[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 22 (Tuesday, February 3, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5793-5795]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-02080]


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

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-373 and 50-374; NRC-2014-0268]


LaSalle County Station, Units 1 and 2

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement 
and conduct the scoping process; public meetings and request for 
comment.

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will prepare an 
environmental impact statement (EIS) related to the review of the 
license renewal application submitted by Exelon Generation Company, LLC 
(Exelon) for the renewal of Facility Operating Licenses NPF-11 and NPF-
18 for an additional 20 years of operation at LaSalle County Station 
(LSCS). The current operating licenses for LSCS, Units 1 and 2, expire 
on April 17, 2022, and December 16, 2023, respectively. LSCS is located 
in LaSalle County, Illinois. The NRC will also provide the public an 
opportunity to participate in the environmental scoping process.

DATES: Submit comments by April 6, 2015. Comments received after this 
date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the Commission 
is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before 
this date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 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-2014-0268. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3422; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this document.
     Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration, 
Mail Stop: 3WFN-06-A44M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001.
    For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting 
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Drucker, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-6223; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2014-0268 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may 
obtain publicly-available information related to this document by any 
of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0268.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain 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 document (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 Accession No. ML14343A849.
     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-2014-0268 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 will post all comment submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment submissions into 
ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit

[[Page 5794]]

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 license renewal, dated December 9, 2014, 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 December 18, 2014 (79 FR 75598). A 
notice of acceptance for docketing of the application and opportunity 
for hearing regarding renewal of the facility operating licenses is 
also being published in the Federal Register. The purpose of this 
notice is to inform the public that the NRC will be preparing an 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 
Accession Nos. ML14343A883 and ML14343A897. The ER may also be viewed 
on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/lasalle.html. In addition, paper copies of the ER 
are available for public review near the site at the Reddick Public 
Library District, 1010 Canal St., Ottawa, IL 61350, the Marseilles 
Public Library, 155 East Bluff St., Marseilles, IL 61341 and the Seneca 
Public Library District, 210 N. Main St., Seneca, IL 61360.
    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, Revision 1), related to the 
review of the application for renewal of the LSCS 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 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 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 and 
include any contractor assistance to be used.
    The NRC invites the following entities to participate in scoping:
    a. The applicant, Exelon;
    b. Any Federal agency which has jurisdiction by law or special 
expertise with respect to any environmental impact involved or which 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 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 in the proceeding or who has been admitted as a party to 
the proceeding.

III. Public Scoping Meetings

    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 has decided to hold public meetings for 
the LSCS license renewal supplement to the GEIS. The scoping meetings 
will be held on March 10, 2015, and there will be two sessions to 
accommodate interested persons. The first session will convene at 2:00 
p.m. and will continue until 4:00 p.m., as necessary. 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 LaSalle County, Emergency 
Operations Center, 711 East Etna Road, Ottawa, Illinois 61350.
    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 above.
    Persons may register to attend or present oral comments at the 
meetings on the scope of the NEPA review by

[[Page 5795]]

contacting the NRC Project Manager, Mr. David Drucker, by telephone at 
1-800-368-5642, extension 6223, or by email at [email protected], 
no later than February 27, 2015. 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. Mr. Drucker will need to be contacted no 
later than February 27, 2015, 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 inspection in ADAMS. The NRC staff will then 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 27th day of January 2015.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Brian D. Wittick,
 Chief, Projects Branch 2, Division of License Renewal, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2015-02080 Filed 2-2-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P