Duke Energy Corporation (Duke) has submitted an application for renewal of
In accordance with 10 CFR 54.23 and 10 CFR 51.53(c), Duke submitted the ER as part of the application. The ER was prepared pursuant to 10 CFR Part 51 and is available for public inspection at the NRC Public Document Room, located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland, or from the Publicly Available Records component of NRC's document system (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible at
This notice advises the public that the NRC intends to gather the information necessary to prepare a plant-specific supplement to the Commission's “Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants,” (NUREG–1437) in support of the review of the application for renewal of the McGuire operating licenses for an additional 20 years. Possible alternatives to the proposed action (license renewal) include no action and reasonable alternative energy sources. 10 CFR 51.95 requires that the NRC prepare a supplement to the GEIS in connection with the renewal of an operating license. This notice is being published in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the NRC's regulations found in 10 CFR part 51.
The NRC will first conduct a scoping process for the supplement to the GEIS and, as soon as practicable thereafter, will prepare a draft supplement to the GEIS for public comment. Participation in this scoping process by members of the public and local, State, and Federal government agencies is encouraged. The scoping process for the supplement to the GEIS will be used to accomplish the following:
a. Define the proposed action which is to be the subject of the supplement to the GEIS.
b. Determine the scope of the supplement to the GEIS and identify the significant issues to be analyzed in depth.
c. Identify and eliminate from detailed study those issues that are peripheral or that are not significant.
d. Identify any environmental assessments and other environmental impact statements (EISs) that are being or will be prepared that are related to but are not part of the scope of the supplement to the GEIS being considered.
e. Identify other environmental review and consultation requirements related to the proposed action.
f. Indicate the relationship between the timing of the preparation of environmental analyses and the Commission's tentative planning and decision-making schedule.
g. Identify any cooperating agencies and, as appropriate, allocate assignments for preparation and schedules for completing the supplement to the GEIS to the NRC and any cooperating agencies.
h. Describe how the supplement to the GEIS will be prepared, including any contractor assistance to be used.
The NRC invites the following entities to participate in the scoping process:
a. The applicant, Duke Energy Corporation.
b. Any Federal agency that has jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to any environmental impact involved, or that is authorized to develop and enforce relevant environmental standards.
c. Affected State and local government agencies, including those authorized to develop and enforce relevant environmental standards.
d. Any affected Indian tribe.
e. Any person who requests or has requested an opportunity to participate in the scoping process.
f. Any person who intends to petition for leave to intervene.
In accordance with 10 CFR 51.26, the scoping process for an EIS may include a public scoping meeting to help identify significant issues related to a proposed activity and to determine the scope of issues to be addressed in an EIS. The NRC has decided to hold public meetings for the McGuire license renewal supplement to the GEIS. The scoping meetings will be held in the auditorium of the North Campus of the Central Piedmont Community College, at 11920 Verhoeff Road, Huntersville, North Carolina, on Tuesday, September 25, 2001. 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. 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. Both sessions will be transcribed and will include (1) an overview by the NRC staff of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) environmental review process, the proposed scope of the supplement to the GEIS, and the proposed review schedule; (2) an overview by Duke of the proposed action, McGuire license renewal, and the environmental impacts as outlined in the ER; and (3) the opportunity for interested Government agencies, organizations, and individuals to submit comments or suggestions on the environmental issues or the proposed scope of the supplement to the GEIS. Additionally, the NRC staff will host informal discussions one hour prior to the start of each session at the North Campus of the Central Piedmont Community College. No 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, as discussed below. Persons may register to attend or present oral comments at the meetings on the NEPA scoping process by contacting Mr. James H. Wilson by telephone at 1 (800) 368–5642, extension 1108, or by Internet to the NRC at
Members of the public may send written comments on the environmental scoping process for the supplement to the GEIS to Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration, Mailstop T–6 D 59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001.
Comments may be hand-delivered to the NRC at 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, between 7:45 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. on Federal workdays. To be considered in the scoping process, written comments should be postmarked by October 21, 2001. Electronic comments may be sent by the Internet to the NRC at
Participation in the scoping process for the supplement to the GEIS does not entitle participants to become parties to the proceeding to which the supplement to the GEIS relates. Notice of opportunity for a hearing regarding the renewal application was the subject of the aforementioned
At the conclusion of the scoping process, the NRC will prepare a concise summary of the determination and conclusions reached, including the significant issues identified, and will send a copy of the summary to each participant in the scoping process. The summary will also be available for inspection through the PERR link. The staff will then prepare and issue for comment the draft supplement to the GEIS, which will be the subject of separate notices and a separate public meeting. Copies will be available for public inspection at the above-mentioned addresses, and one copy per request will be provided free of charge. After receipt and consideration of the comments, the NRC will prepare a final supplement to the GEIS, which will also be available for public inspection.
Information about the proposed action, the supplement to the GEIS, and the scoping process may be obtained from Mr. Wilson at the aforementioned telephone number or e-mail address.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.