[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 204 (Tuesday, October 22, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 84401-84402]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-24394]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-259, 50-260, and 50-296; NRC-2024-0030]


Tennessee Valley Authority; Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 
2, and 3; Intent To Prepare Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will prepare a 
supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) to evaluate the 
environmental impacts for the subsequent license renewal (SLR) of 
Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-33, DPR-52, and DPR-68 for 
Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3 (Browns Ferry).

DATES: October 22, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0030 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:
    <bullet> Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2024-0030. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 
telephone: 301-415-0624; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#27745346445e0974444f524a4649496749554409404851"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f2a18693918bdca1919a879f939c9cb29c8091dc959d84">[email protected]</span></a>. For technical 
questions, contact the individual listed in the For Further Information 
Contact section of this document.
    <bullet> 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 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#075743552955627468727564624769756429606871"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b4e4f0e69ae6d1c7dbc1c6d7d1f4dac6d79ad3dbc2">[email protected]</span></a>. 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.
    <bullet> 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 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#346470661a6651475b41465751745a46571a535b42"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="79293d2b572b1c0a160c0b1a1c39170b1a571e160f">[email protected]</span></a> 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.
    <bullet> Public Library: A copy of the SLR application for Browns 
Ferry, including the environmental report (ER), is available for public 
review at the following public library location: Athens-Limestone 
County Public Library, 603 S Jefferson Street, Athens, AL 35611.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jessica Uma[ntilde]a, Office of 
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-5207, email: 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#09436c7a7a606a68275c6468676849677b6a276e667f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d993bcaaaab0bab8f78cb4b8b7b899b7abbaf7beb6af">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On January 19, 2024, Tennessee Valley Authority, submitted to the 
NRC an application for subsequent license renewal of Renewed Facility 
Operating License Nos. DPR-33, DPR-52, and DPR-68, for Units 1, 2, and 
3, for an additional 20 years of operation (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML24019A010). This submission initiated the NRC's proposed action of 
determining whether to grant the SLR application. The Browns Ferry 
Units are boiling water reactors designed by General Electric and are 
located on the north shore of Wheeler Reservoir in Limestone County, 
Alabama, at Tennessee River Mile 294. The current renewed facility 
operating licenses for Units 1, 2, and 3, expire at midnight on 
December 20, 2033, June 28, 2034, and July 2, 2036, respectively. The 
SLR application was submitted pursuant to part 54 of title 10 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Requirements for Renewal of 
Operating Licenses for Nuclear Power Plants,'' and seeks to extend the 
renewed facility operating licenses for Units 1, 2, and 3, to midnight 
on December 20, 2053, June 28, 2054, and July 2, 2056, respectively.
    On April 3, 2024, the NRC published in the Federal Register, a 
notice of intent to conduct a scoping process and prepare a site-
specific environmental impact statement (EIS) (89 FR 23056). Consistent 
with Commission Legal Issuance (CLI-22-03), the SLR application 
contained an ER in which the impacts of all environmental issues were 
evaluated on a site-specific basis, and the NRC staff initiated a 
review to address the impacts for all such issues during the SLR period 
in a site-specific EIS. The NRC staff stated in the original notice of 
intent that it would first conduct a scoping process for the site-
specific EIS and then prepare a draft site-specific EIS for public 
comment. During the 30-day scoping period, the NRC received comments 
through

[[Page 84402]]

written correspondence and two public meetings.

II. Discussion

    On August 6, 2024, the NRC published a final rule in the Federal 
Register (89 FR 64166) revising its environmental protection 
regulations in 10 CFR part 51, ``Environmental Protection Regulations 
for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions.'' The final 
rule updates the potential environmental impacts associated with the 
renewal of an operating license for a nuclear power plant for up to an 
additional 20 years for either an initial license renewal or one period 
of SLR. Revision 2 to NUREG-1437, ``Generic Environmental Impact 
Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants'' (LR GEIS) (ADAMS 
Package Accession No. ML24087A133) provides the technical basis for the 
final rule. The revised LR GEIS supports the updated list of 
environmental issues and associated environmental impact findings 
contained in table B-1 in appendix B to subpart A of the revised 10 CFR 
part 51 for both initial license renewals and one period of SLR.
    The final rule became effective 30 days after its publication in 
the Federal Register (i.e., on September 5, 2024), and staff must now 
consider the new and modified issues, as applicable, in its license 
renewal EISs. Accordingly, the NRC staff intends to prepare a 
supplement to the LR GEIS for the Browns Ferry SLR application. In 
contrast to the previously planned site-specific EIS, the SEIS will 
rely on the LR GEIS determinations for Category 1 (generic) issues that 
apply to all or a distinct subset of nuclear power plants. Site-
specific information will be considered only on Category 2 (site-
specific) issues and will be screened for new and significant 
information on Category 1 issues.
    The NRC staff has determined that the original scoping period 
conducted for a site-specific EIS review is sufficient to include any 
comments that would have been submitted for a SEIS that relies on site-
specific determinations for Category 2 issues and on the LR GEIS 
generic determinations for Category 1 issues; therefore, an additional 
scoping period will not be conducted. All information submitted during 
the 30-day scoping period that began April 3, 2024, will be considered 
and evaluated as appropriate during the development of the staff's SEIS 
for the Browns Ferry SLR. When issued, the draft SEIS will be made 
available for public comment in accordance with 10 CFR 51.73.

    Dated: October 16, 2024.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Stephen Koenick,
Chief, Environmental Project Management Branch 1, Division of 
Rulemaking, Environment, and Financial Support, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2024-24394 Filed 10-21-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P


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