Nine Mile Point 3 Nuclear Project, LLC and UniStar Nuclear Operating Services, LLC; Nine Mile Point 3 Nuclear Power Plant Combined License Application; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping, 23895-23897 [E9-11878]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 97 (Thursday, May 21, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23895-23897]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-11878]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 52-038; NRC-2008-0581]


Nine Mile Point 3 Nuclear Project, LLC and UniStar Nuclear 
Operating Services, LLC; Nine Mile Point 3 Nuclear Power Plant Combined 
License Application; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental 
Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping

    Nine Mile Point 3 Nuclear Project, LLC and UniStar Nuclear 
Operating Services, LLC have submitted an application for a combined 
license (COL) to build Unit 3 at its Nine Mile Point Nuclear Power 
Plant (NMPNPP) site, located on approximately 921 acres in Oswego 
County, New York on Lake Ontario, approximately five miles north-
northeast of Oswego, New York. Nine Mile Point 3 Nuclear Project, LLC 
and UniStar Nuclear Operating Services, LLC submitted the application 
for the COL to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by letter 
dated September 30, 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 Tuesday, October 28, 2008 (73 FR 63998). A 
notice of acceptance for docketing of the application for the COL was 
published in the Federal Register on December 19, 2008 (73 FR 77862). 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 purposes of this notice of intent are (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.
    In addition, as outlined in 36 CFR 800.8(c), ``Coordination with 
the National Environmental Policy Act,'' 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 
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (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 at 36 CFR 800.3 through 800.6.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 51.45 and 51.50, Nine Mile Point 3 
Nuclear Project, LLC and UniStar Nuclear Operating Services, LLC 
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 (PARS) component of NRC's 
Agencywide 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. The 
accession number in ADAMS for the environmental report is ML090970496. 
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/nine-mile-point.html. In addition, both the Oswego Public Library at 120 East 
First Street, Oswego, New York and SUNY Oswego Penfield Library at 7060 
State Route 104, Oswego, New York 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

[[Page 23896]]

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;
    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 Guide 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 Web page. The environmental justice policy 
statement can be found in the Federal Register, 69 FR 52040, 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 the COL at the Nine Mile Point 3 Nuclear Power Plant 
site. Possible alternatives to the proposed action (issuance of the COL 
for the Nine Mile Point 3 Nuclear Power Plant) 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 persons or 
entities to participate in the scoping process:
    a. The applicants, Nine Mile Point 3 Nuclear Project, LLC and 
UniStar Nuclear Operating Services, 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, or 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 two public scoping meetings 
for the EIS regarding the COL application. The scoping meetings will be 
held at SUNY-Oswego, Sheldon Hall, 7060 Route 104, Oswego, NY 13126 on 
Wednesday, June 10, 2009. The first meeting will convene at 1 p.m. and 
will continue until approximately 4 p.m. This 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. For the afternoon scoping meeting, persons 
may preregister to attend or present oral comments on the scope of the 
NEPA review by contacting Mr. Paul Michalak by telephone at 1-800-368-
5642, extension 7612, or by e-mail to the NRC at NMP3.COLEIS@nrc.gov no 
later than June 5, 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. Additionally, 
the NRC staff will host informal discussions for one hour prior to the 
start of the afternoon meeting. No formal comments on the proposed 
scope of the EIS will be accepted during the informal discussions. At 
the afternoon scoping meeting, comments to be considered in the 
development of the EIS must be provided either at the transcribed 
public meeting or in writing, as discussed below.
    The second meeting will convene at 6 p.m. and will continue until 
approximately 9 p.m. This meeting will be conducted in an open-house 
format, with NRC staff available to answer questions concerning the 
NEPA environmental review process, including the staff's technical 
approaches to environmental review areas covered in the EIS; the 
proposed scope of the EIS; and the proposed review schedule. Given the 
informal structure of the open-house meeting, members of the public are 
encouraged to attend any time between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. A court 
reporter will be present to transcribe formal comments or suggestions 
on environmental issues or the proposed scope of the EIS from 
interested government agencies, organizations, and individuals. Written 
comments will also be accepted during the open house scoping meeting. 
To avoid potential waiting lines at the court reporter, members of the 
public can choose to preregister to provide oral comments on the scope 
of the NEPA review by contacting Mr. Paul Michalak by telephone at 1-
800-368-5642, extension 7612, or by e-mail to the NRC at 
NMP3.COLEIS@nrc.gov no later than June 5, 2009. Preregistration will

[[Page 23897]]

include the name of the individual/organization and the time (i.e., 
between 6 and 9 p.m.) the oral comment will be provided. Individuals/
organizations may also register to provide oral comments during the 
open-house meeting. Individual oral comments may be limited by the time 
available, depending on the number of persons who register.
    Please note that if special equipment or accommodations are needed 
to attend or present information at either public meeting, the need 
should be brought to Mr. Michalak's attention no later than June 5, 
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 
Nine Mile Point 3 Nuclear Power Plant COL environmental review to the 
Chief, Rulemaking 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 by July 20, 2009. Electronic comments may 
be sent by e-mail to the NRC at NMP3.COLEIS@nrc.gov. Electronic 
submissions must be sent no later than July 20, 2009. 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 submitted 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 hearing and opportunity to petition for leave 
intervene in the proceeding on the application for the 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 determinations, 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 Mr. Paul Michalak at U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop T6-D32, Washington, DC 20555-0001, by 
phone at 301-415-7612, or by e-mail at Paul.Michalak@nrc.gov.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 14th day of May 2009.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Scott C. Flanders,
Director, Division of Site and Environmental Reviews, Office of New 
Reactors.
[FR Doc. E9-11878 Filed 5-20-09; 8:45 am]
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