[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 206 (Friday, October 24, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61019-61020]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-26893]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-250 and 50-251]


Florida Power and Light, Turkey Point, Units 3 and 4; 
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering 
issuance of amendments to Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-
31 and DPR-41, issued to Florida Power and Light Company, for operation 
of the Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant, Units 3 and 4, located in 
Miami-Dade County, Florida. 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 increase the number of fuel assemblies 
that can be stored at each unit at Turkey Point from 1,404 fuel 
assemblies to 1,535 fuel assemblies, an increase of 131. A freestanding 
spent fuel storage rack module would be installed in the cask pit in 
each unit's spent fuel pool. In addition, the new spent fuel storage 
racks will use Boral as a neutron absorbing material.
    The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's 
application for amendment dated November 26, 2002, as supplemented in a 
letter dated September 8, 2003.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    The Turkey Point Nuclear Plant, Units 3 and 4, has two pressurized-
water reactors. Unit 3 commenced operation in 1972 and Unit 4 in 1973. 
Based on the current licensed capacity, current spent fuel inventory, 
and the projected discharges of spent fuel, Unit 3 will lose the 
capability to fully offload the reactor core by the year 2007. Unit 4 
will lose the capability to fully offload the reactor core by the year 
2009. To extend this capability beyond the above dates, the licensee 
has proposed license amendments to install a freestanding spent fuel 
storage rack module in the cask pit of each unit's fuel handling 
building. The spent fuel pool for each unit is currently licensed to 
store a total of 1,404 fuel assemblies in high-density racks using 
Boraflex neutron absorbing panels. The new racks will use Boral as the 
neutron absorbing material. The racks are designed for storage of 131 
fuel assemblies, increasing the total storage capacity of each unit to 
1,535 assemblies.
    The additional storage capacity provided by the cask pit racks will 
be used to store spent fuel to allow refueling outage fuel offloads and 
non-outage fuel shuffles. The cask pit racks will be removed, cleaned, 
and stored in an alternate location prior to any spent fuel cask 
loading operations.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and 
concludes, as set forth below, that there are no significant 
environmental impacts associated with the proposed amendment. The 
details of the staff's safety evaluation will be provided in the 
license amendment when it is issued by the NRC.
    During refueling outages, there may be a slight increase in the 
amount of heat that has to be removed from the combination of the spent 
fuel pool and the cask pit. The peak increase will be less than one 
percent, and the heat load from spent fuel storage is very small 
compared to the heat load from normal plant operations. Therefore, the 
overall increase in the amount of heat released will be quite small and 
insignificant.
    Even though additional boron will be introduced by the Boral panels 
in the storage racks in the cask pit, no significant increase in 
tritium production from the neutron capture by boron-10 is expected.
    The proposed action will not significantly increase the probability 
or consequences of accidents, there are no significant changes in the 
types or significant increase in the quantities of effluents that may 
be released offsite, and there is no significant increase in 
occupational or public radiation exposure.
    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 impacts. 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 different resources than 
those previously considered in the Final Environmental Statement 
related to operation of Turkey Point Plant, dated July 1972, and 
Supplement 5 to NUREG-1437, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement 
for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants Regarding Turkey Point Units 3 
and 4,'' dated January 2002.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    On September 29, 2003, the staff consulted with Michael Stevens of 
the Bureau of Radiological Control 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 November 26, 2002, as supplemented by a letter 
dated September 8, 2003. 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 01 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first 
floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be 
accessible electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access and

[[Page 61020]]

Management System (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on 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 at 1-800-
397-4209, or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to [email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17th day of October 2003.

    For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Eva A. Brown,
Project Manager, Section 2, Project Directorate II, Division of 
Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 03-26893 Filed 10-23-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P