[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 184 (Friday, September 21, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48720-48721]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-23614]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-29]


Yankee Atomic Electric Company, Yankee Nuclear Power Station; 
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering 
issuance of an exemption from 10 CFR part 73.55(d)(5) for Facility 
Operating License No. DPR-3, issued to Yankee Atomic Electric Company 
(YAEC, or the licensee), for operation of the Yankee Nuclear Power 
Station (YNPS), located in Franklin County, Massachusetts. 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 proposed action would exempt the YNPS Independent Spent Fuel 
Storage Installation (ISFSI) from some requirements of 10 CFR 73.55, 
``Requirements for physical protection of licensed activities in 
nuclear power reactors against radiological sabotage.'' Specifically, 
YAEC would be granted an exemption from 10 CFR 73.55(d)(5) related to 
access requirements. The proposed action is in accordance with the 
licensee's application dated September 28, 2000, as supplemented by 
letters dated October 12, 2000, April 18, 2001, May 29, 2001, and June 
28, 2001.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    YNPS was shut down in October 1991. On February 27, 1992, the 
licensee informed the Commission that it had decided to permanently 
cease operations at YNPS and that all fuel had been permanently removed 
from the reactor. The NRC, in a license amendment dated August 5, 1992, 
modified License No. DPR-3 to a Possession Only License (POL). The 
license is conditioned so that YAEC is not authorized to operate the 
reactor and fuel may not be placed in the reactor vessel, thus 
formalizing the YAEC commitment to permanently cease power operations. 
The YNPS spent nuclear fuel is currently being stored in the spent fuel 
pool, which is protected by a physical protection system meeting the 
requirements of 10 CFR 73.55, with exemptions as previously issued by 
the NRC. To complete the plant site decommissioning process, the spent 
fuel will be removed from the spent fuel pool and transferred to an 
onsite ISFSI for interim storage. Under the provisions of 10 CFR Part 
72, Subpart K, General License for Storage of Spent Fuel at Power 
Reactor Sites, YAEC is required to meet the physical protection 
requirements of 10 CFR 73.55 for an ISFSI at a reactor site. YAEC 
proposed alternative approaches to meet the provisions of portions of 
10 CFR 73.55 related to the security organization, physical barriers, 
access requirements, detection aids, communications, and response 
requirements. However, the staff determined that, with regard to the 
requirements of 10 CFR 73.55(d)(5), the measures proposed by YAEC did 
not meet the criteria of 10 CFR 73.55(a) to be authorized as 
alternative measures. However, the staff also concluded that pursuant 
to 10 CFR 72.7 and 10 CFR 73.5, the proposed alternatives to the 
requirements of 10 CFR 73.55(d)(5) that YAEC requested could be granted 
as an exemption.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and 
concludes that granting an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 
73.55 would not have a significant impact on the environment.
    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 nonradiological impacts, the proposed 
action does not have a potential to affect any historic sites. It does 
not affect

[[Page 48721]]

nonradiological plant effluents and has no other environmental impact. 
Therefore, there are no significant nonradiological environmental 
impacts associated with the proposed action.
    Accordingly, the NRC 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 previous reviews for the Yankee Nuclear 
Power Station. The plant was licensed prior to the requirement for 
issuance of a Final Environmental Statement.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    On August 21, 2001, the staff consulted with the Massachusetts 
State official, Jim Muckerheide of the Massachusetts Emergency 
Management Agency, 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 NRC has determined 
not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the proposed 
action.
    Further details with respect to the proposed action may be found in 
the licensee's letter dated September 28, 2000, as supplemented by 
letters dated October 12, 2000, April 18, 2001, May 29, 2001, and June 
28, 2001. Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the 
NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), 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 
Public Electronic Reading Room). Persons who do not have access to 
ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in 
ADAMS should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by telephone at 1-800-
397-4209, or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail at [email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17th day of September 2001.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Stephen Dembek,
Chief, Section 2, Project Directorate IV, Division of Licensing Project 
Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 01-23614 Filed 9-20-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P