Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, Unit No. 2; Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc.; Operating License No. NPF-5; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact, 65415-65416 [E8-26133]
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 213 / Monday, November 3, 2008 / Notices
Response to Request
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
The request for an extension to the
comment period is approved until
December 31, 2008.
We agree that Addendum A is a
needed improvement to the ASME/ANS
standard RA-S–2008 and would result
in a more effective and efficient
implementation of both the standard
and RG 1.200. Consequently, we are
extending the public review and
comment period to December 31, 2008,
and the final publication of Revision 2
to RG 1.200 to March 31, 2009.
ASME and ANS have cooperated
worked to develop this PRA standard in
support of NRC’s PRA quality initiative/
plan in support of risk-informed
regulation (SECY–04–0118, ‘‘Plan for
the Implementation of the Commission’s
Phased Approach to Probabilistic Risk
Assessment Quality,’’ dated July 13,
2004). This plan identified the various
technical guidance documents (e.g. ,
standards) needed to support the
various risk-informed activities.
Requests for technical information
about DG–1200 may be directed to the
NRC contact, Mary Drouin at (301) 415–
6675 or e-mail to Mary.Drouin@nrc.gov.
Electronic copies of DG–1200 are
available through the NRC’s public Web
site under Draft Regulatory Guides in
the ‘‘Regulatory Guides’’ collection of
the NRC’s Electronic Reading Room at
https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/. Electronic copies are also
available in ADAMS (https://
www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html),
under Accession No. ML081200566.
In addition, regulatory guides are
available for inspection at the NRC’s
Public Document Room (PDR), which is
located at 11555 Rockville Pike,
Rockville, Maryland. The PDR’s mailing
address is USNRC PDR, Washington, DC
20555–0001. The PDR can also be
reached by telephone at (301) 415–4737
or (800) 397–4205, by fax at (301) 415–
3548, and by e-mail to
pdr.resource@nrc.gov.
Regulatory guides are not
copyrighted, and Commission approval
is not required to reproduce them.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 29 day
of October, 2008.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Andrea D. Valentin,
Chief, Regulatory Guide Development Branch,
Division of Engineering, Office of Nuclear
Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. E8–26214 Filed 10–31–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
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16:58 Oct 31, 2008
Jkt 217001
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50–366]
Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, Unit No.
2; Southern Nuclear Operating
Company, Inc.; Operating License No.
NPF–5; 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) Part 50, Section 46, and Appendix
K to Part 50, for Facility Operating
License No. NPF–5, issued to Southern
Nuclear Operating Company (the
licensee), for operation of the Edwin I.
Hatch Nuclear Plant, Unit 2 located in
Appling County, Georgia. 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
use of Ziron fuel cladding. The
proposed action is in accordance with
the licensee’s application dated March
21, 2008, as supplemented May 2,
August 8, and September 22, 2008.
The Need for the Proposed Action
The proposed action would allow a
small number of lead test assemblies
(LTAs) that will include some fuel rods
manufactured with a cladding material,
called GNF-Ziron, which is similar in
composition to Zircaloy-2, but contains
a slightly higher iron content than
specified in ASTM B350. Irradiation of
LTAs with GNF-Ziron fuel rods will
enable SNC to acquire in-reactor
operating experience with this material.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, ‘‘Specific
Exemptions,’’ the licensee has requested
an exemption to 10 CFR 50.46,
‘‘acceptance criteria for emergency core
cooling systems for light-water nuclear
power reactors,’’ that requires, among
other items, that ‘‘each boiling or
pressurized light-water nuclear power
reactor fueled with uranium oxide
pellets within cylindrical zircaloy or
ZIRLO cladding, must be provided with
an emergency core cooling system
(ECCS) that must be designed so that its
calculated cooling performance
following postulated loss-of-coolant
accidents conforms to the criteria set
forth in paragraph (b) of this section.’’
Appendix K to 10 CFR Part 50, ‘‘ECCS
Evaluation Models,’’ requires, among
other items, that the rate of energy
release, hydrogen generation, and
cladding oxidation from the metal/water
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
65415
reaction shall be calculated using the
Baker-Just equation. The regulations at
10 CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR Part 50,
Appendix K, make no provisions for use
of fuel rods clad in a material other than
zircaloy or ZIRLO. The proposed action
would allow the licensee to irradiate a
small number of LTAs using fuel rods
clad with Ziron alloy in Hatch, Unit 2.
Since the material specifications of the
Ziron alloy differ from the specification
for zircaloy or ZIRLO, a plant-specific
exemption is required to support the use
of the eight assemblies.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed
Action
The NRC has completed its safety
evaluation of the proposed action and
concludes that application of 10 CFR
50.46, and Appendix K to 10 CFR Part
50, is not necessary for the licensee to
achieve its underlying purposes.
The details of the NRC staff 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 staff has concluded that such a
change would not adversely affect plant
safety, and would have no adverse effect
on the probability of any accident. For
accidents that involve damage or
melting of the fuel in the reactor core,
the fuel rod integrity of GNF-Ziron
cladded fuel has been shown to be
similar to zircaloy cladded fuel;
therefore, the probability of an accident
will not be affected. For accidents in
which the core remains intact, the use
of GNF-Ziron cladding will not have a
significant effect on the mix of fission
products that could be released in the
event of a serious accident; thus, the
previously analyzed accident dose
consequences remain bounding.
Regulatory limits on radiological
effluent releases are independent of the
type of fuel cladding used. The
requirements of 10 CFR 50.36a,
Appendix I to 10 CFR Part 50, and 40
CFR Part 190, as well as the plant’s
Technical Specifications ensure that the
release of radioactive gaseous, liquid,
and solid waste to unrestricted areas are
kept to ‘‘as low as reasonably
achievable’’ (ALARA) levels. The
licensee’s radioactive waste processing
system will collect, control, process to
reduce the amount of radioactivity, and
discharge the waste in accordance with
regulatory limits. Therefore, the staff
concluded that during routine
operations, there will be no significant
increase of radiological effluents
released into the environment as a result
of the proposed exemption request. No
significant increase in the allowable
individual occupational radiation
E:\FR\FM\03NON1.SGM
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65416
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 213 / Monday, November 3, 2008 / Notices
exposure will occur. The impact to
workers is not expected to change
because radiation exposure will be
controlled in accordance with the
licensee’s radiation protection program,
the ALARA program, in-plant shielding,
the use of temporary shielding, and
engineering controls. The use of GNFZiron fuel rods will not change the
potential environmental impacts of
incident-free transportation of spent
nuclear fuel provided the shipping
casks are maintained and transported
within the Department of
Transportation and NRC regulations.
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 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 NUREG–1437,
Supplement 4, ‘‘Generic Environmental
Impact Statement for License Renewal
of Nuclear Plants,’’ Supplement 4,
Regarding the Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear
Plant, Units 1 and 2,’’ dated May 31,
2001.
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
Agencies and Persons Consulted
In accordance with its stated policy,
on September 18, 2008, the NRC staff
consulted with the Georgia State
official, Mr. Jim Hardeman, of the
Department of Natural Resources,
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
VerDate Aug<31>2005
16:58 Oct 31, 2008
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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
letters dated March 21, 2008, as
supplemented May 2, August 8, and
September 22, 2008. 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 O1F21, 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.resource@nrc.gov.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 27th day
of October, 2008.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Robert E. Martin,
Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing
Branch II–1, Division of Operating Reactor
Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation.
[FR Doc. E8–26133 Filed 10–31–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
Sunshine Federal Register Notice
AGENCY HOLDING THE MEETINGS:
Nuclear
Regulatory Commission.
DATE: Week of November 3, 2008.
PLACE: Commissioners’ Conference
Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville,
Maryland.
STATUS: Public and Closed.
(Tentative).
This meeting will be webcast live at
the Web address—https://www.nrc.gov.
* The schedule for Commission
meetings is subject to change on short
notice. To verify the status of meetings,
call (recording)—(301) 415–1292.
Contact person for more information:
Michelle Schroll, (301) 415–1662.
The NRC Commission Meeting
Schedule can be found on the Internet
at: https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/policymaking/schedule.html.
The NRC provides reasonable
accommodation to individuals with
disabilities where appropriate. If you
need a reasonable accommodation to
participate in these public meetings, or
need this meeting notice or the
transcript or other information from the
public meetings in another format (e.g.
braille, large print), please notify the
NRC’s Disability Program Coordinator,
Rohn Brown, at 301–492–2279, TDD:
301–415–2100, or by e-mail at
REB3@nrc.gov. Determinations on
requests for reasonable accommodation
will be made on a case-by-case basis.
This notice is distributed by mail to
several hundred subscribers; if you no
longer wish to receive it, or would like
to be added to the distribution, please
contact the Office of the Secretary,
Washington, DC 20555 (301–415–1969).
In addition, distribution of this meeting
notice over the Internet system is
available. If you are interested in
receiving this Commission meeting
schedule electronically, please send an
electronic message to dkw@nrc.gov.
Dated: October 29, 2008.
R. Michelle Schroll,
Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. E8–26215 Filed 10–30–08; 11:15
am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
Additional Items To Be Considered
Week of November 3, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
9:30 a.m.
Executive Branch Briefing (Closed—
Ex. 1 & 9) (Tentative).
1:25 p.m.
Affirmation Session (Public Meeting)
(Tentative).
b. AmerGen Energy Company, LLC
(License Renewal for Oyster Creek
Nuclear Generating Station), Docket
No. 50–219–LR, Citizens’ Petition
for Review of LBP–08–12
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 213 (Monday, November 3, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65415-65416]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-26133]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-366]
Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, Unit No. 2; Southern Nuclear
Operating Company, Inc.; Operating License No. NPF-5; 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) Part 50, Section 46, and Appendix K to Part 50,
for Facility Operating License No. NPF-5, issued to Southern Nuclear
Operating Company (the licensee), for operation of the Edwin I. Hatch
Nuclear Plant, Unit 2 located in Appling County, Georgia. 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 use of Ziron fuel cladding. The
proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's application dated
March 21, 2008, as supplemented May 2, August 8, and September 22,
2008.
The Need for the Proposed Action
The proposed action would allow a small number of lead test
assemblies (LTAs) that will include some fuel rods manufactured with a
cladding material, called GNF-Ziron, which is similar in composition to
Zircaloy-2, but contains a slightly higher iron content than specified
in ASTM B350. Irradiation of LTAs with GNF-Ziron fuel rods will enable
SNC to acquire in-reactor operating experience with this material.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, ``Specific Exemptions,'' the licensee has
requested an exemption to 10 CFR 50.46, ``acceptance criteria for
emergency core cooling systems for light-water nuclear power
reactors,'' that requires, among other items, that ``each boiling or
pressurized light-water nuclear power reactor fueled with uranium oxide
pellets within cylindrical zircaloy or ZIRLO cladding, must be provided
with an emergency core cooling system (ECCS) that must be designed so
that its calculated cooling performance following postulated loss-of-
coolant accidents conforms to the criteria set forth in paragraph (b)
of this section.'' Appendix K to 10 CFR Part 50, ``ECCS Evaluation
Models,'' requires, among other items, that the rate of energy release,
hydrogen generation, and cladding oxidation from the metal/water
reaction shall be calculated using the Baker-Just equation. The
regulations at 10 CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix K, make no
provisions for use of fuel rods clad in a material other than zircaloy
or ZIRLO. The proposed action would allow the licensee to irradiate a
small number of LTAs using fuel rods clad with Ziron alloy in Hatch,
Unit 2. Since the material specifications of the Ziron alloy differ
from the specification for zircaloy or ZIRLO, a plant-specific
exemption is required to support the use of the eight assemblies.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The NRC has completed its safety evaluation of the proposed action
and concludes that application of 10 CFR 50.46, and Appendix K to 10
CFR Part 50, is not necessary for the licensee to achieve its
underlying purposes.
The details of the NRC staff 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 staff has concluded that such a change would not adversely
affect plant safety, and would have no adverse effect on the
probability of any accident. For accidents that involve damage or
melting of the fuel in the reactor core, the fuel rod integrity of GNF-
Ziron cladded fuel has been shown to be similar to zircaloy cladded
fuel; therefore, the probability of an accident will not be affected.
For accidents in which the core remains intact, the use of GNF-Ziron
cladding will not have a significant effect on the mix of fission
products that could be released in the event of a serious accident;
thus, the previously analyzed accident dose consequences remain
bounding. Regulatory limits on radiological effluent releases are
independent of the type of fuel cladding used. The requirements of 10
CFR 50.36a, Appendix I to 10 CFR Part 50, and 40 CFR Part 190, as well
as the plant's Technical Specifications ensure that the release of
radioactive gaseous, liquid, and solid waste to unrestricted areas are
kept to ``as low as reasonably achievable'' (ALARA) levels. The
licensee's radioactive waste processing system will collect, control,
process to reduce the amount of radioactivity, and discharge the waste
in accordance with regulatory limits. Therefore, the staff concluded
that during routine operations, there will be no significant increase
of radiological effluents released into the environment as a result of
the proposed exemption request. No significant increase in the
allowable individual occupational radiation
[[Page 65416]]
exposure will occur. The impact to workers is not expected to change
because radiation exposure will be controlled in accordance with the
licensee's radiation protection program, the ALARA program, in-plant
shielding, the use of temporary shielding, and engineering controls.
The use of GNF-Ziron fuel rods will not change the potential
environmental impacts of incident-free transportation of spent nuclear
fuel provided the shipping casks are maintained and transported within
the Department of Transportation and NRC regulations. 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 NUREG-1437, Supplement 4, ``Generic
Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants,''
Supplement 4, Regarding the Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and
2,'' dated May 31, 2001.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
In accordance with its stated policy, on September 18, 2008, the
NRC staff consulted with the Georgia State official, Mr. Jim Hardeman,
of the Department of Natural Resources, 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 letters dated March 21, 2008, as supplemented May 2, August
8, and September 22, 2008. 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 O1F21, 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.resource@nrc.gov.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 27th day of October, 2008.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Robert E. Martin,
Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch II-1, Division of
Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E8-26133 Filed 10-31-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
