ML24199A066

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TMI-2 FRN Issuance of Final EA - Historic and Cultural
ML24199A066
Person / Time
Site: Three Mile Island Constellation icon.png
Issue date: 08/02/2024
From: Christopher Regan
NRC/NMSS/DREFS/ETRB1
To:
References
NRC-2024-0099
Download: ML24199A066 (7)


Text

[7590-01-P]

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-0320; NRC-2024-0099]

TMI-2SOLUTIONS, LLC;

Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit No. 2;

Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice; issuance.

SUMMARY

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a final

environmental assessment (EA) and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for a

proposed amendment of NRC Possession Only License (POL) DPR-73 for the Three

Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit No. 2 (TMI-2), located in Londonderry Township,

Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. The proposed amendment would ensure that TMI-2

Energy Solutions (TMI-2Solutions, the licensee) can continue decommissioning the

facility in accordance with NRC regulations. TMI-2 Solutions will be engaging in certain

major decommissioning activities, including the physical demolition of buildings

previously deemed eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The EA,

Environmental Assessment for Specific Decommissioning Activities at Three Mile

Island, Unit 2 in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, documents the NRC staffs

environmental review of the license amendment application.

DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in this document are available on August 8,

2024.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0099 when contacting the NRC

about the availability of information regarding this document. You may obtain publicly available information related to this document using any of the following

methods:

search for Docket ID NRC-2024-0099. Address questions about Docket IDs to Stacy

Schumann; telephone: 301-415-0624; email: Stacy.Schumann@nrc.gov. For technical

questions, contact the individual listed in the For Further Information Contact section of

this document.

  • NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System

(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the ADAMS Public

Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the

search, select Begin Web-based ADAMS Search. For problems with ADAMS, please

contact the NRCs Public Document Room (P DR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, at

301-415-4737, or by e-mail to PDR.Resour ce@nrc.gov. The ADAMS accession number

for each document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it

is mentioned in this document.

  • NRCs PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies of publicly

available documents, is open by appointment. To make an appointment to visit the PDR,

please send an email to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-

4737, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except

Federal holidays.

  • Project Website: Information related to the TMI-2 project can be accessed

on NRCs TMI-2 public website at https://www.nrc.gov/info-

finder/decommissioning/power-reactor/three-mile-island-unit-2.html.

2 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jean Trefethen, Office of Nuclear Material

Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-

0001; telephone: 301-415-0867; email: Jean.Trefethen@nrc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

The Three Mile Island Nuclear Station (TMINS) is approximately 16 kilometers

(10 miles) southeast of Harrisburg, Pennsyl vania. The TMINS site includes Three Mile

Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1 and TMl-2. It encompasses approximately 178 hectares

(440 acres), including the adjacent islands on the north end, a strip of land on the

mainland along the eastern shore of the river, and an area on the eastern shore of

Shelley Island. The TMINS site has significance in U.S. history because it is the site of

the nations most serious commercial nuclear power plant accident, occurring at TMI-2.

On March 28, 1979, TMI-2 experienced an accident initiated by interruption of secondary

feedwater flow which led to a core heat up that caused fuel damage. The partial

meltdown of the reactor core led to a very small offsite release of radioactivity. In

response to this accident many changes occurred at nuclear power plants including

emergency response planning, reactor operator training, human factors engineering,

radiation protection and heightened NRC regulatory oversight.

II. Discussion

By letter dated February 22, 2023 (ADAMS Accession No. ML23058A064), TMI-

2Solutions requested an amendment to POL No. DPR-73. TMI-2 Solutions will be

engaging in certain major decommissioning activities, including the physical demolition

of buildings previously deemed eligible for the NRHP. Because the impacts on the

historic properties from these decommissioning activities have not been previously

evaluated and are not bounded by the impacts discussion in NUREG-0586, Final

3 Generic Environmental Impact Statement on Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities,

TMI-2Solutions requested an amendment that would require evaluation of the impacts of

the decommissioning activities on the NRHP-e ligible properties, in compliance with

paragraph 50.82(a)(6)(ii) of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR).

Pursuant to 36 CFR 800.8, the NRC used its National Environmental Policy Act

process for developing the EA to facilitate consultation pursuant to section 106 of the

National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).

Adverse effects to historic properties would result from decommissioning

activities at TMI-2. Therefore, the NRC and consulting parties proceeded with

development of a programmatic agreement (PA) to resolve adverse effects. The draft PA

was issued for public comment through a Federal Register notice dated March 6, 2024

(89 FR 16037). One comment was received and considered before finalizing the PA.

The PA addresses the potential direct and indirect adverse effects from the

decommissioning activities and ensures that appropriate mitigation measures are

implemented. The NRCs EA references the final PA and, therefore, conclude NHPA

section 106 consultation.

In accordance with NRCs regulations in 10 CFR part 51, Environmental

Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions, that

implement the National Environment Protection Agency (NEPA), the NRC staff has

prepared an EA documenting its environmental review of the license amendment

application. Based on the environmental review, the NRC has made a determination that

the proposed action will not significantly affect the quality of the human environment and

that a FONSI is therefore appropriate.

III. Summary of Environmental Assessment

The EA is publicly available in AD AMS under Accession No. ML24197A005. A

4 summary description of the proposed acti on and expected environmental impacts is

provided as follows.

Description of the Proposed Action

The proposed action is to amend POL No. DPR-73 so that TMI-2 Solutions can

continue with certain major decommissioning activities planned under Phase 2 of its

decommissioning schedule. Phase 2 decommissioning activities include the removal of

any radioactive components in preparation for demolition of structures, decommissioning

and dismantlement of the TMl-2 site to a level that permits the release of the site, except

for an area potentially to be set aside for storage of fuel-bearing material (small

quantities of spent nuclear fuel, damaged core material, and high-level waste) on the

independent spent fuel storage installation, backfilling of the site, license termination

plan submittal and implementation, and site restoration activities. In order to comply with

10 CFR 50.82(a)(6)(ii), TMI-2Solutions requested that NRC evaluate the impacts of

certain major decommissioning activities on historic and cultural resources and NRHP-

eligible properties. The definition of major decommissioning activity is in 10 CFR 50.2,

which states major decommissioning activity me ans, for a nuclear power reactor facility,

any activity that results in permanent removal of major radioactive components,

permanently modifies the structure of the containment, or results in dismantling

components for shipment containing greater than class C waste in accordance with §

61.55 of this chapter. Due to radioactive contamination, the TMI-2 structures must be

demolished and removed during decommissioning.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

In the EA, the staff assessed the potential environmental impacts from the

proposed license amendment to the following resource areas: land use; visual and

scenic resources; the geologic environment; surface and groundwater resources;

5 ecological resources; air quality; noise; historic and cultural resources; socioeconomic

conditions; environmental justice; public and occupational health; transportation; and

waste generation and management. The NRC staff also considered the cumulative

impacts from past, present, and reasonably foreseeable actions when combined with the

proposed action. The TMI-2 Historic District would be adversely affected by the TMI-2

decommissioning, and adverse effects cannot be avoided. The mitigation of adverse

effects to the TMI-2 Historic District will be completed in accordance with the TMI-2

Demolition and Decommissioning Programmatic Agreement (NRC 2024a).

As part of the NRCs consultation under section 7 of the Endangered Species

Act, NRC staff determined that the proposed action may affect but is not likely to

adversely affect the Indiana bat ( Myotis sodalis), northern long-eared bat

(Myotis septentrionalis ), tricolored bat (Perimyotis subflavus), monarch butterfly

(Danaus plexippus), northeastern bulrush (Scirpus ancistrochaetus ), or green floater

(Lasmigona subviridis ). The NRC staff transmitted a letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service (FWS) for its review and concurrence on May 24, 2024 (ADAMS Accession No.

ML24120A324). The FWS concurred with the NRCs findings on July 15, 2024 (ADAMS

Accession No. ML24199A062).

All other potential impacts from the proposed action were determined to be not

significant, as described in the EA. The NRC staff found that there would be no

significant negative cumulative impact to any resource area from the proposed action

when added to other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable actions.

Environmental Impacts of the Alternative to the Proposed Action

As an alternative to the proposed action, the NRC staff considered denial of the

proposed action (i.e., the no-action alternative). Under the no-action alternative, the

NRC would deny the licensees request to allow for the continuation of major

6 decommissioning activities under Phase 2. In this case, the NRC staff would not review

the historic and cultural resource impacts of the major decommissioning activities as

defined in 10 CFR 50.2 and would therefore disallow the removal of NRHP-eligible

structures and any impacts to historic and cultural resources. However, due to the

presence of radioactive contamination, TMI-2 structures, including the NRHP-eligible

structures, must be removed during the decommissioning process. Therefore, the NRC

staff concludes that denying the amendment request is not a reasonable alternative.

IV. Finding of No Significant Impact

In accordance with the NEPA and 10 CFR part 51, the NRC staff has conducted

an environmental review of a request for an amendment to POL No. DPR-73. The

proposed amendment would revise the POL to allow the licensee to conduct

decommissioning at TMI-2 covering activities that were not previously addressed in the

staffs environmental assessments (site-specific historical and cultural resources). Based

on its environmental review of the proposed action, the NRC staff has made a finding of

no significant impact in the EA. Therefore, the NRC staff has determined, pursuant to

10 CFR 51.31, that preparation of an environmental impact statement is not required for

the proposed action and a FONSI is appropriate.

Dated: August 2, 2024.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

/RA/

Christopher M. Regan, Director, Division of Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial Support, Office of Nuclear Material Safety, and Safeguards.

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