Notice of Intent To Conduct Scoping Process and Prepare Environmental Impact Statement; Virginia Electric and Power Company; North Anna Power Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2
| Published date | 23 October 2020 |
| Citation | 85 FR 67572 |
| Record Number | 2020-23463 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Nuclear Regulatory Commission |
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 206 (Friday, October 23, 2020)
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 206 (Friday, October 23, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67572-67574]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-23463]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-338 and 50-339; NRC-2020-0234]
Notice of Intent To Conduct Scoping Process and Prepare
Environmental Impact Statement; Virginia Electric and Power Company;
North Anna Power Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Intent to conduct scoping process and prepare environmental
impact statement; 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 of the operating licenses
for North Anna Power Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2 (North Anna). The NRC
is seeking stakeholder input on this action and has scheduled a public
scoping meeting that will take place as an online webinar.
DATES: The NRC will hold a public scoping meeting as an online webinar
on November 4, 2020, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
(EST). Submit comments on the scope of the EIS by November 23, 2020.
Comments received after November 23, 2020 will be considered if it is
practical to do so, but assurance of consideration cannot be given to
comments received after this date.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods
(unless this document describes a different method for submitting
comments on a specific subject):
Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.nrc.gov and
search for Docket ID NRC-2020-0234. Address questions about Docket IDs
in Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges; telephone: 301-287-9127; email:
[email protected]. For technical questions, contact the
individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this document.
Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop
TWFN7A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001. 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: 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-2020-0234 when contacting the NRC
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may
obtain publicly available information related to this document by any
of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://regulations.gov
and search for Docket ID NRC-2020-0234.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the NRC
Library 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, 301-415-4737, or by email to
[email protected]. The ADAMS accession number for each document
referenced in this document (if that document is available in ADAMS) is
provided the first time that a document is referenced. Virginia
Electric and Power Co.'s (Dominion) application for subsequent renewal
of the North Anna licenses can be found in (ADAMS Package Accession No.
ML20246G703).
Attention: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies
of public documents is currently closed. You may submit your request to
the PDR via email at [email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209
between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (EST), Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
B. Submitting Comments
The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the
Federal Rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please
include Docket ID NRC-2020-0234 in your comment submission in order 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 submissions into ADAMS.
[[Page 67573]]
II. Discussion
On August 24, 2020 Dominion submitted to the NRC an application for
subsequent license renewal (SLR) of Renewed Facility Operating License
Nos. NPF-4 and NPF-7 for an additional 20 years of operation at North
Anna Power Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2 (ADAMS Package Accession No.
ML20246G703). Dominion's submission initiated the NRC's proposed
action: To grant or deny Dominion's SLR application for renewed power
reactor operating licenses, which, if granted, would authorize North
Anna to operate for an additional 20 years. The North Anna units are
pressurized water reactors designed by Westinghouse Electric
Corporation and are located in Louisa County, Virginia. The current
renewed operating license for Unit No. 1 expires at midnight on April
1, 2038, and the current renewed operating license for Unit No. 2
expires at midnight on August 21, 2040. The SLR application was
submitted pursuant to part 54 of title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR) and included an environmental report (ER). A
notice of receipt and availability of the application was published in
the Federal Register on September 21, 2020 (85 FR 59334). A notice of
acceptance for docketing of the application and opportunity for hearing
regarding subsequent license renewal of the North Anna operating
licenses was published in the Federal Register on October 15, 2020 (85
FR 65438) and is available in Regulations.gov by searching for Docket
ID NRC-2020-0201.
III. Request for Comments
This notice informs the public of the NRC's intention to conduct
environmental scoping and prepare an EIS related to Dominion's SLR
application, and to provide the public an opportunity to participate in
the environmental scoping process, as defined in 10 CFR 51.29.
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 (NEPA) process to fulfill the
requirements of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act
(NHPA). Therefore, pursuant to 36 CFR 800.8(c), the NRC intends to use
its process and documentation 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, Dominion
submitted an ER as part of the SLR application. The ER was prepared
pursuant to 10 CFR part 51 and is publicly available (ADAMS Accession
No. ML20246G698). The ER may also be viewed on the internet at https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/subsequent-license-renewal.html. In addition, the SLR application including the ER are
available for public review on the website of the Louisa County Library
at https://jmrl.org/br-louisa.htm.
The NRC intends to gather the information necessary to prepare a
plant-specific supplement to the NRC's NUREG-1437, ``Generic
Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants''
(GEIS), related to the application for subsequent license renewal of
the North Anna operating licenses for an additional 20 years beyond the
period specified in each of the current renewed licenses. The NRC is
required by 10 CFR 51.95 to prepare a plant-specific supplement to the
GEIS in connection with the renewal of an operating license. This
notice is being published in accordance with NEPA and the NRC's
regulations found at 10 CFR part 51.
The supplement to the GEIS will evaluate the environmental impacts
of subsequent license renewal for North Anna Unit Nos. 1 and 2, and
reasonable alternatives thereto. Possible alternatives to the proposed
action include the no action alternative and reasonable alternative
energy sources.
As part of its environmental review process, the NRC will first
conduct scoping 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 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 are not significant; or were covered by a 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 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; and
h. Describe how the supplement to the GEIS will be prepared,
including any contractor assistance to be used.
The NRC invites the following entities to participate in scoping:
a. The applicant, Dominion;
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 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 a proposed activity and to determine the scope of
issues to be addressed in an EIS.
The NRC is announcing that it will hold a public scoping meeting as
an online webinar, for the North Anna subsequent license renewal
supplement to the GEIS. The webinar will offer a telephone line for
members of the public to provide comments. A court reporter will record
and transcribe all comments received during the webinar. 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 date and time for the public scoping webinar are as
follows:
[[Page 67574]]
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Meeting Date Time Location
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Public Scoping Webinar.................. 11/4/2020 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Webinar Information:
(EST). https://usnrc.webex.com.
Event number: 199 753
7173.
Telephone Bridge Line: 1-
800-369-2157.
Participant Passcode:
525781#.
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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 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
environmental issues or the proposed scope of the North Anna subsequent
license renewal supplement to the GEIS.
Persons interested in attending this online webinar should monitor
the NRC's Public Meeting Schedule at https://www.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg for
additional information, agendas for the meeting, and access information
for the webinar. Participants should register in advance of the meeting
by visiting the website https://usnrc.webex.com and using the event
number provided in this notice. A confirmation email will be generated
providing additional details and a link to the webinar. Please contact
Tam Tran no later than November 2, 2020, 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.
Participation in the scoping process for the North Anna subsequent
license renewal supplement to the GEIS does not entitle participants to
become parties to the proceeding to which the supplement to the GEIS
relates. Matters related to participation in any hearing are outside
the scope of matters to be discussed at this public meeting.
Dated: October 19, 2020.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Robert B. Elliott,
Chief, Environmental Review License Renewal Branch, Division of
Rulemaking, Environment, and Financial Support, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2020-23463 Filed 10-22-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
