ML19060A251

Letter to California Fish and Wildlife Determination of No Effects Regarding the Section 7 Review of the Endangered Species Act for the Proposed Humboldt Bay Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation License Renewal Request (Docket Number

ML19060A251
Person / Time
Site:	Humboldt Bay
Issue date:	03/25/2019
From:	Roman C Environmental Review Branch
To:	Olson J State of CA, Dept of Fish & Wildlife
Coflin M
Shared Package
ML19060A244	List: ML19060A251
References
Download: ML19060A251 (2)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 March 25, 2019 Ms. Jennifer Olson Environmental Scientist California Department of Fish and Wildlife Eureka Field Office 619 Second St Eureka, CA 95501

SUBJECT:

DETERMINATION OF NO EFFECTS REGARDING THE SECTION 7 REVIEW OF THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT FOR THE PROPOSED HUMBOLDT BAY INDEPENDENT SPENT FUEL STORAGE INSTALLATION LICENSE RENEWAL REQUEST (DOCKET NUMBER: 72-27)

Dear Ms. Olson:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) received, by letter dated July 10, 2018, an application from the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) to renew Materials License Number SNM-2514 for the Humboldt Bay (HB) Power Plant Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI). The application is available through the NRCs (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System [ADAMS] Accession Number ML18215A213) or at https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1821/ML18215A213.pdf. The PG&E supplemented this application by letter dated October 22, 2018 (ADAMS Accession Number ML18330A050). If this renewal request is approved, PG&E will be allowed to continue interim storage of spent nuclear fuel at the ISFSI for a 40-year period, beginning upon expiration of the current 20-year license on November 17, 2025.

The HB ISFSI is located on the northern California coast in Humboldt County (map enclosed).

Specifically, the ISFSI is located on a small peninsula known as Buhne Point near the coastal community of Fields Landing on the eastern shore of HB. The ISFSI occupies less than one acre of land within the PG&E owner-controlled area at the HB Power Plant, which is undergoing decommissioning currently scheduled to be completed in 2019.

The NRC staff is preparing an environmental assessment (EA) for the proposed action in accordance with the NRCs regulations in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 51, Environmental Protection Regulations For Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions, which implement the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended. The purpose of the EA is to assess potential environmental impacts that may significantly affect the human environment. In accordance with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the EA will include an analysis of potential impacts to endangered or threatened species or critical habitat that may be present in the action area.

On November 7, 2018, the Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provided the NRC staff with an Official Species List pursuant to Section 7 of the ESA, which listed a total of 11 threatened, endangered, or candidate species for the area of potential effect.

J. Olson 2 The NRC staff reviewed this list, as well as the information in PG&Es license application and in PG&Es Project Description and Coastal Resource Assessment document submitted to the State of California as part of its Humboldt Bay Power Plant Final Site Restoration Plan Implementation Coastal Development Permit/Amendment Application (see Tables B-1 and B-2, which list special status plant and wildlife species, ADAMS Accession No. ML19080A335). The staff has concluded based on these reviews that no species listed as threatened or endangered currently occupy the ISFSI site. This is consistent with conclusions made in the 2005 NRC EA related to the construction and operation of the HB ISFSI (ADAMS Accession Number ML052430106, Section 4.7) that special-status species that may occur in the vicinity of the ISFSI project did not appear to be present at the ISFSI site. Further, renewal of the HB ISFSI license would result in a continuation of existing conditions, and PG&E anticipates no new significant construction at the existing ISFSI. The ISFSI is a passive facility and no liquid or gaseous effluents are released from the storage casks.

The NRC staff has determined that the proposed activities described in PG&Es license amendment will have no effect on the listed species or their respective critical habitats. The NRC has preliminarily concluded that it has fulfilled its obligations under Section 7 of the ESA.

Although the NRC has no further obligations under Section 7 of the ESA, we respectfully request your input or concurrence with this determination.

In accordance with 10 CFR Section 2.390 of the NRCs Agency Rules and Practice and Procedure, a copy of this letter will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records component of the NRCs ADAMS. ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.

Please submit your concurrence and/or information you may have regarding this matter within 30 days of receipt of this letter to the: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN:

Ms. Cinthya I. Román, Chief, 11555 Rockville Pike, Mail Stop: T-4B16, Rockville, Maryland 20852. If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Monika Coflin of my staff by telephone at (301) 415-5932 or via e-mail at Monika.Coflin@nrc.gov.

Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Cinthya I. Román, Chief Environmental Review Branch Division of Fuel Cycle Safety, Safeguards, and Environmental Review Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Docket No. 72-27 License No. SNM-2514

Enclosure:

Humboldt Bay Site Location Map

J. Olson 3

SUBJECT:

DETERMINATION OF NO EFFECTS REGARDING THE SECTION 7 REVIEW OF THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT FOR THE PROPOSED HUMBOLDT BAY INDEPENDENT SPENT FUEL STORAGE INSTALLATION LICENSE RENEWAL REQUEST (DOCKET NUMBER: 72-27)

DATE: March 25, 2019 DISTRIBUTION: FCSE r/f CMarkley ADAMS Accession Numbers: ML19060A244 (P), ML19060A251 (L) *via email OFFICE FCSE/ERB FCSE/ERB FCSE/ERB OGC FCSE/ERB NAME MCoflin* AWalker-Smith* CPineda* PJehle* CRoman DATE 03/05/2019 03/05/2019 03/06/2019 03/01/2019 03/25/2019 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY