ML041530368
| ML041530368 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Sequoyah  |
| Issue date: | 05/28/2004 |
| From: | Marshall M NRC/NRR/DLPM/LPD2 |
| To: | Scalice J Tennessee Valley Authority |
| Marshall M, NRR/DLPM/301- 415-2734 | |
| References | |
| TAC MC1871, TAC MC1872 | |
| Download: ML041530368 (7) | |
Text
May 28, 2004 Mr. J. A. Scalice Chief Nuclear Officer and Executive Vice President Tennessee Valley Authority 6A Lookout Place 1101 Market Street Chattanooga, Tennessee 37402-2801
SUBJECT:
SEQUOYAH NUCLEAR PLANT, UNITS 1 AND 2 ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT (TAC NOS. MC1871 AND MC1872)
Dear Mr. Scalice:
Enclosed is a copy of the Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact related to your application dated February 20, 2004, as supplemented on April 27, 2004, requesting an exemption from the requirements in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50, Section 68, "Criticality Accident Requirements, Subsection (b)(1). The proposed exemption would allow the handling and storage of spent nuclear fuel in a 10 CFR Part 72, licensed spent fuel storage container in the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant spent fuel pool with credit for soluble boron in the criticality analysis.
The assessment is being forwarded to the Office of the Federal Register for publication.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Michael L. Marshall, Jr., Senior Project Manager, Section 2 Project Directorate II Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos. 50-327 and 50-328
Enclosure:
Environmental Assessment cc w/encl: See next page
ML041530368 NRR-042 OFFICE PDII-2/PM PDII-2/LA RLEP-C/SC OGC PDII-2/SC NAME MMarshall BClayton JTappert LClark WBurton DATE 5/25/04 5/25/04 05/20/04 05/24/04 5/28/04 Mr. J. A. Scalice SEQUOYAH NUCLEAR PLANT Tennessee Valley Authority cc:
Mr. Karl W. Singer, Senior Vice President Mr. Pedro Salas, Manager Nuclear Operations Licensing and Industry Affairs Tennessee Valley Authority Sequoyah Nuclear Plant 6A Lookout Place Tennessee Valley Authority 1101 Market Street P.O. Box 2000 Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801 Soddy Daisy, TN 37379 Mr. James E. Maddox, Vice President Mr. David A. Kulisek, Plant Manager Engineering & Technical Services Sequoyah Nuclear Plant Tennessee Valley Authority Tennessee Valley Authority 6A Lookout Place P.O. Box 2000 1101 Market Street Soddy Daisy, TN 37379 Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801 Senior Resident Inspector Mr. Richard T. Purcell Sequoyah Nuclear Plant Site Vice President U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Sequoyah Nuclear Plant 2600 Igou Ferry Road Tennessee Valley Authority Soddy Daisy, TN 37379 P.O. Box 2000 Soddy Daisy, TN 37379 Mr. Lawrence E. Nanney, Director Division of Radiological Health General Counsel Dept. of Environment & Conservation Tennessee Valley Authority Third Floor, L and C Annex ET 11A 401 Church Street 400 West Summit Hill Drive Nashville, TN 37243-1532 Knoxville, TN 37902 County Executive Mr. T. J. Niessen, Acting General Manager Hamilton County Courthouse Nuclear Assurance Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801 Tennessee Valley Authority 6A Lookout Place Ms. Ann P. Harris 1101 Market Street 341 Swing Loop Road Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801 Rockwood, Tennessee 37854 Mr. Mark J. Burzynski, Manager Heinz Mueller [5 copies]
Nuclear Licensing Environmental Review Coordinator Tennessee Valley Authority US EPA Region 4 4X Blue Ridge 61 Forsyth Street, SW.
1101 Market Street Atlanta, Georgia 30303-3104 Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801
7590-01-P UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY DOCKET NOS. 50-327 AND 50-328 SEQUOYAH NUCLEAR PLANT 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 50, Section 68, "Criticality Accident Requirements," Subsection (b)(1) for Facility Operating License Nos.
DPR-77 and DPR-79, issued to Tennessee Valley Authority (the licensee), for operation of the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant (SQN), located in Hamilton County, Tennessee. 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 exempt the licensee from the requirements of 10 CFR 50.68, "Criticality Accident Requirements," Subsection (b)(1) during the handling and storage of spent nuclear fuel in a 10 CFR Part 72 licensed spent fuel storage container that is in the SQN spent fuel pool.
The proposed action is in accordance with the licensees application dated February 20, 2004, as supplemented on April 27, 2004. The supplemental letter provided clarifying information that did not expand the scope of the original request.
The Need for the Proposed Action:
Under 10 CFR 50.68(b)(1), the Commission sets forth the following requirement that must be met, in lieu of a monitoring system capable of detecting criticality events.
Plant procedures shall prohibit the handling and storage at any one time of more fuel assemblies than have been determined to be safely subcritical under the most adverse moderation conditions feasible by unborated water.
The licensee is on a time-critical path to load spent nuclear fuel into a 10 CFR Part 72 licensed spent fuel storage container in June 2004. Section 50.12(a) allows licensees to apply for an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR Part 50 if the regulation is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule and other conditions are met. The licensee has stated that compliance with 10 CFR 50.68(b)(1) is not necessary for handling the 10 CFR Part 72 licensed contents of the cask system to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action:
The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and concludes that the exemption described above would continue to satisfy the underlying purpose of 10 CFR 50.68(b)(1). The details of the staffs safety evaluation will be provided with the letter to the licensee approving the exemption to the regulation.
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.
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 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 resources than those previously considered in the Final Environmental Statement for the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2 dated February 13, 1974.
Agencies and Persons Consulted:
On April 28, 2004, the staff consulted with the Tennessee State official, Elizebeth Flannagin of the Tennessee Bureau of Radiological Health, 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 February 20, 2004, as supplemented on April 27, 2004. Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRCs 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 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 at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or send an e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 28th day of May 2004.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
/RA/
William F. Burton, Acting Chief, Section 2 Project Directorate II Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation