[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 84 (Wednesday, May 1, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25486-25487]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-10256]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos.: 52-034 and 52-035; NRC-2008-0594]


Luminant Generation Company, LLC., Combined License Application 
for Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant, Units 3 and 4, Environmental 
Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering 
issuance of an exemption from Section 50.71(e)(3)(iii) of Title 10 of 
the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), for the Comanche Peak Nuclear 
Power Plant (CPNPP), Units 3 and 4, Combined License (COL) Application, 
Docket Numbers 52-034 and 52-035, submitted by Luminant Generation 
Company, LLC. (Luminant) for the proposed facility to be located in 
Somervell County, Texas. 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, Luminant must, pursuant 
to 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii), submit an annual update to the Final Safety 
Analysis Report (FSAR). The proposed exemption would allow Luminant to 
submit its COL application FSAR update, scheduled for June 2013, on or 
before November 30, 2013, and to submit the subsequent FSAR annual 
update in November 2014. 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 accordance with Luminant's request dated 
January 28, 2013, and can be found in the Agencywide Documents Access 
and Management System (ADAMS) under Accession No. ML13031A041.

Need for the Proposed Action

    Since the CPNPP, Units 3 and 4, COL application references the US-
APWR DCD, the proposed action is needed in order to provide Luminant 
sufficient time to fully incorporate into the COL application (COLA) 
FSAR, Revision 4 of the United States--Advanced Pressurized Water 
Reactor (US-APWR) Design Control Document (DCD), which Mitsubishi Heavy 
Industries Ltd. plans to submit to the NRC on or before August 31, 
2013. Luminant 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 all committed changes that were made to the 
DCD, since Revision 3 to the US-APWR DCD.
    The only alternative would be not issuing the exemption. Because 
this alternative would require Luminant to issue COLA FSAR, Revision 4 
between US-APWR DCD, Revisions 3 and 4, Luminant would need to identify 
all changes made since the issuance of US-APWR DCD, Revision 3, and 
revise the COLA FSAR to account for any changes that have not yet been 
incorporated into US-APWR DCD, Revision 4. Additionally, the NRC 
reviewers would need to review US-APWR DCD, Revision 3, identify all 
committed changes to the COLA FSAR, and review all Updated Tracking 
Reports in order to understand how COLA Revision 4 is linked to the 
latest US-APWR DCD revision.

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 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 increase in the 
amount of any effluent released offsite. There is no increase in 
occupational or public radiation exposure. Therefore, there are no 
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 non-radiological 
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action. Accordingly, 
the NRC concludes that there are no 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

    The proposed action does not involve the use of any different 
resources than those previously considered in NUREG-1943, ``Final 
Environmental Impact Statement for Combined Licenses (COLs) for 
Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant, Units 3 and 4,'' dated May 13, 2011.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    On March 11, 2013, the NRC staff consulted with an official from 
the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), Radiation 
Inspection Branch regarding the environmental impact of the proposed 
action. The representative from the Texas DSHS 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 an 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 
Luminant's letter dated January 28, 2013. 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

[[Page 25487]]

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 email at 
[email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 12th day of April 2013.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Stephen R. Monarque,
Senior Project Manager, Licensing Branch 2, Division of New Reactor 
Licensing, Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2013-10256 Filed 4-30-13; 8:45 am]
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