[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 176 (Monday, September 14, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47030-47031]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-21974]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-298; NRC-2009-0398]


Nebraska Public Power District: Cooper Nuclear Station; 
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering 
issuance of an exemption from Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR), paragraph 50.54(o), and 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix 
J, Option B, Sections III.A and III.B, for Facility Operating License 
No. DPR-46, issued to Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD, the 
licensee), for operation of the Cooper Nuclear Station (CNS), located 
in Nemaha County, Nebraska. Therefore, as required by 10 CFR 51.21, the 
NRC performed an environmental assessment. Based on the results of the 
environmental assessment, the NRC is issuing a finding of no 
significant impact.

Environmental Assessment

Identification of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action would permit exclusion of the main steam (MS) 
pathway leakage contribution (1) from the overall integrated leakage 
rate Type A test measurement required by Appendix J, Option B, Section 
III.A, and (2) from the sum of the leakage rates from Type B and Type C 
test measurements required by Appendix J, Option B, Section III.B.
    The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's 
application dated October 13, 2008, as supplemented by letters dated 
April 8, May 29, June 12, and September 1, 2009. The licensee's 
application included a corresponding license amendment request, which 
has been evaluated by the NRC staff separately from the exemption 
request.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    Paragraph 50.54(o) of 10 CFR Part 50 requires that primary reactor 
containments for water-cooled power reactors be subject to the 
requirements of Appendix J to 10 CFR Part 50. Appendix J specifies the 
leakage test requirements, schedules, and acceptance criteria for tests 
of the leak-tight integrity of the primary reactor containment, and of 
systems and components which penetrate the containment. Option B, 
Section III.A requires that the overall integrated leak rate not exceed 
the allowable leakage (La) with margin, as specified in the Technical 
Specifications (TSs). The overall integrated leak rate, as specified in 
the 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix J definitions, includes the contribution 
from MS pathway leakage. The MS pathway includes the leakage from the 
four MS line penetrations plus the leakage from the MS inboard drain 
line. By letter dated October 30, 2006, and corresponding License 
Amendment No. 226, dated October 31, 2006, the NRC previously granted 
the licensee an exemption for the four MS line penetrations from the 
requirements of 10 CFR 50.54(o) and 10 CFR 50, Appendix J, Option B, 
Sections III.A and III.B. By letter dated October 13, 2008, the 
licensee has requested an exemption from Option B, Section III.A, 
requirements to permit exclusion of the entire MS pathway leakage (the 
MS line penetrations and the MS inboard drain line leakage) from the 
overall integrated leak rate test measurement. Option B, Section III.B 
of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix J, requires that the sum of the leakage 
rates of Type B and Type C local leak rate tests be less than the 
performance criterion (La) with margin, as specified in the TSs. The 
licensee's letter also requests an exemption from this requirement, to 
permit exclusion of the MS pathway contribution to the sum of the Type 
B and Type C test measurements.
    The above-cited requirements of Appendix J require that MS pathway 
leakage measurements be grouped with the leakage measurements of other 
containment penetrations when containment leakage tests are performed. 
These requirements are inconsistent with the design of the CNS and the 
analytical models used to calculate the radiological consequences of 
design-basis accidents. At CNS, and similar facilities, the leakage 
from primary containment penetrations, under accident conditions, is 
collected and treated by the secondary containment system, or would 
bypass the secondary containment. However, the leakage from the MS 
pathway is collected and treated via an Alternative Leakage Treatment 
(ALT) path having different mitigation characteristics. In performing 
accident analyses, it is appropriate to group various leakage effluents 
according to the treatment they receive before being released to the 
environment (i.e., bypass leakage is grouped, leakage into secondary 
containment is grouped, and ALT leakage is grouped), with specific 
limits for each group defined in the TSs. The proposed exemption would 
permit ALT path leakage to be independently grouped with its unique 
leakage limits.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and 
concludes that the environmental impacts would not be significant.
    The details of the staff's safety evaluation will be provided in 
the exemption and corresponding license amendment that will be issued 
as part of the letters to the licensee approving the exemption to the 
regulation and the license amendment.
    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 offsite. There is no significant 
increase in the amount of any effluent released offsite. 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 any foreseeable impacts to land, air, or water 
resources, including impacts to biota. In addition, there are no known 
socioeconomic or environmental justice impacts associated with the 
proposed action. 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.

[[Page 47031]]

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 Cooper Nuclear Station dated February 1973.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    In accordance with its stated policy, on March 30, 2009, the staff 
consulted with the Nebraska State official, Ms. Julia Schmitt of the 
Office of Radiological Health, 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 October 13, 2008, as supplemented by letters 
dated April 8, May 29, June 12, and September 1, 2009. 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 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 2nd day of September 2009.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Carl F. Lyon,
Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch IV, Division of Operating 
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E9-21974 Filed 9-11-09; 8:45 am]
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