[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 19 (Friday, January 30, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5688-5689]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-2050]
[[Page 5688]]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[DOCKET NO. 52-038; NRC-2008-0581]
Nine Mile Point 3 Nuclear Project, LLC and Unistar Nuclear
Operating Services, LLC; Nine Mile Point 3 Nuclear Power Plant Combined
License Application; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental
Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping
Nine Mile Point 3 Nuclear Project, LLC and UniStar Nuclear
Operating Services, LLC have submitted an application for a combined
license (COL) to build Unit 3 at its Nine Mile Point Nuclear Power
Plant (NMPNPP) site, located on approximately 921 acres in Oswego
County, New York on Lake Ontario, approximately five miles north-
northeast of Oswego, New York. Nine Mile Point 3 Nuclear Project, LLC
and UniStar Nuclear Operating Services, LLC submitted the application
for the COL to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by letter
dated September 30, 2008, pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR) Part 52. A notice of receipt and availability of
the application, including the Environmental Report (ER), was published
in the Federal Register on Tuesday, October 28, 2008 (73 FR 63998). A
notice of acceptance for docketing of the application for the COL was
published in the Federal Register on December 19, 2008 (73 FR 77862). A
notice of hearing and opportunity to petition for leave to intervene in
the proceeding of the application will be published in a future Federal
Register Notice. The purposes of this notice are (1) to inform the
public that the NRC staff will be preparing an environmental impact
statement (EIS) as part of the review of the application for the COL
and (2) to provide the public with an opportunity to participate in the
environmental scoping process as defined in 10 CFR 51.29.
In addition, as outlined in 36 CFR 800.8(c), ``Coordination with
the National Environmental Policy Act,'' the NRC staff plans to
coordinate compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act (NHPA) with steps taken to meet the requirements of
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA).
Pursuant to 36 CFR 800.8(c), the NRC staff intends to use the process
and documentation 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 on 36 CFR 800.3 through 800.6.
In accordance with 10 CFR 51.45 and 51.50, Nine Mile Point 3
Nuclear Project, LLC and UniStar Nuclear Operating Services, LLC
submitted the ER as part of the application. The ER was prepared
pursuant to 10 CFR Parts 51 and 52 and is available for public
inspection at the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) located at One White
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland
20852, or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRC's
Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is
accessible at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html which provides
access through the NRC's Electronic Reading Room (ERR) link. The
accession number in ADAMS for the environmental report is ML083100609.
Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in
accessing the documents located in ADAMS should contact the NRC's PDR
Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209/301-415-4737 or by e-mail to
[email protected]. The application may also be viewed on the Internet at
http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/nine-mile-point.html. In
addition, both the Oswego Public Library at 120 East First Street,
Oswego, New York and SUNY Oswego Penfield Library at 7060 State Route
104, Oswego, New York have agreed to make the ER available for public
inspection.
The following key reference documents related to the application
and the NRC staff's review processes are available through the NRC's
Web site at http://www.nrc.gov:
a. 10 CFR Part 51, Environmental Protection Regulations for
Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Function;
b. 10 CFR Part 52, Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for
Nuclear Power Plants;
c. 10 CFR Part 100, Reactor Site Criteria;
d. NUREG-1555, Standard Review Plans for Environmental Reviews for
Nuclear Power Plants;
e. NUREG/BR-0298, Brochure on Nuclear Power Plant Licensing
Process;
f. Regulatory Guide 4.2, Preparation of Environmental Reports for
Nuclear Power Stations;
g. Regulatory Guide 4.7, General Site Suitability Criteria for
Nuclear Power Stations;
h. Fact Sheet on Nuclear Power Plant Licensing Process;
i. Regulatory Guide 1.206, Combined License Applications for
Nuclear Power Plants; and
j. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Policy Statement on the Treatment
of Environmental Justice Matters in NRC Regulatory and Licensing
Actions.
The regulations, NUREG-series documents, regulatory guides, and the
fact sheet can be found under Document Collections in the Electronic
Reading Room on the NRC webpage. The environmental justice policy
statement can be found in the Federal Register, 69 FR 52040, August 24,
2004.
This notice advises the public that the NRC intends to gather the
information necessary to prepare an EIS as part of the review of the
application for the COL at the Nine Mile Point 3 Nuclear Power Plant
site. Possible alternatives to the proposed action (issuance of the COL
for the Nine Mile Point 3 Nuclear Power Plant) include no action,
reasonable alternative energy sources, and alternate sites. As set
forth in 10 CFR 51.20(b)(2), issuance of a COL under 10 CFR Part 52 is
an action that requires EIS. This notice is being published in
accordance with NEPA and the NRC's regulations in 10 CFR Part 51.
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 draft 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 that are not significant;
d. Identify any environmental assessments and other EISs that are
being or will be prepared that are related to but are not part of the
scope of the EIS being considered;
e. Identify other environmental review and consultation
requirements related to the proposed action;
f. Identify parties consulting with the NRC under the NHPA, as set
forth in 36 CFR 800.8(c)(1)(i);
g. Indicate the relationship between the timing of the preparation
of the environmental analyses and the Commission's tentative planning
and decision-making schedule;
h. 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
i. Describe how the EIS will be prepared, including any contractor
assistance to be used.
[[Page 5689]]
The NRC invites the following persons or entities to participate in
the scoping process:
a. The applicants, Nine Mile Point 3 Nuclear Project, LLC and
UniStar Nuclear Operating Services, 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 intends to petition for leave to intervene in the
proceeding, or who has submitted such a petition, or who is admitted as
a party.
In accordance with 10 CFR 51.26, the scoping process for an EIS may
include a public scoping meeting to help identify significant issues
related to a proposed activity and to determine the scope of issues to
be addressed in an EIS. The NRC will hold two identical public scoping
meetings for the EIS regarding the COL application. The scoping
meetings will be held at SUNY-Oswego, Sheldon Hall, 7060 Route 104,
Oswego, NY 13126 on Wednesday, February 25, 2009. The first meeting
will convene at 1 p.m. and will continue until approximately 4 p.m. The
second meeting will convene at 6 p.m., with a repetition of the
overview portions of the first meeting, and will continue until
approximately 9 p.m. The date of Thursday, February 26, 2009, is the
alternative date for the scoping meeting in the event that SUNY-Oswego
is closed on Wednesday, February 25, 2009, due to inclement weather. In
the event that SUNY-Oswego is closed on both dates due to inclement
weather the scoping meeting will be rescheduled and the meeting date
and time will be published in the Federal Register. The determination
to close the campus is made by the Governor of New York. Information on
campus closure can be found on the following Web site: http://www.oswego.edu/administration/public_affairs/emergency/snow/cancellations.html under the subheading Campus Closing. The meetings
will be transcribed and will include the following: (1) An overview by
the NRC staff of the NEPA environmental review process, 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 the environmental
issues or the proposed scope of the EIS. Additionally, the NRC staff
will host informal discussions for one hour prior to the start of each
public meeting. No formal comments on the proposed scope of the EIS
will be accepted during the informal discussions. To be considered,
comments must be provided either at the transcribed public meeting or
in writing, as discussed below.
Persons may register to attend or present oral comments at the
meeting on the scope of the NEPA review by contacting Mr. Philip Brandt
or Ms. Jessie M. Muir by telephone at 1-800-368-5642, extension 3550 or
0491, or by e-mail to the NRC at [email protected] no later than
February 18, 2009. Members of the public may also register to speak at
the meeting prior to of the start of the session. Individual oral
comments may be limited by the time available, depending on the number
of persons who register. Members of the public who have not registered
may also have an opportunity to speak, if time permits. Public comments
will be considered in the scoping process for the EIS. If special
equipment or accommodations are needed to attend or present information
at the public meeting, the need should be brought to Ms. Muir's
attention no later than February 18, 2009, so that the NRC staff can
determine whether the request can be accommodated.
Members of the public may send written comments on the scope of the
Nine Mile Point 3 Nuclear Power Plant COL environmental review to the
Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative
Services, Office of Administration, Mailstop TWB-05-B01M, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, and should cite the
publication date and page number of this Federal Register notice. To
ensure that comments will be considered in the scoping process, written
comments must be postmarked by March 31, 2009. Electronic comments may
be sent by e-mail to the NRC at [email protected]. Electronic
submissions must be sent no later than March 31, 2009. Comments will be
made available electronically and will be accessible through the NRC's
Electronic Reading Room link http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
The NRC staff may, at its discretion, consider comments after the end
of the comment period.
Participation in the scoping process for the EIS does not entitle
participants to become parties to the proceeding to which the EIS
relates. A notice of hearing and opportunity to petition for leave
intervene in the proceeding on the application for the COL will be
published in a future Federal Register notice.
At the conclusion of the scoping process, the NRC staff will
prepare a concise summary of the determinations, and conclusions
reached on the scope of the environmental review including the
significant issues identified, and will send this summary to each
participant in the scoping process for whom the staff has an address.
The staff will then prepare and issue for comment the draft EIS, which
will be the subject of a separate Federal Register notice and a
separate public meeting. Copies of the draft EIS will be available for
public inspection at the PDR through the above-mentioned address and
one copy per request will be provided free of charge. After receipt and
consideration of comments on the draft EIS, the NRC will prepare a
final EIS, which will also be available to the public.
Information about the proposed action, the EIS, and the scoping
process may be obtained from Mr. Philip Brandt at U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop T6-D32M, Washington, DC 20555-0001, by
phone at 301-415-3550, or by e-mail at [email protected] and from
Ms. Jessie M. Muir at 301-415-0491 or by e-mail at [email protected].
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th day of January 2009.
For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Andrew C. Campbell,
Acting Director, Division of Site and Environmental Reviews, Office of
New Reactors.
[FR Doc. E9-2050 Filed 1-29-09; 8:45 am]
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