Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.; Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping Process, 20733-20735 [E6-6003]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 77 (Friday, April 21, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20733-20735]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-6003]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-271]


Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.; Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power 
Station; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
and Conduct Scoping Process

    Energy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Entergy) has submitted an 
application for renewal of Facility Operating License No. DPR-28 for an 
additional 20 years of operation at the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power 
Station (VYNPS). VYNPS is located in the town of Vernon, Vermont, in 
Windham County on the west shore of the Connecticut River immediately 
upstream of the Vernon Hydroelectric Station.
    The operating license for VYNPS expires on March 21, 2012. The 
application for renewal, dated January 25, 2006, as supplemented by 
letter dated March 15, 2006, was submitted pursuant to Title 10 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 54. A notice of receipt and 
availability of the application, which included the environmental 
report (ER), was published in the Federal Register on February 6, 2006 
(71 FR 6102). A notice of acceptance for docketing of the application 
for renewal of the facility operating license was published in the 
Federal Register on March 27, 2006, (71 FR 15220). The purpose of this 
notice is to inform the public that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (NRC) will be preparing an environmental impact statement 
(EIS) related to the review of the license renewal application and to 
provide the public an opportunity to participate in the environmental 
scoping process, as in defined in 10 CFR 51.29. In addition, as 
outlined in 36 CFR 800.8, ``Coordination with the National 
Environmental Policy Act,'' the NRC plans to coordinate compliance with 
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act in meeting the 
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).
    In accordance with 10 CFR 51.53(c) and 10 CFR 54.23, Entergy 
submitted the ER as part of the application. The ER was prepared 
pursuant to 10 CFR Part 51 and is publicly available at the NRC Public 
Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville 
Pike, Rockville, Maryland, 20852, or from the NRC's Agencywide 
Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). The ADAMS Public 
Electronic Reading Room is accessible at https://adamswebsearch.nrc.gov/
dologin.htm. The Accession Number for the ER is ML060300086. 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 by telephone at 1-800-397-4209, or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail at 
pdr@nrc.gov. The ER may also be viewed on the Internet at https://
www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/vermont-
yankee.html. In addition, the In addition, the ER is available for 
public inspection near the VYNPS at the following four public 
libraries: Vernon Free Library, 567 Governor Hunt Rd, Vernon, VT 05354; 
Brooks Memorial Library, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT 05301; 
Hinsdale Public Library, 122 Brattleboro Road, Hinsdale, NH, 03451; and 
Dickinson Memorial Library, 115 Main St, Northfield, MA 01360.

[[Page 20734]]

    This notice advises the public that the NRC intends to gather the 
information necessary to prepare a plant-specific supplement to the 
Commission's ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for 
License Renewal of Nuclear Plants,'' (NUREG-1437) related to the review 
of the application for renewal of the VYNPS operating license 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 in 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.
    h. Describe how the supplement to the GEIS will be prepared, and 
include any contractor assistance to be used.
    The NRC invites the following entities to participate in scoping:
    a. The applicant, Energy Nuclear Operations, Inc.
    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.
    f. Any person who has petitioned or intends to petition for leave 
to intervene.
    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 VYNPS license renewal supplement to the GEIS. The scoping meetings 
will be held at the Latchis Theatre, 50 Main Street, Brattleboro, 
Vermont 05301, on Wednesday, June 7, 2006. There will be two sessions 
to accommodate interested parties. 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 p.m. with a repeat of the overview portions 
of the meeting and will continue until 10 p.m., as necessary. 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. No formal 
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 below. Persons may register to attend or present 
oral comments at the meetings on the scope of the NEPA review by 
contacting the NRC Environmental Project Manager, Mr. Richard L. Emch, 
Jr., by telephone at 1-800-368-5642, extension 1590, or by e-mail to 
the NRC at RLE@nrc.gov no later than May 31, 2006. 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. Mr. 
Emch will need to be contacted no later than May 24, 2006, 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.
    In addition to the environmental scoping meeting described above, 
the NRC will hold an informal open house at the Quality Inn & Suites, 
1380 Putney Road, Brattleboro, Vermont 05301, on Tuesday, June 6, 2006, 
from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., as necessary. At the open house, NRC staff will 
be available to provide information about the environmental review 
process for license renewal of nuclear plants. During the open house, 
members of the public will have the opportunity to provide formal 
comments on the proposed scope of the supplement to the GEIS either 
verbally or in writing to a transcriptionist. Comments provided to the 
transcriptionist will be considered in the same manner as comments 
provided during the scoping meetings described above. No formal 
comments on the proposed scope of the supplement to the GEIS will be 
accepted at the open house during informal discussions.
    Members of the public may send written comments on the 
environmental scope of the VYNPS license renewal review to: Chief, 
Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, 
Office of Administration, Mailstop T-6D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC, 20555-0001, and should cite the publication 
date and page number of this Federal Register notice. Comments may also 
be delivered to the NRC, Room T-6D59, Two White Flint North, 11545 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, 20852, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. 
during Federal workdays. To be considered in the scoping process, 
written comments should be postmarked by June 23, 2006. Electronic 
comments may be sent by e-mail to the NRC at VermontYankeeEIS@nrc.gov, 
and should be sent no later than June 23, 2006, to be considered in the 
scoping process. Comments will be available electronically and 
accessible through ADAMS at https://adamswebsearch.nrc.gov/dologin.htm.
    Participation in the scoping process for the supplement to the GEIS 
does not

[[Page 20735]]

entitle participants to become parties to the proceeding to which the 
supplement to the GEIS relates. Notice of opportunity for a hearing 
regarding the renewal application was the subject of the aforementioned 
Federal Register notice (71 FR 15220). 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 at https://adamswebsearch.nrc.gov/
dologin.htm. The staff will then prepare and issue for comment the 
draft supplement to the GEIS, which will be the subject of separate 
notices and separate public meetings. Copies will be available for 
public inspection at the above-mentioned addresses, and one copy per 
request will be provided free of charge. 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.
    Information about the proposed action, the supplement to the GEIS, 
and the scoping process may be obtained from Mr. Emch at the 
aforementioned telephone number or e-mail address.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 12th day of April 2006.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Rani Franovich,
Branch Chief, Environmental Branch B, Division of License Renewal, 
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
 [FR Doc. E6-6003 Filed 4-20-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P