[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 183 (Wednesday, September 22, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57820-57821]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-23680]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 52-034 and 52-035; NRC-2008-0594]


Luminant Generation Company, LLC.; Combined License Application 
for Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant, Units 3 and 4; 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), Sec.  50.71(e)(3)(iii) for the Comanche Peak 
Nuclear Power Plant (CPNPP), Units 3 and 4, Combined License (COL) 
Application, Docket Numbers 52-034 and 52-035, submitted by Luminant 
Generation Company, LLC. (Luminant) for the proposed facility to be 
located in Somervell County, Texas. In accordance with 10 CFR 51.21, 
the NRC is issuing this environmental assessment and finding of no 
significant impact.

Environmental Assessment--Identification of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action is a one-time schedule exemption from the 
requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii). During the period from the 
docketing of a COL application until the NRC makes a finding under 10 
CFR 52.103(g) pertaining to facility operation, Luminant must, pursuant 
to 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii), submit an annual update to the Final Safety 
Analysis Report (FSAR). The proposed exemption would allow Luminant to 
submit its COL application FSAR update, currently due in November 2010, 
on or before June 30, 2011, and to submit the subsequent FSAR update in 
June, 2012. The current FSAR update schedule could not be changed, 
absent the exemption. The NRC is authorized to grant the exemption 
pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12.
    The proposed action is in accordance with Luminant's request dated 
July 28, 2010, and can be found in the Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System (ADAMS) under accession number ML102110179.

Need for the Proposed Action

    The proposed action is needed to provide Luminant sufficient time 
to fully incorporate into the COL application FSAR update, Revision 3 
of the United States--Advanced Pressurized Water Reactor (US-APWR) 
Design Control Document (DCD), which Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. 
plans to submit to the NRC on or before March 31, 2011. The CPNPP, 
Units 3 and 4, COL application references the US-APWR DCD. Luminant has 
requested a one-time exemption from the requirements specified in 10 
CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) in order to reduce the burden associated with 
identifying all committed changes that were made to the DCD, since 
Revision 2 to the US-APWR DCD.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and 
concludes that there are no environmental impacts associated with the 
proposed exemption. The proposed exemption is solely administrative in 
nature in that it pertains to the schedule for submittal to the NRC of 
revisions to a COL application under 10 CFR Part 52.
    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

[[Page 57821]]

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 
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.

Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    As an alternative to the proposed action, the NRC 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. Therefore, the environmental impacts of the 
proposed action and the alternative action are similar.

Alternative Use of Resources

    The proposed action does not involve the use of any different 
resources than those previously considered in the Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement related to the CPNPP, Units 3 and 4, COL Application 
dated August 6, 2010.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    On August 25, 2010, the NRC staff consulted with officials from the 
Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) regarding the 
environmental impact of the proposed action. The representative from 
the Texas DSHS 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 
Luminant's letter dated July 28, 2010. 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 via e-mail at [email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day of September 2010.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Stephen R. Monarque,
Project Manager, US-APWR Projects Branch, Division of New Reactor 
Licensing, Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2010-23680 Filed 9-21-10; 8:45 am]
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