[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 47 (Friday, March 10, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 14958-14960]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-04982]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 51

[NRC-2018-0296]
RIN 3150-AK32


Renewing Nuclear Power Plant Operating Licenses--Environmental 
Review

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule; public meetings and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) plans to hold 
comment-gathering public meetings on a proposed rule to amend its 
environmental protection regulations by updating the Commission's 2013 
findings on the environmental effect of renewing the operating license 
of a nuclear power plant. The purpose of the meetings is to provide 
information and receive public comments on the proposed changes to NRC 
regulations, draft Revision 2 to NUREG-1437, ``Generic Environmental 
Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants'' (LR GEIS), and 
associated guidance.

DATES: The NRC plans to hold public meetings in March and April 2023 
during the 60-day public comment period. See Section III, ``Request for 
Comments and Public Meetings,'' of this document for more information 
on the meetings.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2018-0296 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this public 
meeting. You may obtain publicly available information related to this 
action by any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2018-0296. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Dawn Forder; telephone: 301-415-3407; 
email: [email protected]. For technical questions contact the 
individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this document.
     Email comments to: [email protected]. If you do 
not receive an automatic email reply confirming receipt, then contact 
us at 301-415-1677.
     Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and 
Adjudications Staff.
    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: Yanely Malave-Velez, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-415-1519, email: 
[email protected]; Jennifer Davis, Office of Nuclear Material 
Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-415-3835, email: 
[email protected]; or Kevin Folk, Office of Nuclear Material 
Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-415-6944, email: 
[email protected]. All are staff 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-2018-0296 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain 
publicly available information related to this action by any of the 
following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2018-0296.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://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 at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or 
by email to [email protected].
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's PDR, Room P1 B35, One White 
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville,

[[Page 14959]]

Maryland 20852. To make an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an 
email to [email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, 
between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time, Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.

B. Submitting Comments

    The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please 
include Docket ID NRC-2018-0296 in your comment submission.
    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 
https://www.regulations.gov as well as enter 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 into ADAMS.

II. Background

    On March 3, 2023, the NRC published a proposed rule in the Federal 
Register for a 60-day public comment period (88 FR 13329). The NRC 
proposes to amend its environmental protection regulations by updating 
the Commission's 2013 findings on the environmental effect of renewing 
the operating license of a nuclear power plant in part 51 of title 10 
of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Environmental Protection 
Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions,'' 
subpart A, ``National Environmental Policy Act--Regulations 
Implementing Section 102(2).'' Additionally, the NRC proposes to revise 
NUREG-1437, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License 
Renewal of Nuclear Plants'' (LR GEIS), which is intended to streamline 
the NRC's license renewal environmental review by documenting a 
systematic approach that the NRC uses to evaluate the environmental 
impacts of renewing the operating licenses of commercial nuclear power 
plants. The LR GEIS also provides the technical basis for Table B-1, in 
appendix B to subpart A of 10 CFR part 51, ``Environmental Effect of 
Renewing the Operating License of a Nuclear Power Plant.'' Among other 
things, these proposals will update 10 CFR part 51 and the LR GEIS to 
fully account for subsequent license renewal as well as initial license 
renewal. The NRC will solicit comments at each meeting for 
consideration in the development of the final rule, LR GEIS, and 
associated guidance.

III. Request for Comments and Public Meetings

    The NRC staff plans to hold the following comment-gathering public 
meetings during the 60-day public comment period to present an overview 
of the proposed changes to the environmental protection regulations and 
the LR GEIS.
    [cir] March 16, 2023, at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & 
Conference Center; First Meeting: Open House from 1:30 p.m.-2 p.m. and 
Public Meeting from 2 p.m.-4 p.m. (local time).
    [cir] Second Meeting: Open House from 5:30 p.m.-6 p.m. and Public 
Meeting from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. (local time).
     March 28, 2023, at the Marriott Chicago Naperville; 1801 N 
Naperville Boulevard, Naperville, IL 60563. Open House from 5:30 p.m.-6 
p.m. and Public Meeting from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. (local time).
     March 30, 2023, at the Marriott Dallas/Ft. Worth Westlake; 
1301 Solana Boulevard, Building 3, Westlake, Texas 76262. Open House 
from 5:30 p.m.-6 p.m. and Public Meeting from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. (local 
time).
     April 4, 2023, at the Alloy King of Prussia; 301 West 
DeKalb Pike, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania 19406. Open House from 5:30 
p.m.-6 p.m. and Public Meeting from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. (local time).
     April 6, 2023, at the Courtyard by Marriott Atlanta 
Decatur Downtown/Emory; 130 Clairemont Avenue, Decatur, GA 30303. Open 
House from 5:30 p.m.-6 p.m. and Public Meeting from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. 
(local time).
    Interested stakeholders also may attend by telephone or online 
webinar. The public meetings will be transcribed and will include a 
presentation of the contents of the draft LR GEIS and proposed rule; 
and an opportunity for government agencies, organizations, and 
individuals to provide comments. No oral comments on the draft LR GEIS 
or proposed rule will be accepted during the open house sessions. To be 
considered, oral comments must be presented during the transcribed 
portion of the public meeting. The NRC staff also will accept written 
comments at any time during the public meetings. Persons interested in 
presenting oral comments at any of the six public meetings are 
encouraged to pre-register. Information for the teleconference and 
online webinar will be available in the meeting notices, which can be 
accessed through the NRC's Public Meeting Schedule at https://www.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg.
    Members of the public also may register to provide oral comments 
in-person at each meeting. Individual oral comments may be limited by 
the time available, depending on the number of persons who register.
    If special equipment or accommodations are needed to attend or 
present information at a public meeting, please contact Yanely Malave-
Velez, telephone: 301-415-1519, email: [email protected], no 
later than 10 days before the designated scheduled meeting to provide 
the NRC staff adequate notice to determine whether the request can be 
accommodated.
    The NRC requests that comments that are not provided during the 
meeting be submitted as noted in Section I, ``Obtaining Information and 
Submitting Comments,'' of this document in writing by May 2, 2023.

IV. Availability of Documents

    The documents identified in the following table are available to 
interested persons through one or more of the following methods, as 
indicated.

[[Page 14960]]



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                                                ADAMS  accession No. 1
                  Document                    Federal Register  citation
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Proposed Rule: Renewing Nuclear Power Plant   88 FR 13329
 Operating Licenses--Environmental Review,
 March 3, 2023.
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   Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of
                          Nuclear Power Plants
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Draft NUREG-1437, ``Generic Environmental     ML23010A078
 Impact Statement for License Renewal of
 Nuclear Power Plants,'' Volume 1, Revision
 2.
Draft NUREG-1437, ``Generic Environmental     ML23010A086
 Impact Statement for License Renewal of
 Nuclear Power Plants,'' Volume 2, Revision
 2.
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                        Draft Guidance Documents
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Draft NUREG-1555, Supplement 1, Revision 2,   ML22165A070
 ``Standard Review Plans for Environmental
 Reviews for Nuclear Power Plants,
 Supplement 1: Operating License Renewal''.
Draft Regulatory Guide DG-4027,               ML22165A072
 ``Preparation of Environmental Reports for
 Nuclear Power Plant License Renewal
 Applications'' (also referenced as
 Regulatory Guide (RG) 4.2, Supplement 1).
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    The NRC may post materials related to this document, including 
public comments, on the Federal rulemaking website at https://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2018-0296. The Federal 
rulemaking website allows members of the public to receive alerts when 
changes or additions occur in a docket folder. The following actions 
are needed to subscribe: (1) navigate to the docket folder NRC-2018-
0296, (2) click the ``Subscribe'' link, and (3) enter an email address 
and click on the ``Subscribe'' link.

    Dated: March 7, 2023.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Patricia K. Holahan,
Director, Subsequent License Environmental Directorate, Office of 
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2023-04982 Filed 3-9-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P