[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 103 (Friday, May 30, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23075-23079]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-09637]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-277 and 50-278; NRC-2024-0214; SEIS-429-00-000-
1734688863]
Constellation Energy Generation, LLC; Peach Bottom Atomic Power
Station Units 2 and 3; Draft Supplement to Environmental Impact
Statement
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Request for comment; 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 10, Second Renewal,
Regarding Subsequent License Renewal (SLR) for Peach Bottom Atomic
Power
[[Page 23076]]
Station Units 2 and 3 (Peach Bottom), Supplement 1, Draft Report for
Comment. This draft supplement to the 2020 final supplemental
environmental impact statement (2020 final SEIS) concerns the NRC
staff's review of the environmental impacts of the proposed SLR of
Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-44 and DPR-56 for Peach
Bottom Units 2 and 3, respectively, for an additional 20 years. Peach
Bottom is located primarily in Peach Bottom Township, York County,
Pennsylvania, near Delta, Pennsylvania. 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 draft supplement--is also being issued.
DATES: Members of the public are invited to submit comments by July 14,
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 July 29, 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-2024-0214. 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-2024-0214 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-2024-0214.
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 10, Second
Renewal, Regarding Subsequent License Renewal for Peach Bottom Atomic
Power Station Units 2 and 3, Supplement 1, Draft Report for Comment is
available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML25111A147. In addition, for
the convenience of the reader, instructions about obtaining materials
referenced in this document are provided in the ``Availability of
Documents'' section.
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 10, Second
Renewal, Regarding Subsequent License Renewal for Peach Bottom Atomic
Power Station Units 2 and 3, Supplement 1, Draft Report for Comment
will be available for public review at the Harford County Public
Library--Whiteford Branch, 2407 Whiteford Road, Whiteford, MD 21160.
B. Submitting Comments
The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the
Federal Rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please
include Docket ID NRC-2024-0214 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. Background
By letter dated July 10, 2018, Exelon Generation Company, LLC (now
Constellation Energy Generation, LLC (CEG)) submitted to the NRC an
application, filed pursuant to section 103 of the Atomic Energy Act of
1954, as amended, and part 54 of title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR), ``Requirements for Renewal of Operating Licenses
for Nuclear Power Plants,'' for subsequent renewed facility operating
licenses with expiration dates of August 8, 2053, for Peach Bottom,
Unit 2 and July 2, 2054, for Peach Bottom, Unit 3, which are 20 years
beyond when the current renewed facility operating licenses expire. The
SLR application included an environmental report.
A notice of receipt of the Peach Bottom SLR application was
published in the Federal Register on August 1, 2018 (83 FR 37529). A
notice of acceptance for docketing of the application and opportunity
to request a hearing was published in the Federal Register on September
6, 2018 (83 FR 45285). A notice of intent to conduct a scoping process
and prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) was
published in the Federal Register on September 10, 2018 (83 FR 45692).
A notice of issuance of the draft SEIS and request for comment was
published in the Federal Register
[[Page 23077]]
on August 7, 2019 (84 FR 38676). A notice of issuance of the final SEIS
(2020 final SEIS) was published in the Federal Register on January 31,
2020 (85 FR 5725). A notice of issuance of the subsequent renewed
facility operating licenses was published in the Federal Register on
March 11, 2020 (85 FR 14247). The issuance of the licenses was also
supported by an NRC Record of Decision (ROD).
The 2020 final SEIS and the ROD documented the NRC staff's
environmental review of the Peach Bottom SLR application, including its
recommendation that the adverse environmental impacts of SLR for Peach
Bottom are not so great that preserving the option of SLR for energy-
planning decisionmakers would be unreasonable. As discussed in the 2020
final SEIS and the ROD, the NRC staff considered the reasonably
foreseeable environmental impacts of SLR for Peach Bottom, as well as a
range of reasonable alternatives to SLR. As part of its environmental
review, the NRC staff relied upon Revision 1 of NUREG-1437, ``Generic
Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants''
(2013 LR GEIS), to meet its obligations under the NRC's environmental
protection regulations in 10 CFR part 51, ``Environmental Protection
Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions,''
and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended.
Specifically, for issues classified as Category 1 (generic to all or a
distinct subset of nuclear power plants) in the 2013 LR GEIS, the NRC
staff did not identify new and significant information and, therefore,
relied upon the conclusions of the 2013 LR GEIS for all those issues
applicable to Peach Bottom. For issues classified as Category 2
(specific to individual nuclear power plants) in the 2013 LR GEIS, the
NRC staff evaluated those issues applicable to Peach Bottom in the
draft and final SEIS.
III. Discussion
The NRC is issuing for public comment Generic Environmental Impact
Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, Supplement 10, Second
Renewal, Regarding Subsequent License Renewal for Peach Bottom Atomic
Power Station Units 2 and 3, Supplement 1, Draft Report for Comment
(draft supplement). The draft supplement updates Generic Environmental
Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, Supplement 10,
Second Renewal, Regarding Subsequent License Renewal for Peach Bottom
Atomic Power Station Units 2 and 3, Final Report, issued in January
2020 (2020 final SEIS). Specifically, the draft supplement includes the
NRC staff's evaluation of new information available since the issuance
of the 2020 final SEIS. 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, 10 CFR part 51.
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, which was revised as part of the
rulemaking as an update to the 2013 LR GEIS. 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 CEG. The NRC staff prepared the draft supplement in
accordance with 10 CFR 51.92, ``Supplement to the final environmental
impact statement,'' and Commission Legal Issuance (CLI)-22-02, CLI-22-
03, and CLI-22-04, all dated February 24, 2022, that addressed the NRC
staff's environmental reviews in SLR proceedings for five nuclear power
plants, including Peach Bottom. The Commission concluded that the 2013
LR GEIS, on which the NRC staff had relied, in part, for its
environmental reviews of the SLR applications for the affected nuclear
power plants, did not consider SLR. Therefore, the Commission
determined that these environmental reviews were inadequate.
Accordingly, the Commission directed the NRC staff to leave the
previously issued Peach Bottom subsequent renewed facility operating
licenses (dated March 5, 2020) in place but to modify their expiration
dates to reflect the end dates of the previous renewed facility
operating licenses (i.e., August 8, 2033, for Peach Bottom, Unit 2 and
July 2, 2034, for Peach Bottom, Unit 3), which the staff did on March
25, 2022. The Commission affirmed this direction in CLI-22-07.
In the draft supplement and in the 2020 final SEIS, the NRC staff's
preliminary recommendation is that the adverse environmental impacts of
SLR for Peach Bottom 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
Revision 2 of NUREG-1437, the environmental report submitted by Exelon
Generation Company, LLC (now CEG), as supplemented, the NRC staff's
consultation with Federal, State, Tribal, and local agencies, the NRC
staff's independent environmental review, which is documented in the
draft supplement and in the 2020 final SEIS, and the NRC staff's
consideration of public comments received during scoping and on the
2020 final SEIS. Together, the draft supplement and the previously
issued 2020 final SEIS evaluate all of the environmental impacts of
continued operation during the SLR term for Peach Bottom, Unit 2 from
August 8, 2033, to August 8, 2053, and for Peach Bottom, Unit 3 from
July 2, 2034, to July 2, 2054.
IV. 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 ML25111A147.
License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, Supplement
10, Second Renewal, Regarding Subsequent
License Renewal for Peach Bottom Atomic Power
Station Units 2 and 3, Supplement 1, Draft
Report for Comment, dated May 2025.
Generic Environmental Impact Statement for ML20023A937.
License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, Supplement
10, Second Renewal, Regarding Subsequent
License Renewal for Peach Bottom Atomic Power
Station Units 2 and 3, Final Report, dated
January 2020.
Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and ML18193A689 (Package).
3, Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-
44 and DPR-56, NRC Docket Nos. 50-277 and 50-
278, Application for Subsequent Renewed
Operating Licenses, dated July 10, 2018.
[[Page 23078]]
Record of Decision, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory ML20024G429.
Commission, Docket Nos. 50-277 and 50-278,
Subsequent License Renewal Application for
Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and
3, dated March 4, 2020.
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, Standard ML23201A227.
Review Plans for Environmental Reviews for
Nuclear Power Plants, Supplement 1: Operating
License Renewal, Final Report, dated August
2024.
Regulatory Guide 4.2, Supplement 1, Revision 2, ML23201A144.
Preparation of Environmental Reports for
Nuclear Power Plant License Renewal
Applications, dated August 2024.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Memorandum ML22055A496.
and Order CLI-22-02, dated February 24, 2022.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Memorandum ML22055A521.
and Order CLI-22-03, dated February 24, 2022.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Memorandum ML22055A557.
and Order CLI-22-04, dated February 24, 2022.
Issuance of Subsequent Renewed Facility ML20010F285.
Operating License Nos. DPR-44 and DPR-56 for
Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and
3 (EPID NO. L-2018-RNW-0012), dated March 5,
2020.
Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and ML22073A207.
3--Modification to Subsequent Renewed Facility
Operating License Nos. DPR-44 and DPR-56 In
Conjunction with Commission Memorandum and
Order CLI-22-04 (EPID L-2018-RNW-0012), dated
March 25, 2022.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Memorandum ML22154A217.
and Order CLI-22-07, dated June 3, 2022.
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V. Opportunity To Request a Hearing and Petition for Leave To Intervene
As directed in CLI-22-03, with the completion of the draft
supplement, a new notice of opportunity to request a hearing and
petition for leave to intervene--limited to contentions based on new
information in the draft supplement--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.
VI. 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
[[Page 23079]]
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.
Dated: May 22, 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. 2025-09637 Filed 5-29-25; 8:45 am]
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