[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 70 (Thursday, April 13, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17885-17887]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-07501]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 52-047; NRC-2016-0119]
Tennessee Valley Authority; Clinch River Nuclear Site; Early Site
Permit Application
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Intent to prepare environmental impact statement and conduct
scoping process; public meeting and request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) received an
application from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), for an early
site permit (ESP) for the Clinch River Nuclear (CRN) Site, located in
Roane County, Tennessee, along the Clinch River, approximately 25 miles
west-southwest of downtown Knoxville, Tennessee. The purposes of this
notice are to inform the public that the NRC staff will be preparing an
environmental impact statement (EIS) as part of the review of the
application for the ESP and to provide the public with an opportunity
to participate in the environmental scoping process as defined in the
regulations.
DATES: Submit comments by June 12, 2017. 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. The public scoping meetings will be held on May 15, 2017.
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-2016-0119. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact
the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section
of this document.
NRC Project Email Address: Electronic comments may be sent
by email to the NRC at [email protected].
Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration,
Mail Stop: OWFN-12-H08, 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: Patricia Vokoun, telephone: 1-800-368-
5642, extension 3470, email: [email protected]; or Tamsen Dozier,
telephone: 1-800-368-5642, extension 2272, email:
[email protected]. Both are staff of the Office of New Reactors,
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-2016-0119 when contacting the NRC
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may
obtain publicly-available information related to this action by the
following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2016-0119.
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 the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. In addition, for the convenience of
the reader, the ADAMS accession numbers are provided in a table in the
section of this notice entitled, Availability of Documents.
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-2016-0119 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 received
through the Federal Rulemaking Web site (http://www.regulations.gov) in
the Regulations.gov docket (NRC-2016-0119), and will also enter the
comment submissions into ADAMS. Comments submitted through the NRC
project email address will only be available in 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. Introduction
Pursuant to part 52 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(10 CFR), on May 12, 2016, TVA submitted an application for an ESP for
the Clinch River Nuclear (CRN) Site, located on approximately 1,200
acres in Roane County, Tennessee, along the Clinch River, approximately
25 miles west-southwest of downtown Knoxville, Tennessee.
III. Further Information
A notice of receipt and availability of the application, including
the environmental report (ER), was published in the Federal Register on
June 23, 2016 (81 FR 40929). A notice of acceptance for docketing of
the
[[Page 17886]]
application for the ESP was published in the Federal Register on
January 12, 2017 (82 FR 3812). A notice of hearing and opportunity to
petition for leave to intervene in the proceeding on the application
was published in the Federal Register on April 4, 2017, (82 FR 16436).
The purposes of this notice are to inform the public that the NRC
staff will be preparing an environmental impact statement as part of
the review of the application for the ESP and to provide the public
with an opportunity to participate in the environmental scoping process
as defined in 10 CFR 51.29.
In addition, as outlined in 36 CFR 800.8(c), ``Coordination with
the National Environmental Policy Act,'' the NRC staff plans to
coordinate compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act (NHPA) with steps taken to meet the requirements of
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA).
Pursuant to 36 CFR 800.8(c), the NRC staff intends to use the 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 on 36 CFR 800.3 through 800.6.
In accordance with 10 CFR 51.45 and 51.50, TVA submitted the
environmental ER as part of the application; the ER is available in
ADAMS under Accession No. ML16144A145. The application may also be
viewed on the NRC's public Web site at https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/esp/clinch-river.html. In addition, the Oak Ridge Public
Library, 1401 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and the
Kingston Public Library, 1004 Bradford Way, Kingston, Tennessee, have
agreed to make the ER available for public inspection.
This notice advises the public that the NRC intends to gather the
information necessary to prepare an EIS as part of the review of the
application for the ESP at the CRN Site. Possible alternatives to the
proposed action (issuance of the ESP for the CRN Site) include no
action and alternate sites. As set forth in 10 CFR 51.20(b)(1),
issuance of an ESP under 10 CFR part 52 is an action that requires an
EIS. This notice is being published in accordance with NEPA and the
NRC's regulations in 10 CFR part 51.
The NRC will first conduct a scoping process for the EIS and, as
soon as practicable thereafter, will prepare a draft EIS for public
comment. Participation in this scoping process by members of the public
and local, State, Tribal, and Federal Government agencies is
encouraged. The scoping process for the draft EIS will be used to
accomplish the following:
a. Define the proposed action that is to be the subject of the EIS;
b. Determine the scope of the EIS 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 EISs that are
being or will be prepared that are related to but are not part of the
scope of the EIS being considered;
e. Identify other ER and consultation requirements related to the
proposed action;
f. Identify parties consulting with the NRC under the NHPA, as set
forth in 36 CFR 800.8(c)(1)(i);
g. Indicate the relationship between the timing of the preparation
of the environmental analyses and the Commission's tentative planning
and decision-making schedule;
h. Identify any cooperating agencies and, as appropriate, allocate
assignments for preparation and schedules for completing the EIS to the
NRC and any cooperating agencies; and
i. Describe how the EIS will be prepared, including any contractor
assistance to be used.
The NRC invites the following entities to participate in the
scoping process:
a. The applicant, TVA;
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 leave to intervene in the
proceeding, or who has submitted such a petition, who is admitted as a
party.
III. Availability of Documents
The following table indicates how the key reference documents
related to the application and the NRC staff's review processes may be
accessed.
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Document title ADAMS Accession No. or Web site
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10 CFR Part 51, Environmental https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/
Protection Regulations for Domestic doc-collections/cfr/part051/.
Licensing and Related Regulatory
Function.
10 CFR Part 52, Licenses, https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/
Certifications, and Approvals for doc-collections/cfr/part052/.
Nuclear Power Plants.
10 CFR Part 100, Reactor Site Criteria. https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/part100/.
NUREG-1555, Standard Review Plans for https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/
Environmental Reviews for Nuclear doc-collections/nuregs/staff/
Power Plants. sr1555/.
NUREG/BR-0298, Brochure on Nuclear https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/
Power Plant Licensing Process. doc-collections/nuregs/
brochures/br0298/.
Regulatory Guide 4.2, Preparation of https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1306/
Environmental Reports for Nuclear ML13067A354.pdf.
Power Stations (Supplement 1).
Regulatory Guide 4.7, General Site https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1218/
Suitability Criteria for Nuclear Power ML12188A053.pdf.
Stations.
Fact Sheet on Nuclear Power Plant https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/
Licensing Process. doc-collections/fact-sheets/
licensing-process-fs.html.
Regulatory Guide 1.206, Combined https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/
License Applications for Nuclear Power doc-collections/reg-guides/
Plants. power-reactors/rg/01-206/.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Policy https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/
Statement on the Treatment of FR-2004-08-24/pdf/04-
Environmental Justice Matters in NRC 19305.pdf.
Regulatory and Licensing Actions.
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[[Page 17887]]
The NRC may post materials related to this document, including
public comments, on the Federal Rulemaking Web site at http://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2016-0119. The Federal
Rulemaking Web site allows you to receive alerts when changes or
additions occur in a docket folder. To subscribe: (1) Navigate to the
docket folder (NRC-2016-0119); (2) click the ``Sign up for Email
Alerts'' link; and (3) enter your email address and select how
frequently you would like to receive emails (daily, weekly, or
monthly).
IV. 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 will hold two identical public scoping
meetings for the EIS regarding the TVA ESP application.
The scoping meetings will be held at Pollard Technology Conference
Center Auditorium, 210 Badger Avenue, Oak Ridge, Tennessee on May 15,
2017. The meeting will convene at 2:00 p.m. and will continue until
approximately 4:00 p.m. The second meeting will convene at 7:00 p.m.,
with a repetition of the overview portions of the first meeting, and
will continue until approximately 9:00 p.m. The meetings will be
transcribed and will include the following:
(1) An overview by the NRC staff of the NEPA environmental review
process, the proposed scope of the EIS, 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 EIS. Additionally,
the NRC staff will host informal discussions for 1 hour prior to the
start of each public meeting. No formal comments on the proposed scope
of the EIS will be accepted during the informal discussions. To be
considered, comments must be provided either at the transcribed public
meeting or in writing, as discussed below.
Persons may register to attend or present oral comments at the
meeting on the scope of the NEPA review by contacting Ms. Patricia
Vokoun by telephone at 1-800-368-5642, extension 3470, or by email to
the NRC at [email protected] (no formal comments will be
accepted through this email address) no later than May 7, 2017. Members
of the public may also register to speak at the meeting prior to the
start of the 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 EIS. If special equipment or
accommodations are needed to attend or present information at the
public meeting, the need should be brought to Ms. Vokoun's attention no
later than May 1, 2017, so that the NRC staff can determine whether the
request can be accommodated. Participation in the scoping process for
the EIS does not entitle participants to become parties to the
proceeding to which the EIS relates.
At the conclusion of the scoping process, the NRC staff will
prepare a concise summary of the determination and conclusions reached
on the scope of the environmental review including the significant
issues identified, and will send this summary to each participant in
the scoping process for whom the staff has an address and will make
this summary publicly available. The NRC staff will then prepare and
issue for comment the draft EIS, which will be the subject of a
separate Federal Register notice and a separate public meeting. Copies
of the draft EIS will be available for public inspection at the PDR
through the address in Section I.A. of this notice and one copy per
request will be provided free of charge. After receipt and
consideration of comments on the draft EIS, the NRC will prepare a
final EIS, which will also be available to the public.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 7th day of April, 2017.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Francis M. Akstulewicz,
Director, Division of New Reactor Licensing, Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2017-07501 Filed 4-12-17; 8:45 am]
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