[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 123 (Thursday, June 26, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38105-38106]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-16174]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No.: 72-25]
Foster Wheeler Environmental Corporation's Proposed Idaho Spent
Fuel Facility; Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Impact
Statement
ACTION: Notice of availability of draft environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is issuing a Draft Environmental Impact Statement
(DEIS) for the Foster Wheeler Environmental Corporation (FWENC) license
application dated November 19, 2001, and docketed on June 27, 2002, (67
FR 43358) for the receipt, transfer, and storage of spent nuclear fuel
(SNF) at it's proposed Idaho Spent Fuel Facility to be located at the
U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Idaho National Engineering and
Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) site in Butte County, Idaho.
The DEIS discusses the purpose and need for the proposed facility
and reasonable alternatives to the proposed action, including the no-
action alternative. The DEIS also discusses the environment potentially
affected by the proposed facility, presents and compares the potential
environmental impacts resulting from the proposed action and its
alternatives, and identifies mitigation measures that could eliminate
or lessen the potential environmental impacts.
The DEIS is being issued as part of the NRC's decision-making
process on whether to issue a license to FWENC. Based on the
preliminary evaluation in the DEIS, the NRC environmental review staff
have concluded that the proposed action will have small effects on the
public and existing environment. The DEIS is a preliminary analysis of
the environmental impacts of the proposed action and its alternatives.
The Final EIS and any decision documentation regarding the proposed
action will not be issued until public comments on the DEIS have been
received and evaluated. Notice of the availability of the Final EIS
will be published in the Federal Register.
At this time, the NRC is soliciting public comments on the DEIS.
Due to limited interest during the ``Scoping'' phase of the DEIS
preparation, the NRC staff has elected not to hold a public meeting on
the DEIS. However, the DEIS is still being offered for public review
and comment in accordance with applicable NRC regulations, including
requirements in 10 CFR parts 51.73, 51.74 and 51.117. Any interested
person may submit written comments on the DEIS for consideration by the
NRC staff. Please see the DATES and ADDRESSES sections of this notice
for directions on when and how to submit comments.
DATES: The public comment period begins with publication of this notice
of availability in the Federal Register and continues until August 18,
2003. Written comments submitted by mail should be postmarked by that
date to ensure consideration. Comments mailed after that date will be
considered to the extent practical. Comments will also be accepted by
electronic or facsimile submission.
ADDRESSES: Members of the public are invited and encouraged to submit
comments to the Chief, Rules Review and Directives Branch, Mail Stop
T6-D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
Please note Docket No. 72-25 when submitting comments. Due to the
current mail situation in the Washington, DC area, it is encouraged
that comments be sent electronically to [email protected] or by
facsimile to (301) 415-5398, Attn: Matt Blevins.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For environmental review questions,
please contact Matthew Blevins at (301) 415-7684. For questions related
to the safety review or overall licensing of the Idaho Spent Fuel
Facility, please contact James Randall Hall at (301) 415-1336.
Information and documents associated with the Idaho Spent Fuel
Facility project, including the Environmental Report and the License
Application, submitted on November 19, 2001, may be obtained from the
Internet on NRC's Idaho Spent Fuel Facility Web page: http://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage.html (case sensitive). In
addition, all documents, including the DEIS, are available for public
review through our electronic
[[Page 38106]]
reading room: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm.html. Any comments of
Federal, State, and local agencies, Indian tribes or other interested
persons will be made available for public inspection when received.
Documents may also be obtained from NRC's Public Document Room located
at U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Headquarters, 11555 Rockville
Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. For those without access to
the Internet, paper copies of any electronic documents may be obtained
for a fee by contacting the NRC's Public Document Room at 1-800-397-
4209.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A Settlement Agreement dated October 17,
1995, among the DOE, the U.S. Navy, and the State of Idaho requires,
among other things, the transfer and dry storage of SNF until it can be
removed from Idaho. As part of it's efforts to meet the Settlement
Agreement, the DOE has contracted with FWENC to design, license,
construct, and operate the proposed Idaho Spent Fuel Facility for
portions of the SNF currently in storage at the INEEL. If approved,
FWENC will be issued an NRC license, under the provisions of 10 CFR
part 72, to receive, transfer, and store SNF. The proposed facility
would store SNF and associated radioactive material from the Peach
Bottom Unit 1 High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor, the Shippingport
Atomic Power Station, and various Training, Research, and Isotope
reactors built by General Atomics (TRIGA reactors). The majority of
this SNF is currently in storage at the Idaho Nuclear Technology Center
located on the INEEL immediately adjacent to the proposed facility. DOE
plans to transfer the SNF to the proposed facility using existing INEEL
and DOE procedures. The transfers to the proposed facility would take
place completely within the boundaries of the INEEL. Upon arrival at
the proposed facility, the SNF would be (1) remotely removed from the
containers in which it is currently stored, (2) visually inspected, (3)
inventoried, (4) placed into new storage canisters, and (5) placed into
interim dry storage.
The DEIS for the proposed Idaho Spent Fuel Facility was prepared by
the staff of the NRC and its contractor, Center for Nuclear Waste
Regulatory Analyses, in compliance with the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA), and the NRC's regulations for implementing NEPA (10
CFR part 51). The proposed action involves a decision by NRC of whether
to issue a license under the provisions of 10 CFR part 72 that would
authorize FWENC to receive, transfer, and store SNF and associated
radioactive materials at the proposed facility.
NRC published a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS for the proposed
Idaho Spent Fuel Facility and to conduct a scoping process in the
Federal Register on July 26, 2002, (67 FR 48953). The NRC accepted
scoping comments through September 16, 2002, and subsequently issued a
Scoping Summary Report on December 2, 2002.
The DEIS describes the proposed action and alternatives to the
proposed action, including the no-action alternative. The DEIS assesses
the impacts of the proposed action and its alternatives on human
health, air quality, water resources, waste management, geology, noise,
ecology, land use, cultural resources, socioeconomics, accident
impacts, and environmental justice. Additionally, the DEIS analyzes and
compares the costs and benefits of the proposed action.
Based on the preliminary evaluation in the DEIS, the NRC
environmental review staff have concluded that the proposed action will
have small effects on the public and existing environment and should be
approved. The DEIS is a preliminary analysis of the environmental
impacts of the proposed action and its alternatives. The Final EIS and
any decision documentation regarding the proposed action will not be
issued until public comments on the DEIS have been received and
evaluated. Notice of the availability of the Final EIS will be
published in the Federal Register.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day of June, 2003.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Lawrence E. Kokajko,
Acting Chief, Environmental and Performance Assessment Branch, Division
of Waste Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 03-16174 Filed 6-25-03; 8:45 am]
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