[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 103 (Tuesday, May 28, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46170-46173]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-11553]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-213 and 72-39; NRC-2024-0093]


Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company; Haddam Neck Plant; 
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice; issuance.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering 
issuance of an exemption in response to the April 24, 2023, request 
from Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company (CYAPCO), for the Haddam 
Neck Plant (HNP or Haddam Neck) located in East Hampton, Connecticut. 
The proposed exemption from NRC regulations, if granted, would permit 
CYAPCO to make withdrawals from a segregated account within Haddam 
Neck's overall nuclear decommissioning trust (NDT), on an annual basis, 
for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and Greater than Class C (GTCC) waste 
management and non-radiological site restoration without prior 
notification to the NRC. The NRC staff is issuing an environmental 
assessment (EA) and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) associated 
with the proposed exemption.

DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in this document are available on 
May 28, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0093 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-2024-0093. 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, at 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: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies 
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. 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.

[[Page 46171]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tilda Liu, Office of Nuclear Material 
Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
DC 20555-0001; telephone: 404-997-4730; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction

    By letter dated April 24, 2023, CYAPCO submitted a request to the 
NRC for an exemption from paragraphs 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 10 CFR 
50.75(h)(2) of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) for 
the Haddam Neck Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation \1\ 
(ISFSI).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ As discussed in this document, the Haddam Neck ISFSI sits on 
the former site of HNP, which CYAPCO finished decommissioning in 
2007. Although only the Haddam Neck ISFSI remains on the site, 
CYAPCO's 10 CFR part 50 license, Facility Operating License No. DPR-
61 remains in effect. Because CYAPCO requested an exemption from the 
requirements of 10 CFR part 50, this would be an exemption for 
CYAPCO's 10 CFR part 50 license rather than for CYAPCO's 10 CFR part 
72 general license. Therefore, although CYAPCO's submission 
requested an exemption for the Haddam Neck ISFSI, the NRC staff will 
consider it a request for an exemption for HNP.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    CYAPCO has established a separate (segregated) account within its 
over-arching NDT, entitled ``ISFSI Radiological Decom,'' that 
identifies the funds for radiological decommissioning of the ISFSI 
apart from the larger balance of funds in the NDT allocated for ongoing 
management of SNF and GTCC waste and for non-radiological site 
restoration activities. Although 10 CFR 50.82 applies to the segregated 
account, it does not apply to the overall NDT.
    If granted, the exemptions from 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 
50.75(h)(2) would permit CYAPCO to make withdrawals from the segregated 
account, on an annual basis, for SNF and GTCC waste management and non-
radiological site restoration without prior notification to the NRC. 
More specifically, with this exemption, CYAPCO would be able to 
annually transfer funds exceeding 110 percent of the inflation-adjusted 
decommissioning cost estimate (DCE), described in 10 CFR 50.75, from 
the segregated account to its overarching NDT and use those funds for 
SNF and GTCC waste management and non-radiological site restoration.
    HNP began commercial operations in January 1968, and ceased power 
production in December 1996. CYAPCO initiated decommissioning shortly 
thereafter. In July 2007, HNP completed its final decommissioning of 
the reactor site, except for the ISFSI, which included dismantling and 
removing all reactor plant related facilities. As a result, only the 
ISFSI remains at the old plant site of HNP in East Hampton, 
Connecticut.
    By letter dated November 26, 2007, NRC approved the release of most 
portions of the HNP site from the 10 CFR part 50 license (DPR-61) for 
unrestricted release, except for the ISFSI and immediately surrounding 
areas. Under its 10 CFR part 72 general license, HNP is authorized to 
possess, and store SNF at the permanently shut down and decommissioned 
facility under the provision of 10 CFR part 72, subpart K, ``General 
License for Storage of Spent Fuel at Power Reactor Sites.''
    The NRC staff is performing both a safety evaluation and an 
environmental review to determine whether to grant this exemption 
request. The NRC staff will prepare a separate safety evaluation report 
(SER) to document its safety review and analysis. The NRC's SER will 
evaluate the proposed exemption for reasonable assurance of adequate 
protection of public health and safety, and the common defense and 
security. This EA documents the environmental review which the NRC 
staff prepared in accordance with 10 CFR 51.21 and 51.30(a). The NRC's 
decision whether to grant the exemption will be based on the results of 
the NRC staff's review as documented in this EA, and the staff's safety 
review to be documented in the SER.

II. Environmental Assessment

    By letter dated April 24, 2023, CYAPCO submitted a request to the 
NRC for an exemption from 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 10 CFR 
50.75(h)(2). If granted, the proposed exemption from 10 CFR 
50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 50.75(h)(2) would permit CYAPCO to make 
withdrawals from the segregated account, on an annual basis, for SNF 
and GTCC waste management and non-radiological site restoration without 
prior notification to the NRC. More specifically, with this exemption, 
CYAPCO would be able to annually transfer funds exceeding 110 percent 
of the inflation-adjusted DCE, described in 10 CFR 50.75, from the 
segregated account to its overarching NDT and use those funds for SNF 
and GTCC waste management and non-radiological site restoration 
activities.

Need for the Proposed Action

    As required by 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A), decommissioning trust 
funds may be used by the 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 
decommissioning and does not include activities associated with 
management of SNF and GTCC waste or non-radiological site restoration. 
Similarly, the requirements of 10 CFR 50.75(h)(2) restrict the use of 
decommissioning trust fund disbursements (other than for ordinary and 
incidental expenses) to decommissioning expenses until final 
decommissioning has been completed.
    CYAPCO stated that it has established a segregated account, 
entitled ``ISFSI Radiological Decom,'' within its over-arching NDT, 
that identifies the funds for radiological decommissioning of the 
ISFSI. This segregated account is apart from the larger balance of 
funds in the NDT allocated for ongoing management of SNF and GTCC waste 
and for other non-radiological site restoration activities. Therefore, 
exemption from 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 50.75(h)(2) is needed to 
allow CYAPCO to use funds from the segregated account for SNF and GTCC 
waste management and other non-radiological site restoration 
activities.
    In its Decommissioning Funding Assurance Status Report dated March 
6, 2023, CYAPCO stated that, its inflation-adjusted DCE for the 
radiological decommissioning of the ISFSI is approximately $7.1 million 
in 2022 dollars. It asserted this amount provides reasonable assurance 
of adequate funding to complete the NRC required decommissioning 
activities. In the same report, CYAPCO reported that the segregated 
``ISFSI Radiological Decom'' account had $46.4 million in 2022 dollars 
as of December 31, 2022. More specifically, in its exemption request, 
CYAPCO provided a table showing $7,070,450, in 2022 dollars, as the 
inflation-adjusted DCE. CYAPCO's exemption request further stated that 
the segregated account has a balance of $47,609,309 as of December 31, 
2022, meaning that the segregated account had a balance of $40,538,859, 
or 573 percent beyond the inflation-adjusted DCE.
    CYAPCO stated that, if the exemption is granted, funds in its 
segregated account which exceed 110 percent of the inflation-adjusted 
DCE for the radiological decommissioning of the ISFSI would be 
transferred to the overarching NDT on an annual basis without prior NRC 
notification. CYAPCO would then use those funds for SNF and GTCC waste 
management and non-radiological site restoration, which in turn, would 
allow CYAPCO to return its additional excess funds in the overarching 
NDT to its customers as part of future rate cases with the Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission.

[[Page 46172]]

    The requirements of 10 CFR 50.75(h)(2) further provide that, 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 NDT 
in connection with the operation of the NDT, no disbursement may be 
made from the NDT without written notice to the NRC at least 30 working 
days in advance. Therefore, an exemption from 10 CFR 50.75(h)(2) is 
also needed to allow CYAPCO to use funds from the segregated account 
for SNF and GTCC waste management and non-radiological site restoration 
activities without prior NRC notification.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action involves an exemption from requirements that 
are of financial and/or administrative nature and that do not have an 
impact on the environment. Before the NRC could approve the proposed 
action, it would have to conclude that there is reasonable assurance 
that adequate funds are available in the segregated account to complete 
all activities associated with radiological decommissioning as well as 
SNF and GTCC waste management and non-radiological site restoration. 
Therefore, there would be no decrease in safety associated with the use 
of funds from the segregated account to also fund activities associated 
with SNF and GTCC waste management and non-radiological site-
restoration.
    The requested exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 
50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 10 CFR 50.75(h)(2), if approved, would allow 
transfers on an annual basis. CYAPCO stated that it will continue to 
provide its annual decommissioning funding assurance status report in 
accordance with 10 CFR 50.75(f)(1) and (2) and 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(v) 
and (vi) requirements. These reports provide the NRC staff with 
awareness of, and the ability to act on, any actual or potential 
funding deficiencies. As the proposed exemption would not affect these 
requirements, the NRC staff would have tools available for any 
potential funding deficiencies. Since the exemption would allow CYAPCO 
to use funds from the segregated account that are in excess of those 
required for radiological decommissioning, the adequacy of funds 
dedicated for radiological decommissioning would not be affected by the 
proposed exemption. Therefore, there is reasonable assurance that there 
would be no environmental impact due to lack of adequate funding for 
radiological decommissioning.
    Further, there are no new accident precursors created by using the 
excess funds from the segregated account for SNF and GTCC waste 
management and non-radiological site-restoration. The exemption, if 
granted, would be financial and/or administrative in nature. Thus, the 
probability of postulated accidents is not increased. Also, the 
consequences of postulated accidents are not increased. No changes are 
being made in the types or amounts of effluents that may be released 
offsite. There is no significant increase in occupational or public 
radiation exposure. Therefore, the requested exemption will not present 
an undue risk to the public health and safety.
    With regard to potential non-radiological impacts, the proposed 
action 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 non-radiological effluents. 
In addition, there would be no noticeable effect on socioeconomic 
conditions in the region, no environmental justice impacts, no air 
quality impacts, and no impacts to historic and cultural resources from 
the proposed action. Therefore, there are no significant non-
radiological environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.
    For these reasons, the NRC concludes there are no significant 
environmental impacts associated with the proposed exemption request.

Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    In addition to the proposed action, the NRC staff also considered 
denial of the proposed action (i.e., the ``no-action'' alternative). 
Denial of the exemption request 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 Consulted

    By email dated April 5, 2024, the NRC provided a copy of the draft 
EA to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental 
Protection, Radiation Division, for review. By email dated May 6, 2024, 
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, 
Radiation Division, indicated that it had no comments.

Endangered Species Act Section 7 Consultation

    Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA), 
requires Federal agencies to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service or National Marine Fisheries Service regarding actions that may 
affect listed species or designated critical habitats. The ESA is 
intended to prevent further decline of endangered and threatened 
species and restore those species and their critical habitat.
    The NRC staff determined that a consultation under section 7 of the 
ESA is not required because the proposed action will not affect listed 
species or critical habitat.

National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 Consultation

    Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) 
requires Federal agencies to consider the effects of their undertakings 
on historic properties. As stated in the NHPA, historic properties are 
any prehistoric or historic district, site, building, structure, or 
object included in, or eligible for inclusion in the National Register 
of Historic Places.
    The NRC determined that the scope of activities described in this 
exemption request do not have the potential to cause effects on 
historic properties because the NRC's approval of this exemption 
request will not authorize new construction or land disturbance 
activities. The NRC staff also determined that the proposed action is 
not a type of activity that has the potential to impact historic 
properties because the proposed action would occur within the 
established HNP site boundary. Therefore, in accordance with 36 CFR 
800.3(a)(1), no consultation is required under section 106 of NHPA.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    The environmental impacts of the proposed action--an exemption from 
the requirements of 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 10 CFR 50.75(h)(2) 
allowing CYAPCO to make withdrawals from the segregated account, on an 
annual basis, for SNF and GTCC waste management and non-radiological 
site restoration without prior notification to the NRC--have been 
reviewed under the requirements in 10 CFR part 51, which implement the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended.
    The proposed exemption would not have a significant adverse effect 
on the probability of an accident occurring and would not have any 
significant radiological or non-radiological impacts. The proposed 
exemption involves an

[[Page 46173]]

exemption from requirements that are of a financial and/or 
administrative nature and would not have an impact on the human 
environment. Consistent with 10 CFR 51.21, the NRC conducted the EA for 
the proposed exemption, and this FONSI incorporates by reference the EA 
included in this document. Therefore, the NRC concludes that the 
proposed action will not have significant effects on the quality of the 
human environment. Accordingly, the NRC has determined not to prepare 
an environmental impact statement for the proposed action.

IV. Availability of Documents

    The documents identified in the following table are available to 
interested persons through ADAMS, as indicated.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        ADAMS accession
                 Document description                         No.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Request for Exemption from 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A)         ML23130A118.
 and 10 CFR 50.75(h)(2) for the Haddam Neck Plant
 Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation, dated
 April 24, 2023......................................
Email to State of Connecticut providing draft               ML24096B776.
 environmental assessment related to Haddam Neck
 exemption request, dated April 5, 2024..............
Email Response from State of Connecticut on draft EA/       ML24129A058.
 FONSI, dated May 6, 2024............................
Haddam Neck Decommissioning Funding Assurance Status        ML23088A202.
 Report, dated March 6, 2023.........................
Haddam Neck Plant--Release of Land from Part 50             ML073120350.
 License, November 26, 2007..........................
------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Dated: May 21, 2024.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Yoira Diaz-Sanabria,
Chief, Storage and Transportation Licensing Branch, Division of Fuel 
Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2024-11553 Filed 5-24-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P