[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 31 (Tuesday, February 17, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7304-7306]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-03081]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-237 and 50-249; CEQ EAXX-429-00-000-1770870609; NRC-
2025-1963]
Constellation Energy Generation LLC.; Dresden Nuclear Power
Station, Units 2 and 3; 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 January 31, 2025, request, as
supplemented on January 20, 2026, from Constellation Energy Generation
LLC (the licensee) related to Dresden Nuclear Power Station (DNPS),
Units 2 and 3, located in Grundy County, Illinois. The exemptions would
allow the licensee to withdraw a small portion of the funds from the
DNPS, Units 2 and 3, nuclear decommissioning trust funds (DTFs) to
facilitate the prompt disposal of certain retired major radioactive
components (MRCs), and to demolish and dispose of the mausoleum
currently used to store those 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
February 17, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2025-1963 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-2025-1963. 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 ADAMS Public 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: Surinder Arora, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-1421; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The NRC is considering issuance of exemptions from the requirements
in paragraphs 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A), and 50.82(a)(8)(ii), and
50.75(h)(1)(iv) of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR)
to the licensee for Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-19 and
DPR-25 for DNPS, Units 2 and 3, respectively, located in Grundy County,
Illinois. By letter dated January 31, 2025 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML25031A350), as supplemented by letter dated January 20, 2026 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML26020A208), the licensee requested exemptions to allow
the licensee to withdraw funds from the DNPS, Units 2 and 3, DTFs, not
to exceed $20 million per unit, to facilitate the prompt disposal of
certain retired MRCs. Specifically, the licensee is seeking to use
funds from the DTF to dispose of steam dryers that were removed from
DNPS and to demolish and dispose of the mausoleum currently used to
store those MRCs.
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
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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)(A), 10 CFR
50.82(a)(8)(ii), and 10 CFR 50.75(h)(1)(iv). Specifically, contrary to
10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 10 CFR 50.75(h)(1)(iv), the proposed
action would allow the licensee to withdraw funds from the DNPS, Units
2 and 3 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 DNPS, Units 2 and 3,
permanently ceasing operations. Additionally, the proposed action would
allow the licensee to withdraw funds from the DNPS, Units 2 and 3 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
January 31, 2025, as supplemented on January 20, 2026. The NRC's
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)(A), 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 and
demolition and disposal of the mausoleum during plant operations. The
regulation at 10 CFR 50.75(h)(1)(iv) similarly restricts the use of
decommissioning trust fund disbursements (other than for ordinary
administrative costs and other incidental expenses of the fund in
connection with the operation of the fund) to decommissioning expenses
until final radiological decommissioning is completed. The regulation
in 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(ii) discusses timing requirements associated with
DTF withdrawals, allowing three 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)(A), 10 CFR
50.82(a)(8)(ii), and 10 CFR 50.75(h)(1)(iv) are needed to allow the
licensee to use funds from the DTFs for the disposal of MRCs and
demolition and disposal of the mausoleum during plant operations.
In its submittal, the licensee stated that due to limited long-term
onsite storage facility capacity at DNPS, 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 stated that the disposal of these MRCs would
be considered a legitimate decommissioning activity for which DTF funds
may be used once DNPS, Units 2 and 3, 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. This
categorization is based on the structure's radiological contamination
and anticipated exposures during demolition, which aligns with the
regulatory definition of legitimate decommissioning activities under 10
CFR 50.82(a)(8). The licensee has not included these costs as site
restoration or other non-decommissioning expenses. In summary, by
letter dated January 31, 2025, the licensee requested exemptions to
allow the licensee to withdraw a small portion of the funds from the
DNPS, Units 2 and 3, DTFs to facilitate the prompt (i.e., during plant
operations) disposal of certain retired MRCs and demolition and
disposal of the mausoleum, that would otherwise be allowed during
decommissioning following the permanent cessation of plant operations.
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 and disposal and demolition of the mausoleum. 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 and
demolition and disposal of the mausoleum. 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 DNPS, Units 2 and 3, 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 available to perform their functions. 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 other than
activities bounded by the current licensing basis. In addition, there
would be no noticeable effect on socioeconomic conditions in the
region, air quality impacts, and no impacts to historic and cultural
resources from the proposed action. Therefore, there are no significant
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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 proposed action would result in the licensee either (1)
postponing the subject activities until the permanent cessation of
operations, or (2) disposing of certain retired MRCs and demolishing
the mausoleum using funds other than those in the DTFs, which would
have no change in environmental impacts resulting from use of DTF
funds, or (3) building a new long-term onsite storage facility at DNPS
for the retired MRCs and the mausoleum, which would have environmental
impacts greater than the requested exemptions. Therefore, the
alternative action would have similar or additional environmental
impacts as compared to 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
DNPS, Units 2 and 3, DTFs to facilitate the prompt disposal of certain
retired MRCs, as well as the demolition and disposal of the mausoleum
housing the 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 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 January 31, 2025, and the
supplement letter dated January 20, 2026, there are no other
environmental documents associated with this review.
Previous considerations regarding the environmental impacts of
operating DNPS, Units 2 and 3 are described in (1) NUREG-1437,
``Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear
Plants, Supplement 17, Second Renewal, Regarding Subsequent License
Renewal for Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Units 2 and 3--Final
Report,'' dated September 2025 (ADAMS Accession No. ML25233A275), (2)
NUREG-1437, Supplement 17, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement for
License Renewal of Nuclear Plants Regarding Dresden Nuclear Power
Station,'' dated June 2004 (ADAMS Accession No. ML041890266), and (3)
Final Environmental Statement Related to Operation of Dresden Nuclear
Power Station, Units 2 and 3, Commonwealth Edison Co., November 1973
(ADAMS Package Accession No. ML030550544).
Dated: February 12, 2026.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Surinder Arora,
Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch III, Division of Operating
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2026-03081 Filed 2-13-26; 8:45 am]
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