[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]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P