[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 247 (Thursday, December 27, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66765-66766]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-28129]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-458; NRC-2017-0141]


Entergy Operations, Inc.; River Bend Station, Unit 1

AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

ACTION: License renewal and record of decision; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued 
Renewed Facility Operating License No. NPF-47 to Entergy Operations, 
Inc. (Entergy or licensee), for River Bend Station, Unit 1 (RBS). 
Renewed Facility Operating License No. NPF-47 authorizes Entergy to 
operate RBS at reactor core power levels not in excess of 3,091 
megawatts thermal and in accordance with the provisions of the RBS 
renewed license and technical specifications. In addition, the NRC has 
prepared a record of decision (ROD) that supports the NRC's decision to 
issue Renewed Facility Operating License No. NPF-47.

DATES: The NRC issued Renewed Facility Operating License No. NPF-47 on 
December 20, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2017-0141 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly available information related to this document 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2017-0141. Address 
questions about docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Krupskaya Castellon; 
telephone: 301-287-9221; 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 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 ``Begin Web-based ADAMS 
Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public 
Document Room (PDR) reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or 
301-415-4737, or by email to [email protected]. For the convenience 
of the reader, instructions about obtaining materials referenced in 
this document are provided in the ``Availability of Documents'' 
section.
     NRC's Public Document Room: You may examine and purchase 
copies of public documents at the NRC's Public Document Room, Room O1-
F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emmanuel Sayoc, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-4084; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction

    The NRC hereby gives notice that it has issued Renewed Facility 
Operating License No. NPF-47 to Entergy Operations, Inc. (Entergy or 
licensee), the operator of River Bend Station, Unit 1 (RBS). Renewed 
Facility Operating License No. NPF-47 authorizes Entergy to operate RBS 
at reactor core power levels not in excess of 3,091 megawatts thermal 
and in accordance with the provisions of the RBS renewed license and 
technical specifications. The NRC's record of decision (ROD) supports 
the NRC's decision to issue Renewed Facility Operating License No. NPF-
47 and is available in the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System (ADAMS) under Accession No. ML18284A374.
    The NRC staff documented its environmental review of the RBS 
license renewal application in the ROD and the final supplemental 
environmental impact statement (FSEIS) for RBS, which it published 
November

[[Page 66766]]

8, 2018 as Supplement 58 to NUREG-1437, ``Generic Environmental Impact 
Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants Regarding River Bend 
Station, Unit 1, Final Report'' dated November 8, 2018'' (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML18310A072). As part of its environmental review, the 
NRC considered a range of reasonable alternatives to RBS license 
renewal. These alternatives included generating replacement energy from 
a new nuclear reactor, from supercritical pulverized coal (SCPC) power, 
from natural gas combined-cycle (NGCC) power, or from a combination 
alternative (natural gas combined-cycle, biomass, and demand-side 
management). The NRC also considered the no-action alternative (simply 
not issuing the renewed license for RBS). Ultimately, the NRC 
determined that the adverse environmental impacts of license renewal 
for RBS are not so great that preserving the option of license renewal 
for energy planning decisionmakers would be unreasonable.
    RBS is a boiling-water reactor located approximately 38.6 km (24 
miles) northwest of Baton Rouge, LA. Entergy's application for RBS 
license renewal, dated May 25, 2017 (ADAMS Package Accession No. 
ML17153A282), as supplemented by letters dated through October 9, 2018, 
complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act 
of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the NRC's regulations. As required 
by the Act and the NRC's regulations in Chapter 1, ``Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission,'' of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), 
``Energy,'' the NRC has made appropriate findings, which are set forth 
in the license. The NRC published a public notice in the Federal 
Register on May 31, 2016, announcing its proposed issuance of the 
renewed license and an opportunity for a hearing (81 FR 34379). No 
adjudicatory matters are pending before the Commission or the Atomic 
Safety and Licensing Board Panel regarding the RBS license renewal 
application.
    For more information on the issuance of the renewed license for 
RBS, see: (1) Entergy's license renewal application for RBS dated May 
25, 2017 (ADAMS Package Accession No. ML17153A282), as supplemented by 
letters through October 9, 2018, (2) the NRC's safety evaluation 
report, which documents the staff's safety review of the license 
renewal application (published on August 16, 2018, ADAMS Accession No. 
ML18212A151, as revised on October 18, 2018 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML18291B147)), (3) the NRC's final supplemental environmental impact 
statement (NUREG-1437, Supplement 58) for RBS, which documents the 
staff's environmental review of the RBS license renewal (published on 
November 8, 2018 ADAMS Accession No. ML18310A072), and (4) the NRC's 
record of decision for this action (ADAMS Accession No. ML18284A374).

II. Conclusion

    As discussed in Chapter 5 of the final supplemental environmental 
impact statement for the RBS license renewal (Supplement 58 to NUREG-
1437), the NRC determined that the adverse environmental impacts of 
license renewal for River Bend Station, Unit 1 are not so great that 
preserving the option of license renewal for energy-planning 
decisionmakers would be unreasonable. The NRC based its recommendation 
on: (1) The analysis and findings in NUREG-1437, ``Generic 
Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants,'' 
(2) Entergy's license renewal application, including its environmental 
report and other documents submitted by Entergy, (3) consultation with 
Federal, State, local, and Tribal agencies, (4) the NRC staff's 
independent environmental review, and (5) consideration of public 
comments received during the scoping process and on the draft 
supplemental environmental impact statement.

    Dated at Rockville, MD, this 20th day of December 2018.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
George A. Wilson, Jr.,
Director, Division of Materials and License Renewal, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2018-28129 Filed 12-26-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P