[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 118 (Tuesday, June 19, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28468-28470]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-13089]



[[Page 28468]]

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. STN 50-456, STN 50-457, 72-73, 50-454, 50-455, 72-68, 50-
461, 72-1046, 50-010, 50-237, 50-249, 72-37, 50-373, 50-374, 72-70, 50-
254, 50-265, and 72-53; NRC-2018-0122]


Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Braidwood Station, Units 1 and 2; 
Byron Station, Units 1 and 2; Clinton Power Station, Unit 1; Dresden 
Nuclear Power Station, Units 1, 2, and 3; LaSalle County Station, Units 
1 and 2; and Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 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 
issuance of amendments to licenses held by Exelon Generation Company, 
LLC (Exelon, the licensee) for the operation of Braidwood Station 
(Braidwood), Unit Nos. 1 and 2; Byron Station (Byron), Unit Nos. 1 and 
2; Clinton Power Station (Clinton), Unit No. 1; Dresden Nuclear Power 
Station (Dresden), Unit Nos. 1, 2, and 3; LaSalle County Station 
(LaSalle), Unit Nos. 1 and 2; and Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station 
(Quad Cities), Unit Nos. 1 and 2 (the facilities). The proposed 
amendments would revise the emergency response organization (ERO) 
positions identified in the emergency plan for each facility. The NRC 
is issuing an environmental assessment (EA) and finding of no 
significant impact (FONSI) associated with the proposed license 
amendments.

DATES: The EA referenced in this document is available on June 19, 
2018.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2018-0122 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-2018-0122. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Jennifer Borges; telephone: 301-287-
9127; 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 (if it is available 
in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in this 
document. In addition, 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: Blake A. Purnell, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-1380; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The NRC is considering issuance of amendments to the following 
licenses held by Exelon: (1) Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. 
NPF-72 and NPF-77 for the operation of Braidwood, Unit Nos. 1 and 2, 
respectively, located in Will County, Illinois; (2) Renewed Facility 
Operating License Nos. NPF-37 and NPF-66 for the operation of Byron, 
Unit Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, located in Ogle County, Illinois; (3) 
Facility Operating License No. NPF-62 for the operation of Clinton 
located in DeWitt County, Illinois; (4) Facility Operating License No. 
DPR-2 for the possession and maintenance of Dresden, Unit No. 1, 
located in Grundy County, Illinois; (5) Renewed Facility Operating 
License Nos. DPR-19 and DPR-25 for the operation of Dresden, Unit Nos. 
2 and 3, respectively, located in Grundy County, Illinois; (6) Renewed 
Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-11 and NPF-18 for the operation of 
LaSalle, Unit Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, located in LaSalle County, 
Illinois; and (7) Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-29 and 
DPR-30 for the operation of Quad Cities, Unit Nos. 1 and 2, located in 
Rock Island County, Illinois.
    In accordance with section 51.21 of title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR), the NRC performed the following EA that analyzes 
the environmental impacts of the proposed licensing action. Based on 
the results of this EA, and in accordance with 10 CFR 51.31(a), the NRC 
has determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the 
proposed licensing action, and is issuing a FONSI.

II. Environmental Assessment

Description of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action would revise the ERO positions identified in 
the emergency plan for each facility. The on-shift, minimum, and full-
augmentation ERO staffing requirements listed in the emergency plan 
would be revised. The proposed revisions include eliminating ERO 
positions; adding ERO positions; changing position descriptions, 
duties, and duty locations; and relocating certain position 
descriptions to other parts of the emergency plan or to implementing 
procedures.
    The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's 
application dated January 31, 2018 (ADAMS Package Accession No. 
ML18053A159).

Need for the Proposed Action

    Nuclear power plant owners, Federal agencies, and State and local 
officials work together to create a system for emergency preparedness 
and response that will serve the public in the unlikely event of an 
emergency. An effective emergency preparedness program decreases the 
likelihood of an initiating event at a nuclear power reactor proceeding 
to a severe accident. Emergency preparedness cannot affect the 
probability of the initiating event, but a high level of emergency 
preparedness increases the probability of accident mitigation if the 
initiating event proceeds beyond the need for initial operator actions.
    Each licensee is required to establish an emergency plan to be 
implemented in the event of an accident. The emergency plan, in part, 
covers preparation for evacuation, sheltering, and other actions to 
protect individuals near plants in the event of an accident.
    The NRC, as well as other Federal and State regulatory agencies, 
reviews the emergency plan to ensure that it provides reasonable 
assurance that adequate protective measures can and will be taken in 
the event of a radiological emergency.
    Separate from this EA, the NRC staff is performing a safety 
assessment of Exelon's proposed changes to the emergency plan for each 
facility. This safety review will be documented in a safety evaluation. 
The safety evaluation will determine whether, with the

[[Page 28469]]

proposed changes to the emergency plan for each facility, there 
continues to be reasonable assurance that adequate protective measures 
can and will be taken in the event of a radiological emergency at 
Braidwood, Byron, Clinton, Dresden, LaSalle, or Quad Cities, in 
accordance with the standards of 10 CFR 50.47(b) and the requirements 
in appendix E to 10 CFR part 50.
    The proposed action is needed to align the emergency plans for 
Exelon's facilities with draft Revision 2 to NUREG-0654/FEMA-REP-1, 
``Criteria for Preparation and Evaluation of Radiological Emergency 
Response Plans and Preparedness in Support of Nuclear Power Plants'' 
(ADAMS Accession Nos. ML14163A605 and ML17083A815). This change will 
provide Exelon with greater flexibility in staffing ERO positions, and 
reflects changes in NRC regulations and guidance and advances in 
technologies and best practices that have occurred since NUREG-0654 was 
originally issued in 1980. The State of Illinois reviewed a draft of 
the licensee's application and recommended its approval. The State of 
Iowa reviewed a draft of the license amendment request for Quad Cities, 
and had no comments or concerns.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC staff has completed its evaluation of the environmental 
impacts of the proposed action.
    The proposed action consists mainly of changes related to the 
staffing levels and positions specified in the emergency plans for 
Braidwood, Byron, Clinton, Dresden, LaSalle, and Quad Cities. The on-
shift, minimum, and full-augmentation ERO staffing requirements listed 
in the emergency plan would be revised. The revisions include 
eliminating ERO positions; adding ERO positions; changing position 
descriptions, duties, and duty locations; and relocating certain 
position descriptions to other parts of the emergency plan or to 
implementing procedures.
    With regard to potential nonradiological environmental impacts, the 
proposed changes would have no direct impacts on land use or water 
resources, including terrestrial and aquatic biota, as they involve no 
new construction or modification of plant operational systems. There 
would be no changes to the quality or quantity of nonradiological 
effluents and no changes to the plant's National Pollutant Discharge 
Elimination System permit are needed. Changes in staffing levels could 
result in minor changes in vehicular traffic and associated air 
pollutant emissions, but no significant changes in ambient air quality 
would be expected from the proposed changes. In addition, there would 
be no noticeable effect on socioeconomic conditions in the region, no 
environment justice impacts, and no impacts to historic and cultural 
resources from the proposed changes. Therefore, there are no 
significant nonradiological environmental impacts associated with the 
proposed action.
    With regard to potential radiological environmental impacts, if the 
NRC staff's safety review of the proposed changes to the licensee's 
emergency plans determines that, with the proposed changes, the 
emergency plans continue to meet the standards of 10 CFR 50.47(b) and 
the requirements in appendix E to 10 CFR part 50, then the proposed 
action would not increase the probability or consequences of 
radiological accidents. Additionally, the NRC staff has concluded that 
the proposed changes would have no direct radiological environmental 
impacts. There would be no change to the types or amounts of 
radioactive effluents that may be released and, therefore, no change in 
occupational or public radiation exposure from the proposed changes. 
Moreover, no changes would be made to plant buildings or the site 
property from the proposed changes. Therefore, there are no significant 
radiological environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.

Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    As an alternative to the proposed action, the NRC staff considered 
denial of the proposed action (i.e., the ``no-action'' alternative). 
Denial of the license amendment request would result in no change in 
current environmental impacts. Accordingly, the environmental impacts 
of the proposed action and the no-action alternative are similar.

Alternative Use of Resources

    There are no unresolved conflicts concerning alternative uses of 
available resources under the proposed action.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    No additional agencies or persons were consulted regarding the 
environmental impact of the proposed action.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    The licensee has requested license amendments pursuant to 10 CFR 
50.54(q) to revise the ERO positions identified in the emergency plans 
for Braidwood, Byron, Clinton, Dresden, LaSalle, and Quad Cities by 
eliminating ERO positions; adding ERO positions; changing position 
descriptions, duties, and duty locations; and relocating certain 
position descriptions to other parts of the emergency plan or to 
implementing procedures. The NRC is considering issuing the requested 
amendments. The proposed action would not significantly affect plant 
safety, would not have a significant adverse effect on the probability 
of an accident occurring, and would not have any significant 
radiological and nonradiological impacts. The reason the environment 
would not be significantly affected is because the proposed changes 
would only result in minor changes in staffing levels and a small 
change in in air pollutant emissions associated with vehicular traffic. 
This FONSI incorporates by reference the EA in Section II of this 
notice. Therefore, 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.
    Previous considerations regarding the environmental impacts of 
operating Braidwood, Unit Nos. 1 and 2; Byron, Unit Nos. 1 and 2; 
Clinton, Unit No. 1; Dresden, Unit Nos. 2 and 3; LaSalle, Units 1 and 
2; and Quad Cities, Unit Nos. 1 and 2, in accordance with their 
original or renewed operating licenses, as applicable, are described in 
the following documents:
     NUREG-1437, Supplement 55, ``Generic Environmental Impact 
Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants: Regarding Braidwood 
Station, Units 1 and 2,'' Final Report, dated November 2015 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML15314A814).
     NUREG-1437, Supplement 54, ``Generic Environmental Impact 
Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants: Regarding Byron 
Station, Units 1 and 2,'' Final Report, dated July 2015 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML15196A263).
     NUREG-0854, ``Final Environmental Statement Related to the 
Operation of Clinton Power Station, Unit No. 1,'' dated May 1982 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML15098A042).
     NUREG-1437, Supplement 17, ``Generic Environmental Impact 
Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants: Regarding the Dresden 
Nuclear Power Station, Units 2 and 3,'' Final Report, dated June 2004 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML041890266).
     NUREG-1437, Supplement 57, ``Generic Environmental Impact 
Statement for License Renewal of

[[Page 28470]]

Nuclear Plants: Regarding LaSalle County Station, Units 1 and 2,'' 
Final Report, dated August 2016 (ADAMS Accession No. ML16238A029).
     NUREG-1437, Supplement 16, ``Generic Environmental Impact 
Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants: Regarding the Quad 
Cities Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2,'' Final Report, dated June 
2004 (ADAMS Accession No. ML041880213).
    Previous considerations regarding the environmental impacts of 
decommissioning Dresden, Unit 1, are described in the following 
documents:
     ``Environmental Assessment by the Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation Regarding Order Authorizing Facility Decommissioning 
and Amendment of License No. DPR-2, Commonwealth Edison Company, 
Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Unit 1, Docket No. 50-010,'' dated 
August 30, 1993 (ADAMS Accession No. ML17123A156).
     NUREG-0586, Supplement 1, Volumes 1 and 2, ``Generic 
Environmental Impact Statement on Decommissioning of Nuclear 
Facilities: Regarding the Decommissioning of Nuclear Power Reactors,'' 
Final Report, dated November 2002 (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML023470304 and 
ML023500187).
    This FONSI and other related environmental documents may be 
examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public Document Room 
(PDR), located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, 
Rockville, Maryland 20852. Publicly-available records will be 
accessible online in the ADAMS Public Documents collection at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
    Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems 
in accessing the documents located in ADAMS should contact the NRC's 
PDR Reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or 
send an email to [email protected].

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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Exelon, License Amendment Request     ML18053A159 (package).
 for Approval of Changes to
 Emergency Plan Staffing
 Requirements, dated January 31,
 2018.
NUREG-0654/FEMA-REP-1, draft          ML14163A605 and ML17083A815.
 Revision 2, ``Criteria for
 Preparation and Evaluation of
 Radiological Emergency Response
 Plans and Preparedness in Support
 of Nuclear Power Plants''.
NUREG-1437, Supplement 55, ``Generic  ML15314A814.
 Environmental Impact Statement for
 License Renewal of Nuclear Plants:
 Regarding Braidwood Station, Units
 1 and 2,'' Final Report, dated
 November 2015.
NUREG-1437, Supplement 54, ``Generic  ML15196A263.
 Environmental Impact Statement for
 License Renewal of Nuclear Plants:
 Regarding Byron Station, Units 1
 and 2,'' Final Report, dated July
 2015.
NUREG-0854, ``Final Environmental     ML15098A042.
 Statement Related to the Operation
 of Clinton Power Station, Unit No.
 1,'' dated May 1982.
NUREG-1437, Supplement 17, ``Generic  ML041890266.
 Environmental Impact Statement for
 License Renewal of Nuclear Plants:
 Regarding the Dresden Nuclear Power
 Station, Units 2 and 3,'' Final
 Report, dated June 2004.
NUREG-1437, Supplement 57, ``Generic  ML16238A029.
 Environmental Impact Statement for
 License Renewal of Nuclear Plants:
 Regarding LaSalle County Station,
 Units 1 and 2,'' Final Report,
 dated August 2016.
NUREG-1437, Supplement 16, ``Generic  ML041880213.
 Environmental Impact Statement for
 License Renewal of Nuclear Plants:
 Regarding the Quad Cities Nuclear
 Power Station, Units 1 and 2,''
 Final Report, dated June 2004.
NRC, ``Environmental Assessment by    ML17123A156.
 the Office of Nuclear Reactor
 Regulation Regarding Order
 Authorizing Facility
 Decommissioning and Amendment of
 License No. DPR-2, Commonwealth
 Edison Company, Dresden Nuclear
 Power Station, Unit 1, Docket No.
 50-010,'' dated August 30, 1993.
NUREG-0586, Supplement 1, Volumes 1   ML023470304 and ML023500187.
 and 2, ``Generic Environmental
 Impact Statement on Decommissioning
 of Nuclear Facilities: Regarding
 the Decommissioning of Nuclear
 Power Reactors,'' Final Report,
 dated November 2002.
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    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 13th day of June, 2018.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Blake A. Purnell,
Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch III, Division of Operating 
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2018-13089 Filed 6-18-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P