[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 203 (Monday, October 20, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62343-62344]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-24899]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-346]


FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company; Davis-Besse Nuclear Power 
Station, Unit No. 1; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No 
Significant Impact

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission, NRC) is 
considering issuance of an amendment for Facility Operating License No. 
NPF-3, issued to FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (the licensee, 
FENOC), for operation of the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, Unit 
No. 1 (DBNPS) located in Ottawa County, Ohio. Pursuant to Title 10 of 
the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Sections 51.21 and 51.32, the 
NRC is issuing this environmental assessment and finding of no 
significant impact. The Notice of Consideration of Issuance of 
Amendment was published in the Federal Register (FR) on May 22, 2008 
(73 FR 29787).

Environmental Assessment

Identification of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action would be a full conversion from the current 
technical specifications (CTS) to the improved technical specifications 
(ITS) consistent with improved standard technical specifications as 
described in ``Standard Technical Specifications Babcock and Wilcox 
Plants,'' Revision 3.0 (STS) (Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML041800598). STS Revision 3.0 
consists of the following NRC approved TS Task Force Travelers (TSTFS) 
TSTF-369 Revision 1, TSTF-372 Revision 4, TSTF-400 Revision 1, TSTF-439 
Revision 2, TSTF-449 Revision 4, TSTF-479 Revision 0, TSTF-482 Revision 
0, and TSTF-485 Revision 0. The proposed action also encompasses the 
beyond scope issues included in the Notice of Consideration of Issuance 
of Amendment.
    The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's 
application dated August 3, 2007 (ADAMS Accession No. ML072200448), as 
supplemented by letters dated May 16, 2008 (2 letters) (ADAMS Accession 
Nos. ML081480464 and ML081430105), July 23, 2008 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML082070079), August 7, 2008 (ADAMS Accession No. ML082270658), August 
26, 2008 (ADAMS Accession No. ML082600594), and September 3, 2008 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML082490154). The information provided to the 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff through the joint NRC-
FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company improved technical specifications 
(ITS) conversion web page hosted by Excel Services Corporation can be 
found in these supplements. To expedite its review of the application, 
the NRC staff issued its requests for additional information (RAI) 
through the DBNPS ITS Conversion web page and the licensee addressed 
the RAI by providing responses on the web page. Entry into the database 
is protected so that only the licensee and NRC reviewers can enter 
information into the database to add RAIs (NRC) or provide responses to 
the RAIs (licensee); however, the public can enter the database to read 
the questions asked and the responses provided. To be in compliance 
with the regulations for written communications for license amendment 
requests, and to have the database on the DBNPS dockets before the 
amendment is issued, the licensee will submit a copy of the database in 
a submittal to the NRC after there are no further RAIs and before the 
amendment is issued. The public can access the Web site by going to 
http://www.excelservices.com. Once at the Web site, click on ``Davis 
Besse'' on the left side of the screen. Upon clicking the link, the Web 
site will inform you that ``you are about to enter the DAVIS BESSE 
Improved Technical Specification Licensing On-Line Question and Answer 
Database.'' At this point, click on ``Click Here to continue.'' This 
will bring you to the ITS Licensing Database. The RAIs and responses to 
RAIs are organized by ITS Sections 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 3.1 through 3.9, 4.0, 
and 5.0. For every listed ITS section, there is a RAI which can be read 
by clicking on the ITS section number. The RAI question(s) and the 
licensee's response(s) are contained on the same web page.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    The Commission's ``Proposed Policy Statement on Technical 
Specifications Improvements for Nuclear Power Reactors'' (52 FR 3788), 
dated February 6, 1987, contained an Interim Policy Statement that set 
forth objective criteria for determining which regulatory requirements 
and operating restrictions should be included in the technical 
specifications (TS). When it issued the Interim Policy Statement, the 
Commission also requested comments on it. Subsequently, to implement 
the Interim Policy Statement, each reactor vendor owners group and the 
NRC staff began developing STS for reactors supplied by each vendor. 
The Commission then published its ``Final Policy Statement on Technical 
Specifications Improvements for nuclear Power reactors'' (58 FR 39132), 
dated July 22, 1993, in which it addressed comments received on the 
Interim Policy Statement, and incorporated experience in developing the 
STS. The Final Policy Statement formed the basis for a revision to 10 
CFR 50.36 (60 FR 36953), dated July 19, 1995, that codified the 
criteria for determining the content of TS. The NRC Committee to Review 
Generic Requirements reviewed the STS, made note of their safety 
merits, and indicated its support of conversion by operating plants to 
the STS. For DBNPS, NUREG-1430 Revision 3.0 and the following NRC 
approved TSTF-369 Revision 1, TSTF-372 Revision 4, TSTF-400 Revision 1, 
TSTF-439 Revision 2, TSTF-449 Revision 4, TSTF-479 Revision 0, TSTF-482 
Revision 0, and TSTF-485 Revision 0, document the STS and form the 
basis for DBNPS conversion to the ITS.
    The proposed changes to the CTS are based on NUREG-1430 and the 
guidance provided in the Final Policy Statement. The objective of this 
action is to rewrite, reformat, and streamline the CTS (i.e., to 
convert the CTS to the ITS). Emphasis was placed on human factors 
principles to improve clarity and understanding. The ITS Bases section 
has been significantly expanded to clarify and better explain the 
purpose and foundation of each specification. In addition to NUREG-
1430, portions of the CTS were also used as the basis for the 
development of the DBNPS ITS. The NRC staff discussed plant-specific 
issues (i.e., unique design features, requirements, and operating 
practices) with the licensee.
    Relocated specifications include those changes to the CTS that 
relocate certain requirements which do not meet the 10 CFR 50.36 
selection criteria. These requirements may be relocated to the Bases 
section, updated safety analysis report, core operating limits report, 
operational quality assurance plan, plant procedures, or other 
licensee-controlled documents. Relocating requirements to licensee-
controlled documents does not eliminate them, but rather, places them 
under more appropriate regulatory controls (i.e., 10 CFR 50.54(a)(3), 
and 10 CFR 50.59) to manage their implementation and future changes.

[[Page 62344]]

    The proposed action is necessary to allow the licensee to implement 
the ITS. The ITS are based on standard Babcock and Wilcox TSs. They are 
considered an improvement over the CTS.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC has completed its safety evaluation of the proposed action 
and concludes that the proposed TS conversion would not increase the 
probability or consequences of accidents previously analyzed and would 
not affect facility radiation levels or facility radiological effluents 
due to the fact that no physical facility is being affected. The 
details of the staff's safety evaluation will be provided in the 
license amendment. Specifically, the proposed TS changes will not 
increase the probability or consequences of accidents. No changes are 
being made in the types or amounts of any effluent that may be released 
offsite, and there is no significant increase in the allowable 
individual or cumulative occupational radiation exposure. Therefore, 
there are no significant radiological environmental impacts associated 
with the proposed action.
    With regard to potential nonradiological impacts, the proposed 
action does not have a potential to affect any historic sites because 
no previously undisturbed area will be affected by the proposed TS 
changes. It does not affect nonradiological plant effluents and has no 
other environmental impact. No physical facility is being affected by 
this change. Therefore, there are no significant nonradiological 
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action. Accordingly, 
the NRC concludes that there are no significant environmental impacts 
associated with the proposed action and, thus, the proposed action will 
not have any significant impact to the human environment.

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 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 for 
the DBNPS, dated October 31, 1975.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    On July 14, 2008, the NRC staff consulted with the Ohio State 
official, Carol O'Claire of the Department of Public Safety, 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 letter dated August 3, 2007 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML072200448), as supplemented by letters dated May 16, 2008 (2 letters) 
(ADAMS Accession Nos. ML081480464 and ML081430105), July 23, 2008 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML082070079), August 7, 2008 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML082270658), August 26, 2008 (ADAMS Accession No. ML082600594), and 
September 3, 2008 (ADAMS Accession No. ML082490154). The information 
provided to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff through the 
joint NRC-FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company improved technical 
specifications (ITS) conversion web page hosted by Excel Services 
Corporation can be found in these supplements. 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 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 8th day of October 2008.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Cameron S. Goodwin,
Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch III-2, Division of Operating 
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
 [FR Doc. E8-24899 Filed 10-17-08; 8:45 am]
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