[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 212 (Thursday, November 2, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55741-55742]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-27193]



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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-344]


Portland General Electric Company; Trojan Nuclear Plant; 
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is 
considering issuance of an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 
140.11(a)(4) to Facility Operating License No. NPF-1 issued to Portland 
General Electric (PGE or the licensee) for the Trojan Nuclear Plant 
(TNP) located at the licensee's site in Columbia County, Oregon. The 
exemption would be effective on November 9, 1995, 3 years from the date 
of final shutdown of the reactor.

Environmental Assessment

Identification of Proposed Action

    The proposed action would grant an exemption from the requirements 
of 10 CFR 140.11(a)(4) reducing the primary financial protection that 
shall be maintained by the licensee for the facility from $200 million 
to $100 million. Exemption will be granted from participation in the 
industry retrospective rating plan (secondary level financial 
protection) for TNP. The licensee requested the exemption in a letter 
dated April 6, 1995.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    TNP was permanently shut down on November 9, 1992. In a license 
amendment dated May 5, 1993, the NRC modified Facility Operating 
License No. NPF-1 to a possession-only license (POL). The license is 
conditioned so that PGE is not authorized to operate or place fuel in 
the reactor vessel, thus formalizing the licensee's commitment to 
permanently cease power operations. The plant will have been shut down 
for 3 years at the time the exemption becomes effective, and 
radioactive decay will have significantly reduced the radionuclide 
inventory and decay heat of the spent fuel. Because sufficient spent 
fuel cooling period of 3 years has elapsed, the potential for 
significant offsite consequences no longer exists at TNP. Therefore, 
the requested exemption addresses two areas for relief in financial 
protection requirements: (1) A reduction in the primary financial 
protection coverage requirements from $200 million to $100 million and 
(2) withdrawal from participation in the industry retrospective rating 
plan. Because TNP no longer contributes as great a risk to the industry 
retrospective rating plan participants as an operating plant, this 
reduction in risk should be reflected in the indemnification 
requirements to which the licensee is subject. Approval of this request 
would allow a more equitable allocation of financial risk.

Environmental Impact of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action does not involve any environmental impacts. The 
proposed exemption involves changes in insurance and/or indemnity 
requirements, for which the Commission in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(10) has 
determined that a license amendment would meet the criteria for 
categorical exclusion from the need for either an environmental 
assessment or an environmental impact statement. Therefore, the 
Commission has determined that this exemption will have no significant 
impact on the environment.
    Because the proposed action does not involve a change in plant 
operation or configuration, there is reasonable assurance that the 
proposed action would not increase the probability or the consequences 
of an accident or reduce the margin of safety, no changes would be made 
in the types or quantities of effluents that may be released offsite, 
and there would be no significant increase in the allowable individual 
or cumulative radiation exposure.
    Accordingly, the Commission concludes that this proposed action 
would result in no significant radiological environmental impact.
    With regard to potential nonradiological impacts, the proposed 
action does not affect nonradiological plant effluents and has no other 
environmental impact. Therefore, the Commission concludes that there 
are no significant nonradiological impacts associated with the proposed 
action.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    Because the Commission has concluded that there are no measurable 
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action, any 
alternative with equal or greater environmental impacts need not be 
evaluated. 

[[Page 55742]]

    The principal alternative would be to deny the action. This 
alternative would not reduce the environmental impacts of plant 
operation and would not enhance the protection of the environment nor 
public health and safety.

Alternative Use of Resources

    This action does not involve the use of any resources not 
previously considered in the Final Environmental Statement for TNP 
dated August 1973.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    The NRC staff consulted with a representative of the State of 
Oregon regarding the environmental impact of the proposed action. The 
representative had no comments.

Finding of No Significant Impact

    The Commission has determined not to prepare an environmental 
impact statement for the proposed exemption.
    On the basis of the foregoing environmental assessment, the 
Commission concludes that the proposed action will not have a 
significant effect on the quality of the human environment.
    For further details with respect to this action, see the licensee's 
application for exemption dated April 6, 1995, which is available for 
public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, Gelman 
Building, 2120 L Street NW., Washington, DC 20555, and at the Local 
Public Document Room for TNP at the Branford Price Millar Library, 
Portland State University, Portland, Oregon 97207.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th day of October 1995.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Seymour H. Weiss,
Director, Non-Power Reactors and Decommissioning Project Directorate, 
Division of Reactor Program Management Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 95-27193 Filed 11-1-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P