[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 129 (Thursday, July 5, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35468-35469]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-16775]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket 72-40]


Duke Energy Corporation, Oconee Nuclear Site; Issuance of 
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) is 
considering issuance of an exemption, pursuant to 10 CFR 72.7, from the 
provisions of 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2) and 72.214 to Duke Energy Corporation 
(Duke). The requested exemption would allow Duke to store Babcock and 
Wilcox (B&W) 15x15 spent nuclear fuel assemblies with a nominal width 
of 8.536 inches in the NUHOMS-24P storage system at the 
Oconee Nuclear Site Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation 
(ISFSI).

Environmental Assessment (EA)

    Identification of Proposed Action: By letter dated June 8, 2001, 
Duke requested an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 
72.212(a)(2) and 72.214 to permit storage of B&W 15x15 spent nuclear 
fuel assemblies with a nominal width of 8.536 inches in the 
NUHOMS-24P storage system at the Oconee Nuclear Site ISFSI. 
Duke is a general licensee, authorized by NRC to use spent fuel storage 
casks approved under 10 CFR Part 72, Subpart K. Furthermore, Duke is 
currently using the NUHOMS-24P storage system design approved 
by NRC under Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1004 to store spent 
fuel at the ISFSI.
    By exempting Duke from both 10 CFR 72.214 and 72.212(a)(2), Duke 
will be authorized to use its general license to store B&W 15x15 spent 
nuclear fuel assemblies with nominal widths of 8.536 inches in casks 
approved under Part 72, as exempted. The proposed action before the 
Commission is whether to grant these exemptions under 10 CFR 72.7.
    The ISFSI is located 30 miles west of Greenville, South Carolina, 
on the Oconee Nuclear Power Plant site. The Oconee Nuclear Site ISFSI 
is an existing facility constructed for interim dry storage of spent 
nuclear fuel.
    On June 8, 2001, Transnuclear West Inc. (TN West), the certificate 
holder, submitted a revised amendment request for CoC No. 1004 to 
correct the fuel specification tables; Tables 1-1a and 1-1b of the 
Technical Specifications (TS) for the Standardized NUHOMS 
storage system. The NRC staff will address the proposed changes to the 
CoC in conjunction with its ongoing review of the amendment request 
previously submitted by TN West on February 23, 2001. However, the 
staff's review and final action on that pending amendment request will 
not be completed on a schedule consistent with Duke's stated need for 
the Oconee Nuclear Site; thus Duke has requested that an exemption be 
granted by July 9, 2001.
    The proposed change would revise Amendment 2 to CoC No. 1004, which 
became effective on September 5, 2000. Amendment 2 changed the title of 
one of the parameters in the fuel specification table, (Table 1-1a of 
the Technical Specifications), from ``Nominal Cross-Sectional 
Envelope'' to ``Maximum Assembly Width (unirradiated).'' The staff has 
reviewed the technical and safety bases supporting the approval of 
Amendment 2 and has determined that the maximum fuel assembly widths 
are not critical values affecting the basis for the safety analysis. 
The original certificate and Amendment 1 to CoC No. 1004 approved by 
the NRC both specified the ``nominal'' fuel assembly width in the fuel 
specification table, and the design of the B&W 15x15 fuel has not been 
altered with respect to that dimension. Amendment 2 approved the 
storage of higher burnup fuel and burnable poison rod assemblies in the 
NUHOMS-24P system, and the fuel specification tables were 
revised to reflect those changes; however, those changes did not 
involve any change to the ``nominal'' fuel assembly width previously 
accepted by the staff. The NRC staff has reviewed the exemption request 
and has determined that storing B&W 15x15 spent fuel assemblies with a 
nominal width of 8.536 inches in the NUHOMS-24P storage 
system at the Oconee ISFSI is consistent with the design basis and 
would not be inimical to public health and safety.
    Need for the Proposed Action: Duke has an imminent need to reduce 
the inventory of spent nuclear fuel assemblies in the spent fuel pool 
at the Oconee Nuclear Site prior to upcoming refueling activities that 
require empty fuel pool storage locations. Furthermore, Duke must load 
additional B&W 15x15 spent fuel assemblies in the Oconee ISFSI to 
accommodate those planned and potential refueling activities scheduled 
for late 2001 that require empty spent fuel pool storage locations 
Because the 10 CFR Part 72 rulemaking to amend the CoC will not be 
completed prior to the date that Duke needs to begin loading the 
NUHOMS-24P with additional B&W 15x15 spent fuel assemblies, 
the NRC is granting this exemption based on the staff's review of 
information submitted by Duke and TN West.

[[Page 35469]]

    Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action: The potential 
environmental impact of using the NUHOMS-24P storage system 
was initially presented in the Environmental Assessment (EA) for the 
Final Rule to add the NUHOMS-24P to the list of approved 
spent fuel storage casks in 10 CFR 72.214 (59 FR 65898 (1994)). 
Furthermore, each general licensee must assess the environmental 
impacts of the specific ISFSI in accordance with the requirements of 10 
CFR 72.212(b)(2). This section also requires the general licensee to 
perform written evaluations to demonstrate compliance with the 
environmental requirements of 10 CFR 72.104, ``Criteria for radioactive 
materials in effluents and direct radiation from an ISFSI or MRS 
[Monitored Retrievable Storage Installation].''
    The NUHOMS-24P storage system is designed to mitigate the 
effects of design basis accidents that could occur during storage. 
Design basis accidents account for human-induced events and the most 
severe natural phenomena reported for the site and surrounding area. 
Postulated accidents analyzed for an ISFSI include tornado winds and 
tornado generated missiles, design basis earthquake, design basis 
flood, accidental cask drop, lightning effects, fire, explosions, and 
other incidents.
    Special cask design features of the NUHOMS-24P storage 
system include a horizontal canister system composed of a steel dry 
shielded canister (DSC), a reinforced concrete horizontal storage 
module (HSM) and a transfer cask (TC). The welded DSC provides 
confinement and criticality control for the storage and transfer of 
spent nuclear fuel. The concrete module provides radiation shielding 
and allows cooling of the DSC and fuel by natural convection during 
storage. The TC is used for transferring the DSC between the spent fuel 
pool building and the HSM.
    Considering the specific design requirements for each accident 
condition, the design of the cask would prevent loss of containment, 
shielding, and criticality control. Without the loss of either 
containment, shielding, or criticality control, the risk to public 
health and safety is not compromised.
    The staff performed a review of the proposed exemption request and 
found that the loading of B&W 15x15 spent fuel assemblies with a 
nominal width as previously specified in the TS does not reduce the 
safety margin. In addition, the staff has determined that the storage 
of B&W 15x15 spent fuel assemblies in the NUHOMS-24P storage 
system as requested does not pose any increased risk to public health 
and safety. Furthermore, the proposed action now under consideration 
would not change the potential environmental effects assessed in the 
initial rulemaking (59 FR 65898 (1994)).
    Therefore, the staff has determined that there is no reduction in 
the safety margin nor significant environmental impact as a result of 
storing B&W 15x15 spent fuel assemblies with a nominal width of 8.536 
inches in the NUHOMS-24P storage system at the Oconee 
Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation.
    Alternative to the Proposed Action: The staff evaluated other 
alternatives to the transfer of additional B&W 15x15 spent fuel 
assemblies from the spent fuel pool to the ISFSI and found that these 
alternatives produced a greater occupational exposure, increased 
handling and storage costs, and an increased environmental impact as a 
result of generating additional low-level radioactive waste. The 
alternative to the proposed action would be to deny approval of the 
exemption and, therefore, require Duke to conduct refueling activities 
and subsequent plant operations with limited space available in the 
spent fuel pool. This lack of space would limit Duke's ability to 
implement contingency actions, if needed, such as fuel inspection, 
movement of refueling equipment and full core offload (the temporary 
removal of all fuel assemblies from the reactor vessel).
    Agencies and Persons Consulted: On June 21, 2001, Mr. Henry Porter, 
Assistant Director of the Division of Waste Management, South Carolina 
Department of Health and Environmental Control, was contacted about the 
EA for the proposed action and had no concerns.

Finding of No Significant Impact

    The environmental impacts of the proposed action have been reviewed 
in accordance with the requirements set forth in 10 CFR Part 51. Based 
upon the foregoing EA, the Commission finds that the proposed action of 
granting an exemption from 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2) and 72.214 so that Duke 
may store B&W 15x15 spent nuclear fuel in the NUHOMS-24P 
storage system at the Oconee ISFSI will not significantly impact the 
quality of the human environment. Accordingly, the Commission has 
determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the 
proposed exemption.
    For further details with respect to this exemption request, see the 
Duke exemption request dated June 8, 2001, which is docketed under 10 
CFR part 72, Docket No. 72-40.
    The NRC maintains an Agencywide Documents Access and Management 
System (ADAMS), which provides text and image files of NRC's public 
documents. These documents may be accessed through the NRC's Public 
Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/ADAMS/index.html. If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are 
problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC 
Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-
4737 or by email to [email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 29th day of June 2001.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
E. William Brach,
Director, Spent Fuel Project Office, Office of Nuclear Material Safety 
and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 01-16775 Filed 7-3-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P