ML18180A112

Notice of Availability of the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Waterford Steam Electric Station, Unit 3 for Public Comment

ML18180A112
Person / Time
Site:	Waterford
Issue date:	08/20/2018
From:	Benjamin Beasley NRC/NRR/DMLR/MENB
To:	Nelson R US Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, Office of Federal Agency Programs
Hoffman R, NRR-DMLR 415-1107
Shared Package
ML18180A111	List: ML18180A112 ML18180A113 ML18180A296 ML18207A270
References
Download: ML18180A112 (3)

Text

August 20, 2018 Mr. Reid Nelson, Director Office of Federal Agency Programs Advisory Council on Historic Preservation 401 F Street NW, Suite 308 Washington, DC 20001-2637

SUBJECT:

NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT SUPPLEMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT FOR LICENSE RENEWAL OF WATERFORD STEAM ELECTRIC STATION, UNIT 3, FOR PUBLIC COMMENT

Dear Mr. Nelson:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is conducting a review of the environmental effects of renewing the operating license for Waterford Steam Electric Station, Unit 3 (Waterford 3). Waterford 3 is operated by Entergy Operations, Inc. (Entergy) and is located in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, approximately 25 miles west of New Orleans, and 50 miles southeast of Baton Rouge, LA. As part of its review of the proposed action, the NRC has prepared a draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) that includes analyses of relevant environmental issues, including potential impacts to historic, archeological and cultural properties from activities associated with license renewal.

As stated in our letter to your office dated June 6, 2016, the NRC is conducting Section 106 consultations in compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) through the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as outlined in 36 CFR 800.8(c).

The NRC has determined that the area of potential effect (APE) for a license renewal action is the area at the power plant site and its immediate environs that may be impacted by post-license renewal land disturbing operation or projected refurbishment activities associated with the proposed action. The NRC views the APE for the Waterford 3 license renewal as including the Waterford 3 site and immediate environs.

As discussed in the draft SEIS, the NRC staffs preliminary determination is that license renewal would not adversely affect any known historic properties. Further, the NRCs preliminary recommendation is that the adverse environmental impacts of license renewal for Waterford 3 are not so great that preserving the option of license renewal for energy-planning decision-makers would be unreasonable. In support of these conclusions, the NRC conducted an environmental site audit and performed an independent analysis and review of historic and archeological records. The NRC also initiated consultation with nine Federally-recognized American Indian Tribes, notifying them of the proposed action and requesting comments on the scope of the environmental analysis. Documentation of Tribal consultation is presented in Appendix C of the draft SEIS.

R. Nelson A copy of the draft SEIS is enclosed. The draft SEIS is also available through the web-based version of the NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) at http://www.nrc.gov/readingrm/adams.html under ADAMS Accession No. ML18227A028.

Pursuant to 36 CFR 800.8(c), we are requesting your comments on the draft SEIS and on our preliminary conclusions. Electronic comments on the draft SEIS may be submitted to the NRC by accessing www.regulations.gov and searching for Docket ID NRC-2016-0078. Written comments should be submitted by mail to the NRC at:

May Ma, Director Program Management, Announcements and Editing Branch Office of Administration Mail Stop: TWFN-7A60M U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001 Please note that the public comment period for the draft SEIS ends on October 9, 2018.

If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact Robert Hoffman, Environmental Scientist, at 301-415-1107 or by e-mail at Robert.Hoffman@nrc.gov.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Benjamin Beasley, Chief Environmental Review and NEPA Branch Division of Materials and License Renewal Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-382

Enclosure:

NUREG-1437, Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, Supplement 59 cc: Listserv

Package: ML18180A111 Letter: ML18180A112 concurrence via email OFFICE PS:DMLR:MENB LA:DMLR:MRPB PM:DMLR:MRPB BC:DMLR:MENB NAME RHoffman YEdmonds EKeegan BBeasley DATE 08/16/2018 08/16/2018 08/16/2018 08/20/2018