[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 11 (Tuesday, January 19, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5280-5282]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-01050]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-438 and 50-439; NRC-2020-0273]
Tennessee Valley Authority Bellefonte, Units 1 and 2
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact
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
extending the completion dates for Construction Permit Nos. CPPR-122
and CPPR-123, issued to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for
Bellefonte Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2 (BLN), located on the west
shore of the Guntersville Reservoir at Tennessee River Mile (RM) 392 in
Jackson County, Alabama. The NRC prepared this environmental assessment
(EA) documenting the environmental review and finding of no significant
impact (FONSI) for this proposed action.
DATES: The EA and FONSI are available January 13, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2020-0273 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-2020-0273. Address
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges;
telephone: 301-287-9127; email: [email protected]. For technical
questions, contact the individuals 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 or 301-415-4737,
or by email to [email protected]. For the convenience of the reader,
the ADAMS accession numbers are provided in a table in the
``Availability of Documents'' section of this document.
Attention: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies
of public documents, is currently closed. You may submit your request
to the PDR via email at [email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or
301-415-4737, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (EST), Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Omid Tabatabai, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, telephone: 301-415-6616; email:
[email protected], and Jeffrey Rikhoff, Office of Nuclear
Materials Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-415-1090, email:
[email protected]. Both are staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The NRC is considering extending the completion dates specified in
Construction Permit Nos. CPPR-122 and CPPR-123, issued to TVA for BLN,
Units 1 and 2. The Bellefonte site is located on the west shore of the
Guntersville Reservoir at Tennessee RM 392, near Hollywood, Alabama, in
Jackson County, about 6 miles east-northeast of Scottsboro, Alabama.
As required by section 51.21 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10
CFR), ``Criteria for and identification of licensing and regulatory
actions requiring environmental assessments,'' the NRC has conducted an
environmental review and prepared an EA that evaluates the
environmental effects of extending the construction permit completion
dates (proposed action). Based on the results of the environmental
review conducted for this EA, and in accordance with 10 CFR 51.31(a),
the NRC has determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement
and is issuing a FONSI.
Facility Site and Environs
The unfinished two-unit pressurized-water reactor nuclear power
plant is situated on a peninsula between Town Creek and the Tennessee
River at RM 392 on the west shore of Guntersville Reservoir in Jackson
County near Hollywood, Alabama. Most of the 1,600-acre Bellefonte site
has been impacted by the construction of BLN Unit 1 and 2.
The affected environment at the Bellefonte site is described in the
June 1974 final environmental statement (FES) for the construction of
BLN Units 1 and 2 (FES-CP) prepared by the U.S.
[[Page 5281]]
Atomic Energy Commission's (AEC; now the NRC); the NRC's January 2003
BLN Units 1 and 2 construction permit extension EA; and the NRC's
September 2011 BLN Unit 1 construction permit extension EA. Also, TVA
has issued several EAs that describe the environment at the Bellefonte
site, including a January 2006 final EA and a May 2010 final
supplemental Environmental Impact Statement. Environmental conditions
at the Bellefonte site have not changed appreciably from the
descriptions portrayed in these documents.
II. Environmental Assessment
Description of the Proposed Action
The proposed action would extend the construction completion date
of the BLN Unit 1 construction permit (CPPR-122) from October 1, 2020,
to October 1, 2021, and the BLN Unit 2 construction permit (CPPR-123)
from October 1, 2014, to October 1, 2021. TVA submitted the extension
request for Unit 1 CPPR-122 on August 28, 2020, and the extension
request for Unit 2 CPPR-123 on June 10, 2014, as supplemented on March
31, 2017. With respect to both construction permits, TVA submitted its
requests at least 30 days before the expiration of the existing
permits. Therefore, in accordance with 10 CFR 2.109(a), ``Effect of
timely renewal application,'' the existing construction permits remain
in effect until the NRC completes its review of the requests. The
proposed extensions would not allow any work to be performed that is
not already authorized under the existing construction permits; the
extensions would merely grant the permittee additional time to complete
the construction of both units.
Need for the Proposed Action
The proposed action is needed to provide time for the continued
construction of BLN Units 1 and 2. The construction permits, both
issued December 24, 1974, were originally set to expire on December 1,
1979 (Unit 1) and September 1, 1980 (Unit 2). At the request of TVA,
the NRC has subsequently extended the completion dates of both BLN
Units 1 and 2 several times. The BLN Unit 2 construction permit
completion date was last extended to October 1, 2014. Most recently,
the NRC extended the BLN Unit 1 construction completion date to October
1, 2020. In its March 31, 2017 and August 28, 2020 letters, TVA noted
that it sold the Bellefonte property at auction, the sale of BLN Units
1 and 2 did not close, and the purchaser filed a lawsuit against TVA.
TVA stated that an extension is needed to allow the parties additional
time to obtain a decision in the lawsuit.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The AEC evaluated the environmental impacts from constructing BLN
Units 1 and 2 in the 1974 FES-CP. Subsequently, the NRC reevaluated the
environmental impacts of completing the construction of BLN Units 1 and
2 in several EAs. These include the January 2003 and September 2011
construction permit extension EAs, both of which addressed
environmental impact issues identified after the publication of the
FES-CP. New issues included groundwater quality, public services,
noise, socioeconomics, severe accident mitigation alternatives,
cultural and historical resources, environmental justice, greenhouse
gas emissions, and cumulative impacts. Additionally, these EAs
evaluated changes to regional demography, natural resource use,
meteorology, ecology, impacts to humans and the environment, severe
accident mitigation design alternatives, and socioeconomic impacts,
including environmental justice. Based on these reviews, NRC staff
concluded that there were no significant differences in the
environmental impacts previously addressed in the FES-CP. Further, the
staff also did not identify any significant environmental impacts that
have not already been addressed in the construction permit extension
EAs. The NRC staff determined that the environmental impacts associated
with completing the construction of BLN would be generally consistent
with the impacts disclosed in the FES-CP and subsequent construction
permit extension EAs. Specifically, in the 2011 EA, the NRC staff
concluded that the environmental impacts of extending the BLN Unit 1
construction permit would not be significant, and the completion of BLN
Unit 1 would not result in any disproportionately high and adverse
human health and environmental effects on minority and low-income
populations and communities residing near the Bellefonte site. The
staff also determined that the environmental impacts from completing
BLN Unit 1 would not be significant since the most environmentally
disruptive construction activities have already been completed and any
remaining construction activities would take place within completed
structures at the Bellefonte site. Because of the conclusions reached
in the January 2003 and September 2011 EAs, the NRC staff issued FONSIs
extending the construction permit completion dates for both units.
In addition, extending the BLN Units 1 and 2 construction permit
completion dates would have no effect on federally listed species or
critical habitats protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973,
as amended, because all ground and river disturbances associated with
construction have long since been completed. Federal agencies are not
required to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or National
Marine Fisheries Service if they determine that an action will not
affect listed species or critical habitats. Thus, the Endangered
Species Act does not require consultation for the proposed action, and
the staff considers NRC's Section 7 obligations to be fulfilled.
Since the proposed action would only extend the period of
construction activities described in the FES-CP and subsequent
construction permit extension EAs, it would not create any new or
different impacts or significantly change the impacts from those
previously evaluated in these environmental documents. The NRC
concludes that, based on this information, extending the construction
completion date of the BLN Unit 1 construction permit (CPPR-122) from
October 1, 2020, to October 1, 2021, and the BLN Unit 2 construction
permit (CPPR-123) from October 1, 2014, to October 1, 2021, would have
no significant environmental impacts.
Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action
As an alternative, the NRC considered denying the proposed action
(i.e., the ``no-action'' alternative). This alternative would result in
expiration of the BLN Units 1 and 2 construction permits and, thus,
would require the submittal of a new construction permit application in
order to complete the nuclear facility with no significant
environmental benefit. Therefore, the environmental impacts of the
proposed action and the no-action alternative are similar.
Several alternatives to constructing and operating BLN Units 1 and
2 were considered in the FES-CP, including various sources of base load
generation and alternative plant locations. Alternatives considered
include not requiring new generating capacity and combinations of power
generation.
Alternatives that could potentially replace new generating capacity
include power purchases, repowering electrical generating plants, and
energy conservation. Non-nuclear power generating alternatives include
fossil fuel, wind, solar, biomass, and hydropower. Combining energy-
generating alternatives could achieve an
[[Page 5282]]
energy profile similar to base load operation from BLN Units 1 and 2.
Storage technology with wind or solar technology could augment the
variability of wind and solar power with the dispatchability of fossil
generation (coal and gas) or biomass generation.
Alternative Use of Resources
The proposed action does not involve any different environmental
resources beyond those previously considered in the construction permit
final environmental statement.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
The NRC staff did not consult with any other Federal agencies or
with the State of Alabama regarding the environmental impacts of the
proposed action. However, on December 1, 2020, the NRC notified the
Alabama State official, Mr. David A. Turberville, Director, Office of
Radiation Control of Alabama Department of Public Health, of the
proposed action. Mr. Turberville had no comments.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The TVA has requested the NRC to extend the dates for completing
the construction of BLN Units 1 and 2. The NRC is therefore considering
extending the completion dates of Construction Permit Nos. CPPR-122 and
CPPR-123, issued to TVA for BLN from October 1, 2020, to October 1,
2021 (Unit 1), and CPPR-123 from October 1, 2014, to October 1, 2021
(Unit 2). Based on the review of available information, the NRC
determined that the proposed action would not affect safety, would not
have a significant adverse effect on the probability of an accident,
and would not have any significant radiological and non-radiological
environmental impacts beyond what has been described in the FES-CP and
subsequent construction permit extension EAs. The NRC also considered
information provided in the licensee's application and related TVA
environmental documents.
Consistent with 10 CFR 51.21, the NRC conducted an environmental
review of the proposed action, and this FONSI incorporates Section II
of the EA by reference in 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.
This FONSI and other related environmental documents are accessible
online in the ADAMS Public Documents collection at 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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Document ADAMS accession No.
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AEC Final Environmental Statement Related to ML100570049
Construction of Bellefonte Nuclear Plant Units
1 and 2, June 1974............................
Letter from NRC to TVA, Regarding Issuance of ML111110111
Construction Permit Nos. CPPR-122 and
CPPR[dash]123, December 24, 1974..............
NRC Generic Letter 87-15, Commission Policy ML20236L426
Statement on Deferred Plants, October 7, 1987.
NRC Environmental Assessment for Extension of ML030170463
Construction Permits, January 16, 2003........
Letter from NRC to TVA, BLN Units 1 and 2-- ML012290092
Extension of Construction Permit Expiration
Dates, March 4, 2003..........................
TVA Final Environmental Assessment for ML061810465
Bellefonte Nuclear Plant Redress, January 2006
Letter from NRC to TVA, BLN Units 1 and 2-- ML090610237
Order Granting Reinstatement of Construction
Permits Nos. CPPR-122 and CPPR-123, March 9,
2009..........................................
TVA Final Supplemental Environmental Impact ML102870235
Statement for Single Nuclear Unit at the
Bellefonte Plant Site, May 2010...............
Letter from NRC to TVA, BLN Units 1 and 2-- ML101880337
Regarding Key Assumptions for Reactivation,
August 4, 2010................................
Letter from TVA to NRC, BLN Unit 1 Request for ML102870233
Extension of Construction Permit CPPR-122,
October 8, 2010...............................
NRC Environmental Assessment and Finding of No ML103630202
Significant Impact Related to the Request to
Extend Construction Permit No. CPPR-122,
September 9, 2011.............................
Letter from NRC to TVA, BLN Unit 1--Extension ML11245A128
of Construction Permit Expiration Date,
September 30, 2011............................
Letter from TVA to NRC, BLN Unit 2--Request for ML14168A489
Extension of Construction Permit CPPR-123,
June 10, 2014.................................
Letter from TVA to NRC, BLN Unit 2--Status ML17090A388
Update Regarding Construction Permit CPPR-123,
March 31, 2017................................
Letter from ND to NRC, Application for Order ML18318A428
Approving Construction Permit Transfers and
Conforming Administrative Construction Permit
Amendments, November 13, 2018.................
Letter from NRC to TVA, BLN Units 1 and 2-- ML20244A305
Status Update and Request for Extension of
Unit 1 Construction Permit CPPR-122, August
28, 2020......................................
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Dated: January 13, 2021.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Michael I. Dudek,
Chief, New Reactor Licensing Branch, Division of New and Renewed
Licenses, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2021-01050 Filed 1-15-21; 8:45 am]
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