[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

[[Page 53352]]

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]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P