Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company; Maine Yankee Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation, 23072-23074 [2019-10541]
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23072
Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 98 / Tuesday, May 21, 2019 / Notices
Dated: May 15, 2019.
Crystal Robinson,
Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 2019–10577 Filed 5–20–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket No. 72–30; NRC–2018–0255]
Maine Yankee Atomic Power
Company; Maine Yankee Independent
Spent Fuel Storage Installation
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Environmental assessment and
finding of no significant impact;
issuance.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is issuing an
environmental assessment (EA) and a
finding of no significant impact (FONSI)
for its review and approval of the
decommissioning funding plans
submitted by Maine Yankee Atomic
Power Company (MYAPC) on January 8,
2013, and December 16, 2015, for the
independent spent fuel storage
installation (ISFSI) at Maine Yankee in
Wiscasset, Maine.
DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in
this document are available on May 21,
2019.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID
NRC–2018–0255 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–2018–0255. Address
questions about Docket IDs in
Regulations.gov 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
‘‘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, instructions about obtaining
materials referenced in this document
jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:50 May 20, 2019
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are provided in the AVAILABILITY OF
DOCUMENTS section.
• 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:
Pamela Longmire, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone:
301–415–7465, email:
Pamela.Longmire@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The NRC is considering the approval
of the decommissioning funding plans
(DFPs) for the Maine Yankee ISFSI.
MYAPC submitted an initial DFP and an
updated DFP for NRC review and
approval by letters dated January 8,
2013 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML13045A487), and December 16, 2015
(ADAMS Accession No. ML16015A050),
respectively. The NRC staff has
prepared a final EA (ADAMS Package
Accession No. ML19126A115) in
support of its review of MYAPC’s DFPs,
in accordance with the NRC regulations
in part 51 of title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR),
‘‘Environmental Protection Regulations
for Domestic Licensing and Related
Regulatory Functions,’’ which
implement the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). Based on the EA,
the NRC staff has determined that
approval of the DFPs for the Maine
Yankee ISFSI will not significantly
affect the quality of the human
environment, and accordingly, the staff
has concluded that a FONSI is
appropriate. The NRC staff further finds
that preparation of an environmental
impact statement (EIS) is not warranted.
II. Environmental Assessment
Background
The Maine Yankee ISFSI is located in
Wiscasset, Maine. MYAPC is authorized
by the NRC, under License No. SFGL–
14 to store spent nuclear fuel at the
Maine Yankee ISFSI.
The NRC requires its licensees to plan
for the eventual decommissioning of
their licensed facilities prior to license
termination. On June 17, 2011, the NRC
published a final rule in the Federal
Register amending its decommissioning
planning regulations (76 FR 35512). The
final rule amended the NRC regulation,
10 CFR 72.30, which concerns financial
assurance and decommissioning for
ISFSIs. This regulation now requires
each holder of, or applicant for, a
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Sfmt 4703
license under 10 CFR part 72 to submit,
for NRC review and approval, a DFP.
The purpose of the DFP is to
demonstrate the licensee’s financial
assurance, i.e., that funds will be
available to decommission the ISFSI.
The NRC staff is reviewing the DFPs
submitted by MYAPC on January 8,
2013, and December 16, 2015.
Specifically, the NRC must determine
whether MYAPC’s DFPs contain the
information required by 10 CFR 72.30(b)
and 72.30(c) and whether MYAPC has
provided reasonable assurance that
funds will be available to decommission
the ISFSI.
Description of the Proposed Action
The proposed action is the NRC’s
review and approval of MYAPC’s DFPs
submitted in accordance with 10 CFR
72.30(b) and 72.30(c). To approve the
DFPs, the NRC evaluates whether the
decommissioning cost estimate (DCE)
adequately estimates the cost to conduct
the required ISFSI decommissioning
activities prior to license termination,
including identification of the volume
of onsite subsurface material containing
residual radioactivity that will require
remediation to meet the license
termination criteria in 10 CFR 20.1402
or 10 CFR 20.1403. The NRC also
evaluates whether the aggregate dollar
amount of MYAPC financial
instruments provides adequate financial
assurance to cover the DCE and that the
financial instruments meet the criteria
of 10 CFR 72.30(e). Finally, the NRC
evaluates whether the effects of the
following events have been considered
in MYAPC’s submittal: (1) Spills of
radioactive material producing
additional residual radioactivity in
onsite subsurface material; (2) facility
modifications; (3) changes in authorized
possession limits; and (4) actual
remediation costs that exceed the
previous cost estimate, consistent with
10 CFR 72.30(c).
The proposed action does not require
any changes to the ISFSI’s licensed
routine operations, maintenance
activities, or monitoring programs, nor
does it require any new construction or
land-disturbing activities. The scope of
the proposed action concerns only the
NRC’s review and approval of MYAPC’s
DFPs. The scope of the proposed action
does not include, and will not result in,
the review and approval of any
decontamination or decommissioning
activity or license termination for the
ISFSI or any other part of Maine
Yankee.
Need for the Proposed Action
The proposed action provides a
means for the NRC to confirm that
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 98 / Tuesday, May 21, 2019 / Notices
MYAPC will have sufficient funding to
cover the costs of decommissioning the
ISFSI, including the reduction of the
residual radioactivity at the ISFSI to the
level specified by the applicable NRC
license termination regulations
concerning release of the property (10
CFR 20.1402 or 10 CFR 20.1403).
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed
Action
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The NRC’s approval of the DFPs will
not change the scope or nature of the
operation of the ISFSI and will not
authorize any changes to licensed
operations or maintenance activities.
The NRC’s approval of the DFPs will not
result in any changes in the types,
characteristics, or quantities of
radiological or non-radiological
effluents released into the environment
from the ISFSI, or result in the creation
of any solid waste. Moreover, the
approval of the DFPs will not authorize
any construction activity or facility
modification. Therefore, the NRC staff
concludes that the approval of MYAPC’s
DFPs is a procedural and administrative
action that will not result in any
significant impact to the environment.
Section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act of 1966, as amended
(54 U.S.C. 30618) (NHPA), requires
Federal agencies to consider the effects
of their undertakings on historic
properties. In accordance with the
NHPA implementing regulations at 36
CFR part 800, ‘‘Protection of Historic
Properties,’’ the NRC’s approval of
MYAPC’s DFPs constitutes a Federal
undertaking. The NRC, however, has
determined that the approval of the
DFPs is a type of undertaking that does
not have the potential to cause effects
on historic properties, assuming such
historic properties were present,
because the NRC’s approval of MYAPC’s
DFPs will not authorize or result in
changes to licensed operations or
maintenance activities, or changes in
the types, characteristics, or quantities
of radiological or non-radiological
effluents released into the environment
from the ISFSI, or result in the creation
of any solid waste. Therefore, in
accordance with 36 CFR 800.3(a)(1), no
consultation is required under Section
106 of the NHPA.
Under Section 7 of the Endangered
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.) (ESA), prior to taking a proposed
action, a Federal agency must determine
whether (i) endangered and threatened
species or their critical habitats are
known to be in the vicinity of the
proposed action and if so, whether (ii)
the proposed Federal action may affect
listed species or critical habitats. The
NRC has determined that the proposed
action will have no effect on any listed
species or their critical habitats because
the NRC’s approval of MYAPC’s DFPs
will not authorize or result in changes
to licensed operations or maintenance
activities, or changes in the types,
characteristics, or quantities of
radiological or non-radiological
effluents released into the environment
from the ISFSI, or result in the creation
of any solid waste.
Alternative to the Proposed Action
In addition to the proposed action, the
NRC evaluated the no-action alternative.
The no-action alternative is to deny
MYAPC’s DFPs. A denial of a DFP that
meets the criteria of 10 CFR 72.30(b) or
72.30(c) does not support the regulatory
intent of the 2011 rulemaking. As noted
in the EA for the 2011 rulemaking
(ADAMS Accession No. ML090500648),
not promulgating the 2011 final rule
would have increased the likelihood of
additional legacy sites. Thus, denying
MYAPC’s DFPs, which the NRC has
found to meet the criteria of 10 CFR
72.30(b) and 72.30(c), will undermine
the licensee’s decommissioning
planning. On this basis, the NRC has
concluded that the no-action alternative
is not a viable alternative.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
The NRC staff consulted with other
agencies and parties regarding the
environmental impacts of the proposed
action. The NRC provided a draft of its
EA to the State of Maine’s Division of
Environmental Health, Radiation
Control Program (State) by letter dated
September 26, 2016 (ADAMS Accession
No. ML17083A018), and gave the State
30 days to respond. The State did not
respond. The NRC also consulted with
the Fish and Wildlife Service by letter
dated September 26, 2016 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML16270A506).
However, the NRC staff has determined
that consultation under ESA Section 7
is not required because the proposed
action is administrative/procedural in
nature and will not affect listed species
or critical habitat (ADAMS Accession
No. ML17135A062).
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The NRC staff has determined that the
proposed action, the review and
approval of MYAPC’s initial and
updated DFPs, submitted in accordance
with 10 CFR 72.30(b) and 72.30(c), will
not authorize or result in changes to
licensed operations or maintenance
activities, or changes in the types,
characteristics, or quantities of
radiological or non-radiological
effluents released into the environment
from the ISFSI, or result in the creation
of any solid waste. Moreover, the
approval of the DFPs will not authorize
any construction activity, facility
modification, or any other landdisturbing activity. The NRC staff has
concluded that the proposed action is a
procedural and administrative action
and as such, that the proposed action
will not have a significant effect on the
quality of the human environment.
Therefore, the NRC staff has determined
not to prepare an EIS for the proposed
action but will issue this FONSI.
IV. Availability of Documents
The following documents, related to
this notice, can be found using any of
the methods provided in the following
table. Instructions for accessing ADAMS
were provided under the ADDRESSES
section of this document.
Date
Document
January 8, 2013 ..............
December 16, 2015 ........
February 1, 2009 ............
May 15, 2017 ..................
September 26, 2016 .......
September 26, 2016 .......
Submission of MYAPC decommissioning funding plan .........................................................
Submission of MYAPC triennial decommissioning funding plan ...........................................
Environmental Assessment for Final Rule—Decommissioning Planning .............................
Note to File re Sct 7 Consultations for ISFSI DFPs ..............................................................
Consultation Letter: ML16270A431–RLSO ............................................................................
Letter to M. Miller re: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Preliminary Determination of
No Effects Regarding the Yankee Nuclear Power Station Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation Decommissioning Funding Plan.
NRC staff’s Final EA for the approval of the decommissioning funding plan .......................
May 3, 2019 ....................
ADAMS accession No.
* (Package).
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ML13045A487
ML16015A050
ML090500648
ML17135A062
ML17083A018
ML16270A506
ML19126A115
23074
Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 98 / Tuesday, May 21, 2019 / Notices
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day
of May 2019.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John McKirgan,
Chief, Spent Fuel Licensing Branch, Division
of Spent Fuel Management, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2019–10541 Filed 5–20–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[NRC–2019–0121]
Biweekly Notice: Applications and
Amendments to Facility Operating
Licenses and Combined Licenses
Involving No Significant Hazards
Considerations
I. Obtaining Information and
Submitting Comments
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Biweekly notice.
AGENCY:
Pursuant to the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the
Act), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is publishing this
regular biweekly notice. The Act
requires the Commission to publish
notice of any amendments issued, or
proposed to be issued, and grants the
Commission the authority to issue and
make immediately effective any
amendment to an operating license or
combined license, as applicable, upon a
determination by the Commission that
such amendment involves no significant
hazards consideration, notwithstanding
the pendency before the Commission of
a request for a hearing from any person.
This biweekly notice includes all
notices of amendments issued, or
proposed to be issued, from April 23,
2019, to May 6, 2019. The last biweekly
notice was published on May 7, 2019.
DATES: Comments must be filed by June
20, 2019. A request for a hearing must
be filed by July 22, 2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
by any of the following methods (unless
this document describes a different
method for submitting comments on a
specific subject):
• Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2019–0121. Address
questions about NRC dockets IDs in
Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges;
telephone: 301–287–9127; email:
Jennifer.Borges@nrc.gov. For technical
questions, contact the individual(s)
listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section of this document.
• Mail comments to: Office of
Administration, Mail Stop: TWFN–7–
A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
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SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
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Commission, Washington, DC 20555–
0001, ATTN: Program Management,
Announcements and Editing Staff.
For additional direction on obtaining
information and submitting comments,
see ‘‘Obtaining Information and
Submitting Comments’’ in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of
this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lynn Ronewicz, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington DC
20555–0001; telephone: 301–415–1927,
email: Lynn.Ronewicz@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2019–
0121, facility name, unit number(s),
plant docket number, application date,
and subject, when contacting the NRC
about the availability of information for
this action. You may obtain publiclyavailable information related to this
action by any of the following methods:
• Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2019–0121.
• 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
‘‘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 (if it is
available in ADAMS) is provided the
first time that it is mentioned in this
document.
• 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.
B. Submitting Comments
Please include Docket ID NRC–2019–
0121, facility name, unit number(s),
plant docket number, application date,
and subject in your comment
submission.
The NRC cautions you not to include
identifying or contact information that
you do not want to be publicly
disclosed in your comment submission.
The NRC will post all comment
submissions at https://
www.regulations.gov, as well as enter
the comment submissions into ADAMS.
PO 00000
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The NRC does not routinely edit
comment submissions to remove
identifying or contact information.
If you are requesting or aggregating
comments from other persons for
submission to the NRC, 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 the NRC
does not routinely edit comment
submissions to remove such information
before making the comment
submissions available to the public or
entering the comment into ADAMS.
II. Background
Pursuant to Section 189a.(2) of the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended
(the Act), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is publishing this
regular biweekly notice. The Act
requires the Commission to publish
notice of any amendments issued, or
proposed to be issued, and grants the
Commission the authority to issue and
make immediately effective any
amendment to an operating license or
combined license, as applicable, upon a
determination by the Commission that
such amendment involves no significant
hazards consideration, notwithstanding
the pendency before the Commission of
a request for a hearing from any person.
III. Notice of Consideration of Issuance
of Amendments to Facility Operating
Licenses and Combined Licenses and
Proposed No Significant Hazards
Consideration Determination
The Commission has made a
proposed determination that the
following amendment requests involve
no significant hazards consideration.
Under the Commission’s regulations in
§ 50.92 of title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR), this means that
operation of the facility in accordance
with the proposed amendment 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. The basis for this
proposed determination for each
amendment request is shown below.
The Commission is seeking public
comments on this proposed
determination. Any comments received
within 30 days after the date of
publication of this notice will be
considered in making any final
determination.
Normally, the Commission will not
issue the amendment until the
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 98 (Tuesday, May 21, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23072-23074]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-10541]
=======================================================================
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 72-30; NRC-2018-0255]
Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company; Maine Yankee 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 issuing an
environmental assessment (EA) and a finding of no significant impact
(FONSI) for its review and approval of the decommissioning funding
plans submitted by Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company (MYAPC) on January
8, 2013, and December 16, 2015, for the independent spent fuel storage
installation (ISFSI) at Maine Yankee in Wiscasset, Maine.
DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in this document are available on
May 21, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2018-0255 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-2018-0255. Address
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov 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 ``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]. For the convenience of the reader,
instructions about obtaining materials referenced in this document are
provided in the AVAILABILITY OF DOCUMENTS section.
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: Pamela Longmire, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-7465, email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The NRC is considering the approval of the decommissioning funding
plans (DFPs) for the Maine Yankee ISFSI. MYAPC submitted an initial DFP
and an updated DFP for NRC review and approval by letters dated January
8, 2013 (ADAMS Accession No. ML13045A487), and December 16, 2015 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML16015A050), respectively. The NRC staff has prepared a
final EA (ADAMS Package Accession No. ML19126A115) in support of its
review of MYAPC's DFPs, in accordance with the NRC regulations in part
51 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR),
``Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and
Related Regulatory Functions,'' which implement the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
Based on the EA, the NRC staff has determined that approval of the DFPs
for the Maine Yankee ISFSI will not significantly affect the quality of
the human environment, and accordingly, the staff has concluded that a
FONSI is appropriate. The NRC staff further finds that preparation of
an environmental impact statement (EIS) is not warranted.
II. Environmental Assessment
Background
The Maine Yankee ISFSI is located in Wiscasset, Maine. MYAPC is
authorized by the NRC, under License No. SFGL-14 to store spent nuclear
fuel at the Maine Yankee ISFSI.
The NRC requires its licensees to plan for the eventual
decommissioning of their licensed facilities prior to license
termination. On June 17, 2011, the NRC published a final rule in the
Federal Register amending its decommissioning planning regulations (76
FR 35512). The final rule amended the NRC regulation, 10 CFR 72.30,
which concerns financial assurance and decommissioning for ISFSIs. This
regulation now requires each holder of, or applicant for, a license
under 10 CFR part 72 to submit, for NRC review and approval, a DFP. The
purpose of the DFP is to demonstrate the licensee's financial
assurance, i.e., that funds will be available to decommission the
ISFSI. The NRC staff is reviewing the DFPs submitted by MYAPC on
January 8, 2013, and December 16, 2015. Specifically, the NRC must
determine whether MYAPC's DFPs contain the information required by 10
CFR 72.30(b) and 72.30(c) and whether MYAPC has provided reasonable
assurance that funds will be available to decommission the ISFSI.
Description of the Proposed Action
The proposed action is the NRC's review and approval of MYAPC's
DFPs submitted in accordance with 10 CFR 72.30(b) and 72.30(c). To
approve the DFPs, the NRC evaluates whether the decommissioning cost
estimate (DCE) adequately estimates the cost to conduct the required
ISFSI decommissioning activities prior to license termination,
including identification of the volume of onsite subsurface material
containing residual radioactivity that will require remediation to meet
the license termination criteria in 10 CFR 20.1402 or 10 CFR 20.1403.
The NRC also evaluates whether the aggregate dollar amount of MYAPC
financial instruments provides adequate financial assurance to cover
the DCE and that the financial instruments meet the criteria of 10 CFR
72.30(e). Finally, the NRC evaluates whether the effects of the
following events have been considered in MYAPC's submittal: (1) Spills
of radioactive material producing additional residual radioactivity in
onsite subsurface material; (2) facility modifications; (3) changes in
authorized possession limits; and (4) actual remediation costs that
exceed the previous cost estimate, consistent with 10 CFR 72.30(c).
The proposed action does not require any changes to the ISFSI's
licensed routine operations, maintenance activities, or monitoring
programs, nor does it require any new construction or land-disturbing
activities. The scope of the proposed action concerns only the NRC's
review and approval of MYAPC's DFPs. The scope of the proposed action
does not include, and will not result in, the review and approval of
any decontamination or decommissioning activity or license termination
for the ISFSI or any other part of Maine Yankee.
Need for the Proposed Action
The proposed action provides a means for the NRC to confirm that
[[Page 23073]]
MYAPC will have sufficient funding to cover the costs of
decommissioning the ISFSI, including the reduction of the residual
radioactivity at the ISFSI to the level specified by the applicable NRC
license termination regulations concerning release of the property (10
CFR 20.1402 or 10 CFR 20.1403).
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The NRC's approval of the DFPs will not change the scope or nature
of the operation of the ISFSI and will not authorize any changes to
licensed operations or maintenance activities. The NRC's approval of
the DFPs will not result in any changes in the types, characteristics,
or quantities of radiological or non-radiological effluents released
into the environment from the ISFSI, or result in the creation of any
solid waste. Moreover, the approval of the DFPs will not authorize any
construction activity or facility modification. Therefore, the NRC
staff concludes that the approval of MYAPC's DFPs is a procedural and
administrative action that will not result in any significant impact to
the environment.
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as
amended (54 U.S.C. 30618) (NHPA), requires Federal agencies to consider
the effects of their undertakings on historic properties. In accordance
with the NHPA implementing regulations at 36 CFR part 800, ``Protection
of Historic Properties,'' the NRC's approval of MYAPC's DFPs
constitutes a Federal undertaking. The NRC, however, has determined
that the approval of the DFPs is a type of undertaking that does not
have the potential to cause effects on historic properties, assuming
such historic properties were present, because the NRC's approval of
MYAPC's DFPs will not authorize or result in changes to licensed
operations or maintenance activities, or changes in the types,
characteristics, or quantities of radiological or non-radiological
effluents released into the environment from the ISFSI, or result in
the creation of any solid waste. Therefore, in accordance with 36 CFR
800.3(a)(1), no consultation is required under Section 106 of the NHPA.
Under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.) (ESA), prior to taking a proposed action, a Federal
agency must determine whether (i) endangered and threatened species or
their critical habitats are known to be in the vicinity of the proposed
action and if so, whether (ii) the proposed Federal action may affect
listed species or critical habitats. The NRC has determined that the
proposed action will have no effect on any listed species or their
critical habitats because the NRC's approval of MYAPC's DFPs will not
authorize or result in changes to licensed operations or maintenance
activities, or changes in the types, characteristics, or quantities of
radiological or non-radiological effluents released into the
environment from the ISFSI, or result in the creation of any solid
waste.
Alternative to the Proposed Action
In addition to the proposed action, the NRC evaluated the no-action
alternative. The no-action alternative is to deny MYAPC's DFPs. A
denial of a DFP that meets the criteria of 10 CFR 72.30(b) or 72.30(c)
does not support the regulatory intent of the 2011 rulemaking. As noted
in the EA for the 2011 rulemaking (ADAMS Accession No. ML090500648),
not promulgating the 2011 final rule would have increased the
likelihood of additional legacy sites. Thus, denying MYAPC's DFPs,
which the NRC has found to meet the criteria of 10 CFR 72.30(b) and
72.30(c), will undermine the licensee's decommissioning planning. On
this basis, the NRC has concluded that the no-action alternative is not
a viable alternative.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
The NRC staff consulted with other agencies and parties regarding
the environmental impacts of the proposed action. The NRC provided a
draft of its EA to the State of Maine's Division of Environmental
Health, Radiation Control Program (State) by letter dated September 26,
2016 (ADAMS Accession No. ML17083A018), and gave the State 30 days to
respond. The State did not respond. The NRC also consulted with the
Fish and Wildlife Service by letter dated September 26, 2016 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML16270A506). However, the NRC staff has determined that
consultation under ESA Section 7 is not required because the proposed
action is administrative/procedural in nature and will not affect
listed species or critical habitat (ADAMS Accession No. ML17135A062).
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The NRC staff has determined that the proposed action, the review
and approval of MYAPC's initial and updated DFPs, submitted in
accordance with 10 CFR 72.30(b) and 72.30(c), will not authorize or
result in changes to licensed operations or maintenance activities, or
changes in the types, characteristics, or quantities of radiological or
non-radiological effluents released into the environment from the
ISFSI, or result in the creation of any solid waste. Moreover, the
approval of the DFPs will not authorize any construction activity,
facility modification, or any other land-disturbing activity. The NRC
staff has concluded that the proposed action is a procedural and
administrative action and as such, that the proposed action will not
have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment.
Therefore, the NRC staff has determined not to prepare an EIS for the
proposed action but will issue this FONSI.
IV. Availability of Documents
The following documents, related to this notice, can be found using
any of the methods provided in the following table. Instructions for
accessing ADAMS were provided under the ADDRESSES section of this
document.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date Document ADAMS accession No.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 8, 2013......................... Submission of MYAPC ML13045A487
decommissioning funding plan.
December 16, 2015....................... Submission of MYAPC triennial ML16015A050
decommissioning funding plan.
February 1, 2009........................ Environmental Assessment for ML090500648
Final Rule--Decommissioning
Planning.
May 15, 2017............................ Note to File re Sct 7 ML17135A062
Consultations for ISFSI DFPs.
September 26, 2016...................... Consultation Letter: ML17083A018
ML16270A431-RLSO.
September 26, 2016...................... Letter to M. Miller re: U.S. ML16270A506
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission Preliminary
Determination of No Effects
Regarding the Yankee Nuclear
Power Station Independent
Spent Fuel Storage
Installation Decommissioning
Funding Plan.
May 3, 2019............................. NRC staff's Final EA for the ML19126A115
approval of the
decommissioning funding plan.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* (Package).
[[Page 23074]]
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day of May 2019.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John McKirgan,
Chief, Spent Fuel Licensing Branch, Division of Spent Fuel Management,
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2019-10541 Filed 5-20-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
