[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 23, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3192-3193]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-01176]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 72-1014, 72-59, and 50-271; NRC-2017-0134]


Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.; Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power 
Station, 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 an 
exemption request from Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (ENO) to allow 
the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (VYNPS) to use a new 
regionalized loading pattern, load fuel that has been cooled for at 
least 2 years, and establish a per-cell maximum average burnup limit at 
65,000 megawatt days per metric ton of uranium (MWD/MTU) in HI-STORM 
100 multi-purpose canister (MPC)-68M using Certificate of Compliance 
(CoC) No. 1014, Amendment No. 10. The NRC prepared an environmental 
assessment (EA) documenting its finding. The NRC concluded that the 
proposed action would have no significant environmental impact. 
Accordingly, the NRC staff is issuing a finding of no significant 
impact (FONSI) associated with the proposed exemption.

DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in this document are available on 
January 23, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2017-0134 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 website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2017-0134. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; 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]. 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: Yen-Ju Chen, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555; telephone: 301-415-1018; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The NRC is reviewing an exemption request from ENO, dated May 16, 
2017 (ADAMS Accession No. ML17142A358), and supplemented by letters 
dated September 7, 2017 (ADAMS Accession No. ML17255A236) and December 
7, 2017 (ADAMS Accession No. ML17346A685). ENO is requesting an 
exemption from the requirements of title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR) Sec. Sec.  72.212(a)(2), 72.212(b)(3), 
72.212(b)(5)(i), 72.214, and the portion of 72.212(b)(11) that requires 
compliance with the terms, conditions, and specifications of the 
Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1014, for spent fuel storage at the 
VYNPS independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI).
    Specifically, ENO is requesting an exemption from certain 
requirements in Amendment No. 10 of the Holtec International (Holtec) 
CoC No. 1014 for the HI-STORM 100 Cask System (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML16144A177) to allow VYNPS to use a new regionalized loading pattern 
as described in Figure 2.4-1 of the exemption request, to load fuel 
that has been cooled for at least 2 years, and to establish a per-cell 
maximum average burnup limit at 65,000 megawatt days per metric ton of 
uranium (MWD/MTU) in a HI-STORM 100 MPC-68M canister. This would allow 
VYNPS to load fuel assemblies which have not been cooled for at least 3 
years, as approved in the current CoC, but have been cooled for 2 
years, into the MPC-68M.

II. Environmental Assessment Summary

    Under the requirements of Sec. Sec.  51.21 and 51.30(a), the NRC 
staff developed an EA (ADAMS Accession No. ML17249A160) to evaluate the 
proposed action, which is for the NRC to grant an exemption to ENO to 
allow the use of a new regionalized loading pattern as described in 
Figure 2.4-1 of the exemption request, to load fuel that has been 
cooled for at least 2 years, and to establish a per-cell maximum 
average burnup limit at 65,000 MWD/MTU in a HI-STORM 100 MPC-68M at the 
VYNPS site.
    The EA defines the NRC's proposed action (i.e., to grant ENO's 
exemption request per 10 CFR 72.7) and the purpose of and need for the 
proposed action. Evaluations of the potential environmental impacts of 
the proposed action and alternatives to the proposed action are 
presented, followed by the NRC's conclusion.
    This EA evaluates the potential environmental impacts of granting 
the exemption to allow the use of a new regionalized loading pattern as 
described in Figure 2.4-1 of the exemption request, loading fuel that 
has been cooled for at least 2 years, and establishing a per-cell 
maximum average burnup limit at 65,000 MWD/MTU in a HI-STORM 100 MPC-
68M at the VYNPS site. The potential environmental impact of using NRC-
approved storage casks was initially analyzed in the EA for the 
rulemaking to provide for the storage of spent fuel under a general 
license on July 18, 1990 (55 FR 29181). The EA for using the HI-STORM 
100, Amendment No. 10, cask system (81 FR 13265) tiers off of the EA 
for the 1990 final rule.
    NRC staff finds that this exemption request is bounded by CoC No. 
1014, Amendment No. 10, and that there will be no significant 
environmental impacts of the proposed action. The proposed action does 
not change the types or quantities of effluents that may be released 
offsite, and it does not increase occupational or public radiation 
exposure. Therefore, there are no significant radiological 
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action. There is no 
change to the non-radiological effluents. The proposed action will take 
place within the site boundary, and does not have other environmental 
impacts. Thus, the proposed action will not have a significant effect 
on the quality of the human environment. Therefore, the environmental 
impacts of the proposed

[[Page 3193]]

action are no greater than those described in the EA for the rulemaking 
to add the HI-STORM 100, Amendment No. 10, cask system to 10 CFR 
72.214.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    The NRC staff has prepared an EA and associated FONSI in support of 
the proposed action. The NRC staff has concluded that the proposed 
action, for the NRC to grant the exemption requested for VYNPS, 
allowing the use of a new regionalized loading pattern as described in 
Figure 2.4-1 of the exemption request, and to load fuel that has been 
cooled for at least 2 years, and establishing a per-cell maximum 
average burnup limit at 65,000 MWD/MTU in a HI-STORM 100 MPC-68M, will 
not significantly impact the quality of the human environment, and that 
the proposed action is the preferred alternative. The environmental 
impacts are bounded by the previous NRC EA for the rulemaking to add 
the HI-STORM 100, Amendment No. 10, cask system to 10 CFR 72.214.
    The NRC provided the Vermont Department of Health with a draft copy 
of the EA for a 30-day review on October 16, 2017 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML17289A422).
    The NRC staff has determined that this exemption would have no 
impact on historic and cultural resources or ecological resources and 
therefore no consultations are necessary under Section 7 of the 
Endangered Species Act and Section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act, respectively.
    Therefore, the NRC finds that there are no significant 
environmental impacts from the proposed action, and that preparation of 
an environmental impact statement is not warranted. Accordingly, the 
NRC has determined that a FONSI is appropriate.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day of January, 2018.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Meraj Rahimi,
Acting Chief, Spent Fuel Licensing Branch, Division of Spent Fuel 
Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2018-01176 Filed 1-22-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P