[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 234 (Wednesday, December 5, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63268-63269]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-30110]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-348 and 50-364]
Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc., et al.; Joseph M.
Farley Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2; Environmental Assessment and
Finding of No Significant Impact
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering
issuance of amendments to Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-2 and
NPF-8, issued to Southern Nuclear Operating Company Inc., et al. (the
licensee), for operation of the Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant, Units 1
and 2, located in Houston County, Alabama.
Environmental Assessment
Identification of Proposed Action
The proposed action would amend the Facility Operating Licenses
(FOLs) for Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2, and to delete
license conditions that have been completed or are otherwise no longer
in effect. These activities have now been completed and the license
conditions are either obsolete or are no longer needed.
The proposed action is in response to the licensee's application
dated December 8, 2000.
The Need for the Proposed Action
When the FOLs, NPF-2 and NPF-8, were issued to the licensee, the
NRC staff deemed certain issues essential to safety and/or essential to
meeting certain regulatory interests. These issues were imposed as
license conditions in the FOLs, with deadlines for their
implementation. Since the units were licensed to operate in the late
1970s and early 1980s, most of these license conditions have been
fulfilled. For the license conditions that have been fulfilled, the
licensee proposed to have them deleted from the FOLs.
The licensee also proposed to make changes to correct
administrative errors such as words inadvertently omitted, documents
erroneously cited, etc.
The proposed amendments involve administrative changes to the FOLs
only. No actual plant equipment, regulatory requirements, operating
practices, or analyses are affected by these proposed amendments.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and
concludes that there is no significant environmental impact if the
amendments are granted. No changes will be made to the design and
licensing bases, and applicable procedures at the two units at the
Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2, will remain the same.
Other than the administrative changes, no other changes will be made to
the FOLs, including the Technical Specifications.
The changes will not 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 the
allowable individual or cumulative occupational radiation exposure.
Accordingly, the Commission concludes that there are no significant
radiological environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.
With regard to potential nonradiological impacts, the proposed
action does not involve any historic sites. It does not affect
nonradiological plant effluents and has no other environmental impact.
Therefore, there are no significant nonradiological environmental
impacts associated with the proposed action.
Accordingly, the Commission concludes that there are no significant
[[Page 63269]]
nonradiological environmental impacts associated with the proposed
action.
Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action
Since the Commission has concluded there is no measurable
environmental impact associated with the proposed action, any
alternatives with equal or greater environmental impact need not be
evaluated. As an alternative to the proposed action, the staff
considered denial of the proposed action. 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
This action does not involve the use of any resources not
previously considered in the Final Environmental Statement related to
the McGuire Nuclear Station.
Agencies and Persons Contacted
In accordance with its stated policy, on January 10, 2001, the
staff consulted with the Alabama State official, Kirk Whatley of the
Office of Radiation Control, Alabama Department of Public Health,
regarding the environmental impact of the proposed amendments. The
State official had no comments.
Finding of No Significant Impact
Based upon the foregoing environmental assessment, the Commission
concludes that the proposed amendments 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 amendments.
For further details with respect to the proposed action, see the
licensee's letter dated December 8, 2000. Documents may be examined,
and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public Document Room, located at
One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville,
Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible electronically
from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management Systems (ADAMS)
Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC web site,
http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/ADAMS/index.html. 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, 301-415-4737 or by email to [email protected].
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 29th day of November, 2001.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Frank Rinaldi,
Project Manager, Section 1, Project Directorate II, Division of
Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 01-30110 Filed 12-4-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P