[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 176 (Monday, September 13, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55198-55199]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-20590]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 72-25]


Foster Wheeler Environmental Corporation; Issuance of 
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact Regarding 
a Proposed Exemption

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is 
considering issuance of an exemption, pursuant to 10 CFR 72.7, from the 
provisions of 10 CFR 72.102(f)(1) to Foster Wheeler Environmental 
Corporation (FWENC or applicant). The requested exemption would allow 
FWENC to use a probabilistic approach along with considerations of risk 
to establish the design earthquake (DE) ground motion levels at the 
Idaho Spent Fuel (ISF) Facility, instead of the deterministic 
methodology of 10 CFR 100, Appendix A. FWENC submitted the exemption 
request as part of its November 19, 2001, license application for the 
ISF Facility, an independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) to 
be located at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental 
Laboratory (INEEL).

Environmental Assessment (EA)

    Identification of Proposed Action: The applicant requested an 
exemption from the requirement in 10 CFR 72.102(f)(1) which states 
that, ``The design earthquake (DE) for use in the design of structures 
must be determined as follows: (1) For sites that have been evaluated 
under the criteria of Appendix A of 10 CFR Part 100, the DE must be 
equivalent to the safe shutdown earthquake (SSE) for a nuclear power 
plant.'' The regulation at 10 CFR 72.102(b) requires that, for sites 
west of the Rocky Mountains, such as the ISF Facility site, seismicity 
must be evaluated using the techniques of 10 CFR Part 100, Appendix A. 
The requested exemption would allow the applicant to calculate the DE 
for the proposed facility using an alternate method.
    The proposed action before the Commission is whether to grant this 
exemption pursuant to 10 CFR 72.7.
    Need for the Proposed Action: The applicant has requested a license 
to construct and operate the ISF Facility, as described in its license 
application, dated November 19, 2001, on behalf of the Department of 
Energy (DOE). FWENC will be the license holder for the ISF Facility, 
which would be the second NRC-licensed ISFSI at the INEEL. The proposed 
facility will be adjacent to the existing ISFSI for the TMI-2 fuel 
debris, and close to the DOE facilities currently storing the spent 
fuel to be moved to the ISF Facility. The ISF Facility represents an 
additional milestone in the 1995 settlement agreement among DOE, the 
U.S. Navy, and the State of Idaho regarding the disposition of spent 
nuclear fuel at INEEL.
    The exemption would allow the applicant to use risk-informed 
methods including a probabilistic seismic hazards analysis (PSHA) to 
define the design earthquake for the ISF Facility. This DE is a 
critical assumption for the design of the facility structures, systems, 
and components (SSCs) important to safety. These SSCs must be designed 
to withstand the effects of natural phenomena, including earthquakes, 
without impairing their capability to perform their safety functions. 
For sites west of the Rocky Mountains, including the ISF Facility site, 
10 CFR 72.102(b) requires that seismicity be evaluated using techniques 
set forth in Appendix A of 10 CFR Part 100 for nuclear power plants. In 
applying that appendix, the applicant would be required to define the 
DE as the most significant earthquake postulated to occur at that site, 
irrespective of its frequency, or the estimated time the facility would 
be operational. This would result in unwarranted conservatism in the 
design and construction of the facility, placing an unnecessary burden 
on the applicant, increasing overall project costs and delaying 
implementation of this phase of the settlement agreement between DOE 
and the State of Idaho.
    The NRC staff has evaluated the proposed exemption in its 
preliminary safety evaluation report (SER) for the ISF Facility, dated 
July 29, 2004. In the SER, the staff concludes that there are 
sufficient technical and regulatory bases to grant an exemption to 10 
CFR 72.102(f) at the time a license is issued for the ISF Facility. 
These bases are that: (i) The probability and risk-informed analyses 
performed by the applicant demonstrate that the SSCs important to 
safety will maintain their capability to protect public health and 
safety, even considering earthquake ground motions more severe than the 
proposed DE; (ii) the applicant's exemption request is similar to 
previous exemption requests found acceptable by the NRC staff for the 
TMI-2 ISFSI and the Private Fuel Storage Facility; and (iii) the 
applicant's methods and analyses are consistent with the probabilistic 
approach and corresponding design earthquake values allowed under the 
recently added regulations in 10 CFR 72.103, as described in the 
associated regulatory guidance in NRC Regulatory Guide 3.73.
    Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action: The NRC staff 
previously evaluated the environmental impacts resulting from the 
construction, operation and decommissioning of the ISF Facility, and 
determined that such impacts would be acceptably small. The staff's 
conclusions are documented in the ``Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Proposed Idaho Spent Fuel Facility at the Idaho National 
Engineering and Environmental Laboratory in Butte County, Idaho (Final 
Report), NUREG-1773,'' issued in

[[Page 55199]]

January 2004. In that environmental impact statement (EIS), and in the 
preliminary SER, the staff considered the design earthquake for the 
site based on the applicant's methods, and concluded that earthquake 
events would not result in unacceptable consequences or significant 
radiation releases from the proposed ISF Facility. Therefore, the staff 
finds that the proposed exemption, involving the use of an acceptable 
analytical method, will not have any significant environmental impact.
    Alternative to the Proposed Action: As an alternative to the 
proposed action, the staff considered denial of the proposed exemption 
(i.e., the ``no-action'' alternative). Denial of the exemption request 
would require the applicant to perform additional analyses and possibly 
revise the design of the ISF Facility, but these changes would not 
affect the conclusions of the EIS. Neither the proposed action nor the 
alternative to the proposed action will have a significant 
environmental impact. Therefore, the environmental impacts of the 
proposed action and the alternative action are similar.
    Agencies and Persons Consulted: On August 2, 2004, Mr. Doug Walker, 
Senior Health Physicist with the State of Idaho INEEL Oversight 
Program, was contacted regarding the environmental assessment for the 
proposed exemption and had no comments. The NRC staff previously 
evaluated the environmental impacts of the ISF Facility in the final 
EIS issued in January 2004 and has determined that additional 
consultation under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act is not 
required for this specific exemption which involves the use of an 
alternative analytical method and will not affect listed species or 
critical habitat. The NRC staff has similarly determined that the 
proposed exemption 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 
upon the foregoing EA, the Commission finds that the proposed action of 
granting the exemption from 10 CFR 72.102(f), so that FWENC may employ 
alternative methods for determining the design earthquake for the ISF 
Facility, will not significantly impact the quality of the human 
environment. Accordingly, the Commission has determined that a Finding 
of No Significant Impact is appropriate, and that an environmental 
impact statement for the proposed exemption is not necessary.
    For further details with respect to this exemption request, see the 
FWENC license application for the ISF Facility, and the accompanying 
Safety Analysis Report, dated November 19, 2001. The request for 
exemption was docketed under 10 CFR Part 72, Docket No. 72-25. These 
documents are available for public inspection at the Commission's 
Public Document Room, One White Flint North Building, 11555 Rockville 
Pike, Rockville, MD, or from the publicly available records component 
of NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). 
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 there are problems in accessing the documents located in 
ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-
800-397-4209, 301-415-4737 or by e-mail at [email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day of September, 2004.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James R. Hall,
Senior Project Manager, Spent Fuel Project Office, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 04-20590 Filed 9-10-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P