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9 7590-01 Uh!TED STATES NUC'. EAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BOSTON EDISON COMPANY DOCKET NO. 50-293 ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission {the Comission) is considering issuance of an exemption from certain requirements of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix E, to the Boston Edison Company (BEco/ licensee) for the Pilgrim Nudear Power Station located at the licensee's site in Plymouth County, Massachusetts.
ENVIROS. MENTAL ASSESSMENT Identification of the Proposed Action The proposed action would grant a schedular exemption from certain specific reqJiremerits of Appendix E of 10 CFR Part 50. Specifically an exemption was requested from Section IV.F.3 which requires that each licensea at each site shall exercise with offsite authorities such that State and local government emergency plans for each operating reactor site are exercised biennially, with full or partial participation by States and local governments, within the plume exposure pathway Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ).
The exemption would be responsive to the licensee's request dated September 17, 1987 The Need for the Proposed Action:
The proposed exemption is needed because the Comonwealth of Massachusetts, li the local governments within the EPZ and the two emergency reception center comunities are in the process, t.ith the asshtance of the licensee, of ig lementing numerous improvements in their offsite emergency preparedness programs. The improvement effort is in response to a Federal Emergency 8910270345 000926 JhNS
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Management Agency (F MA) Interim Finding issued August 4,1987. That finding stated that offsite radiological emergency planning and preparedness for Massachusetts was inadequate to protect the health and safety of the public in the event of an accident at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station.
The licensee has informed the NRC that the improvement effort will continue until early 1988 and that, in view of the extensive ongoing efforts, the Comonwealth and local anvernments have indicated that they are not able to fully participate in an exercise during calendar year 1987 The last exercise conducted pursuant to Section IV.F.3 of Appendix E to 10 CFR Part 50 was held in September 1985. Literal compliance with Section IV.F.3 would not be possible without Commonwealth and local government participation.
Environmental Impact of the Proposed Action The proposed exemption constitutes a schedular exemptien from conduct of an offsite full participation exercise in calendar year 1987.
Since the last full participation biennial exercise at Pilorim (in September 1985), the Commonwealth has participated on a limited basis with the licensee in the December 1986 exercise and the cuarterly onsite drills in 1987.
The March and June 1987 drills also included limited participation by several of the towns within the EPZ.
The towns within the EPZ have also cooperated in the full scale siren test conducted by FEMA in September 1986.
The Commonwealth has also participated in full participation e>ercises at the Yankee Nuclear Power Station in June 1987 and is scheduled to participate in a full participation exercise at the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Generating Station December 2, 1987 t
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7590-01 3-The requested exegtion is a temport.ry one and is necessary because ongoing eme n?ncy preparedness efforts will not be completed before early 1988. The licensen has made a good faith effort to comply with the regulation by assisting in the ongoing improvements to the Commonwealth and local offsite emergency response programs.
The extensive efforts required to upgrade the offsite plans, ig lement the changes and conduct training preclude the conduct of a meaningful and effective full participation exercise in 1987. The probability of an accident will not be increased and the post-accident radiological releases will not be greater than previously determined due to the proposed exemption, and the NRC will determine that there is adequate assurance of safety before plant restart is approved. Therefore, the Comission concludes that there are no significant radiological environmental impacts associated with the propnsed exemption.
The proposed exemption does not affect nonradiological plant effluents and has no other environmental impact.
Therefore, the Comission concludes that there are no significant nonradiological environmental impacts associated with the proposed exem tion.
t Alternative Use of Resources This action involves no use of resources not previou]1y considered in the Final Environmental Statement for the P1'1 grim Nuclear Pnwer St' tion.
Agencies and Persons Contacted On August 4, 1987 FEMA provided informatinn on the status of emergercy prepareoness at Pilgrim.
This information was considered by the NRC in the evaluation of the requested exemption.
Finding of No Significant Impact The Comission has' determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the proposed exemption.
i 7590-01 Based upon the foregoina environmental assessment, the staff concludes that the proposed action will not have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment.
For further details with respect to this proposed action, see the licensee's letter dated September 17, 1987.
This letter is available for public inspection at the Comission's Public Document Room,1717 H Street.
NW., Washington, D.C., and at the P1puth Public Library,11 North Street, P1 p uth County, Massachusetts. 02360.
Dated at Bethesda, Maryland this day of j 1987.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY CNti!SSION
,$L Morton 8. Fairtile, Acting Director Project Director I-3 Division of Reactor Projects I/I!
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Dist:
Docket 50-293 p
PS I-3 Reading M. Rushbrook R. Wessman 4-DEC 4 1987 C. ' tiles, PA oocxat No.
50-293 Rules and Procedures Branch 20Et00RANDUte FOR:
Division of Rules and Records Office of Administration FROas:
O'Me of Nuclear Reactor Regulation susa ct:
50ST0:4 CDIS0il COMPA'.T - PIL'iRIM.'!!fCLEAR PNED. STATI0!i One signed original of the FederalRegisfer Notice identified below is enclosed for your transmittat to the Office of the Federal Register for publication. Additional conformed copies ( 6
,of the Notice are enclosed for your use.
Notice of Receipt of Apphcatlori for Construction Permit (s) and Operating License (s).
Notice of Receipt of Partial Application for Construction Permit (s) and Facihty License (s): Time for Submission of Views on Antitrust Matters.
Notice of Consideration of issuance of Amendment to Facihty Operating License.
Notice of Receipt of Application for Facility License (s); Notice of Availability of Applicant's Environmental Report; and Notice of Consideration of lasuance of Fackhty Licerisei.) and Notice of Opportunity for Hearing.
Notice of Availabihty of NRC Dratt/Fino! Environmental Statement.
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Notice of Limited Work A, %rtzation.
i Notice of Availability of Safety Evaluation Report.
Notice of issuance of Construction Permit (s).
1 Notice of issuance of Facihty Operating License (s)or Amendment (s).
Order.
Exemption.
i Notice of Granting Exemption.
Environmental Assessment.
f Notice of Preparation of Environmental Assessment.
O Oin.r..
l 1
Of fice of Nuclear Reactor Regulation 1
Enclosure:
As stated J
l D'; Madelyn :4. Aushbrook 12M23 NRR/RP f/!!/PD I-3 Mushbrook 12/4/87 T/96
7590-01 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION i
In the Matter of i
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Boston Edison Company
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Docket No. 50-293 (Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station)
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EXEMPTION 1.
Boston Edison Company (the licensee) is the holder of Facility Operatino License No. OPR-35 which authorizes operation of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (the facility) at steady-state reactor power levels not in excess of 1998 megawatts themal.
The lic' :c provides, among other thinos, that it is subject to all rules, regulations and Orders of the Nuclear Regulatory Comission (the Comission or NRC) now or hereafter in effect.
The facility consists of a boiling water reactor located at the licensee's site in Plynouth, Massachusetts.
The facility is currently shutdown for refueling and modifications.
II.
i Tection 50.54(q) of 10 CFR Part 50 requires a licensee authorized to 4
operate a nuclear power reactor to follow and maintain in effect emergency
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plans which meet the standards of 10 CFR 50.47(b) er:d the requirements of Appendix E to 10 CFR Part 50 Section IV,F.3 of Appendix E requires that each licensee at each site shalt exercise with offsite authorities such that the State and local government emergency p1sns for each operating reactor site are exercised biennially, with full or partial participation er vit' v
e 7590-01 2
by States and local governments, within the plume exposure pathway Emergency Planning Zone (EPT).
The NRC may grant e(emptions from the requirements of the regulations which, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a) are (1) authorized by law, will not presant an undue risk to the pulilic health and safety, snd are consistent with the 1
comen defense and security, and (?) present special circumstances.
Section 50.12(a)(2)(v) of 10 CFR describes the special circumstances in that the exemp-tien would provide only temporary relief from the applicable regulation and the licensee has made good faith efforts to coteply with the regulation, e
III.
By letter dated September 17, 1987, the licensee requested a one-time exervtion from the schedular requirements of Section IV.F.3 of Appendix E.
The last biennial emergency preparedness exercise was a full participation 1
exercise conducted at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station on September 5,1985.
The licensee requests that an exemption be granted to allow the next biennial l
exercise to be deferred from 1987 to the second quarter of 1988 l
The licensee states that the CoFmnwealth of Massachusetts, the local i
governments within the EPZ and the two emergency reception center comunities a
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- 7590 01 are in the process, with the assistance nf the licensee, of innlementing numerous inprovements in their offsite emergency preparedness programs.
These improverents include revision of the energency plans of the local governments and the Commonwealth, the development of associated procedures, the developnent and innlementation of training programs for officials and emergency personnel, and the uporadino of Emergency Operation Centers.
The licensee expects the i
work to continue through early 1988.
The licensee has informed the NRC that in i
view of these extensive ongoing efforts, the Commonwealth and the local covern-ments have indicated that they are not able to fully participate in an s a rcise durino calendar year 1987.
The activities to upgrade offsite emergency planning and preparednest, are in response to a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEPA) evaluation of the 1
adequacy of offsite preparedness at Pilgrim.
On September 5, 1986, FEMA j
inforned the Comenwealth of Massachusetts that it was undertaking a self-initiated review of its Septenber 29, 1982 Interim Finding on of' site emergency preparedness for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station because of concerns raised during meetings in the spring of 1986 and information received subsequent to those meetings from local officials, the Commonwealth, and other 1
interested parties.
Based on a review of the overall state of offsite emergency preparedness for Pilgrim, FEMA concluded, in an Interim Finding j
issued on Auoust 4, 1987, that offsite radiological emergency planning and preparedness for Massachusetts was inadequate to protect the health and safety of the public in the event of an accident at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station.
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.I-7590-01 The August 4, 1987 Interim Findinq superseded the previous Interim Finding of September 29, 1982.
FEMA identified six areas of major concern during the course of its review:
Lack of evacuation plans for public and private schools and daycare centers.
Lack of a reception center for people evacuating to the north.
Lack of identifiable public shelters for the beach 2
population.
Inadequate planning for the evacuation of the special needs population.
Inadequate planning for the evacuation of the transport dependent population.
Overall lack of progress in planning and apparent diminution in emergency preparedness.
Boston Edison is assisting the Comonwealth and the local authorities in the improvement of their emergency response programs.
These efforts have included an updated evacuation time estimate study and traffic management plan, i
a study to identify public shelters for protecting the beach population, and
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the identification of and provision for the special needs and transportation -
4 dependent populations within the EPZ.
In addition, the licensee is providing j
professional planners to assist the local governments and the Comonwealth in upgrading their plans and in the development of a new training program for off-site emergency response personnel.
Some training has been conducted to date and training will continue after the development of the new training program has been completed.
t Onsite emeroency preparedness has been evaluated by the NRC during inspections and exercises including the most recent onsite exercise conducted e
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4-7590-01 on December 10, 1986.
The 1986 exercise included partial participation by the Comonwealth.
The NRC inspection report for the 1986 exercise documented thet Boston Edison's emergency response actions were ad9quate tn provide protective measures for the health and safety of the public.
The i
licensee has held quarterly onsite drills in March, June and Aucust 1987 The NRC inspection findings and the licenseo's training drills provide assurance that the licensee has maintained a satisfactory capability to respond to an emergency at Pilorim.
In addition, the licensee conducted its annual onsite exercise December 9, 1987 This exercise tested the current lesel of onsite emeroency preparedness at Pilgrim and included limited participation by the Comonwealth.
f Since the last full participation biennial exercise at Pilarim (in September 1985), the Comonwealth has participated on a limited basis with the licensee in the December 1986 exercise and the cuarterly onsite drills in 1987.
The March a:H June 1987 drills also included limited participation by
. several of the towns within the EPZ.
The towns within the EPZ have also cooperated in the full scale siren test conducted by FEMA in September 1986 The Comonwealth has also participated in full participation exercises at the Yankee Nuclear Power Station in June 1986 and at the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Generating Station on December 2, 1987.
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4* 7590-01 IV.
The requested exer @ tion is a temporary one and is necessary because ongoing emergency preparedness efforts will not be completed before early 1988.
The licensee has made a good faith effort to comply with the regulation by assisting in the ongoing improven nts to the Commonwealth and local offsite emergency response programs.
The extensive efforts required to upgrade the offsite plans, implement the changes and conduct training preclude the conduct of a meaningful and effective full participation exercise in 1987.
This sicuation constitutes the special circumstances described in 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(v).
Further, the NRC staff believes that the public health and safety will be better served by the conduct of a full participation exercise following the completion of efforts to improve the Commonwealth and lucal government emergency response programs.
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The NRC has required, ani will continue to require, that the Pilgrim plant remain shut down until the emergency preparedness issues are dealt with to the satisfaction of the NRC.
The determination whether to restart the i
Pilgrim plant wf11 involve an evaluation by the NRC of the status of the resolution of the emergency planning issues identified by FEMA.
The safety of l
the resumption of plant operation will be addressed by the NRC staff before restart is approved.
For these reasons, the. omission has thus determined that, pursuant to I
10 CFR 50.12, the exemption requested by the licensee's letter dated September 17, 1987, as discussed above, is authorized by law, will not present an undue i
risk to the public health and safety, and is consistent with the comen defense and security.
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t 7590-01 Accordingly, the Comission hereby approves the following exemption:
"The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station is exempt from the requirements of 10 CFR 50, Appendix E.Section IV.F.3 for the conduct of an offsite full particpation emergency preparedness exercise in calendar year 1987, provided that this exercise be conducted prior to June 30, 1988."
Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Comission has detennined that the granting of this Exemption will have no significant impact on the environment
( 52 FR 46693 ), December 9, 1987. A copy of the licensee's request. for exemption dated September 17, 1987 is available for public inspection at the Comission's Public Document Room,1717 H Street, NW, Washington, D.C. and at the Plymouth Public Library,11 North Street, Plymouth, Massachusetts 02360.
J Copies may be obtained upon written request addressed to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission, Washington, D.C. 20555, Attention: Director, Division of Reactor Pro 1ects I/II.
3 This Exemption is effective upon issuance.
Dated at Bethesda, Maryland this ay of December 1987.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
,even ar ec or Division of Reacto ojects - I/II Office of Nuclear Reactor Reactor l
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Dist:
Dock:t 50-213 PD I-3 R:ading M. Rushbrook, P. Uessr,an g DEC 101937 C. Miles, T'A DOCKET NO.
50-2?3 Rules and Procedures Branch MEMOF.ANDUM TOR:
Division of Rules and Records Office of Administration FROM:
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation susstcr:
M"T - 3I") : CO W Y - PILCRI?! 'fdCLUR *t". STATI~'l One signed or6ginal of the FederaI Register Notice identified below is enclosed for your transmittal to the Office of the Federal Register for publication. Additional conforme d copies ( (
)of the Notice are enclosed for your use.
Notice of Receipt of Application for Construction Permitts)and Operating License (s).
Notice of Recerpt of Partial Application for Construction Permit (s)and Facility Ucense(s): Time for Submission of Views on Antitrust Matters Net.co of Consideration of Issuance of Amendment to Facilit/ Operating License.
Notice of Receipt of Application for Faci'ity License (s). Notice of Availability of Appiscant's Environmental Report; and Notice of Consideration of issuance of Facility License (s) and Notice of Opportunity for Hearing.
Notice of Availability of NRC Draf t/ Final Environmental Statement.
Notice of Limited Work Authonzation.
Notice of Availability of Safety Evaluation Report.
Notice of issuance of Construction Permit (s).
Notice of issuance of Facihty Operating License (s) or Amendment (s).
Order.
E x emp tion.
Notice of Granting Exemption.
Environmental Assessment.
Notice of Preparation of Environmental Assessment Other:
Office of Nuclear Reactor Requtation l
l
Enclosure:
As stated g*f "t.'
adelfa Rustrook 123 M9R/R" I/II/rD I-3 M7ushbrook i
12/10/R7 9/
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