Document: NRC Regulatory Guide
Document ID: b143ccef-ed08-482d-bc4b-b4e012328090
Document Type: regulatory_guide
Title: Applications for Nuclear Power Plants (Rev. 1)
Source: NRC Regulatory Guide Division 1
Source URL: https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1523/ML15233A056.pdf
Revision Date: 2023-06
Chapter: 
Section ID: RG-1.206
CFR Part: 
CFR Title: 

Content:
�s preparation of an EIS to (1) inform the Commission’s decision, (2) determine whether an obviously superior alternative site exists, and (3) disclose, to the extent addressed by the applicant, the environmental impacts associated with constructing and operating one or more nuclear facilities. For a COLA referencing an ESP, the EIS prepared for the ESP is an important starting point for the COL applicant when preparing the COL ER. The ESP EIS resolves environmental issues within certain bounding conditions; therefore, such issues are considered resolved at the COL stage as long as no “new and significant” information has become available. For issues resolved at the ESP stage, if no new and significant information is identified at the COL stage, the NRC staff may rely on or “tier off” the ESP EIS and will state in the COL EIS its conclusion as set forth in the ESP EIS.For the ESP stage, 10 CFR 51.50 (b)(1) states that the ER “must address all environmental effects of construction and operation necessary to determine whether there is any obviously superior alternative to the site proposed. The ER need not include an assessment of the economic, technical, or other benefits (for example, need for power) and costs of the proposed action or an evaluation of alternative energy sources”. I Conversely, f a given environmental issue was not resolved at the ESP stage for rare instances in which sufficient information outside the control of the applicant was not available to permit resolution (e.g. pending a biological assessment by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) or because the ESP applicant was permitted to defer the issue (e.g., benefits assessment), the COL applicant should address the issue in the COL ER. The COL applicant referencing an ESP should provide information sufficient to resolve any significant environmental issue that was not resolved in the ESP proceeding. The information in the COLA should be sufficient to aid the NRC staff in developing its