PPL Bell Bend, LLC; Bell Bend Nuclear Power Plant Combined License Application; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping Process, 470-472 [E8-31420]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 3 (Tuesday, January 6, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 470-472]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-31420]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 52-039]


PPL Bell Bend, LLC; Bell Bend Nuclear Power Plant Combined 
License Application; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental 
Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping Process

    PPL Bell Bend, LLC has submitted an application for a combined 
license (COL) to build a new unit at its Bell Bend Nuclear Power Plant 
(BBNPP) Site, located west of the existing Susquehanna Steam Electric 
Station Site on approximately 882 acres in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania 
on the Susquehanna River, approximately five miles northeast of 
Berwick, Pennsylvania. PPL Bell Bend, LLC submitted the application for 
the COL to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by letter dated 
October 10, 2008, pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR) Part 52. A notice of receipt and availability of 
the application, including the environmental report (ER), was published 
in the Federal Register on November 13, 2008 (73 FR 67214). A notice of 
acceptance for docketing of the application for the COL was published 
in the Federal Register on December 29, 2008 (73 FR 79519). A notice of 
hearing and opportunity to petition for leave to intervene in the 
proceeding on the application will be published in a future Federal 
Register notice. The purpose of this notice is (1) to inform the public 
that the NRC staff will be preparing an environmental impact statement 
(EIS) as part of the review of the application for the COL and (2) to 
provide the public with an opportunity to participate in the 
environmental scoping process as defined in 10 CFR 51.29. The U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers (Corps), Baltimore District has requested to 
participate in the preparation of the EIS as a cooperating agency; the 
NRC has accepted its request. The agencies will cooperate according to 
the process set forth in the MOU signed by the NRC and the Corps and 
was published in the Federal Register on September 25, 2008 (73 FR 
55546).
    In addition, as outlined in 36 CFR 800.8(c), ``Coordination with 
the National Environmental Policy Act'' (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the 
NRC staff plans to coordinate compliance with Section 106 of the 
National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) with steps taken to meet the 
requirements of NEPA. Pursuant to 36 CFR 800.8(c), the NRC staff 
intends to use the process and documentation for the preparation of the 
EIS on the proposed action to comply with Section 106 of the NHPA in 
lieu of the procedures set forth on 36 CFR 800.3 through 800.6.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 51.45 and 51.50, PPL Bell Bend, LLC 
submitted the environmental report (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 link. The 
accession number in ADAMS for the ER included in the application is 
ML082890680. 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 1-800-397-4209/301-415-4737 or by e-mail 
to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The application may also be viewed on the 
Internet at https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/bell-
bend.html. In addition, the Mill Memorial Public Library, 495 E Main 
Street, Nanticoke, PA 18634 and the McBride Memorial Library, 500 N 
Market Street, Berwick, PA 18603 have agreed to make the ER available 
for public inspection.
    The following key reference documents related to the application 
and the NRC staff's review processes 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 Function;
    b. 10 CFR Part 52, Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for 
Nuclear Power Plants;
    c. 10 CFR Part 100, Reactor Site Criteria;

[[Page 471]]

    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;
    h. Fact Sheet on Nuclear Power Plant Licensing Process;
    i. Regulatory 1.206, Combined License Applications for Nuclear 
Power Plants; and
    j. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Policy Statement on the Treatment 
of Environmental Justice Matters in NRC Regulatory and Licensing 
Actions.

The regulations, NUREG-series documents, regulatory guides, and the 
fact sheet can be found under Document Collections in the Electronic 
Reading Room on the NRC Webpage. The environmental justice policy 
statement can be found in the Federal Register, 69 FR 52040, dated 
August 24, 2004.
    This notice advises the public that the NRC intends to gather the 
information necessary to prepare an EIS as part of the review of the 
application for COL at the BBNPP Site. Possible alternatives to the 
proposed action (issuance of the COL for the BBNPP) include no action, 
reasonable alternative energy sources, and alternate sites. As set 
forth in 10 CFR 51.20(b)(2), issuance of a COL under 10 CFR Part 52 is 
an action that requires an EIS. This notice is being published in 
accordance with NEPA and the NRC's regulations in 10 CFR Part 51.
    The NRC will first conduct a scoping process for the EIS and as 
soon as practicable thereafter will prepare a draft EIS for public 
comment. Participation in this scoping process by members of the public 
and 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 that 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. Identify parties consulting with the NRC under the NHPA, as set 
forth in 36 CFR 800.8(c)(1)(i);
    g. Indicate the relationship between the timing of the preparation 
of the environmental analyses and the Commission's tentative planning 
and decision-making schedule;
    h. 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
    i. 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, PPL Bell Bend, LLC;
    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; and
    f. Any person who intends to petition for leave to intervene in the 
proceeding, or who has submitted such a petition, who is admitted as a 
party.
    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 the PPL Bell Bend, LLC COL application. The scoping 
meeting will be held at the Berwick Area Senior High School, 1100 
Fowler Avenue, Berwick, Pennsylvania 18603-3799 on Thursday, January 
29, 2009. The meeting will convene at 7 p.m. and will continue until 
approximately 10 p.m. The 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; 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 
EIS. Additionally, the NRC staff will host informal discussions for one 
hour prior to the start of each public meeting. No formal comments on 
the proposed scope of the EIS 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 scope of the NEPA review by contacting either Mrs. 
Stacey Imboden or Ms. Tomeka Terry by telephone at 1-800-368-5642, 
extensions 2462 or 1488, or by e-mail to the NRC at BBNP.COLEIS@nrc.gov 
no later than January 22, 2009. Members of the public may also register 
to speak at the meeting prior to 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 Mrs. 
Imboden's attention no later than January 15, 2009, so that the NRC 
staff can determine whether the request can be accommodated.
    Members of the public may send written comments on the scope of the 
BBNPP COL environmental review to the Chief, Rulemaking, Editing and 
Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of 
Administration, Mailstop TWB-05-B01M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001 and should cite the publication 
date and page number of this Federal Register notice. To ensure that 
comments will be considered in the scoping process, written comments 
must be postmarked or delivered by March 9, 2009. Electronic comments 
may be sent by e-mail to the NRC at BBNP.COLEIS@nrc.gov. Electronic 
submissions must be sent no later than March 9, 2009, to ensure that 
they will be considered in the scoping process. Comments will be made 
available electronically and will be accessible through the NRC's 
Electronic Reading Room link https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. 
The NRC staff may, at its discretion, consider comments after the end 
of the comment period.
    Participation in the scoping process for the EIS does not entitle 
participants to become parties to the proceeding to which the EIS 
relates. A notice of a hearing and opportunity to petition for leave to 
intervene in the proceeding on the application for COL will be 
published in a future Federal Register notice.
    At the conclusion of the scoping process, the NRC staff will 
prepare a concise summary of the determination

[[Page 472]]

and conclusions reached on the scope of the environmental review 
including the significant issues identified, and will send this summary 
to each participant in the scoping process for whom the staff has an 
address. The staff will then prepare and issue for comment the draft 
EIS, which will be the subject of a separate Federal Register notice 
and a separate public meeting. Copies of the draft EIS will be 
available for public inspection at the PDR through the above-mentioned 
address and one copy per request will be provided free of charge. After 
receipt and consideration of comments on the draft EIS, the NRC will 
prepare a final EIS, which will also be available to the public.
    Information about the proposed action, the EIS, and the scoping 
process may be obtained from either Mrs. Stacey Imboden at the U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop T-6D38M, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, by phone at 301-415-2462, or by e-mail at Stacey.Imboden@nrc.gov 
and/or Ms. Tomeka Terry at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mail 
Stop T-6D38M, Washington, DC 20555-0001, by phone at 301-415-1488, or 
by e-mail at Tomeka.Terry@nrc.gov.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 30th day of December 2008.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Nilesh Chokshi,
Deputy Director, Division of Site and Environmental Reviews, Office of 
New Reactors.
 [FR Doc. E8-31420 Filed 1-5-09; 8:45 am]
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