[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 204 (Tuesday, October 22, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62709-62711]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-24275]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-391; NRC-2008-0369]


Tennessee Valley Authority; Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, Unit 2

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact; 
issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering 
extending the latest construction completion date specified in 
Construction Permit No. CPPR-92 issued to Tennessee Valley Authority 
(permittee, TVA) for the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant (WBN), Unit 2.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2008-0369 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may access publicly-available information related to this action by the 
following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2008-0369. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3422; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual(s) listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section 
of this document.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may access publicly available documents online in the NRC 
Library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the 
search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and then select ``Begin Web-
based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's 
Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-
4737, or by email to [email protected]. The ADAMS accession number 
for each document referenced in this notice (if that document is 
available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is 
referenced. The request to extend the construction permit expiration 
date, dated May 17, 2012, is available electronically in ADAMS under 
Accession No. ML12143A346.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The NRC is considering extending the latest construction completion 
date specified in Construction Permit No. CPPR-92 issued to Tennessee 
Valley Authority (permittee, TVA) for the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant 
(WBN), Unit 2. The facility is located at the permittee's site on the 
west branch of the Tennessee River approximately 50 miles northeast of 
Chattanooga, Tennessee. Therefore, as required by section 51.21 of 
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), the NRC performed 
an environmental assessment. Based on the results of the environmental 
assessment that follows, the NRC has determined not to prepare an 
environmental impact statement for the action of extending the 
completion date of the construction permit, and is issuing a finding of 
no significant impact.

II. Environmental Assessment

Identification of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action would extend the latest construction completion 
date of Construction Permit No. CPPR-92 from March 31, 2013, to 
September 30, 2016. TVA submitted the construction permit request by 
letter dated May 17, 2012 (ADAMS Accession No. ML12143A346). TVA 
submitted the request to extend the construction permit at least 30 
days before the expiration of the existing permit, therefore, in 
accordance with 10 CFR 2.109(a), the existing construction permit will 
remain in effect until the NRC staff has completed the review of the 
request.

[[Page 62710]]

    The proposed extension will not allow any work to be performed that 
is not already allowed by the existing construction permit. The 
extension will merely grant the permittee more time to complete 
construction in accordance with the previously approved construction 
permit.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    The proposed action is necessary to give the permittee adequate 
time to complete construction of WBN Unit 2 given their latest estimate 
to completion. The construction permit for WBN Unit 2 was originally 
issued on January 23, 1973. The permit listed the earliest date for 
completing WBN Unit 2 as November 1, 1976, and the latest date for 
completion as May 1, 1977. The completion date of the WBN Unit 2 
construction permit has been extended numerous times since 1977, mainly 
for construction delays.
    In a July 14, 2000, letter, TVA confirmed that WBN Unit 2 met the 
NRC's definition of a deferred plant, as described in Generic Letter 
(GL) 87-15, ``Policy Statement on Deferred Plants.'' By letter dated, 
August 3, 2007, and in accordance with the policy specified in GL 87-
15, TVA informed the Commission of its intent to complete construction 
and licensing of WBN Unit 2 by April 1, 2012. TVA provided the 
information requested in GL 87-15, and also informed the Commission 
that it would resume construction activities no sooner than December 3, 
2007. These activities were within the scope of the construction 
permit, which was set to expire December 31, 2010. By letter dated May 
8, 2008, TVA requested the construction permit completion date be 
extended from December 31, 2010, to March 31, 2013. The NRC granted the 
extension of the permit completion date by order dated July 7, 2008.
    In March of 2012, TVA completed a detailed review of the status of 
WBN 2 construction and developed a revised estimate of the time 
necessary to complete the project. The results of the review came up 
with a completion range of September 2015 to June 2016, with the most 
likely date being December 2015. TVA is requesting September 30, 2016, 
to ensure the entire completion range is covered, including a few extra 
months in case of additional delay.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The environmental impacts associated with the construction of the 
facility have been previously discussed and evaluated in TVA's Final 
Environmental Statement for construction (FES-CP) of WBN, Units 1 and 
2, issued on November 9, 1972 (ADAMS Accession No. ML073470580). Since 
TVA is a corporate agency of the Federal government, the Atomic Energy 
Commission (AEC), the precursor agency to NRC, agreed that TVA was the 
lead agency for preparing and circulating detailed environmental 
statements for TVA nuclear plants. TVA consulted with the AEC in 
preparing the environmental statement and incorporated AEC's comments 
and recommendations in the final environmental statement.
    The NRC staff evaluated the environmental impacts of construction 
and operation of this plant, issuing comments on TVA's FES-CP as part 
of its review. In December 1978, the NRC staff issued NUREG-0498, 
``Final Environmental Statement Related to Operation of Watts Bar 
Nuclear Plant Units 1 and 2,'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML082540803) for 
the operating-license stage (FES-OL), which addressed environmental 
impacts of construction activities not addressed previously in TVA's 
FES-CP. The activities included: (1) Construction of the transmission 
route for the Watts Bar--Volunteer 500 kilovolt line, (2) construction 
of the settling pond for siltation control for construction runoff at a 
different location from that originally proposed in the FES-CP, and (3) 
the relocation of the blowdown diffuser from the originally proposed 
site indicated in the FES-CP. The staff addressed the terrestrial and 
aquatic environmental impacts in the FES-OL, as well as historic and 
archeological impacts, and concluded that the assessment presented in 
the FES-CP remains valid.
    The NRC issued NUREG-0498, Supplement 1 (FES-95) in April 1995 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML081430592) to re-evaluate the environmental 
issues before deciding to issue the operating license for WBN Unit 1. 
Environmental issues evaluated included changes to regional demography, 
natural resource use, meteorology, ecology, impacts to humans and the 
environment, severe accident mitigation design alternatives, and 
socioeconomic impacts, including environmental justice issues. The 
staff concluded that there were no significant changes to the 
environmental impacts discussed in the 1978 FES-OL due to changes in 
plant design or operation, or changes in the environment. Furthermore, 
the staff concluded that no additional impacts not previously discussed 
in the NRC's 1978 FES-OL related to construction of Unit 2 were 
expected.
    On February 15, 2008, TVA submitted ``Watts Bar Nuclear Plant 
(WBN)--Unit 2--Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement 
[FSEIS] For the Completion and Operation of Unit 2,'' (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML080510469) to the NRC. This FSEIS was completed in June 2007, and 
was submitted in support of TVA's operating license application for WBN 
Unit 2. It also included TVA's evaluation of the environmental impacts 
of construction.
    The NRC staff reviewed TVA's 2008 FEIS and in May 2013, the NRC 
issued NUREG-0498, Supplement 2 (FES-2013) (ADAMS Accession Nos. 
ML13144A092--Vol. 1 and ML13144A039--Vol. 2) to describe the 
environmental impacts associated with completing construction and 
subsequently operating, WBN Unit 2. Additionally, FES-2013 covers 
issues that have changed since the publication of 1978 FES-OL, or were 
introduced subsequent to the publication of FES-95. Issues that were 
either not included in the previous versions of NUREG-0498, or issues 
that needed updating, include groundwater quality, public services, 
noise, socioeconomic impacts, severe accident mitigation alternatives, 
cultural and historical resources, environmental justice, greenhouse 
gas emissions, and cumulative impacts.
    FES-2013 reviews the impacts on the environment of operating WBN 
Unit 2 and since the majority of environmentally disruptive activities 
have been completed, the findings in FES-2013 will bound any further 
environmental impacts as a result of construction activities. In FES-
2013, the NRC staff concluded that the impacts from operation of WBN 
Unit 2 associated with water use, aquatic ecology, terrestrial 
resources, design basis accidents, socioeconomics, the radiological 
exposure and nonradiological wastes and effluents, decommissioning, air 
quality and land use are generally consistent with the impacts 
disclosed in the FES-OL, and FES-95 documents. The NRC staff concluded 
that impacts associated with operation of WBN Unit 2 on groundwater 
quality, public services, noise, transportation infrastructure, 
cultural and historical resources, greenhouse gas emissions, and severe 
accidents would be small. The staff also concluded that operation of 
the WBN Unit 2 would not result in disproportionately high and adverse 
human health or environmental effect to any of the minority and low-
income communities near the WBN site. The NRC staff also considered the 
cumulative impacts from past, present, and reasonably foreseeable 
future actions. The NRC staff concluded that the potential cumulative 
impacts from

[[Page 62711]]

the issues evaluated in FES-2013, with the exception of aquatic 
ecology, would be small. The staff concluded that the overall 
cumulative impact to the aquatic ecology from all past, present and 
future activities is large; however, the incremental impact from the 
operation of WBN Unit 2 would be minor and would not be noticeable in 
comparison.
    The permittee has no plans to construct additional transmission 
lines or disturb any land not discussed in previous environmental 
reviews. Completed construction of WBN Unit 2 includes major structures 
such as the containment, turbine building, control building, and 
equipment such as the reactor pressure vessel, reactor coolant system 
piping, and steam generators. Installation of equipment shared with WBN 
Unit 1, such as diesel generators, was completed prior to issuance of 
the Unit 1 operating license in 1996. Therefore, most of the 
construction impacts discussed in the previous versions of 
environmental documents have already occurred. The remaining 
construction activities will take place within structures already 
completed. Therefore extending these types of construction activities 
an additional three and half years out from March 31, 2012, to 
September 31, 2016, as previously approved by order dated July 7, 2008, 
does not involve any different impacts or a significant change to those 
impacts described and analyzed in any of the previous environmental 
documents (FES-CP, FES-OL, FES-95, FES-2013).
    Based on the foregoing, the NRC staff has concluded that the 
proposed action would have no significant environmental impact. Since 
this action would only extend the period of construction activities 
described in the FES, it does not involve any different impacts or a 
significant change to those impacts described and analyzed in any of 
the previous environmental documents (FES-CP, FES-OL, FES-95, FES-
2013).

Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    A possible alternative to the proposed action would be to deny the 
request, or the no-action alternative. This alternative would result in 
expiration of the construction permit for Watts Bar, Unit 2. This 
option would require submittal of another application for construction 
in order to allow the permittee to complete construction of the 
facility with no significant environmental benefit. The environmental 
impacts of the proposed action and alternative action are similar.

Alternative Use of Resources

    Since the permittee has no plans to construct additional 
transmission lines or disturb any land not discussed in previous 
environmental reviews, the construction of major structures such as the 
containment, turbine building, control building, intake pumping 
station, and equipment such as the reactor pressure vessel, reactor 
coolant system piping, and steam generators and diesel generators were 
already completed prior to issuance of the Unit 1 operating license in 
1996, the remaining construction activities will take place within 
structures already completed. Spreading these activities across three 
and half more years does not involve the use of resources not 
previously considered in the environmental documents already discussed 
for Watts Bar, Units 1 and 2 (FES-CP, FES-OL, FES-95, FES-2013).

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    In accordance with its stated policy, on August 14, 2013, the staff 
consulted with officials from the State of Tennessee, including Anthony 
Hogan, Deputy Director of Radiological Health, Tennessee Department of 
Environment and Conservation, regarding the environmental impact of the 
proposed action. The State officials had no comments.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    Based on the details provided in the environmental assessment, 
which is incorporated by reference, the NRC staff concludes that the 
proposed action of extending the latest construction completion date of 
Construction Permit No. CPPR-92 from March 31, 2013, to September 30, 
2016, does not involve any different impacts or a significant change to 
those impacts described and analyzed in the original environmental 
impact statement or its supplements. Therefore, the NRC staff has 
determined that extending the construction completion date will not 
have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment 
because the major construction activities have already occurred, and 
the work being extended out for three and half more years is within 
previously disturbed areas at the site within the existing structures. 
Accordingly, the NRC has determined not to prepare an environmental 
impact statement for the proposed action.
    This finding and documents related to this action such as the 
permittee's request for extension dated May 17, 2012 (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML12143A346) and related environmental documents (FES-CP, FES-OL, 
FES-95, and FES-2013 (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML073470580, ML082540803, 
ML081430592, and ML13144A092--Vol. 1/ML13144A039--Vol. 2, 
respectively)), are available electronically at the NRC Library at 
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select 
``ADAMS Public Documents'' and then select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS 
Search.''

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 27th day of September 2013.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Farideh E. Saba,
Acting Chief, Plant Licensing Branch II-2, Division of Operating 
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2013-24275 Filed 10-21-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P