[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 108 (Monday, June 6, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34311-34313]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-12060]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-0289; NRC-2022-0115]
Constellation Energy Generation, 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 an exemption for Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1
(TMI-1). The exemption would allow the licensee, Constellation Energy
Generation, LLC (CEG) to use a portion of the TMI-1 decommissioning
trust fund (DTF) for site restoration activities at TMI-1 without prior
notice to the NRC. The NRC is issuing an environmental assessment (EA)
and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) associated with the
proposed action.
DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in this document are available on
June 6, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to NRC-2022-0115 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-2022-0115. Address
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann;
telephone: 301-415-0624; 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, by appointment, at the NRC's PDR, Room P1 B35, One White
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make
an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between
8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (ET), Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy M. Snyder, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-6822, email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The NRC is considering issuance of an exemption pursuant to section
50.12 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR),
``Specific exemptions,'' for Renewed Facility Operating License No.
DPR-50, for TMI-1, located in Londonderry Township, Dauphin County,
Pennsylvania. By letter dated May 20, 2021, Exelon Generation Company,
LLC, submitted a request for exemption from the specific requirements
of 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 50.75(h)(1)(iv). The exemption from 10
CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 10 CFR 50.75(h)(1)(iv) would permit the
licensee to make withdrawals from the TMI-1 DTF for site restoration
activities at TMI-1 without prior notice to the NRC, in the same manner
that withdrawals are made under 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8) for radiological
decommissioning activities. On February 1, 2022, the NRC was notified
that the Exelon Generation Company, LLC changed its name to
Constellation Energy Generation, LLC.
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
As described in the licensee's application dated May 20, 2021, the
proposed action would partially exempt CEG 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 CEG to use funds from the
DTF for site restoration activities not associated with radiological
decommissioning activities and would exempt CEG from meeting the
requirement for prior notification to the NRC for these activities.
Need for the Proposed Action
By letter dated June 20, 2017, Exelon certified to the NRC that it
had decided to permanently cease power operations at TMI-1 on or about
September 30, 2019. Exelon permanently ceased power operations at TMI-1
on September 20, 2019, and certified all fuel is removed from the
reactor core on September 26, 2019. On April 5, 2019, pursuant to 10
CFR 50.82(a)(4)(i), Exelon submitted the post-shutdown decommissioning
activities report for TMI-1.
As required by 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A), decommissioning trust
funds may be used by CEG, the current 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 or site restoration. The requirements of 10
CFR 50.75(h)(1)(iv) also restrict the use of DTF disbursements (other
than for ordinary administrative costs and other incidental expenses of
the fund in connection with the operation of the fund) to
decommissioning expenses until final radiological decommissioning is
completed. Therefore, an exemption from 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 10
CFR 50.75(h)(1)(iv) is needed to allow CEG to use funds from the TMI-1
DTF for site restoration activities at TMI-1.
The requirements of 10 CFR 50.75(h)(1)(iv) further provide that,
[[Page 34312]]
except for withdrawals being made under 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8) or for
payments of ordinary administrative costs and other incidental expenses
of the fund in connection with the operation of the fund, no
disbursement may be made from the DTF without written notice to the NRC
at least 30 working days in advance. Therefore, an exemption from 10
CFR 50.75(h)(1)(iv) is also needed to allow CEG to use funds from the
TMI-1 DTF for site restoration activities at TMI-1 without prior NRC
notification.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The proposed actions involve 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
action and concludes that there is reasonable assurance that adequate
funds are available in the DTF to complete all activities associated
with radiological decommissioning. There would be no decrease in safety
associated with the use of the DTF to fund activities associated with
site restoration. 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 their site-specific decommissioning cost
estimate until they submit their final radiation survey and demonstrate
that residual radioactivity has been reduced to a level that permits
termination of the operating license. Section 50.82(a)(8)(vi) requires
that if the sum of the balance of any remaining decommissioning funds,
plus expected rate of return, plus any other financial surety mechanism
relied upon by the licensee, does not cover the estimated costs to
complete the decommissioning, the financial assurance status report
must include additional financial assurance to cover the cost of
completion. These annual reports provide a means for the NRC to monitor
the adequacy of available funding.
The proposed exemption would allow CEG to use excess funds from the
DTF to support site restoration activities not associated with
radiological decontamination. The NRC staff has determined that there
is reasonable assurance of adequate funding for radiological
decommissioning. Specifically, CEG has provided detailed site-specific
cost-estimates for radiological decommissioning that the NRC staff
finds sufficiently demonstrate that the funds in the DTF dedicated to
radiological decommissioning are adequate to complete decommissioning
and terminate the TMI-1 license, with excess funding available to pay
for site restoration activities within the scope of the exemption
request. Thus, there is reasonable assurance that there will be no
environmental effect due to lack of adequate funding for
decommissioning.
The proposed actions 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 exemption. Therefore, there would be no
significant radiological environmental impacts associated with the
proposed actions.
Regarding potential nonradiological impacts, the proposed actions
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, no
air quality impacts, and no potential to affect historic properties.
Therefore, there would be no significant nonradiological environment
impacts associated with the proposed actions.
Accordingly, the NRC concludes that there would be no significant
environmental impacts associated with the proposed actions.
Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action
As an alternative to the proposed action, the NRC staff considered
the denial of the proposed actions (i.e., the ``no-action''
alternative). Denial of the exemption requests 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 and Persons Consulted
In accordance with its stated policy, on May 3, 2022, the staff
consulted with Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, regarding the
environmental impact of the proposed action. The state official had no
comments on the proposed 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 CEG to use funds from the
DTF for site restoration activities, without prior written notification
to the NRC. The NRC is considering issuing the requested exemption. The
proposed action would not significantly affect plant safety, would not
have a significant adverse effect on the 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 an
exemption from requirements that are of a financial or administrative
nature and that do not have an impact on 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.
IV. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the following table are available to
interested persons through ADAMS.
[[Page 34313]]
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ADAMS
Document Accession No.
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Notification of Completion of License Transfer and ML22032A333
Request to Continue Processing Pending NRC Actions
Previously Requested by Exelon Generation Company, LLC,
dated February 1, 2022.................................
Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1, Request for ML21140A311
Exemption from 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 10 CFR
50.75(h)(1)(iv), dated May 20, 2021....................
Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1--Certification ML17171A151
of Permanent Cessation of Power Operations, dated June
20, 2017...............................................
Certification of Permanent Removal of Fuel from the ML19269E480
Reactor Vessel for Three Mile Island Nuclear Station,
Unit 1, dated September 26, 2019.......................
Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1--Post-Shutdown ML19095A041
Decommissioning Activities Report, dated April 5, 2019.
NUREG-1437, Supplement 37, ``Generic Environmental ML091751063
Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants,
Supplement 37, Regarding Three Mile Island Nuclear
Station, Unit 1,'' dated June 2009.....................
Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1--Proposed ML22125A010
Action--Proposed FONSI for TMI-1 Exemption Request from
10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 10 CFR 50.75(h)(1)(iv)
notification of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Response,
dated May 3, 2022......................................
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Dated: June 1, 2022.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jane E. Marshall,
Director, Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery, and Waste
Programs, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2022-12060 Filed 6-3-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P