Notice of Acceptance for Docketing of the Application, Notice of Opportunity for Hearing and Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping Process for Facility Operating License No. DPR-59 for an Additional 20-Year Period, Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., James A. Fitzpatrick Nuclear Power Plant, 55032-55035 [06-7974]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 182 (Wednesday, September 20, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55032-55035]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-7974]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-333]


Notice of Acceptance for Docketing of the Application, Notice of 
Opportunity for Hearing and Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping Process for Facility 
Operating License No. DPR-59 for an Additional 20-Year Period, Entergy 
Nuclear Operations, Inc., James A. Fitzpatrick Nuclear Power Plant

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is 
considering an application for the renewal of Operating License No. 
DPR-59, which authorizes Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Entergy), to 
operate the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant (JAFNPP) at 2536 
megawatts thermal. The renewed license would authorize the applicant to 
operate the JAFNPP for an additional 20 years beyond the period 
specified in the current license. JAFNPP is located on Lake Ontario in 
Oswego County,

[[Page 55033]]

approximately seven miles northeast of the City of Oswego, New York. 
The current operating license for the JAFNPP expires on October 17, 
2014.
    On August 1, 2006, the Commission's staff received the application 
from Entergy, to renew the Operating License No. DPR-59 for JAFNPP, 
pursuant to 10 CFR part 54. A Notice of Receipt and Availability of the 
license renewal application (LRA) was published in the Federal Register 
on August 11, 2006 (71 FR 46245).
    The Commission's staff has reviewed the LRA for its acceptability 
and has determined that Entergy has submitted sufficient information in 
accordance with 10 CFR 54.19, 54.21, 54.22, 54.23, and 51.53(c), and 
the application is acceptable for docketing. The current Docket No. 50-
333 for Operating License No. DPR-59 will be retained. The docketing of 
the renewal application does not preclude requesting additional 
information as the review proceeds, nor does it predict whether the 
Commission will grant or deny the application.
    Before issuance of each requested renewed license, the NRC will 
have made the findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as 
amended (the Act), and the Commission's rules and regulations. In 
accordance with 10 CFR 54.29, the NRC may issue a renewed license on 
the basis of its review if it finds that actions have been identified 
and have been or will be taken with respect to: (1) Managing the 
effects of aging during the period of extended operation on the 
functionality of structures and components that have been identified as 
requiring aging management review, and (2) time-limited aging analyses 
that have been identified as requiring review, such that there is 
reasonable assurance that the activities authorized by the renewed 
license will continue to be conducted in accordance with the current 
licensing basis (CLB), and that any changes made to the plant's CLB 
comply with the Act and the Commission's regulations. The Commission 
also must first find that the requirements of subpart A of 10 CFR 51 
have been satisfied, and that matters raised under 10 CFR 2.335 have 
been addressed.
    Within 60 days after the date of publication of this Federal 
Register Notice, the applicant may file a request for a hearing, and 
any person whose interest may be affected by this proceeding and who 
wishes to participate as a party in the proceeding must file a written 
request for a hearing and a petition for leave to intervene with 
respect to the renewal of the license. Requests for a hearing and a 
petition for leave to intervene shall be filed in accordance with the 
Commission's ``Rules of Practice for Domestic Licensing Proceedings'' 
in 10 CFR part 2.
    Interested persons should consult a current copy of 10 CFR 2.309, 
which is available at the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), 
located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 
Maryland 20852 and is accessible from the Agencywide Documents Access 
and Management System (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the 
Internet at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. 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. If a request for a hearing/petition for leave to intervene 
is filed within the 60-day period, the Commission or a presiding 
officer designated by the Commission or by the Chief Administrative 
Judge of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel will rule on the 
request/petition; and the Secretary or the Chief Administrative Judge 
of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board will issue a notice of a 
hearing or an appropriate order. In the event that no request for a 
hearing/petition for leave to intervene is filed within the 60-day 
period, the NRC may, upon completion of its evaluations and upon making 
the findings required under 10 CFR parts 51 and 54, renew the license 
without further notice.
    As required by 10 CFR 2.309, a petition for leave to intervene 
shall set forth with particularity the interest of the petitioner in 
the proceeding, and how that interest may be affected by the results of 
the proceeding, taking into consideration the limited scope of matters 
that may be considered pursuant to 10 CFR parts 51 and 54. The petition 
must specifically, explain the reasons why intervention should be 
permitted with particular reference to the following factors: (1) The 
nature of the requestor's/petitioner's right under the Act to be made a 
party to the proceeding; (2) the nature and extent of the requestor's/
petitioner's property, financial, or other interest in the proceeding; 
and (3) the possible effect of any decision or order which may be 
entered in the proceeding on the requestor's/petitioner's interest. The 
petition must also set forth the specific contentions which the 
petitioner/requestor seeks to have litigated at the proceeding.
    Each contention must consist of a specific statement of the issue 
of law or fact to be raised or controverted. In addition, the 
requestor/petitioner shall provide a brief explanation of the bases of 
each contention and a concise statement of the alleged facts or the 
expert opinion that supports the contention on which the requestor/
petitioner intends to rely in proving the contention at the hearing. 
The requestor/petitioner must also provide references to those specific 
sources and documents of which the requestor/petitioner is aware and on 
which the requestor/petitioner intends to rely to establish those facts 
or expert opinion. The requestor/petitioner must provide sufficient 
information to show that a genuine dispute exists with the applicant on 
a material issue of law or fact.\1\ Contentions shall be limited to 
matters within the scope of the action under consideration. The 
contention must be one that, if proven, would entitle the requestor/
petitioner to relief. A requestor/petitioner who fails to satisfy these 
requirements with respect to at least one contention will not be 
permitted to participate as a party.
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    \1\ To the extent that the application contains attachments and 
supporting documents that are not publicly available because they 
are asserted to contain safeguards or proprietary information, 
petitions desired access to this information should contact the 
applicant or applicant's counsel to discuss the need for a 
protective order.
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    The Commission requests that each contention be given a separate 
numeric or alpha designation within one of the following groups: (1) 
Technical (primarily related to safety concerns); (2) environmental; or 
(3) miscellaneous.
    As specified in 10 CFR 2.309, if two or more requestors/petitioners 
seek to co-sponsor a contention or propose substantially the same 
contention, the requestors/petitioners will be required to jointly 
designate a representative who shall have the authority to act for the 
requestors/petitioners with respect to that contention.
    Those permitted to intervene become parties to the proceeding, 
subject to any limitations in the order granting leave to intervene, 
and have the opportunity to participate fully in the conduct of the 
hearing. A request for a hearing or a petition for leave to intervene 
must be filed by: (1) First class mail addressed to the Office of the 
Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC, 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications 
Staff; (2) courier, express mail, and expedited delivery services: 
Office of the Secretary, Sixteenth Floor, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, 20852, Attention: Rulemaking and 
Adjudications Staff; (3) e-mail

[[Page 55034]]

addressed to the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, HEARINGDOCKET@NRC.GOV; or (4) facsimile transmission 
addressed to the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications 
Staff at 301-415-1101, verification number is 301-415-1966.\2\ A copy 
of the request for hearing and petition for leave to intervene must 
also be sent to the Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC, 20555-0001, and it is requested 
that copies be transmitted either by means of facsimile transmission to 
301-415-3725 or by e-mail to OGCMailCenter@nrc.gov. A copy of the 
request for hearing and petition for leave to intervene should also be 
sent to the attorney for the applicant, Mr. Terrence A. Burke, Entergy 
Nuclear, 1340 Echelon Parkway, Mail Stop--ECH-62, Jackson, Mississippi 
39213.
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    \2\ If the request/petition is filed by e-mail or facsimile, an 
original and two copies of the document must be mailed within 2 
(two) business days thereafter to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; Attention: 
Rulemaking and Adjustication Staff.
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    Non-timely requests and/or petitions and contentions will not be 
entertained absent a determination by the Commission, the presiding 
officer, or the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board that the petition, 
request and/or contentions should be granted based on a balancing of 
the factors specified in 10 CFR 2.309(a)(1)(i)-(viii).
    In addition, the purpose of this notice is to inform the public 
that the NRC will be preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) 
related to the review of the LRA and to provide the public an 
opportunity to participate in the environmental scoping process, as 
defined in 10 CFR 51.29. In accordance with 10 CFR 51.95(c), the NRC 
will prepare an environmental impact statement that will be used as a 
supplement to the Commission's NUREG-1437, ``Generic Environmental 
Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants'' (GEIS), 
dated May 1996. Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.26, and as part of the 
environmental scoping process, the NRC staff intends to hold a public 
scoping meeting. 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 
prepared and submitted the Environmental Report (ER) as part of the 
LRA. The LRA and the ER are publicly available at the NRC's PDR, 
located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 
Maryland, 20852, or from the NRC's ADAMS. The ADAMS Public Electronic 
Reading Room is accessible at https://adamswebsearch.nrc.gov/
dologin.htm. The ADAMS Accession Numbers for the LRA and the ER are 
ML062160494 and ML062160557, respectively. 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 LRA and the ER may also be viewed on the Internet at 
https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/
fitzpatrick.html. In addition, the LRA and the ER are available for 
public inspection near the JAFNPP at the following public libraries: 
Penfield Library SUNY, 7060 State Route 104, Oswego, New York 13126; 
and Oswego Public Library, 140-142 East Second Street, Oswego, New York 
13126.
    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 10 CFR 51.26.
    The NRC staff 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 are encouraged. 
As described in 10 CFR 51.29, 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, Entergy 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 will hold public meetings for the 
JAFNPP license renewal supplement to the GEIS, at the Town Municipal 
Building, 42 Creamery Road, Oswego, New York 13126, on Thursday, 
October 12, 2006. There will be two identical meetings to accommodate 
interested parties. The first meeting will convene at 1:30 p.m. and 
will continue until 4:30 p.m., as necessary. The second meeting will 
convene at 7 p.m. 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 NRC's license renewal review process; (2) 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 (3) the opportunity for interested government agencies, 
organizations, and individuals to submit

[[Page 55035]]

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. For more 
information about the proposed action, the scoping process, and the 
environmental impact statement, please contact the NRC Environmental 
Project Manager, Mr. Samuel Hernandez, at Mail Stop O-11F1, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, by telephone at 1-
800-368-5642, extension 4049, or by e-mail at shq@nrc.gov. Persons may 
register to attend or present oral comments at the meetings on the 
scope of the NEPA review by contacting Mr. Hernandez. Members of the 
public may also register to speak at the meeting within 15 minutes of 
the start of each meeting. 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. 
Hernandez will need to be contacted no later than September 29, 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.
    Members of the public may send written comments on the 
environmental scope of the JAFNPP license renewal review to: Chief, 
Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, 
Office of Administration, Mail Stop 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 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop 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 November 14, 2006. Electronic comments may be sent by e-
mail to the NRC at FitzPatrickEIS@nrc.gov, and should be sent no later 
than November 14, 2006, to be considered in the scoping process. 
Comments will be available electronically and accessible through ADAMS.
    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 viewing in ADAMS. 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 viewing at the above-mentioned addresses, and one 
copy per request will be provided free of charge, to the extent of 
supply. After receipt and consideration of the comments, the NRC will 
prepare a final supplement to the GEIS, which will also be available 
for public viewing.
    Information about the proposed action, the supplement to the GEIS, 
and the scoping process may be obtained from Mr. Hernandez at the 
aforementioned telephone number or e-mail address.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 14th day of September 2006.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Eric J. Benner,
Acting Director, Division of License Renewal, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation.
 [FR Doc. 06-7974 Filed 9-19-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P