Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Units 1, 2 and 3; Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation, 11603-11605 [2016-04750]
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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 43 / Friday, March 4, 2016 / Notices
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therefore, special circumstances are
present.
Eligibility for Categorical Exclusion
From Environmental Review
With respect to the exemption’s
impact on the quality of the human
environment, the NRC has determined
that this specific exemption request is
eligible for categorical exclusion as
identified in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25) and
justified by the NRC staff as follows:
(c) The following categories of actions
are categorical exclusions provided that:
(i) There is no significant hazards
consideration;
The criteria for determining whether
there is no significant hazards
consideration are found in 10 CFR
50.92. The proposed action involves
only a schedule change regarding the
submission of an update to the
application for which the licensing
review has been suspended. Therefore,
there are no significant hazards
considerations because granting the
proposed exemption would not:
(1) Involve a significant increase in
the probability or consequences of an
accident previously evaluated; or
(2) Create the possibility of a new or
different kind of accident from any
accident previously evaluated; or
(3) Involve a significant reduction in
a margin of safety.
(ii) There is no significant change in
the types or significant increase in the
amounts of any effluents that may be
released offsite;
The proposed action involves only a
schedule change which is
administrative in nature, and does not
involve any changes to be made in the
types or significant increase in the
amounts of effluents that may be
released offsite.
(iii) There is no significant increase in
individual or cumulative public or
occupational radiation exposure;
Since the proposed action involves
only a schedule change which is
administrative in nature, it does not
contribute to any significant increase in
occupational or public radiation
exposure.
(iv) There is no significant
construction impact;
The proposed action involves only a
schedule change which is
administrative in nature; the application
review is suspended until further
notice, and there is no consideration of
any construction at this time, and hence
the proposed action does not involve
any construction impact.
(v) There is no significant increase in
the potential for or consequences from
radiological accidents; and
The proposed action involves only a
schedule change which is
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administrative in nature, and does not
impact the probability or consequences
of accidents.
(vi) The requirements from which an
exemption is sought involve:
(B) Reporting requirements;
The exemption request involves
submitting an updated COL application
by DEP and
(G) Scheduling requirements;
The proposed exemption relates to the
schedule for submitting a COL
application update to the NRC.
IV. Conclusion
Accordingly, the Commission has
determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR
50.12(a), the exemption is authorized by
law, will not present an undue risk to
the public health and safety, and is
consistent with the common defense
and security. Also special circumstances
are present. Therefore, the Commission
hereby grants DEP a one-time exemption
from the requirements of 10 CFR part 50
Appendix E, Section I.5 pertaining to
the Harris Units 2 and 3 COL
application to allow submittal of the
revised COL application that complies
with the enhancements to the EP rules
prior to any request to the NRC to
resume the review, and in any event, no
later than December 31, 2016.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22, the
Commission has determined that the
exemption request meets the applicable
categorical exclusion criteria set forth in
10 CFR 51.22(c)(25), and the granting of
this exemption will not have a
significant effect on the quality of the
human environment.
This exemption is effective upon
issuance.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th day
of February 2016.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Francis M. Akstulewicz,
Director, Division of New Reactor Licensing,
Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2016–04850 Filed 3–3–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50–010, 50–237, 50–249 and 72–
37; NRC–2016–0047]
Exelon Generation Company, LLC;
Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Units
1, 2 and 3; Independent Spent Fuel
Storage Installation
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Environmental assessment and
finding of no significant impact;
issuance.
AGENCY:
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11603
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is considering
issuance of an exemption to Exelon
Generation Company, LLC (hereafter,
EGC or the applicant). EGC is the
general licensee operating the Dresden
Nuclear Power Station (DNPS)
Independent Spent Fuel Storage
Installation (ISFSI) located in Morris,
Illinois. Specifically, EGC seeks
authorization to load and store one
DNPS Unit 1 thoria rod canister
containing 18 DNPS Unit 1 thoria rods
in a Holtec International, Inc., multipurpose canister (MPC)–68M. Thoria
rods are not approved for storage in the
MPC–68M per Certificate of Compliance
(CoC) No. 1014, Amendment 8, Rev. 1 1
Appendix B, ‘‘Approved Contents and
Design Features.’’ EGC plans to load and
store Holtec HI–STORM 100 spent fuel
casks utilizing Amendment 8, Rev. 1 to
CoC No. 1014 in the 2016 DNPS spent
fuel loading campaign (SFLC).
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID
NRC–2016–0047 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–2016–0047. 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.
• 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. For the
convenience of the reader, the ADAMS
accession numbers are provided in a
table in the ‘‘Availability of
Documents,’’ Section IV of this
document.
SUMMARY:
1 The licensee’s application referred to
Amendment 8; since that time, Amendment 8 has
been revised. (On February 16, 2016, Amendment
8, Rev. 1 to CoC 1014 became effective.) This
revision does not impact the exemption request that
is the subject of this environmental assessment
because none of the changes in the revision revised
the thoria contents or the physical characteristics of
the storage cask.
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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 43 / Friday, March 4, 2016 / Notices
jstallworth on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
• 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:
Bernard White, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone:
301–415–6577, email: Bernard.White@
nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The NRC is considering issuance of an
exemption from the spent fuel storage
requirements applicable to EGC to
operate an ISFSI at the DNPS located in
Morris, Illinois. As required by § 51.30
of title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR), the NRC
performed an environmental
assessment. Based on the results of the
environmental assessment, the NRC has
determined not to prepare an
environmental impact statement for the
exemption, and is issuing a finding of
no significant impact.
Exelon Generation Company holds a
general license under 10 CFR part 72 for
the storage of spent fuel in the DNPS
ISFSI. The applicant is subject to 10
CFR 72.212, which provides in part that
the general license is limited to storage
of spent fuel in casks approved under
the provisions of 10 CFR part 72. The
general licensee must ensure that each
cask used conforms to the terms,
conditions, and specifications of a CoC,
or an amended CoC, listed in Section
72.214.
The applicant requested an exemption
which would allow storage in the Holtec
HI–STORM MPC–68M of a DNPS Unit
1 thoria rod canister containing 18
DNPS Unit 1 thoria rods. Specifically,
the applicant requested an exemption
from 10 CFR 72.212(b)(3) and the
portion of 10 CFR 72.212(b)(11) that
requires compliance with the terms,
conditions, and specifications of CoC
No. 1014, Amendment No. 8, Rev. 1. In
evaluating the request, the NRC is also
considering, pursuant to authority in
72.7, exemption from similar
requirements in 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2), 10
CFR 72.212(b)(5)(i); and 10 CFR 72.214,
‘‘List of approved spent fuel storage
casks.’’ The NRC staff is performing a
technical review of the exemption
request and will prepare a separate
Federal Register notice to document the
NRC review of the structural integrity,
criticality control, thermal, shielding,
and confinement design functions for a
loaded DNPS Unit 1 thoria rod canister.
The NRC staff’s decision whether to
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issue the exemption to EGC as
proposed, will be based on the results
of the NRC staff’s review as documented
in this environmental assessment and in
the separate Federal Register Notice.
II. Environmental Assessment
Description of the Proposed Action
The proposed action would exempt
EGC from specific portions of the
requirements of 10 CFR 72.212,
‘‘Conditions of general license issued
under § 72.210,’’ specifically 10 CFR
72.212(a)(2), 10 CFR 72.212(b)(3),
72.212(b)(5)(i), a portion of
72.212(b)(11), and 10 CFR 72.214, ‘‘List
of approved spent fuel storage casks.’’
The proposed exemption request
pertains to the requirements of CoC No.
1014, Amendment 8, Rev. 1, Appendix
B, ‘‘Approved Contents and Design
Features,’’ Table 2.1–1, ‘‘Fuel Assembly
Limits.’’ The addition of a new multipurpose canister (MPC)–68M to the
approved models included in CoC No.
1014 was one of the additions included
in Amendment 8. Thoria rods are
approved content for the MPC–68F,
MPC–68, and MPC–68FF. However,
Appendix B, Table 2.1–1, Section VI,
does not include, as approved content,
thoria rods for storage in the MPC–68M.
For the DNPS ISFSI, the exemption
would allow ECG to deviate from the
requirements of CoC No. 1014,
Amendment 8, Rev. 1 by permitting the
storage of thoria rods in the MPC–68M.
Need for the Proposed Action
The proposed action would relieve
the applicant from requirements of 10
CFR 72.212(a)(2), 72.212(b)(3),
72.212(b)(5)(i), the portion of
72.212(b)(11) which states that ‘‘The
licensee shall comply with the terms,
conditions, and specifications of the
CoC . . .’’, and 10 CFR 72.214, ‘‘List of
approved spent fuel storage casks.’’ The
applicant maintains that loading the
thoria rod canister during the 2016
DNPS SFLC is part of a program to
ensure full core discharge capability. If
not loaded during the 2016 DNPS SFLC,
EGC states that it would not be able to
load and store the DNPS Unit 1 thoria
rod canister until 2018.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed
Action
In the preparation of this
Environmental Assessment, the staff
used guidance in NUREG–1748,
‘‘Environmental Review Guidance for
Licensing Actions Associated with
NMSS Programs.’’
The staff evaluated the environmental
impacts associated with this exemption.
The NRC staff determined that non-
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radiological environmental impacts
from approval of the exemption would
not change from those evaluated in CoC
1014, Amendment Nos. 1 and 8,
because: (1) The proposed action would
not involve any construction activities,
land disturbance, excavation, physical
changes to the DNPS facilities, or
changes in land use; (2) operation of the
ISFSI does not require usage of water
resources; and (3) the ISFSI does not
generate gaseous, liquid, or solid
effluents or wastes during operation.
Therefore, there are no significant nonradiological impacts associated with the
proposed action.
The NRC staff also determined that
the radiological doses to workers and to
the public associated with the proposed
action are bounded by previous analyses
for CoC 1014, Amendment No. 8, and
that radiological doses would be below
the NRC’s regulatory limits in 10 CFR
part 20 and Part 72. In prior NRC staff
reviews of CoC 1014, Amendment Nos.
1 and 8, the NRC staff concluded that
the Metamic-HT basket in the MPC–
68M has very little effect on the external
dose rate; and a single thoria rod
canister, while unbounded in part of the
gamma source spectrum, will not
impact cask external dose rates.
Additionally, the NRC staff determined
that the proposed action will not
increase the probability or consequences
of accidents since the exemption would
authorize loading of a different type of
fuel assembly, but use the same
procedures for loading, preparation for
storage, and storage as all other fuel
assemblies. No changes are being made
in the types or quantities of effluents
that may be released offsite, and there
is no significant increase in
occupational or public radiation
exposure. Therefore, there are no
significant radiological environmental
impacts associated with the proposed
action. Based on these findings, the NRC
concludes that there are no significant
environmental impacts associated with
the approval of the exemption.
Environmental Impacts of the
Alternatives to the Proposed Action
An alternative to the proposed
exemption request would be for Holtec,
the CoC holder, to submit an
amendment request for Certificate of
Compliance No. 1014, which the NRC
would need to review for approval. The
NRC review and approval of an
amendment request would result in a
delay in the loading and storage of the
DNPS Unit 1 thoria rod canister. EGC
plans to load the thoria rod canister
during the DNPS 2016 SFLC as part of
a program to ensure full core discharge
capability. In order to load the thoria
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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 43 / Friday, March 4, 2016 / Notices
rod canister during the spring 2016
SFLC campaign, EGC stated that it must
finalize fuel loading package
documentation by December 2015.
Based on the amount of time generally
required to review and approve CoC
amendment requests (e.g., 18 months to
27 months), there would not be
adequate time for development of fuel
loading packages. The timing
constraints would also extend beyond
the scheduled start of the DNPS SFLC
campaign in Spring 2016. According to
EGC, delaying the approval to mid-2016
or beyond would delay EGC’s ability to
have full-core offload capability in the
DNPS spent fuel pool until spring 2018.
This alternative is not considered
further because it does not meet the
purpose and need of the proposed
action.
As another alternative to the proposed
action, the staff considered denial of the
exemption request (i.e., the ‘‘no-action’’
alternative). This alternative would have
the same environmental impacts as the
proposed action. In the event that the
NRC denied the requested exemption,
EGC would continue to operate under
the requirements of the current Holtec
HI–STORM CoC, which has previously
been determined to have no significant
impacts. The potential environmental
impact of using the Holtec HI–STORM
system was initially analyzed in the
environmental assessment for the final
rule (65 FR 25241; May 1, 2000) to add
the Holtec HI–STORM system to the list
of approved spent fuel storage casks in
10 CFR 72.214. The environmental
assessment for the May 1, 2000, final
rule concluded that there would be no
significant environmental impact for
adding the Holtec HI–STORM system,
and therefore, the NRC issued a finding
of no significant impact.
Alternative Use of Resources
This action does not impact any
resource implications discussed in
previous environmental reviews.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
The staff consulted with Mr. Joseph
Klinger, Assistant Director of the Illinois
Emergency Management Agency (IEMA)
by email, regarding the environmental
impact of the proposed action. The
State’s response was received by email
dated October 28, 2015. The email
response states that IEMA reviewed the
draft environmental assessment and
found ‘‘no basis for denial of this
Exemption Request.’’ Mr. Klinger
concurred with the environmental
assessment and finding of no significant
impact.
The NRC staff has determined that a
consultation under Section 7 of the
Endangered Species Act is not required
because the proposed action will not
affect listed species or critical habitat.
The NRC staff has also determined that
the proposed action is not a type of
activity that has the potential to impact
historic properties because the proposed
action would occur within the
established DNPS site boundary.
Therefore, no consultation is required
under Section 106 of the National
Historic Preservation Act.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The NRC staff has reviewed EGC’s
exemption request to authorize EGC to
load and store one DNPS Unit 1 thoria
rod canister containing 18 DNPS Unit 1
thoria rods in the DNPS ISFSI. Based on
its review of the proposed action, in
accordance with the requirements in 10
CFR part 51, the NRC staff has
determined that approval of the
exemption from the requirements of 10
CFR 72.212(a)(2), 10 CFR 72.212(b)(3),
72.212(b)(5)(i), a portion of 10 CFR
72.212(b)(11), and 10 CFR 72.214 to
allow EGC to load and store one DNPS
Unit 1 thoria rod canister containing 18
DNPS Unit 1 thoria rods in CoC No.
1014, Amendment 8, Revision 1, will
not significantly affect the quality of the
human environment. For these reasons,
NRC has determined that pursuant to 10
CFR 51.31, preparation of an
Environmental Impact Statement is not
required for the proposed action, and
pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, a Finding of
No Significant Impact (FONSI) is
appropriate.
IV. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the
following table are available to
interested persons through one or more
of the methods indicated in the
ADDRESSES section.
Document
ADAMS
Accession No.
Exelon Generation Company (EGC) application dated January 29, 2015 .........................................................................................
EGC supplement dated June 8, 2015 .................................................................................................................................................
NRC email dated October 21, 2015, to Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) forwarding draft environmental assessment and IEMA response dated October 28, 2015, to draft environmental assessment ...............................................................
Holtec HI–STORM final rule ................................................................................................................................................................
NUREG–1748, ‘‘Environmental Review Guidance for Licensing Actions Associated with NMSS Programs’’ ..................................
ML15029A334
ML15159A745
ML15323A022
ML010670391
ML032450279
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
Week of March 14, 2016—Tentative
[NRC–2016–0001]
[FR Doc. 2016–04750 Filed 3–3–16; 8:45 am]
DATES:
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
jstallworth on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 25th day
of February, 2016.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Steve Ruffin,
Acting Chief, Spent Fuel Licensing Branch,
Division of Spent Fuel Management, Office
of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
2016.
9:00 a.m. Briefing on Power Reactor
Decommissioning Rulemaking
(Public Meeting) (Contact: Jason
Carneal: 301–415–1451)
This meeting will be webcast live at
the Web address—https://www.nrc.gov/.
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Sunshine Act Meeting
March 7, 14, 21, 28, April 4, 11,
Commissioners’ Conference
Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville,
Maryland.
PLACE:
STATUS:
Public and Closed.
Week of March 7, 2016
There are no meetings scheduled for
the week of March 7, 2016.
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Thursday, March 17, 2016
9:30 a.m. Meeting with the Advisory
Committee on the Medical Uses of
Isotopes (Public Meeting) (Contact:
Douglas Bollock: 301–415–6609)
This meeting will be webcast live at
the Web address—https://www.nrc.gov/.
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 43 (Friday, March 4, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11603-11605]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-04750]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-010, 50-237, 50-249 and 72-37; NRC-2016-0047]
Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Dresden Nuclear Power Station,
Units 1, 2 and 3; Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact;
issuance.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering
issuance of an exemption to Exelon Generation Company, LLC (hereafter,
EGC or the applicant). EGC is the general licensee operating the
Dresden Nuclear Power Station (DNPS) Independent Spent Fuel Storage
Installation (ISFSI) located in Morris, Illinois. Specifically, EGC
seeks authorization to load and store one DNPS Unit 1 thoria rod
canister containing 18 DNPS Unit 1 thoria rods in a Holtec
International, Inc., multi-purpose canister (MPC)-68M. Thoria rods are
not approved for storage in the MPC-68M per Certificate of Compliance
(CoC) No. 1014, Amendment 8, Rev. 1 \1\ Appendix B, ``Approved Contents
and Design Features.'' EGC plans to load and store Holtec HI-STORM 100
spent fuel casks utilizing Amendment 8, Rev. 1 to CoC No. 1014 in the
2016 DNPS spent fuel loading campaign (SFLC).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The licensee's application referred to Amendment 8; since
that time, Amendment 8 has been revised. (On February 16, 2016,
Amendment 8, Rev. 1 to CoC 1014 became effective.) This revision
does not impact the exemption request that is the subject of this
environmental assessment because none of the changes in the revision
revised the thoria contents or the physical characteristics of the
storage cask.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2016-0047 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-2016-0047. 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.
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. For
the convenience of the reader, the ADAMS accession numbers are provided
in a table in the ``Availability of Documents,'' Section IV of this
document.
[[Page 11604]]
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: Bernard White, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-6577, email:
Bernard.White@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The NRC is considering issuance of an exemption from the spent fuel
storage requirements applicable to EGC to operate an ISFSI at the DNPS
located in Morris, Illinois. As required by Sec. 51.30 of title 10 of
the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), the NRC performed an
environmental assessment. Based on the results of the environmental
assessment, the NRC has determined not to prepare an environmental
impact statement for the exemption, and is issuing a finding of no
significant impact.
Exelon Generation Company holds a general license under 10 CFR part
72 for the storage of spent fuel in the DNPS ISFSI. The applicant is
subject to 10 CFR 72.212, which provides in part that the general
license is limited to storage of spent fuel in casks approved under the
provisions of 10 CFR part 72. The general licensee must ensure that
each cask used conforms to the terms, conditions, and specifications of
a CoC, or an amended CoC, listed in Section 72.214.
The applicant requested an exemption which would allow storage in
the Holtec HI-STORM MPC-68M of a DNPS Unit 1 thoria rod canister
containing 18 DNPS Unit 1 thoria rods. Specifically, the applicant
requested an exemption from 10 CFR 72.212(b)(3) and the portion of 10
CFR 72.212(b)(11) that requires compliance with the terms, conditions,
and specifications of CoC No. 1014, Amendment No. 8, Rev. 1. In
evaluating the request, the NRC is also considering, pursuant to
authority in 72.7, exemption from similar requirements in 10 CFR
72.212(a)(2), 10 CFR 72.212(b)(5)(i); and 10 CFR 72.214, ``List of
approved spent fuel storage casks.'' The NRC staff is performing a
technical review of the exemption request and will prepare a separate
Federal Register notice to document the NRC review of the structural
integrity, criticality control, thermal, shielding, and confinement
design functions for a loaded DNPS Unit 1 thoria rod canister. The NRC
staff's decision whether to issue the exemption to EGC as proposed,
will be based on the results of the NRC staff's review as documented in
this environmental assessment and in the separate Federal Register
Notice.
II. Environmental Assessment
Description of the Proposed Action
The proposed action would exempt EGC from specific portions of the
requirements of 10 CFR 72.212, ``Conditions of general license issued
under Sec. 72.210,'' specifically 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2), 10 CFR
72.212(b)(3), 72.212(b)(5)(i), a portion of 72.212(b)(11), and 10 CFR
72.214, ``List of approved spent fuel storage casks.'' The proposed
exemption request pertains to the requirements of CoC No. 1014,
Amendment 8, Rev. 1, Appendix B, ``Approved Contents and Design
Features,'' Table 2.1-1, ``Fuel Assembly Limits.'' The addition of a
new multi-purpose canister (MPC)-68M to the approved models included in
CoC No. 1014 was one of the additions included in Amendment 8. Thoria
rods are approved content for the MPC-68F, MPC-68, and MPC-68FF.
However, Appendix B, Table 2.1-1, Section VI, does not include, as
approved content, thoria rods for storage in the MPC-68M. For the DNPS
ISFSI, the exemption would allow ECG to deviate from the requirements
of CoC No. 1014, Amendment 8, Rev. 1 by permitting the storage of
thoria rods in the MPC-68M.
Need for the Proposed Action
The proposed action would relieve the applicant from requirements
of 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2), 72.212(b)(3), 72.212(b)(5)(i), the portion of
72.212(b)(11) which states that ``The licensee shall comply with the
terms, conditions, and specifications of the CoC . . .'', and 10 CFR
72.214, ``List of approved spent fuel storage casks.'' The applicant
maintains that loading the thoria rod canister during the 2016 DNPS
SFLC is part of a program to ensure full core discharge capability. If
not loaded during the 2016 DNPS SFLC, EGC states that it would not be
able to load and store the DNPS Unit 1 thoria rod canister until 2018.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
In the preparation of this Environmental Assessment, the staff used
guidance in NUREG-1748, ``Environmental Review Guidance for Licensing
Actions Associated with NMSS Programs.''
The staff evaluated the environmental impacts associated with this
exemption. The NRC staff determined that non-radiological environmental
impacts from approval of the exemption would not change from those
evaluated in CoC 1014, Amendment Nos. 1 and 8, because: (1) The
proposed action would not involve any construction activities, land
disturbance, excavation, physical changes to the DNPS facilities, or
changes in land use; (2) operation of the ISFSI does not require usage
of water resources; and (3) the ISFSI does not generate gaseous,
liquid, or solid effluents or wastes during operation. Therefore, there
are no significant non-radiological impacts associated with the
proposed action.
The NRC staff also determined that the radiological doses to
workers and to the public associated with the proposed action are
bounded by previous analyses for CoC 1014, Amendment No. 8, and that
radiological doses would be below the NRC's regulatory limits in 10 CFR
part 20 and Part 72. In prior NRC staff reviews of CoC 1014, Amendment
Nos. 1 and 8, the NRC staff concluded that the Metamic-HT basket in the
MPC-68M has very little effect on the external dose rate; and a single
thoria rod canister, while unbounded in part of the gamma source
spectrum, will not impact cask external dose rates. Additionally, the
NRC staff determined that the proposed action will not increase the
probability or consequences of accidents since the exemption would
authorize loading of a different type of fuel assembly, but use the
same procedures for loading, preparation for storage, and storage as
all other fuel assemblies. No changes are being made in the types or
quantities of effluents that may be released offsite, and there is no
significant increase in occupational or public radiation exposure.
Therefore, there are no significant radiological environmental impacts
associated with the proposed action. Based on these findings, the NRC
concludes that there are no significant environmental impacts
associated with the approval of the exemption.
Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action
An alternative to the proposed exemption request would be for
Holtec, the CoC holder, to submit an amendment request for Certificate
of Compliance No. 1014, which the NRC would need to review for
approval. The NRC review and approval of an amendment request would
result in a delay in the loading and storage of the DNPS Unit 1 thoria
rod canister. EGC plans to load the thoria rod canister during the DNPS
2016 SFLC as part of a program to ensure full core discharge
capability. In order to load the thoria
[[Page 11605]]
rod canister during the spring 2016 SFLC campaign, EGC stated that it
must finalize fuel loading package documentation by December 2015.
Based on the amount of time generally required to review and
approve CoC amendment requests (e.g., 18 months to 27 months), there
would not be adequate time for development of fuel loading packages.
The timing constraints would also extend beyond the scheduled start of
the DNPS SFLC campaign in Spring 2016. According to EGC, delaying the
approval to mid-2016 or beyond would delay EGC's ability to have full-
core offload capability in the DNPS spent fuel pool until spring 2018.
This alternative is not considered further because it does not meet the
purpose and need of the proposed action.
As another alternative to the proposed action, the staff considered
denial of the exemption request (i.e., the ``no-action'' alternative).
This alternative would have the same environmental impacts as the
proposed action. In the event that the NRC denied the requested
exemption, EGC would continue to operate under the requirements of the
current Holtec HI-STORM CoC, which has previously been determined to
have no significant impacts. The potential environmental impact of
using the Holtec HI-STORM system was initially analyzed in the
environmental assessment for the final rule (65 FR 25241; May 1, 2000)
to add the Holtec HI-STORM system to the list of approved spent fuel
storage casks in 10 CFR 72.214. The environmental assessment for the
May 1, 2000, final rule concluded that there would be no significant
environmental impact for adding the Holtec HI-STORM system, and
therefore, the NRC issued a finding of no significant impact.
Alternative Use of Resources
This action does not impact any resource implications discussed in
previous environmental reviews.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
The staff consulted with Mr. Joseph Klinger, Assistant Director of
the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) by email, regarding the
environmental impact of the proposed action. The State's response was
received by email dated October 28, 2015. The email response states
that IEMA reviewed the draft environmental assessment and found ``no
basis for denial of this Exemption Request.'' Mr. Klinger concurred
with the environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact.
The NRC staff has determined that a consultation under Section 7 of
the Endangered Species Act is not required because the proposed action
will not affect listed species or critical habitat. The NRC staff has
also determined that the proposed action is not a type of activity that
has the potential to impact historic properties because the proposed
action would occur within the established DNPS site boundary.
Therefore, no consultation is required under Section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The NRC staff has reviewed EGC's exemption request to authorize EGC
to load and store one DNPS Unit 1 thoria rod canister containing 18
DNPS Unit 1 thoria rods in the DNPS ISFSI. Based on its review of the
proposed action, in accordance with the requirements in 10 CFR part 51,
the NRC staff has determined that approval of the exemption from the
requirements of 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2), 10 CFR 72.212(b)(3),
72.212(b)(5)(i), a portion of 10 CFR 72.212(b)(11), and 10 CFR 72.214
to allow EGC to load and store one DNPS Unit 1 thoria rod canister
containing 18 DNPS Unit 1 thoria rods in CoC No. 1014, Amendment 8,
Revision 1, will not significantly affect the quality of the human
environment. For these reasons, NRC has determined that pursuant to 10
CFR 51.31, preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement is not
required for the proposed action, and pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, a
Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is appropriate.
IV. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the following table are available to
interested persons through one or more of the methods indicated in the
ADDRESSES section.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADAMS
Document Accession No.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Exelon Generation Company (EGC) application dated ML15029A334
January 29, 2015.......................................
EGC supplement dated June 8, 2015....................... ML15159A745
NRC email dated October 21, 2015, to Illinois Emergency ML15323A022
Management Agency (IEMA) forwarding draft environmental
assessment and IEMA response dated October 28, 2015, to
draft environmental assessment.........................
Holtec HI-STORM final rule.............................. ML010670391
NUREG-1748, ``Environmental Review Guidance for ML032450279
Licensing Actions Associated with NMSS Programs''......
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 25th day of February, 2016.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Steve Ruffin,
Acting Chief, Spent Fuel Licensing Branch, Division of Spent Fuel
Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2016-04750 Filed 3-3-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P