[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 187 (Monday, September 28, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51626-51628]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-25832]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-369 and 50-370]


Duke Energy Corporation; McGuire 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-9 and NPF-17 issued to Duke Energy Corporation (DEC or the 
licensee) for operation of the McGuire Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2 
(McGuire), respectively, located at the licensee's site in Mecklenberg 
County, North Carolina.

Environmental Assessment

Identification of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action will replace the McGuire current Technical 
Specifications (CTS) to be consistent with the Improved Standard 
Technical Specifications (ITS) based on Revision 1 to NUREG-1431, 
``Standard Technical Specifications Westinghouse Plants BWR/4'' April 
1995, and the CTS for McGuire Units 1 and 2. The proposed action is in 
response to the licensee's application dated May 27, 1997, as 
supplemented on March 9, March 20, April 20, June 3, June 24, July 7, 
July 21, July 22, August 5, September 8, and September 15, 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 TSs (STS). For Westinghouse plants, the 
STS are published as NUREG-1431, and this document was the basis for 
the new McGuire 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.

[[Page 51627]]

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 TS can be grouped into four 
general categories, as follows:
    1. Administrative (nontechnical) 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 
McGuire 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 McGuire TSs. The TSs that are being relocated to licensee-
controlled documents are not required to be in the TSs under 10 CFR 
50.36, as the TSs do not meet any of the four criteria contained in 10 
CFR 50.36 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 McGuire TSs to the Updated Final Safety 
Analysis Report, 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 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 McGuire 
ITS items that are either more conservative than corresponding 
requirements in the existing McGuire TSs, or are additional 
restrictions that are not in the existing McGuire TSs but are contained 
in NUREG-1431. Examples of more restrictive requirements include: 
placing a limiting condition for operation on plant equipment that is 
not required by the present TSs 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 McGuire 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 
McGuire and will be described in the staff's Safety Evaluation to be 
issued with 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 25107, 63 FR 25108, 63 FR 27761, 63 FR 40554; 63 
FR 45524). Where these changes represent a change to the current 
licensing basis for McGuire, 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 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 administrative 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 McGuire. 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 
individual or cumulative occupational or public 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. The proposed action does not involve any 
historic sites. 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 significant 
environmental impact associated with the proposed amendments, any 
alternatives with equal or greater environmental impact need not be 
evaluated. The principal

[[Page 51628]]

alternative to this action would be to deny the request for the 
amendment (i.e., ``no action''). Such action would not reduce the 
environmental impacts of plant operations. The environmental impacts of 
the proposed action and the alternative action are similar.

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 McGuire Units 1 and 2.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    In accordance with its stated policy, on September 18, 1998, the 
staff consulted with the North Carolina State official, Mr. J. James, 
of the North Carolina Department of Environment, Commerce and Natural 
Resources, Division of Radiation Protection. 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, 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 May 27, 1997, as supplemented on March 9, March 20, April 
20, June 3, June 24, July 7, July 21, July 22, August 5, September 8, 
and September 15, 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 J. Murrey Atkins Library, University of North Carolina 
at Charlotte, 9201 University City Boulevard, Charlotte, North 
Carolina.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd day of September 1998.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Peter S. Tam,
Acting Director, Project Directorate II-2, Division of Reactor 
Projects--I/II, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 98-25832 Filed 9-25-98; 8:45 am]
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