ML24106A247

Ltr to Federally Recognized Tribes-Hicks, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians

ML24106A247
Person / Time
Site:	Browns Ferry
Issue date:	04/16/2024
From:	Christopher Regan NRC/NMSS/DREFS/ELRB
To:	Hicks M Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
References
Download: ML24106A247 (7)

Text

Michell Hicks, Principal Chief Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians 88 Council House Loop Cherokee, NC 28719

SUBJECT:

REQUEST FOR SCOPING COMMENTS CONCERNING THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW OF THE BROWNS FERRY NUCLEAR PLANT, UNITS 1, 2 and 3 SUBSEQUENT LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION (DOCKET NUMBERS: 50-259, 50-260, AND 50-296)

Dear Principal Chief Michell Hicks:

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 Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3 (BFN). BFN is operated by Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and is located in Limestone County, AL (see Enclosure 1). TVA submitted an application for subsequent renewal of the BFN operating license by letter dated January 19, 2024, 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 an operating license for BFN on December 20, 1973, June 28, 1974, and July 2, 1976, for Units 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The BFN operating license was previously renewed and will expire on December 20, 2033, June 28, 2034, July 2, 2036, for Units 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The requested subsequent renewal would extend the operating license expiration date to December 20, 2053, June 28, 2054, July 2, 2056, for Units 1, 2, and 3, respectively.

As part of the NRCs subsequent license renewal review for BFN, 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 Environmental 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 your Tribe under NHPA.

April 16, 2024

M. Hicks 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 within the nuclear power plant site boundary and the transmission lines up to the first substation that may be directly (e.g., physically) affected by land-disturbing or other operational activities associated with continued plant operations and maintenance and/or refurbishment activities (Enclosure 2). The APE may extend beyond the nuclear plant site when these activities may indirectly (e.g., visual and auditory) affect historic properties (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 emailing BrownsFerryEnvironmental@nrc.gov.

The NRC will hold a virtual public scoping meeting on April 18, 2024, at 6 p.m. ET. Details regarding this meeting 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 BFN subsequent license renewal application package is available at ML24019A010. The environmental report is Enclosure 2 of the application.

The NRC staff expects to publish a draft EIS in December 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 July 2025.

M. Hicks If you have any questions concerning the NRCs subsequent license renewal review, please contact Nancy Martinez at 630-829-9734 or via email at Nancy.Martinez@nrc.gov.

Sincerely, Christopher M. Regan, Director Division of Rulemaking, Environmental and Financial Support Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Docket Nos. 50-259, 50-260, and 50-296

Enclosures:

1. BFN Area Map, 50-Mile Radius

2. BFN Area of Potential Effect

3. BFN Area Map, 6-Mile Radius cc:

Russell Townsend Tribal Historic Preservation Officer Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians P.O. Box 455 Cherokee, NC 28719 Signed by Regan, Christopher on 04/16/24

M. Hicks

SUBJECT:

REQUEST FOR SCOPING COMMENTS CONCERNING THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW OF THE BROWNS FERRY NUCLEAR PLANT, UNITS 1, 2 and 3 SUBSEQUENT LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION (DOCKET NUMBER: 50-259, 50-260, AND 50-296)

DATED:

DISTRIBUTION:

Public RidsOpaMail RidsOCAMailCenter RidsNmssRefs RidsNmssRefsElrb ADAMS Package Accession No: ML24106A247 (Letter)* via email OFFICE NMSS/REFS NMSS/REFS OGC NMSS/REFS NMSS/REFS NMSS/REFS NAME NMartinez AWalker KBernstein JUmana MRome CRegan DATE 04/11/2024 04/12/2024 04/11/2024 04/12/2024 04/15/2024 04/16/2024 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY April 16, 2024 BFN Area Map, 50-Mile Radius Area of Potential Effect BFN Area Map, 6-Mile Radius