PSEG Power, LLC and PSEG Nuclear, LLC; PSEG Site Early Site Permit Application, Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping Process, 63521-63523 [2010-25998]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 199 (Friday, October 15, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63521-63523]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-25998]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 52-043; NRC-2010-0215]


PSEG Power, LLC and PSEG Nuclear, LLC; PSEG Site Early Site 
Permit Application, Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement and Conduct Scoping Process

    PSEG Power, LLC and PSEG Nuclear, LLC have submitted an application 
for an early site permit (ESP) for the PSEG Site, which is located on 
the southern part of Artificial Island on the east bank of the Delaware 
River in Lower Alloways Creek Township, Salem County, New Jersey. The 
application for the ESP was submitted by PSEG Power, LLC and PSEG 
Nuclear, LLC by letter dated May 25, 2010, 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 
June 18, 2010 (75 FR 34794). A notice of acceptance for docketing of 
the application for the ESP was published in the Federal Register on 
August 13, 2010 (75 FR 49539). A notice of hearing and opportunity to 
petition for leave to intervene will be published at a later date.
    The purposes of this notice are (1) to inform the public that the 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will be preparing an 
environmental impact statement (EIS) as part of the review of the ESP 
application and (2) to provide the public with an opportunity to 
participate in the environmental scoping process as defined in 10 CFR 
51.29. The NRC intends to invite the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 
Philadelphia District, to participate in the preparation of the EIS as 
a cooperating agency. The purpose of cooperation with the Corps is to 
develop an environmental impact statement that serves the needs of the 
NRC license decision process and the Corps' permit decision process. 
Also, to comply with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation 
Act, the NRC staff intends to use the procedures outlined in 36 CFR 
800.8(c) for the preparation of the EIS on the proposed action, in lieu 
of

[[Page 63522]]

the procedures set forth at 36 CFR 800.3 through 800.6.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 51.45 and 51.50, PSEG Power, LLC and PSEG 
Nuclear, LLC submitted the ER as part of the ESP 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 (PAR) component 
of NRC 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 Electronic Reading Room (ERR) link. The 
accession number in ADAMS for the environmental report is ML101480763. 
Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in 
accessing the documents located in ADAMS should contact the NRC PDR 
Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209/301-415-4737 or via e-mail to 
pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The application may also be viewed on the 
Internet at https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/esp/pseg.html. In 
addition, the Penns Grove-Carneys Point Public Library, Penns Grove, 
New Jersey, the Pennsville Public Library, Pennsville, New Jersey and 
the Salem Free Public Library, Salem, New Jersey, have each agreed to 
maintain a copy of the ER and make it 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 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, 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 ERR on the 
NRC webpage. 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 ESP at the PSEG Site. Possible alternatives to the 
proposed action (issuance of the ESP for the PSEG site) include no 
action and alternative sites. This notice is being published in 
accordance with NEPA and the NRC regulations found in 10 CFR part 51. 
As set forth in 10 CFR 51.20(b)(1), issuance of a ESP under 10 CFR part 
52 is an action that requires an EIS.
    The NRC will first conduct a scoping process for the EIS and 
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, PSEG Power, LLC and PSEG Nuclear, 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 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 staff has elected to hold two identical 
public scoping meetings at the Performing Arts Theater (Davidow Hall), 
on the campus of Salem Community College (460 Hollywood Avenue, Carneys 
Point, New Jersey) on Thursday, November 4, 2010. The first meeting 
will convene at 1 p.m., and will continue until approximately 4 p.m. 
The second meeting will convene at 7 p.m. and will continue until 
approximately 10 p.m. The meetings will be transcribed and will include 
the following: (1) An overview by the NRC staff of the environmental 
review process, the proposed scope of the EIS, and the proposed review 
schedule; (2) an opportunity for interested government agencies, 
organizations, and individuals to submit comments 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 EIS by 
contacting Mr. Allen H. Fetter or Ms. Alicia Williamson at 1-800-368-
5642, extensions 8556 or 1878, respectively. In addition, persons can 
register via e-mail to the NRC at PSEGSite.ESPEIS@nrc.gov no later than 
November 1, 2010.
    Members of the public may also register to speak at the meetings 
prior to the start of each session. Individual oral comments may be 
limited by the time available, depending on the number of

[[Page 63523]]

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, such requests should be brought to Mr. Fetter's 
or Ms. Williamson's attention no later than October 27, 2010, so that 
the NRC staff can determine whether the request can be accommodated.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any one of the following methods. 
Please include Docket ID NRC-2010-0215 in the subject line of your 
comments.
    Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and 
search for documents filed under Docket ID NRC-2010-0215. Comments may 
be submitted electronically through this Web site. Address questions 
about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher at 301-492-3668, or e-mail at 
Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov.
    Mail comments to: Members of the public may send written comments 
on the scope of the PSEG Site ESP environmental review to Cindy Bladey, 
Chief, Rules, Announcements, and Directives Branch (RADB), Division of 
Administrative Services, Office of Administration, Mail Stop: TWB-05-
B01M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, or 
by fax to RADB at (301) 492-3446. To be considered in the scoping 
process, written comments must be postmarked or delivered by the 
comment period end date of December 14, 2010. Electronic comments may 
be sent by e-mail to the NRC at PSEGSite.ESPEIS@nrc.gov. Electronic 
submissions must be received no later than the comment period end date 
of December 14, 2010, to be considered in the scoping process.
    Comments submitted in writing or in electronic form will be posted 
on the NRC Web site and on the Federal rulemaking Web site https://www.regulations.gov. Unless your comments contain sensitive information 
typically not released to the public by NRC policy, the NRC will make 
all comments publically available. Because your comments will not be 
edited to remove any identifying information, the NRC cautions you 
against including any information in your submission that you do not 
want to be publicly disclosed.
    The NRC requests that any party soliciting or aggregating comments 
received from other persons for submission to the NRC inform those 
persons that the NRC will not edit their comments to remove any 
identifying or contact information, and therefore, they should not 
include any information in their comments that they do not want 
publicly disclosed.
    Document Availability: Publicly available documents related to this 
notice can be accessed using any of the methods described in this 
section.
    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 
noticed separately in the Federal Register.
    At the conclusion of the scoping process, the NRC will prepare a 
concise summary of the determination and conclusions on the scope of 
the environmental review including the significant issues identified 
and will make this summary publicly available. 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 the 
comments, 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. Allen Fetter or 
Ms. Alicia Williamson at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mail 
Stop T7-E18, Washington, DC 20555-0001, by phone at 1-800-368-5642, 
extensions 8556 or 1878, respectively or via e-mail to 
Allen.Fetter@nrc.gov or Alicia.Williamson@nrc.gov.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day of October 2010.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Scott Flanders,
Director, Division of Site and Environmental Reviews, Office of New 
Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2010-25998 Filed 10-14-10; 8:45 am]
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