[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 143 (Thursday, July 25, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48681-48682]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-18821]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-309]


Maine Yankee Atomic Power Co., Maine Yankee Atomic Power Station; 
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. DPR-36, 
issued to Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company (MYAPC or the licensee), 
for the Maine Yankee Atomic Power Station (Maine Yankee or the plant), 
located in Lincoln County, Maine. 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 revise the license to incorporate a new 
License Condition 2.B.(9). The license condition would terminate 
license jurisdiction for a portion of the Maine Yankee site (referred 
to as the Non-Impacted Backlands (West of Bailey Cove and West of 
Young's Brook and North of Old Ferry Road)), thereby releasing these 
lands from Facility Operating License No. DPR-36. The land in question 
is not used for any licensed activities. No radiological materials have 
historically been used on this land and the land will not be used to 
support ongoing decommissioning operations and activities.
    The Backlands, approximately 260 hectares (640 acres), are located 
beyond the 610-meter (2,000-foot) exclusion area established under the 
requirements of 10 CFR part 100, except for a specific portion. As 
such, the area has been open and accessible to the general public and 
is bounded by residential land owners. The Backlands consists of open 
fields, woodland, and some shoreline property. The Backlands have been 
designated as a non-impacted area, which means the area was not 
impacted due to site operation.
    The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's 
application dated August 16, 2001, as supplemented by letter dated 
November 19, 2001.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    The revision to the license is needed to release the Backlands from 
the jurisdiction of Facility Operating License No. DPR-36. Portions of 
this land, approximately 80 hectares (200 acres), will be donated to a 
tax exempt environmental organization to create a nature preserve and 
an environmental education center and to provide public access to 
coastal lands in the mid-coast region of Maine. This donation is part 
of a rate case settlement that MYAPC made with the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission. The release of the rest of the Backlands will 
facilitate potential redevelopment and reuse of property that has been 
part of the Maine Yankee site.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and 
concludes that the issuance of the amendment will not have any 
significant effect on accident risk or the possibility of environmental 
impact. The Commission has previously issued a No Significant Hazards 
Consideration Determination for the proposed action (67 FR 12604) dated 
March 19, 2002. The proposed action will not significantly increase the 
probability or consequences of any accidents, no changes are being made 
in the types of effluents that may be released offsite, 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 the potential to

[[Page 48682]]

affect historic or cultural resources, nor will the proposed action 
affect endangered and threatened species. 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 and retention of the Backlands under 
Facility Operating License No. DPR-36 (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 identical.

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 Maine Yankee Atomic Power Station, dated July 1972.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    On June 11, 2002, the staff consulted with the Maine State 
official, Mr. Patrick Dostie of the State of Maine, Department of Human 
Services, regarding the environmental impact of the proposed action. 
The State official had a question related to the type of effluents 
(e.g. contaminated dust) that demolition of the slightly contaminated 
structures could generate. The NRC staff responded to Mr. Dostie's 
question and provided information that clarified this issue with 
respect to this licensing action.

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 16, 2001, as supplemented by letter 
dated November 19, 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 
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 19th day of July 2002.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

William D. Reckley,
Acting Chief, Section 1, Project Directorate IV-1, Division of 
Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 02-18821 Filed 7-24-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P