[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 130 (Thursday, July 10, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30708-30710]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-12883]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-313 and 50-368; CEQ EAXX-429-00-000-1741333381; NRC-
2025-0115]
Entergy Operations, Inc.; Arkansas Nuclear One, Units 1 and 2;
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering
issuance of exemptions in response to the November 13, 2024, request
from Entergy Operations, Inc. (the licensee) related to Arkansas
Nuclear One (ANO), Units 1 and 2, located in Pope County, Arkansas. The
exemptions would allow the licensee to withdraw a small portion of the
funds from the ANO, Units 1 and 2, nuclear decommissioning trust funds
(DTFs) to facilitate the prompt disposal of certain retired major
radioactive components (MRCs). The NRC staff is issuing an
environmental assessment (EA) and finding of no significant impact
(FONSI) associated with the proposed exemptions.
DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in this document are available on
July 10, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2025-0115 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-2025-0115. Address
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Bridget Curran;
telephone: 301-415-1003; 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]. 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: 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hannah McLatchie, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-8507; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The NRC is considering issuance of exemptions from the requirements
in paragraphs 50.82(a)(8)(i) and (ii) of title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR) to the licensee for Renewed Facility
Operating License Nos. DPR-51 and NPF-6 for ANO, Units 1 and 2,
respectively, located in Pope County, Arkansas. The licensee requested
the exemptions by letter dated November 13, 2024 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML24318C273). The exemptions would allow the licensee to withdraw funds
from the ANO, Units 1 and 2, DTFs, not to exceed $20 million per unit,
to
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facilitate the prompt disposal of certain retired MRCs. Specifically,
the licensee is seeking to use funds from the Unit 1 DTF to dispose of
two steam generators and one reactor vessel closure head that were
removed from service in 2005, and to use funds from the Unit 2 DTF to
dispose of two steam generators that were removed from service in 2000.
In accordance with 10 CFR 51.21 and 10 CFR 51.30, the NRC prepared
the following EA that analyzes the environmental impacts of the
proposed action. Based on the results of this EA, which is provided in
section II of this document, and in accordance with 10 CFR 51.31(a),
the NRC has determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement
for the proposed action and is issuing a FONSI.
II. Environmental Assessment
Description of the Proposed Action
The proposed action would partially exempt the licensee from the
requirements set forth in 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i) and (ii). Specifically,
contrary to 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i), the proposed action would allow the
licensee to withdraw funds from the ANO, Units 1 and 2 DTFs for
disposal activities that are not consistent with the definition of
decommissioning in 10 CFR 50.2 because they would not be related to
removing a facility or site from service; instead, the disposal
activities would be performed prior to ANO, Units 1 and 2, permanently
ceasing operations. Additionally, the proposed action would allow the
licensee to withdraw funds from the ANO, Units 1 and 2 DTFs contrary to
the timing requirements in 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(ii). The proposed action
is in accordance with the licensee's application dated November 13,
2024. The NRC determination of whether to approve the proposed action
will be documented separately from this assessment of the environmental
impacts of the proposed action.
Need for the Proposed Action
As required by 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i), DTFs may be used by licensees
if, in part, the withdrawals are for legitimate decommissioning
activity expenses, consistent with the definition of decommissioning in
10 CFR 50.2. This definition addresses removing a facility or site from
service and reducing residual radioactivity and does not include
activities associated with the disposal of MRCs during plant
operations. The regulation in 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(ii) discusses timing
requirements associated with DTF withdrawals, allowing 3 percent of the
generic amount specified in 10 CFR 50.75 to be used for decommissioning
planning and restricting further withdrawals until licensees have
submitted the certifications required under 10 CFR 50.82(a)(1)
regarding permanent cessation of operations and the post-shutdown
decommissioning activities report. Therefore, exemptions from 10 CFR
50.82(a)(8)(i) and (ii) are needed to allow the licensee to use funds
from the DTFs for the disposal of MRCs during plant operations. In its
submittal, the licensee stated that due to limited long-term onsite
storage facility capacity at ANO, it is desirable to dispose of the
specified MRCs while plant operations are ongoing, rather than waiting
until the permanent cessation of operations to dispose of them.
Additionally, the licensee identified that the disposal of these MRCs
would be considered a legitimate decommissioning activity for which DTF
funds may be used once ANO, Units 1 and 2 have permanently ceased
operations and the timing requirements of 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(ii) have
been met; therefore, the exemption request is essentially seeking an
acceleration of otherwise permissible DTF withdrawals.
In summary, by letter dated November 13, 2024, the licensee
requested exemptions to allow the licensee to withdraw a small portion
of the funds from the ANO, Units 1 and 2 DTFs to facilitate the prompt
(i.e., during plant operations) disposal of certain retired MRCs.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The proposed action involves exemptions from regulatory
requirements that are of a financial nature and that do not have an
impact on the environment. The proposed action does not introduce new
operational activities, and all the current operational activities have
already been subjected to environmental review. Additionally, before
the NRC could approve the proposed action, it would have to conclude
that there is reasonable assurance that funds will be available for the
decommissioning process as well as for the prompt disposal of certain
retired MRCs. Therefore, there would be no decrease in safety
associated with the use of the DTFs to also fund the prompt disposal of
certain retired MRCs. Section 50.75 of 10 CFR requires a licensee to
certify that financial assurance has been provided in the required
amount, to adjust that amount annually, and to cover that amount. Since
the proposed exemptions would allow the licensee to use funds from the
ANO, Units 1 and 2 DTFs that are in excess of those required for the
decommissioning process, the adequacy of the funds dedicated to the
decommissioning process would not be affected by the exemptions.
Therefore, there is reasonable assurance that there would be no
environmental impact due to lack of adequate funding for the
decommissioning process.
The proposed action would also not significantly increase the
probability or consequences of radiological accidents. The proposed
action has no direct radiological impacts. There would be no change to
the types or amounts of radiological effluents that may be released;
therefore, there would be no change in occupational or public radiation
exposure from the proposed action. There are no materials or chemicals
introduced into the plant that could affect the characteristics or
types of effluents released offsite. In addition, the method of
operation of waste processing systems would not be affected by the
exemptions. The proposed action would not result in changes to the
design basis requirements of structures, systems, and components (SSCs)
that function to limit or monitor the release of effluents. All the
SSCs associated with limiting the release of effluents would continue
to be able to perform their functions. Moreover, no changes would be
made to plant buildings or the site property from the proposed action.
Therefore, there are no significant radiological environmental impacts
associated with the proposed action.
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 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.
Accordingly, the NRC concludes that there are no significant
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.
Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action
As an alternative to the proposed action, the NRC staff considered
denial of the proposed action (i.e., the ``no-action'' alternative).
Denial of the
[[Page 30710]]
proposed action would result in the licensee disposing of certain
retired MRCs using funds other than those in the DTFs, which would have
no change in current environmental impacts, or would result in the
licensee building a new long-term onsite storage facility at ANO, which
would have environmental impacts. Therefore, the alternative action
would have similar or additional environmental impacts than the
proposed action.
Alternative Use of Resources
There are no unresolved conflicts concerning alternative uses of
available resources under the proposed action.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
No additional agencies or persons were consulted regarding the
environmental impact of the proposed action.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The requested exemptions from 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i) and (ii) would
allow the licensee to withdraw a small portion of the funds from the
ANO, Units 1 and 2 DTFs to facilitate the prompt disposal of certain
retired MRCs. 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 non-radiological impacts. The proposed action involves
exemptions from requirements that are of a financial nature and that
would not have an impact on the human environment. Consistent with 10
CFR 51.21, the NRC conducted an EA for the proposed action, and this
FONSI incorporates by reference the EA included in section II of 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.
Other than the licensee's letter dated November 13, 2024, there are
no other environmental documents associated with this review.
Previous considerations regarding the environmental impacts of
operating ANO, Units 1 and 2 are described in NUREG-1437, Supplement 3,
``Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear
Plants Regarding the Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 1,'' dated April 2001
(ADAMS Accession No. ML011170034), and NUREG-1437, Supplement 19,
``Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear
Plants Regarding Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 2,'' dated April 2005
(ADAMS Accession No. ML051080538).
Dated: July 8, 2025.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Hannah McLatchie,
Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch 4, Division of Operating
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2025-12883 Filed 7-9-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P