[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 64 (Wednesday, April 3, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15835-15836]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-8038]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-443]


North Atlantic Energy Service Corporation, Seabrook Station, Unit 
No. 1; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering 
issuance of an amendment to Facility Operating License No. NPF-86, 
issued to North Atlantic Energy Service Corporation (the licensee), for 
operation of the Seabrook Station, Unit No. 1, located in Rockingham 
County, New Hampshire. Therefore, as required by 10

[[Page 15836]]

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 make administrative changes to Technical 
Specification Sections 1.9, Core Alteration; 1.14, Engineered Safety 
Features Response Time; and 1.29, Reactor Trip Response Time.
    The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's 
application dated August 6, 2001, as supplemented by letters dated 
November 2, 2001, and February 1, 2002.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    The proposed action will allow the licensee to implement Technical 
Specification changes to support refueling outage 08, currently 
scheduled for spring 2002.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and 
concludes that it has no environmental impact.
    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 Seabrook Station, Unit No. 1, dated December 1982.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    On February 13, 2001, the staff consulted with the New Hampshire 
State official, Mike Nawoj, of the New Hampshire Office of Emergency 
Management, and on February 19, 2002, the staff consulted with the 
Massachusetts State official, James Muckerheid, of the Massachusetts 
Emergency Management Agency, regarding the environmental impact of the 
proposed action. The State officials 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 6, 2001, as supplemented by letters 
dated November 2, 2001, and February 1, 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 27th day of March 2002.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
George F. Wunder,
Project Manager, Section 2 Project Directorate I, Division of Licensing 
Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 02-8038 Filed 4-2-02; 8:45 am]
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