[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 119 (Thursday, June 20, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 37325-37326]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-14314]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 51

[NRC-2008-0608]
RIN 3150-AI42


License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants; Generic Environmental 
Impact Statement and Standard Review Plans for Environmental Reviews

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: NUREG-1437 and NUREG-1555; issuance.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is updating and 
revising NUREG-1437, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement for 
License Renewal of Nuclear Plants'' (GEIS), which the NRC issued in May 
1996. The revised GEIS provides the technical basis for amending 
certain NRC environmental protection regulations. The NRC has also 
revised NUREG-1555, Supplement 1, ``Standard Review Plans for 
Environmental Reviews for Nuclear Power Plants, Supplement 1: Operating 
License Renewal'' (ESRP). The ESRP serves as a guide to the NRC staff 
in preparing a plant-specific supplemental environmental impact 
statement to the GEIS. This document is announcing the issuance of 
NUREG-1437, Revision 1, and NUREG-1555, Revision 1.

DATES: NUREG-1437 and NUREG-1555 are effective June 20, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2008-0608 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may access information related to this document, which the NRC 
possesses and is publicly available, using any of the following 
methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2008-0608. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-492-
3668; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this document.
     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 No. for 
each document referenced in this document (if that document is 
available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is 
referenced. The ADAMS Accession Nos. for the GEIS, NUREG-1437, are as 
follows: ML13107A023 for the package, ML13106A241 for Volume 1, 
ML13106A242 for Volume 2, and ML13106A244 for Volume 3. The ADAMS 
Accession No. for the ESRP, NUREG-1555, is ML13106A246.
     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: Mr. Emmanuel Sayoc, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 1-800-368-5642, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Discussion

    In the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal 
Register, the NRC published a final rule, ``Revisions to Environmental 
Review for Renewal of Nuclear Power Plant Operating Licenses'' (RIN 
3150-AI42), that is amending its environmental protection regulations 
by updating and revising the Commission's 1996 findings on the 
environmental impacts of renewing the operating license of a nuclear 
power plant. The final rule redefines the number and scope of the 
environmental impact issues that must be addressed by the NRC during 
license renewal environmental reviews. Most of the amendments made by 
this final rule are based upon Revision 1 to the GEIS, which 
incorporates lessons learned and knowledge gained from license renewal 
environmental reviews conducted by the NRC since 1996.
    Revision 1 to the GEIS is intended for use by license renewal 
applicants and the NRC staff. The NRC published the draft Revision 1 to 
the GEIS on July 31, 2009 (74 FR 38239), for a 75-day public comment 
period, ending on October 14, 2009. The NRC later extended the comment 
period to January 12, 2010 (74 FR 51522; October 7, 2009).
    The intent of the GEIS is to determine which issues would result in 
the same impact at all nuclear power plants and which issues could 
result in different levels of impact at different plants and thus 
require a plant-specific analysis for impact determinations. Revision 1 
to the GEIS identifies 78 environmental impact issues for consideration 
in license renewal environmental reviews, 59 of which have been 
determined to be generic to all plant sites. The GEIS also evaluates a 
full range of alternatives to the proposed action. For most impact 
areas, the proposed action (i.e., renewal of the plant's operating 
license) would have impacts that would be similar to or less than 
impacts of the alternatives, in large part because most alternatives 
would require new power plant construction, whereas the proposed action 
would not.
    The NUREG-1437 consisted of two volumes when first issued by the 
NRC in 1996--the first volume consisting of the primary text and the 
second volume consisting of the GEIS appendices. Revision 1 of NUREG-
1437 expands the GEIS to three volumes to meet internal NRC publication 
requirements for NUREG documents. Volume 1 contains the primary text of 
the GEIS; Volume 2 contains Appendix A, which consists of public 
comments and the NRC's responses thereto; and Volume 3 contains the 
remainder of the GEIS appendices.
    The ESRP provides guidance to NRC staff in implementing the 
provisions in Part 51 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(10 CFR), ``Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing 
and Related Regulatory Functions,'' when conducting an environmental 
review for the renewal of

[[Page 37326]]

a nuclear power plant's operating license.
    Concurrent with the final rule, GEIS revision, and ESRP revision, 
the NRC is also publishing in the Rules and Regulations section of this 
issue of the Federal Register, Revision 1 to Regulatory Guide (RG) 4.2, 
Supplement 1, Preparation of Environmental Reports for Nuclear Power 
Plant License Renewal Applications. The Accession No. for Revision 1 to 
RG 4.2 is ML13067A354. The RG 4.2 provides guidance to applicants for 
the preparation of environmental reports that are submitted as part of 
an application for the renewal of a nuclear power plant operating 
license in accordance with 10 CFR Part 54, ``Requirements for Renewal 
of Operating Licenses for Nuclear Power Plants.''
    During the public comment period, the NRC received 32 document 
submissions from industry stakeholders, representatives of Federal and 
State agencies, other interested parties, and members of the public. 
Each of these document submissions contained one or more comments. The 
NRC also received verbal comments at the six public meetings held 
during the public comment period, which contained, in aggregate, 
several hundred comments. These comments concerned or pertained to the 
proposed rule (74 FR 38117 published July 31, 2009) and to the draft 
revisions to the GEIS, ESRP and RG 4.2. A description of all public 
comments submitted on the draft revised GEIS and the NRC's response to 
those comments, are contained in Appendix A (Volume 2) of Revision 1 to 
the GEIS. A summary of all six public meetings is contained in the 
following document, ``Summary of Public Meetings to Discuss Proposed 
Rule Regarding Part 51 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
and the Draft Revision to the Generic Environmental Impact Statement 
for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, NUREG-1437, Revision 1 (November 
3, 2009),'' and can be accessed in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML093070141. Comments specific to the draft revised RG 4.2, which came 
from Federal and State agencies, and industry can be accessed in ADAMS 
under Accession No. ML13067A355. There were no comments specific to the 
ESRP.

II. Congressional Review Act

    In accordance with the Congressional Review Act, the NRC has 
determined that this action is not a major rule and has verified this 
determination with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of 
the Office of Management and Budget.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 23rd day of April, 2013.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John W. Lubinski,
Director, Division of License Renewal, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2013-14314 Filed 6-19-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P