[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 240 (Wednesday, December 16, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66697-66698]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-29874]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-395; NRC-2009-0559]


South Carolina Electric and Gas Company, Virgil C. Summer Nuclear 
Station, Unit 1, Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant 
Impact

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering 
issuance of an exemption pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50, Section 50.12, ``Specific Exemptions,'' 
for Facility Operating License No. NPF-12, issued to South Carolina 
Electric & Gas Company (the licensee), for operation of the Virgil C. 
Summer Nuclear Station, Unit 1, located in Fairfield County, South 
Carolina. 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 provide a one-time exemption to the 
requirements of 10 CFR 50, Appendix E, ``Emergency Planning and 
Preparedness for Production and Utilization Facilities,'' Section 
IV.F.2.b, to postpone the onsite portion of the biennial emergency 
preparedness exercise from calendar year 2009 until April 2010.
    The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's 
application dated October 15, 2009, as supplemented by letter dated 
November 3, 2009.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    The licensee states that it has made a good faith effort to comply 
with the regulation in that the biennial exercise was previously 
scheduled to be performed on October 7, 2009. The licensee further 
states that ``However, a plant trip occurred on October 2, 2009, due to 
failure of the main generator output breaker. The plant trip required 
redirection of station resources to respond to the forced outage and to 
perform recovery activities. Since the recovery efforts were a major 
distraction, the decision was made to postpone the exercise.'' The 
licensee states that it did participate in the offsite portion of the 
exercise on October 7, 2009, with Federal, state and local authorities. 
Since the scenario for the exercise would thus be known to the licensee 
emergency response organization (ERO) team members designated for the 
offsite portion of the exercise, the scenario will require modification 
for the forthcoming onsite portion of the exercise and a new ERO team 
will need to be selected to participate in the onsite portion of the 
biennial exercise.
    In summary, as a result of the impact of the combined need to 
repair the generator output breaker, an ongoing extensive refueling 
outage, the associated unavailability of key station personnel and the 
need to perform activities to support the onsite portion of the 
exercise, the licensee proposes to reschedule the onsite portion of the 
exercise for April 2010.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The underlying purpose of 10 CFR 50, Appendix E, Section IV.F.2.b, 
requiring licensees to conduct a biennial exercise, is to ensure that 
ERO personnel are familiar with their duties and to test the adequacy 
of emergency plans. In addition, 10 CFR 50, Appendix E, Section 
IV.F.2.b, also requires licensees to maintain adequate emergency 
response capabilities during the intervals between biennial exercises 
by conducting drills to exercise the principal functional areas of 
emergency response. In order to accommodate the scheduling of full 
participation exercises, the NRC has allowed licensees to schedule the 
exercises at any time during the calendar biennium. Conducting the 
VCSNS full-participation exercise in calendar year 2010 places the 
exercise past the previously scheduled biennial calendar year of 2009. 
Since the last biennial exercise on October 2, 2007, the licensee has 
conducted nine full-station participation training drills to exercise 
these principal functional areas, including an after-hours augmentation 
drill. In addition, at the request of the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency (FEMA), the licensee supported the State and local authorities 
with the offsite portion of the biennial exercise

[[Page 66698]]

on October 7, 2009, thereby facilitating the FEMA evaluation of the 
State and local authorities. The NRC staff considers the intent of this 
requirement is met by having conducted these series of training drills.
    The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and 
concludes that it does not create new accident precursors and that the 
probability and consequences of postulated accidents are not 
significantly increased.
    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 exemption to the regulation.
    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 also no 
known socioeconomic or environmental justice impacts associated with 
such 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.

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 Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station, Unit No. 1, NUREG-0719, dated May 
1981, and Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (NUREG-1437 
Supplement 15) dated February 2004.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    In accordance with its stated policy, on November 25, 2009, the 
staff consulted with the South Carolina State official, Ms. Susan 
Jenkins of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental 
Control, 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 15, 2009, as supplemented by letter 
dated November 3, 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, Room 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 10th day of December 2009.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Robert E. Martin,
Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch 2-1, Division of 
Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E9-29874 Filed 12-15-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P