[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 156 (Monday, August 13, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42567-42568]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-20235]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-423]


Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc., et al.; Millstone Nuclear 
Power Station, Unit No. 3 Environmental Assessment and Finding of No 
Significant Impact

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering 
issuance of an exemption from certain requirements of Appendix G to 
Part 50 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR part 50) 
for Facility Operating License No. NPF-49, issued to Dominion Nuclear 
Connecticut, Inc. (the licensee), for operation of the Millstone 
Nuclear Power Station, Unit No. 3 (MP3), located in Waterford, 
Connecticut. Therefore, as required by 10 CFR 50.21, the NRC is issuing 
this environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact.

Environmental Assessment

Identification of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action would exempt the licensee from certain 
requirements of Appendix G to 10 CFR part 50 to allow the application 
of the methodology approved for determining the pressure-temperature 
(P-T) limit curves in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers 
Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (ASME Code), Section XI, Code Case N-
640 entitled, ``Alternate Reference Fracture Toughness for Development 
of P-T Curves for ASME Section XI, Division I.''
    The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's 
application for an exemption dated April 23, 2001, as supplemented by 
letter dated June 25, 2001.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    The proposed action would modify the currently approved methodology 
for P-T limit calculations to incorporate the methodology approved for 
use in Code Case N-640. Code Case N-640 allows the use of the 
KIC fracture toughness curve instead of the KIA 
fracture toughness curve, as required by Appendix G to Section XI, for 
determining P-T limits for reactor pressure vessel (RPV) materials. The 
exemption is needed because Code Case N-640 uses this modification in 
the approved methodology in Appendix G of Section XI in determining P-T 
limits. The proposed action also supports the licensee's application 
for a license amendment, dated April 23, 2001, to revise the Technical 
Specifications (TSs) P-T limits.
    The staff has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii), 
the underlying purpose of the regulation to protect the integrity of 
the reactor coolant pressure boundary will continue to be served by the 
implementation of the code case.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and 
concludes that the exemption and implementation of the proposed 
alternative described above would provide an adequate margin of safety 
against brittle failure of the RPV at MP3.
    The proposed action will not significantly 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 have a potential to affect any historic 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 NRC 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

    The action does not involve the use of any different resources than 
those previously considered in the Final Environmental Statement for 
MP3, dated December 1984.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    In accordance with its stated policy, on June 20, 2001, the staff 
consulted with the Connecticut State official, Michael Firsick of the 
Department of Environmental Protection, regarding the environmental 
impact of the proposed action. The State official had no comments.

[[Page 42568]]

Finding of No Significant Impact

    On the basis of the environmental assessment, the NRC concludes 
that the proposed action will not have a significant effect on the 
quality of the human environment. Accordingly, the NRC 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 April 23, 2001, as supplemented by letter dated 
June 25, 2001. Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at 
the NRC's Public Document Room, located at One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. 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). 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, or 301-
415-4737, or by e-mail at [email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day of August 2001.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Victor Nerses, Sr.,
Project Manager, Section 2, Project Directorate I, Division of 
Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 01-20235 Filed 8-10-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P