[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 203 (Monday, October 22, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59560-59561]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-20731]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-382]
Entergy Operations, Inc.; Waterford Steam Electric Station, Unit
3 Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering
issuance of exemptions from Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(10 CFR) Part 50, Section 50.46 and Appendix K, for Facility Operating
License No. NPF-38, issued to Entergy Operations, Inc. (Entergy, the
licensee), for operation of the Waterford Steam Electric Station, Unit
3 (Waterford 3), located in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. 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 exempt the licensee from the requirements
of 10 CFR part 50, section 50.46 and Appendix K to allow the use of
Optimized ZIRLOTM fuel rod cladding as the allowable fuel
rod cladding material. The proposed action is in accordance with
Entergy's application dated April 24, 2007.
The Need for the Proposed Action
The NRC's regulations in 10 CFR part 50, section 50.46 and Appendix
K, make no provision for use of fuel rod clad in a material other than
Zircaloy or ZIRLOTM. Optimized ZIRLOTM has a
lower tin content than either Zircaloy or ZIRLOTM;
therefore, use of Optimized ZIRLOTM fuel rod clad calls for
an exemption from 10 CFR part 50, section 50.46 and Appendix K.
For cladding with a lower tin content, corrosive resistance has
been found to improve, as indicated by available industry data from the
American Nuclear Society, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the
Electric Power Research Institute, and Westinghouse Electric
Corporation. The optimum tin level provides a reduced corrosion rate
while maintaining the benefits of mechanical strength and resistance to
accelerated corrosion from abnormal chemistry conditions. In addition,
fuel rod internal pressures (resulting from increased fuel duty, use of
integral fuel burnable absorbers and corrosion/temperature feedback
effects) have become more limiting with respect to fuel rod design
criteria. Reducing the associated corrosion buildup, and thus,
minimizing temperature feedback effects, provides additional margin to
fuel rod internal pressure design criteria. The NRC previously granted
a similar exemption in July 2004 for Waterford 3 for use of Optimized
ZIRLOTM in four lead-test assemblies.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The NRC staff has completed its safety evaluation of the proposed
action and concludes that the proposed exemptions would continue to
satisfy the underlying purpose of 10 CFR part 50, sections 50.46 and
Appendix K, and will not increase the probability or consequences of
accidents previously analyzed and would not affect facility radiation
levels or facility radiological effluents.
The details of the staff's safety evaluation will be provided in
the exemption that will be issued as part of the letter to the licensee
approving the amendment to the regulation.
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 off site. There is no significant
increase in the amount of any effluent released off site. 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 ``no-action'' alternative 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 for
Waterford 3, dated September 1981.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
In accordance with its stated policy, on August 17, 2007, the staff
consulted with the Louisiana State official, Ms. Nan Calhoun of the
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, 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
[[Page 59561]]
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 letter dated April 24, 2007. 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 O1F21, 1555 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 send
an e-mail to [email protected].
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 25th day of September 2007.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Nageswaran Kalyanam,
Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch IV, Division of Operating
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E7-20731 Filed 10-19-07; 8:45 am]
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