[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 33 (Friday, February 16, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6265-6267]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-3550]



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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-295 and 50-304]


Commonwealth Edison Company; Zion Nuclear Power Station, Unit 
Nos. 1 and 2; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant 
Impact

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is 
considering issuance of an amendment to Facility Operating License Nos. 
DPR-39 and DPR-48, issued to Commonwealth Edison Company (the 
licensee), for operation of Zion Nuclear Power Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 
2, located in Lake County, Illinois.

Environmental Assessment

Identification of the Proposed Action

    The proposed amendment will revise the existing Technical 
Specifications (TS) in its entirety and incorporate the guidance 
provided in NUREG-1431 (September 1992), ``Standard Technical 
Specifications, Westinghouse Plants.'' The proposed action is in 
accordance with the licensee's amendment request dated November 3, 
1995, as supplemented on November 22, 1995.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    It has been recognized that nuclear safety in all plants would 
benefit from improvement and standardization of TS. The ``NRC Interim 
Policy Statement on Technical Specification Improvements for Nuclear 
Power Reactors,'' (52 FR 3788) contained proposed criteria for defining 
the scope of technical 

[[Page 6266]]
specifications. Later, the ``NRC Final Policy Statement on TS 
Improvement for Nuclear Power Reactors,'' (58 FR 39132) incorporated 
lessons learned since publication of the interim policy statement and 
formed the basis for recent revisions to 10 CFR 50.36. The ``Final 
Rule'' (60 FR 36953) codified criteria for determining the content of 
technical specifications. To facilitate the development of standard TS, 
each reactor vendor owners' group (OG) and the NRC staff developed 
standard TS. For Westinghouse plants, the Standard Technical 
Specifications (STS) are NUREG-1431 (September 1992), ``Standard 
Technical Specifications, Westinghouse Plants.'' This document formed 
the basis for the Zion Improved Standard TS (ISTS) conversion. The NRC 
Committee to Review Generic Requirements (CRGR) reviewed the STS, made 
note of its safety merits, and indicated its support of conversion by 
operating plants to the STS.

Description of the Proposed Change

    The proposed revision to the TS is based on NUREG-1431 and on 
guidance provided in the Final Policy Statement. Its objective is to 
completely rewrite, reformat, and streamline the existing TS. Emphasis 
is placed on human factors principles to improve clarity and 
understanding. The Bases section has been significantly expanded to 
clarify and better explain the purpose and foundation of each 
specification. In addition to NUREG-1431, portions of the existing TS 
were also used as the basis for the development of the Zion ISTS. Plant 
specific issues (unique design features, requirements, and operating 
practices) were discussed at length with the licensee and generic 
matters with Westinghouse and other OGs.
    The proposed changes from the existing TS can be grouped into four 
general categories. These groupings are characterized as relocated 
requirements, administrative changes, less restrictive changes 
involving deletion of requirements, and more restrictive changes; and 
are as follows:
    1. Relocated requirements are items which are in the existing Zion 
TS, but do not meet the criteria set forth in the Final Policy 
Statement. The Final Policy Statement establishes a specific set of 
objective criteria for determining which regulatory requirements and 
operating restrictions should be included in TS. Relocation of 
requirements to documents with an established control program allows 
the TS to be reserved only for those conditions or limitations upon 
reactor operation which are necessary to obviate the possibility of an 
abnormal situation or event giving rise to an immediate threat to the 
public health and safety, thereby focusing the scope of the TS. In 
general, the proposed relocation of items from the Zion TS to the 
Updated Final Safety Analysis Report (UFSAR), appropriate plant 
specific programs, procedures and ISTS Bases follows the guidance of 
NUREG-1431. Once these items have been relocated to other licensee 
controlled documents, the licensee may revise them under the provisions 
of 10 CFR 50.59 or other NRC staff approved control mechanisms which 
provide appropriate procedural means to control changes.
    2. Administrative changes involve the reformatting and rewording of 
requirements, consistent with the style of the Westinghouse STS in 
NUREG-1431, to make the TS more readily understandable to plant 
operators and other users. These changes are purely editorial in nature 
or involve the movement or reformatting of requirements without 
affecting technical content. Application of a standardized format and 
style will also help ensure consistency is achieved among 
specifications. During this reformatting and rewording process, no 
technical changes (either actual or interpretational) to the TS were 
made unless they were identified and justified.
    3. Less restrictive changes and the deletion of requirements 
involves portions of the existing specifications which provide 
information that is descriptive in nature regarding the equipment, 
systems, actions or surveillances, provide little or no safety benefit, 
and place an unnecessary burden on the licensee. This information is 
proposed to be deleted from the specifications and, in some instances, 
moved to the proposed Bases, Updated Final Safety Analysis Report 
(UFSAR), or procedures. The removal of descriptive information to the 
Bases of the TS, UFSAR or procedures is permissible, because the Bases, 
UFSAR or procedures will be controlled through a process which utilizes 
10 CFR 50.59. The relaxations of requirements were the result of 
generic NRC action or other analyses. They have been justified on a 
case-by-case basis for Zion Nuclear Power Station as described in the 
Safety Evaluation to be issued with the license amendments.
    4. More restrictive requirements are proposed to be implemented in 
some areas to impose more stringent requirements than presently exist. 
These more restrictive requirements are being imposed to be consistent 
with the Westinghouse STS. Such changes have been made after ensuring 
the previously evaluated safety analysis was not affected. Also, other 
more restrictive technical changes have been made to achieve 
consistency, correct discrepancies, and remove ambiguities from the 
specification. Examples of more restrictive requirements include: 
placing a Limiting Condition for Operation (LCO) on plant equipment 
which is not required by the present TS to be operable; more 
restrictive requirements to restore inoperable equipment; and more 
restrictive surveillance requirements.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The Commission has completed its evaluation of the proposed 
revision to the TS. Changes which are administrative in nature have 
been found to have no effect on the technical content of the TS and are 
acceptable. The increased clarity and understanding these changes bring 
to the TS are expected to improve the operators' control of the plant 
in normal and accident conditions.
    Relocation of requirements to other licensee controlled documents 
does not change the requirements themselves. Future changes to these 
requirements may be made by the licensee under 10 CFR 50.59 or other 
NRC approved control mechanisms, which ensures continued maintenance of 
adequate requirements. All such relocations have been found to be in 
conformance with the guidelines of NUREG-1431 and the Final Policy 
Statement, and are, therefore, acceptable.
    Changes involving more restrictive requirements have been found to 
enhance plant safety and to be acceptable.
    Changes involving less restrictive requirements have been reviewed 
individually. When requirements have been shown to provide little or no 
safety benefit or to place unnecessary burden on the licensee, their 
removal from the TS was justified. In most cases, relaxations 
previously granted to individual plants on a plant specific basis were 
the result of a generic action, or of agreements reached during 
discussions with the OG and found to be acceptable for Zion. Generic 
relaxations contained in NUREG-1431 have also been reviewed by the NRC 
staff and have been found to be acceptable.
    In summary, the proposed revisions to the TS were found to provide 
control of plant operations such that reasonable assurance will be 
provided that the health and safety of the public will be adequately 
protected. 

[[Page 6267]]

    These TS changes will not increase the probability or consequences 
of accidents, no changes are being made in the types of any effluent 
that may be released off site, and there is no significant increase in 
the allowable individual or cumulative occupational radiation exposure. 
Therefore, the Commission concludes that there are no significant 
radiological environmental impacts associated with the proposed TS 
amendments.
    With regard to potential nonradiological impacts, the proposed 
amendments involve features located entirely within the restricted area 
as defined in 10 CFR Part 20. They do not affect nonradiological plant 
effluents and have no other environmental impact. Therefore, the 
Commission concludes that there are no significant nonradiological 
impacts associated with the proposed amendments.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    Since the Commission has concluded there is no measurable 
environmental impact associated with the proposed amendments, any 
alternatives with equal or greater environmental impact need not be 
evaluated. The principal alternative to this action would be to deny 
the amendment request. Such action would not reduce the environmental 
impacts of plant operations.

Alternative Use of Resources

    This action does not involve the use of resources not previously 
considered in connection with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Final 
Environmental Statement dated December 1972, related to the operation 
of the Zion Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    In accordance with its stated policy, on January 5, 1996, the NRC 
staff consulted with the Illinois State Official, Mr. Frank Niziolek, 
Head, Reactor Safety Section, Division of Engineering, Illinois 
Department of Nuclear Safety; regarding the environmental impact of the 
proposed action. The State official had no comments.

Finding of No Significant Impact

    Based upon the foregoing environmental assessment, the Commission 
concludes that the proposed action will not have a significant effect 
on the quality of the human environment. Accordingly, the Commission 
has determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the 
proposed amendments.
    For further details with respect to this action, see the licensee's 
letter dated November 3, 1995, as supplemented on November 22, 1995, 
which are available for public inspection at the Commission's Public 
Document Room, The Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC, 
and at the local public document room located at the Waukegan Public 
Library, 128 N. County Street, Waukegan, Illinois 60085.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day of February 1996.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Clyde Y. Shiraki,
Project Manager, Project Directorate III-2, Division of Reactor 
Projects--III/IV, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 96-3550 Filed 2-15-96; 8:45 am]
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