ML24135A335
| ML24135A335 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Three Mile Island  |
| Issue date: | 08/09/2024 |
| From: | Amy Snyder Reactor Decommissioning Branch |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML24135A327 | List: |
| References | |
| Download: ML24135A335 (1) | |
Text
SAFETY EVALUATION BY
THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY AND SAFEGUARDS,
RELATED TO AMENDMENT NO. 68
TO POSSESSION-ONLY LICENSE NO. DPR-73
TMI-2 SOLUTIONS, LLC
THREE MILE ISLAND NUCLEAR STATION, UNIT NO. 2
DOCKET NO. 50-320
1.0 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
The Three Mile Island Nuclear Station (TMINS), located in the Londonderry Township of Dauphin County, is approximately 10 miles southeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit No. 1 (TMl-1) and Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit No. 2 (TMl-2) are located on TMINS. TMINS encompasses approximately 440 acres, and includes adjacent islands to the North, a strip of land on the mainland along the eastern shore of the river, and the area on the eastern shore of Shelley Island that is within the exclusion area (a 2,000-foot radius from a point equidistant between the centers of the TMI-1 and TMI-2 reactor buildings).
1.1 TMI-2 Solutions License Amendment Request
By letter dated February 22, 2023 (ML23058A064), and supplemented on May 1, 2023 (ML23121A249) and February 12, 2024 ( ML24044A009), TMI-2 Solutions, LLC (TMI-2S or the licensee), submitted a license amendment request (LAR) seeking review of decommissioning activities that could result in impacts to cultural, historic, or archaeological resources that had not been previously reviewed by the NRC.
In the LAR, TMI-2S explained that the LAR is intended to support applicable historic and cultural reviews regarding the TMI-2 owned National Register of Historic Places (NRHP)-eligible buildings in anticipation of the eventual and necessary physical demolition of the facility to be performed in accordance with the TMI-2 decommissioning project schedule described in the Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR), Revision 5, (ADAMS Accession No. ML22306A051). TMI-2S also stated that physical demolition of the TMI-2Ss owned buildings previously deemed eligible for the NRHP could result in an environmental impact not bounded by the conclusions in the Final Generic Environmental Impact Statement on Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities Decommissioning (GEIS) (NUREG-0586, Supplement 1, Vol. 1) (ADAMS Accession No. ML023470304) with regard to cultural, historic, and archaeological resources if appropriate mitigation is not developed in consultation with the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office.
Enclosure 2 In a letter dated March 28, 2024, TMI-2S submitted Revision 6 to its PSDAR (ML24088A012). In this revision to the PSDAR, TMI-2S updated the Revised Section 6.1.14 Cultural, Historic, and Archaeological Resources to reflect information in the February 2023 LAR and included edits to reflect TMI-2S updated plans to acquire backfill from an offsite source rather than potentially sourcing from Three Mile Island (entire Island) outside the operational area, as was previously stated in the PSDAR.
2.0 REGULATORY EVALUATION
This safety evaluation assesses the acceptability of the proposed TMI-2S LAR, as supplemented, to revise the Possession-Only License (POL) for TMI-2. The regulatory requirements and associated guidance on which the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) bases evaluation of this LAR are detailed below.
2.1 Applicable Regulations and Guidance
10 CFR 50.82, Termination of License
Specifically, 10 CFR 50.82(a)(6)(II) states:
(6) Licensees shall not perform any decommissioning activities, as defined in § 50.2, that (ii) Result in significant environmental impacts not previously reviewed;
The NRC previously evaluated the potential environmental impacts of nuclear reactor decommissioning in the Decommissioning GEIS. The GEIS is used by NRC staff to evaluate environmental impacts that would occur during the decommissioning of nuclear power reactors.
The GElS is considered "generic" in that it evaluates environmental impacts from decommissioning activities common to nuclear power reactor facilities. The GEIS concluded that several resource areas may require a site-specific evaluation. Environmental impacts from decommissioning that are not bounded by previous National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) reviews and therefore require a site-specific assessment, include impacts to NRHP-eligible properties without mitigation developed in consultation with the State Historic Preservation Office. Therefore, proceeding with decommissioning activities that would impact NRHP-eligible properties would not be authorized and those unbounded impacts must be evaluated in a site-specific NEPA review. For nuclear facilities, the structures that must be decommissioned may be eligible for listing on the NRHP. Eligibility depends upon meeting one of four criteria: being associated with a significant event; being identifiable with specific, important individuals; being of a distinctive type or period or have artistic value; or yielding important information in prehistory or history. Determination of NRHP-eligibility by the NRC, and potential consultation by the State Historic Preservation Office, may be needed before building demolition can begin. The undertaking (action) that would trigger this Section 106 evaluation would usually be a license amendment request via 10 CFR 50.82(a)(6)(ii).
10 CFR 50.90, Issuance of Amendment
Under 10 CFR 50.92(a), determinations on whether to grant an applied-for license amendment are to be guided by the considerations that govern the issuance of initial licenses to the extent applicable and appropriate. Both the common standards for licenses in 10 CFR 50.40(a)
(regarding, among other things, consideration of the operating procedures, the facility and equipment, the use of the facility, and other TS, or the proposals) and those specifically for issuance of operating licenses in 10 CFR 50.57(a)(3), provide that there must be reasonable
2 assurance that the activities at issue will not endanger the health and safety of the public, and that the applicant will comply with the Commissions regulations.
10 CFR 51, Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions
The NRC staff has evaluated the potential environmental impacts associated with the proposed action to address the requirements of 10 CFR Part 51, Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions."
The NRC staff used in its review the guidance found in NUREG-1748, Environmental Review Guidance for Licensing Actions Associated with NMSS Programs (ML032450279).
3.0 TECHNICAL EVALUATION
The staff has reviewed the licensees regulatory and technical analyses in support of its proposed changes, as described in the LAR dated February 22, 2023, as supplemented. The proposed amendment would revise the POL to allow the licensee to conduct certain decommissioning activities at TMI-2 that were not previously addressed in prior environmental reviews, specifically activities that impact historic and cultural resources. Given that the staff has evaluated the potential environmental impacts from site-specific historic and cultural resources in the EA (ML24197A005), and has completed Section 106 consultation under the National Historic Preservation Act, which resulted in the signing of a Programmatic Agreement (ML24117A258) for these activities, the staff has determined that the licensee has addressed the potential environmental impacts in the areas of historic and cultural resources.
3.1 Proposed License Changes
3.1.1 License Condition 2.C.(6)
The staff added License Condition 2.C.(6) to the license.
2.C.(6) Section 106 of the Historic Preservation Act
The licensee shall implement the Programmatic Agreement (PA) developed under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act for decommissioning activities covered in the PA until termination of POL No. DPR-73.
The licensee concurred with the addition of this condition (ML24207A148), and no other changes to the license were made.
4.0 NO SIGNIFICANT HAZARDS CONSIDERATION DETERMINATION
On June 13, 2023, the NRC published a Federal Register notice 88 FR 38547, (page 38552) describing the LAR and describing the NRC staffs proposed determination that the LAR involved no significant hazards consideration and informing the public of the opportunity to submit comments by July 13, 2022. There were no comments received in response to the Federal Register notice.
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5.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION
The staff developed an EA and published its findings in the Federal Register on August 8, 2024.
6.0 STATE CONSULTATION
FOR THE AMENDMENT TO THE LICENSE
In accordance with the Commissions regulations, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania official was notified of the proposed issuance of the amendment on May 22, 2024 and the proposed no significant hazards determination (NSHC). The Commonwealth responded on June 21, 2024 (ML24179A227), stating:
We concur with the NRC finding that the proposed LAR involves no significant hazard consideration (NSHC). And thus, we concur with the NRCs finalization of the proposed NSHC.
7.0 CONCLUSION
Based on the review of TMI-2 Solutions application dated February 22, 2023, as supplemented, the staff amended the license to include License Condition 2.C.(6), which requires implementation of the PA. The staff has determined, based on the considerations discussed above, that: (1) there is reasonable assurance that the health and safety of the public will not be endangered by operation in the proposed manner, (2) there is reasonable assurance that such activities will be conducted in compliance with the Commissions regulations, and (3) issuance of the amendment will not be inimical to the common defense and security or to the health and safety of the public.
Principal Contributors:
Amy M. Snyder, Senior Project Manager, NMSS/DUWP/RDB
Date of Issuance: August 9, 2024
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