[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 75 (Tuesday, April 18, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 20837]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-9625]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-344]


Portland General Electric, Trojan Nuclear Plant; Environmental 
Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is 
considering issuance of an amendment to Facility Operating License No. 
NPF-1 issued to Portland General Electric Company (PGE), the licensee, 
for the Trojan Nuclear Plant, a permanently shutdown nuclear reactor 
facility located in Prescott, Oregon.

Environmental Assessment

Identification of Proposed Action

    The proposed action would revise the Trojan Nuclear Plant (TNP) 
Permanently Defueled Technical Specifications (PDTS) by removing Figure 
4.1-1, ``Site and Exclusion Area Boundaries,'' from Section 4.0, 
``Design Features,'' and incorporate the applicable portion of this 
figure in the Trojan Nuclear Plant Defueled Safety Analysis Report 
(DSAR). The proposed action would also make other associated 
administrative changes resulting from the deletion of Figure 4.1-1, as 
well as an editorial change to the table of contents. The proposed 
action is in accordance with the licensee's application for amendment 
dated November 16, 1999.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    The licensee proposed to remove the Trojan site map from the PDTS 
and incorporate the applicable portion of this figure in the TNP DSAR 
as part of the NRC's technical specification (TS) improvement 
initiative which encourages licensees to request removal of 
inappropriate and/or unnecessary information from their TSs. This type 
of site-specific information is not required to be in TSs under 10 CFR 
50.36 requirements. Furthermore, this proposed change is consistent 
with NRC guidance in draft NUREG-1625, ``Proposed Standard Technical 
Specifications (TS) for Permanently Defueled Westinghouse Plants.'' In 
concert with Section 50.36 requirements, NUREG-1625 provides guidance 
in determining a minimum set of standard requirements for permanently 
shutdown reactor facilities. Additional editorial and administrative 
changes were also proposed for consistency with the change discussed 
above.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The Commission has completed its evaluation of the proposed 
amendment to the TNP TSs and concludes that issuance of the proposed 
amendment will not have an environmental impact. The proposed change in 
TS site-specific information is consistent with the regulations and 
regulatory guidance and is considered editorial and administrative in 
nature. The licensee does not propose any disposal or relocation of 
nuclear fuel or any changes to structures, systems, components, or site 
boundaries.
    The proposed action will not increase the probability or 
consequences of accidents, no changes are being made in the types of 
any effluents that may be released off site, and there is no 
significant increase in occupational or public radiation exposure. 
Therefore, there are no significant radiological environmental impacts 
associated with the proposed action.
    With regard to potential non-radiological impacts, the proposed 
action does not involve any historical sites. It does not affect non-
radiological plant effluents and has no other environmental impact. 
Therefore, there are no significant non-radiological environmental 
impacts associated with the proposed action.
    Accordingly, the Commission concludes that there are no significant 
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    As an alternative to the proposed action, the staff considered 
denial of the proposed action (i.e., the ``no-action'' alternative). 
Denial of the application 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 for the 
Trojan plant.

Agencies and Persons Contacted

    In accordance with its stated policy, on March 13, 2000, the staff 
consulted with the State of Oregon official, Mr. Adam Bless of the 
Oregon Office of Energy, regarding the environmental impact of the 
proposed action. The State official had no comments.

Finding of No Significant Impact

    On the basis of 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 November 16, 1999, which is available for 
public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, The Gelman 
Building, 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC. Publicly available 
records will be accessible electronically from the ADAMS Public Library 
component on the NRC Web site, http:\\www.nrc.gov (the Electronic 
Reading Room).

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 7th day of April 2000.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John B. Hickman,
Project Manager, Decommissioning Section, Project Directorate IV & 
Decommissioning, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 00-9625 Filed 4-17-00; 8:45 am]
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