[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 171 (Thursday, September 3, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53350-53352]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-21819]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 72-40, 50-269, 50-270 and 50-287; NRC-2015-0191]
Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC, Oconee Nuclear Station, Units 1, 2,
and 3; 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
issuance of an exemption to Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC (Duke Energy or
the applicant) related to the operation of Oconee Nuclear Station
(Oconee) Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) (Docket
No. 72-40). The request is for an exemption from the requirement to
comply with Technical Specification 1.2.4a of Attachment A of
Certificate of Compliance (CoC or Certificate) No. 1004, Amendment No.
9, for the Standardized NUHOMS[supreg] Horizontal Modular Storage
System.
DATES: The environmental assessment and finding of no significant
impact are available as of September 3, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2015-0191 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-2015-0191. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact
the individuals 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]. The
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced in this document
(if that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time
that a document is referenced.
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: John Vera, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555-
[[Page 53351]]
0001; telephone: 301-415-5790, email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The NRC is considering issuance of an exemption to Duke Energy, for
operation of Oconee ISFSI, located in Seneca, South Carolina. Pursuant
to Sec. 72.7 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR),
``Specific Exemptions,'' on August 28, 2014, as supplemented on
December 8, 2014, and June 12, 2015 (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML14255A005,
ML14346A008, and ML15169B103, respectively), Duke Energy submitted its
request for exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 72.212(b)(3), 10
CFR 72.212(b)(5)(i), and the portion of 10 CFR 72.212(b)(11) that
requires compliance with the terms, conditions, and specifications of
CoC No. 1004, Amendment No. 9, for the Standardized NUHOMS[supreg]
Horizontal Modular Storage System. In evaluating the request, the NRC
also considered exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2)
and 10 CFR 72.214 that are applicable to the request, and the NRC has
weighed these regulations in its review.
Duke Energy loaded spent nuclear fuel into several 24PHB dry
shielded canisters (DSCs). Subsequent to the loading, the applicant
identified a discrepancy on a test report processed from the helium
leak rate instrument vendor. The discrepancy was that the temperature
coefficient was stated as four (4) percent per degree Celsius (%/
[deg]C), when previously this value was three (3) %/[deg]C. The
applicant stated that the instrument vendor confirmed that the three
(3) %/[deg]C coefficient was incorrect for this instrument and that
canisters loaded at ambient temperatures greater than (>) 23 [deg]C
would have had a non-conservative temperature coefficient applied to
the helium leak rate measurement. The applicant stated that the
incorrect value had been used to calculate the leak rates of forty-
seven (47) dry shielded canisters DSCs.
According to the applicant, forty-two (42) of the forty-seven (47)
DSCs affected were verified to meet the TS. The applicant's re-
evaluation involved verifying the ambient temperature when the DSCs
were loaded and applying the appropriate temperature coefficient.
However, the applicant stated that the actual temperature correction
value datasheets could not be found for DSCs 93, 94, 100, 105, and 106
and that these canisters were loaded in the summer months when ambient
conditions during helium leak testing would likely have exceeded 23
[deg]C, so the revised temperature correction factor would have been
applicable. The applicant stated that confirmation that the TS was met
with the revised temperature coefficient for these DSCs, without
evidence of the actual ambient temperature or test value, was not
possible.
II. Environmental Assessment
Background
Oconee Nuclear Station is located on Lake Keowee in Oconee County,
South Carolina, 8 miles north of Seneca, South Carolina. Unit 1 began
commercial operation in 1973, followed by Units 2 and 3 in 1974. Since
1997, Oconee has been storing spent fuel in an ISFSI operating under a
general license as authorized by 10 CFR part 72, subpart K, ``General
License for Storage of Spent Fuel at Power Reactor Sites.'' The
licensee also has a site-specific ISFSI license, which is not affected
by this exemption request and associated environmental assessment (EA).
Identification of Proposed Action
The CoC is the NRC-approved design for each dry cask storage
system. The proposed action would grant Duke Energy an exemption from
the requirements of 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2), 10 CFR 72.212(b)(3), 10 CFR
72.212(b)(5)(i), 10 CFR 72.214, and the portion of 10 CFR 72.212(b)(11)
that requires compliance with the terms, conditions, and specifications
of CoC No. 1004, Amendment No. 9, for the Standardized NUHOMS[supreg]
Horizontal Modular Storage System to the extent necessary for Duke
Energy to maintain DSCs numbers 93, 94, 100, 105, and 106 in their
current position at the ISFSI associated with the operation of Oconee,
Units 1, 2, and 3. These regulations require storage of spent nuclear
fuel under a general license in dry storage casks approved under the
provisions of 10 CFR part 72 and compliance with the terms and
conditions set forth in the CoC for each dry storage spent fuel cask
used by an ISFSI general licensee. Specifically, the exemption would
relieve Duke Energy from meeting Technical Specification 1.2.4a of
Attachment A of CoC No. 1004, which limits the leak rate of the inner
seal weld to 1.0 x 10-7 reference cubic centimeters per second (ref cc/
s) at the highest DSC limiting pressure.
Need for the Proposed Action
The exemption would relieve the applicant from meeting Technical
Specification (TS) 1.2.4a of Attachment A of CoC No. 1004, which limits
the leak rate of the inner seal weld to 1.0 x 10-7 ref cc/s
at the highest DSC limiting pressure, allowing for continued storage of
DSCs numbers 93, 94, 100, 105, and 106 at the Oconee Nuclear Station
ISFSI. According to the applicant's exemption request, confirmation
that the technical specification is met is not possible. Without the
exemption, the applicant would be in violation of the technical
specification with no possibility of demonstrating compliance.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The potential impact of using the TN Standardized NUHOMS[supreg]
dry cask storage system was initially evaluated in the EA for the
rulemaking to add the TN Standardized NUHOMS[supreg] Horizontal Modular
Storage System for Irradiated Nuclear Fuel to the list of approved
spent fuel storage casks in 10 CFR 72.214.
The exemption proposed to Amendment No. 9 to CoC No. 1004 would
permit Duke Energy to maintain DSCs numbers 93, 94, 100, 105, and 106
in their current position at the ISFSI associated with the operation of
Oconee, Units 1, 2, and 3. The applicant addressed environmental
impacts in the application, stating that for the five (5) DSCs
involved, results of the initial inner seal weld dye penetrant test
were found to be acceptable, and welded outer top cover plates were
installed. Additionally, radiological protection group surveys of
affected HSMs confirmed that there is no leakage occurring from the
affected canisters. Based on its review of the licensee's application,
the NRC staff concludes that the proposed action does not result in any
changes to the types or amounts of any radiological effluents that may
be released offsite, and there is no significant increase in
occupational or public radiation exposure as a result of the proposed
action. Therefore, the staff further concludes there are no significant
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action, which only
affects the requirements associated with the leak testing of the DSCs
and does not affect plant effluents, or any other aspects of the
environment.
Accordingly, the NRC staff concludes that there are no significant
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.
Alternative to the Proposed Action
Because there is no significant environmental impact associated
with the proposed action, alternatives with equal or greater
environmental impact were not evaluated. As an alternative to the
proposed action, the NRC staff considered denial of the proposed
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action, which would force Duke Energy to take actions that would
involve unloading the DSCs from the horizontal storage modules,
transporting them to the cask handling area, opening, rewelding, and
retesting the welds, and transporting the DSCs back to the HSMs. Denial
of the exemption would result in an increase in radiological exposure
to workers, a small potential for radioactive releases to the
environment due to radioactive material handling accidents, and
increased costs to the licensee. Therefore, the NRC staff has
determined that approving the proposed action has a lesser
environmental impact than denying the proposed action.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
The EA associated with this exemption request was sent to the
appropriate official of the South Carolina Department of Health and
Environmental Control (SCDHEC) by email dated January 22, 2015 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML15055A604). The state response was received by email
dated February 23, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15055A620). The email
states that the SCDHEC has no comments. 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
only within the established Oconee site boundary. Therefore, no
consultation is required under Section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The environmental impacts of the proposed action have been reviewed
in accordance with the requirements set forth in 10 CFR part 51,
``Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and
Related Regulatory Functions.'' Based upon the previously mentioned EA,
the Commission finds that the proposed action of granting an exemption
from the requirements of 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2), 10 CFR 72.212(b)(3), 10
CFR 72.212(b)(5)(i), 10 CFR 72.214, the portion of 10 CFR 72.212(b)(11)
that states the licensee shall comply with the terms, conditions, and
specifications of the CoC, in order to allow Duke Energy to maintain
DSCs numbers 93, 94, 100, 105, and 106 in their current position at the
ISFSI associated with the operation of Oconee, Units 1, 2, and 3, will
not significantly impact the quality of the human environment.
Accordingly, the Commission has determined that an environmental impact
statement for the proposed exemption is not warranted and that a
finding of no significant impact is appropriate.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 14 day of August, 2015.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Michele Sampson,
Branch Chief, Spent Fuel Licensing Branch, Division of Spent Fuel
Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2015-21819 Filed 9-2-15; 8:45 am]
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