[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 221 (Thursday, November 17, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69053-69055]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-24993]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 72-0001; NRC-2021-0122]
GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas, LLC; Morris Operation
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 a
renewal for twenty years of special nuclear materials (SNM) License
SNM-2500 for the possession, transfer, and storage of radioactive
material at the Morris Operation independent spent fuel storage
installation (ISFSI) in Grundy County, Illinois. The license is held by
GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas, LLC, and, if renewed, would expire
on May 31, 2042.
DATES: The environmental assessment (EA) and finding of no significant
impact (FONSI) referenced in this document is available on November 17,
2022.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2021-0122 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-2021-0122. 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. Eastern Time (ET), Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christine Pineda, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-6789, email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The NRC is considering a renewal of License SNM-2500, issued to GE-
Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas, LLC (GE-Hitachi), for operation of the
Morris Operation ISFSI in Grundy County,
[[Page 69054]]
Illinois. Therefore, as required by section 51.21 of title 10 of the
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Criteria for and identification
of licensing and regulatory actions requiring environmental
assessments,'' the NRC performed an EA. Based on the results of the EA,
the NRC has determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement
(EIS) for the renewal and is issuing a FONSI. The NRC is also
conducting a safety evaluation of the proposed license renewal.
II. Environmental Assessment
Description of and Need for the Proposed Action
The proposed license renewal would allow GE-Hitachi to continue
operations at the Morris Operation ISFSI. As proposed, GE-Hitachi would
continue to store spent fuel in a wet (water) storage facility
consisting of a cask-loading basin and two spent fuel storage basins.
In accordance with its license, GE-Hitachi cannot receive additional
spent fuel or replace any spent fuel currently in inventory at the
ISFSI without prior NRC approval. Continued storage of the spent fuel
and continued operation of the ISFSI is necessary because Congress has
not yet established a permanent national repository, and no facility is
yet available for monitored retrievable storage.
The proposed action is in accordance with GE-Hitachi's application
dated June 30, 2020, as supplemented on February 26, 2021, March 19,
2021, March 24, 2021, January 27, 2022, and May 12, 2022.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
Approval of the proposed action is not expected to result in
changes to current ISFSI operations. Routine operation of the ISFSI is
largely passive; activities include continuation of existing monitoring
and maintenance activities for the wet storage basins, which are inside
a building. The proposed action would not result in any changes in
water use or in the types, characteristics, or quantities of
radiological or nonradiological air effluents or wastes. GE-Hitachi
would continue to operate onsite sanitary wastewater lagoons in
compliance with its state-issued permit and would manage the
radioactive wastewater system and solid radioactive wastes generated
from ISFSI operations in accordance with NRC regulations. No wastewater
would be discharged from the property. As a result of these continued
ISFSI activities, no significant radiological or non-radiological
environmental impacts are expected. Public and occupational dose
estimates associated with the continued normal operation and
maintenance of the ISFSI would continue to be at levels that are as low
as reasonably achievable and within the limits of 10 CFR 20.1101 and
20.1201, respectively, as well as 10 CFR 72.104. The NRC staff also
determined that the proposed action does not have the potential to
cause effects on historic properties, assuming such historic properties
were present. Accordingly, under 36 CFR 800.3(a)(1), no consultation is
required under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action
As alternatives to the proposed action, the staff considered denial
of the proposed action (i.e., the ``no-action'' alternative) and the
shipment of spent fuel to an offsite facility. Under the no-action
alternative, GE-Hitachi would continue to maintain the spent fuel under
NRC license at the ISFSI. Ultimately, GE-Hitachi would need to remove
the spent fuel, transport it to another ISFSI, and decommission the
Morris Operation ISFSI. Until that time, storage at the ISFSI would
continue and the potential environmental impacts would be the same as
those assessed for the proposed action. The NRC determined that
shipment of the spent fuel to a commercial reprocessing facility, a
Federal repository, or an interim storage facility is not a reasonable
alternative to renewing the license because these facilities are not
available in the United States as of the date of the EA.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
The NRC staff consulted with the Illinois Emergency Management
Agency, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and the Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency regarding the environmental impact of
the proposed action. These agencies had no comments on the NRC's
assessment and conclusions in the EA.
The NRC staff contacted the Illinois State Historic Preservation
Office (SHPO) to inform it of the proposed action, and the Illinois
SHPO indicated its review of this project was not necessary. The NRC
staff also notified 16 Federally recognized Indian Tribes of the
proposed action.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
Based on the EA, 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.
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 description ADAMS accession No.
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Environmental Assessment for Proposed License Renewal...... ML22270A269.
GE-Hitachi's Renewal Application, dated June 30, 2020...... ML20182A699 (Package).
Response to Request for Supplemental Information, dated ML21057A119 (Package).
February 26, 2021.
Response to Request for Clarification, dated March 19, 2021 ML21085A859.
Submittal of Updated Consolidated Safety Analysis Report, ML21083A200 (Package).
dated March 24, 2021.
Response to Request for Additional Information, dated ML22027A516.
January 27, 2022.
Response to Request for Clarification, dated May 12, 2022.. ML22132A072.
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[[Page 69055]]
Dated: November 10, 2022.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jessie M. Quintero,
Chief, Environmental Review Materials Branch, Division of Rulemaking,
Environmental, and Financial Support, Office of Nuclear Material Safety
and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2022-24993 Filed 11-16-22; 8:45 am]
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