[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 5 (Wednesday, January 8, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1069-1070]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-319]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. STN 50-454, STN 50-455, 50-373, 50-374, 50-254, and 50-
265]


Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Byron Station, Units 1 and 2, 
LaSalle County Station, Units 1 and 2, Quad Cities Nuclear Power 
Station, Units 1 and 2, 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 Nos. NPF-37 and 
NPF-66, issued to Exelon Generation Company, LLC (the licensee), for 
operation of the Byron Station, Units 1 and 2, located in Ogle County, 
Illinois; for Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-11 and NPF-18, issued 
to the licensee, for operation of LaSalle County Station, Units 1 and 
2, located in LaSalle County, Illinois; and for Facility Operating 
License Nos. DPR-29 and DPR-30, issued to the licensee, for operation 
of the Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2, located in 
Rock Island County, Illinois. Therefore, as required by 10 CFR 51.21, 
the NRC has prepared this environmental assessment. For the reasons set 
forth in this environmental assessment, the NRC is making a finding of 
no significant impact.

[[Page 1070]]

Environmental Assessment

Identification of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action would revise Appendix B, ``Environmental 
Protection Plan (Non-Radiological),'' of the licenses to remove a 
parenthetical reference to a superseded section of 10 CFR Part 51.
    The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's 
application dated September 27, 2002.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    The proposed change is editorial in nature. An amendment is 
required because the current parenthetical reference to 10 CFR 
51.5(b)(2) in Appendix B is no longer applicable, since this CFR 
reference was superseded in 1984 by a complete revision of 10 CFR Part 
51 (49 FR 9381). The subject matter of the original referenced portion 
of the regulations was not carried over into the reformatted version 
during the revision.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and 
concludes that there are no significant adverse environmental impacts 
associated with the proposed action. The proposed change is editorial 
in nature.
    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 resource different from 
those previously considered in the Final Environmental Statements for 
the Byron Station, Units 1 and 2, dated April 1982; for the LaSalle 
County Station, Units 1 and 2, dated November 1978; and for the Quad 
Cities Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2, dated September 1972.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    On November 13, 2002, the staff consulted with the Illinois State 
official, Mr. F. Niziolek of the Department of Nuclear Safety, 
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 September 27, 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 2nd day of January 2003.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Carl F. Lyon,
Project Manager, Section 2, Project Directorate III, Division of 
Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 03-319 Filed 1-7-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P