[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 238 (Tuesday, December 13, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76219-76221]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-27025]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-445 and 50-446; NRC-2022-0183]
Notice of Intent To Conduct Scoping Process and Prepare
Environmental Impact Statement; Vistra Operations Company LLC; Comanche
Peak Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 and 2
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Intent To conduct scoping process and prepare environmental
impact statement; 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 license renewal of the operating licenses for Comanche
Peak Nuclear Power Plant (CPNPP), Units 1 and 2. The NRC is seeking
public comment on this action and has scheduled a public scoping
meeting that will take place in Glen Rose, Texas.
DATES: The NRC will hold a public scoping meeting on January 10, 2023,
from 1 to 3 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. local time. Submit comments on the
scope of the EIS by January 30, 2023. 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.
See Section IV, ``Public Scoping Meeting,'' of this notice for
additional information.
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-2022-0183. 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].
Attend the transcribed public meetings on January 10,
2023.
Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop
TWFN-7-A60M, 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: 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-2022-0183 when contacting the NRC
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may
obtain publicly available information related to this document by any
of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://regulations.gov
and search for Docket ID NRC-2022-0183.
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, 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 a document is referenced.
NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's PDR, Room P1 B35, One White
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. 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. Eastern Time (ET), Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
B. Submitting Comments
The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the
Federal rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please
include Docket ID NRC-2022-0183 in your comment submission to ensure
that the NRC can 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
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 submissions into ADAMS.
II. Discussion
On October 3, 2022, the NRC received an application for the renewal
of Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-87 and NPF89, which would
authorize Vistra Operations Company LLC (Vistra, the applicant) to
operate CPNPP, Units 1 and 2 for an additional 20 years of operation
beyond the period specified in each of the current licenses (ADAMS
Accession No. ML22276A082). This submission initiated the NRC's
proposed action: determining whether to grant or deny the license
renewal
[[Page 76220]]
application for power reactor operating licenses, which, if granted,
would authorize CPNPP Units 1 and 2 to operate for an additional 20
years beyond the period specified in each of the current licenses. The
CPNPP units are pressurized-water reactors designed by Westinghouse
Electric Corporation and are in Somervell County, Texas. The current
operating license for Unit 1 expires at midnight on February 8, 2030,
and the current operating license for Unit 2 expires at midnight on
February 2, 2033. The license renewal 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 included an environmental report (ER). A notice of
receipt and availability of the application was published in the
Federal Register on October 31, 2022 (87 FR 65617). A notice of
acceptance for docketing of the application and opportunity for hearing
regarding the license renewal of the CPNPP Units 1 and 2 operating
licenses was published on December 1, 2022 (87 FR 73798) and is
available in Regulations.gov by searching for Docket ID NRC-2022-0183.
III. Request for Comments
This notice informs the public of the NRC's intention to conduct
environmental scoping and prepare an EIS related to the license renewal
application for CPNPP, and to provide the public an opportunity to
participate in the environmental scoping process, as defined in 10 CFR
51.29.
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 (42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.) (NEPA)
process to fulfill the requirements of Section 106 of the National
Historic Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. 300101, et seq.) (NHPA).
Therefore, pursuant to 36 CFR 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 at 36 CFR 800.3 through 800.6.
In accordance with 10 CFR 51.53(c) and 10 CFR 54.23, Vistra
submitted an ER as part of the license renewal application. The ER was
prepared pursuant to 10 CFR part 51 and is available in ADAMS under
Accession No. ML22297A246. The ER may also be viewed on the NRC public
website at https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications.html. In addition, the license renewal application,
including the ER, are available for public review at the Somervell
County Library, 108 Allen Dr., Glen Rose, TX 76043 and Hood County
Library, 222 N Travis St. Granbury, TX 76048.
As required by 10 CFR 51.95, the NRC intends to gather the
information necessary to prepare a plant-specific supplement
(supplement 60) to the NRC's NUREG-1437, ``Generic Environmental Impact
Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants'' (ADAMS Package
Accession No. ML13107A023) (GEIS), related to the license renewal
application for CPNPP Units 1 and 2. This notice is being published in
accordance with NEPA and the NRC's regulations found at 10 CFR part 51.
Supplement 60 to the GEIS will evaluate the environmental impacts
of the license renewal for CPNPP Units 1 and 2, and reasonable
alternatives thereto. Possible alternatives to the proposed action
include the no action alternative and reasonable alternative energy
sources.
As part of its environmental review, the NRC will first conduct a
scoping process for the supplement 60 to the GEIS and, as soon as
practicable thereafter, will prepare a draft supplement 60 to the GEIS
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 supplement 60 to the GEIS will
be used to accomplish the following:
a. Define the proposed action, which is to be the subject of the
supplement 60 to the GEIS;
b. Determine the scope of the supplement 60 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 are not significant; or were covered by a 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 supplement 60 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 decisionmaking schedule;
g. Identify any cooperating agencies and, as appropriate, allocate
assignments for preparation and schedules for completing the supplement
60 to the GEIS to the NRC and any cooperating agencies; and
h. Describe how the supplement 60 to the GEIS will be prepared,
including any contractor assistance to be used.
The NRC invites the following entities to participate in scoping:
a. The applicant, Vistra;
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 has petitioned or intends to petition for leave
to intervene 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 a proposed activity and to determine the scope of
issues to be addressed in an EIS.
The NRC is announcing that it will hold a public scoping meeting
for the CPNPP Units 1 and 2 license renewal supplement 60 to the GEIS.
A court reporter will record and transcribe all comments received
during the meeting. 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 date and times for the public
scoping meetings are as follows:
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Meeting Date Time Location
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Public EIS Scoping................... Tuesday, 1/10/2023..... 1 to 3 p.m., as Somervell County Expo
necessary, and 5 to 7 Center, 202 Bo Gibbs
p.m., as necessary, Blvd., W Hwy. 67, Glen
local time. Rose, TX 76043.
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[[Page 76221]]
In addition, the NRC staff will host informal discussions one hour
before the start of each session at the same location. The staff will
not accept formal comments on the proposed scope of the supplement 60
to the GEIS during these informal discussions.
The public scoping meeting will include: (1) an overview by the NRC
staff of the environmental and safety review processes, the proposed
scope of the supplement 60 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
environmental issues or the proposed scope of the supplement 60 to the
GEIS.
Persons interested in attending should monitor the NRC's Public
Meeting Schedule at https://www.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg for additional
information and agendas for the meetings. Please contact Tam Tran no
later than December 21, 2022, if accommodations, including a telephone
bridgeline, special equipment, or translation is needed to attend or to
provide comments, so that the NRC staff can determine whether the
request can be accommodated.
Participation in the scoping process for the supplement 60 to the
GEIS does not entitle participants to become parties to the proceeding
to which the supplement 60 to the GEIS relates. Matters related to
participation in any hearing are outside the scope of matters to be
discussed at this public meeting.
Dated: December 8, 2022.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John M. Moses,
Deputy Director, Division of Rulemaking, Environment, and Financial
Support, Office of Nuclear Material Safety, and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2022-27025 Filed 12-12-22; 8:45 am]
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