ML051960103
| ML051960103 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Palisades  |
| Issue date: | 07/13/2005 |
| From: | Kuo P NRC/NRR/DRIP/RLEP |
| To: | Falcon A Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan |
| Guerrero, C, NRR/DRIP/RLEP, 415-2981 | |
| References | |
| Download: ML051960103 (9) | |
Text
July 13, 2005 The Honorable Audrey Falcon, Chief Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan 7070 East Broadway Road Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858
SUBJECT:
REQUEST FOR COMMENTS CONCERNING PALISADES NUCLEAR PLANT APPLICATION FOR OPERATING LICENSE RENEWAL
Dear Chief Falcon:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is seeking input for its environmental review of an application from the Nuclear Management Company, LLC (NMC) to renew the operating license for the Palisades Nuclear Plant (Palisades), located in Covert Township on the western side of Van Buren County, Michigan. Palisades is in close proximity to lands that may be of interest to the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan. As described below, the NRC process includes an opportunity for public and inter-governmental participation in the environmental review. We want to ensure that you are aware of our efforts and, pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 51.28(b) (10 CFR 51.28(b)), the NRC invites the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan to provide input to the scoping process relating to the NRCs environmental review of the application. In addition, as outlined in 36 CFR 800.8, the NRC plans to coordinate compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 through the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
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 license for Palisades will expire in March 2011. NMC submitted its application for renewal of the Palisades operating license on March 31, 2005.
The NRC is gathering information for a Palisades-specific supplement to its ?Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants (GEIS),
NUREG-1437. The supplement will contain the results of the review of the environmental impacts on the area surrounding the Palisades 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. Provided for your information is the Palisades Site Layout (Enclosure 1) and Transmission Line Map (Enclosure 2).
The NRC will hold two public scoping meetings for the Palisades license renewal supplement to the GEIS on July 28, 2005, at the Lake Michigan College, 125 Veterans Boulevard, South Haven, Michigan 49090. 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. To be considered, comments must be provided either at the transcribed public meetings or in writing. No formal comments on the proposed scope of the supplement to the GEIS will be accepted during informal discussions.
A. Falcon The application is electronically available for inspection from the NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) under Accession Number ML050940449. ADAMS is accessible at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRCs Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 1-301-415-4737, or by e-mail at 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 application can be viewed at the NRCs PDR, located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland, 20855-2738.
Copies will also be available at the South Haven Memorial Library, 314 Broadway St.,
South Haven, MI 49090. The GEIS, which assesses the scope and impact of environmental effects that would be associated with license renewal at any nuclear power plant site, can also be found on the NRCs Web site or at the NRCs PDR.
Please submit any written comments that the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan may have to offer on the scope of the environmental review by August 22, 2005. Comments should be submitted 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. At the conclusion of the scoping process, the NRC staff will prepare a summary of the significant issues identified and the conclusions reached and will mail a copy to you.
The NRC will issue the draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for public comment (anticipated publication date, February 2006), 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. The issuance of the final SEIS for Palisades is planned for October 2006. If you need additional information regarding the environmental review process, please contact Mr. Robert Schaaf, Senior Environmental Project Manager, at 301-415-1312 or by e-mail at rgs@nrc.gov, or Ms. Cristina Guerrero, Project Support, at 301-415-2981 or by e-mail at cxg3@nrc.gov.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Pao-Tsin Kuo, Program Director License Renewal and Environmental Impacts Program Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No.: 50-255
Enclosures:
- 1. Palisades Site Layout
- 2. Palisades Transmission Line Map cc w/encls.: See next page
ML051960103 E:\\Filenet\\ML051960103.wpd OFFICE GS:RLEP LA:RLEP PM:RLEP SC:RLEP PD:RLEP NAME CGuerrero MJenkins RSchaaf AKugler PTKuo DATE 07/05/05 06/ 28/05 07/05/05 07/07/05 07/ 13/05
DISTRIBUTION: Ltr. to the Honorable A. Falcon, Re: Palisades, Dated: July 13, 2005 ADAMS Accession No.: ML051960103 Public Environmental R/F RidsOGCMailRoom C. Guerrero R. Shaaf D. Matthews/F. Gillespie P.T. Kuo A. Kugler F. Cameron K. Cozens J. Ayala M. Morgan D. Jaffe J. Lennartz, SRI J. Ellegood, SRI D. Miller (ANL)
L. Kozak, RIII E. Duncan, RIII J. Strasma, RIII V. Mitlyng, RIII J. Ellegood, SRI M. Garza, RI
Palisades Nuclear Plant cc:
Robert A. Fenech, Senior Vice President Nuclear, Fossil, and Hydro Operations Consumers Energy Company 1945 Parnall Rd.
Jackson, MI 49201 Arunas T. Udrys, Esquire Consumers Energy Company 1 Energy Plaza Jackson, MI 49201 Regional Administrator, Region III U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 801 Warrenville Road Lisle, IL 60532-4351 Supervisor Covert Township P.O. Box 35 Covert, MI 49043 Office of the Governor P.O. Box 30013 Lansing, MI 48909 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Resident Inspectors Office Palisades Plant 27782 Blue Star Memorial Highway Covert, MI 49043 Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Waste and Hazardous Materials Division Hazardous Waste and Radiological Protection Section Nuclear Facilities Unit Constitution Hall, Lower-Level North 525 West Allegan Street P.O. Box 30241 Lansing, MI 48909-7741 Michigan Department of Attorney General Special Litigation Division 525 West Ottawa St.
Sixth Floor, G. Mennen Williams Building Lansing, MI 48913 Manager, Regulatory Affairs Nuclear Management Company, LLC 27780 Blue Star Memorial Highway Covert, MI 49043 Director of Nuclear Assets Consumers Energy Company Palisades Nuclear Plant 27780 Blue Star Memorial Highway Covert, MI 49043 Paul A. Harden Site Vice President Palisades Nuclear Plant 27780 Blue Star Highway Covert, MI 49043 Mr. Douglas F. Johnson Director, Plant Life Cycle Issues Nuclear Management Company, LLC 700 First Street Hudson, WI 54016 John Paul Cowan Executive Vice President & Chief Nuclear Officer Nuclear Management Company, LLC 700 First Street Hudson, WI 54016 Jonathan Rogoff, Esquire Vice President, Counsel & Secretary Nuclear Management Company, LLC 700 First Street Hudson, WI 54016 Douglas E. Cooper Senior Vice President - Group Operations Palisades Nuclear Plant Nuclear Management Company, LLC 27780 Blue Star Memorial Highway Covert, MI 49043 Robert A. Vincent Licensing Lead - License Renewal Project Palisades Nuclear Plant 27780 Blue Star Memorial Highway Covert, MI 49043
Palisades Nuclear Plant cc:
Darrel G. Turner License Renewal Project Manager Palisades Nuclear Plant 27780 Blue Star Memorial Highway Covert, MI 49043 Ms. Lois Bemis South Haven Memorial Library 314 Broadway St.
South Haven, MI 49090