ML20212A910

Environ Assessment & Finding of No Significant Impact. Proposed Action Would Exempt Licensee from Requirements of 10CFR50

ML20212A910
Person / Time
Site:	Millstone
Issue date:	09/10/1999
From:	John Nakoski NRC (Affiliation Not Assigned)
To:
Shared Package
ML20212A907	List: ML20212A901 ML20212A910
References
NUDOCS 9909170184
Download: ML20212A910 (4)

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UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION l

NORTHEAST NUCLEAR ENERGY COMPANY (NNECO). ET AL. I DOCKET NOS. 50-245. 50-336. AND 50-423 MILLSTONE NUCLEAR POWER STATION. UNIT NOS.1. 2. AND 3 ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND FINDING OF l l

NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT l I

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is considering issuance of exemptions from Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-21, DPR-65, and NPF-49, issued to Northeast Nuclear Energy Company (NNECO/the licensee), for operation of Millstone Nuclear  ;

Power Station, Units 1,2, and 3 (Millstone), located in New London County, Connecticut.

l ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT Identification of the Prooosed Action:

The proposed action would exempt the licensee from the requirements of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix E, item IV.F.2.c regarding conduct of a full participation exercise of the efL.ltc cinergency plan every 2 years. Under the proposed exemption, the licensee would reschedule the Federally-observed full-participation emergency exercise from September 1999 to March 2000 and all future Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)- and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)- evaluated exercises would occur biennially from the year 2000.

The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's application for exemption dated August 3,1999, t

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The Need for the Proposed Action:

Title 10 of the Code of Federal Reculation, (10 CFR) Part 50, Appendix E, Item IV.F.2.c requires each licensee at each site to conduct an exercise of its offsite emergency plan  !

' biennially. The NRC and FEMA observe these exercises and evaluate the performance of the licensee, State and local authorities having a role under the emergency plan.

The licensee had initially planned to conduct an exercise of its onsite and offsite emergency plans in September 1999, which is at the end of the required interval. To support the efficient and effective use of Federal resources, as discussed during the annual NRC Region I and FEMA (Regions I,11, and Ill) exercise scheduling meeting held in White Plains, New York, in December 1998, the planned September 1999 exercise for Millstone was shifted to March 2000, which is beyond the required interval. j Environmentalimoacts of the Proposed Action: 1 I

The Commission has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and concludes that the proposed action involves an administrative activity (a schedular change in conducting an exercise) unrelated to plant operations. i The proposed action will not increase the probability or consequences of accidents, no l changes are being made in the types of any 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 non radiological impacts, the proposed action does not involve any historic sites, it does not affect non-radiological plant effluents and has no other environmental impact. Therefore, there are no significant non radiological environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.

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3-Accordingly, the Commission concludes that there are no significant environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.

I Alternatives to the Proposed Action:

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As an alternative to the proposed action, the staff considered denial of the proposed l action (i.e., the "no-action" alternative). Denial of the application would result in no change in current environmentalimpacts. The environmentalimpacts of the proposed action and the alternative action are similar.

Alternative Use of Resources:

This action does not involve the use of any resources not previously considered in the

" Final Environmental Statement Related to the Continuation of Construction of Unit 2 and the Operation of Units 1 and 2, Millstone Nuclear Power Station, Millstone Point Company," dated June 1973 or " Final Environmental Statement Related to the Operation of Millstone Nuclear Power Station, Unit No. 3," dated December 1984 (NUREG-1064).

Aaencies and Persons Consulted: 1 In accordance with its stated policy, on August 5,1999, the staff consulted with the Connecticut State official, Mr. Fred Scheuritzel of the Department of Environmental Protection, regarding the environmentalimpact of the proposed action. The State official had no comments. In addition, by letter dated July 14,1999, from Ms. Vanessa Quinn, the Federal Emergency Management Agency indicated support for rescheduling the exercise.

FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT On the basis of the environmental assessment, the Commission concludes that the proposed action will not have a significant affect on the quality of the human environment.

Accordingly, the Commission has determined not to prepare an environmentalimpact statement for the proposed action.

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• For further details with respect to the proposed action, see the licensee's letter dated August 3,1999, which is available for public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, The Gelman Building,2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC, and at the local public l

l document rooms located at the Learning Resources Center. Three Rivers Community-l Technical College,574 New London Turnpike, Norwich, Connecticut, and the Waterford Public Library,49 Rope Ferry Road, Waterford, Connecticut.

l Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day of September 1999.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION q J hn A. Nakoski, Senior Project Manager, Section 2 roject Directorate i Division of Licensing Project Manage eut Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation l

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