Notice of Intent To Conduct Scoping Process and Prepare Environmental Impact Statement; Tennessee Valley Authority; Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3, 23056-23058 [2024-06990]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 3, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23056-23058]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06990]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-263, 50-260, and 50-296; NRC-2024-0030]


Notice of Intent To Conduct Scoping Process and Prepare 
Environmental Impact Statement; Tennessee Valley Authority; Browns 
Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice; public scoping meeting and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will conduct a 
scoping process to gather information necessary to prepare an 
environmental impact statement (EIS) to evaluate the environmental 
impacts for an application for the subsequent license renewal (SLR) of 
the Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-33, DPR-52, and DPR-68 
for Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3 (Browns Ferry). The 
NRC is seeking public comment on this action and has scheduled two 
virtual public scoping meetings.

DATES: The NRC will hold two virtual public scoping meetings on April 
11, 2024, at 1 p.m. eastern time (ET) and on April 18, 2024, at 6 p.m. 
ET. Details on both meetings can be found on the NRC's Public Meeting 
Schedule at https://www.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg. Submit comments on the scope 
of the EIS by May 3, 2024. Comments received after this date will be 
considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC is able to ensure 
consideration only for comments received on or before this date. See 
Section IV, ``Public Scoping Meeting,'' of this notice for additional 
information.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods; 
however, the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal rulemaking website:
     Federal rulemaking website: Go to https://regulations.gov 
and search for Docket ID NRC-2024-0030. Address questions about Docket 
IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; telephone: 301-415-0624; 
email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact the 
individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this document.
     Email comments to: [email protected].
     Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop: 
TWFN-7-A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff.
    For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting 
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jessica Uma[ntilde]a, Office of 
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-5207, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0030 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain 
publicly available information related to this action by any of the 
following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://regulations.gov 
and search for Docket ID NRC-2024-0030.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, 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, at 301-415-4737, 
or by email to [email protected]. The ADAMS accession number for 
each document referenced in this document (if it is available in ADAMS) 
is provided the first time that it is referenced.
     NRC's PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies 
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. To make an 
appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to 
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8 
a.m. and 4 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
     Public Library: A copy of the SLR application for Browns 
Ferry, including

[[Page 23057]]

the environmental report (ER), is available for public review at the 
following public library location: Athens-Limestone County Public 
Library, 603 S Jefferson Street, Athens, AL 35611.

B. Submitting Comments

    The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please 
include Docket ID NRC-2024-0030 in the subject line of your comment 
submission to ensure that the NRC is able to make your comment 
submission available to the public in this docket.
    The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact 
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your 
comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at 
https://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment submissions 
into ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to 
remove identifying or contact information.
    If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons 
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to 
include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be 
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should 
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to 
remove such information before making the comment submissions available 
to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.

II. Discussion

    By letter dated January 19, 2024 (ADAMS Package Accession No. 
ML24019A009), Tennessee Valley Authority, submitted to the NRC an 
application for subsequent license renewal of Renewed Facility 
Operating License No. DPR-33, DPR-52, and DPR-68, for Units 1, 2, and 
3, for an additional 20 years of operation. This submission initiated 
the NRC's proposed action of determining whether to grant the SLR 
application. Browns Ferry Units 1, 2, and 3 are boiling water reactors 
designed by General Electric and are located on the north shore of 
Wheeler Reservoir in Limestone County Alabama at the Tennessee River 
Mile 294. The current renewed facility operating license for Units 1, 
2, and 3, expire at midnight on December 20, 2033, June 28, 2034, and 
July 2, 2036, respectively. The SLR application was submitted pursuant 
to part 54 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), 
``Requirements for Renewal of Operating Licenses for Nuclear Power 
Plants,'' and seeks to extend the renewed facility operating licenses 
for Units 1, 2, and 3, to midnight on December 20, 2053, June 28, 2054, 
and July 2, 2056, respectively. A notice of receipt and availability of 
the application was published in the Federal Register on February 8, 
2024 (89 FR 8725). A notice of acceptance for docketing of the 
application and of opportunity to request a hearing was published in 
the Federal Register on March 21, 2024 (89 FR 20254) and is available 
on the Federal rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov) by 
searching for Docket ID NRC-2024-0030.

III. Request for Comment

    This notice informs the public of the NRC's intention to conduct 
environmental scoping and prepare an EIS related to the SLR application 
for Browns Ferry, and to provide the public an opportunity to 
participate in the environmental scoping process, as defined in 10 CFR 
51.29, ``Scoping-environmental impact statement and supplement to 
environmental impact statement,'' and 10 CFR 51.116, ``Notice of 
intent.''
    The regulations in 36 CFR 800.8, ``Coordination with the National 
Environmental Policy Act,'' allow agencies to use their National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.) (NEPA) 
process to fulfill the requirements of Section 106 of the National 
Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (54 U.S.C. 300101, et seq.) (NHPA).
    Therefore, pursuant to 36 CFR 800.8(c), the NRC intends to use its 
process and documentation required 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 51.53(c) and 10 CFR 54.23, Tennessee 
Valley Authority submitted an ER as part of the SLR application. The ER 
was prepared pursuant to 10 CFR part 51, ``Environmental Protection 
Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions,'' 
and is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML24023A476. The ER will 
also be available for viewing at https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/browns-ferry-subsequent.html.
    In addition, the SLR application, including the ER, is available 
for public review at the Athens-Limestone County Public Library, 603 S 
Jefferson Street, Athens, AL 35611.
    The NRC intends to gather the information necessary to prepare a 
site-specific EIS related to the SLR application for Browns Ferry. The 
site-specific EIS will evaluate the environmental impacts of subsequent 
license renewal for Browns Ferry and reasonable alternatives thereto. 
Possible alternatives to the proposed action include the no action 
alternative and reasonable alternative energy sources. This notice is 
being published in accordance with NEPA and the NRC's regulations at 10 
CFR part 51.
    As part of its environmental review, the NRC will first conduct a 
scoping process for the site-specific EIS and, as soon as practicable 
thereafter, will prepare a draft site-specific 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 site-specific EIS will be used to 
accomplish the following:
    a. Define the proposed action that is to be the subject of the 
site-specific EIS;
    b. Determine the scope of the site-specific EIS and identify the 
significant issues to be analyzed in depth;
    c. Identify and eliminate from detailed study those issues that are 
peripheral or are not significant or that have been covered by prior 
environmental review;
    d. Identify any environmental assessments and other ElSs that are 
being or will be prepared that are related to, but are not part of, the 
scope of the site-specific EIS under consideration;
    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 NRC's tentative planning and 
decision-making schedule;
    g. Identify any cooperating agencies and, as appropriate, allocate 
assignments for preparation and schedules for completing the site-
specific EIS to the NRC and any cooperating agencies; and
    h. Describe how the site-specific EIS will be prepared, including 
any contractor assistance to be used.
    The NRC invites the following entities to participate in scoping:
    a. The applicant, Tennessee Valley Authority;
    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

[[Page 23058]]

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 has petitioned or intends to petition for leave 
to intervene under 10 CFR 2.309.

IV. Public Scoping Meeting

    In accordance with 10 CFR 51.26(b), the scoping process for an EIS 
may include a public scoping meeting to help identify significant 
issues related to the proposed action and to determine the scope of 
issues to be addressed in the EIS.
    The NRC is announcing that it will hold two virtual public scoping 
meetings for the Browns Ferry SLR site-specific EIS. A court reporter 
will transcribe all comments received during the public scoping 
meeting. To be considered, comments must be provided either at a 
transcribed public meeting or in writing, as discussed in the ADDRESSES 
section of this notice. The NRC will hold two virtual public scoping 
meetings on April 11, 2024, at 1 p.m. ET and on April 18, 2024, at 6 
p.m. ET.
    Persons interested in attending this meeting should monitor the 
NRC's Public Meeting Schedule website at https://www.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg 
for additional information and the agenda for the meeting. Please 
contact Ms. Jessica Umana no later than April 6, 2024, for the meeting 
on April 11, 2024, and April 13, 2024, for the meeting on April 18, 
2024, if accommodations or special equipment is needed to attend or to 
provide comments, so that the NRC staff can determine whether the 
request can be accommodated.
    The public scoping meeting will include: (1) an overview by the NRC 
staff of the environmental and safety review processes, the proposed 
scope of the site-specific EIS, and the proposed review schedule; and 
(2) the opportunity for interested government agencies, organizations, 
and individuals to submit comments or suggestions on environmental 
issues or the proposed scope of the Browns Ferry SLR site-specific EIS.
    Participation in the scoping process for the Browns Ferry SLR site-
specific EIS does not entitle participants to become parties to the 
proceeding to which the site-specific EIS relates. Matters related to 
participation in any hearing are outside the scope of matters to be 
discussed at this public meeting.

    Dated: March 28, 2024.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Ashley N. Waldron,
Acting Chief, Environmental Project Management Branch 1, Division of 
Rulemaking, Environment, and Financial Support, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety, and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2024-06990 Filed 4-2-24; 8:45 am]
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