2024-01355. Notice of Intent To Conduct Scoping Process and Prepare Environmental Impact Statement; Pacific Gas and Electric Company; Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 and 2

AGENCY:

Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION:

Notice; public scoping meeting and request for comment.

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 renewal of Facility Operating License Nos. DPR–80 and DPR–82, which authorize Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E, the applicant) to operate Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant (DCPP), Units 1 and 2. The NRC is seeking public comment on this action and has scheduled both an in-person public scoping meeting and a virtual public scoping meeting.

DATES:

The NRC will hold a virtual public scoping meeting on February 1, 2024, at 10 a.m. Pacific time (PT) and an in-person public scoping meeting on February 8, 2024, at 6 p.m. PT. 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 February 23, 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–2023–0192. Address questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; telephone: [phone]; email: [e-mail]. For technical questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.

• Email: Comments may be submitted to the NRC electronically using the email address [e-mail].

• 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:

Kim Conway, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone: [phone]; email: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2023–0192 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–2023–0192.

• 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 [e-mail]. 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 [e-mail] or call 1–800–397–4209 or 301–415–4737, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

• Public Library: A copy of the license renewal application for DCPP, including the environmental report (ER), is available for public review at the following public library location: San Luis Obispo Library, 995 Palm St., San Luis Obispo, CA 93403.

B. Submitting Comments

The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the Federal Rulemaking website ( https://www.regulations.gov). Please include Docket ID NRC–2023–0192 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 November 7, 2023 (ADAMS Accession No. ML23311A154), PG&E submitted to the NRC an application to renew the operating licenses for DCPP for an additional 20 years of operation. This submission initiated the NRC's proposed action of determining whether to grant the license renewal application. DCPP consists of two pressurized-water reactors designed by Westinghouse and is located in Avila Beach, California. The operating licenses for DCPP expire as follows: Unit 1 on November 2, 2024, and Unit 2 on August 26, 2025. The license renewal application was submitted pursuant to part 54, “Requirements for Renewal of Operating Licenses for Nuclear Power Plants,” of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) and seeks to extend the operating licenses for Units 1 and 2 to November 2, 2044, and August 26, 2045, respectively. A notice of receipt and availability of the application was published in the Federal Register on November 20, 2023 (88 FR 80780). A notice of acceptance for docketing of the application and of opportunity to request a hearing was published in the Federal Register on December 19, 2023 (88 FR 87817) and is available on the Federal Rulemaking Website ( https://www.regulations.gov) by searching for Docket ID NRC–2023–0192.

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 license renewal application for DCPP, and provides 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, as amended (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, PG&E submitted an ER as part of the license renewal application for DCPP. The ER was prepared pursuant to 10 CFR part 51, “Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions,” and is publicly available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML23311A154. The ER will also be available for viewing at https://www.nrc.gov/​reactors/​operating/​licensing/​renewal/​applications.html. In addition, the license renewal application, including the ER, is available for public review at the San Luis Obispo Library, 995 Palm St., San Luis Obispo, CA 93403.

The NRC intends to gather the information necessary to prepare a plant-specific supplement to NUREG–1437, “Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants” (ADAMS Package Accession No. ML13107A023) (GEIS), related to the license renewal application for DCPP. 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 at 10 CFR part 51.

The supplement to the GEIS will evaluate the environmental impacts of license renewal for DCPP, 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, the NRC will first conduct a scoping process for the plant-specific supplement to the GEIS and, as soon as practicable thereafter, will prepare a draft supplement to the GEIS 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 supplement to the GEIS will be used to accomplish the following:

a. Define the proposed action that 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 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 supplement to the GEIS 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 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, PG&E;

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 the proposed action and to determine the scope of issues to be addressed in the EIS.

The NRC is announcing that it will hold an online webinar and teleconference call and an in-person public scoping meeting for the DCPP license renewal supplement to the GEIS. The online webinar and teleconference call will be held on February 1, 2024, at 10 a.m. PT. The in-person public scoping meeting will be held on February 8, 2024, at 6 p.m. PT. A court reporter will transcribe all comments received during the public scoping meetings. 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. Persons interested in attending these meetings should monitor the NRC's Public Meeting Schedule website at https://www.nrc.gov/​pmns/​mtg for additional information and agenda for the meetings. Please contact Kim Conway no later than January 31, 2024, if accommodations or special equipment is needed to attend or to provide comments, so that the NRC can determine whether the request can be accommodated.

The public scoping meetings will include: (1) an overview by the NRC 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 supplement to the GEIS.

Participation in the scoping process for the DCPP 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 these public meetings.

Dated: January 19, 2024.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Stephen S. Koenick,

Chief, Environmental Project Management Branch 1, Division of Rulemaking, Environment, and Financial Support, Office of Nuclear Material Safety, and Safeguards.