ML041340662

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Environmental Assessment, to Support Schedular Exemptions from 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4)
ML041340662
Person / Time
Site: Oyster Creek
Issue date: 06/23/2004
From: Tam P
NRC/NRR/DLPM/LPD1
To: Crane C
AmerGen Energy Co
References
TAC MC2443
Download: ML041340662 (8)


Text

June 23, 2004 Mr. Christopher M. Crane President and Chief Nuclear Officer AmerGen Energy Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555

SUBJECT:

OYSTER CREEK NUCLEAR GENERATING STATION - ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT TO SUPPORT SCHEDULAR EXEMPTIONS FROM 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4) (TAC NO. MC2443)

Dear Mr. Crane:

Enclosed is a copy of the Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact related to your application dated March 26, 2004, for schedular exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4) for filing updates to the Updated Final Safety Analysis Report (UFSAR). The proposed actions involve a one-time exemption to delay the next UFSAR update to 30 months after the last update, instead of the 24 months allowed by the regulation, and a permanent exemption to submit all future UFSAR updates up to 12 months after completion of a refueling outage, instead of the 6 months allowed by the regulation.

The assessment is being forwarded to the Office of the Federal Register for publication.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Peter S. Tam, Senior Project Manager, Section 1 Project Directorate I Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-219

Enclosure:

Environmental Assessment cc w/encl: See next page

ML041340662 OFFICE PM:PDI-1 LA:PDI-1 SC:RLEP/ES OGC PDI-1:SC NAME PTam SLittle JTappert GLongo RLaufer DATE 5/20/04 5/20/04 6/7/04 5/28/04 6/15/04 7590-01-P UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION AMERGEN ENERGY COMPANY, LLC DOCKET NO. 50-219 OYSTER CREEK NUCLEAR GENERATING STATION ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering issuance of schedular exemptions from Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50, Section 50.71(e)(4) for Facility Operating License No. DPR-16, which authorizes operation of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station (OCNGS), a boiling-water reactor facility, located in Ocean County, New Jersey. Therefore, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.21, the NRC is issuing this environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact.

ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT Identification of the Proposed Action:

Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50, Paragraph 50.71(e)(4) requires that licensees provide the NRC with updates to the Updated Final Safety Analysis Report (UFSAR) annually or 6 months after each refueling outage provided the interval between successive updates does not exceed 24 months. The revisions must reflect changes up to 6 months prior to the date of filing. This regulation would require the licensee to submit the next OCNGS UFSAR update by April 25, 2005, which is 24 months after the most recent update (April 25, 2003).

The licensee requested a one-time schedular exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4), extending the filing date by approximately 6 months. This one-time schedular exemption would thus extend the 24-month interval between the last and next filing to

be 30 months. Since the licensee last submitted an update on April 25, 2003, this proposed one-time, 6-month extension would permit the next update be as late as October 25, 2005.

The licensee also requested a permanent schedular exemption to allow filing of all future UFSAR updates up to 12 months, instead of 6 months, after completion of a refueling outage. Thus, accordingly to the licensees current refueling schedule, this would permit the licensee to file future updates in the fall of odd-numbered years.

The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's application for exemption dated March 26, 2004.

The Need for the Proposed Action:

In its March 26, 2004, application, the licensee stated that following the schedular requirements of 10 CFR 50.72(e)(4) literally means that the licensee has to file both OCNGS and Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station (PBAPS, owned by the licensees parent company, Exelon) UFSAR updates in the same time frame (i.e., spring) of odd-numbered years. Such filing schedule for both OCNGS and PBAPS constitutes a hardship for the licensee and its parent company Exelon; additional temporary resources would have to be employed in order to simultaneously prepare both OCNGS and PBAPS updates.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action:

The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and concludes that the exemption is administrative and would not affect any plant equipment, operation, or procedures.

The UFSAR contains the analysis, assumptions, and technical details of the facility design and operating parameters. Until the UFSAR is updated, the recent changes are documented in the licensees written evaluations of changes prepared pursuant to 10 CFR 50.59, and in the NRCs Safety Evaluations for actions requiring prior approval. A delay in submitting the UFSAR update will not change the plant design or the manner in which it is operated.

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 a potential to affect 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 NRC staff 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 NRC 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 OCNGS, dated December 1974, published by the Atomic Energy Commission.

Agencies and Persons Consulted:

On May 11, 2004, the NRC staff consulted with the New Jersey State official, Mr. Rich Pinney of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Nuclear Engineering, 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 licensees letter dated March 26, 2004. Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRCs Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1F21, 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 pdr@nrc.gov.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 23rd day of June, 2004.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

/RA/

Peter S. Tam, Senior Project Manager, Section 1 Project Directorate I Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station cc:

Chief Operating Officer H. J. Miller AmerGen Energy Company, LLC Regional Administrator, Region I 4300 Winfield Road U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Warrenville, IL 60555 475 Allendale Road King of Prussia, PA 19406-1415 Senior Vice President - Nuclear Services AmerGen Energy Company, LLC Mayor of Lacey Township 4300 Winfield Road 818 West Lacey Road Warrenville, IL 60555 Forked River, NJ 08731 Site Vice President - Oyster Creek Senior Resident Inspector Generating Station U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission AmerGen Energy Company, LLC P.O. Box 445 P.O. Box 388 Forked River, NJ 08731 Forked River, NJ 08731 Director Licensing Vice President - Mid-Atlantic AmerGen Energy Company, LLC Operations Nuclear Group Headquarters AmerGen Energy Company, LLC P.O. Box 160 4300 Winfield Road Kennett Square, PA 19348 Warrenville, IL 60555 Manager Licensing - Oyster Creek and John E. Matthews, Esquire Three Mile Island Morgan, Lewis, & Bockius LLP AmerGen Energy Company, LLC 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Nuclear Group Headquarters Washington, DC 20004 Correspondence Control P.O. Box 160 Kent Tosch, Chief Kennett Square, PA 19348 New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Oyster Creek Generating Station Plant Bureau of Nuclear Engineering Manager CN 415 AmerGen Energy Company, LLC Trenton, NJ 08625 P.O. Box 388 Forked River, NJ 08731 Vice President - Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Regulatory Assurance Manager Exelon Generation Company, LLC Oyster Creek 4300 Winfield Road AmerGen Energy Company, LLC Warrenville, IL 60555 P.O. Box 388 Forked River, NJ 08731 Vice President - Operations Support AmerGen Energy Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555

Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station cc:

Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary AmerGen Energy Company, LLC 2301 Market Street, S23-1 Philadelphia, PA 19101 Pete Eselgroth, Region I U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 475 Allendale Road King of Prussia, PA 19406-1415 Correspondence Control Desk AmerGen Energy Company, LLC 200 Exelon Way, KSA 1-N-1 Kennett Square, PA 19348