ML061310144
| ML061310144 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Vermont Yankee File:NorthStar Vermont Yankee icon.png |
| Issue date: | 05/10/2006 |
| From: | Rani Franovich NRC/NRR/ADRO/DLR/REBB |
| To: | Pouliot P Cowasuck Band-Pennacook-Abenaki People |
| Hernandez S, NRR/DLR/REBB, 415-4049 | |
| References | |
| %dam200611 | |
| Download: ML061310144 (8) | |
Text
May 10, 2006 The Honorable Paul Pouliot, Council Chief Cowasuck Band-Pennacook-Abenaki People P.O. Box 54 Forestdale, MA 02644-0054
SUBJECT:
REQUEST FOR COMMENTS CONCERNING THE VERMONT YANKEE NUCLEAR POWER STATION LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION REVIEW
Dear Council Chief Pouliot:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is seeking input for its environmental review of an application from Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Entergy) for the renewal of the operating license for the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (VYNPS), located in the town of Vernon, Vermont, in Windham County on the west shore of the Connecticut River. VYNPS is in close proximity to lands that may be of interest to the Cowasuck Band-Pennacook-Abenaki People. As described below, the NRCs 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 Cowasuck Band-Pennacook-Abenaki People 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 VYNPS will expire in March 21, 2012. Entergy submitted its application for renewal of the VYNPS operating license in a letter dated January 25, 2006, as supplemented by letter dated March 15, 2006.
The NRC is gathering information for a VYNPS site-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 VYNPS 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 layout of the general area near the VYNPS site (Enclosure 1) and an overview of the site location (Enclosure 2).
Council Chief Pouliot The NRC will hold two public scoping meetings for the VYNPS license renewal supplement to the GEIS on June 7, 2006, at the Latchis Theatre, 50 Main Street, Brattleboro, Vermont 05301.
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.
In addition to the environmental scoping meeting described above, the NRC will hold an informal open house at the Quality Inn & Suites, 1380 Putney Road, Brattleboro, Vermont 05301, on Tuesday, June 6, 2006, from 2:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m., as necessary. At the open house, NRC staff will be available to provide information about the environmental review process for license renewal of nuclear plants. During the open house, members of the public will have the opportunity to provide formal comments on the proposed scope of the supplement to the GEIS either verbally or in writing to a transcriptionist. Comments provided to the transcriptionist will be considered in the same manner as comments provided during the scoping meetings described above. No formal comments on the proposed scope of the supplement to the GEIS will be accepted at the open house during informal discussions with the staff.
The license renewal application (LRA) is publicly available at the NRC Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, 20852, or from the NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). The ADAMS Public Electronic Reading Room is accessible at http://adamswebsearch.nrc.gov/dologin.html.
The Accession Number for the LRA is ML060300086. Persons who do not have access to ADAMS, or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, should contact the NRCs PDR Reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209, or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail at pdr@nrc.gov.
The VYNPS license renewal application is also available on the Internet at www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/vermont-yankee.html. In addition, the LRA is available for public inspection near the VYNPS site at the following four public libraries: Vernon Free Library, 567 Governor Hunt Road, Vernon, VT 05354; Brooks Memorial Library, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT 05301; Hinsdale Public Library, 122 Brattleboro Road, Hinsdale, NH, 03451; and Dickinson Memorial Library, 115 Main Street, Northfield, MA 01360.
The GEIS, which assesses the scope and impact of environmental effects that would be associated with license renewal at any nuclear power plant site, also can be found on the NRCs website or at the NRCs PDR.
Please submit any comments that the Cowasuck Band-Pennacook-Abenaki People may have to offer on the scope of the environmental review by June 23, 2006. Written 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, DC 20555-0001.
Electronic comments may be submitted to the NRC by e-mail at VermontYankeeEIS@nrc.gov.
At the conclusion of the scoping process, the NRC staff will prepare a summary of the significant issues identified and the conclusions reached, and mail a copy to you.
Council Chief Pouliot The staff expects to publish the draft supplement to the GEIS in December 2006. The NRC will hold another set of public meetings in the site vicinity to solicit comments on the draft. A copy of the draft supplemental environmental impact statement (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 a final SEIS for VYNPS is planned for August 2007.
If you need additional information regarding the environmental review process, please contact Mr. Richard L. Emch, Jr., Senior Environmental Project Manager, at 301-415-1590 or by e-mail at RLE@nrc.gov.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Rani L. Franovich, Branch Chief Environmental Branch B Division of License Renewal Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-271
Enclosures:
- 1. Layout of General Area near VYNPS Site
- 2. Overview of the Site Location cc w/encls: See next page
Council Chief Pouliot The staff expects to publish the draft supplement to the GEIS in December 2006. The NRC will hold another set of public meetings in the site vicinity to solicit comments on the draft. A copy of the draft supplemental environmental impact statement (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 a final SEIS for VYNPS is planned for August 2007.
If you need additional information regarding the environmental review process, please contact Mr. Richard L. Emch, Jr., Senior Environmental Project Manager, at 301-415-1590 or by e-mail at RLE@nrc.gov.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Rani L. Franovich, Branch Chief Environmental Branch B Division of License Renewal Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-271
Enclosures:
- 1. Layout of General Area near VYNPS Site
- 2. Overview of the Site Location cc w/encls: See next page DISTRIBUTION:
Email F. Gillespie / P.T. Kuo (RidsNrrDlr)
R. Schaaf J. Schlueter (STP)
D. Miller (david.s.miller@anl.gov)
R. Bores Region I J. Eads R. Franovich (RidsNrrDlrRebb)
J. Shea R. Emch C. Anderson, Region I S. Hernandez D. Pelton, Region I N. Sheehan, Region I RidsOGCMailRoom DLR/REBB Adam Accession No.: ML061310144 Document Name: E:\\Filenet\\ML061310144.wpd OFFICE LA:DLR GE:DLR:REBB PM:DLR:REBB BC:DLR:REBB NAME YEdmonds SHernandez REmch RFranovich DATE 5/9/06 5/9/ 06 5/9/06 5/10/06 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station cc:
Regional Administrator, Region I U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 475 Allendale Road King of Prussia, PA 19406-1415 Mr. David R. Lewis Pillsbury, Winthrop, Shaw, Pittman, LLP 2300 N Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20037-1128 Mr. David OBrien, Commissioner Vermont Department of Public Service 112 State Street Montpelier, VT 05620-2601 Mr. James Volz, Chairman Public Service Board State of Vermont 112 State Street Montpelier, VT 05620-2701 Chairman, Board of Selectmen Town of Vernon P.O. Box 116 Vernon, VT 05354-0116 Operating Experience Coordinator Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station 320 Governor Hunt Road Vernon, VT 05354 G. Dana Bisbee, Esq.
Deputy Attorney General 33 Capitol Street Concord, NH 03301-6937 Chief, Safety Unit Office of the Attorney General One Ashburton Place, 19th Floor Boston, MA 02108 Ms. Deborah B. Katz Box 83 Shelburne Falls, MA 01370 Ms. Carla A. White, RRPT, CHP Radiological Health Vermont Department of Health P.O. Box 70, Drawer #43 108 Cherry Street Burlington, VT 05402-0070 Mr. James M. DeVincentis Manager, Licensing Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station P.O. Box 0500 185 Old Ferry Road Brattleboro, VT 05302-0500 Resident Inspector Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission P.O. Box 176 Vernon, VT 05354 Director, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency ATTN: James Muckerheide 400 Worcester Rd.
Framingham, MA 01702-5399 Jonathan M. Block, Esq.
Main Street P.O. Box 566 Putney, VT 05346-0566 Mr. John F. McCann Director, Licensing Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.
440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601 Mr. Gary J. Taylor Chief Executive Officer Entergy Operations 1340 Echelon Parkway Jackson, MS 39213
Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station cc:
Mr. John T. Herron Sr. VP and Chief Operating Officer Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.
440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601 Mr. Oscar Limpias Vice President, Engineering Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.
440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601 Mr. Christopher Schwartz Vice President, Operations Support Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.
440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601 Mr. Michael J. Colomb Director of Oversight Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.
440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601 Mr. Travis C. McCullough Assistant General Counsel Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.
440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601 Mr. Jay K. Thayer Site Vice President Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.
Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station P.O. Box 0500 185 Old Ferry Road Brattleboro, VT 05302-0500 Mr. James H. Sniezek 5486 Nithsdale Drive Salisbury, MD 21801 Ms. Stacey M. Lousteau Treasury Department Entergy Services, Inc.
639 Loyola Avenue New Orleans, LA 70113 Mr. Raymond Shadis New England Coalition Post Office Box 98 Edgecomb, ME 04556 Mr. James P. Matteau Executive Director Windham Regional Commission 139 Main Street, Suite 505 Brattleboro, VT 05301 Mr. William K. Sherman Vermont Department of Public Service 112 State Street Drawer 20 Montpelier, VT 05620-2601 Mr. Michael D. Lyster 5931 Barclay Lane Naples, FL 34110-7306 Ms. Charlene D. Faison Manager, Licensing 440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601 Mr. James Ross Nuclear Energy Institute 1776 I Street, NW, Suite 400 Washington, DC 20006-3708