[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 116 (Friday, June 15, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36012-36014]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-14759]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 52-039; NRC-2008-0603]


PPL Bell Bend, LLC; Bell Bend Nuclear Power Plant Combined 
License Application; Notice of Intent To Conduct a Supplemental Scoping 
Process on the Revised Site Layout

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Solicitation of public comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) 
is seeking public comment for the supplemental scoping process for the 
Bell Bend combined license (COL) application review.

DATES: Please submit any comments by July 16, 2012.

ADDRESSES: You may access information and comment submissions related 
to this document, which the NRC possesses and are publically available, 
by searching on http://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2008-
0603. You may submit comments by the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2008-0603. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-492-
3668; email: [email protected].
     Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Chief, Rules, 
Announcements, and Directives Branch (RADB), Office of

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Administration, Mail Stop: TWB-05-B01M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
     Fax comments to: RADB at 301-492-3446.
    For additional direction on accessing information and submitting 
comments, see ``Accessing Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
     Email Comments to: [email protected].
    To ensure that comments will be considered in the supplemental 
scoping process, written comments must be postmarked by July 16, 2012. 
Electronic comments must be submitted no later than July 16, 2012 to 
ensure that they will be considered in the supplemental scoping 
process. The NRC staff may, at its discretion, consider comments 
received after the end of the comment period. Participation in the 
supplemental scoping process for the EIS does not entitle participants 
to become parties to the proceeding to which this EIS relates.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mrs. Laura Quinn-Willingham, 
Environmental Projects Branch 2, Division of New Reactor Licensing, 
Office of New Reactors, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-2220; email: [email protected]. In her absence, please contact Mr. John Fringer at 
301-415-6208 or via email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Accessing Information and Submitting Comments

A. Accessing Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2008-0603 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may 
access information related to this document by the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2008-0603.
     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 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. The revised ER is available in ADAMS under Accession Number 
ML12145A242. The revised ER may also be viewed on the Internet at 
http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/bell-bend/documents.html#application. In addition, the Mill Memorial Public 
Library, 495 E Main Street, Nanticoke, PA 18634, and the McBride 
Memorial Library, 500 N Market Street, Berwick, PA 18603, have agreed 
to make the revised ER available for public inspection.
     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.

B. Submitting Comments

    Please include Docket ID NRC-2008-0603 in the subject line of your 
comment submission, in order to ensure that the NRC is able to make 
your comment submission available to the public in this docket.
    The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact 
information in comment submissions that you do not want to be publicly 
disclosed. The NRC posts all comment submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as entering the comment submissions into 
ADAMS, and the NRC does not edit comment submissions to remove 
identifying or contact information.
    If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons 
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to 
include identifying or contact information in their comment submissions 
that they do not want to be publicly disclosed. Your request should 
state that the NRC will not edit comment submissions to remove such 
information before making the comment submissions available to the 
public or entering the comment submissions into ADAMS.

II. Background

    PPL Bell Bend, LLC (PPL) has submitted an application for a COL to 
build and operate a new unit at its Bell Bend Nuclear Power Plant 
(BBNPP) site, located west of the existing Susquehanna Steam Electric 
Station site on approximately 975 acres in Luzerne County, on the 
Susquehanna River, approximately 5 miles northeast of Berwick, 
Pennsylvania. PPL submitted the application for the COL to the NRC by 
letter dated October 10, 2008, pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 52. A notice of intent to prepare an 
environmental impact statement (EIS) and conduct scoping was published 
in the Federal Register on January 6, 2009 (74 FR 470). On March 30, 
2012, PPL submitted a revised Environmental Report (ER) (Part 3 of the 
COL application), in accordance with 10 CFR 51.45 and 51.50, to provide 
detailed information regarding the revised site layout that was 
developed in order to avoid wetland impacts by relocating the power 
block footprint and other plant components.
    For purposes of developing the EIS the NRC is the lead agency and 
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Baltimore District, is a 
cooperating agency, as described in the Memorandum of Understanding 
established by the NRC and the USACE (73 FR 55546; September 12, 2008).

III. Discussion

    The purpose of this notice is to inform the public that the NRC and 
the USACE are providing the public a supplemental opportunity to 
participate in the environmental scoping process, as described in 10 
CFR 51.29. The supplemental scoping opportunity affords the public an 
occasion to provide comments concerning the new information related to 
the revised site layout, which were not available during the initial 
scoping review. The supplemental scoping process will have a 30-day 
comment period that begins with the publication of this Federal 
Register notice.
    This notice advises the public that the NRC and USACE intend to 
gather information, pertaining to the revised site layout, to prepare 
an EIS as part of the review of the Bell Bend COL application. Possible 
alternatives to the proposed action (issuance of the COL for the BBNPP) 
include no action, reasonable alternative energy sources, and alternate 
sites. As set forth in 10 CFR 51.20(b)(2), issuance of a COL under 10 
CFR part 52 is an action that requires an EIS. This notice is being 
published in accordance with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 
and the NRC's regulations in 10 CFR part 51.
    The NRC and USACE will first conduct a supplemental scoping process 
on the revised ER, and, as soon as practicable thereafter, will prepare 
a draft EIS for public comment. Participation in this supplemental 
scoping process by members of the public and local, State, Tribal, and 
Federal government agencies is encouraged. The supplemental scoping 
opportunity will be used to accomplish the following:

[[Page 36014]]

    a. Determine how the new information on the revised site layout 
impacts the scope of the EIS and identify the significant issues 
regarding the revised site layout to be analyzed in depth;
    b. Identify and eliminate from detailed study those issues that are 
peripheral or that are not significant as they pertain to the revised 
site layout;
    c. Identify any environmental assessments and other EISs that are 
being or will be prepared that are related to the new information on 
the revised site layout;
    d. Identify other environmental review and consultation 
requirements related to the revised site layout;
    e. Identify parties consulting with the NRC under the National 
Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, as set forth in 36 CFR 
800.8(c)(1)(i);
    f. Identify any additional cooperating agencies and, as 
appropriate, allocate assignments for preparation and schedules for 
completing the EIS to the NRC, USACE, and any other cooperating 
agencies; and
    g. Identify how the EIS preparation will include the revised site 
layout, including any other contractor assistance to be used.
    The NRC invites the following entities to participate in the 
supplemental scoping process:
    a. The applicant, PPL;
    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; and
    f. Any person who intends to petition for late leave to intervene 
in the proceeding, or who has submitted such a petition, or who is 
admitted as a party.
    At the conclusion of the supplemental scoping process, the NRC 
staff will prepare a concise summary of the determination and 
conclusions reached on the scope of the environmental review for the 
revised site layout and will send this summary to each participant in 
the scoping process for whom the staff has an address. The summary will 
also be available for inspection through ADAMS at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html and the NRC's public Web site for the COL review 
at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/bell-bend.html. The NRC 
and USACE will then prepare and issue for comment the draft EIS, which 
will be the subject of a separate Federal Register notice and a public 
meeting. After receipt and consideration of comments on the draft EIS, 
the NRC and USACE will prepare a final EIS, which will also be the 
subject of a separate Federal Register notice and will be available to 
the public.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 11th day of June 2012.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
David B. Matthews,
Director, Division of New Reactor Licensing, Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2012-14759 Filed 6-14-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P