Notice2026-12109
Nebraska Public Power District; Cooper Nuclear Station; Notice of Intent To Conduct Scoping Process and Prepare Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
June 16, 2026
Issuing agencies
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Abstract
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will conduct a scoping process to gather information necessary to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement (EIS) to evaluate the environmental impacts for the subsequent renewal of the renewed facility operating license for Cooper Nuclear Station (Cooper). The NRC is seeking public comment on this action.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 115 (Tuesday, June 16, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 115 (Tuesday, June 16, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36160-36161]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-12109]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-298; NRC-2026-2344]
Nebraska Public Power District; Cooper Nuclear Station; Notice of
Intent To Conduct Scoping Process and Prepare Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will conduct a
scoping process to gather information necessary to prepare a
supplemental environmental impact statement (EIS) to evaluate the
environmental impacts for the subsequent renewal of the renewed
facility operating license for Cooper Nuclear Station (Cooper). The NRC
is seeking public comment on this action.
DATES: Submit comments on the scope of the supplemental EIS by July 16,
2026. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is
practical to do so, but the NRC is able to ensure consideration only
for comments received on or before this date.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods;
however, the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the
Federal rulemaking website.
<bullet> Federal rulemaking website: Go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and search for Docket ID NRC-2026-2344. Address
questions about Docket IDs in <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a> to Bridget Curran;
telephone: 301-415-1003; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b3f1c1dad7d4d6c79df0c6c1c1d2ddf3ddc1d09dd4dcc5"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="692b1b000d0e0c1d472a1c1b1b080729071b0a470e061f">[email protected]</span></a>. For technical
questions, contact the individual(s) listed in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.
<bullet> Email comments to: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4b0824243b2e390e253d22392425262e253f2a270b253928652c243d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ecaf83839c899ea9829a859e8382818982988d80ac829e8fc28b839a">[email protected]</span></a>.
<bullet> Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop:
TWFN-5-A85, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff.
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: Lance Rakovan, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-2589; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d69ab7b8b5b3f884b7bdb9a0b7b896b8a4b5f8b1b9a0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="86cae7e8e5e3a8d4e7ede9f0e7e8c6e8f4e5a8e1e9f0">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2026-2344 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:
<bullet> Federal Rulemaking website: Go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and search for Docket ID NRC-2026-2344.
<bullet> NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at <a href="https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html">https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html</a>. To begin the search, select ``Begin ADAMS Public Search.''
For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public Document Room
(PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, at 301-415-4737, or by email
to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#80d0c4d2aed2e5f3eff5f2e3e5c0eef2e3aee7eff6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="28786c7a067a4d5b475d5a4b4d68465a4b064f475e">[email protected]</span></a>. The Cooper subsequent license renewal
application is available in ADAMS under Package Accession No.
ML26127A279.
<bullet> NRC's PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. To make an
appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d9899d8bf78bbcaab6acabbabc99b7abbaf7beb6af"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1a4a5e4834487f69756f68797f5a746879347d756c">[email protected]</span></a> or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8
a.m. and 4 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
<bullet> Public Library: A copy of the Cooper subsequent license
renewal application, including the environmental report (ER), will be
available for public review at the following public library locations:
Auburn Memorial Library, 1810 Courthouse Avenue, Auburn, NE 68305, and
Atchison County Library, 200 South Main Street, Rock Port, MO 64482.
B. Submitting Comments
The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the
Federal rulemaking website (<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>). Please
include Docket ID NRC-2026-2344 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
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> 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
By letter dated May 7, 2026, Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD)
submitted to the NRC an application for subsequent license renewal
(SLR) of Cooper Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-46 for an
additional 20 years of operation. This submission
[[Page 36161]]
initiated the NRC's proposed action of determining whether to grant the
SLR. Cooper is located in Brownville, Nebraska. The current Cooper
license expires at midnight on January 18, 2034. The SLR application
was submitted pursuant to part 54 of title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR), ``Requirements for Renewal of Operating Licenses
for Nuclear Power Plants,'' and seeks to extend the license for Cooper
to midnight on January 18, 2054. A notice of receipt and availability
of the application was published in the Federal Register on May 21,
2026 (91 FR 29989). A notice of acceptance for docketing of the
application and of an opportunity to request a hearing was published in
the Federal Register on June 10, 2026 (91 FR 35275) and is available on
the Federal Rulemaking website (<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>) by
searching for Docket ID NRC-2026-2344.
III. Request for Comment
This notice informs the public of the NRC's intention to conduct
environmental scoping and prepare an supplemental EIS related to the
SLR application for Cooper and provides the public an opportunity to
participate in the environmental scoping process, as defined in 10 CFR
51.29, ``Scoping-environmental impact statement and supplement to
environmental impact statement,'' and 10 CFR 51.116, ``Notice of
intent.''
In accordance with 10 CFR 51.53(c) and 10 CFR 54.23, NPPD submitted
an ER as part of the SLR application. The ER was prepared pursuant to
10 CFR part 51, ``Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic
Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions,'' and is publicly available
in ADAMS under Accession No. ML26127A283. The ER will also be available
for viewing at <a href="https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/cooper">https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/cooper</a>.
The NRC intends to gather the information necessary to prepare the
supplemental EIS as a plant-specific supplement to NUREG-1437, Revision
2, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of
Nuclear Plants'' (ADAMS Package Accession No. ML24087A133). The
supplemental EIS will evaluate the environmental impacts of SLR for
Cooper, and a reasonable range of alternatives, including the no-action
alternative. This notice is being published in accordance with NEPA and
the NRC's regulations at 10 CFR part 51.
As part of its environmental review, the NRC will first conduct a
scoping process for the supplemental EIS and, as soon as practicable
thereafter, will prepare a draft supplemental EIS for public comment.
Participation in this scoping process by members of the public and
local, State, Tribal, and Federal government agencies is encouraged.
The scoping process for the supplemental EIS will be used to accomplish
the following:
a. Define the proposed action that is to be the subject of the
supplemental EIS;
b. Determine the scope of the supplemental EIS and identify the
significant issues to be analyzed in depth;
c. Identify and eliminate from detailed study those issues that are
peripheral or are not significant or that have been covered by prior
environmental review;
d. Identify any environmental assessments and other environmental
impact statements that are being or will be prepared that are related
to, but are not part of, the scope of the supplemental EIS under
consideration;
e. Identify other environmental review and consultation
requirements related to the proposed action;
f. Indicate the relationship between the timing of the preparation
of the environmental analyses and the NRC's tentative planning and
decision-making schedule;
g. Identify any cooperating agencies and, as appropriate, allocate
assignments for preparation and schedules for completing the
supplemental EIS to the NRC and any cooperating agencies; and
h. Describe how the supplemental EIS will be prepared, including
any contractor assistance to be used.
The NRC invites the following entities to participate in scoping:
a. The applicant, NPPD;
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; and
f. Any person who has petitioned or intends to petition for leave
to intervene under 10 CFR 2.309.
Participation in the scoping process for the Cooper SLR
supplemental EIS does not entitle participants to become parties to the
proceeding to which the supplemental EIS relates.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.
Dated: June 12, 2026.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Kimyata Savoy,
Deputy Director, Division of Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial
Support, Office of Nuclear Material Safetyand Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2026-12109 Filed 6-15-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
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