[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 4 (Thursday, January 6, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 800-801]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-9]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 52-037; NRC-2008-0556]


Ameren Missouri, Combined License Application for Callaway Plant 
Unit 2; 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 Callaway Plant 
(Callaway), Unit 2, Combined License (COL) Application, Docket Number 
52-037, submitted by Union Electric Company, doing business as Ameren 
UE (Ameren) for the proposed facility to be located in Callaway

[[Page 801]]

County, Missouri. The NRC's review activities relating to the Callaway, 
Unit 2, COL application remain suspended since June 29, 2009, based on 
Ameren's request of June 23, 2009. Furthermore, the adjudicatory 
proceedings related to the Callaway, Unit 2, COL application were 
terminated by the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) after 
agreements were made between Ameren, the NRC, and the petitioners for 
intervention, as documented in ``AMERENUE (Callaway Plant Unit 2) 
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER (Approving Settlement Agreement and Terminating 
Contested Adjudicatory Proceeding) LBP-09-23 (August 28, 2009)'' 
(ML092400189). 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, Union Electric Company, 
doing business as Ameren Missouri (Ameren) as of October 1, 2010, as 
noted in its letter to the NRC dated October 26, 2010, must, pursuant 
to 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii), submit an annual update to the Final Safety 
Analysis Report (FSAR). Ameren requested a one-time exemption from the 
10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) requirements to submit the scheduled 2010 and 
2011 COL application FSAR updates, and proposed for approval a new 
submittal deadline of December 31, 2012, for the next FSAR update. The 
proposed exemption would allow Ameren to submit the next FSAR update at 
a later date, but still in advance of the NRC reinstating its review of 
the application, and in any event, by December 31, 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 response to Ameren's request dated 
October 26, 2010, and can be found in the Agencywide Documents Access 
and Management System (ADAMS) under accession number ML103090556.

Need for the Proposed Action

    The Callaway, Unit 2, COL application is based upon and linked to 
the U.S. EPR reference COL (RCOL) application for UniStar's Calvert 
Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant Unit 3 (CCNPP3). The proposed action is 
needed to allow Ameren to submit the next FSAR update prior to any 
request to the NRC to resume review of the COL application and, in any 
event, by December 31, 2012.
    Ameren 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 and incorporating all committed changes 
made to the RCOL application since the last revisions to the RCOL 
application and the U.S. EPR design control documents (DCD), when the 
updated FSAR will not be reviewed by the NRC until the application 
review is resumed.

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 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

    After the environmental scoping meeting was held on February 18, 
2009, and prior to issuance of the scoping summary report and the 
subsequent Draft Environmental Impact Statement, the NRC suspended the 
Callaway, Unit 2, COL application review activities effective June 29, 
2009, based on Ameren's request of June 23, 2009. The proposed action, 
therefore, does not involve the use of any different resources than 
those considered during the environmental scoping process.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    Contacting the State of Missouri and, in particular, the Missouri 
Department of Health and Senior Services, by the NRC staff for comments 
regarding the environmental impact of the proposed action was not 
necessary, since the review of the Callaway, Unit 2, COL application is 
suspended until further notice.

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 
Ameren's letter dated October 26, 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 28th day of December 2010.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Prosanta Chowdhury,
Project Manager, EPR Projects Branch, Division of New Reactor 
Licensing, Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2011-9 Filed 1-5-11; 8:45 am]
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