Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact: Dominion Energy Kewaunee, Kewaunee Power Station, 60513-60515 [2014-23945]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 194 (Tuesday, October 7, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60513-60515]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-23945]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-305; NRC-2014-0219]


Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact: 
Dominion Energy Kewaunee, Kewaunee Power Station

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact; 
issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering 
issuance of exemptions in response to a request from Dominion Energy 
Kewaunee (DEK, the licensee), which would permit the licensee to reduce 
its emergency planning (EP) activities at the Kewaunee Power Station. 
Kewaunee Power Station has been permanently shut down and defueled 
since May of 2013. The licensee is seeking exemptions that would 
eliminate the requirements to maintain offsite radiological emergency 
plans and reduce some of the onsite emergency planning activities based 
on the reduced risks at the permanently shutdown and defueled reactor. 
Offsite emergency planning provisions would still exist using a 
comprehensive emergency management plan process. The NRC staff is 
issuing a final Environmental Assessment (EA) and final Finding of No 
Significant Impact (FONSI) associated with the proposed exemptions.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2014-0219 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 for Docket ID NRC-2014-0219. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3422; 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 in this notice (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: William Huffman, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-2046; email: William.Huffman@nrc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction

    Kewaunee Power Station (KPS) is a permanently shutdown and defueled 
power reactor in the process of decommissioning. The KPS is located on 
approximately 900 acres in Carlton (Kewaunee County), Wisconsin, 27 
miles southeast of Green Bay Wisconsin. Dominion Energy Kewaunee is the 
holder of Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-43 for KPS. On May 
7, 2013, the KPS reactor was permanently shut down. On May 14, 2014, 
the KPS reactor was permanently defueled. As a permanently shutdown and 
defueled facility, and pursuant to Sec.  50.82(a)(2) of Title 10 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), KPS is no longer authorized to 
operate the reactor or emplace fuel into the reactor vessel, but is 
still authorized to possess and store irradiated nuclear fuel. 
Irradiated fuel is currently stored onsite at KPS in a spent fuel pool 
(SFP) and in Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation dry casks. The 
licensee has requested exemptions from certain EP requirements in 10 
CFR part 50, ``Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization 
Facilities,'' for KPS. The NRC's regulations concerning EP do not 
recognize the reduced risks after a reactor is permanently shutdown and 
defueled. A permanently shutdown reactor must continue to maintain the 
same EP requirements as an operating reactor. To establish a level of 
EP commensurate with the reduced risks, DEK requires exemptions from 
certain EP regulatory requirements before it can change its emergency 
plans.
    The NRC is considering issuance of exemptions to DEK from portions 
of 10 CFR 50.47 and 10 CFR part 50, appendix E, which would permit DEK 
to modify its emergency plan to eliminate most licensee required 
offsite radiological EP activities at KPS. Consistent with 10 CFR 
51.21, the NRC has reviewed the requirements in 10 CFR 51.20(b) and 10 
CFR 51.22(c) and determined that an environmental assessment is the 
appropriate form of environmental review for the requested action. 
Based on the results of the environmental assessment, which is provided 
in Section II below, the NRC is issuing this final finding of no 
significant impact.

II. Environmental Assessment

Identification of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action would exempt DEK from meeting certain 
requirements set forth in 10 CFR 50.47, ``Emergency plans,'' and 
appendix E to 10 CFR part 50, ``Emergency Planning and Preparedness for 
Production and Utilization Facilities.'' More specifically, DEK 
requested exemptions from certain requirements in 10 CFR 50.47(b) 
regarding onsite and offsite emergency response plans for nuclear power 
reactors; from certain requirements in 10 CFR 50.47(c)(2) to establish 
plume exposure and ingestion pathway EP zones for nuclear power 
reactors; and from certain requirements in 10 CFR part 50, appendix E, 
section IV, which establishes the elements that make up the content of 
emergency plans. The proposed action would result in the elimination of 
the requirements for the licensee to maintain offsite radiological 
emergency plans and reduce some of the onsite emergency planning 
activities at KPS based on the reduced risks at the permanently 
shutdown and defueled reactor. However, requirements for certain onsite 
capabilities to communicate and coordinate with offsite response 
authorities will be retained. If necessary, offsite protective actions 
could still be implemented using a comprehensive emergency management 
plan (CEMP) process. A CEMP in this context, also referred to as an 
emergency operations plan (EOP), is addressed in the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency's (FEMA) Comprehensive Preparedness Guide 101, 
``Developing and

[[Page 60514]]

Maintaining Emergency Operations Plans.'' Comprehensive Preparedness 
Guide 101 is the foundation for State, territorial, tribal, and local 
emergency planning in the United States. It promotes a common 
understanding of the fundamentals of risk-informed planning and 
decision making and helps planners at all levels of government in their 
efforts to develop and maintain viable, all-hazards, all-threats 
emergency plans. An EOP is flexible enough for use in all emergencies. 
It describes how people and property will be protected; details who is 
responsible for carrying out specific actions; identifies the 
personnel, equipment, facilities, supplies and other resources 
available; and outlines how all actions will be coordinated. A 
comprehensive emergency management plan is often referred to as a 
synonym for ``all hazards planning.''
    The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's 
application dated July 31, 2013, ``Request for Exemptions from Portions 
of 10 CFR 50.47 and 10 CFR part 50, appendix E'' (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML13221A182), as supplemented by letters dated December 11, 2013 and 
January 10, 2014. In its letter dated December 11, 2013 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML13351A040), DEK provided responses to the NRC staff's 
request for additional information concerning the proposed exemptions. 
In its letter dated January 10, 2014 (ADAMS Accession No. ML14016A078), 
DEK provided supplemental information applicable to inventory makeup 
strategies for mitigating the loss of water in the SFP.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    The proposed action is needed for DEK to revise the KPS emergency 
plan to reflect the permanently shutdown and defueled status of the 
facility. The EP requirements currently applicable to KPS are for an 
operating reactor. Because the 10 CFR part 50 license for KPS no longer 
authorizes operation of the reactor or emplacement or retention of fuel 
into the reactor vessel, as specified in 10 CFR 50.82(a)(2), the 
occurrence of postulated accidents associated with reactor operation is 
no longer credible. Analyses of the remaining credible accidents, as 
documented in the KPS Updated Safety Analysis Report, show that any 
releases beyond the site boundary would be below the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) Protective Action Guides (PAGs) exposure 
levels, as detailed in EPA's ``Protective Action Guides and Planning 
Guidance for Radiological Incidents,'' dated March 2013, which was 
issued as a Draft for Interim Use and Public Comment.
    In addition, DEK analyzed certain beyond design basis accidents 
that were used as criteria by the NRC staff in granting similar 
exemptions to previous permanently shutdown and defueled reactors 
transitioning to decommissioning. An analysis by DEK concluded that as 
of September 20, 2014, KPS could lose the designed SFP heat removal 
systems for 26 days and still maintain three feet of water over the 
fuel with no operator action. Another DEK analysis concluded that, as 
of October 30, 2014, if water in the SFP were drained, such that all 
possible modes of cooling were lost (convection, conduction, and 
thermal radiation), there would be at least 10 hours of time available 
to: (1) Initiate actions to mitigate the event and preclude any offsite 
radiological release or; (2) initiate appropriate protective actions 
for the public.
    Based on these analyses, the licensee states that application of 
the regulation in its particular circumstances would not serve the 
underlying purpose of the rule or is not necessary to achieve the 
underlying purpose of the rule. Dominion Energy Kewaunee also states 
that it would incur undue costs in the application of operating plant 
EP requirements for the maintenance of an emergency response 
organization in excess of that actually needed to respond to the 
diminished scope of credible accidents.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The staff concluded that the exemptions, if granted, will not 
significantly increase the probability or consequences of accidents at 
KPS in its permanently shutdown and defueled condition. No changes are 
being made in the types of effluents that may be released offsite. 
There is no significant increase in the amount of any effluent released 
offsite. 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 any foreseeable impacts to land, air, or water 
resources, including impacts to biota. In addition, there are also no 
known socioeconomic or environmental justice impacts associated with 
the proposed action. 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 ``Generic Environmental Impact 
Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants Regarding Kewaunee 
Power Station, Final Report,'' NUREG-1437, Supplement 40, dated August 
2010 (ADAMS Accession No. ML102150106).

Agencies or Persons Consulted

    The NRC staff did not enter into consultation with any other 
Federal Agency or with the State of Wisconsin regarding the 
environmental impact of the proposed action. On September 16, 2014, the 
Wisconsin State's representative was notified of this EA and FONSI and 
did not provide any comments on the proposed action.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    The licensee has proposed exemptions from certain requirements in 
10 CFR 50.47(b) regarding onsite and offsite emergency response plans 
for nuclear power reactors; from certain requirements in 10 CFR 
50.47(c)(2) to establish plume exposure and ingestion pathway EP zones 
for nuclear power reactors; and from certain requirements in 10 CFR 
part 50, appendix E, section IV, which establishes the elements that 
make up the content of emergency plans. The proposed action would 
result in the elimination of the requirements for the licensee to 
maintain offsite radiological emergency plans and reduce some of the 
onsite emergency planning activities at KPS based on the reduced risks 
at the permanently shutdown and defueled reactor. However, requirements 
for certain onsite capabilities to communicate and coordinate with 
offsite response authorities will be retained.
    The NRC staff decided not to prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement for the proposed action. On the basis of the environmental 
assessment included in Section II above and incorporated by

[[Page 60515]]

reference in this finding, the NRC concludes that the proposed action 
will not have a significant effect on the quality of the human 
environment. Accordingly, the NRC staff has determined that a finding 
of no significant impact is appropriate.
    This assessment is based on the licensee's letter dated July 31, 
2013, as supplemented by letters dated December 11, 2013, and January 
10, 2014. The KPS Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement 
for License Renewal, dated August 2010, was also considered in this 
review. Otherwise, there are no other environmental documents 
associated with this review. These documents are available for public 
inspection as indicated above.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th day of September, 2014.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Douglas A. Broaddus,
Chief, Plant Licensing IV-2 and Decommissioning Transition Branch, 
Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2014-23945 Filed 10-6-14; 8:45 am]
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