80 FR 53579 - Draft Memorandum of Agreement Between the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, New Jersey Historic Preservation Office, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, National Park Service, PSEG Power, LLC, and PSEG Nuclear, LLC

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 172 (September 4, 2015)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is requesting comment on a draft Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the NRC, New Jersey Historic Preservation Office (NJ HPO), Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), National Park Service (NPS), and PSEG Power, LLC, and PSEG Nuclear, LLC (PSEG). The purpose of the draft MOA is to resolve adverse effects to historic properties identified during consultation for a proposed early site permit (ESP).

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 172 (Friday, September 4, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53579-53580]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-21932]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 52-043; NRC-2010-0215]


Draft Memorandum of Agreement Between the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, New Jersey Historic Preservation Office, Advisory Council 
on Historic Preservation, National Park Service, PSEG Power, LLC, and 
PSEG Nuclear, LLC

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is requesting 
comment on a draft Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the NRC, New 
Jersey Historic Preservation Office (NJ HPO), Advisory Council on 
Historic Preservation (ACHP), National Park Service (NPS), and PSEG 
Power, LLC, and PSEG Nuclear, LLC (PSEG). The purpose of the draft MOA 
is to resolve adverse effects to historic properties identified during 
consultation for a proposed early site permit (ESP).

DATES: Submit comments by October 5, 2015. Comments received after this 
date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC is 
able to assure consideration only for comments received on or before 
this date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods 
(unless this document describes a different method for submitting 
comments on a specific subject):
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2010-0215. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this document.
     Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration, 
Mail Stop: OWFN-12-H08, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
DC 20555-0001.
    For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting 
comments, see ``Obtaining information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allen Fetter, Office of New Reactors, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, 
telephone: 301-415-8556, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2010-0215 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain 
publicly-available information related to this action by any of the 
following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2010-0215.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and 
then select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, 
please contact the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 
1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by email to [email protected]. The 
draft MOA is available in ADAMS under Accession ML15239B244.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

B. Submitting Comments

    Please include Docket ID NRC-2010-0215 in your comment submission.
    The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact 
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your 
comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment submissions into 
ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to remove 
identifying or contact information.
    If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons 
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to 
include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be 
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should 
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to 
remove such information before making the comment submissions available 
to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.

II. Discussion

    On May 25, 2010, PSEG submitted the ESP application via letter 
pursuant to Part 52 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 
CFR) (ADAMS Accession No. ML101480484). The location of the proposed 
ESP site is adjacent to the existing Salem and Hope Creek Nuclear 
Generating Stations on the east bank of the Delaware River in Lower 
Alloways Creek Township, Salem County, New Jersey.
    An ESP is a licensing option provided under the NRC's regulations 
in 10 CFR part 52 that allows an applicant to obtain approval for a 
reactor site. The approval of the ESP indicates that there are no 
safety or environmental issues at the proposed site that would preclude 
the construction of a nuclear power plant with the characteristics 
identified in the plant parameter envelope. Because an ESP is only a 
site approval and does not authorize the construction or operation of a 
nuclear power plant, an applicant may obtain an ESP without specifying 
the design of the reactor(s) that it may separately apply to build and 
operate at the site. The ESP application and review process makes it 
possible to evaluate and resolve safety and environmental issues 
related to siting before the applicant makes a large commitment of 
resources. Granting an ESP would result in no effects to historic 
properties; the ESP review includes an analysis of potential adverse 
effects from construction and operation of a postulated plant to 
support a site suitability determination.
    Pursuant to 36 CFR 800.8, the NRC is using its National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process for developing the ESP 
environmental impact statement (EIS) to facilitate consultation 
pursuant to Section 106 of the NHPA (54 U.S.C. 306108). The U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers (USACE) participated in the development of the ESP 
EIS as a cooperating agency, pursuant to NEPA, but is consulting 
separately under Section 106 of the NHPA for the activities that it 
regulates.
    On August 22, 2014, the NRC requested comment (79 FR 49820) on its 
draft EIS analyzing: (1) The impacts of constructing and operating a 
postulated nuclear plant at the proposed ESP site that is the subject 
of NRC review, and (2) impacts associated with a USACE permit action on 
a Department of the

[[Page 53580]]

Army permit application to perform certain building activities on and 
near the ESP site.
    The draft ESP EIS contained a finding of no adverse effect to 
historic properties for the NRC's Section 106 NHPA review. The NJ HPO 
concurred with this finding. By letter dated December 4, 2014, the NRC 
received a revised opinion letter from the NJ HPO finding that the 
proposed project would result in an adverse effect to historic 
properties (ADAMS Accession No. ML15005A040). The NJ HPO stated that 
the visual intrusion of two new natural draft cooling towers, which are 
included in the plant parameter envelope for the ESP application, 
would, if selected in a subsequent application to construct and operate 
a nuclear plant at the ESP site, result in an adverse effect to 
historic properties. The NRC met with the NJ HPO, PSEG representatives, 
and interested members of the public on January 9, 2015, in Salem 
County, New Jersey to discuss the NJ HPO's concerns. Between January 
and August 2015, the NRC met with the NJ HPO, ACHP, NPS, interested 
members of the public, and PSEG several times to discuss the effects 
from the proposed project on historic properties and to develop 
possible mitigation strategies for any potential effects. Between 
January and August 2015, the NRC conducted seven publicly noticed 
consultation meetings and teleconferences, pursuant to Section 106 of 
the NHPA.
    Based on the information from these meetings and additional 
research, the NRC issued letters on June 24, 2015, to NJ HPO, ACHP, and 
NPS stating its determination that natural draft cooling towers, if 
selected, would result in an indirect visual adverse effect on the Abel 
and Mary Nicholson House National Historic Landmark (127 Fort Elfsborg-
Hancock Bridge Road), the property at 349 Fort Elfsborg-Hancock Bridge 
Road, and the property at 116 Mason Point Road. These properties are 
within an area the NJ HPO has determined is an NRHP-eligible historic 
district. In its letter, the NRC stated its intention to develop a MOA 
to resolve the adverse effect to these three properties.
    The draft MOA addresses the potential indirect adverse visual 
effect from construction and operation of natural draft cooling towers 
as analyzed in the ESP EIS and would conclude NHPA Section 106 
consultation for the ESP. The draft MOA provides a framework for 
consultation at the combined license or construction permit/operating 
license stage.

I. Request for Public Comment

    The NRC is requesting public comment on the draft MOA. The NRC does 
not plan to provide individual responses to comments. However, the NRC 
will consider any comments received when finalizing the MOA and will 
publish the final MOA in the Federal Register. The draft MOA is 
available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML15239B244.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 28th day of August, 2015.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Francis M. Akstulewicz,
Director, Division of New Reactor Licensing, Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2015-21932 Filed 9-3-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P