[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 189 (Friday, September 28, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49713-49714]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-24336]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-237 and 50-249]
Exelon Generation Company, LLC Dresden Nuclear Power Station,
Units 2 and 3; 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)(A)(2) for Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-19 and
DPR-25, issued to Exelon Generation Company, LLC (Exelon, or the
licensee) for operation of the Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Units 2
and 3, 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 proposed action would grant a schedular exemption for Dresden
Nuclear Power Station (DNPS), Units 2 and 3, from implementation of
inservice examinations of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) vertical
welds and the top shell course to vessel flange weld, per American
Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code
Section XI, Table IWB-2500, items B1.12 and B1.30, by the end of the
current ten year intervals, as required by 10 CFR 50.55a, ``Codes and
standards,'' paragraph (g)(6)(ii)(A)(2). The current intervals end on
January 19, 2003, for DNPS Unit 2 and October 31, 2002, for DNPS Unit
3. This schedular exemption requests an extension for the performance
of the third interval inspections of these welds until the completion
of the D2R18 outage for Unit 2 in October 2003, and until the
completion of the D3R18 outage in October 2004 for Unit 3.
The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's
application dated June 12, 2001, as supplemented by letter dated July
23, 2001.
The Need for the Proposed Action
The proposed schedular exemption is needed to prevent an extension
of the upcoming refueling outages. 10 CFR 50.55a(g)(6)(ii)(A)(2)
requires DNPS to perform an examination of its RPV welds during the
current ten-year inspection interval which concludes for each unit
during the upcoming refueling outages, D2R17 and D3R17, scheduled for
October 2001 and September 2002, respectively. Using conventional
equipment, the licensee could fulfill this commitment during the
upcoming refueling outages and perform examinations of approximately 60
percent of the RPV welds which is typical for similar BWR plants.
However, the licensee has proposed to implement the improved AIRIS 21
system technology which will provide increased RPV weld coverage. The
AIRIS 21 system, which requires additional refueling bridge support in
order to perform inspections, would add approximately 64 hours of
critical time to each refueling outage. In lieu of extending the
refueling outages, the licensee has proposed to spread the RPV weld
examinations over the next two refueling outages for both DNPS Units 2
and 3. A one-cycle extension would allow optimum coverage without
imposing production penalties associated with a refueling outage
extension.
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 extended shutdown of DNPS, Units 2 and 3.
Preparations for a refueling outage are proceeding based on a scheduled
shutdown in October 2001. An extended outage would present undue
hardship and costs due to lost generation. 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 NRC 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 have a potential to affect any historic
sites. It
[[Page 49714]]
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 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 June 12, 2001, as supplemented by letter dated
July 23, 2001. Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at
the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North,
11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly
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 PDR Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, or 301-415-4737,
or by e-mail at [email protected].
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day of September 2001.
For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Anthony J. Mendiola,
Chief, Section 2, Project Directorate III, Division of Licensing
Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 01-24336 Filed 9-27-01; 8:45 am]
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