[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 176 (Monday, September 13, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55199-55200]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-20591]


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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 72.30(c) to Foster Wheeler Environmental 
Corporation (FWENC or applicant). The requested exemption would allow 
FWENC to rely on the Statement of Intent from the Department of Energy 
(DOE) to satisfy the requirements for financial assurance for 
decommissioning of the Idaho Spent Fuel (ISF) Facility. FWENC submitted 
the exemption request on April 2, 2003, in support 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 72.30(c) which states that 
financial assurance for decommissioning must be provided by one or more 
of the following methods, including: (1) Prepayment; (2) a surety 
method, insurance, or other guarantee method; (3) an external sinking 
fund; or (4) in the case of Federal, State, or local government 
licensees, a statement of intent containing a cost estimate for 
decommissioning, and indicating that funds for decommissioning will be 
obtained when necessary. FWENC, a private entity, will be the licensee 
for the ISF Facility, and the provisions of 10 CFR 72.30(c)(4) do not 
explicitly allow such a non-government entity to meet the 
decommissioning financial assurance requirements through reliance on a 
statement of intent. The requested exemption would allow the applicant 
to rely on the statement of intent provided by DOE for decommissioning 
funding assurance. DOE has contracted with FWENC for the licensing, 
construction, and operation of the ISF Facility, which will repackage 
and store spent fuel possessed by DOE, in partial fulfillment of the 
1995 settlement agreement among DOE, the U.S. Navy, and the State of 
Idaho.
    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 rely on DOE's statement 
of intent to provide decommissioning funding for the ISF Facility when 
needed, instead of using one or more of the other methods specified in 
10 CFR 72.30(c). These other methods would require the applicant to 
contribute substantial funds into one of these other

[[Page 55200]]

financial instruments well in advance of decommissioning. This facility 
will be designed and operated exclusively for the interim storage of 
DOE spent fuel, and the licensing, construction, and operational costs 
will be paid directly or indirectly by DOE. DOE has also committed to 
obtain sufficient funding for the decommissioning of the facility from 
the U.S. Congress, when needed, so funding for all phases of the ISF 
Facility will ultimately be provided by DOE. To preclude FWENC from 
relying on the method in 10 CFR 72.30(c)(4) to meet the decommissioning 
financial assurance requirements for this facility would result in an 
unnecessary financial burden on the applicant, increasing overall 
project costs.
    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 the intent of 10 
CFR 72.30(c)(4) is met and that the commitments identified in the 
requested exemption are consistent with the requirements of the 
regulation. The staff finds the exemption request acceptable and will 
impose appropriate license conditions to ensure that the 
decommissioning funding commitments will be met.
    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 January 2004. In that environmental 
impact statement (EIS), the staff performed a cost-benefit analysis, 
and concluded that the benefits of the facility outweigh the associated 
impacts and costs. This conclusion was based on the assumption that DOE 
would obtain the necessary decommissioning funding, as described in the 
exemption request. On this basis, and the fact that the proposed 
exemption deals with financial matters that will not affect the 
physical design or operation of the ISF Facility, the staff finds that 
the proposed exemption 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 action 
(i.e., the ``no-action'' alternative). Approval or denial of the 
exemption request would result in no change in the environmental 
impacts described in the staff's final EIS. 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 financial assurance 
mechanisms 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 72.30(c), so that FWENC may rely on 
DOE's statement of intent for the decommissioning financial assurance 
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, and the request for 
exemption, dated April 2, 2003, which were 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. 04-20591 Filed 9-10-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P