[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 46 (Monday, March 10, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11415-11416]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-5607]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-438 and 50-439]


In the Matters of Tennessee Valley Authority (Bellefonte Nuclear 
Plant, Units 1 and 2); Order

I

    The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA, or the applicant) is the 
current holder of Construction Permit Nos. CPPR-122 and CPPR-123, 
issued by the Atomic Energy Commission on December 12, 1974, for 
construction of the Bellefonte Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2. These 
facilities are currently in deferral status as described in the U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) Generic Letter 87-15 at the 
applicant's site in Jackson County, Alabama, on a peninsula at 
Tennessee River Mile 392 on the west shore of Guntersville Reservoir, 
about 6 miles east-northeast of Scottsboro, Alabama.
    On July 11, 2001, TVA filed a request pursuant to 10 CFR 50.55(b) 
for extensions of the expiration dates for Construction Permit Nos. 
CPPR-122 AND CPPR-123. Construction activities at the Bellefonte site 
had been deferred in 1988 due, in part, to a lower-than-expected 
electrical load forecast within the TVA service area. At the present 
time, Bellefonte Unit 1 is about 88 percent complete and Bellefonte 
Unit 2 is about 58 percent complete. On March 23, 1993, TVA notified 
the NRC that it planned to resume completion activities 120 days from 
the date of their letter. However, as a result of the delay from the 
inactivity during the construction deferral and a need to conduct an 
Integrated Resource Planning process to consider the lowest cost 
options for providing an adequate supply of electricity to TVA's 
customers pursuant to the provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 1992, 
TVA was unable to complete the construction of the two units before the 
original expiration dates, July 1, 1994, for Unit 1 and July 1, 1996, 
for Unit 2. In response to a request from TVA dated April 19, 1994, the 
NRC extended the construction permit expiration dates for Bellefonte 
Units 1 and 2 to October 1, 2001, and October 1, 2004, respectively, in 
a letter dated June 27, 1994. That letter transmitted an Order signed 
by William T. Russell and a Safety Evaluation prepared by the NRC 
staff.
    In the current July 11, 2001, TVA request for extending the 
Bellefonte construction permit expiration dates, TVA stated that the 
extension of the Bellefonte construction permits will help TVA to 
maintain a full scope of

[[Page 11416]]

competitive energy production choices. TVA's integrated resource plan, 
Energy Vision 2020, identified the need for a flexible range of options 
and alternatives to meet, among other things, the Tennessee Valley 
region's new base-load power supply needs through the year 2020. Recent 
record-breaking energy demands in the Tennessee Valley have reinforced 
TVA's obligation to provide ample safe, economic, reliable, and 
environmentally responsible sources of electric power. Fulfilling this 
responsibility, TVA seeks to maintain a robust and flexible range of 
generating options. These uncertainties, and the delay due to the 
extended construction inactivity at the site, provide good cause for 
extending the construction permits for Bellefonte Nuclear Plant, Units 
1 and 2.
    The NRC notes that there is renewed interest in completing at least 
Bellefonte Unit 1, possibly with financial assistance from outside 
parties. Recent NRC inspections have also verified that TVA is 
appropriately maintaining the Bellefonte units in a condition for 
continuation of construction and ultimate licensing for operation.

II

    The NRC staff has concluded that good cause has been shown for the 
delays, the extensions are sought for a reasonable period, and this 
action involves no significant hazards consideration. The basis for 
these conclusions is given in the staff's Safety Evaluation.
    The NRC staff has prepared an Environmental Assessment and Finding 
of No Significant Impact, which was published in the Federal Register 
on January 24, 2003 (68 FR 3571). Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the 
Commission has determined that extending the construction completion 
dates will have no significant impact on the environment.
    For further details with respect to the proposed action, see the 
licensee's letter dated July 11, 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, Public File Area O1 F21, 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].

III

    It is hereby ordered that the latest construction completion date 
for Construction Permit No. CPPR-122 is extended to October 1, 2011, 
and the latest construction completion date for Construction Permit No. 
CPPR-123 is extended to October 1, 2014.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

    Dated in Rockville, Maryland this 4th day of March, 2003.
Richard W. Borchardt,
Acting Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 03-5607 Filed 3-7-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P