[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 149 (Friday, August 4, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51798-51800]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-16448]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Notice of Adoption of Nuclear Regulatory Commission National 
Environmental Policy Act Documentation for the Operation of Diablo 
Canyon Power Plant and Republication as a Final DOE Environmental 
Impact Statement for Award of Credits to Pacific Gas and Electric 
Company Under the Civil Nuclear Credit Program

AGENCY: Grid Deployment Office, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of adoption of National Environmental Policy Act 
documentation.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) is adopting the Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission (NRC) National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 
documentation (including that of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), 
the NRC's predecessor agency), for operation of the Diablo Canyon Power 
Plant (DCPP) under DCPP's operating licenses from the NRC. DOE 
determined these documents adequate to satisfy DOE NEPA obligations 
related to its award of credits to Pacific Gas and Electric Company 
(PG&E), pursuant to the Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) Program, for the 
continued operation of the DCPP under DCPP's current operating licenses 
issued by the NRC. Because the actions covered by this NRC NEPA 
documentation and the proposed action are substantially the same, DOE 
is republishing and adopting those NEPA documents as a final DOE 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

DATES: DOE will execute a Record of Decision no sooner than 30 days 
following publication by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of 
its Notice of Availability of DOE's adoption of the NRC NEPA documents 
(EPA Notice) in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of this Notice of Adoption may be obtained by 
contacting Mr. Jason Anderson, Document Manager, by mail at U.S. 
Department of Energy, Idaho Operations Office, 1955 Fremont Avenue, 
Idaho Falls, Idaho 83415; or by email to 
[email protected]. This Notice of Adoption, as well as 
other general information concerning the DOE NEPA process, are 
available for viewing or download at: https://www.energy.gov/gdo/cnc-cycle-1-diablo-canyon-conditional-award-nepa-documentation. For general 
information on the CNC Program, visit www.energy.gov/gdo/civil-nuclear-credit-program.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Theodore Taylor, 
[email protected], (202) 586-4316.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Part of the DOE mission is to ensure 
America's security and prosperity by addressing its energy, 
environmental, and nuclear challenges through transformative science 
and technology solutions. As described at www.energy.gov/gdo/civil-nuclear-credit-program, the CNC Program was established on November 15, 
2021, when President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and 
Jobs Act (IIJA) (Pub. L. 117-58), also known as the Bipartisan 
Infrastructure Law, into law. Section 40323 of the IIJA (42 U.S.C. 
18753) provides $6 billion to establish a program to award civil 
nuclear credits. The CNC Program is a strategic investment to help 
preserve the existing U.S. commercial power reactor fleet and save 
thousands of high-paying jobs across the country.
    Under the CNC Program, owners or operators of U.S. commercial power 
reactors can apply for certification to bid on credits to support the 
nuclear reactor's continued operation. An application must demonstrate 
that the nuclear reactor is projected to close for economic reasons and 
that closure will lead to a rise in air pollutants and carbon 
emissions, among other conditions. An owner or operator of a certified 
nuclear reactor whose bid for credits is selected by DOE is then 
eligible to receive payments from the Federal government in the amount 
of the credits awarded to the owner or operator, provided it continues 
to operate the nuclear reactor for the four-year award period (2023 to 
2026) and subject to its satisfaction of other specified payment terms. 
PG&E submitted its application for certification and its bid for 
credits under the CNC Program on September 9, 2022. DOE made a 
conditional award of credits to PG&E on November 21, 2022.
    NEPA requires Federal agencies to evaluate the environmental 
impacts of proposals for major Federal actions with the potential to 
significantly affect the quality of the human environment. Awarding 
credits for continued operation of a commercial nuclear power reactor 
under the CNC Program is subject to NEPA. Therefore, to award credits 
to DCPP, an existing commercial nuclear power plant, DOE conducted a 
review of the existing NEPA documentation for continued operation of 
the reactor in accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality 
(CEQ) and DOE NEPA regulations, 40 CFR 1506.3 and 10 CFR 1021.200(d), 
respectively. DOE also considered non-NEPA documents, such as available 
licensing basis documents, the 2021 Safety Analysis Report, Federal and 
State permits, site reports and documents, and relevant public 
information to satisfy its obligations under NEPA.

Proposed Action

    DOE proposes to award credits to PG&E under the CNC Program for the 
continued operation of DCPP under DCPP's current NRC operating 
licenses. While DCPP's current NRC operating licenses are valid until 
November 2, 2024 (Unit 1) and until August 26, 2025 (Unit 2), they may 
remain in effect by operation of law beyond those dates in accordance 
with NRC rules and 5 U.S.C. 558(c). DOE's review and adoption of the 
NRC NEPA documents covers DOE's proposed action, which occurs during 
the period that DCPP's current NRC operating licenses remain in effect. 
The issuance or payment of credits awarded to PG&E beyond the period 
that DCPP's current NRC operating licenses remain in effect would be 
dependent on PG&E's compliance with NRC requirements applicable to 
license renewal. DOE would consider the need for further NEPA review 
prior to deciding whether to issue any credits or make any

[[Page 51799]]

payments during the period of operation under an NRC license 
renewal.\1\
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    \1\ The NRC has granted PG&E a one-time exemption for DCPP from 
10 CFR 2.109(b) to allow PG&E to submit a license renewal 
application for DCPP less than 5 years prior to expiration of the 
current operating licenses, but no later than December 31, 2023. 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Pacific Gas and Electric Company 
Diablo Canyon Power Plant, Units 1 and 2 Exemption, ADAMS Accession 
No. ML 23026A109 (NRC 2023). As the NRC explained, ``[t]he decision 
to issue PG&E an exemption from 10 CFR 2.109(b) does not constitute 
approval of the license renewal application PG&E intends to submit 
by December 31, 2023. Rather, this exemption provides that if PG&E 
submits an application by December 31, 2023, and the application is 
sufficient for docketing, the licensee will receive timely renewal 
protection under 10 CFR 2.109(b) while the NRC evaluates that 
application.''
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NEPA Document Review

    Because DOE did not participate as a cooperating agency in the 
preparation of the NRC NEPA documents,\2\ in accordance with 10 CFR 
1021.200(d), DOE conducted a review to determine if the NRC 
documentation ``meets the standards for an adequate statement, 
assessment, or determination'' under the CEQ NEPA regulations and an 
evaluation of whether ``the actions covered by the original 
environmental impact statement and the proposed action are 
substantially the same.'' 40 CFR 1506.3. DOE reviewed the following NRC 
NEPA documents:
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    \2\ For ease of reference, documents prepared by either the AEC 
or the NRC are referred to as ``NRC documents'' or the ``NRC NEPA 
documents,'' unless a specific AEC document is identified.
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     U.S. Atomic Energy Commission Final Environmental 
Statement related to the Nuclear Generating Station Diablo Canyon Units 
1 & 2 (AEC 1973);
     U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Addendum to the Final 
Environmental Statement for the Operation of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear 
Power Plant Units 1 & 2 (NRC 1976);
     U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Pacific Gas and 
Electric Company Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 and 2 
Notice of Issuance of Environmental Assessment and Finding of No 
Significant Impact (NRC 1993);
     U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Environmental 
Assessment Related to the Construction and Operation of the Diablo 
Canyon Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (NRC 2003); and
     U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Supplement to the 
Environmental Assessment and Final Finding of No Significant Impact 
Related to the Construction and Operation of the Diablo Canyon 
Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (NRC 2007).
    DOE's review of the DCPP NRC NEPA documents was guided by the NRC's 
2013 Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) (NUREG 1437, 
Revision 1). The 2013 GEIS examines the possible environmental impacts 
that could occur as a result of renewing licenses of individual nuclear 
power plants under 10 CFR part 54. The GEIS, to the extent possible, 
establishes the bounds and significance of these potential impacts. 
While DOE's proposed action does not cover license renewal of DCPP 
beyond the current licenses in effect, the analyses in the GEIS 
encompass all operating light-water nuclear power reactors in the 
United States and provide a reasonable analytical structure for DOE's 
review of its proposed action to provide financial support for 
continued operation of existing NRC licensed light-water nuclear power 
reactors.
    In 1967 and 1968, PG&E submitted license applications for the 
construction and operation of DCPP to the AEC. In 1973, the AEC issued 
a final Environmental Statement (ES) related to construction and 
operation of DCPP. The NRC updated some of the analyses and issued an 
addendum to the ES in 1976. The NRC documents analyzed the potential 
environmental impacts associated with construction and operation of 
DCPP. In 1981, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel, an 
independent adjudicatory body of the NRC, authorized the issuance to 
PG&E of two NRC licenses, DPR-80 and DPR-82, for operation of DCPP. 
Based on its review of the NRC NEPA documents, and subsequent documents 
as referenced in the DOE EIS (including available licensing basis 
documents, Federal and State permits, site reports and documents, and 
relevant public information), DOE has determined that the documents 
meet the standards for an adequate statement, assessment, or 
determination under CEQ NEPA regulations and the actions covered by the 
NRC NEPA documents are substantially the same as the actions proposed 
to be undertaken with respect to the award of credits described herein. 
In this instance, DOE's action is proposed financial support for the 
continuing operation of DCPP, and NRC has permitting (licensing) 
authority over the same project. DOE took a hard look at the 
environmental effects of the planned action, including the analysis in 
prior NRC NEPA documents and other environmental documents. DOE 
concluded that the NEPA documentation is adequate for continued 
operation during the period that DCPP's current operating licenses 
remain in effect. Therefore, DOE has adopted the NRC NEPA documents as 
a single DOE EIS (DOE/EIS-0555).
    While the NRC NEPA documents themselves are the basis of this 
adequacy review, it is permissible to use non-NEPA documents, such as 
available licensing basis documents, Federal and State permits, site 
reports and documents, and relevant public information in DOE's 
analysis. Further, as a condition of the Environmental Protection Plan 
(EPP) which is part of the NRC licenses for operation of DCPP, PG&E is 
required to report ``unreviewed environmental questions'' which ``may 
result in a significant increase in any adverse environmental impact 
previously evaluated in the final environmental statement.'' 
Implementation of such changes are subject to prior approval by the NRC 
in the form of a license amendment incorporating the appropriate 
revision into the EPP. PG&E is required to submit an annual report 
identifying if any of these events occurred. For example, PG&E's most 
recent report to the NRC with respect to DCPP, dated May 1, 2023, 
reported that there were no EPP noncompliances nor changes in plant 
design or operation, tests, or experiments involving an unreviewed 
environmental question during 2022. These documents were included in 
DOE's review and are consistent with the NRC NEPA documents.
    DOE determined that the project analyzed in the NEPA documents is 
substantially the same project for which DOE is considering awarding 
credits as part of the CNC Program, namely the continued operation of 
DCPP under its NRC operating licenses, and that the NEPA documents meet 
the standards for an adequate statement, assessment, or determination 
under the CEQ NEPA regulations. Additional details on that review are 
summarized below.

Potential Environmental Impacts

    The existing NEPA documents as well as available public documents 
were reviewed by DOE to satisfy DOE's obligations under NEPA. The NEPA 
resource areas reviewed by DOE included land use and visual resources, 
meteorology and air quality, noise, geologic environment, biological 
resources, water resources, ecological resources, historic and cultural 
resources, socioeconomics, human health, environmental justice, waste 
management, transportation, intentional destructive acts, and 
cumulative impacts.
    The NRC's 1996 GEIS (NUREG 1437) examines the possible 
environmental impacts that could occur because of

[[Page 51800]]

renewing licenses of individual nuclear power plants under 10 CFR part 
54. The GEIS, to the extent possible, establishes the bounds and 
significance of these potential impacts. The analyses in the GEIS 
encompass all operating light-water power plants. As part of the 
review, DOE considered the resource areas analyzed in the 2013 GEIS and 
listed above.
    DOE's review of the NRC NEPA documents and other available 
information for DCPP indicates the impact findings in the existing NEPA 
documentation remains adequate through the current operating licenses 
and that the impacts of continued DCPP operation would be consistent 
with the impacts of current and historic operations.
    DOE found that there was sufficient information in the documents 
reviewed by DOE to complete DOE's analysis and to determine that the 
NEPA documents remain adequate, despite the age of many of these 
documents. In its review, DOE did not identify significant new 
circumstances or information relevant to environmental concerns and 
bearing on the proposed award of credits or the impact of the award of 
credits and therefore, no supplemental EIS is required. In addition, 
DCPP complies with Federal, State, and local environmental regulations, 
requirements, and agreements, and it operates using best management 
practices. Further, DOE determined that the proposed action is 
substantially the same as the proposed action analyzed in the existing 
NEPA documents: both the NRC's issuance of an operating license to DCPP 
pursuant to the NEPA documents and DOE's award of credits under the CNC 
Program for DCPP have the purpose and effect of allowing for the 
continued operation of DCPP. DOE's award of credits under the CNC 
Program for the period that DCPP's current NRC license remains in 
effect does not change the existing location, design, construction, 
size, fuel usage, production of electricity, or environmental impacts 
of DCPP as evaluated by the NEPA documents and for which the NRC has 
issued an operating license. In light of the foregoing, DOE finds the 
NEPA documentation is adequate for continued operation through the 
period that DCPP's current NRC operating licenses remain in effect. 
Therefore, DOE is adopting and republishing the NRC NEPA documents as a 
single final EIS (DOE/EIS-0555).

Signing Authority

    This document of the DOE was signed on July 28, 2023, by Maria D. 
Robinson, Director, Grid Deployment Office, pursuant to delegated 
authority from the Secretary of Energy. That document with the original 
signature and date is maintained by DOE. For administrative purposes 
only, and in compliance with requirements of the Office of the Federal 
Register, the undersigned DOE Federal Register Liaison Officer has been 
authorized to sign and submit the document in electronic format for 
publication, as an official document of the Department of Energy. This 
administrative process in no way alters the legal effect of this 
document upon publication in the Federal Register.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on July 28, 2023.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2023-16448 Filed 8-3-23; 8:45 am]
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