[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 126 (Monday, July 1, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31356-31358]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-13968]



[[Page 31356]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-293; NRC-2019-0130]


Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.; Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact; 
issuance.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering 
issuance of an exemption in response to a November 16, 2018, request 
from Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Entergy or the licensee), for 
Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (Pilgrim), located in Plymouth County, 
Massachusetts. The proposed action would permit the licensee to use 
funds from the Pilgrim decommissioning trust fund (the Trust) for 
management of spent fuel and site restoration activities. The staff is 
issuing a final environmental assessment and final finding of no 
significant impact associated with the proposed exemption.

DATES: The environmental assessment and finding of no significant 
impact referenced in this document is available on July 1, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2019-0130 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 https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2019-0130. Address 
questions about NRC dockets IDs in Regulations.gov 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 https://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]. For the convenience of the reader, 
instructions about obtaining materials referenced in this document are 
provided in the AVAILABILITY OF DOCUMENTS section.
     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: Scott P. Wall, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-2855; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    Pursuant to section 50.12 of title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR), ``Specific exemptions,'' the NRC is considering 
issuance of an exemption from 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) for Renewed 
Facility Operating License No. DPR-35, issued to Entergy for Pilgrim, 
located in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. The proposed action is in 
response to the licensee's application for exemption dated November 16, 
2018 (ADAMS Accession No. ML18320A037). The exemption would allow the 
licensee to use funds from the Trust for spent fuel management and site 
restoration activities, 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 has prepared an 
environmental assessment (EA) that analyzes the environmental effects 
of the proposed 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 finding of no significant impact (FONSI).

II. Environmental Assessment

Description of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action would partially exempt Entergy from the 
requirements set forth in 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A). Specifically, the 
proposed action would allow Entergy to use funds from the Trust for 
spent fuel management and site restoration activities not associated 
with radiological decommissioning activities.
    The proposed action is also described in the licensee's application 
dated November 16, 2018 (ADAMS Accession No. ML18320A037).

Need for the Proposed Action

    By letter dated November 10, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML15328A053), Entergy informed the NRC that it planned to permanently 
cease power operations at Pilgrim no later than June 1, 2019. Entergy 
permanently ceased power operations on May 31, 2019. Entergy 
permanently defueled Pilgrim on June 9, 2019.
    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 spent 
fuel management or site restoration. Therefore, exemption from 10 CFR 
50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) is needed to allow Entergy to use funds from the 
Trust for spent fuel management and site restoration activities.
    Entergy stated that Table 4 of the application dated November 16, 
2018, demonstrates that the Trust 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 spent 
fuel management, site restoration, and radiological decontamination 
through license termination is supported by the Pilgrim Post-Shutdown 
Decommissioning Activities Report submitted by Entergy in a letter 
dated November 16, 2018 (ADAMS Accession No. ML18320A034), as 
supplemented by letter dated January 9, 2019 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML19015A020). The licensee stated that it needs access to the funds in 
the Trust in excess of those needed for radiological decontamination to 
support spent fuel management and site restoration activities not 
associated with radiological decontamination.
    In summary, by letter dated November 16, 2018, Entergy requested an 
exemption from NRC regulations to allow Trust withdrawals for spent 
fuel management and site restoration activities.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action involves regulatory requirements that are 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 spent fuel management and site restoration. 
There would be no decrease in safety associated with the use of the 
Trust to fund activities associated with spent fuel management and site 
restoration.

[[Page 31357]]

The NRC regulations in 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(v) require licensees to 
submit a financial assurance status report annually between the time of 
submitting their decommissioning cost estimate until they submit their 
final radiation survey and demonstrate that residual radioactivity has 
been reduced to a level that permits termination of the operating 
license. Section 50.82(a)(8)(vi) of 10 CFR requires that if the sum of 
the balance of any remaining decommissioning funds, plus expected rate 
of return, plus any other financial surety mechanism relied upon by the 
licensee, does not cover the estimated costs to complete the 
decommissioning, the financial assurance status report must include 
additional financial assurance to cover the cost of completion. These 
annual reports provide a means for the NRC to monitor the adequacy of 
available funding. The proposed exemption would allow Entergy to use 
funds in excess of those required for radiological decontamination of 
the site, and the adequacy of Trust funds dedicated for radiological 
decontamination are not affected by the proposed exemption. Thus, there 
is reasonable assurance that there will be no environmental effect due 
to lack of adequate funding for decommissioning.
    The proposed action will not significantly increase the probability 
or consequences of radiological accidents or change the types of 
effluents released offsite. In addition, there would be no significant 
increase in the amount of any radiological effluent released offsite, 
and no significant increase in occupational or public radiation 
exposure. There would be no materials or chemicals introduced into the 
plant affecting the characteristics or types of effluents released 
offsite. In addition, waste processing systems would not be affected by 
the proposed exemption. Therefore, there would be no significant 
radiological environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.
    Regarding potential nonradiological impacts, the proposed action 
would have no direct impacts on land use or water resources, including 
terrestrial and aquatic biota, as it involves 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 and environmental justice conditions in the region, no 
air quality impacts, and no potential to affect historic properties. 
Therefore, there would be no significant nonradiological environment 
impacts associated with the proposed action.
    Accordingly, the NRC concludes that there would be 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 
the denial of the proposed action (i.e., the ``no-action'' 
alternative). Denial of the exemption request would result in no change 
in current environmental impacts. The environmental impacts of the 
proposed action and the alternative action would be 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 May 20, 2019, the NRC 
notified the Commonwealth of Massachusetts representative of the EA and 
FONSI.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    The licensee has requested an exemption from 10 CFR 
50.82(a)(8)(i)(A). The proposed action would allow Entergy to use funds 
from the Trust for spent fuel management and site restoration 
activities.
    The NRC is considering issuing the requested exemption. 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 an 
exemption from requirements that are of a financial or administrative 
nature that do not have an impact on 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 
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 there is no need to 
prepare an environmental impact statement for the proposed action.
    As required by 10 CFR 51.32(a)(5), the related environmental 
document is the ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License 
Renewal of Nuclear Plants: Regarding Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, 
Final Report,'' (NUREG-1437, Supplement 29, Volumes 1 and 2, ADAMS 
Accession Nos. ML071990020 and ML071990027), which provides the latest 
environmental review of current operations and description of 
environmental conditions at Pilgrim.
    The finding 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 are accessible 
electronically from ADAMS Public Electronic Reading Room on the 
internet at the NRC's website: https://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 by 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.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        ADAMS Accession
             Date                      Title                  No.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
11/16/2018...................  Letter from Entergy    ML18320A037
                                to NRC titled
                                ``Request for
                                Exemption from 10
                                50.82(a)(8)(i)(A).
11/16/2018...................  Letter from Entergy    ML18320A034
                                to NRC titled ``Post
                                Shutdown
                                Decommissioning
                                Activities Report
                                Pilgrim Nuclear
                                Power Station''.
11/10/2015...................  Letter from Entergy    ML15328A053
                                to NRC titled
                                ``Notification of
                                Permanent Cessation
                                of Power
                                Operations''.
1/2007.......................  NUREG-1437,            ML071990020
                                Supplement 29,        ML071990027
                                ``Generic
                                Environmental Impact
                                Statement for
                                License Renewal of
                                Nuclear Plants:
                                Regarding Pilgrim
                                Nuclear Power
                                Station,'' Volumes 1
                                and 2.
------------------------------------------------------------------------



[[Page 31358]]

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th day of June, 2019.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Scott P. Wall,
Senior Project Manager, Licensing Projects Branch III, Division of 
Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2019-13968 Filed 6-28-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P