License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants; Generic Environmental Impact Statement and Standard Review Plans for Environmental Reviews, 37325-37326 [2013-14314]
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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 119 / Thursday, June 20, 2013 / Rules and Regulations
constitute backfitting, inasmuch as the
guidance must be consistent with the
regulatory requirements in the new rule
and the backfitting considerations
applicable to the new rule must, as a
matter of logic, also be applicable to this
newly-issued guidance. Therefore,
issuance of this new regulatory guide
does not constitute issuance of ‘‘new’’
guidance within the meaning of the
definition of ‘‘backfitting’’ in 10 CFR
50.109(a)(1). Further, issuance of this
guidance, like issuance of the final rule
itself, does not constitute ‘‘backfitting’’
as defined in 10 CFR 50.109(a)(1) of the
Backfit Rule nor does the issuance of
this new regulatory guide, by itself,
constitute an action inconsistent with
any of the issue finality provisions in 10
CFR part 52.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 23rd day
of April, 2013.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas H. Boyce,
Chief, Regulatory Guide Development Branch,
Division of Engineering, Office of Nuclear
Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2013–14313 Filed 6–19–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 51
[NRC–2008–0608]
RIN 3150–AI42
License Renewal of Nuclear Power
Plants; Generic Environmental Impact
Statement and Standard Review Plans
for Environmental Reviews
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: NUREG–1437 and NUREG–
1555; issuance.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is updating and
revising NUREG–1437, ‘‘Generic
Environmental Impact Statement for
License Renewal of Nuclear Plants’’
(GEIS), which the NRC issued in May
1996. The revised GEIS provides the
technical basis for amending certain
NRC environmental protection
regulations. The NRC has also revised
NUREG–1555, Supplement 1, ‘‘Standard
Review Plans for Environmental
Reviews for Nuclear Power Plants,
Supplement 1: Operating License
Renewal’’ (ESRP). The ESRP serves as a
guide to the NRC staff in preparing a
plant-specific supplemental
environmental impact statement to the
GEIS. This document is announcing the
TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with RULES2
SUMMARY:
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:32 Jun 19, 2013
Jkt 229001
issuance of NUREG–1437, Revision 1,
and NUREG–1555, Revision 1.
DATES: NUREG–1437 and NUREG–1555
are effective June 20, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID
NRC–2008–0608 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of
information regarding this document.
You may access information related to
this document, which the NRC
possesses and is publicly available,
using any of the following methods:
• Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2008–0608. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol
Gallagher; telephone: 301–492–3668;
email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For
technical questions, contact the
individual listed in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this
document.
• NRC’s Agencywide Documents
Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may access publicly
available documents online in the NRC
Library at https://www.nrc.gov/readingrm/adams.html. To begin the search,
select ‘‘ADAMS Public Documents’’ and
then select ‘‘Begin Web-based ADAMS
Search.’’ For problems with ADAMS,
please contact the NRC’s Public
Document Room (PDR) reference staff at
1–800–397–4209, 301–415–4737, or by
email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The
ADAMS Accession No. for each
document referenced in this document
(if that document is available in
ADAMS) is provided the first time that
a document is referenced. The ADAMS
Accession Nos. for the GEIS, NUREG–
1437, are as follows: ML13107A023 for
the package, ML13106A241 for Volume
1, ML13106A242 for Volume 2, and
ML13106A244 for Volume 3. The
ADAMS Accession No. for the ESRP,
NUREG–1555, is ML13106A246.
• NRC’s PDR: You may examine and
purchase copies of public documents at
the NRC’s PDR, Room O1–F21, One
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville
Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Emmanuel Sayoc, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555–0001; telephone: 1–800–368–
5642, email: Emmanuel.Sayoc@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Discussion
In the Rules and Regulations section
of this issue of the Federal Register, the
NRC published a final rule, ‘‘Revisions
to Environmental Review for Renewal of
Nuclear Power Plant Operating
Licenses’’ (RIN 3150–AI42), that is
amending its environmental protection
PO 00000
Frm 00045
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4700
37325
regulations by updating and revising the
Commission’s 1996 findings on the
environmental impacts of renewing the
operating license of a nuclear power
plant. The final rule redefines the
number and scope of the environmental
impact issues that must be addressed by
the NRC during license renewal
environmental reviews. Most of the
amendments made by this final rule are
based upon Revision 1 to the GEIS,
which incorporates lessons learned and
knowledge gained from license renewal
environmental reviews conducted by
the NRC since 1996.
Revision 1 to the GEIS is intended for
use by license renewal applicants and
the NRC staff. The NRC published the
draft Revision 1 to the GEIS on July 31,
2009 (74 FR 38239), for a 75-day public
comment period, ending on October 14,
2009. The NRC later extended the
comment period to January 12, 2010 (74
FR 51522; October 7, 2009).
The intent of the GEIS is to determine
which issues would result in the same
impact at all nuclear power plants and
which issues could result in different
levels of impact at different plants and
thus require a plant-specific analysis for
impact determinations. Revision 1 to the
GEIS identifies 78 environmental
impact issues for consideration in
license renewal environmental reviews,
59 of which have been determined to be
generic to all plant sites. The GEIS also
evaluates a full range of alternatives to
the proposed action. For most impact
areas, the proposed action (i.e., renewal
of the plant’s operating license) would
have impacts that would be similar to or
less than impacts of the alternatives, in
large part because most alternatives
would require new power plant
construction, whereas the proposed
action would not.
The NUREG–1437 consisted of two
volumes when first issued by the NRC
in 1996—the first volume consisting of
the primary text and the second volume
consisting of the GEIS appendices.
Revision 1 of NUREG–1437 expands the
GEIS to three volumes to meet internal
NRC publication requirements for
NUREG documents. Volume 1 contains
the primary text of the GEIS; Volume 2
contains Appendix A, which consists of
public comments and the NRC’s
responses thereto; and Volume 3
contains the remainder of the GEIS
appendices.
The ESRP provides guidance to NRC
staff in implementing the provisions in
Part 51 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR), ‘‘Environmental
Protection Regulations for Domestic
Licensing and Related Regulatory
Functions,’’ when conducting an
environmental review for the renewal of
E:\FR\FM\20JNR2.SGM
20JNR2
37326
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 119 / Thursday, June 20, 2013 / Rules and Regulations
TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with RULES2
a nuclear power plant’s operating
license.
Concurrent with the final rule, GEIS
revision, and ESRP revision, the NRC is
also publishing in the Rules and
Regulations section of this issue of the
Federal Register, Revision 1 to
Regulatory Guide (RG) 4.2, Supplement
1, Preparation of Environmental Reports
for Nuclear Power Plant License
Renewal Applications. The Accession
No. for Revision 1 to RG 4.2 is
ML13067A354. The RG 4.2 provides
guidance to applicants for the
preparation of environmental reports
that are submitted as part of an
application for the renewal of a nuclear
power plant operating license in
accordance with 10 CFR Part 54,
‘‘Requirements for Renewal of Operating
Licenses for Nuclear Power Plants.’’
During the public comment period,
the NRC received 32 document
submissions from industry stakeholders,
representatives of Federal and State
agencies, other interested parties, and
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:32 Jun 19, 2013
Jkt 229001
members of the public. Each of these
document submissions contained one or
more comments. The NRC also received
verbal comments at the six public
meetings held during the public
comment period, which contained, in
aggregate, several hundred comments.
These comments concerned or pertained
to the proposed rule (74 FR 38117
published July 31, 2009) and to the draft
revisions to the GEIS, ESRP and RG 4.2.
A description of all public comments
submitted on the draft revised GEIS and
the NRC’s response to those comments,
are contained in Appendix A (Volume
2) of Revision 1 to the GEIS. A summary
of all six public meetings is contained
in the following document, ‘‘Summary
of Public Meetings to Discuss Proposed
Rule Regarding Part 51 of Title 10 of the
Code of Federal Regulations and the
Draft Revision to the Generic
Environmental Impact Statement for
License Renewal of Nuclear Plants,
NUREG–1437, Revision 1 (November 3,
PO 00000
Frm 00046
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 9990
2009),’’ and can be accessed in ADAMS
under Accession No. ML093070141.
Comments specific to the draft revised
RG 4.2, which came from Federal and
State agencies, and industry can be
accessed in ADAMS under Accession
No. ML13067A355. There were no
comments specific to the ESRP.
II. Congressional Review Act
In accordance with the Congressional
Review Act, the NRC has determined
that this action is not a major rule and
has verified this determination with the
Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs of the Office of Management and
Budget.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 23rd day
of April, 2013.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John W. Lubinski,
Director, Division of License Renewal, Office
of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2013–14314 Filed 6–19–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
E:\FR\FM\20JNR2.SGM
20JNR2
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 119 (Thursday, June 20, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 37325-37326]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-14314]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 51
[NRC-2008-0608]
RIN 3150-AI42
License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants; Generic Environmental
Impact Statement and Standard Review Plans for Environmental Reviews
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: NUREG-1437 and NUREG-1555; issuance.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is updating and
revising NUREG-1437, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement for
License Renewal of Nuclear Plants'' (GEIS), which the NRC issued in May
1996. The revised GEIS provides the technical basis for amending
certain NRC environmental protection regulations. The NRC has also
revised NUREG-1555, Supplement 1, ``Standard Review Plans for
Environmental Reviews for Nuclear Power Plants, Supplement 1: Operating
License Renewal'' (ESRP). The ESRP serves as a guide to the NRC staff
in preparing a plant-specific supplemental environmental impact
statement to the GEIS. This document is announcing the issuance of
NUREG-1437, Revision 1, and NUREG-1555, Revision 1.
DATES: NUREG-1437 and NUREG-1555 are effective June 20, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2008-0608 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You
may access information related to this document, which the NRC
possesses and is publicly available, using any of the following
methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2008-0608. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-492-
3668; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For technical questions, contact
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this document.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may access publicly available documents online in the NRC
Library at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the
search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and then select ``Begin Web-
based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's
Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-
4737, or by email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The ADAMS Accession No. for
each document referenced in this document (if that document is
available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is
referenced. The ADAMS Accession Nos. for the GEIS, NUREG-1437, are as
follows: ML13107A023 for the package, ML13106A241 for Volume 1,
ML13106A242 for Volume 2, and ML13106A244 for Volume 3. The ADAMS
Accession No. for the ESRP, NUREG-1555, is ML13106A246.
NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Emmanuel Sayoc, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001; telephone: 1-800-368-5642, email: Emmanuel.Sayoc@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Discussion
In the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal
Register, the NRC published a final rule, ``Revisions to Environmental
Review for Renewal of Nuclear Power Plant Operating Licenses'' (RIN
3150-AI42), that is amending its environmental protection regulations
by updating and revising the Commission's 1996 findings on the
environmental impacts of renewing the operating license of a nuclear
power plant. The final rule redefines the number and scope of the
environmental impact issues that must be addressed by the NRC during
license renewal environmental reviews. Most of the amendments made by
this final rule are based upon Revision 1 to the GEIS, which
incorporates lessons learned and knowledge gained from license renewal
environmental reviews conducted by the NRC since 1996.
Revision 1 to the GEIS is intended for use by license renewal
applicants and the NRC staff. The NRC published the draft Revision 1 to
the GEIS on July 31, 2009 (74 FR 38239), for a 75-day public comment
period, ending on October 14, 2009. The NRC later extended the comment
period to January 12, 2010 (74 FR 51522; October 7, 2009).
The intent of the GEIS is to determine which issues would result in
the same impact at all nuclear power plants and which issues could
result in different levels of impact at different plants and thus
require a plant-specific analysis for impact determinations. Revision 1
to the GEIS identifies 78 environmental impact issues for consideration
in license renewal environmental reviews, 59 of which have been
determined to be generic to all plant sites. The GEIS also evaluates a
full range of alternatives to the proposed action. For most impact
areas, the proposed action (i.e., renewal of the plant's operating
license) would have impacts that would be similar to or less than
impacts of the alternatives, in large part because most alternatives
would require new power plant construction, whereas the proposed action
would not.
The NUREG-1437 consisted of two volumes when first issued by the
NRC in 1996--the first volume consisting of the primary text and the
second volume consisting of the GEIS appendices. Revision 1 of NUREG-
1437 expands the GEIS to three volumes to meet internal NRC publication
requirements for NUREG documents. Volume 1 contains the primary text of
the GEIS; Volume 2 contains Appendix A, which consists of public
comments and the NRC's responses thereto; and Volume 3 contains the
remainder of the GEIS appendices.
The ESRP provides guidance to NRC staff in implementing the
provisions in Part 51 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(10 CFR), ``Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing
and Related Regulatory Functions,'' when conducting an environmental
review for the renewal of
[[Page 37326]]
a nuclear power plant's operating license.
Concurrent with the final rule, GEIS revision, and ESRP revision,
the NRC is also publishing in the Rules and Regulations section of this
issue of the Federal Register, Revision 1 to Regulatory Guide (RG) 4.2,
Supplement 1, Preparation of Environmental Reports for Nuclear Power
Plant License Renewal Applications. The Accession No. for Revision 1 to
RG 4.2 is ML13067A354. The RG 4.2 provides guidance to applicants for
the preparation of environmental reports that are submitted as part of
an application for the renewal of a nuclear power plant operating
license in accordance with 10 CFR Part 54, ``Requirements for Renewal
of Operating Licenses for Nuclear Power Plants.''
During the public comment period, the NRC received 32 document
submissions from industry stakeholders, representatives of Federal and
State agencies, other interested parties, and members of the public.
Each of these document submissions contained one or more comments. The
NRC also received verbal comments at the six public meetings held
during the public comment period, which contained, in aggregate,
several hundred comments. These comments concerned or pertained to the
proposed rule (74 FR 38117 published July 31, 2009) and to the draft
revisions to the GEIS, ESRP and RG 4.2. A description of all public
comments submitted on the draft revised GEIS and the NRC's response to
those comments, are contained in Appendix A (Volume 2) of Revision 1 to
the GEIS. A summary of all six public meetings is contained in the
following document, ``Summary of Public Meetings to Discuss Proposed
Rule Regarding Part 51 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations
and the Draft Revision to the Generic Environmental Impact Statement
for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, NUREG-1437, Revision 1 (November
3, 2009),'' and can be accessed in ADAMS under Accession No.
ML093070141. Comments specific to the draft revised RG 4.2, which came
from Federal and State agencies, and industry can be accessed in ADAMS
under Accession No. ML13067A355. There were no comments specific to the
ESRP.
II. Congressional Review Act
In accordance with the Congressional Review Act, the NRC has
determined that this action is not a major rule and has verified this
determination with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of
the Office of Management and Budget.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 23rd day of April, 2013.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John W. Lubinski,
Director, Division of License Renewal, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2013-14314 Filed 6-19-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P