Omaha Public Power District; Fort Calhoun Station, Unit 1; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact, 46927-46928 [E6-13330]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 157 / Tuesday, August 15, 2006 / Notices NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. 52–008] mstockstill on PROD1PC61 with NOTICES Dominion Nuclear North Anna, LLC; Notice of Extension of Public Comment Period on the Supplement to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for an Early Site Permit (ESP) at the North Anna ESP Site Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) has extended the public comment period on Supplement 1 to NUREG–1811, ‘‘Draft Environmental Impact Statement for an Early Site Permit (ESP) at the North Anna ESP Site’’ (SDEIS). The site is located near the Town of Mineral in Louisa County, Virginia, on the southern shore of Lake Anna. On July 12, 2006, the NRC issued a Notice of Availability (71 FR 39372) of the SDEIS and on July 14, 2006, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issue a Notice of Filing (71 FR 40096) of the SDEIS. The public comment period on the SDEIS was to have ended on August 28, 2006. Multiple requests for an extension to the comment period were received by the NRC. Pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations Section 51.73, the comment period has been extended by 15 days to September 12, 2006. The purpose of this notice is to inform the public that the comment period was extended to September 12, 2006. The SDEIS is available for public inspection and comment in the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland 20852, or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS Accession No. ML061800217), and on the NRC Web site at https://www.nrc.gov. ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/ adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room or PERR). Persons who do not have access to ADAMS, or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, should contact the PDR reference staff at 1– 800–397–4209, 301–415–4737, or by email to pdr@nrc.gov. In addition, the Louisa County Library, located at 881 Davis Highway, Mineral, Virginia, has agreed to make the SDEIS available for public inspection. As indicated in Federal Register notice 71 FR 39372, the NRC staff will hold a public meeting to present an overview of the SDEIS and to accept public comments on the SDEIS. The VerDate Aug<31>2005 15:41 Aug 14, 2006 Jkt 208001 public meeting will be held in the Forum at the Louisa County Middle School, 1009 Davis Highway, Mineral, Virginia on Tuesday, August 15, 2006. The meeting will convene at 7 p.m. and will continue until 10 p.m., as necessary. The meeting will be transcribed and will include: (1) A presentation of the contents of the SDEIS, and (2) the opportunity for interested government agencies, organizations, and individuals to provide comments on the draft report. Additionally, the NRC staff will host informal discussions 1 hour before the start of the meeting at the Louisa County Middle School. No formal comments on the SDEIS will be accepted during the informal discussions. To be considered, comments must be provided either at the transcribed public meeting or in writing. Any interested party may submit comments by September 12, 2006, on this report for consideration by the NRC staff. Comments may be accompanied by additional relevant information or supporting data. Members of the public may send written comments on the SDEIS for the North Anna ESP to the Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration, Mailstop T– 6D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 0001, and should cite the publication date and page number of this Federal Register Notice. Comments may also be delivered to Room T–6D59, Two White Flint North, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. during Federal workdays. Electronic comments may be sent by the Internet to the NRC at North_Anna_comments@nrc.gov. To assist the NRC staff in identifying and considering issues and concerns, comments on the supplement to the draft EIS should be as specific as possible. It is also helpful if comments refer to specific pages or chapters of the draft supplement. Comments will be available electronically and accessible through the NRC’s PERR link at https:// www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. For Further Information Contact: Mr. Jack Cushing, Senior Environmental Project Manager, at telephone number 301–415–1424, or by mail at U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Jack Cushing, Mail Stop 0–11F1, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852–2738. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day of August 2006. PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 46927 For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. William Beckner, Deputy Director, Division of New Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. E6–13331 Filed 8–14–06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. 50–285] Omaha Public Power District; Fort Calhoun Station, Unit 1; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering issuance of an exemption from Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 50.46 and 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix K, for Facility Operating License No. DPR–40, issued to Omaha Public Power District (OPPD, the licensee), for operation of the Fort Calhoun Station, Unit 1 (Fort Calhoun Station), located in Washington County, Nebraska. Therefore, as required by 10 CFR 51.21, the NRC is issuing this environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact. Environmental Assessment Identification of the Proposed Action The proposed action would allow the Fort Calhoun Station to use M5 an advanced alloy fuel cladding material for pressurized-water reactors (PWRs). The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee’s application dated August 11, 2005, as revised by letter dated November 8, 2005, and as supplemented by letter dated April 12, 2006. The Need for the Proposed Action The proposed action is needed so that OPPD can use M5 an advanced alloy for fuel rod cladding and other assembly structural components at the Fort Calhoun Station. Section 50.46 and Part 50 of 10 CFR, Appendix K, make no provisions for use of fuel rods clad in a material other than zircaloy or ZIRLO. Since the chemical composition of the M5 alloy differs from the specifications for zircaloy or ZIRLO, a plant-specific exemption is required to allow the use of the M5 alloy as a cladding material or in other assembly structural components at the Fort Calhoun Station. Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action The underlying purposes of 10 CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix K, are to ensure that facilities have E:\FR\FM\15AUN1.SGM 15AUN1 mstockstill on PROD1PC61 with NOTICES 46928 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 157 / Tuesday, August 15, 2006 / Notices adequate acceptance criteria for the emergency core cooling system (ECCS), and to ensure that cladding oxidation and hydrogen generation are appropriately limited during a loss-ofcoolant accident (LOCA) and conservatively accounted for in the ECCS evaluation model, respectively. Neither 10 CFR 50.46 nor 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix K, explicitly allows the use of M5 as a fuel rod cladding material or for other assembly structural components. Topical Report (TR) BAW– 10227P, ‘‘Evaluation of Advanced Cladding and Structural Material (M5) in PWR Reactor Fuel,’’ which was approved by the NRC on February 4, 2000, demonstrated that the effectiveness of the ECCS will not be affected by a change from zircaloy to M5. In addition, TR BAW–10227P demonstrated that the Baker-Just equation (used in the ECCS evaluation model to determine the rate of energy release, cladding oxidation, and hydrogen generation) is conservative in all post-LOCA scenarios with respect to M5 advanced alloy as a fuel rod cladding material or in other assembly structural components. The licensee will use NRC-approved methods for the reload design process for Fort Calhoun Station reloads with M5. The NRC has completed its safety evaluation of the proposed action and concludes that licensee’s request to use the M5 advanced alloy for fuel rod cladding and in other assembly structural components in lieu of zircaloy or ZIRLO is acceptable. The details of the staff’s safety evaluation will be provided in the exemption that will be issued as part of the letter to the licensee approving the exemption to the regulation. The proposed action will not significantly increase the probability or consequences of accidents. No changes are being made in the types of effluents that may be released off site. There is no significant increase in the amount of any effluent released off site. There is no significant increase in occupational or public radiation exposure. Therefore, there are no significant radiological environmental impacts associated with the proposed action. With regard to potential nonradiological impacts, the proposed action does not have a potential to affect any historic sites. It does not affect nonradiological plant effluents and has no other environmental impact. Therefore, there are no significant non-radiological environmental impacts associated with the proposed action. Accordingly, the NRC concludes that there are no significant environmental VerDate Aug<31>2005 15:41 Aug 14, 2006 Jkt 208001 impacts associated with the proposed action. 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). Denial of the application would result in no change in current environmental impacts. The environmental impacts of the proposed action and the alternative action are similar. Alternative Use of Resources The action does not involve the use of any different resources than those previously considered in the Final Environmental Statement for the Fort Calhoun Station dated August 1972. Agencies and Persons Consulted In accordance with its stated policy, on June 14, 2006, the staff consulted with the Nebraska State official, Julia Schmitt of the Department of Health and Human Services Regulation and Licensor, regarding the environmental impact of the proposed action. The State official had no comments. Finding of No Significant Impact On the basis of the environmental assessment, the NRC concludes that the proposed action will not have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment. Accordingly, the NRC has determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the proposed action. For further details with respect to the proposed action, see the licensee’s letter dated August 11, 2005, as revised by letter dated November 8, 2005, and as supplemented on April 12, 2006. Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC’s Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web site, https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/ adams.html. Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by telephone at 1–800–397–4209 or 301–415–4737, or send an e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day of August 2006. PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Alan B. Wang, Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch IV, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. E6–13330 Filed 8–14–06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Sunshine Federal Register Notice Weeks of August 14, 21, 28, September 4, 11, 18, 2006. PLACE: Commissioners’ Conference Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. STATUS: Public and Closed. DATE: MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED Week of August 17, 2006 Thursday, August 17, 2006 10 a.m. Affirmation Session (Public Meeting) (Tentative). a. Louisiana Energy Services, LP (National Enrichment Facility) Docket No. 70–3103–ML, Petitions for Review of LBP–06–15. (Tentative). b. Pacific Gas & Elec. Co. (Diablo Canyon ISFSI), Docket No. 72–26– ISFSI ‘‘Motion by San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace, Sierra Club, and Peg Pinard for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief with respect to Diablo Canyon ISFSI’’ (Tentative). c. AmerGen Energy Company, LLC (License Renewal for Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station) Docket No. 50–0219, Legal challenges to LBP–06–07 and LBP–06–11 (Tentative). Week of August 21, 2006—Tentative There are no meetings scheduled for the Week of August 21, 2006. Week of August 28, 2006—Tentative There are no meetings scheduled for the Week of August 28, 2006. Week of September 4, 2006—Tentative There are no meetings scheduled for the Week of September 4, 2006. Week of September 11, 2006—Tentative Monday, September 11, 2006 9:30 p.m. Discussion of Security Issues (Closed—Ex. 1). 1:30 p.m.emsp;Discussion of Security Issues (Closed—Ex. 1 & 3). Tuesday, September 12, 2006 9:30 a.m. Meeting with Organization of Agreement States (OAS) and Conference of Radiation Conrol E:\FR\FM\15AUN1.SGM 15AUN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 157 (Tuesday, August 15, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46927-46928]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-13330]


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

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-285]


Omaha Public Power District; Fort Calhoun Station, Unit 1; 
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering 
issuance of an exemption from Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR) 50.46 and 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix K, for Facility 
Operating License No. DPR-40, issued to Omaha Public Power District 
(OPPD, the licensee), for operation of the Fort Calhoun Station, Unit 1 
(Fort Calhoun Station), located in Washington County, Nebraska. 
Therefore, as required by 10 CFR 51.21, the NRC is issuing this 
environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact.

Environmental Assessment

Identification of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action would allow the Fort Calhoun Station to use M5 
an advanced alloy fuel cladding material for pressurized-water reactors 
(PWRs).
    The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's 
application dated August 11, 2005, as revised by letter dated November 
8, 2005, and as supplemented by letter dated April 12, 2006.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    The proposed action is needed so that OPPD can use M5 an advanced 
alloy for fuel rod cladding and other assembly structural components at 
the Fort Calhoun Station. Section 50.46 and Part 50 of 10 CFR, Appendix 
K, make no provisions for use of fuel rods clad in a material other 
than zircaloy or ZIRLO. Since the chemical composition of the M5 alloy 
differs from the specifications for zircaloy or ZIRLO, a plant-specific 
exemption is required to allow the use of the M5 alloy as a cladding 
material or in other assembly structural components at the Fort Calhoun 
Station.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The underlying purposes of 10 CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR Part 50, 
Appendix K, are to ensure that facilities have

[[Page 46928]]

adequate acceptance criteria for the emergency core cooling system 
(ECCS), and to ensure that cladding oxidation and hydrogen generation 
are appropriately limited during a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) and 
conservatively accounted for in the ECCS evaluation model, 
respectively. Neither 10 CFR 50.46 nor 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix K, 
explicitly allows the use of M5 as a fuel rod cladding material or for 
other assembly structural components. Topical Report (TR) BAW-10227P, 
``Evaluation of Advanced Cladding and Structural Material (M5) in PWR 
Reactor Fuel,'' which was approved by the NRC on February 4, 2000, 
demonstrated that the effectiveness of the ECCS will not be affected by 
a change from zircaloy to M5. In addition, TR BAW-10227P demonstrated 
that the Baker-Just equation (used in the ECCS evaluation model to 
determine the rate of energy release, cladding oxidation, and hydrogen 
generation) is conservative in all post-LOCA scenarios with respect to 
M5 advanced alloy as a fuel rod cladding material or in other assembly 
structural components. The licensee will use NRC-approved methods for 
the reload design process for Fort Calhoun Station reloads with M5. The 
NRC has completed its safety evaluation of the proposed action and 
concludes that licensee's request to use the M5 advanced alloy for fuel 
rod cladding and in other assembly structural components in lieu of 
zircaloy or ZIRLO is acceptable.
    The details of the staff's safety evaluation will be provided in 
the exemption that will be issued as part of the letter to the licensee 
approving the exemption to the regulation.
    The proposed action will not significantly increase the probability 
or consequences of accidents. No changes are being made in the types of 
effluents that may be released off site. There is no significant 
increase in the amount of any effluent released off site. There is no 
significant increase in occupational or public radiation exposure. 
Therefore, there are no significant radiological environmental impacts 
associated with the proposed action.
    With regard to potential non-radiological impacts, the proposed 
action does not have a potential to affect any historic sites. It does 
not affect non-radiological plant effluents and has no other 
environmental impact. 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 staff considered 
denial of the proposed action (i.e., the ``no-action'' alternative). 
Denial of the application would result in no change in current 
environmental impacts. The environmental impacts of the proposed action 
and the alternative action are similar.

Alternative Use of Resources

    The action does not involve the use of any different resources than 
those previously considered in the Final Environmental Statement for 
the Fort Calhoun Station dated August 1972.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    In accordance with its stated policy, on June 14, 2006, the staff 
consulted with the Nebraska State official, Julia Schmitt of the 
Department of Health and Human Services Regulation and Licensor, 
regarding the environmental impact of the proposed action. The State 
official had no comments.

Finding of No Significant Impact

    On the basis of the environmental assessment, the NRC concludes 
that the proposed action will not have a significant effect on the 
quality of the human environment. Accordingly, the NRC has determined 
not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the proposed 
action.
    For further details with respect to the proposed action, see the 
licensee's letter dated August 11, 2005, as revised by letter dated 
November 8, 2005, and as supplemented on April 12, 2006. Documents may 
be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public Document Room 
(PDR), located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 
Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available 
records will be accessible electronically from the Agencywide Documents 
Access and Management System (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on 
the Internet at the NRC Web site, https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/
adams.html. Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter 
problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS should contact the 
NRC PDR Reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, 
or send an e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day of August 2006.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Alan B. Wang,
Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch IV, Division of Operating 
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
 [FR Doc. E6-13330 Filed 8-14-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
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