[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 38 (Friday, February 26, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 9889]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-4810]
Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 38 / Friday, February 26, 1999 /
Notices
[[Page 9889]]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Changes to Requirements for Environmental Review for Renewal of Nuclear
Power Plant Operating Licenses, Availability of Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is announcing the
completion and availability of NUREG-1437, Vol. 1, Addendum 1,
``Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear
Plants: Main Report Section 6.3--`Transportation,' Table 9.1 `Summary
of findings on NEPA issues for license renewal of nuclear power
plants,' `Draft for Comment' (February 1999).
DATES: Submit comments by April 27, 1999. Comments received after this
date will be considered if it is practical to consider them, but the
Commission is able to ensure consideration only for comments received
on or before this date.
ADDRESSES: Copies of NUREG-1437, Vol. 1, Addendum 1 are available for
the Reproduction and Distribution Services Section, OCIO, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555.
Comments may be sent to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemakings and
Adjudications Staff, Mail Stop O16C1.
Deliver comments to: One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike,
Rockville, Maryland 20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. on Federal
workdays.
Copies of comments received may be examined at: NRC Public Document
Room, 2120 L Street, NW. (Lower Level), Washington, DC.
You may also submit comments via the NRC's interactive rulemaking
website through the NRC home page (http://www.nrc.gov). From the home
page, select ``Rulemaking'' from the tool bar. The interactive
rulemaking website can then be accessed by selecting ``New Rulemaking
Website.'' This site provides the ability to upload comments as files
(any format), if your web browser supports that function. For
information about the interactive rulemaking web site, contact Ms.
Carol Gallagher, telephone: 301-415-5905; e-mail cag@nrc.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donald P. Cleary, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-3903; e-mail: dpc@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On June 5, 1996 (61 FR 28467), the Commission published in the
Federal Register a final rule amending its environmental protection
regulations, 10 CFR Part 51, to improve the efficiency of the process
of environmental review for applicants seeking to renew a nuclear power
plant operating license for up to an additional 20 years. The amendment
is based on the analyses reported in NUREG-1437, ``Generic
Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants''
(May 1996). The rulemaking was initiated with the objective of
improving the efficiency of the license renewal process drawing on the
considerable experience of operating nuclear power reactors to
generically assess many of the environmental impacts, to report the
analyses and findings in NUREG-1437, and to codify the findings in the
Commission's environmental protection regulations so that repetitive
reviews of those impacts that are well understood could be avoided. In
61 FR 28467, the Commission stated that before the final rule became
effective, the Commission was seeking comments on (1) the treatment of
low-level waste storage and disposal impacts, (2) the cumulative
radiological effects from the uranium fuel cycle, and (3) the effects
from the disposal of high-level waste and spent fuel.
After considering the comments received on the rule, the Commission
published the rule with minor nonsubstantive changes in the Federal
Register on December 18, 1996 (61 FR 66537). In response to comments,
the Commission stated that:
As part of its effort to develop regulatory guidance for this
rule, the Commission will consider whether further changes to the
rule are desirable to generically address: (1) The issue of
cumulative transportation impacts and (2) the implications that the
use of higher burn-up fuel have for the conclusions in Table S-4.
After consideration of these issues, the Commission will determine
whether the issue of transportation impacts should be changed to
Category 1.
In NUREG-1437 and in the rule, Category 1 issues are those
environmental issues for which the analysis and findings have been
determined to be applicable to all nuclear power plants or to plants
with specific types of cooling systems or other common plant or site
characteristics. Absent new information that significantly changes the
finding, these generic findings may be adopted in plant license renewal
reviews. Category 2 issues are those environmental issues for which the
analysis did not result in a finding common to all plants or to plants
with common characteristics. Plant-specific reviews are required for
Category 2 issues.
The NRC staff has completed analyses of these topics as reported in
NUREG-1437, Vol. 1, Addendum 1, ``Generic Environmental Impact
Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants: Main Report Section
6.3--`Transportation,' Table 9.1 `Summary of findings on NEPA issues
for license renewal of nuclear power plants,' Draft for Comment''
(February 1999). Addendum 1 provides the bases for designating
transportation of high-level waste a Category 1 issue. Addendum 1 would
supplement the analysis and amend the findings and the Category 2
category designation for the issue of Transportation in Section 6.3 and
Table 9.1 of NUREG-1437. These amendments to NUREG-1437 contain data
supporting Table B-1 of Appendix B to Subpart A in 10 CFR Part 51.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd day of February 1999.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette L. Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 99-4810 Filed 2-25-99; 8:45 am]
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