Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping Process, 49322-49324 [E7-16995]

Agencies

• Southern Nuclear Operating Company
• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 166 (Tuesday, August 28, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49322-49324]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-16995]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-424 and 50-425]

Southern Nuclear Operating Company Vogtle Electric Generating 
Plant, Units 1 and 2


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and 
Conduct Scoping Process

    Southern Nuclear Operating Company (SNC) has submitted an 
application for renewal of Facility Operating Licenses Nos. NPF-68 and 
NPF-81 for an additional 20 years of operation at the Vogtle Electric 
Generating Plant (VEGP), Units 1 and 2. VEGP is located outside of 
Waynesboro, Georgia.
    The current operating licenses for the VEGP, Units 1 and 2, expire 
on January 16, 2027, and February 9, 2029, respectively. The 
application for renewal, dated June 27, 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 SNC's 
environmental report (ER), was published in the Federal Register on 
August 3, 2007 (72 FR 43296). A notice of acceptance for docketing of 
the application for renewal of the facility operating license was 
published in the Federal Register on August 21, 2007 (72 FR 46680). 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, SNC 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 ML071840357. Persons 
who

[[Page 49323]]

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 via 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/
vogtle.html. In addition, the ER is available for public inspection 
near VEGP at the Burke County Library, 130 Highway 24 South, 
Waynesboro, Georgia 30830.
    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 VEGP, Units 1 and 2, 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.
    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, SNC.
    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 VEGP, Units 1 and 2, license renewal supplement to the 
GEIS. The scoping meetings will be held at the Augusta Technical 
College, Waynesboro Campus Auditorium, 216 Highway 24 South, 
Waynesboro, Georgia 30830. There will be two sessions to accommodate 
interested parties on September 27, 2007. 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 Augusta Technical College, 
Waynesboro Campus Auditorium.
    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 
Environmental Project Manager, Mr. Justin P. Leous, at 1-800-368-5642, 
extension 2864, or via e-mail to the NRC at Vogtle--LR--EIS@nrc.gov no 
later than September 20, 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. Leous will need to be contacted no 
later than September 17, 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 VEGP, Units 1 and 2, license renewal review 
to: Chief, Rulemaking, Directives and Editing 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 October 24, 2007. Electronic comments may be sent by e-
mail to the NRC at Vogtle--LR--EIS@nrc.gov, and should be sent no later 
than October 24, 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

[[Page 49324]]

opportunity for a hearing regarding the renewal application was the 
subject of the aforementioned Federal Register notice (72 FR 46680). 
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 meeting. Copies will be available for public 
inspection at the Burke County Library, 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. Leous at the 
aforementioned telephone number or e-mail address.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21st 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. E7-16995 Filed 8-27-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P