[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 55 (Thursday, March 20, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15011-15012]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-5649]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 72-26]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Final 
Finding of No Significant Impact for an Exemption to the Requirements 
of 10 CFR 72.70(c)(6) for the Diablo Canyon Independent Spent Fuel 
Storage Installation

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Issuance of Environmental Assessment and Final Finding of No 
Significant Impact for Exemption.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering 
issuance of an exemption, pursuant to 10 CFR 72.7, from the provisions 
of 10 CFR 72.70 to the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E, or the 
licensee). This regulation requires that each specific licensee under 
10 CFR part 72 shall update periodically the final safety analysis 
report (FSAR) to assure that the information included in the report 
contains the latest information developed. 10 CFR 72.70(c)(6) requires 
that updates shall be filed every 24 months from the date of issuance 
of the license.
    The NRC granted a license for the Diablo Canyon Independent Spent 
Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI), to be located on the site of the 
Diablo Canyon Power Plant, to PG&E on March 22, 2004. The requested 
exemption would allow PG&E to submit an updated FSAR for the Diablo 
Canyon ISFSI no later than July 1, 2008, or no later than 30 days prior 
to the commencement of onsite dry-run testing activities, whichever 
occurs first. PG&E submitted the exemption request on January 22, 2008.

II. Environmental Assessment

Identification of Proposed Action

    The licensee requested an exemption from the requirement in 10 CFR 
72.70(c)(6), which states that each licensee shall submit an updated 
FSAR to the NRC every 24 months from the date of issuance of the 
license. The requested exemption would allow the licensee to delay the 
submittal of the updated FSAR for the Diablo Canyon ISFSI by up to 
approximately 100 days (no later than July 1, 2008, or 30 days prior to 
the commencement of onsite dry-run testing activities, whichever comes 
first).
    The proposed action before the Commission is whether to grant this 
exemption pursuant to 10 CFR 72.7.

Need for the Proposed Action

    The NRC granted a license to construct and operate the Diablo 
Canyon ISFSI to PG&E on March 22, 2004. PG&E has constructed the 
facility and plans to commence operation in the summer of 2008. The 
exemption would allow the licensee additional time to submit an updated 
FSAR beyond March 22, 2008, which is 24 months from the date of the 
last required update. In its justification for the exemption request, 
PG&E stated that it is currently completing certain design changes to 
the facility that will impact the information in the FSAR, and that 
these changes will be reflected in the FSAR update, after the required 
evaluations are finalized. Further, if the exemption is granted, the 
extra time provided will be sufficient to ensure that the updated FSAR 
will contain current and accurate information related to the ISFSI 
design, analysis and operation, in time for planned NRC inspection 
activities. In order to ensure that the information in the updated FSAR 
contains the latest information developed and is of the greatest value 
to its users, the licensee has requested the subject exemption.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC staff previously evaluated the environmental impacts 
resulting from the construction, operation and decommissioning of the 
Diablo Canyon ISFSI, and determined that such impacts would be 
acceptably small. The staff's conclusions are documented in the 
``Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact Related 
to the Construction and Operation of the Diablo Canyon Independent 
Spent Fuel Storage Installation,'' issued on October 24, 2003 (October 
24, 2003 EA); and in the ``Supplement to the Environmental Assessment 
and Final Finding of No Significant Impact Related to the Construction 
and Operation of the Diablo Canyon Independent Spent Fuel Storage 
Installation,'' dated August 30, 2007 (Supplement). The proposed action 
under consideration would not change the staff's previous conclusions 
in the October 24, 2003 EA and the Supplement regarding environmental

[[Page 15012]]

impacts because the proposed exemption is an administrative action that 
will not affect the physical design or operation of the Diablo Canyon 
ISFSI. Therefore, there are no radiological or non-radiological impacts 
from a one-time delay in submitting the updated FSAR, and the staff 
finds that the proposed exemption will not have any significant 
environmental impact.

Environmental Impacts of the Alternative 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). 
Approval or denial of the exemption request would result in no change 
in the environmental impacts described in the October 24, 2003 EA and 
its Supplement. Therefore, the environmental impacts of the proposed 
action and the alternative action are similar.

Conclusion

    The staff has reviewed the exemption request submitted by PG&E and 
has determined that allowing the licensee to delay the submittal of the 
updated Final Safety Analysis Report for the Diablo Canyon ISFSI by no 
more than approximately 100 days beyond the date required by 10 CFR 
72.70(c)(6) is an administrative change, and would have no significant 
effect on the human environment.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    On March 10, 2008, Ms. Barbara Byron of the California Energy 
Commission was contacted regarding the environmental assessment for the 
proposed exemption and Ms. Byron had no comments. The NRC staff has 
determined that the proposed action is solely of a procedural nature 
and will not affect listed species or critical habitat. Therefore, no 
consultation is required under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. 
The NRC staff has also determined that the proposed action is not the 
type of activity that has the potential to cause effects on historic 
properties, assuming such historic properties were present at the 
Diablo Canyon ISFSI. Therefore, no consultation is required under 
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    The environmental impacts of the proposed action have been reviewed 
in accordance with the requirements set forth in 10 CFR part 51. Based 
upon the foregoing environmental assessment, the NRC finds that the 
proposed action of granting the exemption from 10 CFR 72.70(c)(6), so 
that PG&E may delay the submittal of the updated FSAR for the Diablo 
Canyon ISFSI, will not have a significant effect on the quality of the 
human environment. Accordingly, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.31 and 51.119(a), 
the NRC has determined that a Final Finding of No Significant Impact is 
appropriate, and that an environmental impact statement for the 
proposed exemption is not necessary.

IV. Further Information

    PG&E's application for exemption is available electronically at the 
NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, you can access the 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 exemption request is ML080290634.
    If you do not have access to ADAMS, or if there are problems in 
accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC 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 the NRC's PDR, O-
1F21, 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 14th day of March, 2008.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James R. Hall,
Senior Project Manager, Licensing Branch, Division of Spent Fuel 
Storage and Transportation, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 
Safeguards.
 [FR Doc. E8-5649 Filed 3-19-08; 8:45 am]
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