ML033350042
| ML033350042 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Farley  |
| Issue date: | 11/26/2003 |
| From: | Kuo P NRC/NRR/DRIP/RLEP |
| To: | Beasley J Southern Nuclear Operating Co |
| Cushing J, NRR/DRIP/RLEP, 415-1424 | |
| References | |
| TAC MC0768, TAC MC0769 | |
| Download: ML033350042 (10) | |
Text
November 26, 2003 Mr. J. B. Beasley, Jr.
Vice President Southern Nuclear Operating Company Post Office Box 1295 Birmingham, Alabama 35201
SUBJECT:
NOTICE OF INTENT TO PREPARE AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT AND CONDUCT SCOPING PROCESS FOR LICENSE RENEWAL FOR THE JOSEPH M. FARLEY NUCLEAR PLANT, UNITS 1 AND 2, (TAC NOS. MC0768 AND MC0769)
Dear Mr. Beasley:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received your application dated, September 15, 2003, for the renewal of Operating Licenses NPF-2 and NPF-8 for the Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2. In support of the application and in accordance with 10 CFR Part 51 and 10 CFR Part 54, Southern Nuclear Operating Company (SNC) submitted an environmental report (ER). This letter provides information related to the staffs review of the Farley Nuclear Plant (FNP) ER.
The NRC has prepared a notice of intent advising the public that the NRC intends to gather information necessary to prepare a plant-specific supplement to the Commissions Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, (NUREG-1437) in support of the review of the application for the renewal of the FNP operating licenses. Enclosed is a copy of the notice of intent, which has been forwarded to the Office of the Federal Register for publication.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.28, SNC is invited to participate in the environmental scoping process.
As discussed in the enclosed notice, the staff is providing the public with two opportunities to participate in the environmental scoping meeting to be held Thursday, January 8, 2004. The first session will be held in the afternoon and the second session, covering the same subjects, will be held in the evening. The NRC will present an overview of the environmental review process and will describe how the process will be implemented for the review of the FNP license renewal application. SNC is invited to participate in both sessions of the meeting by providing a brief description of the proposed action and the ER submitted as part of the application for license renewal. The meetings will be held at the Quality Inn, 3053 Ross Clark Circle, Dothan, Alabama. A separate NRC meeting notice will be issued with a more detailed agenda. You will be provided a copy of that notice.
Additionally, NRC staff and contractors plan to be on site January 7, 2004, and potentially the morning of January 8, 2004, to discuss the background details of the preparation of the ER with members of your staff, to perform a walk down of the site and its environs, and to review documentation.
J. Beasley Additional details regarding the site visit will be provided to your staff before the visit.
In the interim, should you have any questions regarding the scoping meeting, please contact the NRC environmental project manager, Mr. Jack Cushing, at (301) 415-1424.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Pao-Tsin Kuo, Program Director License Renewal and Environmental Impacts Program Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No.: 50-348, 50-364
Enclosure:
As stated cc w/enclosure: See next page
J. Beasley Additional details regarding the site visit will be provided to your staff before the visit.
In the interim, should you have any questions regarding the scoping meeting, please contact the NRC environmental project manager, Mr. Jack Cushing, at (301) 415-1424.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Pao-Tsin Kuo, Program Director License Renewal and Environmental Impacts Program Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No.: 50-348, 50-364
Enclosure:
As stated cc w/enclosure: See next page DISTRIBUTION:
DMatthews/FGillespie PTKuo JCushing AKugler JDavis JTappert TLiu FRinaldi CPatterson, RII RFanner, RII TJohnson, RII BBonser, RII OGC CQuinley (LLNL)
RLEP R/F Accession no.: ML033350042
- See previous concurrence Document Name:C:\\ORPCheckout\\FileNET\\ML033350042.wpd OFFICE LA:RLEP GS:RLEP PM:RLEP SC:RLEP OGC (Subject to changes)
PD:RLEP NAME MJenkins*
JDavis*
JCushing JTappert MLemoncelli PTKuo DATE 10/28/03 10/28/03 11/6/03 10/23/03 11/7/03 11/26/03 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
7590-01-P UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION SOUTHERN NUCLEAR OPERATING COMPANY JOSEPH M. FARLEY NUCLEAR PLANT NOTICE OF INTENT TO PREPARE AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT AND CONDUCT SCOPING PROCESS DOCKET NOS. 50-348 and 50-364 Southern Nuclear Operating Company (SNC) has submitted an application for renewal of Facility Operating Licenses, NPF-2 and NPF-8 for an additional 20 years of operation at the Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2. The Farley Nuclear Plant (FNP) is located in Houston County, Alabama about 16.5 miles east of the City of Dothan, Alabama. The operating licenses for Farley Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2, expire on June 25, 2017, and March 31, 2021, respectively. The application for renewal was received on September 15, 2003, pursuant to 10 CFR Part 54. A notice of receipt and availability of the application, which included the environmental report (ER), was published in the Federal Register on October 6, 2003, (68 FR 57715). A notice of acceptance for docketing of the application for renewal of the facility operating license was published in the Federal Register on October 30, 2003, (68 FR 68135). A notice of an opportunity for a hearing regarding the application was published in the Federal Register on November 5, 2003, (68 FR 62640). 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 addition, as outlined in 36 CFR 800.8, Coordination with the National Environmental Policy Act, the NRC plans to coordinate compliance with section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act in meeting the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
In accordance with 10 CFR 51.53(c) and 10 CFR 54.23, SNC 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 NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS).
ADAMS is accessible at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html, which provides access through the NRC's Electronic Reading Room 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/farley.html. In addition, the Houston Love Memorial Library, 212 West Burdeshaw Street, Dothan, Alabama and the Lucy Maddox Memorial Library, 11880 Columbia Street, Blakely, Georgia 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 FNP 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 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 Commissions 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:
- a. The applicant, Southern Nuclear Operating Company.
- 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 FNP license renewal supplement to the GEIS. The scoping meetings will be held at the Quality Inn, 3053 Ross Clark Circle, Dothan, Alabama, on Thursday, January 8, 2004. 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 7:00 p.m. with a repeat of the overview portions of the meeting and will continue until 10:00 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 the Quality Inn. 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. Cushing, by telephone at 1-800-368-5642, extension 1424, or by Internet to the NRC at FarleyEIS@nrc.gov no later than January 2, 2004.
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. Cushing will need to be contacted no later than December 17, 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 FNP license renewal review to the Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration, Mailstop T-6D59, 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 the NRC, Room T-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 February 6, 2004. Electronic comments may be sent by the Internet to the NRC at FarleyEIS@nrc.gov and should be sent no later than February 6, 2004, to be considered in the scoping process. Comments will be available electronically and accessible through ADAMS 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 (68 FR 62640). 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 in ADAMS at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. 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. Cushing at the aforementioned telephone number or e-mail address.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26 day of November 2003.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
/RA/
Pao-Tsin Kuo, Program Director License Renewal and Environmental Impacts Program Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant cc:
Mr. Don E. Grissette General Manager -
Southern Nuclear Operating Company Post Office Box 470 Ashford, Alabama 36312 Mr. B. D. McKinney Licensing Manager Southern Nuclear Operating Company Post Office Box 1295 Birmingham, Alabama 35201-1295 Mr. M. Stanford Blanton Balch and Bingham Law Firm Post Office Box 306 1710 Sixth Avenue North Birmingham, Alabama 35201 Mr. J. D. Woodard Executive Vice President Southern Nuclear Operating Company Post Office Box 1295 Birmingham, Alabama 35201 State Health Officer Alabama Department of Public Health 434 Monroe Street Montgomery, Alabama 36130-1701 Chairman Houston County Commission Post Office Box 6406 Dothan, Alabama 36302 Resident Inspector U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 7388 N. State Highway 95 Columbia, Alabama 36319 William D. Oldfield SAER Supervisor Southern Nuclear Operating Company Post Office Box 470 Ashford, Alabama 36312 Mr. Charles R. Pierce Manager - License Renewal Southern Nuclear Operating Company Post Office Box 1295 Birmingham, AL 35201 Mr. Fred Emerson Nuclear Energy Institute 1776 I Street, N.W., Suite 400 Washington, DC 20006-3708 Ms. Betty Forbus Director Houston Love Memorial Library 212 West Burdeshaw Street Dothan, Alabama 36303 Ms. Barbara Crawford The Lucy Maddox Memorial Library 11880 Columbia Street Blakely, GA 39823 Crystal Quinly Task Leader Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Mail Code L-654 P.O. Box 808 Livermore CA 94550