[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 46 (Thursday, March 9, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12219-12220]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-3337]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-348]


Southern Nuclear Operating Company; Joseph M. Farley Nuclear 
Power Plant, Unit 1; 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 Facilities Operating Prior to January 1, 1979,'' Section 
III.G.2, for Facility Operating License No. NPF-2, issued to Southern 
Nuclear Operating Company (SNC or the licensee), for operation of the 
Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Power Plant (FNP), Unit 1, 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

    The proposed action would allow the use of fire-rated electrical 
cable produced by Meggitt Safety System, Inc. (previously known as 
Whittaker Electronic Resources Unit of Whittaker Electronic Systems), 
for several cables in Fire Areas 1-013 and 1-042 associated with safe 
shutdown (SSD) control circuits. The licensee proposes the use of these 
fire-rated electrical cables in lieu of the alternatives specified in 
Section III.G.2 of Appendix R. In summary, SNC has requested a 
permanent exemption from 10 CFR Appendix R, Section III.G.2 to use 1-
hour fire-rated cable in lieu of a 1-hour rated fire barrier as 
required by 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix R, Section III.G.2 for protection 
of safe shutdown control circuits located in Fire Areas 1-013 and 1-
042. Section III.G.2 of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix R, provides fire 
protection requirements for electrical cables located within the same 
fire areas whose failure could cause the maloperation of redundant 
trains of systems necessary to achieve and maintain hot shutdown 
conditions. These areas are required to have protection features such 
that one of the redundant trains will be free of fire damage in the 
event of a fire. One method, described in Section III.G.2, for ensuring 
compliance with this requirement is to enclose the cable and equipment 
and associated non-safety circuits of one redundant train in a 1-hour 
rated fire barrier. In addition, an area-wide automatic fire 
suppression and detection system shall be installed in the fire area.
    A postulated fire in Fire Area 1-013 or 1-042 could cause loss of 
offsite power since both fire areas contain cable bus ducts from the 
startup transformers to both redundant trains of the 4 kilovolt (kV) 
Appendix R SSD buses. A postulated fire in either of these fire areas 
could also potentially impact the function of the Train B of the 4 kV 
Emergency Diesel Generator 1B control circuitry. The majority of the 
Train A onsite electrical power system components required for Appendix 
R SSD are not located in Fire Area 1-013 or 1-042. Certain Train A 
onsite power system related SSD circuits located in Fire Areas 1-013 
and 1-042 will be protected by a 1-hour fire-rated electrical cable 
along with area-wide automatic fire suppression and detection.
    Thus, the licensee's request for an exemption addresses the 
situation wherein a 1-hour rated fire barrier as described in Section 
III.G.2 of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix R is not provided for certain 
components. Instead, these credited Train A components will utilize 
fire-rated electrical cables (Mineral Insulated (MI) cables). This 
fire-rated electrical cable has been tested in accordance with American 
Society for Testing Materials E-119, ``Standard Test Methods for Fire 
Tests of Building Construction Materials.'' Further details of the NRC 
staff's review of this issue, with respect to determining that the 
fire-rated electrical cables would be capable of providing an 
equivalent level of protection as would be provided by a 1-hour rated 
fire barrier, are provided in a related safety evaluation.
    The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's 
application dated January 19, 2005, as supplemented by letters dated 
June 9 (two letters) and November 18, 2005.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    The exemption is needed to enable the licensee to utilize fire-
rated electrical cables (MI cables) for certain components in lieu of a 
1-hour rated fire barrier, as described in Section III.G.2 of 10 CFR 
Part 50, Appendix R, for FNP, Unit 1 Fire Areas 1-013 and 1-042.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC has completed its safety evaluation of the proposed action 
and concludes that the proposed exemption 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 an exemption that will be issued 
in a letter to the licensee. The action relates to revising the bases 
for the adequacy of the fire protection program at FNP, Unit 1.
    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''

[[Page 12220]]

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 February 14, 2006, the NRC 
staff consulted with the Alabama State official, Kirk Whatley, 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 January 19, June 9, and November 18, 2005. 
Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public 
Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint 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 at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day of March 2006.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Robert E. Martin,
Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch II-1, Division of 
Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E6-3337 Filed 3-8-06; 8:45 am]
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