[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 147 (Wednesday, July 31, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46379-46381]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-18403]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-456 and 50-457; NRC-2013-0169]


Exelon Generation Company, LLC, License Renewal Application for 
Braidwood Station, Units 1 and 2

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement 
and conduct scoping process; public meetings and opportunity to 
comment.

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SUMMARY: On May 29, 2013, Exelon Generation Company, LLC (Exelon) 
submitted an application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
(NRC) for renewal of Facility Operating Licenses (NPF-72 and NPF-77) 
for an additional 20 years of operation for Braidwood Station, Units 1 
and 2. Braidwood Station is located in Will County, Illinois. The 
current operating licenses for Braidwood Station, Units 1 and 2, expire 
on October 17, 2026 and December 18, 2027, respectively. This notice 
advises the public that the NRC intends to gather information to 
prepare an EIS on the proposed license renewal.

DATES: The scoping meetings will be held on August 21, 2013. The first 
session will be from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and the second session will 
be from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Submit comments by September 27, 2013. 
Comments received after these dates will be considered if it is 
practical to do so, but assurance of consideration cannot be given to 
comments received after this date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comment by any of the following methods 
(unless this document describes a different method for submitting 
comments on a specific subject):
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2013-0169. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3422; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual(s) listed in the FOR FURTHER

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INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.
     Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Chief, Rules, 
Announcements, and Directives Branch (RADB), Office of Administration, 
Mail Stop: 3WFN, 06A44M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001.
    For additional direction on accessing information and submitting 
comments, see ``Accessing Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tam Tran, Environmental Project 
Manager, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-3617, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Accessing Information and Submitting Comments

A. Accessing Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2013-0169 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, by the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2013-0169.
     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. Exelon's application for renewal can be found in ADAMS 
under Package Accession No. ML131550528.
     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-2013-0169 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 that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your 
comment submission. The NRC posts all comment submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as entering the comment submissions into 
ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely 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 that they do not want to be 
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should 
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to 
remove such information before making the comment submissions available 
to the public or entering the comment submissions into ADAMS.

II. Discussion

    The application for renewal, dated May 29, 2013, was submitted 
pursuant to part 54 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 
CFR), which included an environmental report (ER). A separate notice of 
receipt and availability of the application was published in the 
Federal Register on June 13, 2013 (78 FR 35646). A notice of acceptance 
for docketing of the application and opportunity to request a hearing 
regarding renewal of the facility operating license was also published 
on July 24, 2013 (78 FR 44603). The purpose of this notice is to inform 
the public that the NRC will be preparing an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) related to the review of the license renewal 
application and to provide the public an opportunity to participate in 
the environmental scoping process, as defined in 10 CFR 51.29.
    As outlined in 36 CFR 800.8, ``Coordination with the National 
Environmental Policy Act,'' the NRC plans to coordinate compliance with 
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) in meeting 
the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(NEPA). Pursuant to 36 CFR 800.8(c), the NRC intends to use its 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 at 36 CFR 800.3 through 800.6.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 51.53(c) and 10 CFR 54.23, Exelon 
submitted the ER as part of the application. The ER was prepared 
pursuant to 10 CFR Part 51 and is publicly available in ADAMS under 
Package Accession No. ML131550528. The ER may also be viewed on the 
Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications.html. In addition, paper copies of the ER are available to 
the public near the site at the Fossil Ridge Public Library, 386 W. 
Kennedy Road, Braidwood, IL 60408.
    This document advises the public that the NRC intends to gather the 
information necessary to prepare a plant-specific supplement to the 
NRC's ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for License 
Renewal of Nuclear Plants,'' (NUREG-1437) related to the review of the 
application for renewal of the Braidwood Station operating licenses for 
an additional 20 years.
    Possible alternatives to the proposed action (license renewal) 
include no action and reasonable alternative energy sources. The NRC is 
required by 10 CFR 51.95 to prepare a supplement to the GEIS in 
connection with the renewal of an operating license. This notice is 
being published in accordance with NEPA and the NRC's regulations found 
at 10 CFR Part 51.
    The NRC staff will first conduct a scoping process for the 
supplement to the GEIS and, as soon as practicable thereafter, will 
prepare a draft supplement to the GEIS for public comment. 
Participation in the scoping process by members of the public and 
local, State, Tribal, and Federal government agencies is encouraged. 
The scoping process for the supplement to the GEIS will be used to 
accomplish the following:
    a. Define the proposed action, which is to be the subject of the 
supplement to the GEIS;
    b. Determine the scope of the supplement to the GEIS 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 ElSs that are 
being or will be prepared that are related to, but are not part of, the 
scope of the supplement to the GEIS being considered;
    e. Identify other environmental review and consultation 
requirements related to the proposed action;
    f. Indicate the relationship between the timing of the preparation 
of the environmental analyses and the

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Commission's tentative planning and decision-making schedule;
    g. Identify any cooperating agencies and, as appropriate, allocate 
assignments for preparation and schedules for completing the supplement 
to the GEIS to the NRC and any cooperating agencies; and
    h. Describe how the supplement to the GEIS will be prepared, 
including any contractor assistance to be used.
    The NRC invites the following entities to participate in scoping:
    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 Indian tribe;
    e. Any person who requests or has requested an opportunity to 
participate in the scoping process; and
    f. Any person who has petitioned or intends to petition for leave 
to intervene.

III. Public Scoping Meeting

    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 has decided to hold public 
meetings for the Braidwood Station license renewal supplement to the 
GEIS. The scoping meetings will be held on August 21, 2013, and there 
will be two sessions to accommodate interested parties. The first 
session will convene at 2:00 p.m. and will continue until 4:00 p.m. The 
second session will convene at 7:00 p.m. with a repeat of the overview 
portions of the meeting and will continue until 9:00 p.m., as 
necessary. Both sessions will be held at the Fossil Ridge Public 
Library, 386 W. Kennedy Road, Braidwood, IL 60408.
    Both meetings will be transcribed and will include: (1) An overview 
by the NRC staff of the NEPA environmental review process, the proposed 
scope of the supplement to the GEIS, 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 supplement to the 
GEIS. Additionally, the NRC staff will host informal discussions one 
hour prior to the start of each session at the same location. No formal 
comments on the proposed scope of the supplement to the GEIS will be 
accepted during the informal discussions. To be considered, comments 
must be provided either at the transcribed public meetings or in 
writing, as discussed below.
    Persons may register to attend or present oral comments at the 
meetings on the scope of the NEPA review by contacting the NRC Project 
Manager, Tam Tran, by telephone at 1-800-368-5642, extension 3617, or 
by email at [email protected] no later than Friday, August 16, 2013. 
Members of the public may also register to speak at the meeting within 
15 minutes of 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 supplement to the GEIS. The 
NRC Project Manager will need to be contacted no later than Friday, 
August 16, 2013, if special equipment or accommodations are needed to 
attend or present information at the public meeting so that the NRC 
staff can determine whether the request can be accommodated.
    Participation in the scoping process for the supplement to the GEIS 
does not entitle participants to become parties to the proceeding to 
which the supplement to the GEIS relates. Matters related to 
participation in any hearing are outside the scope of matters to be 
discussed at this public meeting.
    At the conclusion of the scoping process, the NRC will prepare a 
concise summary of the determination and conclusions reached; including 
the significant issues identified, and will send a copy of the summary 
to each participant in the scoping process. The summary will also be 
available for public inspection in ADAMS. The staff will prepare and 
issue for comment the draft supplement to the GEIS, which will be the 
subject of a separate notice and separate public meetings. Copies will 
be available for public inspection at the above-mentioned addresses. 
After receipt and consideration of the comments, the NRC will prepare a 
final supplement to the GEIS, which will also be available for public 
inspection.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 24th day of July, 2013.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Anneliese Simmons,
Acting Chief, Projects Branch 2, Division of License Renewal, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2013-18403 Filed 7-30-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P