[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 221 (Wednesday, November 17, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 67371]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-25460]



[[Page 67371]]

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-312]


Sacramento Municipal Utility District; Rancho Seco Nuclear 
Generating Station; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No 
Significant Impact

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John B. Hickman, Project Manager, 
Reactor Decommissioning Section, Decommissioning Directorate, Division 
of Waste Management and Environmental Protection, Office of Nuclear 
Material and Safeguards Information, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC, 20555. Telephone: 301-415-3017; fax number: 
(301) 415-5397; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 
is considering granting a partial exemption from the Recordkeeping 
requirements of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 
part 50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, Appendix A; 10 CFR part 50, Appendix B, 
for the Rancho Seco Generating Station (Rancho Seco) as requested by 
Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) on September 2, 2004. An 
environmental assessment (EA) was performed by the NRC staff in support 
of its review of the exemption request.

I. Introduction

    SMUD is the licensee and holder of Facility Operating License No. 
DPR-54 for Rancho Seco, a permanently shutdown decommissioning nuclear 
plant. Although permanently shutdown, this facility is still subject to 
all rules, regulations, and orders of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (NRC).
    SMUD shut down Rancho Seco permanently on June 7, 1989, after 
approximately 15 years of operation. On August 29, 1989, SMUD formally 
informed the NRC that the plant was shut down permanently. On May 20, 
1991, SMUD submitted the Rancho Seco decommissioning plan and on March 
20, 1995, the NRC issued an Order approving the decommissioning plan 
and authorizing the decommissioning of Rancho Seco.

II. Environmental Assessment Summary

Identification of Proposed Action

    The exemption will allow the disposal of records, prior to 
termination of the Rancho Seco Possession Only License No. DPR-54, that 
(1) are associated with the operation, design, fabrication, erection, 
and testing of structures, systems, and components that are no longer 
quality-related and/or important to safety or have been removed from 
the plant for disposal, and (2) require storage in their original 
hardcopy format due to practical and feasibility limitations associated 
with transferring them to microfilm or microfiche.

Need for Proposed Action

    The requested exemption and application of the exemption will 
eliminate the requirement to maintain records that are no longer 
necessary due to the permanently shutdown status of the facility and 
thereby reduce the financial burden on ratepayers associated with the 
storage of a large volume of hardcopy records.

The Affected Environment and Environmental Impacts

    The proposed action is purely administrative in nature and will not 
significantly increase the probability or consequences of accidents. No 
changes are being made in the types of effluents that may be released 
off site and there is no significant increase in the amount of any 
effluent released offsite. 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 it has no other 
environmental impact. Therefore, there are no significant 
nonradiological environmental impacts associated with the proposed 
action.
    Accordingly, the NRC concludes that the proposed action will have 
no significant effect on the environment.

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). 
Under this alternative Rancho Seco would continue to store the records 
in question until license termination which would result in no change 
in current environmental impacts. The environmental impacts of the 
proposed action and the alternative action are similar.

Agencies and Persons Contacted

    None.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    Based on this review, the NRC staff has concluded that there are no 
significant impacts on the quality of the human environment. 
Accordingly, the staff has determined that preparation of an 
Environmental Impact Statement is not warranted, and a Finding of No 
Significant Impact is appropriate.

IV. Further Information

    For further details with respect to the proposed action, see the 
licensee's letter dated September 2, 2004 (Agencywide Documents Access 
and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML042540018). Publicly 
available records will be accessible electronically from the 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's Public Document Room (PDR) 
Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, (301) 415-4737, or by e-mail to 
[email protected].
    These documents may also be viewed electronically on the public 
computers located at the NRC's PDR, O 1 F21, One White Flint North, 
11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR reproduction 
contractor will copy documents for a fee.
    Please note that on October 25, 2004, the NRC suspended public 
access to ADAMS, and initiated an additional security review of 
publicly available documents to ensure that potentially sensitive 
information is removed from the ADAMS database accessible through the 
NRC's Web site. Interested members of the public may obtain copies of 
the referenced documents for review and/or copying by contacting the 
Public Document Room pending resumption of public access to ADAMS. The 
NRC Public Document Room is located at NRC Headquarters in Rockville, 
MD, and can be contacted at 800-397-4209 or (301) 415-4737 or 
[email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day of November, 2004.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Claudia M. Craig,
Acting Deputy Director, Decommissioning Directorate, Division of Waste 
Management and Environmental Protection, Office of Nuclear Material 
Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 04-25460 Filed 11-16-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P