[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 220 (Monday, November 16, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63755-63756]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-30561]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-458]


Entergy Operations, Incorporated, River Bend Station, Unit 1; 
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is 
considering issuance of an exemption from certain requirements of its 
regulations to Facility Operating License No. NPF-47, issued to Entergy 
Operations, Incorporated \1\ (the Licensee), the holder of Facility 
Operating License No. NPF-47, which authorizes operation of the River 
Bend Station, Unit 1 (RBS) (the facility) located approximately 2 miles 
east of the Mississippi River in West Feliciana, Parish, Louisiana, 
approximately 2.7 miles southeast of St. Francisville, Louisiana and 
approximately 18 miles northwest of the city limits of Baton Rouge, 
Louisiana.
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    \1\ Entergy Operations, Incorporated is authorized to act as 
agent for Entergy Gulf States, Inc. and has exclusive responsibility 
and control over the physical construction, operation and 
maintenance of the facility.
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Environmental Assessment

Identification of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's amended 
application for exemption dated May 15, 1997, as supplemented August 
12, 1998, which requests an exemption from the criticality accident 
monitoring requirements of 10 CFR 70.24(a) specifically for areas 
containing incore detectors (which are not in use) and unirradiated 
fuel while it is handled, used, or stored. 10 CFR 70.24 requires in 
each area in which special nuclear material is handled, used, or stored 
a monitoring system that will energize clear audible alarms if 
accidental criticality occurs. RBS does not currently maintain 
instrumentation which provides criticality accident monitoring; 
however, the licensee does maintain gamma-sensitive radiation detection 
instrumentation which will energize clearly audible alarm signals if 
accidental criticality occurs.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    The purpose of 10 CFR 70.24 is to ensure that if a criticality were 
to occur during the handling of special nuclear material, personnel 
would be alerted to that fact and would take appropriate action. At a 
commercial nuclear power plant, the inadvertent criticality with which 
10 CFR 70.24 is concerned could

[[Page 63756]]

occur during fuel handling operations. The special nuclear material 
that could be assembled into a critical mass at a commercial nuclear 
power plant is in the form of nuclear fuel; the quantity of other forms 
of special nuclear material that is stored onsite in any given location 
is small enough to preclude achieving a critical mass. Because the fuel 
is not enriched beyond 5.0 weight percent uranium-235, and because 
commercial nuclear plant licensees have procedures and features that 
are designed to prevent inadvertent criticality, the staff has 
determined that it is unlikely that an inadvertent criticality could 
occur due to the handling of special nuclear material at a commercial 
power reactor. Therefore, the requirements of 10 CFR 70.24 are not 
necessary to ensure the safety of personnel during the handling of 
special nuclear materials at commercial power reactors.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The Commission has completed its evaluation of the proposed action 
and concludes that inadvertent or accidental criticality will be 
precluded through compliance with the RBS TSs, the design of the fuel 
storage racks providing geometric spacing of fuel assemblies in their 
storage locations, and administrative controls imposed on fuel handling 
procedures.
    The proposed exemption would not result in an increase in the 
probability or consequences of accidents, affect radiological plant 
effluents, or result in a change in occupational or offsite dose. 
Therefore, there are no radiological impacts associated with the 
proposed exemption.
    The proposed exemption would not result in a change in 
nonradiological effluents and will have no other nonradiological 
environmental impact.
    Accordingly, the Commission concludes that there are no significant 
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    Since the Commission has concluded that there is no significant 
environmental impact associated with the proposed action, any 
alternatives with equal or greater environmental impact need not be 
evaluated. As an alternative to the proposed exemption, the staff 
considered denial of the requested exemption. Denial of the request 
would result in no change in current environmental impacts. The 
environmental impacts of the proposed action and the alternative action 
are similar.

Alternative Use of Resources

    This action does not involve the use of any resources not 
previously considered in the Final Environmental Statement related to 
the operation of RBS, NUREG-1073, dated January 1985.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    In accordance with its stated policy, on September 21, 1998, the 
staff consulted with the Louisiana State Official, Dr. Stan Shaw, of 
the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Radiation Protection 
Division, regarding the environmental impact of the proposed action. 
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 action.
    For further details with respect to the proposed action, see the 
licensee's letter dated August 12, 1998, which is available for public 
inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room located at the 
Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC, and at the local 
public document room located at the Government Documents Department, 
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 6th day of November 1998.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John N. Hannon,
Director, Project Directorate IV-1, Division of Reactor Projects III/
IV, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 98-30561 Filed 11-13-98; 8:45 am]
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