ML18155A580
| ML18155A580 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Waterford  |
| Issue date: | 11/28/2018 |
| From: | Eric Oesterle Division of Materials and License Renewal, NRC/NRR/DMLR/MRPB |
| To: | Dinelli J Entergy Operations |
| Gibson L | |
| References | |
| CAC MF7493, EPID L-2016-LNE-0001 | |
| Download: ML18155A580 (7) | |
Text
UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 November 28, 2018 Mr. John Dinelli Site Vice President Entergy Operations, Inc.
Waterford Steam Electric Station, Unit 3 17265 River Road Killona, LA 70057-3093
SUBJECT:
WATERFORD STEAM ELECTRIC STATION, UNIT 3 - ISSUANCE OF SCOPING
SUMMARY
REPORT ASSOCIATED WITH LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW (CAC NO. MF7493; EPID NO. L-2016-LNE-0001)
Dear Mr. Dinelli:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff conducted an environmental impact statement scoping process and solicited public comments from June 6, 2016, to August 1, 2016, concerning the scope of the staffs environmental review of the application for renewal of the facility operating license for Waterford Steam Electric Station, Unit 3 (Waterford). The scoping process is the first step in the development of a plant-specific supplement to NUREG-1437, Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants (LR GEIS),
for Waterford.
As part of the scoping process, the staff held a public meeting to solicit public input regarding the scope of its environmental review in St. Charles Parish Emergency Operations Center, Hahnville, Louisiana on June 8, 2016. A summary of the meeting can be found in the NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System Accession No. ML16172A078. After the NRCs prepared statements pertaining to the license renewal process, the meeting was opened for public comments. No attendees provided oral statements at the meeting.
Furthermore, no additional comments were received during the scoping period. The staff prepared the enclosed environmental impact statement scoping process summary report, which indicated that no comments were received during the scoping period. In accordance with Section 51.29(b) of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), the staff will send a copy of this report to each participant in the scoping process.
The draft supplement to the LR GEIS specific to Waterford was published as NUREG - 1473, Supplement 59, in August 2018 (ML18227A028). Appendix A to this NUREG references the scoping period which resulted in no public comments. Issuance of this report ensures process completion.
Should you have any questions concerning the staffs environmental review of the Waterford license renewal application, please contact Ms. Elaine Keegan, Senior Project Manager, at 301-415-8517 or by e-mail at Elaine.Keegan@nrc.gov.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Eric R. Oesterle, Chief License Renewal Projects Branch Division of Materials and License Renewal Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-382
Enclosure:
As stated cc: Listserv
- via email OFFICE PM:MRPB:DMLR LA:MRPB:DMLR BC:MRPB:DMLR NAME EKeeganr YEdmonds EOesterle DATE 10/22/2018 10/22/2018 10/29/2018 OFFICE BC:MENB:DMLR DD:DMLR BC:MRPB:DMLR NAME BBeasley (JRikhoff for) JDonoghue (GWilson for)
EOesterle DATE 10/29/2018 11/27/2018 11/28/2018
Environmental Impact Statement Scoping Process Summary Report Waterford Steam Electric Station, Unit 3 Killona, Louisiana June 2018 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Rockville, Maryland Introduction The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) received an application from Entergy Operations, Inc. (Entergy) in March 2016, for renewal of the facility operating license for Waterford Steam Electric Station, Unit 3 (Waterford). Waterford is located in Killona, Louisiana, about 25 miles west of New Orleans, Louisiana. The purpose of this report is to provide a concise summary of the determinations and conclusions reached regarding the scope of the NRC staffs environmental review of that application, including the significant issues identified as a result of the environmental impact statement scoping process associated with the NRC staffs review of Entergys license renewal application.
As part of its application, Entergy submitted to the NRC an environmental report (ER) prepared in accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 51, which contains the NRC requirements for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA). The requirements for the preparation and submittal of ERs to the NRC for operating license renewal applications are outlined in 10 CFR 51.53(c)(3). The Waterford ER is publicly available in the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) in the full license renewal application package at Accession No. ML16088A324. Parts 4-9 of this package are the ER. The ADAMS Public Electronic Reading Room is accessible at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who encounter problems in accessing documents in ADAMS should contact the NRC's PDR reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737 or by e-mail at pdr.resource@nrc.gov.
The requirements in 10 CFR 51.53(c)(3) were based upon the findings documented in NUREG-1437, Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants (LR GEIS). In the LR GEIS, the NRC staff identified and evaluated the environmental impacts associated with license renewal of nuclear power plants. The NRC staff determined that a number of environmental issues were generic to all nuclear power plants (or, in some cases, to plants having specific characteristics such as a particular type of cooling system).
These generic issues were designated as Category 1 issues. An applicant for license renewal may adopt the conclusions contained in the LR GEIS for Category 1 issues without further evaluation, unless there is new and significant information that may cause the conclusions for its plant to differ from those of the LR GEIS. Other issues that were not determined generically and that require a site-specific review were designated as Category 2 issues and are required to be evaluated in the applicants ER. The Commission has also determined that the NRC does not have a role in energy-planning decision making for existing power plants. Therefore, an applicant for license renewal need not provide an analysis of the need for power or the economic costs and benefits of the proposed license renewal.
On June 6, 2016, the NRC described the scoping process for the Waterford license renewal application environmental review in a Federal Register Notice (FRN) (81 FR 36354). This notified the public of the NRC staffs intent to prepare a plant-specific supplement to the LR GEIS regarding the application for renewal of the Waterford operating license and provided the public with an opportunity to participate in the environmental scoping process, as defined in 10 CFR 51.29. The FRN invited members of the public to submit written comments by August 1, 2016, noting that comments received after that date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but assurance of consideration cannot be given to comments received after that date.
The plant-specific supplement to the LR GEIS is referred to as a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement or SEIS. The NRC will prepare the Waterford LR SEIS in accordance with 10 CFR Part 51.
The scoping process provides an opportunity for public participation to identify issues to be addressed in the SEIS and to highlight public concerns and issues. As stated in 10 CFR 51.29(a), the objectives of the scoping process are to:
Define the proposed action; Determine the scope of the SEIS and identify the significant issues to be analyzed in depth; Identify and eliminate peripheral issues; Identify any environmental assessments (EAs) and other environmental impact statements which are being or will be prepared that are related to but are not part of the scope of the SEIS; Identify other environmental review and consultation requirements; Indicate the schedule for preparation of the SEIS; Identify any cooperating agencies; and Describe how the SEIS will be prepared.
The NRCs proposed action in this instance is to determine whether to renew the Waterford operating license for an additional 20 years.
The scope of the SEIS includes an evaluation of the environmental impacts of and reasonable alternatives to license renewal. The Scoping Comments and Responses section of this report normally includes specific issues identified by the scoping comments; however, none were received.
The NRC staff did not identify any environmental assessments being or soon to be prepared, which relate to, but are not within the scope of the SEIS. The NRC staff is in the process of developing a SEIS regarding the license renewal application for River Bend Station, Unit 1 (RBS), which is located approximately 90 miles northwest of Waterford. To the extent relevant, the RBS SEIS will be considered in the NRC staffs evaluation of the environmental impacts of Waterford license renewal.
In parallel with its NEPA review, the NRC staff is consulting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) to evaluate the potential impacts of the operation of Waterford for an additional 20 years, on endangered and threatened species and their critical habitat. Consistent with 36 CFR 800.8(c), the NRC staff is also consulting with affected Indian Tribes, the Louisiana State Historic Preservation Officer, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, to fulfill its Section 106 obligations under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA).
The NRC staff did not identify any cooperating agencies for this review. However, the NRC, as an independent regulatory agency, routinely consults with Federal, State, Tribal, and local entities during the development of environmental impact statements, and will do so regarding the Waterford SEIS.
The scoping process included a public meeting held at the St. Charles Parish Emergency Operations Center, Hahnville, Louisiana on June 8, 2016. Twelve people attended the meeting.
After the NRCs prepared statements pertaining to the license renewal process, the meeting was opened for public comments. No attendees provided oral statements at the meeting. The meeting was transcribed by a certified court reporter. A meeting summary, a copy of the presentation, and transcripts of the scoping meeting are available using (ADAMS) Accession No. ML15172A078. ADAMS Public Electronic Reading Room is accessible at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
The NRC staff invited the applicant; Federal, State, and local government agencies; Tribal governments; local organizations; and individuals to participate in the scoping process by providing oral comments at the scoping meeting and/or by submitting written comments before the end of the scoping period on August 1, 2016. No scoping comments from any source were received by the end of the scoping period.
The NRC staff published the draft SEIS (DSEIS) as NUREG-1437, Suppplement 59, in August 2018 for public comment (ML18227A028). The DSEIS comment period offers an opportunity for the applicant, interested Federal, State, and local government agencies, Tribal governments, local organizations, and members of the public to provide further input to the NRCs environmental review process. The comments received on the DSEIS will be considered in the preparation of the final SEIS (FSEIS). The FSEIS, along with the NRC staffs safety evaluation report (SER), will identify the information considered and evaluations performed by the NRC staff and will provide much of the basis for the NRCs ultimate decision on Entergys application for renewal of the Waterford operating license.
Scoping Comments and Responses No comments were received during the scoping period.