[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 177 (Monday, September 14, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49139-49140]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-24566]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-413 and 50-414]


Duke Energy Corporation, et al.; Catawba Nuclear Station, Units 1 
and 2; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is 
considering issuance of amendments to Facility Operating License Nos. 
NPF-35 and NPF-52, issued to Duke Energy Corporation, et al. (the 
licensee), for operation of the Catawba Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2, 
located in York County, South Carolina.

Environmental Assessment

Identification of Proposed Action

    The proposed action would amend the Catawba Facility Operating 
Licenses (FOLs) for Units 1 and 2 and to revise the Catawba Technical 
Specifications (TSs) to be consistent with the Improved Standard 
Technical Specifications (ITS) conveyed by NUREG-1431 (April 1995).
    The proposed action is in response to the licensee's application 
dated May 27, 1997, which was supplemented by letters dated March 9, 
March 20, April 20, June 3, June 24, July 7, July 21, and August 5, 
1998.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    It has been recognized that nuclear safety in all plants would 
benefit from improvement and standardization of the TSs. 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 TSs, 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 Catawba Unit 1 and Unit 2 TSs. The NRC Committee to Review Generic 
Requirements 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 TSs 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 TSs. 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 TSs 
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 TSs can be grouped into four 
general categories, as follows:
    1. Nontechnical (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 
Catawba TSs 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 Catawba TSs. The TSs that are being relocated to licensee-
controlled documents are not required to be in the TSs 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 TSs. They are not needed to 
obviate the possibility that an abnormal situation or event will give 
rise to an immediate threat to 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 Catawba TSs to the Updated Final Safety 
Analysis Report, appropriate plant-specific programs, procedures, and 
ITS Bases follows the guidance of NUREG-1431. Once these items have 
been relocated by removing them from the TSs 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 Catawba 
ITS items that are either more conservative than corresponding 
requirements in the current Catawba TSs, or are additional restrictions 
that are not in the existing Catawba TSs but are contained in

[[Page 49140]]

NUREG-1431. Examples of more restrictive requirements include: placing 
a limiting condition for operation 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 Catawba TSs 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 
Catawba and will be described in the staff's Safety Evaluation to be 
issued in support of the license amendments.
    In addition to the changes previously described, the licensee 
proposed certain changes to the existing TSs that deviated from the STS 
in NUREG-1431. These additional proposed changes are described in the 
licensee's application and in the staff's Notices of Consideration of 
Issuance of Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses and Opportunity 
for a Hearing (63 FR 25106, 63 FR 27760, 63 FR 40553). Where these 
changes represent a change to the current licensing basis for Catawba, 
they have been justified on a case-by-case basis and will be described 
in the staff's Safety Evaluation to be issued in support of the license 
amendments.

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 adminstrative in nature have been found to have no 
effect on the technical content of the TSs, and are acceptable. The 
increased clarity and understanding these changes bring to the TSs 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 TSs 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 Catawba. 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 TSs 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 effluents 
that may be released offsite, and there is no significant increase in 
the allowable individual or cumulative occupational radiation exposure.
    Accordingly, 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 amendments. 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 Catawba Nuclear Station, Unit 1 and Unit 2.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    In accordance with its stated policy, on August 25,1998, the staff 
consulted with the South Carolina State official, Mr. Virgil Autry, 
Director, Division of Radioactive Waste Management. The State official 
had no comments.

Finding 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, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.31 
and 51.32, 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 May 27, 1997, which was supplemented by letters dated 
March 9, March 20, April 20, June 3, June 24, July 7, July 21, and 
August 5, 1998, 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 York County Library, 138 East Black Street, Rock Hill, South 
Carolina.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day of September 1998.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Peter S. Tam,
Senior Project Manager, Project Directorate II-2, Division of Reactor 
Projects--I/II, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 98-24566 Filed 9-11-98; 8:45 am]
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