[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 33 (Thursday, February 17, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9379-9381]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-3607]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-373 and 50-374; NRC-2010-0254]


Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Lasalle County Station, Units 1 
and 2; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering 
issuance of an amendment for Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-11 and 
NPF-18, issued to Exelon Generation Company, LLC (Exelon, the licensee) 
for operation of the LaSalle County Station, Units 1 and 2 (LSCS), 
located in

[[Page 9380]]

Marseilles, Illinois. In accordance with Title 10 to the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Section 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 revise the Facility Operating Licenses 
for LSCS to possess, but not separate, byproduct material, specifically 
Class B and Class C low-level radioactive waste (LLRW), from the 
following Exelon owned nuclear power stations: Braidwood Station, Units 
1 and 2 (Braidwood), Byron Station, Units 1 and 2 (Byron), and Clinton 
Power Station, Unit 1 (Clinton). The LLRW will be stored in LSCS's 
interim radwaste storage facility (IRSF).
    The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's 
application dated January 6, 2010, as supplemented by letters dated 
August 20, October 14, and December 2, 2010.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    The proposed action is needed to provide the licensee with adequate 
interim storage capacity for Class B and Class C LLRW, since it does 
not currently have access to a licensed disposal facility for this 
LLRW. This is due to the State of South Carolina's licensed LLRW 
disposal facility, located in Barnwell, which has limited access for 
radioactive waste generators located in states that are not part of the 
Atlantic Low-Level Waste Compact. Illinois is not a member of the 
Atlantic Low-Level Waste Compact. Therefore, Exelon facilities located 
in Illinois do not have access to the Barnwell disposal facility for 
their Class B and Class C LLRW. LSCS has a LLRW storage facility 
capable of safely storing a large amount of LLRW, on an interim basis. 
The other Exelon facilities in Illinois do not have the capability to 
store all of the LLRW they generate. The building at LSCS is designed 
to comply with NRC regulatory guidance, primarily Generic Letter 81-38, 
``Storage of Low-Level Radioactive Wastes at Power Reactor Sites'' and 
to meet the radiation protection standards in 10 CFR Part 20, 
``Standards for Protection Against Radiation,'' and 40 CFR Part 190, 
``Environmental Radiation Protection Standards for Nuclear Power 
Operations.''

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action involves the transportation of LLRW from 
Exelon's Braidwood, Byron, and Clinton nuclear power plants for interim 
storage at LSCS. The LLRW will be transported by truck in accordance 
with U.S. Department of Transportation and NRC regulations. The 
distance between the plant sites is less than the distance that was 
previously traveled to the Barnwell disposal facility in South 
Carolina. The licensee anticipates that there will be approximately 
five to eight shipments a year of LLRW to LSCS from the combination of 
the Braidwood, Byron, and Clinton stations. The projected number of 
shipments is consistent with the past annual average number of 
shipments to the Barnwell facility. The proposed action will reduce the 
total annual number of miles driven for the transport of LLRW. With 
less miles traveled, it is expected that there will be no change or 
possibly a corresponding reduction in the impacts associated with 
transportation such as lower radiation exposure to the truck driver and 
members of the public along the transportation route. The proposed 
action would not result in an increased risk of accidents and 
radiological hazards beyond those associated with the transport to the 
Barnwell facility. There will be no change to radioactive effluents 
from the power plants and the LLRW containers that affect radiation 
exposure to plant workers and members of the public. The interim 
storage building is designed to comply with NRC regulatory guidance, 
primarily Generic Letter 81-38, ``Storage of Low-Level Radioactive 
Wastes at Power Reactor Sites'' and to meet the radiation protection 
standards in 10 CFR part 20, ``Standards for Protection Against 
Radiation,'' and 40 CFR part 190, ``Environmental Radiation Protection 
Standards for Nuclear Power Operations.'' The cumulative dose from 
handling the LLRW from LSCS and from the additional LLRW from 
Braidwood, Byron, and Clinton will be controlled by station procedures 
to ensure compliance with the radiation dose standards to workers and 
members of the public. Based on this information, the staff concludes 
that the radiological impacts associated with the transportation, 
handling, and storage of LLRW at LSCS will not result in a significant 
impact to plant workers and members of the public.
    The proposed action does not involve a change to plant buildings or 
land areas on the LSCS site. 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. With less miles traveled, it 
is expected that there will be no change or possibly a corresponding 
reduction in the impacts associated with transportation such as reduced 
use of fossil fuel and reduced air emissions that would affect air 
quality. No changes to the National Pollutant 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 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 staff concludes that there are no significant 
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.
    The NRC staff's safety evaluation will be provided in the license 
amendment, if approved by the NRC, which will be issued as part of the 
letter to the licensee approving the proposed action.

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. 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 NUREG-0486, ``Final Environmental Statement 
related to the Operation of the LaSalle County Station, Units 1 and 2 
dated November 1978''.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    In accordance with its stated policy, on December 15, 2010, the NRC 
staff consulted with the Illinois State official, Paul Smith, Nuclear 
System Analysis Section Chief, 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

[[Page 9381]]

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 January 6, 2010, as supplemented by letters 
dated August 20, October 14, and December 2, 2010. 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, Public File Area O-1F21, 11555 
Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland 20852. 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 February 2011.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Eva A. Brown,
Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch III-2, Division of 
Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2011-3607 Filed 2-16-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P