[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 193 (Wednesday, October 6, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61779-61780]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-25158]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-244; NRC-2010-0317]


R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant, LLC; R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power 
Plant Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering changes 
to the Emergency Plan, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.54, ``Conditions of 
licenses,'' paragraph (q), for Facility Operating License No. DPR-18, 
issued to R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant, LLC (the licensee), for 
operation of the R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant (Ginna), located in 
Ontario, New York. In accordance with 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 upgrade selected Emergency Action Levels 
(EALs) based on NEI 99-01, Revision 5, ``Methodology for Development of 
Emergency Action Levels,'' using the guidance of NRC Regulatory Issue 
Summary 2003-18, Supplement 2, ``Use of Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) 
99-01, Methodology for Development of Emergency Action Levels.''
    The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's 
application dated November 30, 2009 (Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML093370215), as supplemented 
by letter dated May 14, 2010 (ADAMS Accession No. ML101400133).

The Need for the Proposed Action

    The current Ginna NUMARC/NESP-007 based Emergency Plan EALs were 
developed in 1994 and approved by the NRC in February 1995. Currently, 
loss of annunciators to a single control room panel requires the 
licensee to declare a Notice of Unusual Event (NOUE), as experienced in 
2007 and 2009. Improvements have since been made to the Ginna control 
room indication and annunciation systems and the licensee has 
determined that the current EALs are more conservative than the intent 
of NEI 99-01. Overly conservative criteria could lead to the premature 
declaration of an NOUE. The licensee has requested NRC approval of EALs 
based on NEI 99-01 to match the level of EAL conservatism with the 
industry standard.
    The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and 
concludes that the proposed changes to the Ginna EALs meet the guidance 
of NEI 99-01, which the staff considers to be an acceptable alternative 
for development of an EAL scheme that meets regulatory requirements. 
Based on this, the staff concludes that the proposed EALs meet the 
standards of 10 CFR 50.47(b) and the requirements of Appendix E to 10 
CFR Part 50 and provide reasonable assurance that the licensee will 
take adequate protective measures in a radiological emergency.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC has completed its environmental assessment of the proposed 
EAL changes to the R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant. The staff has 
concluded that the changes 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 
Updated Final Safety Analysis Report. There will be no change to 
radioactive effluents that affect radiation exposures to plant workers 
and members of the public. No changes will be made to plant buildings 
or the site property. Therefore, no changes or different types of 
radiological impacts are expected as a result of the proposed changes.
    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 or 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 noticeable effect on socioeconomic conditions in the region. 
Therefore, no changes or different types of non-radiological 
environmental impacts are

[[Page 61780]]

expected as a result of the proposed action. Accordingly, the NRC 
concludes that there are no significant environmental impacts 
associated with the proposed action.
    The details of the staff's safety evaluation will be provided with 
the license amendment that will be issued to the licensee approving the 
EAL changes.

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 R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant, dated December 1973, and Supplement 
14 to the Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of 
Nuclear Plants (NUREG-1437) dated January 2004.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    In accordance with its stated policy, on August 17, 2010, the staff 
consulted with the New York State official, Alyse Peterson, P.E., of 
the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, 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 November 30, 2009, as supplemented by letter 
dated May 14, 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 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 28th day of September 2010.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Douglas V. Pickett,
Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch I-1, Division of 
Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2010-25158 Filed 10-5-10; 8:45 am]
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