[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 51 (Friday, March 15, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11721-11722]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-6229]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-260 and 50-296]


Tennessee Valley Authority; Browns Ferry Plant, Units 2 and 3; 
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-52 and DPR-68, issued to Tennessee Valley Authority 
(TVA, the licensee), for operation of the Browns Ferry Plant, located 
in Limestone county Alabama. 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 allow TVA to apply the methodologies of 
the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Code Case N-640, 
``Alternative Requirement Fracture Toughness for Development of P-T 
[Pressure-Temperature] Limit Curves for ASME B&PV [Boiler and Pressure 
Vessel] Code, Section XI, Division 1,'' for the Browns Ferry Plant 
reactor vessel circumferential welds.
    The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's 
application dated August 17, 2001, as supplemented by letters dated 
December 14, 2001, and February 6, 2002.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    Appendix G of 10 CFR part 50, requires that P-T limits be 
established for reactor pressure vessels during normal operating and 
hydrostatic pressure or leak-testing conditions. Specifically, 10 CFR 
part 50, Appendix G, states that ``The appropriate requirements on both 
the pressure-temperature limits and the minimum permissible temperature 
must be met for all conditions.'' Appendix G further specifies that the 
requirements for these limits are the ASME Code, Section XI, Appendix 
G, limits.
    To address the provisions of amendments to the Technical 
Specifications P-T limits, the licensee requested in its submittals 
that the staff exempt Browns Ferry Units 2 and 3 from the application 
of the specific requirements of 10 CFR part 50, Appendix G, and permit 
the use of ASME Code Case N-640. Code Case N-640 permits the use of an 
alternate reference fracture toughness for reactor vessel materials in 
determining P-T limits.
    Application of the methodology specified in Appendix G to Section 
XI of the ASME Code for the development of facility P-T limits may not 
be necessary to meet the underlying purpose of the regulations, which 
is to protect the reactor coolant pressure boundary from brittle 
fracture. To satisfy this purpose, the staff had previously required 
the use of the conservative assumptions in Appendix G to 10 CFR part 
50, because the conservatism was initially necessary due to the limited 
knowledge of the fracture toughness of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) 
materials at that time. Since 1974, additional knowledge has been 
gained about RPV materials which demonstrates that the lower bound on 
fracture toughness resulting from the application of this ASME Code 
Case would greatly exceed the margin of safety required to protect the 
public and safety from potential RPV failures. Exemptions to employ an 
alternative to the methodology specified in Appendix G to Section XI of 
the ASME Code which result in the development of less conservative P-T 
limits may be granted by the NRC staff. The use of ASME Code Case N-640 
represents one of these alternatives.
    Licensees may request the use of alternative methodologies which 
continue to meet the underlying intent of the regulations for many 
reasons. Regarding Browns Ferry Plant, application of the specific 
requirements of Appendix G to Section XI of the ASME Code would result 
in the need for the licensee to maintain an unnecessarily high vessel 
temperature during pressure testing which would have an adverse impact 
on personnel safety because of the corresponding higher temperatures 
which would exist inside containment as leakage

[[Page 11722]]

walkdown inspections are conducted. Further, less restrictive P-T limit 
curves based on the application of ASME Code Case N-640 will enhance 
overall plant safety by minimizing challenges to operators during 
pressure testing, heatup, cooldown, and normal power operation. Thus, 
pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii), the underlying purpose of the 
regulations will continue to be served.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC staff has completed its evaluation of the proposed action 
and concludes, as set forth below, that there are no significant 
environmental impacts associated with the use of the alternative 
analysis methods to support the revision of the RPV P-T limits for the 
Browns Ferry Plant, Units 2 and 3.
    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 Browns Ferry Plant, Units 2 and 3, dated April 1975.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    On February 28, 2002, the staff consulted with the Alabama State 
official, Kirk Whatley, of the Office of Radiation Control, 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 August 17, 2001, as supplemented by letters 
dated December 14, 2001, and February 6, 2002. 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 Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the 
internet at the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/html. 
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 to [email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 11th day of March 2002.

    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. 02-6229 Filed 3-14-02; 8:45 am]
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