[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 104 (Thursday, May 31, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30398-30399]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-10471]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 72-26]


Notice of Availability of Supplement to the Environmental 
Assessment and Draft Finding of No Significant Impact for the Diablo 
Canyon Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of availability of opportunity to provide comments.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (NRC) is issuing a supplement to the Environmental 
Assessment (EA) for the Diablo Canyon Independent Spent Fuel Storage 
Installation (ISFSI) and publishing, for public comment, a draft 
Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). NRC issued the EA and initial 
FONSI for this action on October 24, 2003, and subsequently issued a 
license for the Diablo Canyon ISFSI to the Pacific Gas and Electric 
Company (PG&E), on March 22, 2004. The license authorizes PG&E to 
receive, possess, store, and transfer spent nuclear fuel and associated 
radioactive materials resulting from the operation of the Diablo Canyon 
Power Plant in an ISFSI at the site for a term of 20 years. NRC is 
issuing this supplement to the EA and draft FONSI in response to the 
June 2, 2006, decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the 
Ninth Circuit, San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace v. NRC, 449 F.3d 1016 
(9th Cir. 2006). This supplement to the EA addresses the environmental 
impacts from potential terrorist acts against the Diablo Canyon ISFSI.

DATES: The public comment period on the draft FONSI closes July 2, 
2007. Written comments should be submitted as described in the 
ADDRESSES section of this notice. Comments submitted by mail should be 
postmarked by that date, to ensure consideration. Comments received or 
postmarked after that date will be considered if it is practical to do 
so, but the Commission is able to assure consideration only for 
comments received on or before this date.

ADDRESSES: Members of the public are invited and encouraged to submit 
comments to the Chief, Rulemaking, Directives, and Editing Branch, Mail 
Stop T6-D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001. Please note Docket No. 72-26 when submitting comments. Comments 
will also be accepted by e-mail, at [email protected] or by facsimile to 
(301) 492-3342, Attention: James R. Hall.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: James R. Hall, Senior Project 
Manager, Licensing Branch, Division of Spent Fuel Storage and 
Transportation, Mail Stop 6003-3D-02M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. Telephone: (301) 492-3319; e-
mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction

    On December 21, 2001, PG&E submitted an application to NRC, 
requesting a site-specific license to build and operate an ISFSI, to be 
located on the site of the Diablo Canyon Power Plant, in San Luis 
Obispo County, California. In accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the NRC staff issued an EA for this 
action on October 24, 2003, in conformance with NRC requirements 
specified in 10 CFR 51.21 and 51.30, and the associated guidance in NRC 
report NUREG-1748, ``Environmental Review Guidance for Licensing 
Actions Associated with NMSS Programs.'' Based on the EA, NRC also 
issued a FONSI for this action on October 24, 2003, in accordance with 
10 CFR 51.31 and 51.32.
    On March 22, 2004, the NRC staff issued Materials License No. SNM-
2511 to PG&E, pursuant to 10 CFR Part 72, authorizing PG&E to receive, 
possess, store, and transfer spent nuclear fuel and associated 
radioactive materials resulting from the operation of the Diablo Canyon 
Power Plant in an ISFSI at the site for a term of 20 years. PG&E has 
begun construction of the Diablo Canyon ISFSI and currently plans to 
start transferring spent fuel to the ISFSI in mid-2008.
    After NRC's issuance of the license for the Diablo Canyon ISFSI, 
the San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace and other parties filed suit in 
the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, asking that 
NRC be required to consider terrorist acts in its environmental review 
associated with this licensing action. In its decision of June 2, 2006, 
San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace v. NRC, 449 F.3d 1016 (9th Cir. 
2006), the Ninth Circuit held that NRC could not categorically refuse 
to consider the consequences of a terrorist attack under NEPA and 
remanded the case to NRC.
    In response to the Ninth Circuit decision, the Commission issued a 
Memorandum and Order on February 26, 2007, directing the NRC staff to 
prepare a revised EA, addressing the likelihood of a terrorist attack 
at the Diablo Canyon ISFSI site and the potential consequences of such 
an attack.
    The October 24, 2003, EA and FONSI, and the license and supporting 
documents, are available on NRC's Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/waste.html, by selecting ``Diablo Canyon ISFSI,'' in the Quick Links 
box. Copies are also available by contacting James R. Hall, as noted 
above.

II. Summary of Supplement to the EA for the Diablo Canyon ISFSI

    In the supplement to the EA, the NRC staff has considered the 
potential radiological impacts of terrorist acts on the Diablo Canyon 
ISFSI. NRC has established requirements and has initiated several 
actions designed to provide high assurance that a terrorist attack 
would not lead to a significant radiological event at an ISFSI. These 
include: (1) NRC's continual evaluation of the threat environment, in 
coordination with the intelligence and law enforcement communities, 
which provides, in part, the basis for the protective measures 
currently required; (2) the protective measures that are in place to 
reduce the chance of an attack that leads to a significant release of 
radiation; (3) the robust design of dry cask storage systems, which 
provide substantial resistance to penetration; and (4) NRC security 
assessments of the potential consequences of terrorist attacks against 
ISFSIs.
    The supplement to the EA describes the security measures for ISFSIs 
and discusses the security assessments performed by NRC, which 
confirmed that the existing security requirements, imposed by 
regulations and orders, are adequate to provide high assurance that a 
terrorist attack on an ISFSI will not lead to significant radiological 
consequences. Threat scenarios considered in the generic security 
assessments for ISFSIs included a large aircraft impact similar in 
magnitude to the attacks of September 11, 2001, and ground assaults 
using expanded adversary characteristics consistent with the design 
basis threat for radiological sabotage for nuclear power plants.
    The NRC staff compared the assumptions used in the generic ISFSI 
security assessments to the relevant features of the Diablo Canyon 
ISFSI. Based on this comparison, the staff determined that the 
assumptions used in these generic security assessments,

[[Page 30399]]

regarding the storage cask design, the amount of radioactive material 
that could be released, and the atmospheric dispersion, were 
representative, and in some cases, conservative, relative to the actual 
characteristics for the Diablo Canyon ISFSI. The staff determined that 
any dose to affected residents nearest to the Diablo Canyon site will 
tend to be much lower than the doses calculated for the generic 
assessments. Based on these considerations, the dose to the nearest 
affected resident, from even the most severe plausible threat 
scenarios--the ground assault and aircraft impact scenarios discussed 
above, would likely be below 5 rem. In many scenarios, the hypothetical 
dose to an individual in the affected population could be substantially 
less than 5 rem, or none at all.
    In the supplement, the NRC staff concludes that the construction, 
operation, and decommissioning of the Diablo Canyon ISFSI, even when 
potential terrorist attacks on the facility are considered, will not 
result in a significant effect on the human environment. NRC security 
requirements, imposed through regulations and orders, and implemented 
through the licensee's security plans, in combination with the design 
requirements for dry cask storage systems, provide adequate protection 
against successful terrorist attacks on ISFSIs. Therefore, a terrorist 
attack that would result in a significant release of radiation 
affecting the public is not reasonably expected to occur.
    The supplement to the EA and draft FONSI are available on NRC's Web 
site at: http://www.nrc.gov/waste.html, by selecting ``Diablo Canyon 
ISFSI'' in the Quick Links box. Copies are also available by contacting 
James R. Hall, as noted previously.

III. Draft Finding of No Significant Impact

    The NRC staff has prepared a supplement to the EA related to the 
construction and operation of the Diablo Canyon ISFSI, in accordance 
with the requirements of 10 CFR Part 51. As set forth in the supplement 
to the EA, NRC has considered the potential for terrorist attacks on 
the facility, and has determined that the storage of spent nuclear fuel 
at the Diablo Canyon ISFSI will not have a significant effect on the 
quality of the human environment, based on the facility design features 
and the mitigative security measures incorporated as part of the NRC 
licensing action and in response to NRC security orders. These design 
features and mitigative security measures will provide high assurance 
that substantial environmental impacts will be avoided and thereby 
reduced to a non-significant risk level. Therefore, in accordance with 
10 CFR 51.33, NRC has determined that issuance of a draft FONSI is 
appropriate.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.33(e), a final determination to prepare an 
environmental impact statement or a final FONSI for the proposed action 
shall not be made until the last day of the public comment period has 
expired.

IV. Further Information

    Documents related to this action, including the supplement to the 
EA and draft FONSI, the October 24, 2003, EA, and the Diablo Canyon 
ISFSI license and supporting documentation, re available 
electronically, at NRC's Electronic Reading Room, at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, you can access NRC's 
Agencywide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS), which 
provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. The ADAMS 
accession number for the supplement to the EA and draft FONSI is 
ML071280256. The ADAMS accession number for the October 24, 2003, EA is 
ML032970337, and for the ISFSI license and related documents, the 
accession number is ML040780107. If you do not have access to ADAMS, or 
if there are problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, 
contact NRC's Public Document 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 NRC's PDR, O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR reproduction contractor 
will copy documents, for a fee.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 24th day of May, 2007.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Robert A. Nelson,
Chief, Licensing Branch, Division of Spent Fuel Storage and 
Transportation, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
 [FR Doc. E7-10471 Filed 5-30-07; 8:45 am]
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