Constellation Energy Generation, LLC; Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Units 2 and 3; Notice of Intent To Conduct Scoping Process and Prepare Environmental Impact Statement, 63450-63452 [2024-17246]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 150 (Monday, August 5, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63450-63452]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-17246]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-237 and 50-249; NRC-2024-0080]


Constellation Energy Generation, LLC; Dresden Nuclear Power 
Station, Units 2 and 3; Notice of Intent To Conduct Scoping Process and 
Prepare Environmental Impact Statement

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 the subsequent license renewal (SLR) of Renewed Facility 
Operating License Nos. DPR-19 and DPR-25, which authorize Constellation 
Energy Generation, LLC (CEG, the applicant) to operate Dresden Nuclear 
Power Station (Dresden), Units 2 and 3. The NRC staff is seeking public 
comment on this action and has scheduled two public scoping meetings 
that will take place as online webinars.

DATES: The NRC will hold two public scoping meetings as online webinars 
on August 20, 2024, from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. central time (CT) and from 5 
p.m. to 7 p.m. CT. 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 September 4, 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.

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://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2024-0080. 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-

[[Page 63451]]

0001, ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff.
    For additional directions on obtaining information and submitting 
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tam Tran, Office of Nuclear Material 
Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-3617; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0080 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://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2024-0080.
     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 Dresden, 
including the applicant's environmental report, will be available for 
public review at the following public library locations: Morris Area 
Public Library, 604 Liberty St., Morris, IL 60450, and Coal City 
Library, 85 N Garfield Street, Coal City, IL 60416.

B. Submitting Comments

    The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please 
include Docket ID NRC-2024-0080 in your comment submission.
    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 April 17, 2024 (ADAMS Package Accession No. 
ML24108A007), CEG submitted to the NRC an application for SLR of 
Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-19 and DPR-25 for Dresden, 
Units 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. Dresden is located in Morris IL, approximately 23 
miles southwest of Joliet, IL. The current facility operating license 
for Dresden, Unit 2, expires at midnight on December 22, 2029, and the 
current facility operating license for Dresden, Unit 3 expires at 
midnight on January 12, 2031. 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 facility operating license for 
Unit 2 to midnight on December 22, 2049, and Unit 3 to midnight January 
12, 2051. A notice of receipt and availability of the application was 
published in the Federal Register on May 7, 2024 (89 FR 38197). A 
notice of acceptance for docketing of the application and of 
opportunity to request a hearing was published in the Federal Register 
on June 24, 2024 (89 FR 52514) and is available on the Federal 
rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov) by searching for 
Docket ID NRC-2024-0080.

III. Request for Comment

    This notice informs the public of the NRC staff's intent to conduct 
environmental scoping and prepare an EIS related to the SLR application 
for Dresden, 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, as amended (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 staff 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 the regulations in 10 CFR part 51 and the 
Commission's decision in CLI-22-2 (ADAMS Accession No. ML22055A496), 
Dresden submitted an environmental report (ER) as part of the SLR 
application. The ER is available in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML24108A011. The ER is also available for viewing at: https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/Dresden-subsequent.html.
    As part of its environmental review, the NRC staff 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 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 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 EIS under consideration;

[[Page 63452]]

    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 EIS to the 
NRC and any cooperating agencies; and
    h. Describe how the EIS will be prepared, including any contractor 
assistance to be used.
    The NRC staff invites the following entities to participate in 
scoping:
    a. The applicant, CEG, 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 Native American 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 who intends to petition, for 
leave to intervene in the proceeding 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 public scoping meetings 
as online webinars for the Dresden SLR application. Both webinars will 
include telephone lines for members of the public to provide comments. 
A court reporter will transcribe all comments received during the 
webinars. To be considered, comments must be provided either at the 
transcribed public meeting or in writing, as discussed in the ADDRESSES 
section of this document. The public scoping meetings will be held as 
online webinars on August 20, 2024, from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. CT and from 
5 p.m. to 7 p.m. CT. Persons interested in attending these online 
webinars should monitor the NRC's Public Meeting Schedule website at 
https://www.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg for additional information, agendas for 
the meeting, and access information for the webinar. Please contact Tam 
Tran no later than August 9, 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.
    Both public scoping meetings will include: (1) an overview by the 
NRC staff of the environmental and safety review processes, 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 environmental issues 
or the proposed scope of the Dresden SLR EIS.
    Participation in the scoping process for the Dresden SLR EIS does 
not entitle participants to become parties to the proceeding to which 
the EIS relates. Matters related to participation in any hearing are 
outside the scope of matters to be discussed at this public meeting.

    Dated: July 31, 2024.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Stephen Koenick,
Chief, Environmental Project Management Branch 1, Division of 
Rulemaking, Environment, and Financial Support, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety, and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2024-17246 Filed 8-2-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P