ML22299A160

Letter to Darrell Paiz, President, Jicarilla Apache Nation; Re., Holtec CISF Supplement 1

ML22299A160
Person / Time
Site:	HI-STORE
Issue date:	10/28/2022
From:	John Moses NRC/NMSS/DREFS
To:	Paiz D Jicarilla Apache Nation
References
Download: ML22299A160 (3)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 Darrell Paiz, President Jicarilla Apache Nation P.O. Box 507 Dulce, NM 87528

SUBJECT:

NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT SUPPLEMENT 1 TO FOR HOLTEC INTERNATIONALS PROPOSED CONSOLIDATED INTERIM STORAGE FACILITY LOCATED IN LEA COUNTY, NEW MEXICO (DOCKET NUMBER: 72-1051)

Dear President Paiz:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff has completed a supplement to the final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) (NUREG-2237) for the construction and operation of Holtec Internationals (Holtec) proposed consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) for spent nuclear fuel in Lea County, New Mexico. The NRC staff will publish a Federal Register (FR)

Notice of Availability (NOA) to notify the public that the FEIS Supplement 1 is publicly available from the NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System ML22299A238. In addition, the NRC staff plans to make printed copies of the FEIS Supplement 1 available to the public at several public libraries in the vicinity of the proposed CISF site.

Two comment letters that were submitted to the NRC during the comment period on the draft EIS were inadvertently not included in appendix D to the FEIS. The comment letters were discovered after the publication of the FEIS in July 2022. Supplement 1 to the FEIS considers and responds to these two comments letters and includes the NRCs evaluation of each of these comment letters that were not included in the FEIS. While the comments do not provide new and significant information regarding the project or its environmental impacts, the NRC staff determined that in view of the circumstances described above, and in accordance with title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) section 51.92(c), preparation of a Supplement to the FEIS will further the purposes of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA). Supplement 1 to NUREG-2237 will be made public on October 27, 2022.

As stated in our invitation letter to participate in consultation dated April 2, 2018 (ML17339A636), the NRC staff used the NEPA process to comply with its obligations under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, as outlined in 36 CFR section 800.8(c). ADAMS is accessible on the internet at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.

After the NRC files the FEIS Supplement 1 with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the EPA will publish a separate NOA of the FEIS Supplement 1 in the FR. In accordance with 10 CFR section 51.100(a)(1)(ii), the NRC must wait 30 days after publication of the EPAs NOA before it can make a licensing decision. The NRC expects to make a licensing decision in early 2023. October 28, 2022 Should you have any questions concerning the FEIS Supplement 1, please contact Jill Caverly of my staff. Jill can be reached via phone at 301-415-7674 or via email at Jill.Caverly@nrc.gov.

Sincerely, John M. Moses, Deputy Director Division of Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial Support Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Docket No. 72-1051 cc:

Dr. Jeffrey Blythe, THPO P.O. Box 1367 Dulce, NM 87528 Signed by Moses, John on 10/28/22

Ltr ML22299A160 OFFICE NMSS/REFS NAME JMoses JM DATE Oct 28, 2022