[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 83 (Monday, April 29, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33400-33402]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-09063]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-461; NRC-2024-0046]
Notice of Intent To Conduct Scoping Process and Prepare
Environmental Impact Statement; Constellation Energy Generation, LLC;
Clinton Power Station, Unit 1
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
[[Page 33401]]
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 the license renewal of the Facility Operating License No.
NPF-62 for Clinton Power Station, Unit 1 (CPS). The NRC is seeking
public comment on this action and has scheduled two public scoping
meetings that will take place as online webinars.
DATES: The NRC will hold two public scoping meetings as online webinars
on May 7, 2024, at 6 p.m. eastern time (ET) and May 9, 2024, at 1 p.m.
(ET). 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 May 29, 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.
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-2024-0046. 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: [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: Ashley Waldron, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-7317; email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0046 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-2024-0046.
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. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Public Library: A copy of the license renewal application
for CPS, including the environmental report, is available for public
review at the following public library location: Vespasian Warner
Public Library, 310 N Quincy St., Clinton, IL 61727.
B. Submitting Comments
The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the
Federal rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please
include Docket ID NRC-2024-0046 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 February 14, 2024 (ADAMS Package Accession No.
ML24045A023), Constellation Energy Generation, LLC (CEG) submitted to
the NRC an application for license renewal of Facility Operating
License No. NPF-62 for Clinton Power Station, Unit 1 (CPS), for an
additional 20 years of operation. This submission initiated the NRC's
proposed action of determining whether to grant the license renewal
application. CPS is located in DeWitt County, approximately 7 miles
east of the city of Clinton in east-central Illinois. The current
facility operating license for Unit 1 will expire at midnight on April
17, 2027. The license renewal application was submitted pursuant to
part 54 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR),
``Requirements for Renewal of Operating Licenses for Nuclear Power
Plants,'' and seeks to extend the facility operating license for Unit 1
to midnight on April 17, 2047. A notice of receipt and availability of
the application was published in the Federal Register on March 7, 2024
(89 FR 16591). A notice of acceptance for docketing of the application
and of opportunity to request a hearing was published in the Federal
Register on April 18, 2024 (89 FR 27805) and is available on the
Federal rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov) by searching
for Docket ID NRC-2024-0046
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 CPS, and to provide 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
[[Page 33402]]
requirements of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act
of 1966 (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, CEG submitted
an environmental report (ER) as part of the license renewal
application. The ER was prepared pursuant to 10 CFR part 51 and is
publicly available at ADAMS Accession No. ML24045A279. The ER will also
be available for viewing at https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/clinton.html.
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'' (GEIS) (ADAMS Package
Accession No. ML13107A023), related to the license renewal application
for CPS. 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 supplemental to the GEIS will evaluate the environmental
impacts of the license renewal for CPS, 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 EIS and, as soon as practicable thereafter,
will prepare a draft EIS 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
EIS will be used to accomplish the following:
a. Define the proposed action that is to be the subject of the EIS;
b. Determine the scope of the EIS 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 EIS 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 EIS to the
NRC and any cooperating agencies; and
h. Describe how the EIS will be prepared, including any contractor
assistance to be used.
The NRC invites the following entities to participate in scoping:
a. The applicant, Constellation Energy Generation, LLC;
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 two public scoping meetings
as online webinars for the CPS license renewal application. The webinar
will include a telephone line for members of the public to provide
comments. A court reporter will transcribe all comments received during
the webinars. To be considered, comments must be provided either at the
transcribed public meeting or in writing, as discussed in the ADDRESSES
section of this document. The public scoping webinars will be held on
May 7, 2024, at 6 p.m. ET and May 9, 2024, at 1 p.m. ET. Persons
interested in attending this online webinar should monitor the NRC's
Public Meeting Schedule website at https://www.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg for
additional information, agendas for the meeting, and access information
for the webinar. Please contact Ashley Waldron no later than May 2,
2024, if accommodations or special equipment is needed to attend or to
provide comments, so that the NRC staff can determine whether the
request can be accommodated.
The public scoping meeting will include: (1) an overview by the NRC
staff of the environmental and safety review processes, the proposed
scope of the EIS, 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 CPS license renewal EIS.
Participation in the scoping process for the CPS license renewal
EIS does not entitle participants to become parties to the proceeding
to which the EIS relates. Matters related to participation in any
hearing are outside the scope of matters to be discussed at this public
meeting.
Dated: April 23, 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. 2024-09063 Filed 4-26-24; 8:45 am]
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