[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 110 (Friday, June 7, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Page 39446]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-14343]
[[Page 39446]]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-10]
Exelon Generation Company, Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Unit 1;
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering
issuance of an exemption from Title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR) part 140, Section 140.11(a)(4) for Facility
Operating License No. DPR-2, issued to Exelon Generation Company (EGC,
the licensee), for operation of the Dresden Nuclear Power Station
(DNPS), Unit 1, located approximately 50 miles southwest of Chicago, in
Grundy County, Illinois. Therefore, as required by 10 CFR 51.21, the
NRC is issuing the environmental assessment and finding of no
significant impact.
Environmental Assessment
Identification of Proposed Action
The proposed action would grant an exemption from the requirement
of 10 CFR 140.11(a)(4) regarding one of the two financial protection
requirements.
The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's
application dated December 18, 2001, as supplement by letter dated
February 13, 2002.
The Need for the Proposed Action
DNPS, Unit 1 was shut down in October 1978. On July 23, 1986, USNRC
issued Amendment No. 36 to License DRP-2 for DNPS, Unit 1 changing the
license to possess-but-not-operate status. The licensee at that time,
Commonwealth Edison, informed the NRC that it had decided to
permanently cease operations at DNPS, Unit 1, and that all fuel had
been permanently removed from the reactor. In accordance with 10 CFR
50.82, upon docketing of the certifications in August 31, 1984, the
facility operating license no longer authorizes the licensee to operate
the reactor and to load fuel into the reactor vessel. In this
permanently shutdown condition, the facility poses a reduced risk to
public health and safety compared to when it was operating.
The proposed exemption is needed because the licensee's required
insurance coverage exceeds the costs of potential accidents considered
for a permanently defueled reactor with all spent fuel removed from the
spent fuel pool. A letter received on February 13, 2002, notified the
NRC that as of January 15, 2002, the DNPS, Unit 1 fuel storage pool no
longer contains spent fuel assemblies. Because DNPS, Unit 1 no longer
presents as great a risk as does an operating reactor plant, this
reduction in risk should be reflected in the indemnification
requirements to which the licensee is subject. Approval of the proposed
exemption would allow a more equitable allocation of financial risk
commensurate with the risks to the public.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and
concludes that the exemption only involves changes to indemnity
insurance. The exemption would allow EGC to withdraw from participation
in the secondary insurance pool based on the permanently defueled
status of DNPS, Unit 1.
The proposed action will not significantly increase the probability
or consequences of accidents, no changes are being made in the types of
effluents that may be released off site, 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 nonradiological impacts, the proposed
action does not have the potential to affect any historic sites. It
does not affect nonradiological environmental impacts associated with
the proposed action.
Accordingly, the NRC 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 and to require EGC to maintain the
insurance coverage required of an operating plant (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, Unit 1, dated November 1973.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
On May 9, 2002, 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 NRC 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 18, 2002, as supplemented by letter
dated February 13, 2002. 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
Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Public
Electronic Reading Room on the internet at the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/html. Persons who do not have access to
ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in
ADAMS should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by telephone at 1-800-
397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to [email protected].
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 31st day of May, 2002.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Stephen Dembek,
Chief, Section 2, Project Directorate IV, Division of Licensing
Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 02-14343 Filed 6-6-02; 8:45 am]
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