General Electric Hitachi; Vallecitos Boiling Water Reactor Developmental Power Reactor; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact, 83521-83523 [2024-23863]
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General Electric Hitachi; Vallecitos
Boiling Water Reactor Developmental
Power Reactor; Environmental
Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Notice; issuance.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is issuing a finding
of no significant impact (FONSI) and
accompanying environmental
assessment (EA) regarding the NRC’s
consideration of a license amendment
request from General Electric Hitachi
(GEH or the licensee) seeking approval
of a license termination plan (LTP) for
the Vallecitos Boiling Water Reactor
(VBWR) Developmental Power Reactor
(DPR)–1. If approved, the amendment
would add a license condition to the
license reflecting the NRC’s approval of
its LTP. Based on the EA, the NRC staff
has concluded that there will be no
significant impacts to environmental
resources from the requested license
amendment, and therefore, a FONSI is
appropriate.
DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in
this document are available September
30, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID
NRC–2024–0175 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–2024–0175. Address
questions about Docket IDs in
Regulations.gov 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.
• 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
PDR.Resource@nrc.gov. For the
convenience of the reader, instructions
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\16OCN1.SGM
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83522
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 200 / Wednesday, October 16, 2024 / Notices
about obtaining materials referenced in
this document are provided in the
‘‘Availability of Documents’’ section.
• 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill
Caverly, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555–0001, telephone: 301–415–
76744; email: Jill.Caverly@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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I. Introduction
The NRC is considering issuance of a
license amendment for approval of an
LTP for the VBWR DPR–1 located in
Alameda County, California, as part of
a part 50 of title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR),
‘‘Domestic Licensing of Production and
Utilization Facilities,’’ Facility
Operating License No. DPR–1. If
granted, the license amendment would
add a condition reflecting the NRC’s
approval of the LTP and establishing
criteria for determining when changes to
the LTP require prior NRC approval. As
required by 10 CFR part 51,
‘‘Environmental Protection Regulations
for Domestic Licensing and Related
Regulatory Functions,’’ the NRC
prepared an EA. Based on the results of
the EA, the NRC has determined not to
prepare an environmental impact
statement for the license amendment
request and is issuing a FONSI.
General Electric (GE) was issued a
license for Construction Permit Power
Reactor-3 to construct and operate the
VBWR on May 14, 1956, as DPR.
License CX–2 to operate DPR was issued
on July 29, 1957, and initial criticality
was achieved on August 3, 1957.
License DPR–1 was issued to GE on
August 31, 1957, and full power was
attained on October 19, 1957. The
VBWR ceased operations on December
9, 1963, was defueled on December 24,
1963, and GE was issued a license to
possess but not operate the VBWR by
the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission,
the predecessor of the NRC, on
September 9, 1965. The license was
renewed in 1973 and has remained
effective under the provisions of 10 CFR
50.51(b). On October 22, 2007, license
DPR–1 amendment 21 was issued,
transitioning ownership of the VBWR
from GE to GEH.
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16:43 Oct 15, 2024
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The facility has been maintained in
SAFSTOR (i.e., the facility is placed in
a safe, stable condition and maintained
in that state (safe storage) until it is
subsequently decontaminated and
dismantled to levels that permit license
termination) condition and the VBWR
has been monitored. The licensee
submitted the Limited Post-Shutdown
Decommissioning Activities Report in
2022 that describes a change in the
VBWR status from SAFSTOR to DECON
(i.e., where radioactive contaminants are
promptly removed or decontaminated).
Currently, all VBWR spent fuel has been
removed from both the reactor and the
site.
The licensee submitted the LTP on
September 15, 2023, in accordance with
10 CFR 50.82(a)(9). The NRC held a
public meeting related to the LTP
request in Pleasanton, California, on
May 21, 2024. The meeting covered the
NRC’s decommissioning process, the
process for approving the LTP, and
addressed public questions and
comments on the LTP.
II. Environmental Assessment
Description of the Proposed Action
The proposed action is the review and
subsequent approval, if appropriate, of a
license amendment to approve the LTP
for the VBWR. If approved, the
amendment would add a license
condition reflecting the NRC’s approval
of the LTP and establishing criteria for
determining when changes to the LTP
require prior NRC approval. The
proposed action is described in the LTP
application dated September 15, 2023,
an application supplement dated
October 31, 2023, and responses to
requests for additional information.
Purpose and Need for the Proposed
Action
The purpose of and need for the
proposed action is to allow completion
of decommissioning of the VBWR site,
termination of the VBWR operating
license by the NRC, and subsequent
release of the site for unrestricted use.
The NRC regulation at 10 CFR 50.82 sets
forth the process for the licensee to
decommission its nuclear power plant,
including submission of the LTP. The
NRC will approve the LTP, provided
that the LTP meets the criteria in 10
CFR 50.82(a)(10).
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed
Action
The NRC staff considered the
potential impacts of the proposed action
on land use; visual and scenic
resources/aesthetics; climatology,
meteorology, and air quality; noise;
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geology and soils; water resources;
historic and cultural resources;
ecological resources; socioeconomics;
public and occupational health;
transportation and traffic;
environmental justice; and waste
management. The final Generic
Environmental Impact Statement on
Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities
(NUREG–0586 or Decommissioning
GEIS) generically addressed many of the
potential environmental impacts of
decommissioning at the VBWR. During
its review of the LTP, the NRC
concluded that the impacts for most
resource areas—onsite land use; water
resources; air quality; ecology within
the operational area; socioeconomics;
historic and cultural resources within
the operational area; aesthetics; noise;
and transportation—were still bounded
by the generic environmental impacts
statement in the Decommissioning
GEIS. Therefore, the NRC does not
expect impacts associated with these
issues beyond those discussed in the
NUREG–0586, which concluded that the
impact level for these issues was
SMALL.
In the EA, the NRC staff evaluated the
potential environmental impacts on the
six site-specific environmental resource
areas as well as the five resource areas
not evaluated in the Decommissioning
GEIS and did not identify any
significant impacts. There are no
planned activities outside of the
operational area, and the licensee plans
to use best management practices and
approved decommissioning practices for
any decommissioning activities.
Therefore, the proposed action would
result in no significant impacts and
there would be no significant
cumulative effects when added to the
past, present, or reasonably foreseeable
future actions at the VBWR site.
Environmental Impacts of the
Alternatives to the Proposed Action
As an alternative to the proposed
action, the staff considered the ‘‘noaction’’ alternative. Under the no-action
alternative, the NRC would not approve
the LTP or the license amendment
request because regulatory requirements
have not been met.
If the NRC was unable to approve the
LTP because the regulatory
requirements were not met, GEH would
need to take additional actions to
prepare an LTP that meets the
requirements in 10 CFR 50.82(a)(10).
Under that scenario, GEH would
resubmit the LTP, activities at the
VBWR would likely continue, and the
environmental impacts would not
change as a result of the additional time
required for the LTP resubmission.
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 200 / Wednesday, October 16, 2024 / Notices
Agencies and Persons Consulted
On August 13, 2024, the NRC staff
provided a copy of the draft EA to the
State of California Department of Public
Health for its review and comment. The
State responded in a letter dated
September 12, 2024. The NRC staff
updated the EA to incorporate the
State’s comments where appropriate.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
Based on its review of the proposed
license amendment request, in
accordance with the requirements of 10
CFR part 51, the NRC staff has
determined that issuing the requested
amendment, if appropriate, amending
GEH’s DPR–1 license would not
significantly affect the quality of human
environment. No significant radiological
or non-radiological impacts are
expected from the proposed action.
Therefore, the NRC staff has determined
that pursuant to 10 CFR 51.31,
‘‘Determinations based on
environmental assessment,’’ preparation
of an EIS is not required for the
proposed action, and pursuant to 10
CFR 51.32, ‘‘Finding of no significant
impact,’’ a FONSI is appropriate. In
accordance with 10 CFR 51.32(a)(4), this
FONSI incorporates the EA set forth in
this notice by reference.
IV. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the
following table are available to
interested persons through ADAMS.
ADAMS accession
No.
Document description
General Electric Hitachi. License Termination Plan for the Vallecitos Boiling Water Reactor License DPR–1, dated September 15, 2023 .........................................................................................................................................................................
General Electric Hitachi. GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas, LLC, Vallecitos Boiling Water Reactor Environmental Report,
dated August 18, 2023 ...............................................................................................................................................................
General Electric Hitachi. GEH Vallecitos Nuclear Center, Email: Response to Acceptance Review of the VBWR License Termination Plan, dated October 31, 2023 .....................................................................................................................................
General Electric Hitachi. GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas, LLC, Vallecitos Boiling Water Reactor (VBWR) License Termination Plan, dated August 18, 2023 ......................................................................................................................................
General Electric Hitachi. Response to Request for Additional Information, dated March 25, 2024 ............................................
NorthStar Vallecitos, LLC. Update to License Termination Plan for the Vallecitos Boiling Water Reactor—Environmental Report, Vallecitos Nuclear Center, dated August 7, 2024 .............................................................................................................
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Email: Request for State review of an environmental assessment for the GEH
Vallecitos Boiling Water Reactor, dated August 13, 2024 ........................................................................................................
California Department of Health response to a request for review of the GEH Vallecitos VBWR LTP draft environmental assessment, dated September 12, 2024 .......................................................................................................................................
US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Environmental Assessment for the License Termination Plan for the Vallecitos Boiling
Water Reactor at the General Electric Vallecitos Nuclear Center, Sunol, California, dated September 30, 2024 ..................
Dated: October 10, 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. 2024–23863 Filed 10–15–24; 8:45 am]
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 200 (Wednesday, October 16, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 83521-83523]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-23863]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-018; NRC-2024-0175]
General Electric Hitachi; Vallecitos Boiling Water Reactor
Developmental Power Reactor; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice; issuance.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a
finding of no significant impact (FONSI) and accompanying environmental
assessment (EA) regarding the NRC's consideration of a license
amendment request from General Electric Hitachi (GEH or the licensee)
seeking approval of a license termination plan (LTP) for the Vallecitos
Boiling Water Reactor (VBWR) Developmental Power Reactor (DPR)-1. If
approved, the amendment would add a license condition to the license
reflecting the NRC's approval of its LTP. Based on the EA, the NRC
staff has concluded that there will be no significant impacts to
environmental resources from the requested license amendment, and
therefore, a FONSI is appropriate.
DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in this document are available
September 30, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0175 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-2024-0175. Address
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov 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.
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]. For the convenience of the reader,
instructions
[[Page 83522]]
about obtaining materials referenced in this document are provided in
the ``Availability of Documents'' section.
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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill Caverly, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-76744; email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The NRC is considering issuance of a license amendment for approval
of an LTP for the VBWR DPR-1 located in Alameda County, California, as
part of a part 50 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10
CFR), ``Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities,''
Facility Operating License No. DPR-1. If granted, the license amendment
would add a condition reflecting the NRC's approval of the LTP and
establishing criteria for determining when changes to the LTP require
prior NRC approval. As required by 10 CFR part 51, ``Environmental
Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory
Functions,'' the NRC prepared an EA. Based on the results of the EA,
the NRC has determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement
for the license amendment request and is issuing a FONSI.
General Electric (GE) was issued a license for Construction Permit
Power Reactor-3 to construct and operate the VBWR on May 14, 1956, as
DPR. License CX-2 to operate DPR was issued on July 29, 1957, and
initial criticality was achieved on August 3, 1957. License DPR-1 was
issued to GE on August 31, 1957, and full power was attained on October
19, 1957. The VBWR ceased operations on December 9, 1963, was defueled
on December 24, 1963, and GE was issued a license to possess but not
operate the VBWR by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, the predecessor
of the NRC, on September 9, 1965. The license was renewed in 1973 and
has remained effective under the provisions of 10 CFR 50.51(b). On
October 22, 2007, license DPR-1 amendment 21 was issued, transitioning
ownership of the VBWR from GE to GEH.
The facility has been maintained in SAFSTOR (i.e., the facility is
placed in a safe, stable condition and maintained in that state (safe
storage) until it is subsequently decontaminated and dismantled to
levels that permit license termination) condition and the VBWR has been
monitored. The licensee submitted the Limited Post-Shutdown
Decommissioning Activities Report in 2022 that describes a change in
the VBWR status from SAFSTOR to DECON (i.e., where radioactive
contaminants are promptly removed or decontaminated). Currently, all
VBWR spent fuel has been removed from both the reactor and the site.
The licensee submitted the LTP on September 15, 2023, in accordance
with 10 CFR 50.82(a)(9). The NRC held a public meeting related to the
LTP request in Pleasanton, California, on May 21, 2024. The meeting
covered the NRC's decommissioning process, the process for approving
the LTP, and addressed public questions and comments on the LTP.
II. Environmental Assessment
Description of the Proposed Action
The proposed action is the review and subsequent approval, if
appropriate, of a license amendment to approve the LTP for the VBWR. If
approved, the amendment would add a license condition reflecting the
NRC's approval of the LTP and establishing criteria for determining
when changes to the LTP require prior NRC approval. The proposed action
is described in the LTP application dated September 15, 2023, an
application supplement dated October 31, 2023, and responses to
requests for additional information.
Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action
The purpose of and need for the proposed action is to allow
completion of decommissioning of the VBWR site, termination of the VBWR
operating license by the NRC, and subsequent release of the site for
unrestricted use. The NRC regulation at 10 CFR 50.82 sets forth the
process for the licensee to decommission its nuclear power plant,
including submission of the LTP. The NRC will approve the LTP, provided
that the LTP meets the criteria in 10 CFR 50.82(a)(10).
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The NRC staff considered the potential impacts of the proposed
action on land use; visual and scenic resources/aesthetics;
climatology, meteorology, and air quality; noise; geology and soils;
water resources; historic and cultural resources; ecological resources;
socioeconomics; public and occupational health; transportation and
traffic; environmental justice; and waste management. The final Generic
Environmental Impact Statement on Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities
(NUREG-0586 or Decommissioning GEIS) generically addressed many of the
potential environmental impacts of decommissioning at the VBWR. During
its review of the LTP, the NRC concluded that the impacts for most
resource areas--onsite land use; water resources; air quality; ecology
within the operational area; socioeconomics; historic and cultural
resources within the operational area; aesthetics; noise; and
transportation--were still bounded by the generic environmental impacts
statement in the Decommissioning GEIS. Therefore, the NRC does not
expect impacts associated with these issues beyond those discussed in
the NUREG-0586, which concluded that the impact level for these issues
was SMALL.
In the EA, the NRC staff evaluated the potential environmental
impacts on the six site-specific environmental resource areas as well
as the five resource areas not evaluated in the Decommissioning GEIS
and did not identify any significant impacts. There are no planned
activities outside of the operational area, and the licensee plans to
use best management practices and approved decommissioning practices
for any decommissioning activities. Therefore, the proposed action
would result in no significant impacts and there would be no
significant cumulative effects when added to the past, present, or
reasonably foreseeable future actions at the VBWR site.
Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action
As an alternative to the proposed action, the staff considered the
``no-action'' alternative. Under the no-action alternative, the NRC
would not approve the LTP or the license amendment request because
regulatory requirements have not been met.
If the NRC was unable to approve the LTP because the regulatory
requirements were not met, GEH would need to take additional actions to
prepare an LTP that meets the requirements in 10 CFR 50.82(a)(10).
Under that scenario, GEH would resubmit the LTP, activities at the VBWR
would likely continue, and the environmental impacts would not change
as a result of the additional time required for the LTP resubmission.
[[Page 83523]]
Agencies and Persons Consulted
On August 13, 2024, the NRC staff provided a copy of the draft EA
to the State of California Department of Public Health for its review
and comment. The State responded in a letter dated September 12, 2024.
The NRC staff updated the EA to incorporate the State's comments where
appropriate.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
Based on its review of the proposed license amendment request, in
accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR part 51, the NRC staff has
determined that issuing the requested amendment, if appropriate,
amending GEH's DPR-1 license would not significantly affect the quality
of human environment. No significant radiological or non-radiological
impacts are expected from the proposed action. Therefore, the NRC staff
has determined that pursuant to 10 CFR 51.31, ``Determinations based on
environmental assessment,'' preparation of an EIS is not required for
the proposed action, and pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, ``Finding of no
significant impact,'' a FONSI is appropriate. In accordance with 10 CFR
51.32(a)(4), this FONSI incorporates the EA set forth in this notice by
reference.
IV. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the following table are available to
interested persons through ADAMS.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADAMS accession
Document description No.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
General Electric Hitachi. License Termination Plan ML23261A591
for the Vallecitos Boiling Water Reactor License DPR- (Package)
1, dated September 15, 2023.........................
General Electric Hitachi. GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy ML23261A593
Americas, LLC, Vallecitos Boiling Water Reactor
Environmental Report, dated August 18, 2023.........
General Electric Hitachi. GEH Vallecitos Nuclear ML23304A300
Center, Email: Response to Acceptance Review of the
VBWR License Termination Plan, dated October 31,
2023................................................
General Electric Hitachi. GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy ML23261A594
Americas, LLC, Vallecitos Boiling Water Reactor
(VBWR) License Termination Plan, dated August 18,
2023................................................
General Electric Hitachi. Response to Request for ML24085A792
Additional Information, dated March 25, 2024........
NorthStar Vallecitos, LLC. Update to License ML24220A200
Termination Plan for the Vallecitos Boiling Water
Reactor--Environmental Report, Vallecitos Nuclear
Center, dated August 7, 2024........................
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Email: Request ML24283A171
for State review of an environmental assessment for
the GEH Vallecitos Boiling Water Reactor, dated
August 13, 2024.....................................
California Department of Health response to a request ML24260A220
for review of the GEH Vallecitos VBWR LTP draft
environmental assessment, dated September 12, 2024..
US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Environmental ML24274A192
Assessment for the License Termination Plan for the
Vallecitos Boiling Water Reactor at the General
Electric Vallecitos Nuclear Center, Sunol,
California, dated September 30, 2024................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dated: October 10, 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. 2024-23863 Filed 10-15-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
