ML23289A116

Ltr to W. Emerson - Request for Scoping Comments Concerning the Environmental Review of the V.C. Summer SLRA

ML23289A116
Person / Time
Site:	Summer
Issue date:	11/03/2023
From:	Tanya Smith NRC/NMSS/DREFS/ELRB
To:	Emerson W State of SC, Dept of Archives and History
Shared Package
ML23289A111	List: ML23289A115 ML23289A116 ML23289A117
References
Download: ML23289A116 (7)

Text

W. Eric Emerson, Ph.D.,

State Historic Preservation Officer South Carolina Department of Archives and History 8301 Parklane Road Columbia, SC 29223

SUBJECT:

REQUEST FOR SCOPING COMMENTS CONCERNING THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW OF THE VIRGIL C. SUMMER NUCLEAR STATION, UNIT NO. 1 SUBSEQUENT LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION (DOCKET NUMBER: 50-395)

Dear Dr. Emerson:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff is conducting a review of the environmental effects of the subsequent renewal of the operating license for Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station, Unit No. 1 (V.C. Summer). V.C. Summer is operated by Dominion Energy South Carolina, Inc. (DESC) and is located in Fairfield County, SC (see Enclosure 1). DESC submitted an application for subsequent renewal of the V.C. Summer operating license by letter dated August 17, 2023, pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Parts 50, 51, and 54.

The Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, authorizes the NRC to issue 40-year initial licenses, and upon application and approval, renew licenses for nuclear power plants. The NRCs regulations limit these renewals to 20-year increments. Approval of a renewed license is based on the outcome of a safety review and an environmental review. The NRC issued a construction permit for V.C. Summer on March 21, 1973, and operating license on November 12, 1982. The V.C. Summer operating license was previously renewed on April 23, 2004, and expires on August 6, 2042. The requested subsequent renewal would extend the operating license expiration date to August 6, 2062.

As part of the NRCs subsequent license renewal review for V.C. Summer, a site-specific environmental impact statement (EIS) is prepared in accordance with 10 CFR Part 51, the NRCs environmental protection regulations. These regulations also implement Section 102(2) of the National Environment Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA). In accordance with Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations Section 800.8(c), the NRC intends to comply with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended (NHPA), through the NEPA process. Accordingly, the NRC staff is inviting parties who may be interested in the proposed action to consult on this matter. The purpose of this letter is to initiate Section 106 consultation with the South Carolina State Historic Preservation Office.

In the context of NHPA, the NRC staff has determined that the area of potential effects (APE) for this subsequent license renewal is the area at the nuclear power plant site and its immediate environs that may be impacted by ongoing routine maintenance and operational activities during the subsequent license renewal period (see Enclosure 2). The APE may extend beyond the immediate V.C. Summer environs if DESC maintenance and operational activities affect offsite November 3, 2023 W. Emerson

historic properties (see Enclosure 3). This determination is made irrespective of ownership or control of the lands of interest.

Please provide any comments that you may have on the scope of the environmental review within 30 days of the date of this letter. Written comments should be submitted by mail to:

ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff Office of Administration Mail Stop: TWFN-7A60M U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001

Electronic comments may be submitted to the NRC by accessing www.regulations.gov and searching for Docket ID: NRC-2023-0152 or by emailing SummerEnvironmental@nrc.gov.

The NRC staff will hold two public environmental scoping meetings: a virtual public scoping meeting on November 9, 2023, and in-person public scoping meeting on November 14, 2023, at the McCrorey-Liston School of Technology, 1978 State Highway 215, Blair, SC 29015. Details on these meetings can be found on the NRCs Public Meeting Schedule at:

https://www.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg.

You may obtain publicly available documents online in the NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select Begin Web-based ADAMS Search. For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRCs Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, at 301-415-4737, or by email to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov. The V.C. Summer subsequent license renewal application is available at ADAMS Package Accession No. ML23233A179 and the environmental report portion of the application is available at ADAMS Accession No. ML23233A174.

The NRC staff expects to publish a draft EIS in November 2024. The NRC will forward the draft EIS to you for your review and comment. This draft EIS will include identification of historic properties, assessment of impacts, and a preliminary determination. After consideration of public comments received, the NRC staff will prepare a final EIS, which it expects to publish in June 2025.

If you have any questions concerning the NRCs subsequent license renewal review, please contact Kim Conway at 301-415-1335 or via email at kimberly.conway@nrc.gov.

Sincerely, Theodore B. Smith, Chief Environmental Review License Renewal Branch Division of Rulemaking, Environment, and Financial Support Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Docket No.: 50-395

Enclosures:

1. V.C. Summer Area Map, 50-Mile Radius

2. V.C. Summer Site Area Topography

3. V.C. Summer Area Map, 6-Mile Radius cc: Listserv Elizabeth Johnson, State Historic Preservation Office Rakovan, Lance signing on behalf of Smith, Theodore on 11/03/23

SUBJECT:

REQUEST FOR SCOPING COMMENTS CONCERNING THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW OF THE VIRGIL C. SUMMER NUCLEAR STATION, UNIT NO. 1 SUBSEQUENT LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION (DOCKET NUMBER: 50-395)

DATED:

DISTRIBUTION:

Public RidsOpaMail RidsOCAMailCenter RidsNmssRefs RidsNmssRefsElrb ADAMS Package Accession No: ML23289A111; ML23289A116 (Letter)* via email OFFICE NMSS/REFS NMSS/REFS OGC NMSS/REFS NMSS/REFS NAME KConway AWalker-Smith JWachutka NMartinez TSmith DATE 10/16/2023 10/17/2023 10/25/2023 10/26/2023 11/03/2023 OFFICIAL RECORD COPYNovember 3, 2023 V.C. Summer Area Map, 50-Mile Radius

Enclosure 1 V.C. Summer Site Area Topography

Enclosure 2 V.C. Summer Area Map, 6-Mile Radius

Enclosure 3