[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 5 (Monday, January 8, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 960-963]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-00147]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-338 and 50-339; NRC-2020-0201]


Virginia Electric and Power Company; North Anna Power Station 
Units 1 and 2; Draft Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Request for comment; public comment meetings; opportunity to 
request a hearing and to petition for leave to intervene.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for 
public comment a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS), published 
as NUREG-1437, Supplement 7a, Second Renewal, ``Site-Specific 
Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants 
Regarding Subsequent License Renewal for North Anna Power Station Units 
1 and 2, Draft Report for Comment.'' This DEIS supersedes NUREG-1437, 
Supplement 7, Second Renewal, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement 
for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, Supplement 7, Second Renewal, 
Regarding Subsequent License Renewal for North Anna Power Station Units 
1 and 2, Draft Report for Comment,'' published in August 2021. North 
Anna Power Station Units 1 and 2 (North Anna) are located in Louisa 
County, Virginia. Possible alternatives to the proposed action of 
subsequent license renewal for North Anna include the no-action 
alternative and reasonable replacement power alternatives. A new notice 
of opportunity to request a hearing and petition for leave to 
intervene--limited to contentions based on new information in the 
DEIS--is also being issued.

DATES: The NRC will hold a webinar on the DEIS, including a 
presentation on the preliminary recommendation in the DEIS and a 
transcribed public comment session. The webinar will be held January 
30, 2024, at 1 p.m. eastern time (ET). NRC is also planning an in-
person meeting during the DEIS comment period. The meeting details will 
be posted on the NRC's Public Meeting Schedule at: https://www.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg. Members of the public are invited to submit comments on the 
DEIS by February 22, 2024. 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. 
Requests for a hearing or petitions for leave to intervene must be 
filed by March 8, 2024.

[[Page 961]]


ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods; 
however, the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal rulemaking website:
     Federal rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2020-0201. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 
telephone: 301-415-0624; email: [email protected]. For technical 
questions, contact the individual listed in the For Further Information 
Contact section of this document.
     Email comments to: Comments may be submitted to the NRC 
electronically using the email address [email protected].
     Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop: 
TWFN-7-A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing 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: Tam Tran, Office of Nuclear Material 
Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-3617; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2020-0201 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain 
publicly available information related to this action using any of the 
following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2020-0201.
     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, at 301-415-4737, 
or by email to [email protected]. NUREG-1437, Supplement 7a, Second 
Renewal, ``Site-Specific Environmental Impact Statement for License 
Renewal of Nuclear Plants Regarding Subsequent License Renewal for 
North Anna Power Station Units 1 and 2, Draft Report for Comment,'' is 
available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML23339A047.
     NRC's PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies 
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. 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. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
     Public Library: A copy of the DEIS is available for public 
review at the Louisa Library, 881 Davis Hwy, Mineral, VA 23117.

B. Submitting Comments

    The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please 
include Docket ID NRC-2020-0201 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. Discussion

    The NRC is issuing for public comment a draft environmental impact 
statement (DEIS), published as NUREG-1437, Supplement 7a, Second 
Renewal, ``Site-Specific Environmental Impact Statement for License 
Renewal of Nuclear Plants Regarding Subsequent License Renewal for 
North Anna Power Station Units 1 and 2, Draft Report for Comment.'' The 
DEIS supersedes a draft supplemental environmental impact statement 
(DSEIS) published as NUREG-1437, Supplement 7, Second Renewal, 
``Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear 
Plants, Supplement 7, Second Renewal, Regarding Subsequent License 
Renewal for North Anna Power Station Units 1 and 2, Draft Report for 
Comment'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML21228A084) published for comment on 
August 25, 2021 (86 FR 47525).
    The DEIS supersedes the August 2021 DSEIS and includes the NRC 
staff's site-specific evaluation of the environmental impacts of 
subsequent license renewal (SLR) for North Anna for each of the 
environmental issues that were previously dispositioned as Category 1 
issues (generic to all or a distinct subset of nuclear power plants) in 
the August 2021 DSEIS consistent with the list of Category 1 issues in 
Table B-1 in appendix B to subpart A of title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR) part 51 and NUREG-1437, ``Generic Environmental 
Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants,'' Revision 1, 
Final Report (June 2013). The DEIS considers information contained in 
the Virginia Electric and Power Company (Dominion, the applicant) 
September 28, 2022, submittal, which supplemented its environmental 
report in Dominion's 2020 SLR application. The DEIS also considers 
whether there is significant new information that would change the NRC 
staff's conclusions concerning Category 2 issues (specific to 
individual nuclear power plants) in the August 2021 DSEIS. The NRC 
staff prepared the DEIS in accordance with the Commission's decisions 
in Commission Legal Issuance (CLI)-22-02 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML22055A496) and CLI-22-03 (ADAMS Accession No. ML22055A527), both 
dated February 24, 2022. Based on the site-specific evaluation provided 
in the DEIS, the NRC staff's preliminary recommendation is that the 
adverse environmental impacts of SLR for North Anna (i.e., the 
continued operation of North Anna for a period of 20 years beyond the 
current renewed license expiration dates) are not so great that 
preserving the option of SLR for energy-planning decision-makers would 
be unreasonable. The NRC staff based its recommendation on the 
applicant's environmental report, as supplemented, the NRC staff's 
consultations with Federal, State, Tribal, and local government 
agencies, the NRC staff's independent environmental review, as 
documented in the DEIS, and the NRC staff's consideration of public 
comments.

III. Opportunity To Request a Hearing and Petition for Leave To 
Intervene

    As the Commission directed in CLI-22-03, a new notice of 
opportunity to request a hearing and petition for leave

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to intervene--limited to contentions based on new information discussed 
in the DEIS--is being issued.
    Within 60 days after the date of publication of this notice, any 
person (petitioner) whose interest may be affected by this action may 
file a request for a hearing and petition for leave to intervene 
(petition) with respect to the action. Petitions shall be filed in 
accordance with the Commission's ``Agency Rules of Practice and 
Procedure'' in 10 CFR part 2. Interested persons should consult 10 CFR 
2.309. If a petition is filed, the presiding officer will rule on the 
petition and, if appropriate, a notice of hearing will be issued.
    Petitions must be filed no later than 60 days from the date of 
publication of this notice in accordance with the filing instructions 
in the ``Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)'' section of this document. 
Petitions and motions for leave to file new or amended contentions that 
are filed after the deadline will not be entertained absent a 
determination by the presiding officer that the filing demonstrates 
good cause by satisfying the three factors in 10 CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i) 
through (iii).
    A State, local governmental body, federally recognized Native 
American Tribe, or designated agency thereof, may submit a petition to 
the Commission to participate as a party under 10 CFR 2.309(h) no later 
than 60 days from the date of publication of this notice. 
Alternatively, a State, local governmental body, federally recognized 
Native American Tribe, or agency thereof may participate as a non-party 
under 10 CFR 2.315(c).
    For information about filing a petition and about participation by 
a person not a party under 10 CFR 2.315, see ADAMS Accession No. 
ML20340A053 (https://adamswebsearch2.nrc.gov/webSearch2/main.jsp?AccessionNumber=ML20340A053) and on the NRC's public website 
at https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/adjudicatory/hearing.html#participate.

IV. Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)

    All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including 
documents filed by an interested State, local governmental body, 
federally recognized Native American Tribe, or designated agency 
thereof that requests to participate under 10 CFR 2.315(c), must be 
filed in accordance with 10 CFR 2.302. The E-Filing process requires 
participants to submit and serve all adjudicatory documents over the 
internet, or in some cases, to mail copies on electronic storage media, 
unless an exemption permitting an alternative filing method, as further 
discussed, is granted. Detailed guidance on electronic submissions is 
located in the ``Guidance for Electronic Submissions to the NRC'' 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML13031A056) and on the NRC's public website at 
https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html.
    To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 10 
days prior to the filing deadline, the participant should contact the 
Office of the Secretary by email at [email protected], or by 
telephone at 301-415-1677, to (1) request a digital identification (ID) 
certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or 
representative) to digitally sign submissions and access the E-Filing 
system for any proceeding in which it is participating; and (2) advise 
the Secretary that the participant will be submitting a petition or 
other adjudicatory document (even in instances in which the 
participant, or its counsel or representative, already holds an NRC-
issued digital ID certificate). Based upon this information, the 
Secretary will establish an electronic docket for the proceeding if the 
Secretary has not already established an electronic docket.
    Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is 
available on the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/getting-started.html. After a digital ID certificate is 
obtained and a docket created, the participant must submit adjudicatory 
documents in Portable Document Format. Guidance on submissions is 
available on the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/electronic-sub-ref-mat.html. A filing is considered complete at the 
time the document is submitted through the NRC's E-Filing system. To be 
timely, an electronic filing must be submitted to the E-Filing system 
no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on the due date. Upon receipt of a 
transmission, the E-Filing system time-stamps the document and sends 
the submitter an email confirming receipt of the document. The E-Filing 
system also distributes an email that provides access to the document 
to the NRC's Office of the General Counsel and any others who have 
advised the Office of the Secretary that they wish to participate in 
the proceeding, so that the filer need not serve the document on those 
participants separately. Therefore, applicants and other participants 
(or their counsel or representative) must apply for and receive a 
digital ID certificate before adjudicatory documents are filed to 
obtain access to the documents via the E-Filing system.
    A person filing electronically using the NRC's adjudicatory E-
Filing system may seek assistance by contacting the NRC's Electronic 
Filing Help Desk through the ``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC's 
public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html, by 
email to [email protected], or by a toll-free call at 1-866-672-
7640. The NRC Electronic Filing Help Desk is available between 9 a.m. 
and 6 p.m., ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Participants who believe that they have good cause for not 
submitting documents electronically must file an exemption request, in 
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper filing 
stating why there is good cause for not filing electronically and 
requesting authorization to continue to submit documents in paper 
format. Such filings must be submitted in accordance with 10 CFR 
2.302(b)-(d). Participants filing adjudicatory documents in this manner 
are responsible for serving their documents on all other participants. 
Participants granted an exemption under 10 CFR 2.302(g)(2) must still 
meet the electronic formatting requirement in 10 CFR 2.302(g)(1), 
unless the participant also seeks and is granted an exemption from 10 
CFR 2.302(g)(1).
    Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in the 
NRC's electronic hearing docket, which is publicly available at https://adams.nrc.gov/ehd, unless excluded pursuant to an order of the 
presiding officer. If you do not have an NRC-issued digital ID 
certificate as previously described, click ``cancel'' when the link 
requests certificates and you will be automatically directed to the 
NRC's electronic hearing dockets where you will be able to access any 
publicly available documents in a particular hearing docket. 
Participants are requested not to include personal privacy information 
such as social security numbers, home addresses, or personal phone 
numbers in their filings unless an NRC regulation or other law requires 
submission of such information. With respect to copyrighted works, 
except for limited excerpts that serve the purpose of the adjudicatory 
filings and would constitute a Fair Use application, participants 
should not include copyrighted materials in their submission.

    Dated: January 3, 2024.


[[Page 963]]


    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Christopher M. Regan,
Director, Division of Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial Support, 
Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2024-00147 Filed 1-5-24; 8:45 am]
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