South Carolina Electric & Gas Company; Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact, 9619-9620 [2010-4383]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 41 / Wednesday, March 3, 2010 / Notices alternate full compliance implementation date of August 31, 2010, approximately 5 months beyond the date required by 10 CFR part 73. The proposed action, an extension of the schedule for completion of certain actions required by the revised 10 CFR part 73, does not involve any physical changes to the reactor, fuel, plant structures, support structures, water, or land at the Surry site. The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee’s application dated December 7, 2009. The Need for the Proposed Action The proposed action is needed to provide the licensee with additional time due to the large scope of work required to meet the requirements of the new 10 CFR 73.55. mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action The NRC has completed its environmental assessment of the proposed exemption. The staff has concluded that the proposed action to extend the implementation deadline would not significantly affect plant safety and would not have a significant adverse effect on the probability of an accident occurring. The proposed action would not result in an increased radiological hazard beyond those previously analyzed in the environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact made by the Commission in promulgating its revisions to 10 CFR part 73 as discussed in a Federal Register notice dated March 29, 2009 (74 FR 13967). There will be no change to radioactive effluents that effect radiation exposures to plant workers and members of the public. Therefore, no changes or different types of radiological impacts are expected as a result of the proposed exemption. The proposed action does not result in changes to land use or water use, or result in changes to the quality or quantity of non-radiological effluents. No changes to the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit are needed. No effects on the aquatic or terrestrial habitat in the vicinity of the plant, or to threatened, endangered, or protected species under the Endangered Species Act, or impacts to essential fish habitat covered by the MagnusonSteven’s Act are expected. There are no impacts to the air or ambient air quality. There are no impacts to historical and cultural resources. There would be no impact to socioeconomic resources. Therefore, no changes to or different types of non-radiological environmental VerDate Nov<24>2008 16:08 Mar 02, 2010 Jkt 220001 impacts are expected as a result of the proposed exemption. Accordingly, the NRC concludes that there are no significant environmental impacts associated with the proposed action. In addition, in promulgating its revisions to 10 CFR part 73, the Commission proposed an environmental assessment and published a finding of no significant impact (Part 73, Power Reactor Security Requirements (74 FR 13926), March 27, 2009). If this exemption is granted, the NRC 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. Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action As an alternative to the proposed actions, the NRC staff considered denial of the proposed actions (i.e., the ‘‘noaction’’ alternative). Denial of the exemption request would result in no change in current environmental impacts. If the proposed action was denied, the licensee would have to comply with the March 31, 2010, implementation deadline. The environmental impacts of the proposed exemption and the ‘‘no action’’ alternative are similar. Alternative Use of Resources The action does not involve the use of any different resources than those considered in the ‘‘Final Environmental Statement Related to the Continuation of Construction and the Operation of Units 1 and 2, Surry Power Station,’’ dated May 1972 and June 1972, respectively, as supplemented through the ‘‘Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants: Supplement 6 Regarding Surry Power Station, Units 1 and 2— Final Report (NUREG–1437, Supplement 6),’’ dated November 2002. Agencies and Persons Consulted In accordance with its stated policy, on February 3, 2010, the NRC staff consulted with the Virginia State official, Mr. Leslie Foldesi, Division of Radiological Health of the Virginia Department of Health, 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 PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 9619 environmental impact statement for the proposed action. For further details with respect to the proposed action, see the licensee’s letter dated December 7, 2009. The attachments to the licensee’s December 7, 2009, letter requesting this exemption, contain safeguards information and, accordingly, are not available to the public. Publicly available parts of these 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 O–1F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland 20852. Publicly available records will be accessible electronically from the Agencywide Document 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 800– 397–4209 or 301–415–4737, or send an e-mail to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 24th day of February 2010. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Karen Cotton, Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch II– 1, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. 2010–4437 Filed 3–2–10; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. 50–395; NRC–2010–0077] South Carolina Electric & Gas Company; Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the issuance of an exemption from Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, (10 CFR), Section 50.46, ‘‘Acceptance criteria for emergency core cooling systems for light-water nuclear power reactors,’’ and 10 CFR 50, Appendix K, AECCS Evaluation Models, for the Renewed Facility Operating License No. NPF–12, issued to South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G, the licensee), for operation of the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station (VCSNS), located in Fairfield County, South Carolina. In accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR part 51, the NRC has prepared an Environmental E:\FR\FM\03MRN1.SGM 03MRN1 9620 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 41 / Wednesday, March 3, 2010 / Notices Assessment (EA) in support of this exemption. Based on the EA, the NRC has concluded that a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is appropriate. Environmental Assessment Identification of the Proposed Action The proposed action would allow SCE&G to use Optimized ZIRLOTM, an advanced alloy fuel cladding material for pressurized-water reactors. The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee’s application dated June 9, 2009 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML091620072). The Need for the Proposed Action The proposed action is needed so that SCE&G can use Optimized ZIRLOTM, an advanced alloy for fuel rod cladding and other assembly structural components at the VCSNS. Section 50.46 of 10 CFR and 10 CFR part 50, appendix K, make no provisions for use of fuel rods clad in a material other than zircaloy or ZIRLOTM. Since the chemical composition of the Optimized ZIRLOTM alloy differs from the specifications for zircaloy or ZIRLO, a plant-specific exemption is required to allow the use of the Optimized ZIRLOTM alloy as a cladding material or in other assembly structural components at the VCSNS. mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action The NRC has completed its environmental assessment of the proposed exemption. The staff has concluded that the proposed action to approve the use of an additional fuel rod cladding material would not significantly affect plant safety and would not have a significant adverse effect on the probability of an accident occurring. The proposed action would not result in an increased radiological hazard beyond those previously analyzed in the Final Environmental Statement for the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station, Unit No. 1, NUREG–0719, dated May 1981 (ADAMS Accession No. ML072750234) and the Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, NUREG–1437, Supplement 15, dated February 2004 (ADAMS Accession No. ML040540718). There will be no change to radioactive effluents that affect radiation exposures to plant workers and members of the public. Therefore, no changes or different types of radiological impacts are expected as a result of the proposed exemption. VerDate Nov<24>2008 16:08 Mar 02, 2010 Jkt 220001 The proposed action does not result in changes to land use or water use, or result in changes to the quality or quantity of non-radiological effluents. No changes to the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit are needed. No effects on the aquatic or terrestrial habitat in the vicinity of the plant, or to threatened, endangered, or protected species under the Endangered Species Act, or impacts to essential fish habitat covered by the MagnusonSteven’s Act are expected. There are no impacts to the air or ambient air quality. There are no impacts to historical and cultural resources. There would be no impact to socioeconomic resources. Therefore, no changes to or different types of non-radiological environmental impacts are expected as a result of the proposed exemption. Accordingly, the NRC concludes that there are no significant environmental impacts associated with the proposed action. The NRC 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, if granted. 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 request 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 considered in the Final Environmental Statement for the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station, Unit No. 1, NUREG– 0719, dated May 1981 (ADAMS Accession No. ML072750234) and the Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, NUREG–1437, Supplement 15, dated February 2004 (ADAMS Accession No. ML040540718). Agencies and Persons Consulted In accordance with its stated policy, on January 11, 2010, the staff consulted with the South Carolina State official, Susan Jenkins of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, regarding the environmental impact of the proposed action. The State official had no comments. PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 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. Further Information Documents related to this action, including the application for an exemption and license amendment and supporting documentation, are available electronically at the NRC’s Electronic Reading Room at https://www.nrc.gov/ reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, you can access the NRC’s Agencywide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image files of NRC’s public documents. The ADAMS accession number for the document related to this notice, ‘‘License Amendment Request for Use of Optimized ZirloTM Fuel Rod Cladding,’’ dated June 9, 2009, is ML091620072. If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1–800–397–4209, 301–415–4737 or by e-mail to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The document may also be viewed electronically on the public computers located at the NRC’s Public Document Room (PDR), O 1 F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR reproduction contractor will copy documents for a fee. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 24th day of February 2010. 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. 2010–4383 Filed 3–2–10; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket Nos. 50–321 and 50–366; NRC– 2010–0024] Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc.; Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2; Exemption 1.0 Background Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc. (SNC, the licensee), is the holder of Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR–57 and E:\FR\FM\03MRN1.SGM 03MRN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 41 (Wednesday, March 3, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9619-9620]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-4383]


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

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-395; NRC-2010-0077]


South Carolina Electric & Gas Company; Virgil C. Summer Nuclear 
Station; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the 
issuance of an exemption from Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations, (10 CFR), Section 50.46, ``Acceptance criteria for 
emergency core cooling systems for light-water nuclear power 
reactors,'' and 10 CFR 50, Appendix K, AECCS Evaluation Models, for the 
Renewed Facility Operating License No. NPF-12, issued to South Carolina 
Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G, the licensee), for operation of the 
Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station (VCSNS), located in Fairfield County, 
South Carolina. In accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR part 51, 
the NRC has prepared an Environmental

[[Page 9620]]

Assessment (EA) in support of this exemption. Based on the EA, the NRC 
has concluded that a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is 
appropriate.

Environmental Assessment

Identification of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action would allow SCE&G to use Optimized ZIRLO\TM\, 
an advanced alloy fuel cladding material for pressurized-water 
reactors. The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's 
application dated June 9, 2009 (Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML091620072).

The Need for the Proposed Action

    The proposed action is needed so that SCE&G can use Optimized 
ZIRLO\TM\, an advanced alloy for fuel rod cladding and other assembly 
structural components at the VCSNS.
    Section 50.46 of 10 CFR and 10 CFR part 50, appendix K, make no 
provisions for use of fuel rods clad in a material other than zircaloy 
or ZIRLO\TM\. Since the chemical composition of the Optimized ZIRLO\TM\ 
alloy differs from the specifications for zircaloy or ZIRLO, a plant-
specific exemption is required to allow the use of the Optimized 
ZIRLO\TM\ alloy as a cladding material or in other assembly structural 
components at the VCSNS.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC has completed its environmental assessment of the proposed 
exemption. The staff has concluded that the proposed action to approve 
the use of an additional fuel rod cladding material would not 
significantly affect plant safety and would not have a significant 
adverse effect on the probability of an accident occurring.
    The proposed action would not result in an increased radiological 
hazard beyond those previously analyzed in the Final Environmental 
Statement for the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station, Unit No. 1, NUREG-
0719, dated May 1981 (ADAMS Accession No. ML072750234) and the Generic 
Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, 
NUREG-1437, Supplement 15, dated February 2004 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML040540718). There will be no change to radioactive effluents that 
affect radiation exposures to plant workers and members of the public. 
Therefore, no changes or different types of radiological impacts are 
expected as a result of the proposed exemption.
    The proposed action does not result in changes to land use or water 
use, or result in changes to the quality or quantity of non-
radiological effluents. No changes to the National Pollution Discharge 
Elimination System permit are needed. No effects on the aquatic or 
terrestrial habitat in the vicinity of the plant, or to threatened, 
endangered, or protected species under the Endangered Species Act, or 
impacts to essential fish habitat covered by the Magnuson-Steven's Act 
are expected. There are no impacts to the air or ambient air quality.
    There are no impacts to historical and cultural resources. There 
would be no impact to socioeconomic resources. Therefore, no changes to 
or different types of non-radiological environmental impacts are 
expected as a result of the proposed exemption.
    Accordingly, the NRC concludes that there are no significant 
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action. The NRC 
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, if granted.

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 request 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 considered in the Final Environmental Statement for the Virgil C. 
Summer Nuclear Station, Unit No. 1, NUREG-0719, dated May 1981 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML072750234) and the Generic Environmental Impact 
Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, NUREG-1437, Supplement 
15, dated February 2004 (ADAMS Accession No. ML040540718).

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    In accordance with its stated policy, on January 11, 2010, the 
staff consulted with the South Carolina State official, Susan Jenkins 
of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, 
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.

Further Information

    Documents related to this action, including the application for an 
exemption and license amendment and supporting documentation, are 
available electronically at the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, you can access the 
NRC's Agencywide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS), which 
provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. The ADAMS 
accession number for the document related to this notice, ``License 
Amendment Request for Use of Optimized Zirlo\TM\ Fuel Rod Cladding,'' 
dated June 9, 2009, is ML091620072. If you do not have access to ADAMS 
or if there are problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, 
contact the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-
397-4209, 301-415-4737 or by e-mail to pdr.resource@nrc.gov.
    The document may also be viewed electronically on the public 
computers located at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), O 1 F21, One 
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR 
reproduction contractor will copy documents for a fee.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 24th day of February 2010.

    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. 2010-4383 Filed 3-2-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
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