ML061000261

4/7/06 - Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping Process for License Renewal for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station

ML061000261
Person / Time
Site:	Pilgrim
Issue date:	04/07/2006
From:	Rani Franovich NRC/NRR/ADRO/DLR/REBB
To:	Kansler M Entergy Nuclear Operations
Schaaf R, NRR/DLR/REBB, 415-1312
References
NUREG-1437, TAC MC9676
Download: ML061000261 (12)

Text

April 7, 2006 Mr. Michael Kansler President Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601

SUBJECT:

NOTICE OF INTENT TO PREPARE AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTSTATEMENT AND CONDUCT SCOPING PROCESS FOR LICENSERENEWAL FOR THE PILGRIM NUCLEAR POWER STATION (TAC NO. MC9676)

Dear Mr. Kansler:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff has received your application onJanuary 25, 2006, for the renewal of the Operating License DPR-35 for the Pilgrim NuclearPower Station (Pilgrim). In support of the application and in accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 51 and 10 CFR Part 54, Entergy NuclearOperations, Inc. (Entergy) submitted an environmental report (ER). This letter provides information related to the staff's review of the Pilgrim ER.The NRC has prepared a Notice of Intent advising the public that the NRC intends to gatherinformation necessary to prepare a plant-specific supplement to the Commission's

?GenericEnvironmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants," (NUREG-1437). Thisrelates to the review of the application for the renewal of the Pilgrim operating license. Enclosed is a copy of the Notice of Intent, which has been forwarded to the Office of the Federal Register for publication.Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.28, Entergy is invited to participate in the environmental scopingprocess. As discussed in the enclosed notice, the staff is providing the public with two opportunities to participate in the environmental scoping meetings to be held May 17, 2006. The meetings will be held at the Radisson Hotel Plymouth Harbor Ballroom, 180 Water Street,Plymouth, Massachusetts 02360. The first session will be held in the after noon and thesecond session, covering the same subjects, will be held in the evening. The NRC will presentan overview of the environmental review process and will describe how the process will beimplemented for the review of the Pilgrim license renewal application. Entergy is invited to participate in both sessions of the meeting by providing a brief description of the proposed action and the ER submitted as part of the application for license renewal.

M. Kansler-2-A separate NRC meeting notice with a more detailed agenda is forthcoming. You will beprovided a copy of that notice.In the interim, should you have any questions regarding the scoping meeting, please contactthe NRC's Environmental Project Manager, Mr. Robert Schaaf, at 301-415-1312 or by e-mail atRGS@nrc.gov

.Sincerely,/RA/Rani Franovich, Branch Chief Environmental Branch B Division of License Renewal Office of Nuclear Reactor RegulationDocket No. 50-293

Enclosure:

As statedcc w/encl: See next page M. Kansler-2-A separate NRC meeting notice with a more detailed agenda is forthcoming. You will beprovided a copy of that notice.In the interim, should you have any questions regarding the scoping meeting, please contactthe NRC's Environmental Project Manager, Mr. Robert Schaaf, at 301-415-1312 or by e-mail atRGS@nrc.gov

.Sincerely,

/RA/

Rani Franovich, Branch ChiefEnvironmental Branch B Division of License Renewal Office of Nuclear Reactor RegulationDocket No. 50-293

Enclosure:

As statedcc w/encl: See next pageDistribution: See next pageADAMS Accession no.: ML061000261Document Name:E:\Filenet\ML061000261.wpdOFFICELA:DLRPM:DLR:REBBPM:DLR:REBBOGCBC:DLR:REBBNAMEY.EdmondsA.MullinsR.SchaafS.UttalR.FranovichDATE3/31/06 3/31/06 3/31/06 4/4/06 4/7/06 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY 7590-01-PUNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSIONENTERGY NUCLEAR OPERATIONS, INC.PILGRIM NUCLEAR POWER STATIONNOTICE OF INTENT TO PREPARE AN ENVIRONMENTALIMPACT STATEMENT AND CONDUCT SCOPING PROCESSDOCKET NO. 50-293Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Entergy) has submitted an application for renewal ofFacility Operating License DPR-35 for an additional 20 years of operation at the Pilgrim NuclearPower Station (Pilgrim). Pilgrim is located on the western shore of Cape Cod in the Town of Plymouth, Plymouth County, Massachusetts. It is 38 miles southeast of Boston, Massachusetts, and 44 miles east of Providence, Rhode Island.The operating license for Pilgrim expires on June 8, 2012. The application for renewalwas received on January 25, 2006, pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations(10 CFR) Part 54. A notice of receipt and availability of the application, which included theenvironmental report (ER), was published in the Federal Register on February 6, 2006(71 FR 6101). A notice of acceptance for docketing of the application for renewal of the facilityoperating license was published in the Federal Register on March 27, 2006 (71 FR 15222). The purpose of this notice is to inform the public that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission(NRC) will be preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) in support of the review of thelicense renewal application and to provide the public an opportunity to participate in the environmental scoping process, as defined in 10 CFR 51.29. In addition, as outlined in Title 36 of the Code of the Federal Regulations Part 800.8, ?Coordination with the NationalEnvironmental Policy Act," the NRC plans to coordinate compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act in meeting the requirements of the National EnvironmentalPolicy Act of 1969 (NEPA).In accordance with 10 CFR 51.53(c) and 10 CFR 54.23, Entergy submitted the ER aspart of the application. The ER was prepared pursuant to 10 CFR Part 51 and is publicly available for inspection at the NRC Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland, 20852, or from the NRC'sAgencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the Public Electronic Reading Room on the NRC's Web Site athttp://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html. The Accession Number for the ER isML060830611. Persons who do not have access to ADAMS, or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC's PDR reference staff bytelephone at 1-800-397-4209, or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail at pdr@nrc.gov. In addition, the Plymouth Public Library, located at 132 South Street, Plymouth, MA 02360 and the DuxburyFree Library, located at 77 Alden Street, Duxbury, MA 02332 have agreed to make the ER available for public inspection.This notice advises the public that the NRC intends to gather the information necessaryto prepare a plant-specific supplement to the Commission's

?Generic Environmental ImpactStatement (GEIS) for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants," (NUREG-1437) related to the reviewof the application for renewal of the Pilgrim operating license for an additional 20 years.

Possible alternatives to the proposed action (license renewal) include no action and reasonable alternative energy sources. The NRC is required by 10 CFR 51.95 to prepare a supplement tothe GEIS in connection with the renewal of an operating license. This notice is being published in accordance with National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and the NRC'sregulations found in 10 CFR Part 51.The NRC will first conduct a scoping process for the supplement to the GEIS and, as soon as practicable thereafter, will prepare a draft supplement to the GEIS for public comment.Participation in the scoping process by members of the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal government agencies is encouraged. The scoping process for the supplement to the GEIS will be used to accomplish the following:a.Define the proposed action which is to be the subject of the supplement to the GEIS.

b.Determine the scope of the supplement to the GEIS and identify the significantissues to be analyzed in depth.c.Identify and eliminate from detailed study those issues that are peripheral or that arenot significant.d.Identify any environmental assessments and other ElSs that are being or will beprepared that are related to, but are not part of the scope of the supplement to theGEIS being considered.e.Identify other environmental review and consultation requirements related to theproposed action.f.Indicate the relationship between the timing of the preparation of the environmentalanalyses and the Commission's tentative planning and decision-making schedule.g.Identify any cooperating agencies and, as appropriate, allocate assignments forpreparation and schedules for completing the supplement to the GEIS to the NRC and any cooperating agencies.h.Describe how the supplement to the GEIS will be prepared, and include anycontractor assistance to be used.The NRC invites the following entities to participate in scoping:a.The applicant, Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Entergy).

b. Any Federal agency that has jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect toany environmental impact involved, or that is authorized to develop and enforce relevant environmental standards.c.Affected State and local government agencies, including those authorized to developand enforce relevant environmental standards.d.Any affected Indian tribe.

e.Any person who requests or has requested an opportunity to participate in thescoping process.f.Any person who has petitioned or intends to petition for leave to intervene.

In accordance with 10 CFR 51.26, the scoping process for an EIS may include a publicscoping meeting to help identify significant issues related to a proposed activity and to determine the scope of issues to be addressed in an EIS. The NRC has decided to hold publicmeetings for the Pilgrim license renewal supplement to the GEIS. The scoping meetings will beheld at the Radisson Hotel Plymouth Harbor Ballroom, 180 Water Street, Plymouth, Massachusetts 02360, on May 17, 2006. There will be two sessions to accomm odateinterested 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 overviewportions of the meeting and will continue until 10:00 p.m., as necessary. Both meetings will betranscribed and will include: (1) an overview by the NRC staff of the NEPA environmentalreview process, the proposed scope of the supplement to the GEIS, and the proposed review schedule; and (2) the opportunity for interested government agencies, organizations, and individuals to submit comments or suggestions on the environmental issues or the proposed scope of the supplement to the GEIS. Additionally, the NRC staff will host informal discussionsone hour prior to the start of each meeting at the same location. No formal comments on the proposed scope of the supplement to the GEIS will be accepted during the informaldiscussions. To be considered, comments must be provided either at the transcribed public meetings or in writing, as discussed below. Persons may register to attend or present oral comments at the meetings on the scope of the NEPA review by contacting the NRCEnvironmental Project Manager Mr. Robert Schaaf, by telephone at 1-800-368-5642, extension 1312, or by e-mail to the NRC at PilgrimEIS@nrc.gov no later than May 12, 2006. Members ofthe public may also register to speak at the meeting within 15 minutes of the start of each session. Individual oral comments may be limited by the time available, depending on the number of persons who register. Members of the public who have not registered may also have an opportunity to speak, if time permits. Public comments will be considered in thescoping process for the supplement to the GEIS. Mr. Schaaf will need to be contacted no laterthan May 3, 2006, if special equipment or accommodations are needed to attend or present information at the public meeting, so that the NRC staff can determine whether the request canbe accommodated.Members of the public may send written comments on the environmental scope of thePilgrim license renewal review to Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration, Mailstop T-6D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C., 20555-0001, and should cite the publication date and page number of thisFederal Register notice. Comments may also be delivered to the NRC at Room T- 6D59, TwoWhite Flint North, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, from 7:30 a.m. to4:15 p.m. during Federal workdays. To be considered in the scoping process, written comments should be postmarked by June 16, 2006. Electronic comments may be sent by e-mail to the NRC at PilgrimEIS@nrc.gov and should be sent no later than June 16, 2006, to beconsidered in the scoping process. Comments will be available electronically and accessiblethrough NRC's ADAMS link at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html at the NRCHomepage.Participation in the scoping process for the supplement to the GEIS does not entitleparticipants to become parties to the proceeding to which the supplement to the GEIS relates. Notice of opportunity for a hearing regarding the renewal application was the subject of theaforementioned Federal Register notice (71 FR 15222). Matters related to participation in anyhearing are outside the scope of matters to be discussed at this public meeting.At the conclusion of the scoping process, the NRC will prepare a concise summary ofthe determination and conclusions reached, including the significant issues identified, and willsend a copy of the summary to each participant in the scoping process. The summary will alsobe available for inspection in NRC's ADAMS link at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. The staff will then prepare and issue for comment the draft supplement to the GEIS, which willbe the subject of separate notices and separate public meetings. Copies will be available forpublic inspection at the above-mentioned addresses, and one copy per request will be providedfree of charge. After receipt and consideration of the comments, the NRC will prepare a finalsupplement to the GEIS, which will also be available for public inspection.Information about the proposed action, the supplement to the GEIS, and the scopingprocess may be obtained from Mr. Schaaf at the aforementioned telephone number or e-mail address.Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 7 day of April 2006.FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION/RA/

Rani Franovich, Branch Chief Environmental Branch B Division of License Renewal Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Letter to: Michael Kansler from Robert Schaaf, dated: April 7, 2006

SUBJECT:

NOTICE OF INTENT TO PREPARE AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTSTATEMENT AND CONDUCT SCOPING PROCESS FOR LICENSERENEWAL FOR THE PILGRIM NUCLEAR POWER STATION (TAC NO. MC9676)DISTRIBUTION:F. Gillespie / P.T. Kuo (RidsNrrDlr)T. Combs, OCA T. Madden, OCA R. Shane, OCA B. Keeling, OCA R. Franovich (RidsNrrDlrRebb)

R. Schaaf A. Mullins R. Emch J. Szeligowski S. Hoffman K. Weaver J. Shea C. Anderson, Region 1 W. Raymond, Region 1 OPA (RidsOpaMail)

D. McIntyre, OPA N. Sheehan, Region 1 S. Uttal, OGC F. Cameron, OGC OGC (RidsOGCMailRoom)

DLR/REBB Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station cc:

Regional Administrator, Region IU. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 475 Allendale Road King of Prussia, PA 19406-1415Senior Resident InspectorU. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station Post Office Box 867 Plymouth, MA 02360Chairman, Board of Selectmen11 Lincoln Street Plymouth, MA 02360ChairmanNuclear Matters Committee Town Hall 11 Lincoln Street Plymouth, MA 02360Chairman, Duxbury Board of SelectmenTown Hall 878 Tremont Street Duxbury, MA 02332Office of the CommissionerMassachusetts Department of Environmental Protection One Winter Street Boston, MA 02108Office of the Attorney GeneralOne Ashburton Place 20th Floor Boston, MA 02108Director, Radiation Control ProgramCommonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Offices of Health and Human Services 174 Portland Street Boston, MA 02114Secretary of Public SafetyExecutive Office of Public Safety One Ashburton Place Boston, MA 02108 Director, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency Attn: James Muckerheide 400 Worcester Road Framingham, MA 01702-5399Mr. William D. MeinertNuclear Engineer Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company

P.O. Box 426 Ludlow, MA 01056-0426Mr. Michael A. BalduzziSite Vice President Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station 600 Rocky Hill RoadPlymouth, MA 02360-5508Mr. Stephen J. BethayDirector, Nuclear Safety Assurance Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station 600 Rocky Hill RoadPlymouth, MA 02360-5508Mr. Bryan S. FordManager, Licensing Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station 600 Rocky Hill RoadPlymouth, MA 02360-5508Mr. Gary J. Taylor Chief Executive Officer Entergy Operations 1340 Echelon Parkway Jackson, MS 39213 Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station cc:

Mr. John T. HerronSr. VP and Chief Operating Officer Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601Mr. Oscar LimpiasVice President, Engineering Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601Mr. Christopher SchwarzVice President, Operations Support Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601 Mr. John F. McCannDirector, Nuclear Safety Assurance Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601Ms. Charlene D. FaisonManager, Licensing Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601Mr. Michael D. Lyster5931 Barclay Lane Naples, FL 34110-7306Mr. Michael J. ColombDirector of Oversight Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601Ms. Stacey LousteauTreasury Department Entergy Services, Inc.

639 Loyola Avenue New Orleans, LA 70113Mr. James Sniezek5486 Nithsdale Drive Salisbury, MD 21801Mr. Travis C. McCulloughAssistant General Counsel Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601Mr. James RossNuclear Energy Institute 1776 I Street, NW, Suite 400 Washington, DC 20006-3708Plymouth Public Library132 South Street Plymouth, MA 02360 ATTN: Ms. Dinah O'BrienDuxbury Free Library77 Alden Street Duxbury, MA 02332 ATTN: Ms. Elaine Winquist