ML040890669
| ML040890669 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Browns Ferry  |
| Issue date: | 03/23/2004 |
| From: | Kuo P Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs |
| To: | Chambers K Seminole Nation of Oklahoma |
| MASNIK M, NRR/DRIP/RLEP, 415-1191 | |
| References | |
| NUREG-1437 | |
| Download: ML040890669 (5) | |
Text
March 23, 2004The Honorable Kenneth Chambers, Principal Chief Seminole Nation of Oklahoma PO Box 1498 Wewoka, OK 74884
SUBJECT:
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION REVIEW OF THE BROWNSFERRY NUCLEAR PLANT LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION
Dear Chief Chambers:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is seeking input for its environmental reviewof an application from Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to renew its operating licenses for the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3 (BFN), located in Limestone County, Alabama, 16 km (10 mi) southwest of Athens, Alabama. BFN is in close proximity to lands that may be of interest to the Seminole Nation Tribe. As described below, the NRC process includes an opportunity for public participation in the environmental review. We want to ensure that you are aware of our efforts and, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.28(b), the NRC invites the Seminole Nation Tribal Community to provide input to the scoping process relating to the NRC's environmental review of the application. The NRC will hold public scoping meetings for the BFN license renewal supplement to the NRC's ?Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants"(GEIS) (NUREG-1437). These scoping meetings will be held at the Athens State University, Student Center Cafeteria Ballroom, 300 North Beaty Street, Athens, Alabama, on Thursday, April 1, 2004. There will be two sessions to accommodate interested parties. The first session will convene at 1:30 p.m. and will continue until 4:30 p.m., as necessary. The second session will convene at 7:00 p.m., with a repeat of the overview portions of the meeting, and will continue until 10:00 p.m., as necessary. Additionally, the NRC staff will host informal discussions one hour before the start of each session. No formal comments on the proposed scope of the supplement to the GEIS will be accepted during the informal discussions. To be considered, comments must be provided either at the transcribed public meetings or in writing.
The application and the environmental review process are described below.Under NRC regulations, the original operating license for a nuclear power plant is issued for upto 40 years. The license may be renewed for up to an additional 20 years if NRC requirements are met. The current operating licenses for BFN will expire in 2013, 2014, and 2016 respectively. TVA submitted an environmental report as part of its application for renewal of the BFN operating license on January 6, 2004. The application is electronically available for inspection from the Publicly Available Records (PARs) component of NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html, which provides access through the NRC's PublicElectronic Reading Room (PERR) link. If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-(800)-397-4209, (301)-415-4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. In addition, the application can be viewed on the Internet at Chief K. Chambers2http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications.html
.A paper copy of the document can be viewed at the NRC's PDR, located at One White FlintNorth, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland, 20852-2738 and at the Athens-Limestone Public Library, 405 East South Street, Athens, Alabama, 35611-1999. Also, the GEIS assesses the scope and impact of environmental effects that would be associated with license renewal at any nuclear power plant site. A copy of this document can also be found on the NRC's website or at the NRC's PDR.The NRC is gathering information for the document that will be a BFN-specific supplement tothe GEIS. The supplement will contain the results of the review of the environmental impacts on the area surrounding the BFN site that are related to terrestrial ecology, aquatic ecology, hydrology, cultural resources, and socioeconomic issues (among others) and will contain a recommendation regarding the environmental acceptability of the license renewal action.Please submit any written comments the Seminole Nation Tribal Community may have to offeron the scope of the environmental review by April 26, 2004. Comments should be submitted either by mail to the Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Mail Stop T-6D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001, or by e-mail to BrownsFerryEIS@nrc.gov
.At the conclusion of the scoping process, the NRC staff will prepare a summary of thesignificant issues identified, the conclusions reached, and will mail a copy to you.The NRC will prepare a draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for publiccomment, and will hold another set of public meetings in the site vicinity to solicit comments on the draft. A copy of the draft SEIS will be sent to you for your review and comment. After consideration of public comments received on the draft, the NRC will prepare a final SEIS. If you need additional information regarding the environmental review process, please contact Dr. Michael Masnik, Senior Environmental Project Manager, at (301) 415-1191.Sincerely, /RA/Pao-Tsin Kuo, Program DirectorLicense Renewal and Environmental Impacts Program Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs Office of Nuclear Reactor RegulationDocket Nos.: 50-259, 50-260, and 50-296 cc: See next page Chief K. Chambers2http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications.html
.A paper copy of the document can be viewed at the NRC's PDR, located at One White FlintNorth, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland, 20852-2738 and at the Athens-Limestone Public Library, 405 East South Street, Athens, Alabama, 35611-1999. Also, the GEIS assesses the scope and impact of environmental effects that would be associated with license renewal at any nuclear power plant site. A copy of this document can also be found on the NRC's website or at the NRC's PDR.The NRC is gathering information for the document that will be a BFN-specific supplement tothe GEIS. The supplement will contain the results of the review of the environmental impacts on the area surrounding the BFN site that are related to terrestrial ecology, aquatic ecology, hydrology, cultural resources, and socioeconomic issues (among others) and will contain a recommendation regarding the environmental acceptability of the license renewal action.Please submit any written comments the Seminole Nation Tribal Community may have to offeron the scope of the environmental review by April 26, 2004. Comments should be submitted either by mail to the Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Mail Stop T-6D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001, or by e-mail to BrownsFerry@nrc.gov
.At the conclusion of the scoping process, the NRC staff will prepare a summary of thesignificant issues identified, the conclusions reached, and will mail a copy to you.The NRC will prepare a draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for publiccomment, and will hold another set of public meetings in the site vicinity to solicit comments on the draft. A copy of the draft SEIS will be sent to you for your review and comment. After consideration of public comments received on the draft, the NRC will prepare a final SEIS. If you need additional information regarding the environmental review process, please contact Dr. Michael Masnik, Senior Environmental Project Manager, at (301) 415-1191.Sincerely, /RA/Pao-Tsin Kuo, Program DirectorLicense Renewal and Environmental Impacts Program Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs Office of Nuclear Reactor RegulationDocket Nos.: 50-259, 50-260, and 50-296 cc: See next page DISTRIBUTION: See next page Accession no.:DOCUMENT NAME:C:\FileNet\ML040890669.wpdOFFICELA:RLEPCE:RLEPPM:RLEPSC:RLEPPD:RLEPNAMELJenkinsTTerryMMasnikJTappertPTKuo DATE 03/17/0403/22/0403/22/0403/22/0403/23/04 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY DISTRIBUTION: Letter to Chief K. Chambers, Re: Browns Ferry. Dated: March 23, 2004 Accession no.:PUBLICDMatthews/FGillespie PTKuo MMasnik RSchaaf JYerokun TTerry JTappert KJabbour RHannah, RII KClark, RII CJulian, RII BHolbrook, SRI AHodgdon, OGC MSackchewsky (PNNL)
RLEP R/F BROWNS FERRY NUCLEAR PLANTTennessee Valley Authority cc:
Mr. Karl W. Singer, Senior Vice PresidentNuclear Operations Tennessee Valley Authority 6A Lookout Place 1101 Market Street Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801 Mr. James E. Maddox, Acting Vice PresidentEngineering & Technical Services Tennessee Valley Authority 6A Lookout Place 1101 Market Street Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801Mr. Ashok S. Bhatnagar, Site Vice PresidentBrowns Ferry Nuclear Plant Tennessee Valley Authority P.O. Box 2000 Decatur, AL 35609General CounselTennessee Valley Authority ET 11A 400 West Summit Hill Drive Knoxville, TN 37902Mr. Robert J. Adney, General ManagerNuclear Assurance Tennessee Valley Authority 6A Lookout Place 1101 Market Street Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801Mr. Robert G. Jones, Plant ManagerBrowns Ferry Nuclear Plant Tennessee Valley Authority P.O. Box 2000 Decatur, AL 35609Mr. Mark J. Burzynski, ManagerNuclear Licensing Tennessee Valley Authority 4X Blue Ridge 1101 Market Street Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801Mr. Timothy E. Abney, ManagerLicensing and Industry Affairs Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Tennessee Valley Authority P.O. Box 2000 Decatur, AL 35609Senior Resident InspectorU.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant P.O. Box 149 Athens, AL 35611State Health OfficerAlabama Dept. of Public Health RSA Tower - Administration Suite 1552 P.O. Box 303017 Montgomery, AL 36130-3017ChairmanLimestone County Commission 310 West Washington Street Athens, AL 35611Mr. Fred EmersonNuclear Energy Institute 1776 I St., NW., Suite 400 Washington, DC 20006-3708Mr. J. A. ScaliceChief Nuclear Officer and Executive Vice President Tennessee Valley Authority 6A Lookout Place 1101 Market Street Chattanooga, TN 37404-2801