[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 20 (Friday, January 30, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4542-4543]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-1943]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 72-39]
Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company, Haddam Neck Plant;
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) is
considering issuance of an exemption to Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power
Company (CYAPCO or licensee), pursuant to 10 CFR 72.7, from the
specific provisions of 10 CFR 72,212(a)(2), 72.212(b)(2)(i)(A),
72.212(b)(7), and 72.214. The licensee is using the NAC Multi-Purpose
Cansiser System (NAC-MPC), Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1025, to
store spent fuel under a general license in an independent spent fuel
storage installation (ISFSI) associated with the operation of the
Haddam Neck Plant (HNP), located in Middlesex County, Connecticut. The
requested exemption would allow CYAPCO to use vacuum drying
enhancements prior to completion of the proposed NAC-MPC CoC amendment
rulemaking.
Environmental Assessment
Identification of the Proposed Action
The proposed action would exempt CYAPCO from the requirements of 10
CFR 72.212(a)(2), 72.212(b)(2)(i)(A), 72.212(b)(7), and 72.214 for
using the NAC-MPC at HNP. These regulations specifically require
compliance with the conditions set forth in the CoC for each dry spent
fuel storage cask used by an ISFSI general licensee. The NAC-MPC CoC
provides limiting conditions for operation (LCO) requirements in
Appendix A, Technical Specifications, and Appendix B, Approved Content
and Design Features. The proposed action would allow CYAPCO to deviate
from (1) the vacuum drying, water cooling, and forced air cooling time
limits in LCO 3.1.1 of Appendix A, (2) the canister in transfer cask
time limits in LCO 3.1.4 of Appendix A, (3) the fuel cooldown
requirements in LCO 3.1.7, (4) the canister removal from concrete cask
requirements of LCO 3.1.8, (5) the surface contamination removal time
limits in LCO 3.2.1, and (6) the allowable contents fuel assembly
limits in Table B2-3 of Appendix B. The proposed action would implement
the vacuum drying enhancements requested by NAC International in the
NAC-MPC CoC amendment request currently under staff review.
The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's
application dated August 28, 2003.
The Need for the Proposed Action
The proposed action is needed because CYAPCO plans to initiate the
transfer of the HNP spent fuel pool contents to the independent spent
fuel storage installation in December 2003. The fuel transfer campaign
is scheduled to begin immediately following the transfer of Greater
than Class C (GTCC) material stored under CYAPCO's 10 CFR Part 50
license. The licensee has stated that the exemption is requested to
significantly reduce the time required for vacuum drying and to
significantly improve loading operations. Additionally, eliminating
unnecessary cooldown cycles and cask handling activities reduces the
potential dose to workers consistent with good ALARA practices.
Prolonged loading operations are not desired because it would result in
delays in the schedule, delays in decommisioning activities, and
associated resource impacts due to the delays. The proposed action is
necessary because the 10 CFR 72.214 rulemaking to implement the NAC-MPC
CoC amendment is not projected for completion until Spring 2004, which
will not support the HNP fuel transfer and dry cask storage loading
schedule.
[[Page 4543]]
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and
concludes that there is no significant environmental impact if the
exemption is granted. The staff reviewed the analysis provided in the
NAC-MPC amendment application addressing vacuum drying enhancements.
The safety evaluation performed by the staff concludes that the NRC has
reasonable assurance that the vacuum drying enhancements have no impact
on off-site doses. The potential environmental impact of using the NAC-
MPC System was initially presented in the Environmental Assessment (EA)
for the Final Rule to add the NAC-MPC System to the list of approved
spent fuel storage casks in 10 CFR 72.214 (64 FR 12444, dated March 9,
2000), as revised in Amendment No. 1 (66 FR 58956, dated November 20,
2001), in Amendment No. 2 (67 FR 11566, dated March 15, 2002), and in
Amendment No. 3 (68 FR 55304, dated September 25, 2003). The vacuum
drying enhancements do not increase the probability or consequences of
accidents, no changes are being made in the types of any 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 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.
Alternatives to the Proposed Action
Since there is no significant environmental impact associated with
the proposed action, alternatives with equal or greater environmental
impact were not evaluated. As an alternative to the proposed action,
the staff considered denial of the proposed action. Denial of the
exemption would result in no change in current environmental impact,
but would result in a potential dose increase to workers involved in
cooldown cycle cask handling activities.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
On December 31, 2003, the staff consulted with Mr. Michael Firsick
of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, regarding
the environmental impact of the proposed action. He had no comments.
The NRC staff has determined that a consultation under Section 7 of the
Endangered Species Act is not required because the proposed action will
not affect listed species or critical habitat. The NRC staff has also
determined that the proposed action is not a type of activity having
the potential to cause effects on historic properties. Therefore, no
further consultation is required under Section 106 of the National
Historic Preservation Act.
Finding of No Significant Impact
The environmental impacts of the proposed action have been reviewed
in accordance with the requirements set forth in 10 CFR Part 51. Based
on the foregoing Environmental Assessment, the Commission finds that
the proposed action of granting an exemption from 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2),
72.212(b)(2) (i) (A), 72.212(b)(7), and 72.214 allowing CYAPCO to
deviate from the current vacuum drying time limits and incorporate
other vacuum drying enhancements, will not significantly impact the
quality of the human environment. Accordingly, the Commission has
determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the
proposed action.
For further details with respect to this exemption request, see the
CYAPCO's letter dated August 28, 2003. The request for exemption was
docketed under 10 CFR Part 72, Docket 72-39. The NRC maintains an
Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), which
provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. These
documents may be accessed through the NRC's Public Electronic Reading
Room on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. If
you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing
the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document Room
(PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail
at [email protected].
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd day of January, 2004.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
L. Raynard Wharton,
Project Manager, Spent Fuel Project Office, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 04-1943 Filed 1-29-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P