[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 110 (Monday, June 9, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 31465]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-14966]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-344]


Portland General Electric Company, et al., Trojan Nuclear Plant; 
Environmental Assessment and Finding of no Significant Impact

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering 
issuance of a license amendment to Possession-Only License No. NPF-1, 
issued to Portland General Electric Company (PGE or the licensee), for 
the Trojan Nuclear Plant, a permanently shut down plant, located in 
Columbia County, Oregon, on the west bank of the Columbia River.

Environmental Assessment

Identification of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action would allow processing of fuel and debris in 
the Trojan Fuel Building as described in the licensee's October 23, 
1996, letter containing the license change request and safety analysis. 
The processing will volatilize and eliminate organic material 
(polypropylene filter media) which is currently commingled with fuel 
pellets, pellet fragments, and small metal particles. The consolidated 
fuel can then be stored in canisters without the potential for 
radiolytic decomposition of organic material and resultant generation 
of combustible gases. The licensee has proposed to process the fuel 
pellets and debris in order to make them suitable for future storage in 
an Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI).

The Need for the Proposed Action

    The licensee intends to dismantle and decommission the Trojan 
facility in accordance with the NRC approved Trojan Decommissioning 
Plan and subsequently terminate the Part 50 license. In order to 
accomplish this goal the licensee must first place all of the spent 
fuel and Greater Than Class C (GTCC) radioactive waste in an ISFSI. 
Some fuel pellets, partial fuel, organic filter media, and metal fines 
have been commingled as a result of vacuuming of the reactor vessel. 
The organic material must be eliminated from the mixture to make it 
suitable for storage in the ISFSI. The Trojan Nuclear Plant license 
must be amended to authorize this activity.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action does not involve any measurable environmental 
impacts, since the facility configuration or plant operations will not 
change. No changes will be made in the types or quantities of effluents 
that are authorized to be released offsite, and there would be no 
significant increase in the allowable individual or cumulative 
radiation exposure. The licensee's analysis indicates that any 
potential accidents would have consequences within the scope of those 
previously analyzed in the Shutdown Final Safety Analysis Report. The 
NRC staff, based on independent evaluation, agrees with the licensee 
analyses and concludes that the proposed activity is acceptable. 
Accordingly, the Commission concludes that this proposed action would 
result in no significant radiological environmental impact.
    With regard to potential non-radiological impacts, the proposed 
action does not affect non-radiological plant effluents and has no 
other environmental impact. Therefore, the Commission concludes that 
there are no significant non-radiological environmental impacts 
associated with the proposed action.

Alternative to the Proposed Action

    Since the Commission concluded that there are no significant 
environmental effects that would result from the proposed action, any 
alternative with equal or greater environmental impacts need not be 
evaluated.
    The principal alternative would be to deny the action. This would 
not reduce environmental impacts of plant decommissioning 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 the 
Trojan Nuclear Plant, dated August 1973.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    The NRC staff consulted with representatives of the State of Oregon 
Department of Energy regarding the environmental Impact of the proposed 
action. The State representatives had no comment.

Finding of No Significant Impact

    The Commission has determined not to prepare an environmental 
impact statement for the proposed license amendment.
    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.
    For further details with respect to this action, see the license 
change application dated October 23, 1996, and supplemental information 
in letters dated December 12, 1996, March 31, 1997, and April 9, 1997; 
which are 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 the Trojan Nuclear 
Plant at the Branford Price Millar Library, Portland State University, 
Portland, Oregon 97207.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day of June 1997.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Marvin M. Mendonca,
Acting Director, Non-Power Reactors and Decommissioning Project 
Directorate, Division of Operating Reactor Support, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 97-14966 Filed 6-6-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P