South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Company South Texas Project Site, Units 3 & 4; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping Process, 72774-72775 [E7-24875]

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• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 245 (Friday, December 21, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72774-72775]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-24875]



[[Page 72774]]

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 52-012 and 52-013]


South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Company South Texas Project 
Site, Units 3 & 4; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement and Conduct Scoping Process

    South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Company (STPNOC) has 
submitted an application for combined licenses (COLs) for its South 
Texas Project (STP) site to build Units 3 & 4, located on approximately 
12,200 acres in a rural area of Matagorda County, Texas, approximately 
12 miles south-southwest of the city limits of Bay City, Texas, and 10 
miles north of Matagorda Bay, along the west bank of the Colorado 
River. The application for the COLs was submitted by STPNOC by letter 
dated October 1, 2007, pursuant to 10 CFR Part 52. A notice of receipt 
of application, including the environmental report (ER), was published 
in the Federal Register on October 24, 2007 (72 FR 60394). A notice of 
acceptance for docketing of the application for COLs for STP was 
published in the Federal Register on December 5, 2007, (72 FR 68597). 
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) in support of the review of the application for 
COLs and to provide the public with 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 51.45 and 51.50, STPNOC submitted the ER 
as part of the application. The ER was prepared pursuant to 10 CFR 
Parts 51 and 52 and is available for public inspection at the NRC 
Public Document Room (PDR) located at One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland 20852, or from the 
Publicly Available Records component of NRC's Agency-wide Documents 
Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible at https://
www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html, which provides access through the 
NRC's Electronic Reading Room (ERR) link. 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 at 1-
800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. The 
application may also be viewed on the Internet at https://www.nrc.gov/
reactors/new-licensing/col/south-texas-project.html. In addition, the 
Bay City Public Library, 1100 7th Street, Bay City, Texas 77414 has 
agreed to make the ER available for public inspection.
    The following key reference documents related to the application 
and the NRC staff's review process are available through the NRC's Web 
site at https://www.nrc.gov:
    a. 10 CFR part 51, Environmental Protection Regulations for 
Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions;
    b. 10 CFR part 52, Early Site Permits (ESP); standard design 
certifications; and combined licenses for nuclear power plants;
    c. 10 CFR part 100, Reactor Site Criteria;
    d. NUREG-1555, Standard Review Plans for Environmental Reviews for 
Nuclear Power Plants;
    e. NUREG/BR-0298, Brochure on Nuclear Power Plant Licensing 
Process;
    f. Regulatory Guide 4.2, Preparation of Environmental Reports for 
Nuclear Power Stations;
    g. Regulatory Guide 4.7, General Site Suitability Criteria for 
Nuclear Power Stations; and
    h. Fact Sheet on Nuclear Power Plant Licensing Process.
    The regulations, NUREG-series documents, regulatory guide(s), and 
fact sheet can be found under Document Collections in the ERR on the 
NRC webpage.
    This notice advises the public that the NRC intends to gather the 
information necessary to prepare an EIS in support of the review of the 
application for COLs at the STP site. Possible alternatives to the 
proposed action (issuance of the COLs at the STP site) include no 
action and alternate sites. The NRC is required by 10 CFR 52.18 to 
prepare an EIS in connection with the issuance of COLs. 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 COLs and, as 
soon as practicable thereafter, will prepare a draft EIS for public 
comment. Participation in this scoping process by members of the 
public, local, State, Tribal, and Federal government agencies is 
encouraged. The scoping process for the draft EIS will be used to 
accomplish the following:
    a. Define the proposed action which is to be the subject of the 
EIS;
    b. Determine the scope of the EIS 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 EIS 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 EIS to the 
NRC and any cooperating agencies; and
    h. Describe how the EIS will be prepared, including any contractor 
assistance to be used.
    The NRC invites the following entities to participate in the 
scoping process:
    a. The applicant;
    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 
including the State Historic Preservation Officer;
    d. Any affected Indian tribe including the Tribal Historic 
Preservation Officer;
    e. The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation;
    f. Any person who requests or has requested an opportunity to 
participate in the scoping process; and
    g. Any person who 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 a public scoping meeting for 
the EIS regarding STPNOC's COL applications. The scoping meeting will 
be held at the Bay City Civic Center, 201 7th Street, Bay City, Texas 
77414, on Tuesday, February 5, 2008. The meeting will convene at 1:30 
p.m., and will continue until 4:30 p.m., and again at 7:00 p.m., and 
will continue until 10:00 p.m., as necessary. The

[[Page 72775]]

meeting will be transcribed and will include the following:
    (1) An overview by the NRC staff of the NEPA environmental review 
process, the proposed scope of the EIS, and the proposed review 
schedule; (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 EIS. Additionally, 
the NRC staff will host informal discussions for one hour prior to the 
start of each public meeting at the Bay City Civic Center. No formal 
comments on the proposed scope of the COLs will be accepted during the 
informal discussions. To be considered, comments must be provided 
either at the transcribed public meeting or in writing, as discussed 
below. Persons may register to attend or present oral comments at the 
meeting on the NEPA scoping process by contacting Ms. Cristina Guerrero 
by telephone at 1 (800) 368-5642, extension 2981, or by Internet to the 
NRC at STP_COL@nrc.gov, no later than January 29, 2008. Members of the 
public may also register to speak at the meeting within 15 minutes of 
the start of the 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 EIS. If special equipment or 
accommodations are needed to attend or present information at the 
public meeting, the need should be brought to Ms. Guerrero's attention 
no later than January 29, 2008, so that the NRC staff can determine 
whether the request can be accommodated.
    Members of the public may send written comments on the 
environmental scoping process for the EIS to the 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 be hand-
delivered to the NRC at 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, 
between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. on Federal workdays. To be considered 
in the scoping process, written comments must be postmarked or 
delivered by February 18, 2008. Electronic comments may be sent by the 
Internet to the NRC at STP_COL@nrc.gov. Electronic submissions must be 
sent no later than February 18, 2008, to be considered in the scoping 
process. The staff will not consider comments submitted later than as 
specified above unless time permits. Comments will be available 
electronically and accessible through the NRC's ERR link https://
www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html at the NRC Homepage.
    Participation in the scoping process for the EIS does not entitle 
participants to become parties to the proceeding to which the EIS 
relates. Notice of a hearing regarding the application for COLs will be 
the subject of a future Federal Register notice.
    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 through the ERR link. The staff will then 
prepare and issue for comment the draft EIS, which will be the subject 
of separate notices and a separate public meeting. 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 EIS, which 
will also be available for public inspection.
    Information about the proposed action, the EIS, and the scoping 
process may be obtained from Paul Kallan at (301) 415-2809 or 
PBK1@nrc.gov.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17th day of December, 2007.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James E. Lyons,
Director, Division of Site and Environmental Reviews, Office of New 
Reactors.
[FR Doc. E7-24875 Filed 12-20-07; 8:45 am]
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