[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 237 (Tuesday, December 10, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75864-75865]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-31167]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-318]


Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Inc., Calvert Cliffs Nuclear 
Power Plant, Unit No. 2, 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 50.44, 46 and Appendix K for Facility 
Operating License No. DPR-69, issued to Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power 
Plant, Inc. (the licensee), for operation of the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear 
Power Plant, Unit No. 2 (Calvert Cliffs), located in Calvert County, 
Maryland. 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, as described in the licensee's application for 
exemption

[[Page 75865]]

dated July 12, 2002, would allow the licensee to use up to four lead 
fuel assemblies (LFAs) with an advanced cladding material, a zirconium-
based alloy, that does not meet the definition of Zircaloy or ZIRLO, 
which are referred to in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
Section 50.46(a)(1)(i). The LFAs are scheduled to be loaded into the 
Calvert Cliffs Unit 2 reactor core during the upcoming refueling outage 
and would remain in the core for two (2) cycles.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    The proposed exemption from 10 CFR 50.44, 10 CFR 50.46, and 
Appendix K to 10 CFR part 50 is needed because these regulations 
specifically refer to light-water reactors containing fuel consisting 
of uranium oxide pellets enclosed in zircaloy or ZIRLO tubes. A new 
zirconium-based alloy cladding has been developed, which is not the 
same chemical composition as zircaloy or ZIRLO. Therefore, the licensee 
needs an exemption to insert up to four assemblies containing the new 
fuel cladding material into the Calvert Cliffs reactor core for test 
during operation.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and 
concludes that the proposed exemption will not present an undue risk to 
the public health and safety. The safety evaluation performed by 
Westinghouse demonstrates that the predicted chemical, mechanical and 
material performance of the Advance zirconium-based cladding is within 
that approved for Zircaloy-4 or ZIRLO under all anticipated operational 
occurrences and postulated accidents. Furthermore, the LFAs will be 
placed in non-limiting core locations. In the unlikely event that 
cladding failures occur in the LFAs, environmental impact would be 
minimal and is bounded by previous environmental impact statements.
    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.
    In 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 Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant (CCNPP) dated April 1973 or the 
Final Environmental Impact Statement for licence renewal for the CCNPP 
dated October 1999.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    On September 5, 2002, the staff consulted with the Maryland State 
official, Richard McLean of the Maryland Department of the Environment, 
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 July 17, 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 3rd day of December 2002.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission:
Guy S. Vissing,
Acting Chief, Section 1, Project Directorate I, Division of Licensing 
Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 02-31167 Filed 12-9-02; 8:45 am]
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