TMI-2SOLUTIONS, LLC.; Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit No. 2; Draft Environmental Assessment and Draft Finding of No Significant Impact, 47994-47996 [2024-12129]
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47994
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 108 / Tuesday, June 4, 2024 / Notices
Date and time: July 29, 2024; 2:00
p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Folk & Traditional Arts (review of
applications): This meeting will be
closed.
Date and time: July 30, 2024; 2:00
p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Folk & Traditional Arts (review of
applications): This meeting will be
closed.
Date and time: July 31, 2024; 2:00
p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Dated: May 30, 2024.
David Travis,
Specialist, National Endowment for the Arts.
[FR Doc. 2024–12243 Filed 6–3–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7537–01–P
NATIONAL FOUNDATION ON THE
ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES
National Endowment for the Arts
National Council on the Arts 213th
Meeting
National Endowment for the
Arts, National Foundation on the Arts
and Humanities.
ACTION: Notice of meeting.
AGENCY:
Pursuant to the Federal
Advisory Committee Act, as amended,
notice is hereby given that a meeting of
the National Council on the Arts will be
held open to the public for in-person
attendance as well as by
videoconference. Additional sessions
will be closed to the public for reasons
stated below.
DATES: See the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section for meeting time,
location, and date. The meeting is
located in the eastern time zone and the
ending time is approximate.
ADDRESSES: The National Endowment
for the Arts, Constitution Center, 400
Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC
20560. Public portions of this meeting
will be held in-person and by
videoconference at the location
specified in the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section of this notice.
Please see arts.gov for the most up-todate information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Liz
Auclair, Office of Public Affairs,
National Endowment for the Arts,
Washington, DC 20506, at 202/682–
5744.
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
SUMMARY:
The
meeting will take place on June 27 and
28, 2024 in Columbus, Ohio. The
meeting on June 28, 2024, from 11:30
a.m. to 1 p.m., will be open to the
public. If, in the course of the open
session discussion, it becomes necessary
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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for the Council to discuss non-public
commercial or financial information of
intrinsic value, the Council will go into
closed session pursuant to subsection
(c)(4) of the Government in the
Sunshine Act, 5 U.S.C. 552b, and in
accordance with the March 11, 2022
determination of the Chair.
Additionally, discussion concerning
purely personal information about
individuals, such as personal
biographical and salary data or medical
information, may be conducted by the
Council in closed session in accordance
with subsection (c)(6) of 5 U.S.C. 552b.
Meeting sessions that occur on June 27,
2024, will be closed to the public for the
aforementioned reasons.
Detailed Meeting Information:
Closed Session: June 27, 2024; 1:00
p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Location: Marriott
Renaissance Columbus Downtown
Hotel, 50 North Third Street, Columbus,
OH 43215, followed by site visits to area
arts venues.
Open Session: June 28, 2024; 11:30
a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Location: Lincoln
Theatre, 769 East Long Street,
Columbus, OH 43203. There will be
opening remarks and voting on
recommendations for grant funding and
rejection and updates from NEA Chair
Maria Rosario Jackson. This session will
be held open to the public for in-person
attendance and by videoconference. To
view the webcasting of this open session
of the meeting, go to: https://
www.arts.gov/. If you need special
accommodations due to a disability,
please contact Beth Bienvenu, Office of
Accessibility, National Endowment for
the Arts, Constitution Center, 400 7th
St. SW, Washington, DC 20506, 202/
682–5733, Voice/T.T.Y. 202/682–5496,
at least seven (7) days prior to the
meeting.
Dated: May 30, 2024.
Daniel Beattie,
Director, Office of Guidelines and Panel
Operations.
[FR Doc. 2024–12196 Filed 6–3–24; 8:45 am]
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teleconference of the National Science
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Commission on Merit Review (MRX) for
the transaction of National Science
Board business pursuant to the NSF Act
and the Government in the Sunshine
Act.
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Thursday, June 6, 2024,
from 5:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m. EDT.
PLACE: This meeting will be via
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STATUS: Closed.
MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: The agenda
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Collection Questions; Commission
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CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION:
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may be found at www.nsf.gov/nsb.
TIME AND DATE:
Ann E. Bushmiller,
Senior Counsel to the National Science Board
Office.
[FR Doc. 2024–12275 Filed 5–31–24; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 7555–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50–0320; NRC–2024–0099]
TMI–2SOLUTIONS, LLC.; Three Mile
Island Nuclear Station, Unit No. 2; Draft
Environmental Assessment and Draft
Finding of No Significant Impact
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request
for comment; issuance of programmatic
agreement.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is issuing for public
comment a draft environmental
assessment (EA) and draft finding of no
significant impact (FONSI) for a
proposed amendment of NRC
Possession Only License (POL) No.
DPR–73 for the Three Mile Island
Nuclear Station, Unit No. 2 (TMI–2),
located in Londonderry Township,
Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. The
proposed amendment would ensure that
TMI–2 Energy Solutions (TMI–
2Solutions) can continue
decommissioning the facility in
accordance with NRC regulations. TMI–
2Solutions will be engaging in certain
major decommissioning activities,
including the physical demolition of
buildings previously deemed eligible for
the National Register of Historic Places
(NRHP). The draft EA, ‘‘Environmental
Assessment for Specific
Decommissioning Activities at Three
Mile Island, Unit 2 in Dauphin County,
Pennsylvania,’’ documents the NRC
staff’s environmental review of the
license amendment application. The
SUMMARY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 108 / Tuesday, June 4, 2024 / Notices
NRC is also issuing a final Programmatic
Agreement (PA) under section 106 of
the National Historic Preservation Act
(NHPA).
Submit comments on the draft
EA by July 5, 2024. Comments received
after this date will be considered, if it
is practical to do so, but the
Commission is able to ensure
consideration only for comments
received on or before this date.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
by any of the following methods;
however, the NRC encourages electronic
comment submission through the
Federal rulemaking website:
• Federal rulemaking website: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2024–0099. Address
questions about Docket IDs to Stacy
Schumann; telephone: 301–415–0624;
email: Stacy.Schumann@nrc.gov. For
technical questions, contact the
individual 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
Commission, Washington, DC 20555–
0001, ATTN: Program Management,
Announcements and Editing Staff.
• Email comments to:
TMI2Environmental@nrc.gov.
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: Jean
Trefethen, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555–0001, telephone: 301–415–
0867; email: Jean.Trefethen@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
DATES:
I. Obtaining Information and
Submitting Comments
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2024–
0099 when contacting the NRC about
the availability of information regarding
this action. You may obtain publicly
available information related to this
action by the following methods:
• Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2024–0099.
• 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
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17:15 Jun 03, 2024
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‘‘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, at
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: The PDR, where you
may examine and order copies of
publicly available documents, is open
by appointment. To make an
appointment to visit the PDR, please
send an email to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov
or call 1–800–397–4209 or 301–415–
4737, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern
time (ET), Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
• NRC’s Public Project Website:
Information related to the TMI–2 project
can be accessed on NRC’s TMI–2 public
website at https://www.nrc.gov/infofinder/decommissioning/power-reactor/
three-mile-island-unit-2.html, under the
section titled ‘‘2.0 Site Status
Summary,’’ scroll down to
‘‘Environmental Review of Cultural and
Historic Resource Impacts from
Decommissioning Activities’’ and click
on Environmental Assessment (EA),
Draft Report for Comment.
B. Submitting Comments
The NRC encourages electronic
comment submission through the
Federal rulemaking website (https://
www.regulations.gov). Please include
Docket ID NRC–2024–0099 in the
subject line of 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.
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.
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47995
II. Background
The Three Mile Island Nuclear Station
(TMINS) is approximately 16 kilometers
(10 miles) southeast of Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania. The TMINS site includes
Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit
1 (TMl-1) and TMl-2. It encompasses
approximately 178 hectares (440 acres),
including the adjacent islands on the
north end, a strip of land on the
mainland along the eastern shore of the
river, and an area on the eastern shore
of Shelley Island. The TMINS site has
significance in U.S. history because it is
the site of the nation’s most serious
commercial nuclear power plant
accident, occurring at TMI–2. On March
28, 1979, TMI–2 experienced an
accident initiated by interruption of
secondary feedwater flow which led to
a core heat up that caused fuel damage.
The partial meltdown of the reactor core
led to a very small offsite release of
radioactivity. In response to this
accident many changes occurred at
nuclear power plants including
emergency response planning, reactor
operator training, human factors
engineering, radiation protection, and
heightened NRC regulatory oversight.
III. Introduction
By letter dated February 22, 2023
(ADAMS Accession No. ML23058A064),
TMI–2Solutions requested an
amendment to POL No. DPR–73. TMI–
2Solutions will be engaging in certain
major decommissioning activities,
including the physical demolition of
buildings previously deemed eligible for
the NRHP. Because the impacts on the
historic properties from these
decommissioning activities have not
been previously evaluated and are not
bounded by the impact’s discussion in
NUREG–0586, ‘‘Final Generic
Environmental Impact Statement on
Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities,’’
TMI–2Solutions requested an
amendment that would require
evaluation of the impacts of the
decommissioning activities on the
NRHP-eligible properties, in compliance
with paragraph 50.82(a)(6)(ii) of title 10
of the Code of Federal Regulations (10
CFR).
Pursuant to 36 CFR 800.8, the NRC is
using its National Environmental Policy
Act process for developing the
environmental assessment (EA) to
facilitate consultation pursuant to
section 106 of the NHPA.
Adverse effects to historic properties
would result from decommissioning
activities at TMI–2. Therefore, the NRC
and consulting parties proceeded with
development of a PA to resolve adverse
effects. On March 6, 2024 (89 FR 16037)
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47996
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 108 / Tuesday, June 4, 2024 / Notices
the draft PA was issued for public
review and comment. One comment
was received and considered before
finalizing the PA. The final PA (ADAMS
Accession No. ML24117A258) addresses
the potential direct and indirect adverse
effects from the decommissioning
activities and ensures that appropriate
mitigation measures are implemented.
The NRC is issuing the final PA, which
therefore, concludes NHPA Section 106
consultation.
In accordance with NRC’s regulations
in 10 CFR part 51, ‘‘Environmental
Protection Regulations for Domestic
Licensing and Related Regulatory
Functions,’’ that implement the
National Environment Protection
Agency (NEPA), the NRC staff has
prepared a draft EA documenting its
environmental review of the license
amendment application. Based on the
environmental review, the NRC has
made a preliminary determination that
the proposed action will not
significantly affect the quality of the
human environment and that a FONSI
is therefore appropriate. By this notice,
the NRC is requesting public comment
on the draft FONSI and supporting draft
EA.
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
IV. Summary of Draft Environmental
Assessment
The draft EA is publicly available in
ADAMS under Accession No.
ML24117A224. A summary description
of the proposed action and expected
environmental impacts is provided as
follows.
Description of the Proposed Action
The proposed action is to amend POL
No. DPR–73 so that TMI–2Solutions can
continue with certain major
decommissioning activities planned
under Phase 2 of its decommissioning
schedule. Phase 2 decommissioning
activities include the removal of any
radioactive components in preparation
for demolition of structures,
decommissioning and dismantlement of
the TMI–2 site to a level that permits the
release of the site, except for an area
potentially to be set aside for storage of
fuel-bearing material (small quantities of
spent nuclear fuel, damaged core
material, and high-level waste) on the
independent spent fuel storage
installation, backfilling of the site,
license termination plan submittal and
implementation, and site restoration
activities. In order to comply with 10
CFR 50.82(a)(6)(ii), TMI–2Solutions
requested that NRC evaluate the impacts
of certain major decommissioning
activities on historic and cultural
resources and NRHP-eligible properties.
The definition of major
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decommissioning activity is in 10 CFR
50.2, which states ‘‘Major
decommissioning activity means, for a
nuclear power reactor facility, any
activity that results in permanent
removal of major radioactive
components, permanently modifies the
structure of the containment, or results
in dismantling components for
shipment containing greater than class C
waste in accordance with § 61.55 of this
chapter.’’ Due to radioactive
contamination, the TMI–2 structures
must be demolished and removed
during decommissioning.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed
Action
In the draft EA, the staff assessed the
potential environmental impacts from
the proposed license amendment to the
following resource areas: land use;
visual and scenic resources; the geologic
environment; surface and groundwater
resources; ecological resources; air
quality; noise; historic and cultural
resources; socioeconomic conditions;
environmental justice; public and
occupational health; transportation; and
waste generation and management. The
NRC staff also considered the
cumulative impacts from past, present,
and reasonably foreseeable actions
when combined with the proposed
action. The TMI–2 Historic District
would be adversely affected by the
TMI–2 decommissioning, and adverse
effects cannot be avoided. The
mitigation of adverse effects to the TMI–
2 Historic District will be completed in
accordance with the TMI–2 Demolition
and Decommissioning Programmatic
Agreement (NRC 2024a).
As part of the NRC’s consultation
under Section 7 of the Endangered
Species Act, the NRC staff determined
that the proposed action may affect, but
is not likely to adversely affect, the
Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), northern
long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis),
tricolored bat (Perimyotis subflavus),
monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus),
northeastern bulrush (Scirpus
ancistrochaetus), or green floater
(Lasmigona subviridis). The NRC staff
transmitted an email to the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service for its review and
concurrence on May 24, 2024 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML24120A324).
All other potential impacts from the
proposed action were determined to not
be significant, as described in the draft
EA. The NRC staff found that there
would be no significant negative
cumulative impact to any resource area
from the proposed action when added to
other past, present, and reasonably
foreseeable actions.
PO 00000
Frm 00105
Fmt 4703
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Environmental Impacts of the
Alternative to the Proposed Action
As an alternative to the proposed
action, the NRC staff considered denial
of the proposed action (i.e., the ‘‘noaction’’ alternative). Under the no-action
alternative, the NRC would deny the
licensee’s request for an amendment to
allow for the continuation of major
decommissioning activities under Phase
2. In this case, the NRC staff would not
review the historic and cultural resource
impacts of the major decommissioning
activities as defined in 10 CFR 50.2 and
would therefore disallow the removal of
NRHP-eligible structures and any
impacts to historic and cultural
resources. However, due to the presence
of radioactive contamination, TMI–2
structures, including the NRHP-eligible
structures, must be removed during the
decommissioning process. Therefore,
the NRC staff concludes that denying
the amendment request is not a
reasonable alternative.
V. Draft Finding of No Significant
Impact
In accordance with the NEPA and 10
CFR part 51, the NRC staff has
conducted an environmental review of a
request for an amendment to POL No.
DPR–73. The proposed amendment
would revise POL No. DPR–73 to allow
the licensee to conduct
decommissioning at TMI–2 covering
activities that were not previously
addressed in the staff’s environmental
assessments (site-specific historical and
cultural resources). Based on its
environmental review of the proposed
action, as documented in the draft EA,
the NRC staff has preliminarily
determined that granting the requested
license amendment would not
significantly affect the quality of the
human environment. Therefore, the
NRC staff has preliminarily determined,
pursuant to 10 CFR 51.31, that
preparation of an environmental impact
statement is not required for the
proposed action and a FONSI is
appropriate. Pursuant to 10 CFR
51.33(a), the NRC staff is making the
draft FONSI and draft EA available for
public review and comment.
Dated: May 29, 2024.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Robert Sun,
Chief, Environmental Project Management
Branch 2, Division of Rulemaking,
Environmental, and Financial Support, Office
of Nuclear Material Safety, and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2024–12129 Filed 6–3–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 108 (Tuesday, June 4, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47994-47996]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-12129]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-0320; NRC-2024-0099]
TMI-2SOLUTIONS, LLC.; Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit No.
2; Draft Environmental Assessment and Draft Finding of No Significant
Impact
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment; issuance of
programmatic agreement.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for
public comment a draft environmental assessment (EA) and draft finding
of no significant impact (FONSI) for a proposed amendment of NRC
Possession Only License (POL) No. DPR-73 for the Three Mile Island
Nuclear Station, Unit No. 2 (TMI-2), located in Londonderry Township,
Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. The proposed amendment would ensure that
TMI-2 Energy Solutions (TMI-2Solutions) can continue decommissioning
the facility in accordance with NRC regulations. TMI-2Solutions will be
engaging in certain major decommissioning activities, including the
physical demolition of buildings previously deemed eligible for the
National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The draft EA,
``Environmental Assessment for Specific Decommissioning Activities at
Three Mile Island, Unit 2 in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania,'' documents
the NRC staff's environmental review of the license amendment
application. The
[[Page 47995]]
NRC is also issuing a final Programmatic Agreement (PA) under section
106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).
DATES: Submit comments on the draft EA by July 5, 2024. Comments
received after this date will be considered, if it is practical to do
so, but the Commission is able to ensure consideration only for
comments received on or before this date.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods;
however, the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the
Federal rulemaking website:
Federal rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2024-0099. Address
questions about Docket IDs to Stacy Schumann; telephone: 301-415-0624;
email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact the
individual 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 Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff.
Email comments to: [email protected].
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: Jean Trefethen, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-0867; email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0099 when contacting the NRC
about the availability of information regarding this action. You may
obtain publicly available information related to this action by the
following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2024-0099.
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, at 301-415-4737,
or by email to [email protected]. 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: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. To make an
appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8
a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
NRC's Public Project Website: Information related to the
TMI-2 project can be accessed on NRC's TMI-2 public website at https://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/decommissioning/power-reactor/three-mile-island-unit-2.html, under the section titled ``2.0 Site Status
Summary,'' scroll down to ``Environmental Review of Cultural and
Historic Resource Impacts from Decommissioning Activities'' and click
on Environmental Assessment (EA), Draft Report for Comment.
B. Submitting Comments
The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the
Federal rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please
include Docket ID NRC-2024-0099 in the subject line of 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. 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
The Three Mile Island Nuclear Station (TMINS) is approximately 16
kilometers (10 miles) southeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The TMINS
site includes Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1 (TMl-1) and
TMl-2. It encompasses approximately 178 hectares (440 acres), including
the adjacent islands on the north end, a strip of land on the mainland
along the eastern shore of the river, and an area on the eastern shore
of Shelley Island. The TMINS site has significance in U.S. history
because it is the site of the nation's most serious commercial nuclear
power plant accident, occurring at TMI-2. On March 28, 1979, TMI-2
experienced an accident initiated by interruption of secondary
feedwater flow which led to a core heat up that caused fuel damage. The
partial meltdown of the reactor core led to a very small offsite
release of radioactivity. In response to this accident many changes
occurred at nuclear power plants including emergency response planning,
reactor operator training, human factors engineering, radiation
protection, and heightened NRC regulatory oversight.
III. Introduction
By letter dated February 22, 2023 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML23058A064), TMI-2Solutions requested an amendment to POL No. DPR-73.
TMI-2Solutions will be engaging in certain major decommissioning
activities, including the physical demolition of buildings previously
deemed eligible for the NRHP. Because the impacts on the historic
properties from these decommissioning activities have not been
previously evaluated and are not bounded by the impact's discussion in
NUREG-0586, ``Final Generic Environmental Impact Statement on
Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities,'' TMI-2Solutions requested an
amendment that would require evaluation of the impacts of the
decommissioning activities on the NRHP-eligible properties, in
compliance with paragraph 50.82(a)(6)(ii) of title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR).
Pursuant to 36 CFR 800.8, the NRC is using its National
Environmental Policy Act process for developing the environmental
assessment (EA) to facilitate consultation pursuant to section 106 of
the NHPA.
Adverse effects to historic properties would result from
decommissioning activities at TMI-2. Therefore, the NRC and consulting
parties proceeded with development of a PA to resolve adverse effects.
On March 6, 2024 (89 FR 16037)
[[Page 47996]]
the draft PA was issued for public review and comment. One comment was
received and considered before finalizing the PA. The final PA (ADAMS
Accession No. ML24117A258) addresses the potential direct and indirect
adverse effects from the decommissioning activities and ensures that
appropriate mitigation measures are implemented. The NRC is issuing the
final PA, which therefore, concludes NHPA Section 106 consultation.
In accordance with NRC's regulations in 10 CFR part 51,
``Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and
Related Regulatory Functions,'' that implement the National Environment
Protection Agency (NEPA), the NRC staff has prepared a draft EA
documenting its environmental review of the license amendment
application. Based on the environmental review, the NRC has made a
preliminary determination that the proposed action will not
significantly affect the quality of the human environment and that a
FONSI is therefore appropriate. By this notice, the NRC is requesting
public comment on the draft FONSI and supporting draft EA.
IV. Summary of Draft Environmental Assessment
The draft EA is publicly available in ADAMS under Accession No.
ML24117A224. A summary description of the proposed action and expected
environmental impacts is provided as follows.
Description of the Proposed Action
The proposed action is to amend POL No. DPR-73 so that TMI-
2Solutions can continue with certain major decommissioning activities
planned under Phase 2 of its decommissioning schedule. Phase 2
decommissioning activities include the removal of any radioactive
components in preparation for demolition of structures, decommissioning
and dismantlement of the TMI-2 site to a level that permits the release
of the site, except for an area potentially to be set aside for storage
of fuel-bearing material (small quantities of spent nuclear fuel,
damaged core material, and high-level waste) on the independent spent
fuel storage installation, backfilling of the site, license termination
plan submittal and implementation, and site restoration activities. In
order to comply with 10 CFR 50.82(a)(6)(ii), TMI-2Solutions requested
that NRC evaluate the impacts of certain major decommissioning
activities on historic and cultural resources and NRHP-eligible
properties. The definition of major decommissioning activity is in 10
CFR 50.2, which states ``Major decommissioning activity means, for a
nuclear power reactor facility, any activity that results in permanent
removal of major radioactive components, permanently modifies the
structure of the containment, or results in dismantling components for
shipment containing greater than class C waste in accordance with Sec.
61.55 of this chapter.'' Due to radioactive contamination, the TMI-2
structures must be demolished and removed during decommissioning.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
In the draft EA, the staff assessed the potential environmental
impacts from the proposed license amendment to the following resource
areas: land use; visual and scenic resources; the geologic environment;
surface and groundwater resources; ecological resources; air quality;
noise; historic and cultural resources; socioeconomic conditions;
environmental justice; public and occupational health; transportation;
and waste generation and management. The NRC staff also considered the
cumulative impacts from past, present, and reasonably foreseeable
actions when combined with the proposed action. The TMI-2 Historic
District would be adversely affected by the TMI-2 decommissioning, and
adverse effects cannot be avoided. The mitigation of adverse effects to
the TMI-2 Historic District will be completed in accordance with the
TMI-2 Demolition and Decommissioning Programmatic Agreement (NRC
2024a).
As part of the NRC's consultation under Section 7 of the Endangered
Species Act, the NRC staff determined that the proposed action may
affect, but is not likely to adversely affect, the Indiana bat (Myotis
sodalis), northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis), tricolored
bat (Perimyotis subflavus), monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus),
northeastern bulrush (Scirpus ancistrochaetus), or green floater
(Lasmigona subviridis). The NRC staff transmitted an email to the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service for its review and concurrence on May 24,
2024 (ADAMS Accession No. ML24120A324).
All other potential impacts from the proposed action were
determined to not be significant, as described in the draft EA. The NRC
staff found that there would be no significant negative cumulative
impact to any resource area from the proposed action when added to
other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable actions.
Environmental Impacts of the Alternative to the Proposed Action
As an alternative to the proposed action, the NRC staff considered
denial of the proposed action (i.e., the ``no-action'' alternative).
Under the no-action alternative, the NRC would deny the licensee's
request for an amendment to allow for the continuation of major
decommissioning activities under Phase 2. In this case, the NRC staff
would not review the historic and cultural resource impacts of the
major decommissioning activities as defined in 10 CFR 50.2 and would
therefore disallow the removal of NRHP-eligible structures and any
impacts to historic and cultural resources. However, due to the
presence of radioactive contamination, TMI-2 structures, including the
NRHP-eligible structures, must be removed during the decommissioning
process. Therefore, the NRC staff concludes that denying the amendment
request is not a reasonable alternative.
V. Draft Finding of No Significant Impact
In accordance with the NEPA and 10 CFR part 51, the NRC staff has
conducted an environmental review of a request for an amendment to POL
No. DPR-73. The proposed amendment would revise POL No. DPR-73 to allow
the licensee to conduct decommissioning at TMI-2 covering activities
that were not previously addressed in the staff's environmental
assessments (site-specific historical and cultural resources). Based on
its environmental review of the proposed action, as documented in the
draft EA, the NRC staff has preliminarily determined that granting the
requested license amendment would not significantly affect the quality
of the human environment. Therefore, the NRC staff has preliminarily
determined, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.31, that preparation of an
environmental impact statement is not required for the proposed action
and a FONSI is appropriate. Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.33(a), the NRC staff
is making the draft FONSI and draft EA available for public review and
comment.
Dated: May 29, 2024.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Robert Sun,
Chief, Environmental Project Management Branch 2, Division of
Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial Support, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety, and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2024-12129 Filed 6-3-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P