[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 192 (Wednesday, October 3, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50458-50459]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-24705]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-325 and 50-324]


 Carolina Power & Light Company; Brunswick Steam Electric Plant, 
Units 1 and 2; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant 
Impact

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering 
issuance of an exemption from Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50, Appendix G, for Facility Operating 
License Nos. DPR-71 and DPR-62 issued to Carolina Power & Light Company 
(CP&L, the licensee), for operation of the Brunswick Steam Electric 
Plant, Units 1 and 2, located in Brunswick County, North Carolina. As 
required by 10 CFR 51.21, the NRC is

[[Page 50459]]

issuing this environmental assessment and finding of no significant 
impact.

Environmental Assessment

Identification of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action would allow CP&L to use American Society of 
Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Code Case N-640 as the basis for 
establishing the fracture toughness values used in pressure-temperature 
(P-T) limit calculations. Code Case N-640 permits application of the 
lower bound static initiation fracture toughness value equation 
(KIc equation) as the basis for establishing the P-T curves 
in lieu of using the lower bound crack arrest fracture toughness value 
equation (i.e., the KIa equation, the method invoked by 
Appendix G to Section XI of the ASME Code) as the basis for the curves.
    The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's 
application dated May 1, 2001, as supplemented by letter dated August 
20, 2001.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    10 CFR 50.60 requires that all light-water nuclear power reactors 
must meet the fracture toughness requirements of Appendix G of 10 CFR 
50. 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix G requires P-T limit curves to be at least 
as conservative as limits obtained by following the methods of analysis 
and the margins of safety of Appendix G of Section XI of the ASME Code. 
Requests for exemptions to the requirements of 10 CFR Part 50, 
Appendices G and H, may be submitted pursuant to 10 CFR 50.60(b), which 
allows licensees to use alternatives to the respective fracture 
toughness and reactor vessel material surveillance program requirements 
of the appendices, if an exemption to use the alternatives is granted 
by the Commission pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12. According to 10 CFR 
50.12(a)(1), the Commission may grant exemptions to the requirements of 
10 CFR Part 50 if the exemptions are authorized by law, and will not 
present an undue risk to the public health and safety, and are 
consistent with the common defense and security.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and 
concludes that the proposed action involves an administrative activity 
(a recalculation of a required table in technical specifications.)
    The proposed action will not significantly increase the probability 
or consequences of accidents, no changes are being made in the types of 
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 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 the Final Environmental Statement for 
the Brunswick Steam Electric Plant, dated January 1974.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    On August 27, 2001, the staff consulted with Mr. Johnny James of 
the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, 
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.
    For further details with respect to the proposed action, see the 
licensee's letter dated May 1, 2001, as supplemented by letter dated 
August 20, 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). If you do not 
have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the 
documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC PDR Reference staff at 1-
800-397-4209, or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail at [email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 27th day of September 2001.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Richard P. Correia,
Chief, Section 2, Project Directorate II, Division of Licensing Project 
Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 01-24705 Filed 10-2-01; 8:45 am]
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