[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 179 (Friday, September 14, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46763-46766]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-19976]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-219; NRC-2018-0175]
Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating
Station
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 exemptions in response to a March 22, 2018, request from
Exelon Generation Company, LLC (Exelon or the licensee), for the Oyster
Creek Nuclear Generating Station (Oyster Creek). One exemption would
permit the licensee to use funds from the
[[Page 46764]]
Oyster Creek decommissioning trust fund (DTF or the Trust) for
irradiated fuel management activities and site restoration. Another
exemption would allow the licensee to use withdrawals from the Trust
for these activities without prior notification to the NRC. The NRC
staff is issuing a final Environmental Assessment (EA) and final
Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) associated with the proposed
exemptions.
DATES: The environmental assessment and finding of no significant
impact referenced in this document is available on September 14, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2018-0175 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-2018-0175. Address
questions about NRC dockets in Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges;
telephone: 301-287-9127; email: [email protected]. For technical
questions, contact the individual(s) 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 ``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: John G. Lamb, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-3100; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The NRC is considering issuance of exemptions from sections
50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 50.75(h)(1)(iv) of title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR) for Renewed Facility Operating License No.
DPR-16, issued to Exelon for Oyster Creek, located in Ocean County, New
Jersey. The licensee requested the exemptions by letter dated March 22,
2018 (ADAMS Accession No. ML18081A201). The exemptions would allow the
licensee to use funds from the Trust for irradiated fuel management and
site restoration activities without prior notice to the NRC, in the
same manner that funds from the Trust are used under 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)
for decommissioning activities. In accordance with 10 CFR 51.21, the
NRC prepared the following environmental assessment (EA) that analyzes
the environmental impacts of the proposed action. Based on the results
of this EA, which are provided in Section II, 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
final FONSI.
II. Environmental Assessment
Description of the Proposed Action
The proposed action would partially exempt Exelon from meeting the
requirements set forth in 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 10 CFR
50.75(h)(1)(iv). Specifically, the proposed action would allow Exelon
to use funds from the Trust for irradiated fuel management and site
restoration activities not associated with radiological decontamination
and would exempt Exelon from meeting the requirement for prior
notification to the NRC for these activities.
The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's
application dated March 22, 2018.
Need for the Proposed Action
By letter dated February 14, 2018 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML18045A084), Exelon informed the NRC that it plans to permanently
ceased power operations at Oyster Creek no later than October 31, 2018.
As required by 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A), decommissioning trust
funds may be used by the licensee if the withdrawals are for legitimate
decommissioning activity expenses, consistent with the definition of
decommissioning in 10 CFR 50.2. This definition addresses radiological
decontamination and does not include activities associated with
irradiated fuel management or site restoration. Similarly, the
requirements of 10 CFR 50.75(h)(1)(iv) restrict the use of
decommissioning trust fund disbursements (other than for ordinary and
incidental expenses) to decommissioning expenses until final
decommissioning has been completed. Therefore, partial exemptions from
10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 10 CFR 50.75(h)(1)(iv) are needed to allow
Exelon to use funds from the Trust for irradiated fuel management and
site restoration activities.
Exelon stated that Table 2 of the application dated March 22, 2018,
demonstrates that the DTF contains the amount needed to cover the
estimated costs of radiological decommissioning, as well as spent fuel
management and site restoration activities. The adequacy of funds in
the Trust to cover the costs of activities associated with irradiated
fuel management, site restoration, and radiological decontamination
through license termination is supported by the Oyster Creek Post-
Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report submitted by Exelon in a
letter dated May 21, 2018 (ADAMS Accession No. ML18141A775). The
licensee stated that it needs access to the funds in the Trust in
excess of those needed for radiological decontamination to support
irradiated fuel management and site restoration activities not
associated with radiological decontamination.
The requirements of 10 CFR 50.75(h)(1)(iv) further provide that,
except for decommissioning withdrawals being made under 10 CFR
50.82(a)(8) or for payments of ordinary administrative costs and other
incidental expenses of the Trust, no disbursement may be made from the
Trust until written notice of the intention to make a disbursement has
been given to the NRC at least 30 working days in advance of the
intended disbursement. Therefore, an exemption from 10 CFR
50.75(h)(1)(iv) is needed to allow Exelon to use funds from the Trust
for irradiated fuel management and site restoration activities without
prior NRC notification.
In summary, by letter dated March 22, 2018, Exelon requested
exemptions to allow Trust withdrawals, without prior written
notification to the NRC, for irradiated fuel management and site
restoration activities.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The NRC staff has completed its evaluation of the environmental
impacts of the proposed action.
The proposed action involves exemptions from requirements that are
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of a financial or administrative nature and that do not have an impact
on the environment. The NRC has completed its evaluation of the
proposed action and concludes that there is reasonable assurance that
adequate funds are available in the Trust to complete all activities
associated with decommissioning and irradiated fuel management and site
restoration. There is no decrease in safety associated with the use of
the Trust to fund activities associated with irradiated fuel management
and site restoration. Section 50.82(a)(8)(v) of 10 CFR requires a
licensee to submit a financial assurance status report annually between
the time of submitting its decommissioning cost estimate and submitting
its final radiation survey and demonstrating that residual
radioactivity has been reduced to a level that permits termination of
its license. Section 50.82(a)(8)(vi) of 10 CFR requires that if the
remaining balance, plus expected rate of return, plus any other
financial surety mechanism does not cover the estimated costs to
complete the decommissioning, additional financial assurance must be
provided to cover the cost of completion. These annual reports provide
a means for the NRC to monitor the adequacy of available funding. Since
the exemptions would allow Exelon to use funds from the Trust that are
in excess of those required for radiological decontamination of the
site and the adequacy of funds dedicated for radiological
decontamination are not affected by the proposed exemptions, there is
reasonable assurance that there will be no environmental impact due to
lack of adequate funding for decommissioning.
The proposed action will not significantly increase the probability
or consequences of radiological accidents. Additionally, the NRC staff
has concluded that the proposed changes have no direct radiological
impacts. There would be no change to the types or amounts of
radiological effluents that may be released, therefore, no change in
occupational or public radiation exposure from the proposed changes.
There are no materials or chemicals introduced into the plant that
could affect the characteristics or types of effluents released
offsite. In addition, the method of operation of waste processing
systems will not be affected by the exemption. The proposed exemption
will not result in changes to the design basis requirements of
structures, systems, and components (SSCs) that function to limit or
monitor the release of effluents. All the SSCs associated with limiting
the release of effluents will continue to be able to perform their
functions. 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.
With regard to potential nonradiological 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 permits would be needed. In addition, there would be no
noticeable effect on socioeconomic conditions in the region, no
environment justice impacts, no air quality impacts, and no impacts to
historic and cultural resources from the proposed changes. Therefore,
there are no significant nonradiological environment impacts associated
with the proposed action.
Accordingly, the NRC concludes that there are no significant
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 application would result in no change in current
environmental impacts. The environmental impacts of the proposed action
and the alternative action are similar.
Alternative Use of Resources
There are no unresolved conflicts concerning alternative uses of
available resources under the proposed action.
Agencies or Persons Consulted
No additional agencies or persons were consulted regarding the
environmental impact of the proposed action. On August 10, 2018, the
State of New Jersey representatives were notified of the EA and FONSI.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The licensee has proposed exemptions from 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A)
and 10 CFR 50.75(h)(1)(iv), which would allow Exelon to use funds from
the Trust for irradiated fuel management and site restoration
activities, without prior written notification to the NRC. 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 or nonradiological
impacts. The reason the human environment would not be significantly
affected is that the proposed action involves exemptions from
requirements that are of a financial or administrative nature and that
do not have an impact of the human environment. Consistent with 10 CFR
51.21, the NRC conducted the EA for the proposed action, and this FONSI
incorporates by reference the EA included in Section II. Therefore, the
NRC concludes that the proposed action will not have significant
effects on the quality of the human environment. Accordingly, the NRC
has determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the
proposed action.
Other than the licensee's letter dated March 22, 2018, there are no
other environmental documents associated with this review. This
document is available for public inspection as indicated section I.
Previous considerations regarding the environmental impacts of
operating Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, in accordance with
its renewed operating license, is described in the ``Final
Environmental Statement for Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station,''
dated December 1974, and NUREG-1437, Supplement 28, ``Generic
Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants:
Regarding Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station,'' Volumes 1 and 2,
Final Report, dated January 2007.
IV. Availability of Documents
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Date Title ADAMS accession No.
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3/22/2018.............. Letter from Exelon to ML18081A201
NRC titled ``Request
for Exemption from 10
50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and
10 CFR
50.75(h)(1)(iv)''.
[[Page 46766]]
2/14/2018.............. Letter from Exelon to ML18045A084
NRC titled
``Certification of
Permanent Cessation of
Power Operations for
Oyster Creek Nuclear
Generating Station''.
5/21/2018.............. Letter from Exelon to ML18141A775
NRC titled ``Oyster
Creek Nuclear
Generating Station--
Post-Shutdown
Decommissioning
Activities Report''.
12/1974................ Final Environmental ML072200150
Statement for Oyster
Creek Nuclear
Generating Station.
1/2007................. NUREG-1437, Supplement ML070100234
28, ``Generic ML070100258
Environmental Impact
Statement for License
Renewal of Nuclear
Plants: Regarding
Oyster Creek Nuclear
Generating Station,''
Volumes 1 and 2.
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Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day of September 2018.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John G. Lamb,
Senior Project Manager, Special Projects and Process Branch, Division
of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2018-19976 Filed 9-13-18; 8:45 am]
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