[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 126 (Wednesday, July 1, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37664-37666]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-15921]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-275 and 50-323; NRC-2009-0552]
Diablo Canyon Power Plant, Units 1 and 2
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement
and conduct the scoping process; reopening of scoping process, public
meetings, and request for comment.
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SUMMARY: On January 27, 2010, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) notified the public of its opportunity to participate in the
scoping process associated with the preparation of an environmental
impact statement (EIS) related to the review of the license renewal
application submitted by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) for
the renewal of Facility Operating Licenses DPR-80 and DPR-82 for an
additional 20 years of operation at Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP),
Units 1 and 2. The current operating licenses for DCPP, Units 1 and 2
expire on November 2, 2024, and August 26, 2025, respectively. The
scoping period closed on April 12, 2010. The NRC has decided to reopen
the scoping process and allow members of the public an additional
opportunity to participate.
DATES: The comment period for the environmental scoping process
published on January 27, 2010 (75 FR 4427) has been reopened. Comments
should be filed no later than August 31, 2015. Comments received after
this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the
Commission is able to ensure consideration only for comments received
before this date.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods
(unless this document describes a different method for submitting
comments on a specific subject):
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2009-0552. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this document.
Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration,
Mail Stop: OWFN-12 H08, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555-0001.
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: Michael Wentzel, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-6459, email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2009-0552 when contacting the NRC
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may
obtain publicly-available information related to this document by the
following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2009-0552.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and
then 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, 301-415-4737, or by email to [email protected]. The
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced (if it available in
ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is referenced. The
application for renewal of the DCPP licenses can be found in ADAMS
under Package Accession No. ML093340125.
[[Page 37665]]
NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
B. Submitting Comments
Please include Docket ID NRC-2009-0552 in the subject line of your
comment submission, in order to ensure that the NRC is able to make
your comment submission available to the public in this docket.
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 http://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 submissions into ADAMS.
II. Discussion
On January 27, 2010 (75 FR 4427), the NRC notified the public of
its opportunity to participate in the scoping process associated with
the preparation of an EIS related to the review of the license renewal
application submitted by PG&E for the renewal of the operating licenses
for an additional 20 years of operation at DCPP. The application for
license renewal, which included an environmental report (ER), dated
November 23, 2009 (ADAMS Package No. ML093340125), was submitted
pursuant to part 54 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10
CFR). A separate notice of receipt and availability of the application
was published in the Federal Register on December 11, 2009 (74 FR
65811). A notice of acceptance for docketing of the application and
opportunity for hearing regarding renewal of the facility operating
license was published in the Federal Register on January 21, 2010 (75
FR 3493). The scoping period closed on April 12, 2010. By letter dated
April 10, 2011 (ADAMS Accession No. ML111010592), PG&E requested the
NRC to delay final processing of the license renewal application to
allow time for the completion of certain seismic studies to address
concerns raised during the State of California's Coastal Zone
Management Act consistency review. On May 31, 2011 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML11138A315), the NRC delayed all further milestones associated with
the safety and environmental reviews of the DCPP license renewal
application.
On December 22, 2014 (ADAMS Package No. ML14364A259), and February
25, 2015 (ADAMS Package No. ML15057A102), PG&E amended its ER to
provide additional information identified by NRC staff as necessary to
complete the review of the DCPP license renewal application. By letter
dated April 28, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15104A509), the NRC staff
issued a schedule for the remainder of the DCPP license renewal review.
The purpose of this notice is to (1) inform the public that the NRC has
decided to reopen the scoping process, as defined in 10 CFR 51.29,
``Scoping-environmental impact statement and supplement to
environmental impact statement,'' and (2) allow members of the public
an additional opportunity to participate. The comments already received
by the NRC will be considered; reopening of the scoping process
provides additional opportunity for the public to comment on issues
that may have emerged since completion of the last scoping period.
As outlined in Sec. 800.8 of Title 36 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (36 CFR), ``Coordination With the National Environmental
Policy Act,'' the NRC plans to coordinate compliance with Section 106
of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) in meeting the
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).
Under Sec. 800.8(c) the NRC intends to use its 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
in Sec. 800.3 through 800.6.
In accordance with 10 CFR 51.53(c) and 10 CFR 54.23, PG&E submitted
the ER as part of the application. The ER was prepared pursuant to 10
CFR part 51 and is publicly available in ADAMS under Accession No.
ML093340123 (original) and Package Nos. ML14364A259 (amendment 1) and
ML15057A102 (amendment 2). The ER may also be viewed on the NRC Web
site at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/diablo-canyon.html. In addition, paper copies of the ER
are available for public review near the site at the San Luis Obispo
County Library, 995 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, California 93403 and
at the Paso Robles City Library, 1000 Spring Street, Paso Robles,
California 93446.
This document advises the public that the NRC intends to gather the
information necessary to prepare a plant specific supplement to the
NRC's ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for License
Renewal of Nuclear Plants'' (NUREG-1437, Revision 1), related to the
review of the application for renewal of the DCPP operating licenses
for an additional 20 years.
Possible alternatives to the proposed action (license renewal)
include no action and reasonable alternative energy sources. The NRC is
required by 10 CFR 51.95 to prepare a 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 found
at 10 CFR part 51.
The NRC will first conduct a scoping process for the supplement to
the GEIS and, as soon as practicable thereafter, will prepare a draft
supplement to the GEIS for public comment. Participation in the scoping
process by members of the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal
government agencies is encouraged. The scoping process for the
supplement to the GEIS will be used to accomplish the following:
a. Define the proposed action, which is to be the subject of the
supplement to the GEIS;
b. Determine the scope of the supplement to the GEIS 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 ElSs that are
being or will be prepared that are related to, but are not part of, the
scope of the supplement to the GEIS being considered;
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 Commission's tentative planning
and decision-making schedule;
g. Identify any cooperating agencies and, as appropriate, allocate
assignments for preparation and schedules for completing the supplement
to the GEIS to the NRC and any cooperating agencies; and
h. Describe how the supplement to the GEIS will be prepared and
include any contractor assistance to be used.
[[Page 37666]]
The NRC invites the following entities to participate in scoping:
a. The applicant, PG&E;
b. Any Federal agency which has jurisdiction by law or special
expertise with respect to any environmental impact involved or which is
authorized to develop and enforce relevant environmental standards;
c. Affected State and local agencies, including those authorized to
develop and enforce relevant environmental standards;
d. Any affected Indian tribe;
e. Any person who has requested an opportunity to participate in
the scoping process; and
f. Any person who has petitioned for leave to intervene in the
proceeding or who has been admitted as a party to the proceeding.
III. Public Scoping Meeting
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 has decided to hold public meetings for
the DCPP license renewal supplement to the GEIS. The scoping meetings
will be held on August 5, 2015, and there will be two sessions to
accommodate interested persons. The first session will convene at 1:30
p.m. and will continue until 4:30 p.m., as necessary. The second
session will convene at 7:00 p.m. with a repeat of the overview
portions of the meeting and will continue until 10:00 p.m., as
necessary. Both sessions will be held at the Courtyard by Marriott San
Luis Obispo, 1605 Calle Joaquin Road, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405. Both
meetings will be transcribed and will include: (1) An overview by the
NRC staff of the NEPA environmental review process, the proposed scope
of the supplement to the GEIS, 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 supplement to the GEIS.
Additionally, the NRC staff will host informal discussions one hour
prior to the start of each session at the same location. Written
comments on the proposed scope of the supplement to the GEIS will be
accepted during the informal discussions. To be considered, comments
must be provided either at the transcribed public meetings or in
writing, as discussed above.
Persons may register to attend or present oral comments at the
meetings on the scope of the NEPA review by contacting the NRC Project
Manager, Michael Wentzel, by telephone at 1-800-368-5642, extension
6459, or by email at [email protected], no later than July 31,
2015. Members of the public may also register to speak at the meeting
within 15 minutes of the start of each 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 supplement to the
GEIS. Michael Wentzel will need to be contacted no later than July 22,
2015, if special equipment or accommodations are needed to attend or
present information at the public meeting so that the NRC staff can
determine whether the request can be accommodated.
Participation in the scoping process for the supplement to the GEIS
does not entitle participants to become parties to the proceeding to
which the supplement to the GEIS relates. Matters related to
participation in any hearing are outside the scope of matters to be
discussed at this public meeting.
At the conclusion of the scoping process, the NRC will prepare a
concise summary of the determination and conclusions reached; including
the significant issues identified, and will send a copy of the summary
to each participant in the scoping process. The summary will also be
available for inspection in ADAMS and the Federal Rulemaking Web site.
The NRC staff will then prepare and issue for comment the draft
supplement to the GEIS, which will be the subject of a separate notice
and separate public meetings. Copies will be available for public
inspection at the addresses listed in the ADDRESSES section of this
Federal Register notice. After receipt and consideration of the
comments, the NRC will prepare a final supplement to the GEIS, which
will also be available for public inspection.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd day of June, 2015.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brian Wittick,
Chief, Projects Branch 2, Division of License Renewal, Office of
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2015-15921 Filed 6-30-15; 8:45 am]
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