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qU oSoLTJRC NUREG-1872, Vol. 2 United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission ProtectingPeople and the Environment HudcD [jE©wftamfsýýpc Wafm(M oran EA Office of New Reactors AVAILABILITY OF REFERENCE MATERIALS IN NRC PUBLICATIONS NRC Reference Material Non-NRC Reference Material As of November 1999, you may electronically access Documents available from public and special technical NUREG-series publications and other NRC records at libraries include all open literature items, such as NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room at books, journal articles, and transactions, Federal http:t/www.nrc..ov/reading-rm.html. Register notices, Federal and State legislation, and Publicly released records include, to name a few, congressional reports. 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A. *U.S.NRC NUREG-1872, Vol. 2 United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission ProtectingPeople and the Environment Final Environmental Impact Statement for an Early Site Permit (ESP) at the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant Site Final Report Appendices A through J Manuscript Completed: July 2008 Date Published: August 2008 Office of New Reactors Paperwork Reduction Act Statement This Environmental Impact Statement contains existing information collection requirements that are subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). These information collections were approved by the Office of Management and Budget, approval numbers 3150-0011, 3150-0021, and 3150-0151. Public Protection Notification The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a request for information or an information collection requirement unless the requesting document displays a currently valid OMB control number. INUREG:- 1872Z Ii August 2008 Abstract This environmental impact statement (EIS) has been prepared pursuant to the review by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) of an application submitted by Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc. (Southern) for an early site permit (ESP). The proposed action requested in Southern's application is for the NRC to (1) approve a site within the existing Vogtle Electric Generating Plant (VEGP) boundaries as suitable for the construction and operation of a new nuclear power generating facility and (2) issue an ESP for the proposed location at the VEGP site, adjacent to the existing VEGP Units 1 and 2. In its application, Southern proposes a plan for redressing the environmental effects of certain construction activities performed by an ESP holder under the additional authorization (in a limited work authorization) that may be sought pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Section 52.25. These construction activities are defined by 10 CFR 50.10(a). In accordance with the plan, the construction activities would be redressed if the NRC issues the requested ESP (including the site redress plan), the ESP holder performs these construction activities, the ESP is not referenced in an application for a construction permit or combined operating license, and no alternative use is found for the site. This EIS includes the NRC staffs analysis that considers and weighs the environmental impacts of constructing and operating new units at the VEGP site or at alternative sites, and mitigation measures available for reducing or avoiding adverse impacts. It also includes the staffs recommendation to the Commission regarding the proposed action. The NRC staffs recommendation to the Commission related to the environmental aspects of the proposed action is that the ESP should be issued as proposed. The staff's evaluation of the site safety and emergency preparedness aspects of the proposed action will be addressed in the staffs safety evaluation report and supporting documentation that is anticipated to be published in February 2009. This recommendation is based on (1) the application, including the Environmental Report (ER), submitted by Southern; (2) consultation with Federal, State, Tribal, and local agencies; (3) the staffs independent review; (4) the staffs consideration of comments related to the environmental review that were received during the public scoping process and the draft EIS; and (5) the assessments summarized in this EIS, including the potential mitigation measures identified in the ER and this EIS. In addition, in making its recommendation, the staff determined that there are no environmentally preferable or obviously superior sites. Finally, the staff has concluded that the construction activities defined by 10 CFR 50.10(a)(1) requested by Southern in its application will not result in any significant adverse environmental impact that cannot be redressed. August 2008 iii NUREG-1872 Contents Abstract .................................................................................................. iii Executive Summary .................................................................................. xxiii Abbreviations/Acronyms............................................................................. xxvii 1.0- Introduction ...................................................................................... 1-1 1.1 Background................................................................................ 1-1 1.1.1 Early Site Construction Activities................................................ 1-2 1.1.2 ESP Application and Review.................................................... 1-2 1.2 The Proposed Federal Action ............................................................ 1-4 1.3 The Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action....................................... 1-5 1.4 Alternatives to the Proposed Action..................................................... 1-5 1.5 Compliance and Consultations .......................................................... 1-6 1.6 Report Contents .......................................................................... 1-6 1.7 References..................................... I........................................... 1-8 2.0 Affected Environment .......................................................................... 2-1 2.1 Site Location .............................................................................. 2-1 2.2 Land ....................................................................................... 2-1 2.2.1 The Site and Vicinity ............................................................. 2-4 2.2.2 Transmission Line Rights-of-Way............................................... 2-6 2.2.3 The Region........................................................................ 2-6 2.3 Meteorology and Air Quality ............................................................