[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 2 (Tuesday, January 4, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 396-398]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-24]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 72-30]
Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company, Maine Yankee Independent Spent
Fuel Storage Installation, Issuance of Environmental Assessment and
Finding of No Significant Impact
I. Introduction
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering
issuance of exemptions to Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company (the
licensee), pursuant to title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10
CFR) 72.7, from specific provisions of 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2),
72.212(b)(2)(i), 72.212(b)(7), and 72.214. The licensee is storing
spent nuclear fuel under the general licensing provisions of 10 CFR
part 72 in the NAC-UMS[supreg] Universal Storage System at an
independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) located at the
Maine Yankee Atomic Power Station in Wiscasset, Maine. The requested
exemptions would allow the licensee to deviate from requirements of the
NAC-UMS[supreg] Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1015, Amendment 2,
Appendix A, Technical Specifications for the NAC-UMS[supreg] System,
Section A 5.1, Training Program, and Section A 5.5, Radioactive
Effluent Control Program. Specifically, the exemptions would relieve
the licensee from the requirements to: (1) Develop training modules
under its systematic approach to training (SAT) that include
comprehensive instructions for the operation and maintenance of the
ISFSI, except for the NAC-UMS[supreg] Universal Storage System; and (2)
submit an annual report pursuant to 10 CFR 72.44(d)(3).
II. Environmental Assessment (EA)
Identification of Proposed Action: The proposed action is to exempt
the licensee from regulatory requirements to develop certain training
and submit an annual report. By letter dated February 25, 2004, as
supplemented June 8, 2004, the licensee requested exemptions from
certain regulatory requirements of 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2),
72.212(b)(2)(i), 72.212(b)(7), and 72.214 which require a general
licensee to store spent fuel in an NRC-certified spent fuel storage
cask under the terms and conditions set forth in the CoC. The proposed
exemptions would allow the licensee to deviate from the requirements in
CoC No. 1015, Amendment 2, Appendix A, Technical Specifications for the
NAC-UMS[supreg] System, Section A 5.1, Training Program, and Section A
5.5, Radioactive Effluent Control Program.
CoC No. 1015, Amendment 2, Appendix A, Technical Specifications for
the NAC-UMS System, Section A 5.1, Training Program, requires that a
training program for the NAC-UMS[supreg] Universal Storage System be
developed under the general licensee's SAT. Further, the training
modules must include comprehensive instructions for the operation and
maintenance of both the NAC-UMS[supreg] Universal Storage System and
the ISFSI. In addition, CoC No. 1015, Amendment 2, Appendix A,
Technical Specifications for the NAC-UMS System, Section A 5.5,
Radioactive Effluent Control Program, Item c. requires an annual report
to be submitted pursuant to 10 CFR 72.44(d)(3). By exempting the
licensee
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from the requirements of 10 CFR 72.212(a), 72.212(b)(2)(i),
72.212(b)(7), and 72.214 for this request, the licensee will not be
required to either develop training modules that include comprehensive
instructions for the operation and maintenance of the ISFSI or submit
an annual report pursuant to 10 CFR 72.44(d)(3).
The proposed action before the NRC is whether to grant these
exemptions under the provisions of 10 CFR 72.7.
Need for the Proposed Action: The NRC has determined that the
requirements of CoC No. 1015, Amendment 2, Appendix A, Technical
Specifications for the NAC-UMS[supreg] System, Section A 5.1, Training
Program, and Section A 5.5, Radioactive Effluent Control Program impose
regulatory obligations, with associated costs, that do not provide a
commensurate increase in safety. Granting the requested exemptions will
allow the licensee not to have to: (1) Develop training modules under
the SAT that include comprehensive instructions for the operation and
maintenance of the ISFSI, except for the NAC-UMS[supreg] Universal
Storage System; or (2) submit an annual report pursuant to 10 CFR
72.44(d)(3). Thus, the licensee will not incur the costs associated
with these activities.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action: The NRC has reviewed
the exemption requests submitted by the licensee and determined that
not requiring the licensee to: (1) Develop training modules under its
SAT that include comprehensive instructions for the operation and
maintenance of the ISFSI, except for the NAC-UMS[supreg] Universal
Storage System; and (2) submit an annual report pursuant to 10 CFR
72.44(d)(3) are administrative changes, and would have no significant
impacts to the environment.
Further, NRC has evaluated the impact to public safety that would
result from granting the requested exemptions. NRC determined that
requiring the licensee to develop training modules under its SAT for
the operation and maintenance of ISFSI structures, systems, and
components considered not-important-to-safety would not provide a
commensurate increase in public safety associated with the costs.
Therefore, allowing the licensee to develop these modules separately
from its SAT does not impact public safety. Also, NRC has determined
that not requiring the licensee to submit an annual report specifying
principal radionuclides released to the environment in liquid and in
gaseous effluents does not impact public safety because the NAC-
UMS[supreg] Universal Storage System is a sealed and leak-tight spent
fuel storage system. Thus, there should be no releases to the
environment of either liquid or gaseous effluents from normal operation
of the NAC-UMS[supreg] Universal Storage System.
The proposed action would not increase the probability or
consequences of accidents, no changes would be made to the types of
effluents that may be released offsite, and there would be no increase
in occupational or public radiation exposure. Therefore, there are no
significant radiological environmental impacts associated with the
proposed action. Additionally the proposed action would have no
significant non-radiological impacts.
Alternative to the Proposed Action: The alternative to the proposed
action would be to deny approval of these exemptions. Denial of these
exemption requests would have the same environmental impact as the
proposed action.
Agencies and Persons Consulted: The NRC prepared this EA. No other
sources were used. NRC, by letter dated August 10, 2004, provided a
draft of this EA to the Honorable Charles Pray, State Nuclear Safety
Advisor for the State of Maine for review. The State of Maine by letter
dated November 15, 2004, did not indicate it had any environmental
concerns related to granting the proposed exemptions. However, the
State of Maine did provide the following comment:
In that, the State of Maine has no objection to the NRC granting
the exemption for the current existing licensure period as long as
the current outstanding statutory obligations of the United States
government are met in all of its responsibility in reference to
[the] MYAPC facility, and that no extensions of the current twenty-
year licensure of the ISFSI is approved. Any extension granted by
the NRC beyond that date will [alter] the State's approval on this
and other related matters and will require a need for ongoing
assessment by the State of Maine of safety benefits to the citizens
of Maine beyond its original and current licensed mission. The State
would be required to fully [assess] as to how best [to] protect the
citizens of the State from further federal lapses of obligations.
The staff has reviewed the State of Maine's comment and determined
that neither exemption is coupled with extending the period of the
Maine Yankee's general license for its ISFSI beyond the twenty-year
period of its use of the NAC-UMS[supreg] Universal Storage System.
Certificate of Compliance No. 1015 will be eligible for renewal at the
expiration of this period and, if application for reapproval is made,
the State of Maine will have an opportunity to comment on such
application at that time.
Further, The NRC 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 habitats. The NRC has
also determined that the proposed action is not a type of activity
having the potential to cause effects on historic properties.
Therefore, no consultation is required under Section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act.
Conclusions: The NRC has concluded that the proposed action of
granting these exemptions and not requiring the licensee to develop
certain training or submit an annual report will not significantly
impact the quality of the human environment and does not warrant the
preparation of an environmental impact statement. Accordingly, it has
been determined that a Finding of No Significant Impact is appropriate.
III. 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 NRC finds that the proposed action of
granting exemptions from the specific provisions of 10 CFR 72.212(a),
72.212(b)(2)(i), 72.212(b)(7), and 72.214 and not requiring the
licensee to: (1) Develop training modules under its SAT that include
comprehensive instructions for the operation and maintenance of the
ISFSI, except for the NAC-UMS[supreg] Universal Storage System; and (2)
submit an annual report pursuant to 10 CFR 72.44(d)(3), will not
significantly impact the quality of the human environment. Accordingly,
the NRC has determined that an environmental impact statement for these
proposed exemptions is not warranted.
The request for exemption was docketed under 10 CFR part 72, Docket
72-30. Please note that on October 25, 2004, the NRC suspended public
access to the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(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 should check the NRC's Web pages for
updates on the availability of documents through ADAMS.
When public access to ADAMS is restored the documents related to
this action, including the application for the exemptions and
supporting
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documentation, will be available electronically at the NRC's Electronic
Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this
site you can access the NRC's ADAMS, which provides text and image
files of NRC's public documents. The ADAMS accession numbers for the
documents related to this notice are: For the request for exemptions
dated February 25, 2004, the ADAMS accession number is ML040620577, and
for the supplement dated June 8, 2004, the ADAMS accession number is
ML041690143.
When public access to ADAMS is resumed and you do not have access
to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the documents located in
ADAMS, 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]. Also,
after resumption of public access to ADAMS, these documents may also be
viewed electronically on the public computers located at the NRC's PDR,
O1F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD
20852. The PDR reproduction contractor will copy documents for a fee.
Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this 13th of December, 2004.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Stewart W. Brown,
Sr. Project Manager, Spent Fuel Project Office, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 05-24 Filed 1-3-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P