[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 186 (Thursday, September 25, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50409-50411]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-25630]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-261]


Carolina Power & Light Company; H.B. Robinson Steam Electric 
Plant, Unit No. 2 Environmental Assessment and Finding of No 
Significant Impact

1.0  Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is 
considering issuance of an amendment to Facility Operating License No. 
DPR-23 issued to the Carolina Power & Light Company (CP&L or the 
licensee) for operation of the H.B. Robinson Steam Electric Plant, Unit 
No. 2 (Robinson) located at the licensee's site in Darlington County, 
South Carolina.

Environmental Assessment

Identification of the Proposed Action

    This Environmental Assessment has been prepared to address 
potential environmental issues related to the licensee's application 
dated August 27, 1996, as supplemented by letters dated January 17, 
February 18, March 27, April 4, April 25, April 29, May 30, June 2, 
June 13, June 18, August 4, August 8, and September 10, 1997. The 
proposed amendment will replace the current Robinson Technical 
Specifications (CTS) in their entirety with Improved Technical 
Specifications (ITS) based on Revison 1 to NUREG-1431, ``Standard 
Technical Specifications Westinghouse Plants'' dated April 1995, and 
the CTS for Robinson.
    In the application of August 27, 1996, the licensee also requested 
an amendment to the Appendix B TS to relocate certain radiological and 
environmental reporting requirements to a licensee-controlled document. 
Appendix B TS contain environmental reporting requirements which were 
relocated to Appendix B as an interim action in 1976 pending reissuance 
of comprehensive Appendix B Environmental TS. These requirements are 
comparable to portions of other Radiological Environmental Monitoring 
TS that are also being separately relocated because they do not relate 
to mitigating a design basis accident or transient.

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 Commission's 
``NRC Interim Policy Statement on Technical Specification Improvements 
for Nuclear Power Reactors,'' (52 FR 3788, February 6, 1987), and later 
the Commission's ``Final Policy Statement on Technical Specification 
Improvements for Nuclear Power Reactors,'' 58 FR 39132 (July 22, 1993), 
formalized this need. To facilitate the development of individual 
improved TS, each reactor vendor owners group (OG) and the NRC staff 
developed standard TS (STS). For Westinghouse plants, the STS are 
published as NUREG-1431, and this document was the basis for the new 
Robinson TS. The NRC Committee to Review Generic Requirements (CRGR) 
reviewed the STS and made note of the safety merits of the STS and 
indicated its support of conversion to the STS by operating plants.

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 ITS. Plant-specific issues (unique 
design features, requirements, and operating practices) were discussed 
at length with the licensee, and generic matters with the OG.
    The proposed changes from the existing TS can be grouped into four 
general categories, as follows:
    1. Non-technical (administrative) changes, which were intended to 
make the ITS easier to use for plant operations personnel. They are 
purely editorial in nature or involve the movement or reformatting of 
requirements without affecting technical content. Every section of the 
Robinson TS has undergone these types of changes. In order to ensure 
consistency, the NRC staff and the licensee have used NUREG-1431 as 
guidance to reformat and make other administrative changes.
    2. Relocation of requirements, which includes items that were in 
the existing

[[Page 50410]]

Robinson TS. The TS that are being relocated to licensee-controlled 
documents are not required to be in the TS under 10 CFR 50.36 and do 
not meet any of the four criteria in the Commission's Final Policy 
Statement for inclusion in the TS. They are not needed to obviate the 
possibility that an abnormal situation or event will give rise to an 
immediate threat to the public health and safety. The NRC staff has 
concluded that appropriate controls have been established for all of 
the current specifications, information, and requirements that are 
being moved to licensee-controlled documents. In general, the proposed 
relocation of items in the Robinson TS to the Final Safety Analysis 
Report (FSAR), appropriate plant-specific programs, procedures and ITS 
Bases follows the guidance of the Westinghouse STS (NUREG-1431). Once 
these items have been relocated by removing them from the TS to 
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.
    3. More restrictive requirements, which consist of proposed 
Robinson ITS items that are either more conservative than corresponding 
requirements in the existing Robinson TS, or are additional 
restrictions that are not in the existing Robinson TS but are contained 
in NUREG-1431. Examples of more restrictive requirements include: 
placing a Limiting Condition of Operation (LCO) on plant equipment that 
is not required by the present TS to be operable; more restrictive 
requirements to restore inoperable equipment; and more restrictive 
surveillance requirements.
    4. Less restrictive requirements, which are relaxations of 
corresponding requirements in the existing Robinson TS that provide 
little or no safety benefit and place unnecessary burdens on the 
licensee. These relaxations were the result of generic NRC actions or 
other analyses. They have been justified on a case-by-case basis for 
Robinson as will be described in the staff's Safety Evaluation to be 
issued with the license amendment, which will be noticed in the Federal 
Register.
    In addition to the changes described above, the licensee proposed 
certain changes to the existing TS that deviated from the STS in NUREG-
1431. These additional proposed changes are described in the licensee's 
application and in the staff's Notice of Consideration of Issuance of 
Amendment to Facility Operating License and Opportunity for a Hearing 
(61 FR 55830). Where these changes represent a change to the current 
licensing basis for Robinson, they have been justified on a case-by-
case basis and will be described in the staff's Safety Evaluation to be 
issued with the license amendment.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The Commission has completed its evaluation of the proposed action 
and concludes that the proposed TS conversion would not increase the 
probability or consequences of accidents previously analyzed and would 
not affect facility radiation levels or facility radiological 
effluents.
    Changes that 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 operator's control of the plant in normal and 
accident conditions.
    Relocation of requirements to 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, therefore, are acceptable.
    Changes involving more restrictive requirements have been found to 
be acceptable and are likely to enhance the safety of plant operations.
    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 burdens 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 NRC action, or of agreements reached during 
discussions with the OG and found to be acceptable for Robinson. 
Generic relaxations contained in NUREG-1431 as well as proposed 
deviations from NUREG-1431 have also been reviewed by the NRC staff and 
have been found to be acceptable.
    In summary, the proposed revision to the TS was found to provide 
control of plant operations such that reasonable assurance will be 
provided so that the health and safety of the public will be adequately 
protected.
    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 offsite, and there is no significant increase in 
the allowable individual or cumulative occupational radiation exposure. 
The revisions to the Appendix B TS relocate reporting requirements on 
radioactive effluent releases, solid waste shipments and results of the 
environmental monitoring programs. The relocation of the reporting 
requirements to a licensee-controlled document is comparable to 
portions of other radiological environmental monitoring TS which are 
also being separately relocated. Programmatic aspects of these 
specifications are retained in the ITS Administrative Controls. The 
relocation of the reporting requirements will not change or affect the 
possible releases or monitoring programs. Therefore, the Commission 
concludes that there are no significant radiological environmental 
impacts associated with the proposed action.
    With regard to potential nonradiological impacts, the proposed 
action involves features located entirely within the restricted area as 
defined in 10 CFR Part 20. It does not affect nonradiological plant 
effluents and has no other environmental impact. Accordingly, the 
Commission concludes that there are no significant nonradiological 
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.

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 request for the amendment. Such action would not reduce the 
environmental impacts of plant operations.

Alternative Use of Resources

    This action did not involve the use of any resources not previously 
considered in the Final Environmental Statement related to the 
operation of the Robinson Electric Generating Plant.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    In accordance with its stated policy, on September 11, 1997, the 
staff consulted with the South Carolina State official, Max Batavia, 
Chief, South Carolina Department of Health, Bureau of Radiological 
Health and Environmental Control. The State official had no comments.

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Findings of No Significant Impact

    Based upon the 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 amendment.
    For further details with respect to this action, see the licensee's 
letter dated August 27, 1996, and supplemental letters dated January 
17, February 18, March 27, April 4, April 25, April 29, May 30, June 2, 
June 13, June 18, August 4, August 8, and September 10, 1997, 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 Hartsville Memorial 
Library, 147 West College, Hartsville, South Carolina 29550.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 22nd day of September, 1997.

    For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Gordon E. Edison,
Acting Director, Project Directorate II-I, Division of Reactor 
Projects-I/II, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 97-25630 Filed 9-24-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P