[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 72 (Wednesday, April 16, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16008-16011]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-06438]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-266 and 50-301; NRC-2020-0277; SEIS-429-00-000-
1730167609]
NextEra Energy Point Beach, LLC; Point Beach Nuclear Plant, Units
1 and 2; Second Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Request for comment; public comment meeting; opportunity to
request a hearing and to petition for leave to intervene.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission)
is issuing for public comment Generic Environmental Impact Statement
for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, Supplement 23, Second Renewal,
Regarding Subsequent License Renewal (SLR) for Point Beach Nuclear
Plant, Units 1 and 2 (Point Beach), Second Draft Report for Comment
(second draft report). This second draft report concerns the NRC
staff's review of the environmental impacts of the proposed renewal of
Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-24 and DPR-27 for Point
Beach, Units 1 and 2, respectively, for an additional 20 years. Point
Beach is located on the western shore of Lake Michigan in Manitowoc
County, Wisconsin, approximately 15 miles north-northeast of Manitowoc,
Wisconsin. Possible alternatives to the proposed action of SLR 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 second draft report--is also being issued.
DATES: The NRC staff will hold a public meeting through online webinar
on the second draft report, including a presentation on the preliminary
recommendation in the second draft report and a transcribed public
comment session. The meeting will be held on May 15, 2025, at 3 p.m.
central time, 4 p.m. eastern time (ET). The public meeting details can
be found on the NRC's Public Meeting Schedule at https://www.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg. Members of the public are invited to submit comments by June
2, 2025. 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 June 16, 2025.
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-2020-0277. Address
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Bridget Curran;
telephone: 301-415-1003; 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: Kevin Folk, Senior Environmental
Project Manager, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone:
301-415-6944; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2020-0277 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-2020-0277.
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]. Generic Environmental Impact
Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, Supplement 23, Second
Renewal, Regarding Subsequent License Renewal for Point Beach Nuclear
Plant, Units 1 and 2, Second Draft Report for Comment is available in
ADAMS under Accession No. ML25069A710. In addition, for the convenience
of the reader, instructions about obtaining materials referenced in
this document are provided in the ``Availability of Documents''
section.
[[Page 16009]]
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 Generic Environmental Impact
Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, Supplement 23, Second
Renewal, Regarding Subsequent License Renewal for Point Beach Nuclear
Plant, Units 1 and 2, Second Draft Report for Comment will be available
for public review at the Lester Public Library, 1001 Adams Street, Two
Rivers, WI 54241.
B. Submitting Comments
The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the
Federal Rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please
include Docket ID NRC-2020-0277 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 Generic Environmental Impact
Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, Supplement 23, Second
Renewal, Regarding Subsequent License Renewal for Point Beach Nuclear
Plant, Units 1 and 2, Second Draft Report for Comment (second draft
report). The second draft report updates Generic Environmental Impact
Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, Supplement 23, Second
Renewal, Regarding Subsequent License Renewal for Point Beach Nuclear
Plant, Units 1 and 2, Draft Report for Comment, issued in November 2021
(first draft report). Specifically, the second draft report includes
the NRC staff's evaluation of new information obtained since the
issuance of the November 2021 first draft report. This new information
includes the NRC's publication of a final rule on August 6, 2024 (89 FR
64166), which revised the NRC's environmental protection regulation,
part 51 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR),
``Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and
Related Regulatory Functions.'' This final rule updated the potential
environmental impacts associated with the renewal of an operating
license for a nuclear power plant for up to an additional 20 years,
which could either be an initial license renewal or an SLR. The
technical basis for the final rule is provided by Revision 2 of NUREG-
1437, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of
Nuclear Plants'' (LR GEIS), which was revised as part of the rulemaking
as an update to the 2013 LR GEIS, Revision 1. The final rule also
involved the issuance of Revision 2 of NUREG-1555, Supplement 1,
``Standard Review Plans for Environmental Reviews for Nuclear Power
Plants: Supplement 1: Operating License Renewal, Final Report,'' and
Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide 4.2, Supplement 1, ``Preparation of
Environmental Reports for Nuclear Power Plant License Renewal
Applications.'' The NRC staff also considered additional information
provided by NextEra Energy Point Beach, LLC (NextEra). The NRC staff
prepared the second draft report in accordance with 10 CFR 51.72,
``Supplement to draft environmental impact statement,'' and Commission
Legal Issuance (CLI)-22-02 and CLI-22-03, both dated February 24, 2022.
In the second draft report and in the November 2021 first draft
report, the NRC staff's preliminary recommendation is that the adverse
environmental impacts of SLR for Point Beach are not so great that
preserving the option of SLR for energy-planning decisionmakers would
be unreasonable. The NRC staff based this preliminary recommendation on
the analysis and findings in NUREG-1437, the environmental report
submitted by NextEra, as supplemented, the NRC staff's consultations
with Federal, State, Tribal, and local government agencies, the NRC
staff's independent environmental review, which is documented in the
second draft report and in the November 2021 first draft report, and
the NRC staff's consideration of public comments received during
scoping.
III. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the following table are available to
interested persons through ADAMS, as indicated.
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Document description Adams accession No.
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Generic Environmental Impact Statement for ML25069A710.
License Renewal of Nuclear Plants,
Supplement 23, Second Renewal, Regarding
Subsequent License Renewal for Point
Beach Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2,
Second Draft Report for Comment, dated
April 2025.
Generic Environmental Impact Statement for ML21306A226.
License Renewal of Nuclear Plants,
Supplement 23, Second Renewal, Regarding
Subsequent License Renewal for Point
Beach Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2, Draft
Report for Comment, dated November 2021.
NUREG-1437, Generic Environmental Impact ML24087A133 (Package).
Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear
Plants, Volumes 1-3, Revision 2, dated
August 2024.
NUREG-1437, Generic Environmental Impact ML13107A023 (Package).
Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear
Plants, Volumes 1-3, Revision 1, dated
June 2013.
NUREG-1555, Supplement 1, Revision 2, ML23201A227.
Standard Review Plans for Environmental
Reviews for Nuclear Power Plants,
Supplement 1: Operating License Renewal,
dated August 2024.
Regulatory Guide 4.2, Supplement 1, ML23201A144.
Revision 2, Preparation of Environmental
Reports for Nuclear Power Plant License
Renewal Applications, dated August 2024.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ML22055A496.
Memorandum and Order CLI-22-02, dated
February 24, 2022.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ML22055A521.
Memorandum and Order CLI-22-03, dated
February 24, 2022.
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[[Page 16010]]
IV. Opportunity To Request a Hearing and Petition for Leave To
Intervene
As directed in CLI-22-03, with the completion of the second draft
report, a new notice of opportunity to request a hearing and petition
for leave to intervene--limited to contentions based on new information
in the second draft report--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 Indian
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
Indian 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/aboutnrc/regulatory/adjudicatory/hearing.html#participate.
V. Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)
All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including
documents filed by an interested State, local governmental body,
Federally recognized Indian 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/esubmittals.html, by
email to [email protected], or by a tollfree 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.
[[Page 16011]]
Dated: April 11, 2025.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John Moses,
Deputy Director, Division of Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial
Support, Office of Nuclear Materials Safety, and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2025-06438 Filed 4-15-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P