[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 29 (Monday, February 14, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7527-7528]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-2786]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-336]
Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc., Millstone Power Station, Unit
No. 2; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is
considering issuance of an exemption from Title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR) part 50, section 68, ``Criticality
Accident Requirements,'' subsection (b)(1) for Facility Operating
License No. DPR-65, issued to Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc. (the
licensee), for operation of the Millstone Power Station, Unit No. 2
(MP2), located in New London County, Connecticut. Therefore, as
required by 10 CFR 51.21, the NRC is issuing this environmental
assessment and finding of no significant impact.
Environmental Assessment
Identification of the Proposed Action
The proposed action would exempt the licensee from the requirements
of 10 CFR 50.68, ``Criticality Accident Requirements,'' subsection
(b)(1) during the handling and storage of spent nuclear fuel in a 10
CFR part 72 licensed spent fuel storage container that is in the MP2
spent fuel pool. The proposed action is in accordance with the
licensee's application dated November 5, 2004.
The Need for the Proposed Action
Under 10 CFR 50.68(b)(1), the Commission sets forth the following
requirement that must be met, in lieu of a monitoring system capable of
detecting criticality events:
Plant procedures shall prohibit the handling and storage at any one
time of more fuel assemblies than have been determined to be safely
subcritical under the most adverse moderation conditions feasible by
unborated water.
Section 50.12(a) allows licensees to apply for an exemption from
the requirements of 10 CFR Part 50 if the regulation is not necessary
to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule and other conditions are
met. The licensee stated that compliance with 10 CFR 50.68(b)(1) is not
necessary for handling the 10 CFR Part 72 licensed contents of the cask
system, which is designed to preclude conditions for accidental
criticality events, to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and
concludes that the exemption described above would continue to satisfy
the underlying purpose of 10 CFR 50.68(b)(1). The details of the NRC
staff's safety evaluation will be provided in the exemption that will
be issued as part of the letter to the licensee approving the exemption
to the regulation.
The proposed action will not significantly increase the probability
or consequences of accidents. No changes are being made in the types of
effluents that may be released offsite. There is no significant
increase in the amount of any effluent release off site. 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 non-radiological impacts, the proposed
action does not have a potential to affect any historic sites. It does
not affect non-radiological plant effluents and has no other
environmental impact. Therefore, there are no significant non-
radiological environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.
Accordingly, the NRC concludes that there are no significant
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.
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).
Denial of the application would result in no change in current
environmental impacts. The environmental impacts of the proposed action
and the alternative action are similar.
Alternative Use of Resources
The action does not involve the use of any different resources than
those previously considered in the Final Environmental Statement for
the MP2 dated June 1973.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
On December 23, 2004, the staff consulted with the Connecticut
State official, Michael Firsick, of the
[[Page 7528]]
Department of Environmental Protection, regarding the environmental
impact of the proposed action. The State official had no comments.
Finding of No Significant Impact
On the basis of the environmental assessment, the NRC concludes
that the proposed action will not have a significant effect on the
quality of the human environment. Accordingly, the NRC has determined
not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the proposed
action.
For further details with respect to the proposed action, see the
licensee's letter dated November 5, 2004. Documents may be examined,
and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR),
located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor),
Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible
electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management
System (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on 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 PDR Reference staff at 1-800-
397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or send an e-mail to [email protected]. (Note: As
of the date of issuance of this letter, public access to ADAMS has been
temporarily suspended so that security reviews of publicly available
documents may be performed and potentially sensitive information
removed. Please check the NRC Web site for updates on the resumption of
ADAMS access.)
Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day of February 2005.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Darrell J. Roberts,
Chief, Section 2, Project Directorate I, Division of Licensing Project
Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 05-2786 Filed 2-11-05; 8:45 am]
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