[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 130 (Monday, July 8, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32478-32479]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14397]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 72-17; NRC-2017-0178]
Portland General Electric Company; Trojan 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
the renewal of Special Nuclear Materials (SNM) License SNM-2509 for the
Trojan Nuclear Plant Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation
(ISFSI) (Trojan ISFSI) located in Columbia County, Oregon. The NRC has
prepared an environmental assessment (EA) for this proposed license
renewal in accordance with its regulations. Based on the EA, the NRC
has concluded that a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) is
appropriate. The NRC also is conducting a safety evaluation of the
proposed license renewal.
DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in this document are available on
July 8, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2017-0178 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-2017-0178. 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 https://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: Jean Trefethen, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-0867, email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The NRC is considering a license renewal request for SNM-2509 for
the Trojan specifically-licensed ISFSI located in Columbia County,
Oregon (ADAMS Accession No. ML17086A039). The applicant, Portland
General Electric Company (PGE), is requesting to renew license SNM-2509
for the Trojan ISFSI for an additional 40-year period. The current
license expired on March 31, 2019. PGE submitted the license renewal
application in accordance with paragraphs 72.42(b) and (c) of title 10
of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR). Accordingly, the NRC
considers the license in timely renewal. If approved, PGE would be able
to continue to possess and store spent nuclear fuel at the Trojan ISFSI
in accordance with the requirements in 10 CFR part 72, ``Licensing
Requirements for the Independent Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High-
Level Radioactive Waste, and Reactor-Related Greater than Class C
Waste.''
The NRC staff has prepared a final EA as part of its review of this
license renewal request in accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR
part 51, ``Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing
and Related Regulatory Functions.'' Based on the final EA, the NRC has
determined that an environmental impact statement (EIS) is not required
for this proposed action and a FONSI is appropriate. The NRC is also
conducting a safety evaluation of the proposed license amendment
pursuant to 10 CFR part 72 and the results will be documented in a
separate Safety Evaluation Report (SER). If PGE's request is approved,
the NRC will issue the license renewal following publication of this
final EA
[[Page 32479]]
and FONSI and the SER in the Federal Register.
II. Final Environmental Assessment Summary
PGE is requesting to renew the Trojan specifically-licensed ISFSI
for a 40-year period. The NRC has assessed the potential environmental
impacts of the proposed action and alternatives to the proposed action,
including license renewal for an additional 20-year term, shipment of
spent fuel to an offsite facility, and the no-action alternative. The
results of the NRC's environmental review can be found in the final EA
(ADAMS Accession No. ML19058A264). The NRC staff performed its
environmental review in accordance with the requirements in 10 CFR part
51. In conducting the environmental review, the NRC considered
information in the license renewal application; communications and
consultation with the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office; the
Chehalis, Grand Ronde, and Yakama Native American Tribes; the Portland
Field Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and the Oregon
Health Authority.
Approval of PGE's proposed license renewal request would allow the
34 Holtec International Multipurpose Canisters to continue to remain in
the Trojan ISFSI for an additional 40 years. Specifically, the
estimated annual dose to the nearest potential member of the public
from ISFSI activities is 0.023 mSv/yr (2.3 mrem/yr) (PGE, 2017a), which
is below the 0.25 mSv/yr (25 mrem/yr) limit specified in 10 CFR
72.104(a) and the 1 mSv/yr (100 mrem/yr) limit in 10 CFR 20.1301(a)(1).
Furthermore, PGE maintains a radiation protection program for the ISFSI
in accordance with 10 CFR part 20 to ensure that radiation doses are as
low as is reasonable achievable (ALARA). Accordingly, no significant
radiological or non-radiological impacts are expected to result from
approval of the license renewal request, and the proposed action would
not significantly contribute to cumulative impacts at the Trojan site.
Additionally, there would be no disproportionately high and adverse
impacts on minority and low-income populations.
In its license renewal request, PGE is proposing no changes in how
it handles or stores spent fuel at the Trojan ISFSI. Approval of the
proposed action would not result in any new construction or expansion
of the existing ISFSI footprint beyond that previously approved. The
ISFSI is a largely passive facility that produces no liquid or gaseous
effluents. No significant radiological or nonradiological impacts are
expected from continued normal operations. Occupational dose estimates
associated with the proposed action and continued normal operation and
maintenance of the ISFSI are expected to be at ALARA levels and within
the limits of 10 CFR 20.1201. Therefore, the NRC staff has determined
that pursuant to 10 CFR 51.31, preparation of an EIS is not required
for the proposed action, and pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, a FONSI is
appropriate.
Furthermore, the NRC staff determined that this license renewal
request does not have the potential to cause effects on historic
properties, assuming those were present; therefore, in accordance with
36 CFR 800.3(a)(1), no consultation is required under Section 106 of
the National Historic Preservation Act. The NRC staff, however, reached
out to and informed the Oregon State Historic Preservation Officer
(SHPO) via letter dated August 17, 2017 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML17214A072) and the Chehalis, Grand Ronde and Yakama Native American
Tribes of its determination via letters dated August 29, 2017 (ADAMS
Accession Nos. ML17219A064, ML17219A065, and ML17219A066,
respectively). The Grand Ronde tribe responded that there are recorded
cultural resources in the vicinity of the Trojan ISFSI (ADAMS Accession
No. ML17284A237); however, NRC staff expects there to be no impact to
these resources as the licensee has no plans for construction
activities and routine operations are largely passive. The NRC staff
also consulted with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) in
accordance with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
Based on its review of the proposed action in the EA, in accordance
with the requirements in 10 CFR part 51, the NRC has concluded that the
proposed action, renewal of NRC Special Nuclear Materials License No.
SNM-2509 for the Trojan ISFSI located in Columbia County, Oregon, will
not significantly affect the quality of the human environment.
Therefore, the NRC has determined, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.31, that
preparation of an EIS is not required for the proposed action and a
finding of no significant impacts is appropriate.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 1st day of July 2019.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Kathryn M. Brock,
Acting Director, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety, Safeguards, and
Environmental Review, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2019-14397 Filed 7-5-19; 8:45 am]
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