[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 16 (Wednesday, January 24, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4631-4633]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-01355]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-275 and 50-323; NRC-2023-0192]


Notice of Intent To Conduct Scoping Process and Prepare 
Environmental Impact Statement; Pacific Gas and Electric Company; 
Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 and 2

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice; public scoping meeting and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will conduct a 
scoping process to gather information necessary to prepare an 
environmental impact statement (EIS) to evaluate the environmental 
impacts for an application for the renewal of Facility Operating 
License Nos. DPR-80 and DPR-82, which authorize Pacific Gas and 
Electric Company (PG&E, the applicant) to operate Diablo Canyon Nuclear 
Power Plant (DCPP), Units 1 and 2. The NRC is seeking public comment on 
this action and has scheduled both an in-person public scoping meeting 
and a virtual public scoping meeting.

DATES: The NRC will hold a virtual public scoping meeting on February 
1, 2024, at 10 a.m. Pacific time (PT) and an in-person public scoping 
meeting on February 8, 2024, at 6 p.m. PT. Details on both meetings can 
be found on the NRC's Public Meeting Schedule at https://www.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg. Submit comments on the scope of the EIS by February 23, 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. See section IV, ``Public Scoping 
Meeting,'' of this notice for additional information.

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://regulations.gov 
and search for Docket ID NRC-2023-0192. 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 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: Kim Conway, Office of Nuclear Material 
Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-1335; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2023-0192 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://regulations.gov 
and search for Docket ID NRC-2023-0192.
     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]. The ADAMS accession number for 
each document referenced in this document (if it is available in ADAMS) 
is provided the first time that it is referenced.
     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. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.
     Public Library: A copy of the license renewal application 
for DCPP, including the environmental report (ER), is available for 
public review at the following public library location: San Luis Obispo 
Library, 995 Palm St., San Luis Obispo, CA 93403.

B. Submitting Comments

    The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal Rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please 
include Docket ID NRC-2023-0192 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

    By letter dated November 7, 2023 (ADAMS Accession No. ML23311A154), 
PG&E submitted to the NRC an application to renew the operating 
licenses for DCPP for an additional 20 years of operation. This 
submission initiated the NRC's proposed action of determining whether 
to grant the license renewal application. DCPP consists of two 
pressurized-water reactors designed by Westinghouse and is located in 
Avila Beach, California. The operating licenses for DCPP expire as 
follows: Unit 1 on November 2, 2024, and Unit 2 on August 26, 2025. The 
license renewal application was submitted pursuant to part 54, 
``Requirements for Renewal of Operating Licenses for Nuclear Power 
Plants,'' of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR)

[[Page 4632]]

and seeks to extend the operating licenses for Units 1 and 2 to 
November 2, 2044, and August 26, 2045, respectively. A notice of 
receipt and availability of the application was published in the 
Federal Register on November 20, 2023 (88 FR 80780). A notice of 
acceptance for docketing of the application and of opportunity to 
request a hearing was published in the Federal Register on December 19, 
2023 (88 FR 87817) and is available on the Federal Rulemaking Website 
(https://www.regulations.gov) by searching for Docket ID NRC-2023-0192.

III. Request for Comment

    This notice informs the public of the NRC's intention to conduct 
environmental scoping and prepare an EIS related to the license renewal 
application for DCPP, and provides the public an opportunity to 
participate in the environmental scoping process, as defined in 10 CFR 
51.29, ``Scoping-environmental impact statement and supplement to 
environmental impact statement,'' and 10 CFR 51.116, ``Notice of 
intent.''
    The regulations in 36 CFR 800.8, ``Coordination with the National 
Environmental Policy Act,'' allow agencies to use their National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.) 
(NEPA), process to fulfill the requirements of section 106 of the 
National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended (54 U.S.C. 
300101, et seq.) (NHPA). Therefore, pursuant to 36 CFR 800.8(c), the 
NRC intends to use its process and documentation required 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 at 36 CFR 800.3 
through 800.6.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 51.53(c) and 10 CFR 54.23, PG&E submitted 
an ER as part of the license renewal application for DCPP. The ER was 
prepared pursuant to 10 CFR part 51, ``Environmental Protection 
Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions,'' 
and is publicly available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML23311A154. The 
ER will also be available for viewing at https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications.html. In addition, the license 
renewal application, including the ER, is available for public review 
at the San Luis Obispo Library, 995 Palm St., San Luis Obispo, CA 
93403.
    The NRC intends to gather the information necessary to prepare a 
plant-specific supplement to NUREG-1437, ``Generic Environmental Impact 
Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants'' (ADAMS Package 
Accession No. ML13107A023) (GEIS), related to the license renewal 
application for DCPP. The NRC is required by 10 CFR 51.95 to prepare a 
plant-specific supplement to the GEIS in connection with the renewal of 
an operating license. This notice is being published in accordance with 
NEPA and the NRC's regulations at 10 CFR part 51.
    The supplement to the GEIS will evaluate the environmental impacts 
of license renewal for DCPP, and reasonable alternatives thereto. 
Possible alternatives to the proposed action include the no-action 
alternative and reasonable alternative energy sources.
    As part of its environmental review, the NRC will first conduct a 
scoping process for the plant-specific supplement to the GEIS and, as 
soon as practicable thereafter, will prepare a draft supplement to the 
GEIS 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 supplement to the 
GEIS will be used to accomplish the following:
    a. Define the proposed action that is to be the subject of the 
supplement to the GEIS;
    b. Determine the scope of the supplement to the GEIS and identify 
the significant issues to be analyzed in depth;
    c. Identify and eliminate from detailed study those issues that are 
peripheral or are not significant or that have been covered by prior 
environmental review;
    d. Identify any environmental assessments and other ElSs that are 
being or will be prepared that are related to, but are not part of, the 
scope of the supplement to the GEIS under consideration;
    e. Identify other environmental review and consultation 
requirements related to the proposed action;
    f. Indicate the relationship between the timing of the preparation 
of the environmental analyses and the NRC's tentative planning and 
decision-making schedule;
    g. Identify any cooperating agencies and, as appropriate, allocate 
assignments for preparation and schedules for completing the supplement 
to the GEIS to the NRC and any cooperating agencies; and
    h. Describe how the supplement to the GEIS will be prepared, 
including any contractor assistance to be used.
    The NRC invites the following entities to participate in scoping:
    a. The applicant, PG&E
    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 has petitioned or intends to petition for leave 
to intervene under 10 CFR 2.309.

IV. Public Scoping Meeting

    In accordance with 10 CFR 51.26(b), the scoping process for an EIS 
may include a public scoping meeting to help identify significant 
issues related to the proposed action and to determine the scope of 
issues to be addressed in the EIS.
    The NRC is announcing that it will hold an online webinar and 
teleconference call and an in-person public scoping meeting for the 
DCPP license renewal supplement to the GEIS. The online webinar and 
teleconference call will be held on February 1, 2024, at 10 a.m. PT. 
The in-person public scoping meeting will be held on February 8, 2024, 
at 6 p.m. PT. A court reporter will transcribe all comments received 
during the public scoping meetings. To be considered, comments must be 
provided either at a transcribed public meeting or in writing, as 
discussed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. Persons interested 
in attending these meetings should monitor the NRC's Public Meeting 
Schedule website at https://www.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg for additional 
information and agenda for the meetings. Please contact Kim Conway no 
later than January 31, 2024, if accommodations or special equipment is 
needed to attend or to provide comments, so that the NRC can determine 
whether the request can be accommodated.
    The public scoping meetings will include: (1) an overview by the 
NRC of the environmental and safety review processes, the proposed 
scope of the supplement to the GEIS, and the proposed review schedule; 
and (2) the opportunity for interested government agencies, 
organizations, and individuals to submit comments or suggestions on 
environmental issues or the proposed scope of the supplement to the 
GEIS.
    Participation in the scoping process for the DCPP license renewal

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supplement to the GEIS does not entitle participants to become parties 
to the proceeding to which the supplement to the GEIS relates. Matters 
related to participation in any hearing are outside the scope of 
matters to be discussed at these public meetings.

    Dated: January 19, 2024.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Stephen S. Koenick,
Chief, Environmental Project Management Branch 1, Division of 
Rulemaking, Environment, and Financial Support, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety, and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2024-01355 Filed 1-23-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P