[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 150 (Monday, August 5, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63450-63452]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-17246]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-237 and 50-249; NRC-2024-0080]
Constellation Energy Generation, LLC; Dresden Nuclear Power
Station, Units 2 and 3; Notice of Intent To Conduct Scoping Process and
Prepare Environmental Impact Statement
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 the subsequent license renewal (SLR) of Renewed Facility
Operating License Nos. DPR-19 and DPR-25, which authorize Constellation
Energy Generation, LLC (CEG, the applicant) to operate Dresden Nuclear
Power Station (Dresden), Units 2 and 3. The NRC staff 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 August 20, 2024, from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. central time (CT) and from 5
p.m. to 7 p.m. CT. 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 September 4, 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-2024-0080. 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-
[[Page 63451]]
0001, ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff.
For additional directions 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-2024-0080 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-2024-0080.
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 SLR application for Dresden,
including the applicant's environmental report, will be available for
public review at the following public library locations: Morris Area
Public Library, 604 Liberty St., Morris, IL 60450, and Coal City
Library, 85 N Garfield Street, Coal City, IL 60416.
B. Submitting Comments
The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the
Federal rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please
include Docket ID NRC-2024-0080 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 April 17, 2024 (ADAMS Package Accession No.
ML24108A007), CEG submitted to the NRC an application for SLR of
Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-19 and DPR-25 for Dresden,
Units 2 and 3, for an additional 20 years of operation. This submission
initiated the NRC's proposed action of determining whether to grant the
SLR application. Dresden is located in Morris IL, approximately 23
miles southwest of Joliet, IL. The current facility operating license
for Dresden, Unit 2, expires at midnight on December 22, 2029, and the
current facility operating license for Dresden, Unit 3 expires at
midnight on January 12, 2031. The SLR 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 2 to midnight on December 22, 2049, and Unit 3 to midnight January
12, 2051. A notice of receipt and availability of the application was
published in the Federal Register on May 7, 2024 (89 FR 38197). A
notice of acceptance for docketing of the application and of
opportunity to request a hearing was published in the Federal Register
on June 24, 2024 (89 FR 52514) and is available on the Federal
rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov) by searching for
Docket ID NRC-2024-0080.
III. Request for Comment
This notice informs the public of the NRC staff's intent to conduct
environmental scoping and prepare an EIS related to the SLR application
for Dresden, 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 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 staff 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 the regulations in 10 CFR part 51 and the
Commission's decision in CLI-22-2 (ADAMS Accession No. ML22055A496),
Dresden submitted an environmental report (ER) as part of the SLR
application. The ER is available in ADAMS under Accession No.
ML24108A011. The ER is also available for viewing at: https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/Dresden-subsequent.html.
As part of its environmental review, the NRC staff 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;
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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 staff invites the following entities to participate in
scoping:
a. The applicant, CEG, 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 Native American 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 who intends to petition, for
leave to intervene in the proceeding 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 Dresden SLR application. Both webinars will
include telephone lines 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 meetings will be held as
online webinars on August 20, 2024, from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. CT and from
5 p.m. to 7 p.m. CT. Persons interested in attending these online
webinars 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 Tam
Tran no later than August 9, 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.
Both public scoping meetings 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 Dresden SLR EIS.
Participation in the scoping process for the Dresden SLR 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: July 31, 2024.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Stephen Koenick,
Chief, Environmental Project Management Branch 1, Division of
Rulemaking, Environment, and Financial Support, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety, and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2024-17246 Filed 8-2-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P