ML25030A382

Ltr to Bruce Hamlin Chairman Burt Lake Band Re Issuance of the Draft EA and FONSI for Palisades Nuclear Plant

ML25030A382
Person / Time
Site:	Palisades
Issue date:	01/31/2025
From:	Christopher Regan NRC/NMSS/DREFS
To:	Hamlin B Burt Lake Band
References
EPID L-2024-LNE-0003
Download: ML25030A382 (1)

Text

Bruce Hamlin, Chairman Burt Lake Band P.O. Box 206 3062 Indian Road Brutus, MI 49716

SUBJECT:

NOTIFICATION OF THE ISSUANCE OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND DRAFT FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT FOR HOLTEC DECOMMISSIONING INTERNATIONAL, LLCS LICENSING AND REGULATORY REQUESTS FOR REAUTHORIZATION OF POWER OPERATIONS AT PALISADES NUCLEAR PLANT (EPID NUMBER: L-2024-LNE-0003) (DOCKET NUMBER: 50-0255)

Dear Chairman Bruce Hamlin:

In a letter dated July 1, 2024, (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML24172A003), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) notified your office that it is conducting an environmental review for a series of licensing and regulatory requests submitted by Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC (HDI) that, if approved, would collectively support reauthorizing power operations at the Palisades Nuclear Plant (Palisades). These requests are the proposed actions before the NRC and include an exemption request, a license transfer request, and license amendment requests. The NRC is the lead Federal agency for the environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), and for Section 106 consultation under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended (NHPA), with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)

Loan Programs Office (LPO) serving as a cooperating agency on the environmental review and Section 106 consultation. DOE LPOs proposed action, pursuant to its authority under Title 17 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, as amended, is consideration of providing Federal financial assistance (a loan guarantee) to support the resumption of power operations at Palisades.

As part of this review, the NRC and DOE LPO staff have completed a draft environmental assessment (EA) and draft finding of no significant impact (FONSI), Draft Environmental Assessment and Draft Finding of No Significant Impact for the Palisades Nuclear Plant Reauthorization of Power Operations Project (ADAMS Accession No. ML24353A157). The associated Federal Register notice (FRN) was published on January 31, 2025, and is available at https://www.federalregister.gov. The draft EA and draft FONSI are also available on the NRCs website at https://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/reactors/pali.html#pali-1.

Section 3.8 of the draft EA contains a description of historic and cultural resources and historic properties identified in the direct and indirect area of potential effects (APE), discusses impacts to these resources from activities associated with the preparation for and resumption of power operations, and provides the NRC and DOE LPOs preliminary determination. The NRC and DOE LPOs preliminary determination under Section 106 of the NHPA, is that the undertaking will have no historic properties affected as no historic properties have been identified in the APE and activities associated with the resumption of power operations are limited to previously January 31, 2025

B. Hamlin disturbed areas. Additionally, no historic and cultural resources have been identified within the APE. Therefore, there will be no significant impacts under NEPA to historic and cultural resources at Palisades. This preliminary determination is based on: (1) the analysis and findings of NRC and DOE LPOs independent environmental review documented in the draft EA; (2) ongoing consultation with Federal, State, Tribal, and local agencies; (3) environmental documentation submitted by HDI and (4) the consideration of public scoping comments.

In accordance with the NRCs January 9, 2017, Tribal Policy Statement (82 FR 2402), the NRC wishes to ensure that State-recognized Tribes are afforded the opportunity to participate in the NRCs licensing and regulatory processes. The NRC invites your office to submit any comments, or concerns on the draft EA and draft FONSI during the 30-day comment period, which ends on March 3, 2025. Comments can be submitted by the following methods:

1.

Emailing PalisadesRestartEnvironmental@nrc.gov; 2.

Going to https://regulations.gov and searching for Docket ID NRC-2024-0076; or 3.

Mailing comments to the Office of Administration, Mail Stop: TWFN-7-A60M, U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff.

Alternatively, comments can be sent directly to Jennifer Davis or Mary Richmond (contact information below).

After consideration of public comments received, as well as information received through consultation, the NRC and DOE LPO will prepare a final EA and final FONSI unless the staff determines that the proposed actions would have a significant impact on the human environment, in which case the staff would proceed to prepare an environmental impact statement. If it is determined that a final EA and final FONSI should be issued, it is expected that they would be published in June 2025.

If you have any questions concerning the NRCs environmental review, please contact Staff Archaeologist, Jennifer Davis, by phone at 301-415-3835 or via email at Jennifer.Davis@nrc.gov; or Environmental Project Manager, Mary Richmond, by phone at 301-415-7218 or via email at Mary.Richmond@nrc.gov.

Sincerely, Christopher M. Regan, Director Division of Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial Support Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Docket No. 50-0255 cc: GovDelivery Signed by Regan, Christopher on 01/31/25

B. Hamlin

SUBJECT:

NOTIFICATION OF THE ISSUANCE OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND DRAFT FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT FOR HOLTEC DECOMMISSIONING INTERNATIONAL, LLCS LICENSING AND REGULATORY REQUESTS FOR REAUTHORIZATION OF POWER OPERATIONS AT PALISADES NUCLEAR PLANT (EPID NUMBER: L-2024-LNE-0003) (DOCKET NUMBER: 50-0255)

DATED:

DISTRIBUTION:

PUBLIC M. A. Spencer, OGC J. Kozal, RIII A. Ghosh-Naber, OGC L. Willingham, NMSS H. Logaras, RIII M. Richmond, NMSS C. Wolf, OCA W. Burris, NMSS S. Burnell, HQ/OPA J. Davis, NMSS V. Mitlyng, RIII/OPA D. Barnhurst, NMSS P. Chandrathil, RIII/OPA M. Rome, NMSS C. Conrad, PNNL (cyler.n.conrad@pnnl.gov)

T. Smith, NMSS L. Hare, PNNL (leah.hare@pnnl.gov)

J. Moses, NMSS A. Williamson, DOE (alicia.williamson@hq.doe.gov)

C. Regan, NMSS K. Erwin, DOE (kenneth.erwin@hq.doe.gov)

J. Poole, NRR T. Stribley, DOE (todd.stribley@hq.doe.gov)

N. Otto, NRR J. Pelton, NRR I. Berrios, NRR P. McKenna, NRR ADAMS Package Accession No.: ML25007A008; Letter: ML25030A382

• via email OFFICE PM:REFS/ETR1 LA:REFS/EPM2 PM:REFS/EPM3 OGC PM:REFS/ETR1 NAME JDavis AWalker-Smith LWillingham AGhosh*

JDavis DATE 1/07/2025 1/29/2025 1/29/2025 1/29/2025 1/29/2025 OFFICE BC:REFS/EPM3 DD:REFS D:REFS NAME DBarnhurst TSmith CRegan DATE 1/29/2025 1/29/2025 1/31/2025 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY January 31, 2025