ML040890980
| ML040890980 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Browns Ferry  |
| Issue date: | 03/23/2004 |
| From: | Kuo P Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs |
| To: | Hicks M Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians |
| Masnik MT, NRR/DRIP/RLEP, 415-1191 | |
| References | |
| Download: ML040890980 (5) | |
Text
March 23, 2004 The Honorable Michel Hicks, Principal Chief Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Qualla Boundary PO Box 455 Cherokee, NC 28719
SUBJECT:
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION REVIEW OF THE BROWNS FERRY NUCLEAR PLANT LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION
Dear Chief Hicks:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is seeking input for its environmental review of an application from Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to renew its operating licenses for the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3 (BFN), located in Limestone County, Alabama, 16 km (10 mi) southwest of Athens, Alabama. BFN is in close proximity to lands that may be of interest to the Cherokee Tribe. As described below, the NRC process includes an opportunity for public participation in the environmental review. We want to ensure that you are aware of our efforts and, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.28(b), the NRC invites the Cherokee Tribal Community to provide input to the scoping process relating to the NRCs environmental review of the application.
The NRC will hold public scoping meetings for the BFN license renewal supplement to the NRCs Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants (GEIS) (NUREG-1437). These scoping meetings will be held at the Athens State University, Student Center Cafeteria Ballroom, 300 North Beaty Street, Athens, Alabama, on Thursday, April 1, 2004. There will be two sessions to accommodate interested parties. The first session will convene at 1:30 p.m. and will continue until 4:30 p.m., as necessary. The second session will convene at 7:00 p.m., with a repeat of the overview portions of the meeting, and will continue until 10:00 p.m., as necessary. Additionally, the NRC staff will host informal discussions one hour before the start of each session. No formal comments on the proposed scope of the supplement to the GEIS will be accepted during the informal discussions. To be considered, comments must be provided either at the transcribed public meetings or in writing.
The application and the environmental review process are described below.
Under NRC regulations, the original operating license for a nuclear power plant is issued for up to 40 years. The license may be renewed for up to an additional 20 years if NRC requirements are met. The current operating licenses for BFN will expire in 2013, 2014, and 2016 respectively. TVA submitted an environmental report as part of its application for renewal of the BFN operating license on January 6, 2004. The application is electronically available for inspection from the Publicly Available Records (PARs) component of NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html, which provides access through the NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room (PERR) link. If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC's Public Document
Chief M. Hicks 2
Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1 (800) 397-4209, (301) 415-4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. In addition, the application can be viewed on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications.html.
A paper copy of the document can be viewed at the NRCs PDR, located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland, 20852-2738 and at the Athens-Limestone Public Library, 405 East South Street, Athens, Alabama, 35611-1999. Also, the GEIS assesses the scope and impact of environmental effects that would be associated with license renewal at any nuclear power plant site. A copy of this document can also be found on the NRCs website or at the NRC's PDR.
The NRC is gathering information for the document that will be a BFN-specific supplement to the GEIS. The supplement will contain the results of the review of the environmental impacts on the area surrounding the BFN site that are related to terrestrial ecology, aquatic ecology, hydrology, cultural resources, and socioeconomic issues (among others) and will contain a recommendation regarding the environmental acceptability of the license renewal action.
Please submit any written comments the Cherokee Tribal Community may have to offer on the scope of the environmental review by April 26, 2004. Comments should be submitted either by mail to the Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Mail Stop T-6D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001, or by e-mail to BrownsFerryEIS@nrc.gov.
At the conclusion of the scoping process, the NRC staff will prepare a summary of the significant issues identified, the conclusions reached, and will mail a copy to you.
The NRC will prepare a draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for public comment, and will hold another set of public meetings in the site vicinity to solicit comments on the draft. A copy of the draft SEIS will be sent to you for your review and comment. After consideration of public comments received on the draft, the NRC will prepare a final SEIS. If you need additional information regarding the environmental review process, please contact Dr. Michael Masnik, Senior Environmental Project Manager, at (301) 415-1191.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Pao-Tsin Kuo, Program Director License Renewal and Environmental Impacts Program Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos.: 50-259, 50-260, and 50-296 cc: See next page
Chief M. Hicks 2
Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1 (800) 397-4209, (301) 415-4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. In addition, the application can be viewed on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications.html.
A paper copy of the document can be viewed at the NRCs PDR, located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland, 20852-2738 and at the Athens-Limestone Public Library, 405 East South Street, Athens, Alabama, 35611-1999. Also, the GEIS assesses the scope and impact of environmental effects that would be associated with license renewal at any nuclear power plant site. A copy of this document can also be found on the NRCs website or at the NRC's PDR.
The NRC is gathering information for the document that will be a BFN-specific supplement to the GEIS. The supplement will contain the results of the review of the environmental impacts on the area surrounding the BFN site that are related to terrestrial ecology, aquatic ecology, hydrology, cultural resources, and socioeconomic issues (among others) and will contain a recommendation regarding the environmental acceptability of the license renewal action.
Please submit any written comments the Cherokee Tribal Community may have to offer on the scope of the environmental review by April 26, 2004. Comments should be submitted either by mail to the Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Mail Stop T-6D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001, or by e-mail to BrownsFerry@nrc.gov.
At the conclusion of the scoping process, the NRC staff will prepare a summary of the significant issues identified, the conclusions reached, and will mail a copy to you.
The NRC will prepare a draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for public comment, and will hold another set of public meetings in the site vicinity to solicit comments on the draft. A copy of the draft SEIS will be sent to you for your review and comment. After consideration of public comments received on the draft, the NRC will prepare a final SEIS. If you need additional information regarding the environmental review process, please contact Dr. Michael Masnik, Senior Environmental Project Manager, at (301) 415-1191.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Pao-Tsin Kuo, Program Director License Renewal and Environmental Impacts Program Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos.: 50-259, 50-260, and 50-296 cc: See next page DISTRIBUTION: See next page Accession no.: ML040890980 DOCUMENT NAME:C:\\ORPCheckout\\FileNET\\ML040890980.wpd OFFICE LA:RLEP CE:RLEP PM:RLEP SC:RLEP PD:RLEP NAME LJenkins TTerry MMasnik JTappert (MTM for)
PTKuo DATE 03/22/04 03/22/04 03/22/04 03/22/04 03/23/04 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
DISTRIBUTION: Letter to Chief M. Hicks, Re: Brown Ferry, Dated: March 23, 2004 Accession no.: ML040890980 PUBLIC DMatthews/FGillespie PTKuo MMasnik RSchaaf JYerokun TTerry JTappert KJabbour RHannah, RII KClark, RII CJulian, RII BHolbrook, SRI AHodgdon, OGC MSackchewsky (PNNL)
RLEP R/F
BROWNS FERRY NUCLEAR PLANT Tennessee Valley Authority cc:
Mr. Karl W. Singer, Senior Vice President Nuclear Operations Tennessee Valley Authority 6A Lookout Place 1101 Market Street Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801 Mr. James E. Maddox, Acting Vice President Engineering & Technical Services Tennessee Valley Authority 6A Lookout Place 1101 Market Street Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801 Mr. Ashok S. Bhatnagar, Site Vice President Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Tennessee Valley Authority P.O. Box 2000 Decatur, AL 35609 General Counsel Tennessee Valley Authority ET 11A 400 West Summit Hill Drive Knoxville, TN 37902 Mr. Robert J. Adney, General Manager Nuclear Assurance Tennessee Valley Authority 6A Lookout Place 1101 Market Street Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801 Mr. Robert G. Jones, Plant Manager Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Tennessee Valley Authority P.O. Box 2000 Decatur, AL 35609 Mr. Mark J. Burzynski, Manager Nuclear Licensing Tennessee Valley Authority 4X Blue Ridge 1101 Market Street Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801 Mr. Timothy E. Abney, Manager Licensing and Industry Affairs Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Tennessee Valley Authority P.O. Box 2000 Decatur, AL 35609 Senior Resident Inspector U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant P.O. Box 149 Athens, AL 35611 State Health Officer Alabama Dept. of Public Health RSA Tower - Administration Suite 1552 P.O. Box 303017 Montgomery, AL 36130-3017 Chairman Limestone County Commission 310 West Washington Street Athens, AL 35611 Mr. Fred Emerson Nuclear Energy Institute 1776 I St., NW., Suite 400 Washington, DC 20006-3708 Mr. J. A. Scalice Chief Nuclear Officer and Executive Vice President Tennessee Valley Authority 6A Lookout Place 1101 Market Street Chattanooga, TN 37404-2801