Proposed License Renewal of License No. SNM-2506 for the Prairie Island Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation, 37662-37664 [2015-16238]

Download as PDF 37662 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 126 / Wednesday, July 1, 2015 / Notices with the requirements of sections 201.6, 207.3, and 207.7 of the Commission’s rules. Please be aware that the Commission’s rules with respect to filing have changed. The most recent amendments took effect on July 25, 2014. See 79 FR 35920 (June 25, 2014), and the revised Commission Handbook on E-filing, available from the Commission’s Web site at https:// edis.usitc.gov. In accordance with sections 201.16(c) and 207.3 of the rules, each document filed by a party to the review must be served on all other parties to the review (as identified by either the public or BPI service list), and a certificate of service must be timely filed. The Secretary will not accept a document for filing without a certificate of service. Authority: This review is being conducted under authority of title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930; this notice is published pursuant to section 207.62 of the Commission’s rules. By order of the Commission. Issued: June 25, 2015. Lisa R. Barton, Secretary to the Commission. [FR Doc. 2015–16115 Filed 6–30–15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7020–02–P DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act On June 24, 2015, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed Consent Decree with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington in the lawsuit entitled United States v. Intalco Aluminum Corporation, Civil Action No. 2:15-cv00161 SAB, Dkt # 2. The United States of America, by its undersigned counsel, brought this complaint and proposed consent decree on behalf of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service (‘‘USFS’’) (collectively, ‘‘United States’’), against Intalco Aluminum Corporation (‘‘Intalco’’ or ‘‘Defendant’’). The United States brings this civil action under Section 107 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. 9607, to recover past response costs incurred by the United States in connection with releases and threatened releases of hazardous substances from the Holden Mine Site in Chelan County, Washington (the VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:30 Jun 30, 2015 Jkt 235001 ‘‘Site’’). Intalco is incorporated under the laws of Delaware and is a successor to Howe Sound Company, a former operator of the Holden Mine. The Site is located in north-central Washington state, within the OkanoganWenatchee National Forest, and consists of National Forest System land and adjoining private land. The Site is in a remote area approximately twelve miles northwest of Lake Chelan, and is accessible only by Lake Chelan ferry. The Howe Sound Company (‘‘Howe Sound’’) operated the Holden Mine at the Site from 1938–1957, extracting copper, zinc, silver, and gold from approximately sixty miles of underground workings. The Holden Mine ceased operations in 1957. Subsequently, Howe Sound’s interest in the Site was transferred to Holden Village, Inc., which has operated an interdenominational retreat at the Site since 1961 under a Special Use Permit issued by the USFS. The Holden Village has 5,000 to 6,000 visitors each year, and is home to approximately 50 yearround residents. Defendant is the legal successor to Howe Sound. During the period of mining operations, metals were recovered from the ore taken from Holden Mine in an on-Site mill. Approximately 10 million tons of mill tailings were left on-Site after mining operations ceased, placed in three piles spread over approximately 120 acres. Additionally, approximately 250,000–300,000 cubic yards of rock that did not contain mineral concentrations sufficient to mill were placed in two large waste rock piles on the Site. There have been, and continue to be, releases and threatened releases of hazardous substances to the environment from the tailings and waste rock piles that have caused the United States to incur response costs under CERCLA. The subject Consent Decree resolves the United States’ claims for reimbursement of a portion of those costs. The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on the Proposed Consent Decree. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, and should refer to United States v. Intalco Aluminum Corporation, Civil Action No. 2:15-cv-00161 SAB, D.J. Ref. No. 90–11–2–1135/3. All comments must be submitted no later than thirty (30) days after the publication date of this notice. Comments may be submitted either by email or by mail: PO 00000 Frm 00083 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 To submit comments: Send them to: By email ....... pubcomment-ees.enrd@ usdoj.gov. Assistant Attorney General, U.S. DOJ–ENRD, P.O. Box 7611, Washington, DC 20044–7611. By mail ......... During the public comment period, the Proposed Consent Decree may be examined and downloaded at this Justice Department Web site: https:// www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees. We will provide a paper copy of the proposed consent decree upon written request and payment of reproduction costs. Please mail your request and payment to: Consent Decree Library, U.S. DOJ–ENRD, P.O. Box 7611, Washington, DC 20044–7611. Please enclose a check or money order for $6.75 (25 cents per page reproduction cost) payable to the United States Treasury. Maureen Katz, Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and Natural Resources Division. [FR Doc. 2015–16119 Filed 6–30–15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4410–15–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. 72–0010; NRC–2013–0251] Proposed License Renewal of License No. SNM–2506 for the Prairie Island Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact. AGENCY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the renewal of License No. SNM–2506, issued in 1993 and held by Northern States Power Company, a Minnesota Corporation (NSPM) (doing business as Xcel Energy) for the operation of the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant (PINGP) site-specific Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI), for an additional 20 years. ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2013–0251 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 Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\01JYN1.SGM 01JYN1 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 126 / Wednesday, July 1, 2015 / Notices for Docket ID NRC–2013–0251. Address questions about NRC dockets to Ms. Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301–415– 3463; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. 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 publiclyavailable documents online in the ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/ adams.html. To begin the search, select ‘‘ADAMS Public Documents’’ and then 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 pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The ADAMS accession number for each document referenced (if that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is referenced. • NRC’s PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public documents at the NRC’s PDR, Room O1–F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jean Trefethen, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone: 301–415– 0867, email: Jean.Trefethen@nrc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES I. Introduction The NRC is considering issuance of a renewal of License No. SNM–2506 to Northern States Power Company (NSPM) for the operation of the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant (PINGP) site-specific Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) located within the city limits of Red Wing in Goodhue County, Minnesota for an additional 40 years. Therefore, as required by part 51 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ‘‘Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions,’’ which implement the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq), the NRC prepared an environmental assessment (EA) (ADAMS Accession No. ML15098A026). Based on the results of the EA, the NRC has determined that an environmental impact statement is not required for the proposed license renewal, and is issuing a finding of no significant impact (FONSI). In 1993, the NRC issued a 20-year license to NSPM to receive, possess, VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:30 Jun 30, 2015 Jkt 235001 store, and transfer spent nuclear fuel generated at the PINGP, Units 1 and 2, in the Prairie Island (PI) ISFSI. License SNM–2506 currently allows NSPM to store up to 48 transnuclear-40 (TN–40) casks and TN–40 high thermal (TN– 40HT) casks at the PI ISFSI. The PI ISFSI is located within the facility boundary of the PINGP, which is located within the city limits of Red Wing in Goodhue County, Minnesota, approximately 45 kilometers (km) [28 miles (mi)] southeast of the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area. On October 20, 2011, the licensee submitted their application for a 40-year license renewal for the PI ISFSI (ADAMS Accession No. ML113140518). This application was supplemented by letter(s), dated February 29, 2012 (ADAMS Accession No. ML12065A073) and dated April 26, 2012 (ADAMS Accession No. ML121170406). In October 2012, the NRC and the Prairie Island Indian Community (PIIC) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) (ADAMS Accession No. ML12284A456). The MOU acknowledges the PIIC’s special expertise in the areas of historic and cultural resources, socioeconomics, land use, and environmental justice as they relate to license renewal for the PI ISFSI, and establishes a cooperating agency relationship between the NRC and the PIIC. The MOU also defines the roles and responsibilities of both entities and the process used to prepare an EA that incorporates and reflects the PIIC’s views in the areas of special expertise. In November 2013 (78 FR 69460), to further the environmental review process, the NRC published the draft EA and the draft FONSI for the proposed PI ISFSI license renewal in the Federal Register for public review and comment). Comments were received from the applicant (NSPM), the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the City of Red Wing, and the PIIC. Appendix B of the final EA contains the NRC’s responses to those comments. II. Environmental Assessment The proposed action is whether to renew the site-specific ISFSI license for an additional 40 years provided that NRC requirements are met. If approved, NSPM would continue to possess and store the PINGP, Units 1 and 2, spent fuel at the PI ISFSI for an additional 40 years under the requirements in 10 CFR part 72, ‘‘Licensing Requirements for the Independent Storage of Nuclear Fuel, High-Level Radioactive Waste, and Reactor-Related Greater than Class C Waste.’’ PO 00000 Frm 00084 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 37663 The PI ISFSI is needed to provide additional spent fuel storage capacity so that the PINGP Units 1 and 2 can continue to operate. The PINGP Units 1 and 2 operate under separate NRC licenses (DPR–42 and DPR–60, respectively) that will expire in 2033 and 2034, respectively. Spent fuel assemblies from PINGP Units 1 and 2 not already stored at the PI ISFSI are currently stored onsite in a spent fuel pool. The PINGP spent fuel pool does not have the needed capacity to store all the spent nuclear fuel that the PINPG Units 1 and 2 would generate through the end of their license term. The PI ISFSI provides additional spent fuel storage capacity necessary for NSPM to continue to operate the PINGP Units 1 and 2 until a permanent facility (or facilities) is available for offsite disposition of the spent fuel. In the EA, the NRC staff describes the affected environment and evaluates the potential environmental impacts from the proposed 40-year renewal of license SNM–2506 on land use; transportation; socioeconomics; climatology, meteorology and air quality; geology and soils; water resources; ecology and threatened and endangered species; visual and scenic resources; noise; historic and cultural resources; public and occupational health and safety; waste management; and environmental justice. The EA also discusses the alternatives to the proposed action, including the no-action alternative. The NRC staff also evaluated the potential environmental impacts from decommissioning of the PI ISFSI, taking into consideration an additional 40 years of operation. Additionally, the NRC staff analyzed the cumulative impacts from past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions when combined with the potential environmental impacts of the proposed action. The NRC staff evaluated potential environmental impacts and categorized the impacts as follows: • SMALL-environmental effects are not detectable or are so minor that they will neither destabilize nor noticeably alter any important attribute of the resource. • MODERATE-environmental effects are sufficient to alter noticeably, but not to destabilize important attributes of the resource. • LARGE-environmental effects are clearly noticeable and are sufficient to destabilize important attributes of the resource. The NRC staff finds that the impacts from the proposed action would be small for all environmental resource areas. In addition, the NRC staff E:\FR\FM\01JYN1.SGM 01JYN1 tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES 37664 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 126 / Wednesday, July 1, 2015 / Notices concludes that there would be no disproportionately high and adverse impacts to minority and low-income populations and that federally listed threatened and endangered species would not be affected by the continued operation of the PI ISFSI during the proposed license renewal period. The NRC staff is also performing a detailed safety analysis of the NSPM’s license renewal application to assess compliance with 10 CFR part 20, ‘‘Standards for Protection Against Radiation,’’ and 10 CFR part 72, ‘‘Licensing Requirements for the Independent Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High-Level Radioactive Waste, and Reactor-Related Greater Than Class C Waste.’’ The NRC staff’s analysis will be documented in a separate safety evaluation report (SER). The NRC staff’s decision whether to renew the NSPM’s PI ISFSI license as proposed will be based on the results of the NRC staff’s review as documented in the final EA, the final FONSI, and in the SER. Based on its review of the proposed action in the EA relative to the requirements set forth in 10 CFR part 51, the NRC staff has determined that renewal of NRC license SNM–2506, which would authorize continued operation of the PI ISFSI in Goodhue County, Minnesota, for a an additional 40 years, will not significantly affect the quality of the human environment. No significant changes in NSPM’s authorized operations for the PI ISFSI were requested as part of the license renewal application. Approval of the proposed action would not result in any new construction or expansion of the existing ISFSI footprint beyond that previously approved. The ISFSI is a passive facility that produces no liquid or gaseous effluents. No significant radiological or nonradiological impacts are expected from continued normal operations. Occupational dose estimates from routine monitoring activities and transfer of spent fuel for disposal are expected to be at as low as reasonably achievable levels and are expected to be within the limits of 10 CFR 20.1201. The estimated annual dose to the nearest potential member of the public from ISFSI activities is 0.02 millisieverts/year (mSv/yr) [2.20 millirem/year (mrem/yr)], which is below the 0.25 mSv/yr [25 mrem/yr] limit specified in 10 CFR 72.104(a) and the 1 mSv/yr (100 mrem/yr) limit in 10 CFR 20.1301(a)(1). III. Finding of No Significant Impact Based on its review of the proposed action, in accordance with the requirements in 10 CFR part 51, the NRC staff has concluded that the VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:30 Jun 30, 2015 Jkt 235001 proposed action, amendment of NRC Special Nuclear Materials License No. SNM–2506 for the PI ISFSI located in Goodhue County, Minnesota, will not significantly affect the quality of the human environment. Therefore, the NRC staff has determined, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.31, that preparation of an environmental impact statement is not required for the proposed action and a FONSI is appropriate. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 25th day of June, 2015. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Marissa G. Bailey, Director, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Environmental Review, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards. [FR Doc. 2015–16238 Filed 6–30–15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket Nos. 50–275 and 50–323; NRC– 2009–0552] Diablo Canyon Power Plant, Units 1 and 2 Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement and conduct the scoping process; reopening of scoping process, public meetings, and request for comment. AGENCY: On January 27, 2010, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) notified the public of its opportunity to participate in the scoping process associated with the preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS) related to the review of the license renewal application submitted by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) for the renewal of Facility Operating Licenses DPR–80 and DPR–82 for an additional 20 years of operation at Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP), Units 1 and 2. The current operating licenses for DCPP, Units 1 and 2 expire on November 2, 2024, and August 26, 2025, respectively. The scoping period closed on April 12, 2010. The NRC has decided to reopen the scoping process and allow members of the public an additional opportunity to participate. DATES: The comment period for the environmental scoping process published on January 27, 2010 (75 FR 4427) has been reopened. Comments should be filed no later than August 31, 2015. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the Commission is able to ensure consideration only for comments received before this date. SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00085 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 You may submit comments by any of the following methods (unless this document describes a different method for submitting comments on a specific subject): • Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC–2009–0552. Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301–415–3463; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For technical questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document. • Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration, Mail Stop: OWFN–12 H08, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 0001. For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting comments, see ‘‘Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments’’ in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Wentzel, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone: 301–415– 6459, email: Michael.Wentzel@nrc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: ADDRESSES: I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments A. Obtaining Information Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2009– 0552 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You may obtain publicly-available information related to this document by the following methods: • Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC–2009–0552. • NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): You may obtain publiclyavailable documents online in the ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/ adams.html. To begin the search, select ‘‘ADAMS Public Documents’’ and then 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 pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The ADAMS accession number for each document referenced (if it available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is referenced. The application for renewal of the DCPP licenses can be found in ADAMS under Package Accession No. ML093340125. E:\FR\FM\01JYN1.SGM 01JYN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 126 (Wednesday, July 1, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37662-37664]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-16238]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 72-0010; NRC-2013-0251]


Proposed License Renewal of License No. SNM-2506 for the Prairie 
Island Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact.

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering 
the renewal of License No. SNM-2506, issued in 1993 and held by 
Northern States Power Company, a Minnesota Corporation (NSPM) (doing 
business as Xcel Energy) for the operation of the Prairie Island 
Nuclear Generating Plant (PINGP) site-specific Independent Spent Fuel 
Storage Installation (ISFSI), for an additional 20 years.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2013-0251 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 Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search

[[Page 37663]]

for Docket ID NRC-2013-0251. Address questions about NRC dockets to Ms. 
Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-3463; email: 
Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. 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 ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and 
then 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 pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The 
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced (if that document 
is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is 
referenced.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jean Trefethen, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-0867, email: 
Jean.Trefethen@nrc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction

    The NRC is considering issuance of a renewal of License No. SNM-
2506 to Northern States Power Company (NSPM) for the operation of the 
Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant (PINGP) site-specific 
Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) located within the 
city limits of Red Wing in Goodhue County, Minnesota for an additional 
40 years. Therefore, as required by part 51 of Title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Environmental Protection Regulations 
for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions,'' which 
implement the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended 
(NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq), the NRC prepared an environmental 
assessment (EA) (ADAMS Accession No. ML15098A026). Based on the results 
of the EA, the NRC has determined that an environmental impact 
statement is not required for the proposed license renewal, and is 
issuing a finding of no significant impact (FONSI).
    In 1993, the NRC issued a 20-year license to NSPM to receive, 
possess, store, and transfer spent nuclear fuel generated at the PINGP, 
Units 1 and 2, in the Prairie Island (PI) ISFSI. License SNM-2506 
currently allows NSPM to store up to 48 transnuclear-40 (TN-40) casks 
and TN-40 high thermal (TN-40HT) casks at the PI ISFSI. The PI ISFSI is 
located within the facility boundary of the PINGP, which is located 
within the city limits of Red Wing in Goodhue County, Minnesota, 
approximately 45 kilometers (km) [28 miles (mi)] southeast of the 
Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area.
    On October 20, 2011, the licensee submitted their application for a 
40-year license renewal for the PI ISFSI (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML113140518). This application was supplemented by letter(s), dated 
February 29, 2012 (ADAMS Accession No. ML12065A073) and dated April 26, 
2012 (ADAMS Accession No. ML121170406).
    In October 2012, the NRC and the Prairie Island Indian Community 
(PIIC) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML12284A456). The MOU acknowledges the PIIC's special 
expertise in the areas of historic and cultural resources, 
socioeconomics, land use, and environmental justice as they relate to 
license renewal for the PI ISFSI, and establishes a cooperating agency 
relationship between the NRC and the PIIC. The MOU also defines the 
roles and responsibilities of both entities and the process used to 
prepare an EA that incorporates and reflects the PIIC's views in the 
areas of special expertise.
    In November 2013 (78 FR 69460), to further the environmental review 
process, the NRC published the draft EA and the draft FONSI for the 
proposed PI ISFSI license renewal in the Federal Register for public 
review and comment). Comments were received from the applicant (NSPM), 
the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the City of Red Wing, 
and the PIIC. Appendix B of the final EA contains the NRC's responses 
to those comments.

II. Environmental Assessment

    The proposed action is whether to renew the site-specific ISFSI 
license for an additional 40 years provided that NRC requirements are 
met. If approved, NSPM would continue to possess and store the PINGP, 
Units 1 and 2, spent fuel at the PI ISFSI for an additional 40 years 
under the requirements in 10 CFR part 72, ``Licensing Requirements for 
the Independent Storage of Nuclear Fuel, High-Level Radioactive Waste, 
and Reactor-Related Greater than Class C Waste.''
    The PI ISFSI is needed to provide additional spent fuel storage 
capacity so that the PINGP Units 1 and 2 can continue to operate. The 
PINGP Units 1 and 2 operate under separate NRC licenses (DPR-42 and 
DPR-60, respectively) that will expire in 2033 and 2034, respectively. 
Spent fuel assemblies from PINGP Units 1 and 2 not already stored at 
the PI ISFSI are currently stored onsite in a spent fuel pool. The 
PINGP spent fuel pool does not have the needed capacity to store all 
the spent nuclear fuel that the PINPG Units 1 and 2 would generate 
through the end of their license term. The PI ISFSI provides additional 
spent fuel storage capacity necessary for NSPM to continue to operate 
the PINGP Units 1 and 2 until a permanent facility (or facilities) is 
available for offsite disposition of the spent fuel.
    In the EA, the NRC staff describes the affected environment and 
evaluates the potential environmental impacts from the proposed 40-year 
renewal of license SNM-2506 on land use; transportation; 
socioeconomics; climatology, meteorology and air quality; geology and 
soils; water resources; ecology and threatened and endangered species; 
visual and scenic resources; noise; historic and cultural resources; 
public and occupational health and safety; waste management; and 
environmental justice. The EA also discusses the alternatives to the 
proposed action, including the no-action alternative. The NRC staff 
also evaluated the potential environmental impacts from decommissioning 
of the PI ISFSI, taking into consideration an additional 40 years of 
operation. Additionally, the NRC staff analyzed the cumulative impacts 
from past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions when 
combined with the potential environmental impacts of the proposed 
action.
    The NRC staff evaluated potential environmental impacts and 
categorized the impacts as follows:
     SMALL-environmental effects are not detectable or are so 
minor that they will neither destabilize nor noticeably alter any 
important attribute of the resource.
     MODERATE-environmental effects are sufficient to alter 
noticeably, but not to destabilize important attributes of the 
resource.
     LARGE-environmental effects are clearly noticeable and are 
sufficient to destabilize important attributes of the resource.
    The NRC staff finds that the impacts from the proposed action would 
be small for all environmental resource areas. In addition, the NRC 
staff

[[Page 37664]]

concludes that there would be no disproportionately high and adverse 
impacts to minority and low-income populations and that federally 
listed threatened and endangered species would not be affected by the 
continued operation of the PI ISFSI during the proposed license renewal 
period.
    The NRC staff is also performing a detailed safety analysis of the 
NSPM's license renewal application to assess compliance with 10 CFR 
part 20, ``Standards for Protection Against Radiation,'' and 10 CFR 
part 72, ``Licensing Requirements for the Independent Storage of Spent 
Nuclear Fuel, High-Level Radioactive Waste, and Reactor-Related Greater 
Than Class C Waste.'' The NRC staff's analysis will be documented in a 
separate safety evaluation report (SER). The NRC staff's decision 
whether to renew the NSPM's PI ISFSI license as proposed will be based 
on the results of the NRC staff's review as documented in the final EA, 
the final FONSI, and in the SER.
    Based on its review of the proposed action in the EA relative to 
the requirements set forth in 10 CFR part 51, the NRC staff has 
determined that renewal of NRC license SNM-2506, which would authorize 
continued operation of the PI ISFSI in Goodhue County, Minnesota, for a 
an additional 40 years, will not significantly affect the quality of 
the human environment. No significant changes in NSPM's authorized 
operations for the PI ISFSI were requested as part of the license 
renewal application. Approval of the proposed action would not result 
in any new construction or expansion of the existing ISFSI footprint 
beyond that previously approved. The ISFSI is a passive facility that 
produces no liquid or gaseous effluents. No significant radiological or 
nonradiological impacts are expected from continued normal operations. 
Occupational dose estimates from routine monitoring activities and 
transfer of spent fuel for disposal are expected to be at as low as 
reasonably achievable levels and are expected to be within the limits 
of 10 CFR 20.1201. The estimated annual dose to the nearest potential 
member of the public from ISFSI activities is 0.02 millisieverts/year 
(mSv/yr) [2.20 millirem/year (mrem/yr)], which is below the 0.25 mSv/yr 
[25 mrem/yr] limit specified in 10 CFR 72.104(a) and the 1 mSv/yr (100 
mrem/yr) limit in 10 CFR 20.1301(a)(1).

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    Based on its review of the proposed action, in accordance with the 
requirements in 10 CFR part 51, the NRC staff has concluded that the 
proposed action, amendment of NRC Special Nuclear Materials License No. 
SNM-2506 for the PI ISFSI located in Goodhue County, Minnesota, will 
not significantly affect the quality of the human environment. 
Therefore, the NRC staff has determined, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.31, that 
preparation of an environmental impact statement is not required for 
the proposed action and a FONSI is appropriate.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 25th day of June, 2015.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Marissa G. Bailey,
Director, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Environmental Review, 
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2015-16238 Filed 6-30-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
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