[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 169 (Thursday, August 30, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45876-45877]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-21936]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-237]
Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Dresden Nuclear Power Station,
Unit 2; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering
issuance of an exemption from certain requirements of 10 CFR
50.55a(g)(6)(ii)(B), ``Expedited Examination of Containment,'' for
Facility Operating License No. DPR-19, issued to Exelon Generation
Company, LLC (Exelon, or the licensee) for operation of the Dresden
Nuclear Power Station, Unit 2, located in Grundy County, Illinois.
Therefore, as required by 10 CFR 51.21, the NRC is issuing this
environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact.
Environmental Assessment
Identification of the Proposed Action
The licensee has requested a schedular exemption for Dresden
Nuclear Power Station (DNPS), Unit 2, for implementation of inservice
examinations of the containment prior to September 9, 2001, as required
by 10 CFR 50.55a(g)(6)(ii)(B), ``Expedited Examination of
Containment.'' This schedular exemption is requested to extend the
implementation date by a maximum of 90 days to allow completion of
first period examinations during the next refueling outage for Unit 2,
D2R17, currently scheduled to begin in October 2001.
The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's
application dated December 8, 2000, as supplemented by letter dated
February 2, 2001.
The Need for the Proposed Action
The proposed schedular exemption is needed to prevent a forced
shutdown of Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Unit 2. 10 CFR
50.55a(g)(6)(ii)(B) requires that licensees of all operating nuclear
power plants shall implement the inservice examinations for the first
period of the first inspection interval specified in ASME Subsection
IWE of the 1992 Edition with the 1992 Addenda in conjunction with the
modifications specified in 10 CFR 50.55a(b)(2)(ix) by September 9,
2001. The last opportunity to complete the first period containment
examinations was during the last refueling outage, D2R16, completed on
October 27, 1999. During that outage, the licensee made good faith
efforts to complete the necessary inservice examinations. However, the
licensee has subsequently determined that a number of examinations must
be re-performed. Without the requested schedular exemption, the
licensee would be forced to shut down the facility in order to complete
the inservice examinations required by regulation.
Areas accessible for inspection during normal operation will be
completed by September 9, 2001. However, the next available opportunity
to perform all the remaining containment examinations is the next
refueling outage, which is scheduled to begin in October 2001. Previous
Unit 2 containment inspections have not identified any areas of
containment degradation that could impact the structural integrity of
containment. A general visual examination of accessible surface areas
was performed during the D2R16 refueling outage. The general visual
examination was preformed in accordance with the ASME B&PV Code Section
XI, 1992 Edition with 1992 Addenda and included accessible surface
areas of the containment structure and containment penetrations. The
requested 90-day extension is of relatively short duration that would
not permit a significant increase in any degradation that has developed
since the previous general visual examination performed during D2R16.
If a separate outage were required to perform containment
inspections in accordance with the current inspection implementation
date, DNPS, Unit 2, would be subject to undue hardships or other costs
that result from lost generation. Therefore, an extension of the
September 9, 2001, implementation date is requested.
10 CFR 50.12 permits the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to grant
exemptions which are authorized by law, will not present undue risk to
the health and safety of the public, and are consistent with the common
defense and security, provided that special circumstances are present.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.12 (a)(2), the Commission believes that special
circumstances exist in that the requested schedular extension is
required to prevent the forced shutdown of DNPS, Unit 2. Preparations
for a refueling outage are proceeding based on a scheduled shutdown in
October 2001. A separate outage would present undue hardship and costs
due to lost generation and increased radiological exposure to DNPS
personnel. The requested exemption will only provide temporary relief
from the applicable regulation and does not jeopardize the health and
safety of the public.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The Commission has completed its evaluation of the proposed action
and concludes that there are no significant adverse environmental
impacts associated with the proposed action.
The proposed action will not significantly increase the probability
or consequences of accidents, no changes are being made in the types of
any effluents that may be released offsite, and there is no significant
increase in occupational or public radiation exposure. Therefore, there
are no significant radiological environmental impacts associated with
the proposed action.
With regard to potential non-radiological environmental impacts,
the proposed action does not involve any historic sites. It does not
affect non-radiological plant effluents and has no other environmental
impact. Therefore, there are no significant non-radiological impacts
associated with the proposed action.
Accordingly, the Commission concludes that there are no significant
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.
Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action
As an alternative to the proposed action, the staff considered
denial of the proposed action (i.e., the ``no-action'' alternative).
Denial of the application would result in no change in current
environmental impacts. The environmental impacts of the proposed action
and the alternative action are similar.
Alternative Use of Resources
The action does not involve the use of any different resource than
those previously considered in the Final Environmental Statement for
the Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Units 2 and 3, dated November 1973.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
On July 24, 2001, the staff consulted with the Illinois State
official, Frank Niziolek, of the Illinois Department of
[[Page 45877]]
Nuclear Safety, regarding the environmental impact of the proposed
action. The State official had no comments.
Finding of No Significant Impact
On the basis of the environmental assessment, the NRC concludes
that the proposed action will not have a significant effect on the
quality of the human environment. Accordingly, the Commission has
determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the
proposed action.
For further details with respect to the proposed action, see the
licensee's letter dated December 8, 2000, as supplemented by letter
dated February 2, 2001. Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a
fee, a the NRC's Public Document Room, located at One White Flint
North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland.
Publically available records will be accessible electronically from the
ADAMS Public Library component on the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov
(the Public Electronic Reading Room). If you do not have access to
ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the documents located in
ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-
800-397-4209, or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail at [email protected].
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd day of August 2001.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
S. Singh Bajwa,
Project Director, Project Directorate III, Division of Licensing
Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 01-21936 Filed 8-29-01; 8:45 am]
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