[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 71 (Friday, April 13, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18691-18692]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-7074]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-133]


Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact 
Related to Issuance of License Amendment for the Humboldt Bay Power 
Plant Unit 3 License DPR-007, Humboldt, CA

AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Hickman, Division of Waste 
Management and Environmental Protection, Office of Federal and State 
Materials and Environmental Management Programs, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop: T7E18, Washington, DC 20555-00001. 
Telephone: (301) 415-3017; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering a 
request, dated December 20, 2006, by the Pacific Gas and Electric 
Company (PGE or the Licensee), to approve an amendment to Facility 
Operating License No. DPR-7 that would revise License Condition 2.B.3 
to allow the receipt, possession, and use of byproduct, source, or 
special nuclear material without restriction to amount or atomic 
number, for sample analysis or instrument calibration or associated 
with radioactive apparatus or components.

II. Environmental Assessment

Background

    Humboldt Bay Power Plant (HBPP) was permanently shut down in July 
1976, and until recently was in safe storage condition (SAFSTOR). 
SAFSTOR is the decommissioning method in which a nuclear facility is 
placed and maintained in a condition that allows the safe storage of 
radioactive components of the nuclear plant and subsequent 
decontamination to levels that permit license termination. A 
Decommissioning Plan (DP) was approved in July 1988. Subsequent to the 
1996 License Termination rule, the licensee converted its DP into its 
Defueled Safety Analysis Report which is updated every two years. A 
Post Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report was issued by the 
licensee in February 1998. The licensee is now engaged in some 
incremental decommissioning activities. In December 2003, PG&E formally 
submitted a license application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (NRC) for approval of a dry-cask Independent Spent Fuel 
Storage Installation (ISFSI) at the Humboldt Bay site. A license and 
safety evaluation report for the Humboldt Bay ISFSI were issued on 
November 17, 2005. PG&E plans to begin active decommissioning of the 
facility in 2007.
    This Environmental Assessment (EA) has been developed in accordance 
with the requirements of 10 CFR Part 51.21.

Proposed Action

    The change proposed by this amendment will replace the current 
license condition 2.B.3(copyright) which addresses the receipt, 
possession, and use of byproduct materials with one which allows the 
receipt, possession, and use of byproduct, source, or special nuclear 
material without restriction to chemical or physical form or atomic 
number, for sample analysis or instrument calibration or associated 
with radioactive apparatus or components. The proposed action is 
contained in the licensee's application dated December 20, 2006.

Need for Proposed Action

    The current license condition was included in the license that was 
issued by the NRC when HBPP entered the possess-but-not-operate SAFSTOR 
phase. The license, including License Condition 2.B.3(c), was proposed 
by PG&E on July 30, 1984, and approved and issued by the NRC on July 
16, 1985, as Amendment No. 19 to the facility license. License 
Condition 2.B.3(c) was established based on the byproduct materials 
onsite at the time and not based on any safety issue. The licensee has 
now begun preparations for transfer of the spent fuel from the spent 
fuel pool to an onsite Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation and 
for active decommissioning. Offsite equipment will need to be received 
to perform these activities. However, review of potential equipment has 
revealed that some would be unsuitable due to radiological composition 
which contains atomic numbers not allowed by the current license 
condition.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed amendments to 
the License and concludes the changes provide a minor revision of the 
existing provision for the receipt, possession, and use of special 
nuclear, source, and byproduct materials. The revised license condition 
is similar to the license condition currently in place for multiple 
decommissioning and operating nuclear power facilities. The NRC 
evaluated the safety impacts of the proposed changes and determined 
that the changes proposed by this license amendment request will 
provide reasonable assurance that the applicable radiation protection 
requirements of 10 CFR parts 20, 30, 40, and 70 will be met.
    The NRC has evaluated the change and determined that the revised 
license condition will not significantly change the types or quantities 
of special nuclear, source, and byproduct materials the license may 
receive, possess, or use and would therefore have no significant 
impacts to the environment.
    Due to the limited nature of the amendment which will not 
significantly change the licensed activities on site, the proposed 
action does not have a potential to affect any historic sites, would 
not increase the probability or consequences of accidents, would not 
change the types of effluents that may be released offsite, and would 
not increase occupation or public radiation exposure.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    The alternative to the proposed action would be to deny the 
request. Denial of this amendment request would have the same 
environmental impact as the proposed action.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    This EA was prepared by John B. Hickman, Project Manager, 
Decommissioning Directorate, Division of Waste Management and 
Environmental Protection (DWMEP). NRC staff determined that the 
proposed action is not a major decommissioning activity and will not 
affect listed or proposed endangered species, nor critical habitat. 
Therefore, no further consultation is required under Section 7 of the 
Endangered Species Act. Likewise, NRC staff determined that the 
proposed action is not the type of activity that has the potential to 
cause

[[Page 18692]]

previously unconsidered effects on historic properties, as consultation 
for site decommissioning has been conducted previously. There are no 
additional impacts to historic properties associated with the disposal 
method and location for demolition debris. Therefore, no consultation 
is required under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation 
Act. The NRC discussed the proposed action with the State of California 
Radiologic Health Branch. The state official had no comments.

III. 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, preparation of an 
environmental impact statement for the proposed action is not 
warranted.

IV. Further Information

    For further details with respect to the proposed action, see the 
licensee's letter dated December 20, 2006. (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML063560061) The NRC Public Documents Room is located at NRC 
Headquarters in Rockville, MD, and can be contacted at (800) 397-4209. 
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's (ADAMS) Public Library component on the NRC Web 
site, http://www.nrc.gov (the Public Electronic Reading Room). 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 at 
[email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 5th day of April, 2007.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Keith I. McConnell,
Deputy Director, Decommissioning and Uranium Recovery Licensing 
Directorate, Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection, 
Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management 
Programs.
[FR Doc. E7-7074 Filed 4-12-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P