[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 47 (Friday, March 10, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15103-15105]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-04963]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-263; NRC-2023-0031]
Notice of Intent To Conduct Scoping Process and Prepare
Environmental Impact Statement; Northern States Power Company--
Minnesota; Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, Unit 1
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 subsequent license renewal (SLR) of the Renewed
Facility Operating License No. DPR-22 for Monticello Nuclear Generating
Plant, Unit 1 (Monticello). The NRC is seeking public comment on this
action and has scheduled a public scoping meeting that will take place
in person in Monticello, Minnesota on March 22, 2023, followed by a
public scoping webinar meeting at a later date.
DATES: The NRC will hold an in-person public scoping meeting on March
22, 2023, from 6 to 8 p.m. local time. A public scoping webinar will be
held at a later date following the in-person public scoping meeting.
Submit comments on the scope of the EIS by April 10, 2023. Comments
received after
[[Page 15104]]
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://regulations.gov
and search for Docket ID NRC-2023-0031. 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].
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: Jessica Umana, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-5207, email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2023-0031 when contacting the NRC
about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain
publicly available information related to this action by any of the
following methods:
Federal Rulemaking website: Go to https://regulations.gov
and search for Docket ID NRC-2023-0031.
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 it 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.
Public Library: A copy of the SLR application for the
Monticello, including the environmental report (ER), is available for
public review at the following public library location: Monticello
Great River Regional Library, 200 W 6th St., Monticello, MN 55362.
B. Submitting Comments
The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the
Federal rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please
include Docket ID NRC-2023-0031 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
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
By letter dated January 9, 2023 (ADAMS Accession No. ML23009A353),
Northern States Power Company, a Minnesota corporation, submitted to
the NRC an application for subsequent license renewal of Renewed
Facility Operating License No. DPR-22, Unit 1, for an additional 20
years of operation. This submission initiated the NRC's proposed action
of determining whether to grant the SLR application. The Monticello
unit is a boiling water reactor designed by General Electric and is
located in central Minnesota on the banks of the Mississippi River in
Sherburne and Wright counties, approximately 38 miles northwest of
Minneapolis, MN. The current renewed facility operating license for
Unit 1 expires at midnight on September 8, 2030. The SLR 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 seeks to extend the renewed facility
operating license for Unit 1 to midnight on September 8, 2050. A notice
of receipt and availability of the application was published in the
Federal Register on January 31, 2023 (88 FR 6327).
III. Request for Comment
This notice informs the public of the NRC's intention to conduct
environmental scoping and prepare an EIS related to the SLR application
for Monticello, and to provide the public an opportunity to participate
in the environmental scoping process, as defined in 10 CFR 51.29,
``Scoping-environmental impact statement and supplement to
environmental impact statement.''
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 of 1966 (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 required 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, Monticello
submitted an ER as part of the SLR application. The ER was prepared
pursuant to 10 CFR part 51, ``Environmental Protection Regulations for
Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions,'' and is available
in ADAMS under Accession No. ML23009A356. The ER will also be available
for viewing at https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/
renewal/subsequent-license-
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renewal.html. In addition, the SLR application, including the ER, is
available for public review at the Monticello Great River Regional
Library, 200 W 6th St, Monticello, MN 55362.
The NRC intends to gather the information necessary to prepare a
plant-specific supplement to NUREG-1437, ``Generic Environmental Impact
Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants'' (ADAMS Package
Accession No. ML13107A023) (GEIS), related to the SLR application for
Monticello. The NRC is required by 10 CFR 51.95 to prepare a plant-
specific 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 at 10 CFR part 51.
The supplement to the GEIS will evaluate the environmental impacts
of subsequent license renewal for Monticello 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 plant-specific supplement to the GEIS and, as
soon as practicable thereafter, will prepare a draft supplement 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 to the
GEIS will be used to accomplish the following:
a. Define the proposed action that 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 are not significant or that have been covered by 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 to the GEIS under consideration;
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 NRC'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,
including any contractor assistance to be used.
The NRC invites the following entities to participate in scoping:
a. The applicant, Northern States Power Company;
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 the proposed action and to determine the scope of
issues to be addressed in the EIS.
The NRC is announcing that it will hold an in-person public scoping
meeting for the Monticello SLR supplement to the GEIS; a virtual public
scoping meeting is to follow at a later date. A court reporter will
transcribe all comments received during the public scoping meeting. To
be considered, comments must be provided either at a transcribed public
meeting or in writing, as discussed in the ADDRESSES section of this
notice. The in-person public scoping meeting information is as follows.
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Meeting Date Time Location
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Public EIS Scoping................. Wednesday, 03/22/2023. 6 p.m.-8 p.m., as Monticello Community
necessary. Center, 505 Walnut St.,
Monticello, MN 55362.
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Persons interested in attending this meeting should monitor the
NRC's Public Meeting Schedule website at https://www.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg
for additional information and the agenda for the meeting. Please
contact Ms. Jessica Umana no later than March 16, 2023, if
accommodations or special equipment is needed to attend or to provide
comments, so that the NRC staff can determine whether the request can
be accommodated.
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 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 Monticello SLR
supplement to the GEIS.
Participation in the scoping process for the Monticello SLR
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.
Dated: March 7, 2023.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Theodore B. Smith,
Chief, Environmental Review License Renewal Branch, Division of
Rulemaking, Environment, and Financial Support, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2023-04963 Filed 3-9-23; 8:45 am]
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