[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 179 (Monday, September 16, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48651-48652]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-19906]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 72-20; NRC-2017-0136]


U.S. Department of Energy Idaho Operations Office; Three Mile 
Island Unit 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 
the renewal of Special Nuclear Materials (SNM) License SNM-2508 for the 
Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2) independent spent fuel storage 
installation (ISFSI) located on the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) 
Site, formerly known as the Idaho National Environmental and 
Engineering Laboratory, in Scoville, Butte County, Idaho. 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, and an environmental impact statement (EIS) is not 
warranted. 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 
September 16, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2017-0136 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-2017-0136. Address 
questions about NRC docket 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]. 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.

[[Page 48652]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stacey Imboden, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-2462, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction

    The NRC is considering a license renewal request for SNM-2508 for 
the TMI-2 specifically-licensed ISFSI located on the INL site in Butte 
County, Idaho. The applicant, the U.S. Department of Energy, Idaho 
Operations Office (DOE-ID), is requesting to renew license SNM-2508 for 
the TMI-2 ISFSI for an additional 20-year period. The current license 
was set to expire on March 19, 2019 but, in accordance with section 
72.42 (c) of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), the 
license will not expire until a final decision concerning the 
application for renewal has been made (timely renewal). If approved, 
DOE-ID would be able to continue to possess and store spent nuclear 
fuel at the TMI-2 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'' until March 19, 2039. However, the State of Idaho 
along with DOE-ID and the U.S. Department of the Navy are parties to a 
settlement agreement, which in part, requires that all of the TMI-2 
spent fuel core debris be removed from the State of Idaho by January 1, 
2035. This date falls within the 20-year license renewal period 
requested by DOE-ID.
    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. Based on the final EA, the NRC has determined that an 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 DOE-ID's 
request is approved, the NRC will issue the license renewal following 
publication of this final EA and FONSI and the SER in the Federal 
Register.

II. Final Environmental Assessment Summary

    DOE-ID is requesting to renew the TMI-2 specifically-licensed ISFSI 
license for a 20-year period. The NRC has assessed the potential 
environmental impacts of the proposed action and the no-action 
alternative. The results of the NRC's environmental review can be found 
in the final EA (ADAMS Accession No. ML19122A285). In conducting the 
environmental review, the NRC considered information in the license 
renewal application (ADAMS Package Accession No. ML19053A310) and 
supplemental information submitted by DOE-ID (ADAMS Accession Nos. 
ML17305A060 and ML17345A156); communications with the Idaho State 
Historic Preservation Office; the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes; the Idaho 
field office of the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service; and the Idaho 
Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ).
    If the license renewal request is approved, DOE-ID would be able to 
continue to possess and store 29 dry shield canisters (DSCs) that 
contain 341 canisters of TMI-2 spent fuel core debris at the INL site 
in accordance with the requirements in 10 CFR part 72 and License SNM-
2508 for an additional 20 years. DOE-ID states that no additional 
material will be added to the ISFSI. The estimated annual dose to the 
nearest potential member of the public from ISFSI activities is 0.0009 
milliSieverts (mSv) [(0.09 millirem (mrem)], 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, DOE-ID 
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 
reasonably 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 ISFSI site. 
Additionally, there would be no disproportionately high and adverse 
impacts on minority and low-income populations.
    In its license renewal request, DOE-ID is proposing no changes in 
how it manages and stores spent fuel at the TMI-2 ISFSI. Approval of 
the proposed action would not result in any new construction or 
expansion of the existing ISFSI footprint. No liquid effluents are 
released due to operation of the ISFSI, and all gaseous effluents from 
the DSCs are vented through a high-efficiency particulate air filter, 
resulting in doses sufficiently low that a permit for continuous 
monitoring is not required. 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 Idaho State Historic Preservation Officer 
(SHPO) (ADAMS Accession No. ML17144A373) and the Shoshone-Bannock 
Tribes (ADAMS Accession No. ML17146A117) via letters dated July 6, 2017 
of its determination. The SHPO responded on July 27, 2017, that the 
proposed action would not affect any historic properties (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML17215A574). The NRC staff also consulted with the U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service in accordance with Section 7 of the 
Endangered Species Act. The draft EA was sent to the IDEQ for review in 
January 2019. The IDEQ had no specific comments (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML19050A174).

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 SNM-2508 for the TMI-2 ISFSI located on 
the INL site in Scoville, Butte County, Idaho, 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 FONSI is appropriate.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day of September, 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. 2019-19906 Filed 9-13-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P