[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 21 (Thursday, January 31, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4763-4764]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-2375]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket NO. 50-346]


Firstenergy Nuclear Operating Company, Davis-Besse Nuclear Power 
Station, Unit 1; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant 
Impact

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering 
issuance of an amendment to an existing exemption from title 10 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) part 50, section III.G, appendix 
R, for Facility Operating License No. NPF-3, issued to FirstEnergy 
Nuclear Operating Company (the licensee), for operation of the Davis-
Besse Nuclear Power Station (DBNPS), Unit 1, located in Ottawa County, 
Ohio. 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 proposed action would amend an existing exemption concerning 
certain requirements of Section III.G of Appendix R, ``Fire Protection 
Program for Nuclear Power Facilities Operating Prior to January 1, 
1979.'' Specifically, this amendment to the existing exemption applies 
to requirements for the DBNPS Component Cooling Water (CCW) Heat 
Exchanger and Pump Room (Room 328).
    The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's 
application dated December 21, 2000.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    The proposed action is needed because an underlying basis for the 
existing exemption, namely, the use of fire protection wrap for certain 
equipment, is no longer necessary due to plant modifications. Section 
III.G of Appendix R requires, in part, 20 feet of separation between 
redundant trains of systems necessary for hot shutdown in the same fire 
area, with no intervening combustibles. Contrary to this requirement, 
all three CCW pumps for the DBNPS are located at one end of Room 328, 
and although the redundant CCW pumps are more than 20 feet apart, the 
third pump, a ``swing'' component, is located between the redundant 
pumps. The centerline of the swing pump is approximately 11 feet from 
the centerline of each of the other two pumps. Only one CCW pump is 
needed for safe shutdown. In order to maintain the remainder of the 
room in compliance with Appendix R requirements, certain electrical 
conduits and valves in Room 328 associated with the CCW system were, at 
the time of the request for the existing exemption, protected against 
fire to ensure that a fire would not lead to the inoperability of both 
CCW pumps. Since the issuance of the existing exemption, the necessity 
of protecting these conduits and valves from fire has evolved to the 
point where their fire protection wrapping is no longer required in 
order to ensure safe shutdown.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and 
concludes that the proposed exemption does not involve radioactive 
wastes, release of radioactive material into the atmosphere, solid 
radioactive waste, or liquid effluents released to the environment.
    The Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station systems were evaluated in the 
Final Environmental Statement (FES) dated October 1975 (NUREG 75/097). 
The proposed exemption will not involve any change in the waste 
treatment systems described in the FES.
    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 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.

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 DBNPS, dated October 1975.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    In accordance with its stated policy, on January 16, 2002, the NRC 
staff consulted with Ohio State official, C.

[[Page 4764]]

O'Claire, Chief, Radiological Branch, Ohio 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.
    For further details with respect to the proposed action, see the 
licensee's letter dated December 21, 2000. 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 25th day of January 2002.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Anthony J. Mendiola,
Chief, Section 2, Project Directorate III, Division of Licensing 
Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 02-2375 Filed 1-30-02; 8:45 am]
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