Energy Northwest; Columbia Generating Station, 32916-32918 [2018-15091]
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 136 / Monday, July 16, 2018 / Notices
charge by contacting the NRC’s
Clearance Officer, David Cullison,
Office of the Chief Information Officer,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone:
301–415–2084; email:
INFOCOLLECTS.Resource@NRC.GOV.
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
B. Submitting Comments
The NRC cautions you not to include
identifying or contact information in
comment submissions that you do not
want to be publicly disclosed in your
comment submission. All comment
submissions are posted at https://
www.regulations.gov and entered into
ADAMS. Comment submissions are not
routinely edited to remove identifying
or contact information.
If you are requesting or aggregating
comments from other persons for
submission to the OMB, then you
should inform those persons not to
include identifying or contact
information that they do not want to be
publicly disclosed in their comment
submission. Your request should state
that comment submissions are not
routinely edited to remove such
information before making the comment
submissions available to the public or
entering the comment into ADAMS.
II. Background
Under the provisions of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. Chapter 35), the NRC recently
submitted a request for renewal of an
existing collection of information to
OMB for review entitled, ‘‘10 CFR [Code
of Federal Regulations] Part 62, Criteria
and Procedures for Emergency Access to
Non-Federal and Regional Low-Level
Waste Disposal Facilities.’’ The NRC
hereby informs potential respondents
that an agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and that a person is not
required to respond to, a collection of
information unless it displays a
currently valid OMB control number.
The NRC published a Federal
Register notice with a 60-day comment
period on this information collection on
April 24, 2018 (83 FR 18353).
1. The title of the information
collection: 10 CFR part 62, ‘‘Criteria and
Procedures for Emergency Access to
Non-Federal and Regional Low-Level
Waste Disposal Facilities.’’
2. OMB approval number: 3150–0143.
3. Type of submission: Revision.
4. The form number if applicable: Not
applicable.
5. How often the collection is required
or requested: On occasion.
6. Who will be required or asked to
respond: Part 62 of 10 CFR sets out the
information that must be provided to
the NRC by any low-level waste
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generator or governor of a State on
behalf of generators seeking emergency
access to an operating low-level waste
disposal facility. The information is
required to allow the NRC to determine
if denial of disposal constitutes a
serious and immediate threat to public
health and safety or common defense
and security. Part 62 of 10 CFR also
provides that the Commission may grant
an exemption from the requirements in
this part upon application of an
interested person or upon its own
initiative.
7. The estimated number of annual
responses: 2.
8. The estimated number of annual
respondents: 1.
9. An estimate of the total number of
hours needed annually to comply with
the information collection requirement
or request: 233.
10. Abstract: Part 62 of 10 CFR sets
out the information that must be
provided to the NRC by any low-level
waste generator or governor of a State on
behalf of generators seeking emergency
access to an operating low-level waste
disposal facility. The information is
required to allow the NRC to determine
if denial of disposal constitutes a
serious and immediate threat to public
health and safety or common defense
and security. Part 62 of 10 CFR also
provides that the Commission may grant
an exemption from the requirements in
this part upon application of an
interested person or upon its own
initiative.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day
of July 2018.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Kristen Benney,
Acting NRC Clearance Officer, Office of the
Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2018–15081 Filed 7–13–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50–397; NRC–2018–0146]
Energy Northwest; Columbia
Generating Station
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Environmental assessment and
finding of no significant impact;
issuance.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is considering
issuance of an amendment to Renewed
Facility Operating License No. NPF–21,
issued on May 22, 2012, and held by
Energy Northwest (the licensee) for the
SUMMARY:
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operation of Columbia Generating
Station (Columbia), located in Benton
County, Washington. The proposed
amendment would revise the
Environmental Protection Plan (NonRadiological) (EPP), contained in
Appendix B to the Columbia renewed
facility operating license. The NRC is
issuing a final environmental
assessment (EA) and finding of no
significant impact (FONSI) associated
with the proposed license amendment.
DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in
this document is available on July 16,
2018.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID
NRC–2018–0146 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 website: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2018–0146. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Jennifer
Borges; telephone: 301–287–9127;
email: Jennifer.Borges@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. 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: John
Klos, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555–
0001; telephone: 301–415–5136; email:
John.Klos@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The NRC is considering issuance of an
amendment to Renewed Facility
Operating License No. NPF–21 issued to
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 136 / Monday, July 16, 2018 / Notices
Energy Northwest for operation of
Columbia, located in Benton County,
Washington. The licensee submitted its
license amendment request by letter
dated December 18, 2017 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML17352B255). If
approved, the license amendment
would add Section 4.2.2, ‘‘Aquatic
Issues,’’ to the Columbia EPP to require
Energy Northwest to adhere to the
specific requirements within the
Incidental Take Statement (ITS) in the
currently applicable biological opinion.
The NRC prepared an EA to document
its findings related to the proposed
license amendment request in
accordance with Section 51.21 of title
10 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(10 CFR). Based on the results of the EA
documented herein, the NRC did not
identify any significant environmental
impacts associated with the proposed
amendment and is, therefore, issuing a
FONSI in accordance with 10 CFR
51.32.
II. Environmental Assessment
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
Plant Site and Environs
Columbia is a single unit plant with
a boiling water reactor and a closedcycle cooling system that withdraws
water from and discharges water to the
Columbia River. The facility occupies
approximately 1,089 acres (441
hectares) of land leased from the U.S.
Department of Energy within the
Hanford Reservation. The leased land is
located in Benton County, Washington,
12 miles (19 kilometers) northwest of
Richland and approximately 160 miles
(257 kilometers) southeast of Seattle.
The Columbia River borders the site to
the east and flat rolling hills surround
the site.
The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission,
the NRC’s predecessor agency, and the
NRC have previously conducted
environmental reviews of Columbia
operations in several documents, which
contain more detailed descriptions of
the plant site and environs. Those
documents include the Final
Environmental Statement related to
construction of the facility in December
1972 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML101870543); the Final Environmental
Statement related to initial operation of
the facility in December 1981 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML100570374); and
NUREG–1437, ‘‘Generic Environmental
Impact Statement [GEIS] for License
Renewal of Nuclear Plants, Supplement
47, Regarding Columbia Generating
Station—Final Report,’’ dated April
2012 and its associated GEIS documents
(ADAMS Package Accession No.
ML12097A267).
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Description of the Proposed Action
The proposed action would add
language in Section 4.2, ‘‘Environmental
Monitoring,’’ of the Columbia EPP to
require Energy Northwest to adhere to
the specific requirements within the ITS
in the currently applicable biological
opinion. The proposed action would be
in accordance with the licensee’s
application dated December 18, 2017.
By amending Section 4.2 of the EPP
to state that Energy Northwest must
adhere to the ITS in the currently
applicable biological opinion, the
proposed action would require Energy
Northwest’s compliance with the
National Marine Fisheries Service’s
(NMFS) biological opinion, dated March
10, 2017 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML17072A036). This biological opinion
applies to Upper Columbia River spring
run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus
tshawytscha) and Upper Columbia River
steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), and
concludes that the continued operation
of Columbia is not likely to jeopardize
the continued existence of these species
or destroy or adversely modify the
designated critical habitat of these
species. The ITS included in the
biological opinion exempts the
incidental take of these species from the
prohibitions of Section 9 of the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (ESA), provided that the
specified Reasonable and Prudent
Measures (RPMs) are implemented. The
RPMs are:
1. Minimize the potential for
incidental take of ESA-listed species as
a result of elevated concentrations of
chemical constituents in the mainstem
Columbia River.
2. Minimize the potential for
incidental take of ESA-listed species as
a result of entrainment and
impingement associated with the
cooling water intake structure for
Columbia.
3. Minimize the potential for
incidental take 1 of ESA-listed species as
a result of biological monitoring.
4. Ensure completion of a monitoring
and reporting program to confirm that
the terms and conditions in this ITS
were effective in avoiding and
minimizing incidental take from
permitted activities and ensuring
incidental take is not exceeded.
In order to implement the RPMs, the
ITS prescribes a number of Terms and
Conditions (T&Cs). The T&Cs require
Energy Northwest to conduct effluent
1 The ESA prohibits the take of any federally
listed species without a special exemption and
states that the term ‘‘take’’ means to harass, harm,
pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or
collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct.
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32917
monitoring (RPM1), conduct
impingment and entrainment studies
(RPM 2), implement various best
practices while conducting biological
monitoring studies to minimize impacts
to listed species (RPM 3), and submit a
report to NMFS regarding all biological
monitoring activites (RPM 4).
Specificially, to minimize chemical
exposures to ESA-listed species as
described in RPM 1, Energy Northwest
must conduct physical and chemical
monitoring of the Columbia effluent, as
specified in its National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
Permit No. WA002515–1, to ensure that
effluent water quality controls are
functioning as intended. To minimize
potential impingment and entrainment
as described in RPM 2, Energy
Northwest must prepare and conduct an
impingment study and an entrainment
study for NMFS’s review and comment,
as described in its NPDES permit.
To minimize the potential for a take
during biological monitoring as
described in RPM 3, the ITS prescribes
several best practices and reporting
requirements for Energy Northwest to
implement, including:
• Fish handling practices.
• Requirements to stop sampling
when water temperatures reach
specified limits, or if any ESA-listed
adult salmon or steelhead or steelhead
redds are observed at the site.
• Reporting requirments if Energy
Northwest unintentionally captures any
ESA-listed adult salmon or steelhead
while angling for resident fish, if a take
is likely, or if any authorized level of
take is exceeded than the levels specied
in the ITS.
To ensure completion of a monitoring
and reporting program and to ensure
that incidental take is not exceeded as
described in RPM 4, Energy Northwest
must submit to NMFS, with a copy to
NRC, an annual post-season report
describing the biological monitoring
activities that occurred and a summary
of each take including the ESA-listed
species affected, the type of take, the
location where the take occurred, and
the date of occurrence. The annual
report must also summarize any
operational changes to Columbia that
affect the effluent discharge and have
the potential to affect ESA-listed
resources.
Notably, because the proposed
amendment would require Energy
Northwest’s compliance with the
‘‘currently applicable’’ biological
opinion, if NMFS were to issue a new
biological opinion in the future, the
proposed amendment would require
Energy Northwest to adhere to the
specific requirements in the ITS of that
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 136 / Monday, July 16, 2018 / Notices
new biological opinion, and Energy
Northwest would no longer be required
to adhere to the March 10, 2017,
biological opinion upon issuance of a
new biological opinion.
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
Need for the Proposed Action
The proposed action is needed to
reflect the biological opinion issued by
NMFS on March 10, 2017, and to
require Energy Northwest’s compliance
with the ITS and related RPMs and
T&Cs contained therein. The proposed
action is administrative in nature.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed
Action
The NRC has completed its evaluation
of the proposed action and concludes
that the proposed changes are
administrative in nature, would have no
direct effects on plant equipment or
plant operation, and would not involve
any changes to the design bases for
Columbia.
With regard to potential radiological
impacts, the proposed action would not
increase the probability or consequences
of accidents, would not change the
types or increase the amount of effluent
that may be released offsite, and would
result in no increase in occupational or
public radiation exposure. Therefore,
there are no significant radiological
environmental impacts associated with
the proposed action.
With regard to potential nonradiological impacts, because the
proposed action is administrative in
nature, it would not have any direct
impacts on land, air, or water resources,
including impacts to terrestrial biota. In
addition, the NRC staff identified no
socioeconomic or environmental justice
impacts associated with the proposed
action. Therefore, there are no
significant non-radiological
environmental impacts associated with
the proposed action.
An indirect effect of the proposed
action is that Energy Northwest’s
impingement and entrainment studies
(RPM 1 and 2) would likely require inwater work and the collection of larvae
and eggs. In-water work could cause
minor disturbances to nearby biota.
However, the activity would be
temporary and fish could swim away to
avoid the area and return once the
temporary work is completed. Removal
of larvae and eggs of resident fish
species could occur during collection
periods for the entrainment study.
However, the amount of individuals that
would be collected for the study would
be negliable when compared to the size
of local resident fish populations. In
addition, RPM 3 requires Energy
Northwest to modify some of its
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collection practices while conducting
biological monitoring studies. In
general, these practices will result in
beneficial effects to ESA-listed species
because the purpose of the
modifications are to minimize impacts.
For example, during electrofishing,
where fish are temporarily stunned for
biologists to collect and measure them,
RPM 3 requires Energy Northwest to
handle ESA-listed fish with extreme
care and keep them in cold water to the
maximum extent possible during
sampling and processing procedures.
The NRC staff concludes that the
indirect effects from the impingement
and entrainment studies as well as the
modified collection practices will not
result in significant environmental
impacts to the radiological or nonradiological environment.
Based on the foregoing analysis, 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 NRC staff considered denial
of the proposed license amendment (i.e.,
the ‘‘no-action’’ alternative). Denial of
the application would result in no
change in current environmental
conditions or impacts. Accordingly, the
environmental impacts of the proposed
action and the no-action alternative are
similar.
Alternative Use of Resources
The proposed action does not involve
the use of any different resources than
those previously considered in NUREG–
1437, Supplement 47, prepared for the
license renewal of Columbia.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
The NRC did not enter into
consultation with any other Federal
Agency or with the State of Washington
regarding the environmental impact of
the proposed action. However, on June
6, 2018, the NRC notified the
Washington State official, Mr. Richard
Cowley, Washington State Department
of Health, Office of Radiation Protection
of the proposed amendment. The State
official had no comments.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The NRC is considering issuance of an
amendment to Renewed Facility
Operating License No. NPF–21, issued
to Energy Northwest for operation of
Columbia. The proposed amendment
would revise the Columbia EPP to
require Energy Northwest to adhere to
the specific requirements within the ITS
in the currently applicable biological
PO 00000
Frm 00087
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
opinion. On the basis of the EA
included in Section II of this document
and incorporated by reference into this
finding, the NRC concludes that the
proposed action would not have
significant effects on the quality of the
human environment. The NRC’s
evaluation considered information
provided in the licensee’s application as
well as the NRC’s independent review
of other relevant environmental
documents. Based on its findings, the
NRC has determined not to prepare an
environmental impact statement for the
proposed action.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 11th day
of July 2018.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
L. John Klos,
Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch
IV–1, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing,
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2018–15091 Filed 7–13–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[NRC–2018–0050]
Information Collection: 10 CFR Part
140, Financial Protection
Requirements and Indemnity
Agreements
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Notice of submission to the
Office of Management and Budget;
request for comment.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) has recently
submitted a request for renewal of an
existing collection of information to the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for review. The information
collection is entitled, ‘‘10 CFR part 140,
Financial Protection Requirements and
Indemnity Agreements.’’
DATES: Submit comments by August 15,
2018.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments directly
to the OMB reviewer at: OMB Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs
(3150–0039), Attn: Desk Officer for the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 725
17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503;
email: oira_submission@omb.eop.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
David Cullison, NRC Clearance Officer,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone:
301–415–2084; email:
INFOCOLLECTS.Resource@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 136 (Monday, July 16, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32916-32918]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-15091]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-397; NRC-2018-0146]
Energy Northwest; Columbia Generating Station
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 amendment to Renewed Facility Operating License No. NPF-
21, issued on May 22, 2012, and held by Energy Northwest (the licensee)
for the operation of Columbia Generating Station (Columbia), located in
Benton County, Washington. The proposed amendment would revise the
Environmental Protection Plan (Non-Radiological) (EPP), contained in
Appendix B to the Columbia renewed facility operating license. The NRC
is issuing a final environmental assessment (EA) and finding of no
significant impact (FONSI) associated with the proposed license
amendment.
DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in this document is available on
July 16, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2018-0146 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 website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2018-0146. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Jennifer Borges; telephone: 301-287-
9127; email: [email protected]. 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 [email protected]. 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: John Klos, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001; telephone: 301-415-5136; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The NRC is considering issuance of an amendment to Renewed Facility
Operating License No. NPF-21 issued to
[[Page 32917]]
Energy Northwest for operation of Columbia, located in Benton County,
Washington. The licensee submitted its license amendment request by
letter dated December 18, 2017 (ADAMS Accession No. ML17352B255). If
approved, the license amendment would add Section 4.2.2, ``Aquatic
Issues,'' to the Columbia EPP to require Energy Northwest to adhere to
the specific requirements within the Incidental Take Statement (ITS) in
the currently applicable biological opinion. The NRC prepared an EA to
document its findings related to the proposed license amendment request
in accordance with Section 51.21 of title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR). Based on the results of the EA documented herein,
the NRC did not identify any significant environmental impacts
associated with the proposed amendment and is, therefore, issuing a
FONSI in accordance with 10 CFR 51.32.
II. Environmental Assessment
Plant Site and Environs
Columbia is a single unit plant with a boiling water reactor and a
closed-cycle cooling system that withdraws water from and discharges
water to the Columbia River. The facility occupies approximately 1,089
acres (441 hectares) of land leased from the U.S. Department of Energy
within the Hanford Reservation. The leased land is located in Benton
County, Washington, 12 miles (19 kilometers) northwest of Richland and
approximately 160 miles (257 kilometers) southeast of Seattle. The
Columbia River borders the site to the east and flat rolling hills
surround the site.
The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, the NRC's predecessor agency,
and the NRC have previously conducted environmental reviews of Columbia
operations in several documents, which contain more detailed
descriptions of the plant site and environs. Those documents include
the Final Environmental Statement related to construction of the
facility in December 1972 (ADAMS Accession No. ML101870543); the Final
Environmental Statement related to initial operation of the facility in
December 1981 (ADAMS Accession No. ML100570374); and NUREG-1437,
``Generic Environmental Impact Statement [GEIS] for License Renewal of
Nuclear Plants, Supplement 47, Regarding Columbia Generating Station--
Final Report,'' dated April 2012 and its associated GEIS documents
(ADAMS Package Accession No. ML12097A267).
Description of the Proposed Action
The proposed action would add language in Section 4.2,
``Environmental Monitoring,'' of the Columbia EPP to require Energy
Northwest to adhere to the specific requirements within the ITS in the
currently applicable biological opinion. The proposed action would be
in accordance with the licensee's application dated December 18, 2017.
By amending Section 4.2 of the EPP to state that Energy Northwest
must adhere to the ITS in the currently applicable biological opinion,
the proposed action would require Energy Northwest's compliance with
the National Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS) biological opinion,
dated March 10, 2017 (ADAMS Accession No. ML17072A036). This biological
opinion applies to Upper Columbia River spring run Chinook salmon
(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and Upper Columbia River steelhead
(Oncorhynchus mykiss), and concludes that the continued operation of
Columbia is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of these
species or destroy or adversely modify the designated critical habitat
of these species. The ITS included in the biological opinion exempts
the incidental take of these species from the prohibitions of Section 9
of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA), provided that
the specified Reasonable and Prudent Measures (RPMs) are implemented.
The RPMs are:
1. Minimize the potential for incidental take of ESA-listed species
as a result of elevated concentrations of chemical constituents in the
mainstem Columbia River.
2. Minimize the potential for incidental take of ESA-listed species
as a result of entrainment and impingement associated with the cooling
water intake structure for Columbia.
3. Minimize the potential for incidental take \1\ of ESA-listed
species as a result of biological monitoring.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The ESA prohibits the take of any federally listed species
without a special exemption and states that the term ``take'' means
to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or
collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Ensure completion of a monitoring and reporting program to
confirm that the terms and conditions in this ITS were effective in
avoiding and minimizing incidental take from permitted activities and
ensuring incidental take is not exceeded.
In order to implement the RPMs, the ITS prescribes a number of
Terms and Conditions (T&Cs). The T&Cs require Energy Northwest to
conduct effluent monitoring (RPM1), conduct impingment and entrainment
studies (RPM 2), implement various best practices while conducting
biological monitoring studies to minimize impacts to listed species
(RPM 3), and submit a report to NMFS regarding all biological
monitoring activites (RPM 4). Specificially, to minimize chemical
exposures to ESA-listed species as described in RPM 1, Energy Northwest
must conduct physical and chemical monitoring of the Columbia effluent,
as specified in its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES) Permit No. WA002515-1, to ensure that effluent water quality
controls are functioning as intended. To minimize potential impingment
and entrainment as described in RPM 2, Energy Northwest must prepare
and conduct an impingment study and an entrainment study for NMFS's
review and comment, as described in its NPDES permit.
To minimize the potential for a take during biological monitoring
as described in RPM 3, the ITS prescribes several best practices and
reporting requirements for Energy Northwest to implement, including:
Fish handling practices.
Requirements to stop sampling when water temperatures
reach specified limits, or if any ESA-listed adult salmon or steelhead
or steelhead redds are observed at the site.
Reporting requirments if Energy Northwest unintentionally
captures any ESA-listed adult salmon or steelhead while angling for
resident fish, if a take is likely, or if any authorized level of take
is exceeded than the levels specied in the ITS.
To ensure completion of a monitoring and reporting program and to
ensure that incidental take is not exceeded as described in RPM 4,
Energy Northwest must submit to NMFS, with a copy to NRC, an annual
post-season report describing the biological monitoring activities that
occurred and a summary of each take including the ESA-listed species
affected, the type of take, the location where the take occurred, and
the date of occurrence. The annual report must also summarize any
operational changes to Columbia that affect the effluent discharge and
have the potential to affect ESA-listed resources.
Notably, because the proposed amendment would require Energy
Northwest's compliance with the ``currently applicable'' biological
opinion, if NMFS were to issue a new biological opinion in the future,
the proposed amendment would require Energy Northwest to adhere to the
specific requirements in the ITS of that
[[Page 32918]]
new biological opinion, and Energy Northwest would no longer be
required to adhere to the March 10, 2017, biological opinion upon
issuance of a new biological opinion.
Need for the Proposed Action
The proposed action is needed to reflect the biological opinion
issued by NMFS on March 10, 2017, and to require Energy Northwest's
compliance with the ITS and related RPMs and T&Cs contained therein.
The proposed action is administrative in nature.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and
concludes that the proposed changes are administrative in nature, would
have no direct effects on plant equipment or plant operation, and would
not involve any changes to the design bases for Columbia.
With regard to potential radiological impacts, the proposed action
would not increase the probability or consequences of accidents, would
not change the types or increase the amount of effluent that may be
released offsite, and would result in no 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, because the
proposed action is administrative in nature, it would not have any
direct impacts on land, air, or water resources, including impacts to
terrestrial biota. In addition, the NRC staff identified no
socioeconomic or environmental justice impacts associated with the
proposed action. Therefore, there are no significant non-radiological
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.
An indirect effect of the proposed action is that Energy
Northwest's impingement and entrainment studies (RPM 1 and 2) would
likely require in-water work and the collection of larvae and eggs. In-
water work could cause minor disturbances to nearby biota. However, the
activity would be temporary and fish could swim away to avoid the area
and return once the temporary work is completed. Removal of larvae and
eggs of resident fish species could occur during collection periods for
the entrainment study. However, the amount of individuals that would be
collected for the study would be negliable when compared to the size of
local resident fish populations. In addition, RPM 3 requires Energy
Northwest to modify some of its collection practices while conducting
biological monitoring studies. In general, these practices will result
in beneficial effects to ESA-listed species because the purpose of the
modifications are to minimize impacts. For example, during
electrofishing, where fish are temporarily stunned for biologists to
collect and measure them, RPM 3 requires Energy Northwest to handle
ESA-listed fish with extreme care and keep them in cold water to the
maximum extent possible during sampling and processing procedures. The
NRC staff concludes that the indirect effects from the impingement and
entrainment studies as well as the modified collection practices will
not result in significant environmental impacts to the radiological or
non-radiological environment.
Based on the foregoing analysis, 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 NRC staff considered
denial of the proposed license amendment (i.e., the ``no-action''
alternative). Denial of the application would result in no change in
current environmental conditions or impacts. Accordingly, the
environmental impacts of the proposed action and the no-action
alternative are similar.
Alternative Use of Resources
The proposed action does not involve the use of any different
resources than those previously considered in NUREG-1437, Supplement
47, prepared for the license renewal of Columbia.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
The NRC did not enter into consultation with any other Federal
Agency or with the State of Washington regarding the environmental
impact of the proposed action. However, on June 6, 2018, the NRC
notified the Washington State official, Mr. Richard Cowley, Washington
State Department of Health, Office of Radiation Protection of the
proposed amendment. The State official had no comments.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The NRC is considering issuance of an amendment to Renewed Facility
Operating License No. NPF-21, issued to Energy Northwest for operation
of Columbia. The proposed amendment would revise the Columbia EPP to
require Energy Northwest to adhere to the specific requirements within
the ITS in the currently applicable biological opinion. On the basis of
the EA included in Section II of this document and incorporated by
reference into this finding, the NRC concludes that the proposed action
would not have significant effects on the quality of the human
environment. The NRC's evaluation considered information provided in
the licensee's application as well as the NRC's independent review of
other relevant environmental documents. Based on its findings, the NRC
has determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the
proposed action.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 11th day of July 2018.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
L. John Klos,
Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch IV-1, Division of Operating
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2018-15091 Filed 7-13-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
