Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., Indian Point Nuclear Generating Unit Nos. 2 and 3; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping Process, 45075-45076 [E7-15636]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 154 (Friday, August 10, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45075-45076]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-15636]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-247 and 50-286]


Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., Indian Point Nuclear Generating 
Unit Nos. 2 and 3; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement and Conduct Scoping Process

    Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Entergy) has submitted an 
application for renewal of Facility Operating Licenses Nos. DPR-26 and 
DPR-64 for an additional 20 years of operation at Indian Point Nuclear 
Generating Unit Nos. 2 and 3. Indian Point is located in Buchanan, NY.
    The current operating licenses for Indian Point Nuclear Generating 
Unit Nos. 2 and 3 expire on September 9, 2013, and December 12, 2015, 
respectively. The application for renewal, dated April 23, 2007, as 
supplemented by letters dated May 3, 2007, and June 21, 2007, 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 Entergy's environmental report (ER), was published in 
the Federal Register on May 11, 2007 (72 FR 26850). A notice of 
acceptance for docketing of the application for renewal of the facility 
operating license was published in the Federal Register on August 1, 
2007 (72 FR 42134). 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 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 ML071210530. 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/indian-
point.html. In addition, the ER is available for public inspection near 
Indian Point at the following three public libraries: the White Plains 
Public Library, 100 Martine Avenue, White Plains, NY 10601; the Field 
Library, 4 Nelson Avenue, Peekskill, NY 10566; and the Hendrick Hudson 
Free Library, 185 Kings Ferry Road, Montrose, NY 10548.
    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 Indian Point Nuclear Generating 
Unit Nos. 2 and 3 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 
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.

[[Page 45076]]

    c. Identify and eliminate from detailed study those issues that are 
peripheral or that are not significant.
    d. Identify any environmental assessments and other EISs 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 has decided to hold public scoping 
meetings for the Indian Point Nuclear Generating Unit Nos. 2 and 3 
license renewal supplement to the GEIS. The scoping meetings will be 
held at the Colonial Terrace, 119 Oregon Road, Cortlandt Manor, New 
York, on Wednesday, September 19, 2007. 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 
before the start of each session at the Colonial Terrace in Cortlandt 
Manor. 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 NRC's Senior Project Manager, Mr. Bo Pham, at 
1-800-368-5642, extension 8450, or by e-mail to the NRC at 
IndianPointEIS@nrc.gov no later than September 10, 2007. 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. 
Pham will need to be contacted no later than September 10, 2007, 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 Indian Point Nuclear Generating Unit Nos. 2 
and 3 license renewal review to: Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, 
Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration, 
MailstopT-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 October 12, 2007. Electronic comments may be 
sent by e-mail to the NRC at Indian PointEIS@nrc.gov, and should be 
sent no later than October 12, 2007, 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 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 (72 FR 42134). 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 a separate 
notice 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. Pham at the 
aforementioned telephone number or e-mail address.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 6th day of August 2007.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Rani Franovich,
Branch Chief, Environmental Branch B, Division of License 
Renewal,Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
 [FR Doc. E7-15636 Filed 8-9-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P