[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 54 (Monday, March 22, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13606-13607]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-6195]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. STN 50-528, STN 50-529, and STN 50-530; NRC-2010-0114]
Arizona Public Service Company, Palo Verde Nuclear Generating
Station, Units 1, 2, and 3; 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) Sec. 73.5, ``Specific exemptions,'' from the
implementation date for certain new requirements of 10 CFR Part 73,
``Physical protection of plants and materials,'' for Facility Operating
License Nos. NPF-41, NPF-51, and NPF-74, issued to Arizona Public
Service Company (APS, the licensee), for operation of the Palo Verde
Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1, 2, and 3 (PVNGS, Units 1, 2, and
3), located in Maricopa County, Arizona. In accordance with 10 CFR
51.21, the NRC prepared an environmental assessment documenting its
finding. The NRC concluded that the proposed actions will have no
significant environmental impact.
Environmental Assessment
Identification of the Proposed Action
The proposed action would exempt APS from the required
implementation date of March 31, 2010, for several new requirements of
10 CFR Part 73. Specifically, APS would be granted an exemption from
being in full compliance with certain new requirements contained in 10
CFR 73.55 by the March 31, 2010, deadline. APS has proposed an
alternate full compliance implementation date of December 17, 2010,
approximately 8\1/2\ months beyond the date required by 10 CFR Part 73.
The proposed action, an extension of the schedule for completion of
certain actions required by the revised 10 CFR Part 73, does not
involve any physical changes to the reactor, fuel, plant structures,
support structures, water, or land at the PVNGS, Units 1, 2, and 3
site.
The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's
application dated December 21, 2009, as supplemented by letters dated
February 16 and March 5, 2010. Publicly available versions of
[[Page 13607]]
these letters can be found in the Agencywide Documents Access and
Management System (ADAMS), at Accession Nos. ML100040088, ML100550875,
and ML100680760, respectively. Portions of the December 21, 2009, and
March 5, 2010, letters contain security-related information and,
accordingly, those portions of the letters are being withheld from
public disclosure.
The Need for the Proposed Action
The proposed action is needed to provide the licensee with
additional time to implement two specific elements of the new
requirements that involve significant physical modifications to the
PVNGS security systems.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The NRC has completed its environmental assessment of the proposed
exemption. The staff has concluded that the proposed action to extend
the implementation deadline would not significantly affect plant safety
and would not have a significant adverse effect on the probability of
an accident occurring.
The proposed action would not result in an increased radiological
hazard beyond those previously analyzed in the environmental assessment
and finding of no significant impact made by the Commission in
promulgating its revisions to 10 CFR Part 73 as discussed in a Federal
Register notice dated March 27, 2009 (74 FR 13926). There will be no
change to radioactive effluents that affect radiation exposures to
plant workers and members of the public. Therefore, no changes or
different types of radiological impacts are expected as a result of the
proposed exemption.
The proposed action does not result in changes to land use or water
use, or result in changes to the quality or quantity of non-
radiological effluents. No changes to the National Pollution Discharge
Elimination System permit are needed. No effects on the aquatic or
terrestrial habitat in the vicinity of the plant, or to threatened,
endangered, or protected species under the Endangered Species Act, or
impacts to essential fish habitat covered by the Magnuson-Stevens Act
are expected. There are no impacts to the air or ambient air quality.
There are no impacts to historical and cultural resources. There
would be no impact to socioeconomic resources. Therefore, no changes to
or different types of non-radiological environmental impacts are
expected as a result of the proposed exemption.
Accordingly, the NRC concludes that there are no significant
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action. In addition,
in promulgating its revisions to 10 CFR Part 73, the Commission
prepared an environmental assessment and published a finding of no
significant impact [Part 73, Power Reactor Security Requirements, 74 FR
13926 (March 27, 2009)].
The NRC 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, if granted.
Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action
As an alternative to the proposed actions, the NRC staff considered
denial of the proposed actions (i.e., the ``no-action'' alternative).
Denial of the exemption request would result in no change in current
environmental impacts. If the proposed action was denied, the licensee
would have to comply with the March 31, 2010, implementation deadline.
The environmental impacts of the proposed exemption and the ``no-
action'' alternative are similar.
Alternative Use of Resources
The action does not involve the use of any different resources than
those considered in the Final Environmental Statement for PVNGS, Units
1, 2, and 3, NUREG-0841, dated February 1982.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
In accordance with its stated policy, on March 1, 2010, the NRC
staff consulted with the Arizona State official, Mr. Aubrey Godwin of
the Arizona Radiation Regulatory Agency, 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 letters dated December 21, 2009, February 16, 2010, and
March 5, 2010. Portions of these letters contain security-related
information and, accordingly, are not available to the public. The
publicly available parts of these 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 O-1F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor),
Rockville, Maryland 20852. 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 15th day of March 2010.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James R. Hall,
Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch IV, Division of
Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2010-6195 Filed 3-19-10; 8:45 am]
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