[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 200 (Wednesday, October 16, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55342-55344]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-22477]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-289; NRC-2019-0198]


Exelon Generation Company LLC; Three Mile Island Nuclear Station 
Unit 1

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 an April 12, 2019, request from 
Exelon Generation Company, LLC (Exelon or the licensee), for Three Mile 
Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1 (TMI-1), located in Londonderry Township 
of Dauphin County, PA. One exemption would permit the licensee to use 
funds from the TMI-1 decommissioning trust fund (DTF or the Trust) for 
spent fuel management activities. Another exemption would allow the 
licensee to use withdrawals from the Trust for these activities without 
prior NRC notification. The NRC staff is issuing a final environmental 
assessment (EA) and final finding of no significant (FONSI) impact 
associated with the proposed exemptions.

DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in this document are available on 
October 16, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2019-0198 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-2019-0198. Address 
questions about NRC docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Anne Frost; 
telephone: 301-287-9232; 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: Justin C. Poole, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-2048; 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 exemptions from 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 10 CFR 
50.75(h)(1)(iv) for Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-50, 
issued to Exelon for TMI-1, located in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. 
The proposed action is in response to the licensee's application for 
exemption dated April 12, 2019. The exemptions would allow the licensee 
to use funds from the Trust for spent fuel management 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 has prepared an 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 (EIS) for 
the proposed licensing action, and is issuing a FONSI.

II. Environmental Assessment

Description of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action would partially exempt Exelon from 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 spent fuel management activities not 
associated with radiological decontamination and would exempt Exelon 
from meeting the requirement for prior notification to the NRC for 
these activities.

[[Page 55343]]

Need for the Proposed Action

    By letter dated June 20, 2017, Exelon informed the NRC that it 
plans to permanently ceased power operations at TMI-1 on or about 
September 30, 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. 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 spent fuel 
management activities.
    Exelon stated that Table 2 of the request for exemption dated April 
12, 2019, demonstrates that the amount of money in the TMI-1 Trust as 
of December 31, 2018, exceeds the amount of funds required to complete 
radiological decommissioning of the site. The sufficiency of funds in 
the Trust to cover the costs of activities associated with spent fuel 
management and radiological decontamination through license termination 
is supported by the TMI-1 Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities 
Report submitted by Exelon in a letter dated April 5, 2019. 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 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 spent fuel management activities without prior NRC notification.
    In summary, by letter dated April 12, 2019, Exelon requested 
exemptions from NRC regulations to allow Trust withdrawals, without 
prior written notification to the NRC, for spent fuel management 
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 
actions and concludes that there is reasonable assurance that adequate 
funds are available in the Trust to complete all activities associated 
with radiological decommissioning. There would be no decrease in safety 
associated with the use of the Trust to fund to pay for activities 
associated with spent fuel management. 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 its site-specific 
decommissioning cost estimate and submitting its final radiation survey 
and demonstrating 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 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 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 
exemptions, 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 exemptions. 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, 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 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 October 3, 2019, the 
NRC notified the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania representative of the EA 
and FONSI.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    The licensee has requested 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 spent fuel management activities, without prior written 
notification to the NRC.
    The NRC is considering issuing the requested exemptions. The 
proposed action would not significantly affect plant safety, would not 
have a significant adverse effect on the

[[Page 55344]]

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 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 EIS 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 Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, 
Unit 1, Final Report,'' (NUREG-1437, Supplement 37), which provides the 
latest environmental review of current operations and description of 
environmental conditions at TMI-1.
    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.

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                                                                                                ADAMS Accession
               Date                                           Title                                   No.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4/12/2019.........................  Letter from Exelon to NRC titled ``Request for Exemption         ML19102A085
                                     from 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 10 CFR
                                     50.75(h)(1)(iv).
4/5/2019..........................  Letter from Exelon to NRC titled ``Three Mile Island             ML19095A041
                                     Nuclear Station, Unit 1--Post Shutdown Decommissioning
                                     Activities Report''.
6/20/2017.........................  Letter from Exelon to NRC titled ``Certification of              ML17171A151
                                     Permanent Cessation of Power Operations for Three Mile
                                     Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1''.
6/2009............................  NUREG-1437, Supplement 37, ``Generic Environmental               ML091751063
                                     Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants:
                                     Regarding Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1''.
12/1972...........................  NUREG-0552, ``Final Environmental Statement Related to           ML19220C370
                                     Operation of Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Units 1
                                     and 2''.
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    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day of October 2019.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Justin C. Poole,
Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch I, Division of Operating 
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2019-22477 Filed 10-15-19; 8:45 am]
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