[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 164 (Thursday, August 23, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51071-51072]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-20743]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-316; NRC-2012-0199]
Indiana Michigan Power Company, Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant,
Unit 2, Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is
considering issuance of an exemption and an amendment to Renewed
Facility Operating License No. DPR-74, issued to Indiana Michigan Power
Company (the licensee), for operation of Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant,
Unit 2 (CNP-2), located in Berrien County, Michigan, in accordance with
Sec. Sec. 50.12 and 50.90 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR). In accordance with 10 CFR 51.21, the NRC
performed an environmental assessment documenting its findings as
follows:
Environmental Assessment
Identification of the Proposed Actions
The proposed actions would issue an exemption from certain
requirements of 10 CFR, Section 50.46 and Appendix K, regarding fuel
cladding material, and revise the Technical Specifications document,
which is Appendix A to Renewed Facility Operating License DPR-74, to
permit use of a Westinghouse proprietary material, Optimized
ZIRLOTM, for fuel rod cladding. The licensee will be
authorized to a peak load average burnup limit of 62 gigawatt-days per
metric ton uranium (GWD/MTU).
The proposed actions are in accordance with the licensee's
application dated September 29, 2011, as supplemented on July 25, 2012.
The Need for the Proposed Actions
The proposed actions to issue an exemption to the fuel cladding
requirement of 10 CFR 50.46 and Appendix K, and to amend the Technical
Specifications to permit use of Optimized ZIRLOTM clad fuel
rods to a peak rod average burnup limit of 62 GWD/MTU would allow for
more effective fuel management. If the exemption and amendment are not
approved, the licensee will not be provided the opportunity to use
Optimized ZIRLOTM fuel design with a peak rod average burnup
as high as 62 GWD/MTU; the licensee would thus lose fuel management
flexibility.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Actions
In this environmental assessment regarding the impacts of the use
of Optimized ZIRLOTM clad fuel with the possible burnup up
to 62 GWD/MTU, the Commission is relying on the results of the updated
study conducted for the NRC by the Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory (PNNL), entitled ``Environmental Effects of Extending Fuel
Burnup Above 60 GWD/MTU'' (NUREG/CR-6703, PNNL-13257, January 2001).
Environmental impacts of high burnup fuel up to 75 GWD/MTU were
evaluated in the study, but some aspects of the review were limited to
evaluating the impacts of the extended burnup up to 62 GWD/MTU, because
of the need for additional data on the effect of extended burnup on gap
release fractions. All the aspects of the fuel-cycle were considered
during the study, from mining, milling, conversion, enrichment and
fabrication through normal reactor operation, transportation, waste
management, and storage of spent fuel.
The amendment and exemption would allow CNP-2 to use Optimized
ZIRLOTM clad fuel up to a burnup limit of 62 GWD/MTU. The
NRC staff has completed its evaluation of the proposed actions and
concludes that such changes would not adversely affect plant safety,
and would have no adverse effect on the probability of any accident.
For the accidents that involve damage or melting of the fuel in the
reactor core, fuel rod integrity has been shown to be unaffected by
extended burnup under consideration; therefore, the consequences of an
accident will not be affected by fuel burnup to 62 GWD/MTU. For the
accidents in which the reactor core remains intact, the increased
burnup may slightly change the mix of fission products that could be
released, but because the radionuclides contributing most to the dose
are short-lived, increased burnup would not have an effect on the
consequences beyond the consequences of previously evaluated accident
scenarios. Thus, there will be no significant increase in projected
dose consequences of postulated accidents associated with fuel burnup
up to 62 GWD/MTU, and
[[Page 51072]]
doses will remain well below regulatory limits.
Regulatory limits on radiological effluent releases are independent
of burnup. The requirements of 10 CFR part 20, 10 CFR 50.36a, and
Appendix I to 10 CFR part 50 ensure that routine releases of gaseous,
liquid or solid radiological effluents to unrestricted areas is kept
``As Low As is Reasonably Achievable.'' Therefore, the NRC staff
concludes that during routine operations, there would be no significant
increase in the amount of gaseous radiological effluents released into
the environment as a result of the proposed actions, nor will there be
a significant increase in the amount of liquid radiological effluents
or solid radiological effluents released into the environment.
The proposed actions will not change normal plant operating
conditions (i.e., no changes are expected in the fuel handling,
operational, or storing processes). The fuel storage and handling,
radioactive waste, and other systems which may contain radioactivity
are designed to assure adequate safety under normal conditions. There
will be no significant changes in radiation levels during these
evolutions, and no significant increase in the allowable individual or
cumulative occupational radiation exposure is expected to occur.
The use of Optimized ZIRLOTM clad fuel with a burnup
limit of 62 GWD/MTU will not change the potential environmental impacts
of incident-free transportation of spent nuclear fuel or the accident
risks associated with spent fuel transportation if the fuel is cooled
for 5 years after being discharged from the reactor. A PNNL report for
the NRC (NUREG/CR-6703, January 2001) concluded that doses associated
with incident-free transportation of spent fuel with burnup to 75 GWD/
MTU are bound by the doses given in 10 CFR 51.52, Table S-4 for all
regions of the country, based on the dose rates from the shipping casks
being maintained within regulatory limits. Increased fuel burnup will
decrease the annual discharge of fuel to the spent fuel pool which will
postpone the need to remove spent fuel from the pool.
NUREG/CR-6703 determined that no increase in environmental effects
of spent fuel transportation accidents is expected as a result of
increasing fuel burnup to 75 GWD/MTU.
Based on the nature of the amendment and exemption, these proposed
actions do 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 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 the air or ambient air quality. There are no impacts to
historic 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 expected
as a result of the proposed actions. Accordingly, the NRC staff
concludes that there are no significant environmental impacts
associated with the proposed actions.
For more detailed information regarding the environmental impacts
of extended fuel burnup, please refer to the study conducted by PNNL
for the NRC, entitled ``Environmental Effects of Extending Fuel Burnup
Above 60 GWD/MTU'' (NUREG/CR-6073, PNNL-13257, January 2001, Accession
No. ML010310298). The NRC staff's detailed safety review will be
conveyed in the Safety Evaluation issued concurrently with the
amendment.
Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Actions
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 application would result in no change in current
environmental impacts. Thus, the environmental impacts of the proposed
actions and the alternative action are similar.
Alternative Use of Resources
The proposed actions do not involve the use of any different
resources than those previously considered in the Final Environmental
Statement for Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant, Unit 2, or the Generic
Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants:
Regarding Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2--Final Report
(NUREG-1437, Supplement 20), dated May 2005.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
In accordance with its stated policy, on June 1, 2012, the NRC
staff consulted with the Michigan State official regarding the
environmental impact of the proposed action. The State officials had no
comments.
Finding of No Significant Impact
On the basis of the environmental assessment, the NRC staff
concludes that the proposed actions will not have a significant effect
on the quality of the human environment. Accordingly, the NRC staff
determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the
proposed action.
For further details with respect to the proposed actions, see the
licensee's letters dated September 29, 2011, and July 25, 2012.
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 documents created or received at the NRC are
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 send an email to [email protected].
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day of August 2012.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Peter S. Tam,
Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch III-1, Division of
Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2012-20743 Filed 8-22-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P