[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 172 (Wednesday, September 7, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53258-53259]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-4852]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-213]


Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company, Haddam Neck Plant; 
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Theodore B. Smith, Decommissioning 
Directorate, Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection, 
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. Telephone: (301) 415-
6721; fax number: (301) 415-5398; 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, Appendix A Criterion 1, 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix B Section 
XVII, and 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3), for the Haddam Neck Nuclear Plant (HNP), 
East Hampton, CT, as requested by Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power 
Company (CY) on February 16, 2005. An environmental assessment was 
performed by the NRC staff in support of its review of the exemption 
request.

I. Introduction

    CY is the licensee and holder of Facility Operating License No. 
DPR-61 for the HNP, a permanently shutdown decommissioning nuclear 
power plant. Although permanently shutdown, this facility is still 
subject to all rules, and orders of the NRC.
    On December 5, 1996, CY notified NRC that operations had 
permanently ceased and that all fuel had been permanently removed from 
the reactor. On July 7, 2000, CY submitted its License Termination 
Plan, which the NRC approved on November 25, 2002. CY began actively 
decommissioning HNP in April 1999, through a contract with Bechtel 
Power Corporation. On March 26, 2005, CY completed transfer of all 
spent nuclear fuel to its Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation.

II. Environmental Assessment Summary

Identification of Proposed Action

    CY, in accordance with 10 CFR 50.12, ``Specific Exemptions,'' has 
requested the following exemptions, to the extent necessary, from the 
record retention requirements of:
    (1) 10 CFR part 50, Appendix A Criterion 1 which requires certain 
records be retained ``through the life of the unit'';
    (2) 10 CFR part 50, Appendix B Criterion XVII which requires 
certain records be retained consistent with regulatory requirements for 
a duration established by the licensee; and
    (3) 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3) which requires certain records be maintained 
until ``Termination of a license issued pursuant to'' Part 50.
    Instead, CY proposes the following: 1) for Structures, Systems, and 
Components (SSCs) associated with safe power generation, eliminate 
records when the nuclear power unit and associated systems no longer 
exist, or 2) for SSCs associated with safe storage of fuel in the spent 
fuel pool, eliminate records when spent nuclear fuel has been 
completely transferred from the spent fuel pool and the spent fuel pool 
building is ready for demolition.

Need for Proposed Action

    The requested exemption and application of the exemption will 
eliminate the requirement to maintain certain records, when they are no 
longer necessary due to the permanently shutdown status of the 
facility, and will 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 effluent 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 effluent and it has no other 
environmental impact. Therefore, there are no significant non-
radiological 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 CY 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 had 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 February 16, 2005 (Agencywide Documents Access 
and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML050550025). Publically 
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/NRC/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

[[Page 53259]]

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, O1 F21, One White Flint, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR reproduction contractor 
will copy documents for a fee.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day of August, 2005.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Daniel M. Gillen,
Deputy Director, Decommissioning Directorate, Division of Waste 
Management and Environmental Protection, Office of Nuclear Material 
Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. E5-4852 Filed 9-6-05; 8:45 am]
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