[Federal Register: March 14, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 50)]
[Notices]
[Page 12386-12387]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14mr03-84]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-237, 50-249]
Exelon Generation Company, LLC, Dresden Nuclear Power Station,
Units 2 and 3; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement and Conduct Scoping Process
Exelon Generation Company, LLC (Exelon) has submitted an
application for renewal of Facility Operating License DPR-19 and DPR-25
for an additional 20 years of operation at the Dresden Nuclear Power
Station, Units 2 and 3 (DNPS). DNPS is located in Goose Lake Township,
Grundy County, Illinois, on the shoreline of the Illinois River at the
confluence of the Des Plaines and Kankakee Rivers. The application for
renewal was submitted by letter dated January 3, 2003, pursuant to 10
CFR part 54. A notice of receipt of the application, which included the
environmental report (ER), was published in the Federal Register on
January 30, 2003 (68 FR 4800). A notice of acceptance for docketing of
the application for renewal of the facility operating license was
published in the Federal Register on March 4, 2003 (67 FR 68 FR 10273).
The purpose of this notice is to inform the public that the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will be preparing an environmental
impact statement (EIS) in support of the review of the license renewal
application and to provide the public an opportunity to participate in
the environmental scoping process, as defined in 10 CFR 51.29.
In accordance with 10 CFR 54.23 and 10 CFR 51.53(c), Exelon
submitted the ER as part of the application. The ER was prepared
pursuant to 10 CFR part 51 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, or from the
Publicly Available Records component of NRC's Agencywide Documents
Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible at http://
www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html
, which provides access through the
www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html, which provides access through the
NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room (PERR) link. 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, or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov.
The application may also be viewed on the Internet at http://
www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/dresden-
quad.html.
In addition, the Morris Area Public Library, located at 604
West Liberty Street, Morris, Illinois; and the Coal City Public Library
District, located at 85 North Garfield Street, Coal City, Illinois,
have agreed to make the ER available for public inspection.
This notice advises the public that the NRC intends to gather the
information necessary to prepare a plant-specific supplement to the
Commission's ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for
License Renewal of Nuclear Plants,'' (NUREG-1437) in support of the
review of the application for renewal of the DNPS operating licenses
for an additional 20 years. Possible alternatives to the proposed
action (license renewal) include no action and reasonable alternative
energy sources. The NRC is required by 10 CFR 51.95 to prepare a
supplement to the GEIS in connection with the renewal of an operating
license. This notice is being published in accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the NRC's regulations found in 10
CFR part 51.
The NRC will first conduct a scoping process for the supplement to
the GEIS and, as soon as practicable thereafter, will prepare a draft
supplement to the GEIS for public comment. Participation in the scoping
process by members of the public and local, State, tribal, and Federal
government agencies is encouraged. The scoping process for the
[[Page 12387]]
supplement to the GEIS will be used to accomplish the following:
a. Define the proposed action which is to be the subject of the
supplement to the GEIS.
b. Determine the scope of the supplement to the GEIS 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 supplement to the GEIS being considered.
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 Commission's tentative planning
and decision-making schedule.
g. Identify any cooperating agencies and, as appropriate, allocate
assignments for preparation and schedules for completing the supplement
to the GEIS to the NRC and any cooperating agencies.
h. Describe how the supplement to the GEIS will be prepared, and
include any contractor assistance to be used.
The NRC invites the following entities to participate in the
scoping process:
a. The applicant, Exelon Generation Company, 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.
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 has decided to hold public meetings for
the DNPS license renewal supplement to the GEIS. The scoping meetings
will be held at Jennifer's Garden Banquet and Convention Center located
at 555 West Gore Road, Morris, Illinois on Thursday, April 10, 2003.
There will be two sessions to accommodate interested parties. The first
session will convene at 1:30 p.m. and will continue until 4:30 p.m., as
necessary. The second session will convene at 7 p.m. with a repeat of
the overview portions of the meeting and will continue until 10 p.m.,
as necessary. Both meetings will be transcribed and will include (1) an
overview by the NRC staff of the NEPA environmental review process, the
proposed scope of the supplement to the GEIS, 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 supplement to the
GEIS. Additionally, the NRC staff will host informal discussions one
hour before the start of each session at Jennifer's Garden Banquet and
Convention Center. No formal comments on the proposed scope of the
supplement to the GEIS will be accepted during the informal
discussions. To be considered, comments must be provided either at the
transcribed public meetings or in writing, as discussed below. Persons
may register to attend or present oral comments at the meetings on the
scope of the NEPA review by contacting Mr. Louis L. Wheeler, by
telephone at 1-800-368-5642, extension 1444, or by Internet to the NRC
at DresdenEIS@nrc.gov no later than April 2, 2003. Members of the
public may also register to speak at the meeting within 15 minutes of
the start of each 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. Public comments will be
considered in the scoping process for the supplement to the GEIS. Mr.
Wheeler will need to be contacted no later than March 25, 2003, if
special equipment or accommodations are needed to attend or present
information at the public meeting, so that the NRC staff can determine
whether the request can be accommodated.
Members of the public may send written comments on the
environmental scope of the DNPS license renewal review to the Chief,
Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services,
Office of Administration, Mailstop T-6 D 59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, and should cite the publication
date and page number of this Federal Register notice. Comments may also
be delivered to Room 6D59, Two White Flint North, 11545 Rockville Pike,
Rockville, Maryland, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. during Federal
workdays. To be considered in the scoping process, written comments
should be postmarked by May 12, 2003. Electronic comments may be sent
by the Internet to the NRC at DresdenEIS@nrc.gov. Electronic
submissions should be sent no later than May 12, 2003, to be considered
in the scoping process. Comments will be available electronically and
accessible through the NRC's PERR link at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-
rm/adams.html.
Participation in the scoping process for the supplement to the GEIS
does not entitle participants to become parties to the proceeding to
which the supplement to the GEIS relates. Notice of opportunity for a
hearing regarding the renewal application was the subject of the
aforementioned Federal Register notice of acceptance for docketing.
Matters related to participation in any hearing are outside the scope
of matters to be discussed at this public meeting.
At the conclusion of the scoping process, the NRC will prepare a
concise summary of the determination and conclusions reached, including
the significant issues identified, and will send a copy of the summary
to each participant in the scoping process. The summary will also be
available for inspection through the PERR link. The staff will then
prepare and issue for comment the draft supplement to the GEIS, which
will be the subject of separate notices and separate public meetings.
Copies will be available for public inspection at the above-mentioned
addresses, and one copy per request will be provided free of charge.
After receipt and consideration of the comments, the NRC will prepare a
final supplement to the GEIS, which will also be available for public
inspection.
Information about the proposed action, the supplement to the GEIS,
and the scoping process may be obtained from Mr. Wheeler at the
aforementioned telephone number or e-mail address.
Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this 6th day of March, 2003.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Pao-Tsin Kuo,
Program Director, License Renewal and Environmental Impacts Program,
Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 03-6158 Filed 3-13-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P