[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 164 (Friday, August 23, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44339-44340]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-18161]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 72-1031, 72-44, 50-528, 50-529, and 50-530; NRC-2019-0161]


Arizona Public Service Company; Palo Verde Nuclear Generating 
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 Arizona Public Service Company to allow the Palo 
Verde Nuclear Generating Station to load spent fuel with a larger 
pellet diameter than is authorized in the MAGNASTOR[supreg] storage 
cask system in Certificate of Compliance No. 1031, Amendment No. 7. 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 
August 19, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2019-0161 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-2019-0161. Address 
questions about NRC docket IDs 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]. 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: Bernard White, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555; telephone: 301-415-6577; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The NRC is reviewing an exemption request from Arizona Public 
Service Company, dated July 5, 2019 (ADAMS Accession No. ML19186A449). 
Arizona Public Service Company 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 No. 
1015, for spent fuel storage at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating 
Station independent spent fuel storage installation.
    Specifically, Arizona Public Service Company requested an exemption 
to load and store Combustion Engineering spent fuel with a larger 
maximum pellet diameter than authorized in Amendment No. 7 of 
Certificate of Compliance No. 1031 for the MAGNASTOR[supreg] storage 
system.

II. Environmental Assessment Summary

    Under the requirements of Sec. Sec.  51.21 and 51.30(a), the NRC 
staff developed an environmental assessment (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML19205A273) to evaluate the proposed action, which is for the NRC to 
grant an exemption to Arizona Public Service Company to allow loading 
and storage of spent fuel with a larger maximum pellet diameter than 
that is authorized in Amendment No. 7 of the NAC International (NAC) 
CoC No. 1031 for the MAGNASTOR[supreg] storage system.
    The EA defines the NRC's proposed action (i.e., to grant the 
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 load and store spent fuel with a maximum pellet 
diameter than authorized in Certificate of Compliance No. 1031, 
Amendment No. 7 in the MAGNASTOR[supreg] storage system at the Palo 
Verde Nuclear Generating Station 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 
environmental assessment for the MAGNASTOR[supreg] storage system, 
Certificate of Compliance No. 1031, Amendment No. 7, (82 FR 25931) 
tiers off the environmental assessment for the 1990 final rule.
    NRC staff finds that the environmental effects from this exemption 
request is bounded by the EA for Certificate of Compliance No. 1031, 
Amendment No. 7, and that there will be no significant environmental 
impacts from 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. The 
request by Arizona Public Service Company to increase the pellet 
diameter without a corresponding increase in the uranium oxide loading 
of fuel assemblies will not result an inadvertent criticality event. 
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 action are no greater than those described in the EA for the 
rulemaking

[[Page 44340]]

to add the MAGNASTOR[supreg] storage system, Certificate of Compliance 
No. 1031, Amendment No. 7 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 Palo Verde 
Nuclear Generating Station, allowing the use of a larger pellet 
diameter in Amendment No. 7 for the MAGNASTOR[supreg] storage system, 
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 EA for the rulemaking 
to add the Certificate of Compliance No. 1031, Amendment No. 7, cask 
system to 10 CFR 72.214.
    The NRC provided the Arizona Department of Health Services-Bureau 
of Radiation Control a draft copy of this EA for review in an email 
dated July 24, 2019 (ADAMS Accession No. ML19205A323).
    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 19th day of August, 2019.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John B. McKirgan,
Chief, Spent Fuel Licensing Branch, Division of Spent Fuel Management, 
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2019-18161 Filed 8-22-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P