[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 83 (Monday, May 1, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26610-26612]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-09154]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-0320; NRC-2023-0042]


TMI-2 Solutions, LLC; Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit No. 
2

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 an 
exemption for license no. DPR-73, issued on February 8, 1978, and held 
by TMI-2 Solutions, LLC for the operation of Three Mile Island Nuclear 
Station, Unit No. 2, located in Dauphin County, Commonwealth of 
Pennsylvania. 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 
April 24, 2023.

[[Page 26611]]


ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2023-0042 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-2023-0042. 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]. The ADAMS accession number for each 
document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the first 
time that it is mentioned in this document.
     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 
a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (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 for license no. 
DPR-73, issued to TMI-2 Solutions, LLC (TMI-2 Solutions, the licensee), 
from section 70.24 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(CFR), ``Criticality accident requirements.'' The proposed action would 
exempt TMI-2 Solutions from the requirement to maintain a radiation 
monitoring system in each area where licensed special nuclear material 
(SNM) is handled, used, or stored that will energize clearly audible 
alarm signals if accidental criticality occurs during decommissioning.
    As required by 10 CFR part 51, ``Domestic Licensing of Production 
and Utilization Facilities,'' the NRC prepared an EA documenting its 
environmental review (ADAMS Accession No. ML23026A348). Based on the 
results of the EA and the summary that follows, the NRC has determined 
not to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the 
exemption and is issuing a FONSI in accordance with 10 CFR 51.32 
``Finding of no significant impact.''
    TMI-2 Solutions requested an exemption from 10 CFR 70.24 
requirements. In its exemption application, TMI-2 Solutions states that 
criticality is not credible at TMI-2, and therefore it considers an 
exemption to 10 CFR 70.24 for a criticality monitoring system to be 
appropriate under the decommissioning licensing basis. The licensee 
stated that this is because of its updated Spent Fuel Mass Limit 
(SFML). Specifically, TMI-2 Solutions asserts that it arrived at this 
updated SFML by taking credit for impurities and actual enrichment 
based on the results of physical samples taken during the defueling 
effort in 1993. In its application, TMI-2 Solutions also asserts that 
administrative controls for geometric spacing are not necessary to 
further preclude a criticality accident because there is not enough 
Uranium Oxide (UO2) at TMI-2 to assemble an optimal critical 
configuration. Regardless, TMI-2 Solutions states that, as part of its 
Fuel Bearing Material Management Program, it will be implementing local 
administrative controls for the purpose of defense in depth of the 
activities which will handle the highest quantities of fuel bearing 
material.

II. Summary of Environmental Assessment

Description of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action that is being considered by the Commission is 
an exemption during decommissioning from the requirements of 10 CFR 
70.24 for a monitoring system capable of detecting a criticality 
accident.
    The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's 
application dated September 29, 2022 (ADAMS Accession No. ML22276A024).

Need for the Proposed Action

    The proposed action would exempt the licensee from the requirements 
of 10 CFR 70.24, which, in relevant part, requires that each licensee 
authorized to possess SNM in certain quantities maintain a monitoring 
system that will energize clear audible alarms if accidental 
criticality occurs in each area in which SNM is handled, used, or 
stored. The proposed action would also exempt the licensee from the 
requirements to maintain emergency procedures for each area in which 
this licensed SNM is handled, used, or stored to ensure that all 
personnel withdraw to an area of safety upon the sounding of the alarm, 
to familiarize personnel with the evacuation plan, and to designate 
responsible individuals for determining the cause of the alarm, and to 
place radiation survey instruments in accessible locations for use in 
such an emergency.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC staff assessed the impacts of the proposed action on land 
use; visual and scenic resources/aesthetics; climatology; meteorology; 
air quality; noise; geology and soil; water; ecological resources; 
historical and cultural resources; socioeconomics; transportation and 
traffic; waste generation; and public and occupational health and 
safety. Approval of the proposed action would not result in an 
increased radiological risk to public health or the environment.

Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    As an alternative to the proposed action, the staff considered 
denial of the proposed action (i.e., the ``no-action'' alternative). 
Under the No-Action Alternative, the NRC would deny the requested 
action. Denying the action would have a larger environmental impact 
because occupational radiation exposure would increase due to personnel 
using radiation sources to calibrate criticality monitors during 
decommissioning.

Alternative Use of Resources

    This action does not involve the use of any resources not 
previously considered in Supplement 3 to the Programmatic Environmental 
Impact Statement for TMI-2, dated August 1989, NUREG-0683. 
Additionally, the proposed action does not involve any environmental 
resources beyond those previously considered in the exemption for the 
1992 Criticality Monitoring (57 FR 26668).

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    On April 4, 2023, the NRC staff consulted with Commonwealth of 
Pennsylvania regarding the environmental impact of the proposed

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action. On April 14, 2023 (ADAMS Accession No. ML23107A223), the state 
official concurred with the draft environmental assessment and finding 
of no significant impact.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    On the basis of the EA referenced in Section II of this notice and 
incorporated by reference in this finding, the NRC finds that the 
proposed action will not have a significant environmental impact and 
that preparation of EIS is not warranted. Accordingly, the NRC has 
determined that a FONSI (ADAMS Accession No. ML23026A348) is 
appropriate.

    Dated: April 26, 2023.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Shaun M. Anderson,
Chief, Reactor Decommissioning Branch, Division of Decommissioning, 
Uranium Recovery, and Waste Programs, Office of Nuclear Material Safety 
and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2023-09154 Filed 4-28-23; 8:45 am]
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