[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