ML23130A030
| ML23130A030 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Browns Ferry  |
| Issue date: | 05/10/2023 |
| From: | Tennessee Valley Authority |
| To: | Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards |
| References | |
| Download: ML23130A030 (1) | |
Text
Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Subsequent License Renewal License Application -
Environmental Report May 2023
Introduction Pete Donahue - Director, Subsequent License Renewal (SLR)
Bill Baker - Senior Program Manager, SLR Plant Operations Ashley Michael - Senior Program Manager, SLR Mechanical Systems Taylor Johnson - NEPA Compliance Specialist Jennifer Myers - Environmental Program Manager Bill Victor - Senior Program Manager, Corporate Nuclear Licensing Russell Kiesling - AECOM Joe Bashore - SLR Environmental Lead Dan Green - SLR Licensing Manager 2
Agenda Introduction - Pete Donahue Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant (BFN) SLR Environmental Core Team and Support Organizations - Pete Donahue Background - Bill Baker / Taylor Johnson Closing Remarks - Pete Donahue NRC Questions/Comments 3
Submittal Approach - Taylor Johnson / Joe Bashore
BFN SLR Environmental Core Team and Support Organizations 4
BFN SLR Environmental Core Team BFN SLR Environmental Lead Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Compliance Personnel TVA Office of General Counsel Personnel AECOM Personnel BFN SLR Licensing Manager Other TVA Organizations Support TVA Environmental Compliance and Operations Nuclear Fuels Probabilistic Risk Assessment Corporate and Site Engineering Corporate Nuclear Licensing Other Vendor Support AECOM Technical Services Inc. (ER and TVA Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement Development)
Jensen Hughes (Severe Accident Mitigation Alternatives (SAMA) Evaluation)
Brockington and Tennessee Valley Archeological Research (Input to Cultural Resources)
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Background===
5 Brown Ferry Nuclear (BFN) Plant Three General Electric Boiling Water Reactors Collectively supply approximately 3,900 megawatts of electric power (MWe)
Capital improvements include implementation of National Fire Protection Association Standard 805, Extended Power Uprate, and Maximum Extended Load Line Limit Analysis Plus since initial License Renewal Implementation of SLR would not require major new construction, alterations, or refurbishment to BFN Initial License Renewal Application submitted December 31, 2003 BFN Initial License Renewal approved May 4, 2006 BFN Entered Period of Extended Operation Unit 1 - December 20, 2013 Unit 2 - June 28, 2014 Unit 3 - July 2, 2016 Proposed Action TVA proposes NRC subsequently renew current BFN Units 1, 2 and 3 Renewed Facility Operating Licenses To allow an additional 20 years beyond current renewed license expiration dates
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Background===
(Power Uprate History) 6 BFN Authorized Power History Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3 Initial License, 3293 MWt 12/20/1973 06/28/1974 07/02/1976 5% Uprate, 3458 MWt 03/06/2007 09/08/1998 09/08/1998 Extended Power Uprate, 3952 MWt 08/14/2017 08/14/2017 08/14/2017 Current Renewed Operating License Expiration Date 12/20/2033 06/28/2034 07/02/2036
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Background===
(Applicant and Site Location) 7 Applicant and Site Location TVA (licensee and applicant) manages and operates BFN units installed on BFN site BFN site is owned by United States of America and managed by TVA as agent of Federal government BFN site located in Limestone County, Alabama (AL)
Approximately 880-acre tract on north shore of Wheeler Reservoir at Tennessee River Mile 294 Approximately:
30 miles west of Huntsville, AL, 10 miles northwest of Decatur, AL, and 10 miles southwest of Athens, AL
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Background===
Vicinity 6-Mile Map 8
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Background===
Region 50-Mile Map 9
TVA NEPA Compliance 10 Approach: As a government agency, TVA complies with NEPA Developing TVA Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS),
separate, and in parallel with this Environmental Report (ER)
TVA has prepared SEIS to inform TVA decision-makers, agencies, and public about potential environmental impacts associated with proposed action SEIS relied on same research and subject matter expert input as this ER Timeline Notice of Intent and 30-day public scoping: June 1, 2021 - July 1, 2021 Draft SEIS 45-day public comment period: February 10, 2023 - March 27, 2023 Draft SEIS open-house: March 14, 2023 Anticipated TVA Final SEIS available: June 2023 Anticipated TVA record of decision: July 2023
Submittal Approach Methodology Utilize Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations (10 CFR 54.23 and 10 CFR 51) and following guidance documents Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, NUREG-1437, Revision 1 Regulatory Guide 4.2, Supplement 1, Revision 1, Preparation of Environmental Reports for Nuclear Power Plant License Renewal Applications Regulatory Guide 4.2, Revision 3, Preparation of Environmental Reports for Nuclear Power Stations NUREG-1555, Standard Review Plans for Environmental Reviews for Nuclear Power Plants Supplement 1, Revision 1: Operating License Renewal Final Report Approach to address February 24, 2022, NRC Memorandum and Orders and SECY-21-0066 Due to status of new rulemaking at time of BFN Subsequent License Renewal Application (SLRA) submittal BFN SLRA ER fully evaluates GEIS Category 1 issues at same level of detail as GEIS Category 2 issues Until new NRC rulemaking is complete, 2013 GEIS and NUREG-1437 used to provide general framework for analysis presented in BFN SLRA ER 11
Submittal Approach (continued) 12 Permits/Authorizations National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit NPDES Permit Renewal Application submitted in December 2022 Expect approval and issuance of renewed NPDES Permit prior to BFN SLRA submittal Clean Water Act (CWA) 401 Certification Covered by NPDES Permit Renewal Process CWA 316(a) and CWA 316(b)
To be addressed in NPDES Permit Renewal Application and BFN SLRA ER Chapter 4 Browns Ferry does not require a coastal zone management plan Consultations and Public Communications Consultations with Agencies and Native American Tribes have taken place All received responses to be included in BFN SLRA ER
Submittal Approach (continued)
Surface and Groundwater Use Wheeler Reservoir is source for cooling water systems for BFN With exception of cooling water system, BFN uses municipal water BFN does not use groundwater for plant operation Circulating Water System BFN uses once-through or open mode condenser circulating water system to dissipate waste heat from plant steam turbines Condensers are normally cooled by pumping water from Wheeler Reservoir into condensers and discharging it back to Wheeler Reservoir When reservoir temperatures approach one or more of the NPDES limits Condenser circulating water from one or more units is cooled by one or more helper cooling towers before release to Wheeler reservoir BFN has seven mechanical-draft helper cooling towers that can dissipate waste heat to atmosphere 13
Submittal Approach (continued)
Severe Accident Mitigation Alternatives Evaluation Feedback from October 6, 2022, Preapplication Meeting with NRC incorporated in BFN SLRA ER Applied lessons learned from previous license renewal applications (LRAs) and SLRAs in development of SAMA approach for BFN SLRA ER SAMA Evaluation revised to be consistent with Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) 17-04, Model SLR New and Significant Assessment Approach for SAMA Alternatives Analysis From TVAs 2019 Integrated Resource Plan In addition to alternative of continuing operation of BFN TVA considered alternatives for generating capacity and energy needed to provide approximately 3,900 MWe of baseload power between 2033 and 2056 Alternatives sufficient to meet TVAs purpose and need include
- Construction of combination of new generating capacity (i.e., natural gas-fired combined cycle generation, natural gas-fired combustion turbine generation, solar generation, energy storage, and nuclear-powered generation in form of small modular reactors) 14
Submittal Approach (continued)
High Burnup Fuel Average peak fuel rod burnup does not exceed 62,000 megawatt-days per metric ton of Uranium Fuel enrichment at BFN limited to 5 percent by weight Uranium 235 Spent fuel assemblies cooled in spent fuel pool until conditions are met allowing transfer to onsite dry storage Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation BFN currently has two onsite independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSIs)
BFN ISFSIs licensed separately from BFN Units 1, 2, and 3 Renewed Facility Operating Licenses Potential expansion of onsite spent fuel storage capacity addressed in BFN SLRA ER consistent with other License Renewal Applications and SLRAs 15
Submittal Approach (continued)
Essential Fish Habitat Essential Fish Habitat has not been designated within Wheeler Reservoir Critical Habitat Critical habitat not been designated for any federal listed species in vicinity of BFN Wetlands Nine delineated wetlands located on BFN site Cover a total of approximately 24 acres Primarily located on eastern portion of BFN site Include emergent, scrub shrub, and forested wetland communities 16
Submittal Approach (continued)
Threatened and Endangered Species Federal and State Status Terrestrial Animal Species with potential to occur or documented within the vicinity of the BFN site Mammals - Gray Bat, Indiana Bat, Northern Long-eared Bat, Tricolored Bat Invertebrates - Monarch Butterfly Birds - Bald Eagle, Osprey No Federal listed plant species have recorded occurrences within the vicinity of the BFN site Federal and State Status Aquatic Animal Species with documented occurrences or potential to occur within Wheeler Reservoir Fish - Spring Pygmy Sunfish, Slackwater Darter, Tuscumbia Darter, Snail Darter and Paddlefish Mussels - Numerous records of listed mussel species occur within the vicinity of the BFN site 17
Submittal Approach (continued)
Cultural Resources Phase I Archaeological Survey conducted TVA and AL State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) agreed 3 sites potentially eligible for National Registry of Historic Places (NRHP)
Historic Architectural Inventory of BFN conducted for assessment of BFNs eligibility for inclusion in NRHP Based on this study, TVA and AL SHPO agreed BFN eligible for NRHP TVA also performed a 6-mile historic structures assessment Cox Cemetery located on BFN site Relocated during original construction 18
Submittal Approach (continued) 19 Review of SLRA ER BFN SLR Environmental Core Team Reviews Reviews conducted on draft ER prior to inclusion in SLRA Review team is multi-disciplined, composed of BFN SLR Environmental Core Team and subject matter experts Reviews and updates to be performed prior to submittal to ensure information is contemporary TVA Internal Reviews of SLRA ER Online Reference Portal Folder Structure Environmental Report Field Studies Analyses Severe Accident Mitigation Alternative Evaluation Calculation Permits References
Closing Remarks BFN SLRA ER High Quality SLRA ER to support NRC review Timely NRC RAI/RCI responses Frequent NRC Interface On track for submittal to NRC - December 2023 20
NRC Questions/
Comments 21
Abbreviations List 22 AL Alabama NPDES National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System BFN Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant NRC Nuclear Regulatory Commission CWA Clean Water Act NRHP National Registry of Historic Places ER Environmental Report RAIs Requests for Additional Information GEIS Generic Environmental Impact Statement RCIs Requests for Confirmation of Information ISFSIs Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installations SAMA Severe Accident Mitigation Alternatives MWe Mega-watts electric SEIS Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement MWt Mega-watts thermal SHPO State Historic Preservation Officer NEI Nuclear Energy Institute SLR Subsequent License Renewal NEPA National Environmental Policy Act SLRA Subsequent License Renewal Application TVA Tennessee Valley Authority