[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 200 (Thursday, October 16, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62211-62213]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-24640]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-295, 50-304 and 72-1037; NRC-2014-0199]
Zion Solutions, LLC; Zion Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2;
Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation
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
issuing an exemption to the spent fuel storage requirements applicable
to Zion Solutions, LLC. (hereafter, ZS or the applicant), general
license to operate an Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation
(ISFSI) at the Zion Nuclear Power Station (ZNPS). ZS seeks approval to
load MAGNASTOR storage casks (Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 72-
1031) in a different manner than permitted by any amendment to the
MAGNASTOR CoC, but which the NRC has previously reviewed as a proposed
amendment to that CoC. The applicant is currently loading storage casks
and maintains that relief from requirements provides flexibility in
operations, minimizes equipment runtime and repair, and minimizes
personnel dose.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2014-0199 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You
may obtain publicly-available information related to this document
using any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0199. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3422; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this document.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection 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]. For
the convenience of the reader, the ADAMS accession numbers are provided
in a table in the ``Availability of Documents'' section of this
document.
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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pamela Longmire, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-287-0829, email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering issuing
an exemption to the spent fuel storage requirements applicable to ZS to
operate an ISFSI at the ZNPS located in Zion Illinois. Therefore, as
required by section 51.30 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 exemption, and is issuing a finding of no significant impact.
Zion Solutions, LLC. is a general licensee under 10 CFR Part 72 for
the storage of spent fuel in its ISFSI. The applicant is subject to 10
CFR 72.212, which provides in part that [t]he general license is
limited to storage of spent fuel in casks approved under the provisions
of 10 CFR Part 72. The general licensee must ensure that each cask used
conforms to the terms, conditions, and specifications of a CoC, or an
amended CoC, listed in Section 72.214.
The applicant seeks approval to load casks in a different manner
than permitted by its current CoC, but which the NRC has previously
reviewed as a proposed amendment to that CoC, but not issued as a final
rule. NAC, the cask vendor, by application dated June 18, 2013,
submitted an amendment request, as supplemented September 6, 2013, and
September 19, 2013, to change limiting condition operation (LCO) 3.1.1.
The NRC technical review of the NAC CoC amendment request is documented
in the safety evaluation report. The NRC staff in the safety evaluation
report concludes that the revised time limits of helium backfill and
transportable storage canister (TSC) transfer time of technical
specification (TS) LCO 3.1.1 are in compliance with 10 CFR Part 72. The
evaluation of the thermal design provides reasonable assurance that the
resulting values
[[Page 62212]]
proposed will allow safe storage of the spent fuel. The applicant's
exemption request for modified transfer time when a canister's thermal
output is less than or equal to twenty (20) kilowatts, <=20 kW, relies,
as the basis for approval, on the NAC CoC amendment request review
performed by the NRC staff.
II. Environmental Assessment
Description of the Proposed Action
The proposed action would exemption ZS from specific portions of
the requirements of 10 CFR 72.212 ``Conditions of general license
issued under Sec. 72.210,'' specifically 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2),
72.212(b)(3), 72.212(b)(5)(i), 72.212(b)(11) and 10 CFR 72.214 ``List
of approved spent fuel storage casks,'' for the ZNPS ISFSI. The
proposed exemption request pertains to the requirements of technical
specification LCO 3.1.1, TSC, Section 1, first table, regarding allowed
transfer time from loading of a TSC inside the MAGNASTOR transfer cask
(MTC) to placement into the vertical concrete cask (VCC) following the
completion of helium backfill. The proposed exemption is to modify the
allowable transfer time from eight (8) hours to six hundred (600)
hours. The transfer time is for the movement of a TSC, with heat load
<=20 kW, from the decontamination pit to the VCC.
The proposed exemption is in accordance with the ZS application
dated June 25, 2014,
Need for the Proposed Action
The proposed action would relieve the applicant from requirements
of 72.212(a)(2), 72.212(b)(3), 72.212(b)(5)(i), 72.212(b)(11), and 10
CFR 72.214 and requests to use a LCO submitted by the cask vendor, NAC,
as ``Amendment No. 4'' to NAC MAGNASTOR, CoC No. 1031. CoC No. 1031,
Amendment No. 4 increases the transfer time for a canister with a heat
load <=20 kW from 8 hours, as required by LCO 3.1.1 under Amendment No.
3, to 600 hours. The applicant maintains that extending the period for
the operator to complete the transfer provides the operator the
opportunity to conclude the activity, provides flexibility in
operations, minimizes equipment runtime and repair, and minimizes
personnel dose.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The NRC staff has determined that issuance of the proposed
exemption will have no significant environmental impact.
Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action
As an alternative to the proposed action, the staff considered
denial of the proposed action (i.e., the ``no-action'' alternative).
This alternative would have the same environmental impacts as the
proposed action. In the event the NRC were to deny the requested
exemption, ZS would continue to operate under the requirements of the
current MAGNASTOR[supreg] CoC, which has previously been determined to
have no significant impacts. The potential environmental impact of
using the MAGNASTOR[supreg] system was initially analyzed in the
environmental assessment for the final rule to add the
MAGNASTOR[supreg] system to the list of approved spent fuel storage
casks in 10 CFR 72.214 (73 FR 70587; November 21, 2008). The
environmental assessment for the November 21, 2008, final rule
concluded that there would be no significant environmental impact for
adding the MAGNASTOR[supreg] system, and therefore, the NRC issued a
finding of no significant impact.
Alternative Use of Resources
This action does not impact any resource implications discussed in
previous environmental reviews.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
In accordance with its stated policy, on August 21, 2014, the staff
consulted with Mr. Joseph Klinger, Assistant Director of the Illinois
Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) by email, regarding the
environmental impact of the proposed action. The state's response was
received by email dated August 28, 2014. The email response states that
IEMA reviewed the draft environmental assessment and had no comments.
The state official concurred with the environmental assessment and
finding of no significant impact.
The NRC staff has determined that a consultation under Section 7 of
the Endangered Species Act is not required because the proposed action
will not affect listed species or critical habitat. The NRC staff has
also determined that the proposed action is not a type of activity that
has the potential to impact historic properties because the proposed
action would occur within the established ZNPS site boundary.
Therefore, no consultation is required under Section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
In the preparation of this Environmental Assessment, the staff used
guidance in NUREG-1748, ``Environmental Review Guidance for Licensing
Actions Associated with NMSS Programs.''
The proposed action will not increase the probability or
consequences of accidents. No changes are being made in the types or
quantities of effluents that may be released offsite, and there is no
significant increase in occupational or public radiation exposure.
Therefore, there are no significant radiological environmental impacts
associated with the proposed action. The proposed action does not
affect non-radiological effluents and has no other environmental
impacts. Thus, there are no significant non-radiological impacts
associated with the proposed action. Therefore, the proposed action
will not have a significant effect on the quality of the human
environment. Based on these findings, the NRC concludes that there are
no significant environmental impacts associated with the approval of
the requested exemption.
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 human environment. Accordingly, the NRC has determined
not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the proposed
action.
IV. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the following table are available to
interested persons through one or more of the following methods, as
indicated.
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Document ADAMS Accession No.
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NAC application dated June 18, 2013. ML13171A031.
NAC supplement dated September 6, ML13261A278.
2013.
NAC supplement dated September 19, ML13268A049.
2013.
NRC safety evaluation report........ ML14010A495.
ZS exemption request................ ML14182A474.
[[Page 62213]]
NRC e-mail dated August 21, 2014, to ML14246A464.
Illinois Emergency Management
Agency forwarding draft
environmental assessment and
Illinois Emergency Management
Agency response dated August 28,
2014, to draft environmental
assessment.
NUREG-1748, ``Environmental Review ML032450279.
Guidance for Licensing Actions
Associated with NMSS Programs''.
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Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day of October, 2014.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Michele Sampson,
Chief, Licensing Branch, Division of Spent Fuel Storage and
Transportation, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2014-24640 Filed 10-15-14; 8:45 am]
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