ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTS AND INFORMATION-REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE APPLICANTS AND PETITIONERS FOR RULEMAKING ΤΟ GENERAL § 51.40 Consultation with NRC staff. (a) A prospective applicant or petitioner for rulemaking is encouraged to confer with NRC staff as early as possible in its planning process before submitting environmental information or filing an environmental report. (b) Requests for guidance or information on environmental matters may include inquiries relating to: (1) Applicable NRC rules and regulations; (2) Format, content and procedures for filing environmental reports and other environmental information, including the type and quantity of environmental information likely to be needed to address issues and concerns identified in the scoping process described in §51.29 in a manner appropriate to their relative significance; (3) Availability of relevant environmental studies and environmental information; (4) Need for, appropriate level and scope of any environmental studies or information which the Commission may require to be submitted in connection with an application or petition for rulemaking; (5) Public meetings with NRC staff. (c) Questions concerning environmental matters should be addressed to the following NRC staff offices as appropriate: (1) Utilization facilities: Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, Telephone: (301) 415-1270. (2) Production facilities: Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, Telephone: (301) 415-7800. (3) Materials licenses: Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, Telephone: (301) 415-7800. (4) Rulemaking: Director, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, U.S. Nu clear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, Telephone: (301) 4156641. (5) General Environmental Matters: Executive Director for Operations, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, Telephone: (301) 415-1700. [49 FR 9381, Mar. 12, 1984, as amended at 53 FR 13399, Apr. 25, 1988; 60 FR 24552, May 9, 1995] $51.41 Requirement to submit environmental information. The Commission may require an applicant for a permit, license, or other form of permission, or amendment to or renewal of a permit, license or other form of permission, or a petitioner for rulemaking to submit such information to the Commission as may be useful in aiding the Commission in complying with section 102(2) of NEPA. The Commission will independently evaluate and be responsible for the reliability of any information which it uses. ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTS GENERAL REQUIREMENTS $51.45 Environmental report. (a) General. As required by §§ 51.50, 51.53, 51.54, 51.60, 51.61, 51.62 or §51.68, as appropriate, each applicant or petitioner for rulemaking shall submit with its application or petition for rulemaking one signed original of a separate document entitled “Applicant's" or "Petitioner's Environmental Report," as appropriate, and the number of copies specified in §§ 51.55, 51.66 or §51.69. An applicant or petitioner for rulemaking may submit a supplement to an environmental report at any time. (b) Environmental considerations. The environmental report shall contain a description of the proposed action, a statement of its purposes, a description of the environment affected, and discuss the following considerations: (1) The impact of the proposed action on the environment. Impacts shall be discussed in proportion to their significance; (2) Any adverse environmental effects which cannot be avoided should the proposal be implemented; (3) Alternatives to the proposed action. The discussion of alternatives shall be sufficiently complete to aid the Commission in developing and exploring, pursuant to section 102(2)(E) of NEPA, "appropriate alternatives to recommended courses of action in any proposal which involves unresolved conflicts concerning alternative uses of available resources." To the extent practicable, the environmental impacts of the proposal and the alternatives should be presented in comparative form; (4) The relationship between local short-term uses of man's environment and the maintenance and enhancement of long-term productivity; and (5) Any irreversible and irretrievable commitments of resources which would be involved in the proposed action should it be implemented. (c) Analysis. The environmental report shall include an analysis that considers and balances the environmental effects of the proposed action, the environmental impacts of alternatives to the proposed action, and alternatives available for reducing or avoiding adverse environmental effects. Except for environmental reports prepared at the license renewal stage pursuant to §51.53(c), the analysis in the environmental report should also include consideration of the economic, technical, and other benefits and costs of the proposed action and of alternatives. Environmental reports prepared at the license renewal stage pursuant to $51.53(c) need not discuss the economic or technical benefits and costs of either the proposed action or alternatives except insofar as such benefits and costs are either essential for a determination regarding the inclusion of an alternative in the range of alternatives considered or relevant to mitigation. In addition, environmental reports prepared pursuant to §51.53(c) need not discuss other issues not related to the environmental effects of the proposed action and alternatives. The analyses for environmental reports shall, to the fullest extent practicable, quantify the various factors considered. To the extent that there are important qualitative considerations or factors that cannot be quantified, those considerations or factors shall be discussed in qualitative terms. The environmental report should contain sufficient data to aid the Commission in its development of an independent analysis. (d) Status of compliance. The environmental report shall list all Federal permits, licenses, approvals and other entitlements which must be obtained in connection with the proposed action and shall describe the status of compliance with these requirements. The environmental report shall also include a discussion of the status of compliance with applicable environmental quality standards and requirements including, but not limited to, applicable zoning and land-use regulations, and thermal and other water pollution limitations or requirements which have been imposed by Federal, State, regional, and local agencies having responsibility for environmental protection. The discussion of alternatives in the report shall include a discussion of whether the alternatives will comply with such applicable environmental quality standards and requirements. (c) Analysis. The environmental report shall include an analysis that considers and balances the environmental effects of the proposed action, the environmental impacts of alternatives to the proposed action, and alternatives available for reducing or avoiding adverse environmental effects. Except for environmental reports prepared at the license renewal stage pursuant to §51.53(c), the analysis in the environmental report should also include consideration of the economic, technical, and other benefits and costs of the proposed action and of alternatives. Environmental reports prepared at the license renewal stage pursuant to §51.53(c) need not discuss the economic or technical benefits and costs of either the proposed action or alternatives except insofar as such benefits and costs are either essential for a determination regarding the inclusion of an alternative in the range of alternatives considered or relevant to mitigation. In addition, environmental reports prepared pursuant to §51.53(c) need not discuss other issues not related to the environmental effects of the proposed action and alternatives. The analyses for environmental reports shall, to the fullest extent practicable, quantify the various factors considered. To the extent that there are important qualitative considerations or factors that cannot be quantified, those considerations or factors shall be discussed in qualitative terms. The environmental report should contain sufficient data to aid the Commission in its development of an independent analysis. ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTS PRODUCTION $51.50 Environmental report-construction permit stage. Each applicant for a permit to construct a production or utilization facility covered by §51.20 shall submit with its application the number of copies, as specified in §51.55, of a separate document, entitled "Applicant's Environmental Report-Construction Permit Stage," which shall contain the information specified in §§ 51.45, 51.51 and 51.52. Each environmental report shall identify procedures for reporting and keeping records of environmental data, and any conditions and monitoring requirements for protecting the nonaquatic environment, proposed for possible inclusion in the license as environmental conditions in accordance with §50.36b of this chapter. $51.51 Uranium fuel cycle environmental data-Table S-3. (a) Every environmental report pre- TABLE S-3-TABLE OF URANIUM FUEL CYCLE ENVIRONMENTAL DATA 1 TABLE S-3-TABLE OF URANIUM FUEL CYCLE ENVIRONMENTAL DATA 1-Continued TABLE S-3-TABLE OF URANIUM FUEL CYCLE ENVIRONMENTAL DATA 1—Continued Occupational exposure (person-rem) 22.6 From reprocessing and waste management. In some cases where no entry appears it is clear from the background documents that the matter was addressed and that, in effect, the Table should be read as if a specific zero entry had been made. However, there are other areas that are not addressed at all in the Table. Table S-3 does not include health effects from the effluents described in the Table, or estimates of releases of Radon-222 from the uranium fuel cycle or estimates of Technetium-99 released from waste management or reprocessing activities. These issues may be the subject of litigation in the individual licensing proceedings. Data supporting this table are given in the "Environmental Survey of the Uranium Fuel Cycle," WASH-1248, April 1974; the "Environmental Survey of the Reprocessing and Waste Management Portion of the LWR Fuel Cycle," NUREG-0116 (Supp.1 to WASH-1248); the "Public Comments and Task Force Responses Regarding the Environmental Survey of the Reprocessing and Waste Management Portions of the LWR Fuel Cycle," NUREG-0216 (Supp. 2 to WASH-1248); and in the record of the final rulemaking pertaining to Uranium Fuel Cycle Impacts from Spent Fuel Reprocessing and Radioactive Waste Management, Docket RM-50-3. The contributions from reprocessing, waste management and transportation of wastes are maximized for either of the two fuel cycles (uranium only and no recycle). The contribution from transportation excludes transportation of cold fuel to a reactor and of irradiated fuel and radioactive wastes from a reactor which are considered in Table S 4 of $51.20(g). The contributions from the other steps of the fuel cycle are given in columns A-E of Table S-3A of WASH-1248. 2 The contributions to temporarily committed land from reprocessing are not prorated over 30 years, since the complete temporary impact accrues regardless of whether the plant services one reactor for one year or 57 reactors for 30 years. Estimated effluents based upon combustion of equivalent coal for power generation. 41.2 percent from natural gas use and process. [49 FR 9381, Mar. 12, 1984; 49 FR 10922, Mar. 23, 1984] of effects $51.52 Environmental transportation of fuel and wasteTable S-4. Every environmental report prepared for the construction permit stage of a light-water-cooled nuclear power reactor, and submitted after February 4, 1975, shall contain a statement concerning transportation of fuel and radioactive wastes to and from the reactor. That statement shall indicate that the reactor and this transportation either meet all of the conditions in paragraph (a) of this section or all of the conditions in paragraph (b) of this section. (a)(1) The reactor has a core thermal power level not exceeding 3,800 megawatts; (2) The reactor fuel is in the form of sintered uranium dioxide pellets having a uranium-235 enrichment not exceeding 4% by weight, and the pellets are encapsulated in zircaloy rods; (3) The average level of irradiation of the irradiated fuel from the reactor does not exceed 33,000 megawatt-days per metric ton, and no irradiated fuel assembly is shipped until at least 90 days after it is discharged from the reactor; (4) With the exception of irradiated fuel, all radioactive waste shipped from Maximum effect per annual fuel requirement or reference reactor year of model 1,000 MWe LWR the reactor is packaged and in a solid form; (5) Unirradiated fuel is shipped to the reactor by truck; irradiated fuel is shipped from the reactor by truck, rail, or barge; and radioactive waste other than irradiated fuel is shipped from the reactor by truck or rail; and (6) The environmental impacts of transportation of fuel and waste to and from the reactor, with respect to normal conditions of transport and possible accidents in transport, are as set forth in Summary Table S-4 in paragraph (c) of this section; and the values in the table represent the contribution of the transportation to the environmental costs of licensing the reactor. (b) For reactors not meeting the conditions of paragraph (a) of this section, the statement shall contain a full description and detailed analysis of the environmental effects of transportation of fuel and wastes to and from the reactor, including values for the environmental impact under normal conditions of transport and for the environmental risk from accidents in transport. The statement shall indicate that the values determined by the analysis represent the contribution of such effects to the environmental costs of licensing the reactor. (c) |