[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 28 (Monday, February 13, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10502-10504]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-02885]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2017-0041]
Preparation of Environmental Reports for Nuclear Power Stations
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
[[Page 10503]]
ACTION: Draft regulatory guide; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for
public comment draft regulatory guide (DG), DG-4026, ``Preparation of
Environmental Reports for Nuclear Power Stations.'' This proposed
guide, revision 3, provides general guidance to applicants for the
format and content of environmental reports (ERs) that are submitted as
part of an application for a permit, license, or other authorization to
site, construct, and/or operate a nuclear power plant.
DATES: Submit comments by April 14, 2017. Comments received after this
date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC is
able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before
this date. Although a time limit is given, comments and suggestions in
connection with items for inclusion in guides currently being developed
or improvements in all published guides are encouraged at any time.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods
(unless this document describes a different method for submitting
comments on a specified subject):
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2017-0041. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3462; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact
the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section
of this document.
Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration,
Mail Stop: OWFN 12H08, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555-0001.
For additional direction on accessing information and submitting
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Davis, Office of New
Reactors, telephone: 301-415-3835, email: [email protected], and
Edward O'Donnell, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, telephone:
301-415-3317, email: [email protected]. Both are staff members of
the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2017-0041 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-2017-0041.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection 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 (if it is available
in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in this
document. The DG-4026 is available in ADAMS under Accession No.
ML16116A068.
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-2017-0041 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. Additional Information
The NRC is issuing for public comment a DG in the NRC's
``Regulatory Guide'' series. This series was developed to describe and
make available to the public information regarding methods that are
acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific parts of the
NRC's regulations, techniques that the staff uses in evaluating
specific problems or postulated events, and data that the staff needs
in its review of applications for permits and licenses. The DG,
entitled, ``Preparation of Environmental Reports for Nuclear Power
Stations,'' is a proposed revision, temporarily identified by its task
number, DG-4026. Regulatory Guide 4.2, Revision 2 dates to 1976, and an
update is needed to align it with NRC's regulations, interim NRC's
guidance, changes in environmental statutes and regulations, and
Executive Orders. Consequently, Revision 3 has been prepared to provide
general guidelines for the preparation of ERs supporting an application
for a permit, license, or other authorization to site, construct, and/
or operate a nuclear power plant. The information requested from
applicants in this RG is based on the requirements contained in part 51
of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR),
``Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and
Related Regulatory Functions,'' and staff guidance such as NUREG-1555,
``Environmental Standard Review Plan: Standard Review Plans for
Environmental Reviews for Nuclear Power Plants'' (ADAMS Accession Nos.
ML003702134 and ML003701937, respectively).
III. Specific Request for Comments
The NRC seeks comments on DG-4026, the associated regulatory
analysis, and requests feedback from commenters about (1) addressing
the impacts of preconstruction and construction as defined in
Sec. Sec. 51.4 and 51.45, (2) reducing the size of environmental
documents, and (3) other topics to consider in environmental reviews.
1. Under the revised rule defining construction (72 FR 57415,
October 9, 2007), the applicant should separate the impacts of
preconstruction and construction activities to address the latter, as
they are the activities being authorized by the NRC. The applicant
should also describe the impacts of the preconstruction activities, so
they can be evaluated as part of the cumulative impacts related to the
construction
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activities. The revised RG follows the approach to implementing the
rule that is discussed in interim staff guidance COL/ESP-ISG-4 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML082970729). The NRC is seeking input regarding the best
method to address these impacts in environmental reports.
2. Are there changes that should be made to the RG to reduce the
amount of information evaluated in ERs and the environmental impact
statements, while still meeting applicable environmental laws and
regulations?
3. Are there topics that are not addressed in the RG that should be
addressed? Conversely, are there topics addressed in the RG that need
not be addressed?
IV. Backfitting and Issue Finality
Issuance of this DG does not constitute backfitting as defined in
10 CFR 50.109 (the Backfit Rule), nor would it be regarded as
backfitting under the Commission and the Executive Director for
Operations guidance, and is not otherwise inconsistent with the issue
finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day of February, 2017.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas H. Boyce,
Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Generic Issues Branch, Division of
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2017-02885 Filed 2-10-17; 8:45 am]
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