[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 154 (Thursday, August 11, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46892-46894]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-4351]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-348 and 50-364]
Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Joseph M. Farley Nuclear
Power Plant, Units 1 and 2; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering
issuance of an exemption from title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR) part 50, Appendix R, ``Fire Protection Program for
Nuclear Power
[[Page 46893]]
Facilities Operating Prior to January 1, 1979,'' Section III.G.2.c, for
Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-2 and NPF-8, issued to Southern
Nuclear Operating Company (SNC or the licensee), for operation of the
Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Power Plant (FNP), Units 1 and 2, located in
Houston County, Alabama. 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: On December 29, 1986, the
NRC staff granted Exemption Request 1-3, ``Service Water Intake
Structure--Fire Area 72,'' from certain requirements of Appendix R,
Section III.G.2.c, that require fire detection and fire suppression
capabilities and the enclosure of cables, equipment, and associated
non-safety circuits of one redundant train of safe shutdown equipment
in a one-hour rated fire barrier. Exemption Request 1-3, issued on
December 29, 1986, listed a total of ten items specific to Fire Area 72
for the Service Water Intake Structure (SWIS), which is common to FNP,
Units 1 and 2.
By letters dated August 28, 2003, December 28, 2004, and June 9,
2005, SNC submitted proposed revisions to Exemption Request 1-3. SNC
stated that the proposed revisions to Exemption Request 1-3 would
clarify FNP's fire protection licensing basis, delete unnecessary
attributes of the prior approved exemption, and revise the remaining
exemption attributes to remove references to the Kaowool one-hour fire
barrier material. SNC also stated that the proposed revision to
Exemption Request 1-3 is part of SNC's comprehensive plan to respond to
concerns about Kaowool fire barrier material. SNC's August 28, 2003,
letter provided the disposition for the original ten items plus one
additional item related to Exemption Request 1-3. For two of these
items, no change in the basis for their inclusion as exemption items
was proposed and they were not considered further. For two of the items
related to the service water swing pump cables, the principal basis for
their inclusion as exemption items was not changed, however an
improvement in defense-in-depth due the upgrading of certain walls
within the SWIS to 3-hour rated fire barriers was recognized. For two
of the items related to the service water header strainer motor
operated inlet valves and swing pump motor operated discharge valves,
the basis for the exemption is revised to delete reliance on Kaowool
and to reflect the re-analysis that shows that damage to cables in the
strainer pit cannot result in spurious operation of the valves. For the
discharge-to-wet pit and discharge to storage pond flume valves, SNC
showed that, based on deterministic and fire modeling results, that
fire effects will not result in the mis-positioning of the valves. For
the item related to service water pump cables in Fire Area 72 A, an
integrated risk assessment shows that safe shutdown can be achieved
even if no credit is taken for the Kaowool raceway enclosures. A
previously existing Exemption Request 1-3 item relating to the
coordination between safe shutdown and non-safe shutdown circuits was
found to have been resolved by modifications to the plant and,
accordingly, is deleted from Exemption Request 1-3. For the item
related to the redundant Train A and Train B service water and related
power cables that enter the SWIS near the ceiling in the northeast
corner, an integrated risk assessment shows that fire damage would not
occur to these cables even if no credit were taken for Kaowool. The
proposed action, would allow SNC to re-establish the basis for
Exemption Request 1-3 based on programmatic and plant design
modifications, a deterministic re-analyses of fire protection
considerations, a risk-informed plant change evaluation specifically
applicable to the SWIS, enhanced controls on transient combustibles,
the existing fire detection and automatic fire suppression capability
to maintain defense-in-depth, and the availability of manual fire
fighting and associated fire fighting equipment.
The Need for the Proposed Action: The proposed changes to Exemption
Request 1-3 from 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix R, Section III.G.2.c is
needed to enable SNC to re-establish the bases for the exemption that
do not rely on the use of the Kaowool fire barrier material for the
enclosure of certain redundant cable trays in the SWIS Fire Area 72.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action: The NRC has completed
its safety evaluation of the proposed action and concludes that the
proposed changes to Exemption Request 1-3 will not present an undue
risk to the public health and safety. The details of the NRC staff's
Safety Evaluation will be provided in the revised Exemption Request 1-3
that will be issued in a letter to the licensee approving the changes
to Exemption Request 1-3. The action relates to revising the bases for
the adequacy of the fire protection program at FNP.
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, and 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 related to the operation of the FNP,
Units 1 and 2, dated December 1974, and the Final Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement (NUREG-1437, Supplement 18), dated
March, 2005.
Agencies and Persons Consulted: In accordance with its stated
policy, on August 4, 2005, the NRC staff consulted with the Alabama
State official, David Walters, of the Office of Radiation Control,
Alabama Department of Public Health, 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 letters dated August 28, 2003, December 28, 2004, and June
9, 2005. Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the
NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint
[[Page 46894]]
North, Public File Area O1 F21, 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 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 PDR Reference staff
by telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to
[email protected].
Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this 5th day of August 2005.
For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Robert E. Martin,
Senior Project Manager, Section 1, Project Directorate II, Division of
Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E5-4351 Filed 8-10-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P