[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 169 (Thursday, August 30, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45876-45877]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-21936]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-237]


Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Dresden Nuclear Power Station, 
Unit 2; 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 10 CFR 
50.55a(g)(6)(ii)(B), ``Expedited Examination of Containment,'' for 
Facility Operating License No. DPR-19, issued to Exelon Generation 
Company, LLC (Exelon, or the licensee) for operation of the Dresden 
Nuclear Power Station, Unit 2, located in Grundy County, Illinois. 
Therefore, as required by 10 CFR 51.21, the NRC is issuing this 
environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact.

Environmental Assessment

Identification of the Proposed Action

    The licensee has requested a schedular exemption for Dresden 
Nuclear Power Station (DNPS), Unit 2, for implementation of inservice 
examinations of the containment prior to September 9, 2001, as required 
by 10 CFR 50.55a(g)(6)(ii)(B), ``Expedited Examination of 
Containment.'' This schedular exemption is requested to extend the 
implementation date by a maximum of 90 days to allow completion of 
first period examinations during the next refueling outage for Unit 2, 
D2R17, currently scheduled to begin in October 2001.
    The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's 
application dated December 8, 2000, as supplemented by letter dated 
February 2, 2001.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    The proposed schedular exemption is needed to prevent a forced 
shutdown of Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Unit 2. 10 CFR 
50.55a(g)(6)(ii)(B) requires that licensees of all operating nuclear 
power plants shall implement the inservice examinations for the first 
period of the first inspection interval specified in ASME Subsection 
IWE of the 1992 Edition with the 1992 Addenda in conjunction with the 
modifications specified in 10 CFR 50.55a(b)(2)(ix) by September 9, 
2001. The last opportunity to complete the first period containment 
examinations was during the last refueling outage, D2R16, completed on 
October 27, 1999. During that outage, the licensee made good faith 
efforts to complete the necessary inservice examinations. However, the 
licensee has subsequently determined that a number of examinations must 
be re-performed. Without the requested schedular exemption, the 
licensee would be forced to shut down the facility in order to complete 
the inservice examinations required by regulation.
    Areas accessible for inspection during normal operation will be 
completed by September 9, 2001. However, the next available opportunity 
to perform all the remaining containment examinations is the next 
refueling outage, which is scheduled to begin in October 2001. Previous 
Unit 2 containment inspections have not identified any areas of 
containment degradation that could impact the structural integrity of 
containment. A general visual examination of accessible surface areas 
was performed during the D2R16 refueling outage. The general visual 
examination was preformed in accordance with the ASME B&PV Code Section 
XI, 1992 Edition with 1992 Addenda and included accessible surface 
areas of the containment structure and containment penetrations. The 
requested 90-day extension is of relatively short duration that would 
not permit a significant increase in any degradation that has developed 
since the previous general visual examination performed during D2R16.
    If a separate outage were required to perform containment 
inspections in accordance with the current inspection implementation 
date, DNPS, Unit 2, would be subject to undue hardships or other costs 
that result from lost generation. Therefore, an extension of the 
September 9, 2001, implementation date is requested.
    10 CFR 50.12 permits the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to grant 
exemptions which are authorized by law, will not present undue risk to 
the health and safety of the public, and are consistent with the common 
defense and security, provided that special circumstances are present. 
Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.12 (a)(2), the Commission believes that special 
circumstances exist in that the requested schedular extension is 
required to prevent the forced shutdown of DNPS, Unit 2. Preparations 
for a refueling outage are proceeding based on a scheduled shutdown in 
October 2001. A separate outage would present undue hardship and costs 
due to lost generation and increased radiological exposure to DNPS 
personnel. The requested exemption will only provide temporary relief 
from the applicable regulation and does not jeopardize the health and 
safety of the public.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The Commission has completed its evaluation of the proposed action 
and concludes that there are no significant adverse environmental 
impacts associated with the proposed action.
    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 offsite, 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 environmental impacts, 
the proposed action does not involve any historic sites. It does not 
affect non-radiological plant effluents and has no other environmental 
impact. Therefore, there are no significant non-radiological impacts 
associated with the proposed action.
    Accordingly, the Commission concludes that there are no significant 
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.

Environmental Impacts of the 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 resource than 
those previously considered in the Final Environmental Statement for 
the Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Units 2 and 3, dated November 1973.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    On July 24, 2001, the staff consulted with the Illinois State 
official, Frank Niziolek, of the Illinois Department of

[[Page 45877]]

Nuclear Safety, 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 NRC 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 December 8, 2000, as supplemented by letter 
dated February 2, 2001. Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a 
fee, a the NRC's Public Document Room, located at One White Flint 
North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. 
Publically available records will be accessible electronically from the 
ADAMS Public Library component on the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov 
(the Public 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 22nd day of August 2001.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
S. Singh Bajwa,
Project Director, Project Directorate III, Division of Licensing 
Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 01-21936 Filed 8-29-01; 8:45 am]
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