding
the renewal of operating license NPF-21 for an additional 20 years of
operation for the Columbia Generating Station (CGS). The CGS site is
located approximately 12 miles north of Richland, WA. Possible
alternatives to the proposed action (license renewal) include no action
and reasonable alternative energy sources.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2010-0029 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You
may access information related to this document using the following
methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2010-0029. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-492-
3668; email: [email protected].
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may access publicly available documents online in the NRC
Library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the
search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and then select ``Begin Web-
based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's
Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-
4737, or by email to [email protected]. The
[[Page 22362]]
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced in this notice (if
that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a
document is referenced. Additional information regarding accessing
materials related to this action is under the Document Availability
heading in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about the Final SEIS
or the environmental review process, please contact Paula Cooper,
telephone: 301-415-2323; email: [email protected]. Projects Branch
2, Division of License Renewal, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Discussion
The NRC received an application, dated January 19, 2010, from
Energy Northwest (EN), filed pursuant to Section 103 of the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and Title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations Part 54 (10 CFR part 54), to renew the operating license
for CGS. Renewal of the license would authorize the applicant to
operate the facility for an additional 20-year period beyond the period
specified in the current operating license. The current operating
license for CGS (NPF-21), expires on December 20, 2023.
The final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) is
being issued as part of the NRC's process to decide whether to issue a
renewed license to CGS, pursuant to 10 CFR part 54. The final SEIS was
prepared in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the NRC's regulations for implementing
NEPA in 10 CFR part 51. In the final SEIS, the NRC staff assessed the
potential environmental impacts from the operation, refurbishment, and
decommissioning of the proposed CGS project. The NRC staff assessed the
impacts of the proposed action on land use, historic and cultural
resources, air quality, geology and soils, water resources, ecological
resources, transportation, public and occupational health, waste
management, socioeconomics, and environmental justice. In preparing
this final SEIS, the NRC staff also reviewed, considered, evaluated,
and addressed the public comments received during the scoping process
and on the draft SEIS.
In addition to the proposed action, the NRC staff considered a
reasonable range of alternatives, including the no-action alternative.
Under the no-action alternative, the NRC would deny EN's request for a
renewed operating license for the CGS site. The no-action alternative
serves as a baseline for comparison of the potential environmental
impacts of the proposed action. Other alternatives the NRC staff
considered include: (1) Natural gas-fired combined cycle (NGCC); (2)
new nuclear; (3) combination alternative (NGCC, hydroelectric, wind,
and conservation and efficiency); (4) Offsite new nuclear and NGCC; (5)
coal-fired power; (6) energy conservation and energy efficiency; (7)
purchased power; (8) solar power; (9) wind power; (10) biomass waste;
(11) hydroelectric power; (12) ocean wave and current energy; (13)
geothermal power; (14) municipal solid waste; (15) biofuels; (16) oil-
fired power; (17) fuel cells; and (18) delayed retirement. These
alternatives, except for the NGCC, new nuclear, and combination
alternative, were eliminated from further analysis because they do not
meet future system needs and do not have costs or benefits that justify
inclusion in the range of reasonable alternatives.
As discussed in Section 9.4 of the final supplement, the staff
determined that the adverse environmental impacts of license renewal
for CGS are not great enough to deny the option of license renewal for
energy planning decision-makers. This recommendation is based on: (1)
The analysis and findings in the GEIS; (2) information provided in the
environmental report and other documents submitted by EN; (3)
consultation with Federal, State, local, and tribal government
agencies; (4) the staff's own independent environmental review; and (5)
consideration of public comments received during the scoping process
and on the draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement.
Document Availability
Documents related to this notice are available on the NRC's plant
application for license renewal Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/columbia.html. The
final SEIS for the proposed CGS project may also be accessed on the
Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1437/ by selecting ``Supplement-47.''
The CGS's license application, the CGS's Environmental Report, and
Volumes 1 and 2 of the NRC's final SEIS are available in ADAMS under
Accession Numbers ML100250668, ML100250666, ML12096A334, and
ML12096A336, respectively.
A copy of the final SEIS will be available at the Richland Public
Library, 955 Northgate Drive, Richland, Washington 99352, and at the
Kennewick Branch of Mid-Columbia Libraries, 1620 South Union Street,
Kennewick, Washington 99338.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 6th day of April, 2012.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Dennis Morey,
Chief, Reactor Projects Branch 1, Division of License Renewal, Office
of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2012-8809 Filed 4-12-12; 8:45 am]
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