[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 9 (Monday, January 14, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1788-1789]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-848]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-289]


Amergen Energy Company, LLC; Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, 
Unit 1 Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering 
issuance of an exemption from the requirements of Title 10 of the Code 
of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), section 50.44; 10 CFR part 50, 
appendix A, General Design Criterion 41; and 10 CFR part 50, appendix 
E, section VI, for Facility Operating License No. DPR-50 issued to 
AmerGen Energy Company, LLC, (the licensee), for operation of the Three 
Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1 (TMI-1), located in Dauphin County, 
Pennsylvania. Therefore, as required by 10 CFR 51.21, the NRC is 
issuing this environmental assessment and finding of no significant 
impact.

[[Page 1789]]

Environmental Assessment

Identification of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action would exempt TMI-1 from certain requirements of 
10 CFR 50.44; 10 CFR part 50, appendix A, General Design Criterion 41; 
and part 10 CFR 50, appendix E, section VI, pertaining to the hydrogen 
control system requirements (i.e., containment post-accident hydrogen 
monitors, recombiners, and hydrogen purge system); and remove these 
requirements from the TMI-1 design basis. The licensee's request for an 
exemption from the functional requirement for hydrogen monitoring is 
not being approved. The NRC staff's position, with respect to each of 
the licensee's specific exemption requests, will be documented in the 
exemption. Consequently, this environmental assessment addresses only 
the exemption from the requirements related to the recombiners and the 
hydrogen purge system and the removal of these requirements from the 
TMI-1 design basis.
    The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's letter 
dated September 20, 2000, as supplemented by letters dated August 2 and 
September 28, 2001.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    The proposed exemption from the requirements pertaining to 
recombiners and the hydrogen purge system, and their associated removal 
from the design basis, would improve the safety focus at TMI-1 during 
an accident, and provide for a more effective and efficient method of 
maintaining adequate protection of public health and safety by 
simplifying the Emergency Plan and Emergency Plan Implementing 
Procedures. This would reduce the operators' post-accident burden and 
allow them to give higher priority to more important safety functions 
following postulated plant accidents.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and 
concludes, as set forth below, that there are no environmental impacts 
associated with the removal of the recombiners and hydrogen purge 
system from the TMI-1 design basis.
    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 involve 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.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    As an alternative to the proposed action, the NRC 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 resources not previously 
considered in the Final Environmental Statement for TMI-1, dated 
December 1972.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    On December 11, 2001, the staff consulted with the Pennsylvania 
State official, Mr. Michael Murphy of the Pennsylvania Bureau of 
Radiation Protection, 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 September 20, 2000, as supplemented by letters 
dated August 2 and September 28, 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 Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (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 8th day of January 2002.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Timothy G. Colburn,
Senior Project Manager, Section 1, Project Directorate l, Division of 
Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 02-848 Filed 1-11-02; 8:45 am]
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