Status of Proposed Rulemaking
Revisions to Environmental Review for Renewal of Nuclear Power Plant Operating Licenses and Draft NUREG-1437, Revision 1, Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants.The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its environmental protection regulations by updating the Commission’s findings in Table B-1, “Summary of Findings on National Environmental Policy Act Issues for License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants,” of Appendix B to Subpart A of 10 CFR Part 51. Table B-1 provides a concise summary of the findings of the Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, NUREG-1437 (GEIS). In the introductory paragraph of Appendix B to Subpart A of Part 51, the Commission stated that it intends to review the assessment of impacts in the GEIS and update it on a 10-year cycle, if necessary. This proposed rulemaking is a part of that review and the proposed amendments redefine the number and scope of those environmental issues that must be addressed as part of a license renewal application and those that may be addressed generically.
Background
The license renewal process is designed to assure safe operation of the nuclear power plant and protection of the environment during the license renewal term. Under the NRC’s environmental protection regulations in 10 CFR Part 51, which implement Section 102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), renewal of a nuclear power plant operating license requires the preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS).
To support the preparation of these EISs, the NRC prepared the Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants (GEIS), NUREG-1437, in 1996. The original 1996 GEIS for license renewal was prepared to assess the environmental impacts associated with the continued operation of nuclear power plants during the license renewal term. The intent was to determine which environmental impacts would result in essentially the same impact at all nuclear power plants, and which ones could result in different levels of impacts at different plants and would require a plant-specific analysis to determine the impacts. For those issues that the NRC staff could not generically address, the NRC staff will develop plant-specific supplemental EISs (SEISs) to the GEIS.
The GEIS is intended to improve the efficiency of the license renewal process by (1) providing an evaluation of the types of environmental impacts that may occur from renewing commercial nuclear power plant operating licenses, (2) identifying and assessing impacts that are expected to be generic (the same or similar) at all nuclear plants (or plants with specified plant or site characteristics), and (3) defining the number and scope of environmental impact issues that need to be addressed in plant-specific EISs.
As part of this 10-year update, the NRC revised the 1996 GEIS. The draft GEIS, Revision 1 provides the technical basis for the proposed rule. Concurrent with the GEIS and proposed rule, the NRC has also published for comment draft Regulatory Guide 4.2, Supplement 1, Revision 1, Preparation of Environmental Reports for Nuclear Power Plant License Renewal Applications, and a revised Environmental Standard Review Plan, NUREG-1555, Standard Review Plans for Environmental Reviews for Nuclear Power Plants, Supplement 1: Operating License Renewal, Revision 1.
Public Meetings
The NRC will hold four public meetings to receive comments on the draft GEIS one in each of the NRC regions. The regional public meetings will start at 7:00 p.m. and will continue until 10:00 p.m., or until all members of the public have had an opportunity to present comments.
The meetings will be held on the following dates and locations:
| Date | Location |
|---|---|
| September 15, 2009 | DoubleTree Atlanta Perimeter 6120 Peachtree Dunwoody Road Atlanta, Georgia 30328 |
| September 17, 2009 | Boston Marriott Newton 2345 Commonwealth Avenue Newton, Massachusetts 02466 |
| September 22, 2009 | Hyatt Westlake Plaza 880 South Westlake Boulevard Westlake Village, California 91361 |
| September 24, 2009 | DoubleTree Oak Brook 1909 Spring Road Oak Brook, Illinois 60523 |
In addition, one rulemaking meeting will be held on October 1, 2009, at NRC Headquarters, Two White Flint North, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. The October 1st meeting will be webstreamed to maximize the potential to include interested stakeholders via the NRC’s website, see our Live Meeting Webcast page to participate. The NRC Headquarters meeting will begin at 1:00 p.m.
To Submit Comments
Written comments may be submitted by one of the following methods:
E-mail comments to: The Federal e-Rulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov
; search Docket ID NRC-2008-0608. Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher 301-492-3668; e-mail Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov.
Mail comments to: Michael Lesar, Chief, Rulemaking and Directives Branch, Mailstop TWB-05-B01M, Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
Comments should be submitted by October 14, 2009. All comments received by the Commission will be made available electronically at the Commission's PDR in Rockville, Maryland, and through ADAMS. Comments submitted in writing or in electronic form will be made available to the public in their entirety on the Federal Government’s rulemaking website http://www.regulations.gov . Please note that personal information, such as name, address, telephone, e-mail address, etc., will not be removed from your submission.
