Revisions to Environmental Review for Renewal of Nuclear Power Plant Operating Licenses

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 10 CFR Part 51 RIN 3150-AI42 [NRC-2008-0608] AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Proposed rule. SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its environmental protection regulations by updating the Commission's 1996 findings on the environmental impacts related to the renewal of a nuclear power plant's operating license. The Commission stated that it intends to review the assessment of impacts and update it on a 10-year cycle, if necessary. The proposed rule redefines the number and scope of the environmental impact issues which must be addressed by the Commission in conjunction with the review of applications for license renewal. As part of this 10-year update, the NRC revised the 1996 Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants. Concurrent with the amendments described in this proposed rule, the NRC is publishing for comment the revised GEIS, a revised Regulatory Guide 4.2, Supplement 1, Preparation of Environmental Reports for Nuclear Power Plant License Renewal Applications, and a revised Environmental Standard Review Plan, Standard Review Plans for Environmental Reviews for Nuclear Power Plants, Supplement 1: Operating License Renewal . DATES: Comments on this proposed rule, its information collection aspects and its draft regulatory analysis should be submitted by October 14, 2009. Comments on the revised GEIS (NUREG-1437, Revision 1); Regulatory Guide (RG) 4.2, Su…