ML030090187
| ML030090187 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Peach Bottom  |
| Issue date: | 01/09/2003 |
| From: | Larry Wheeler NRC/NRR/DRIP/RLEP |
| To: | Griffith D State of DE, Historic Preservation Office |
| Wheeler LL, NRR/DRIP/RLEP, 415-1444 | |
| References | |
| Download: ML030090187 (12) | |
Text
January 9, 2003 Mr. Daniel R. Griffith State Historic Preservation Officer Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs 15 The Green Dover, Delaware 19901-3611
Dear Mr. Griffith:
This letter responds to your correspondence of September 9, 2002, in which you disagreed with the NRC staff position that the Delaware portion of the Peach Bottom-to-Keeney transmission line corridor is outside the Area of Potential Effects (APE) for the proposed renewal of the operating licenses for the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station (PBAPS), Units 2 and 3.
The NRC staff has considered your views and has determined that the Delaware portion of the Peach Bottom-to-Keeney transmission corridor is outside of the APE. Notwithstanding any representations made by NRC applicants, the Agency official (the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation) has determined that the APE for a license renewal action is the area at the power plant site and its immediate environs which may be impacted by post-license renewal land disturbing operation or projected refurbishment activities associated with the proposed action. The APE may extend beyond the immediate environs in those instances where post-license renewal land disturbing operations or projected refurbishment activities specifically related to license renewal of the nuclear power plant potentially have an effect on known or proposed historic sites. This determination is made irrespective of ownership or control of the lands of interest.
For the proposed PBAPS license renewal, the licensee has stated, and our review has shown, that there will be no major structural modifications, that maintenance activities will be confined to previously disturbed areas, and that there will be no additional land disturbance. Further, the NRC staff has determined that the decision to approve or deny the requested license renewals would not affect maintenance practices or land disturbances beyond the substations at the PBAPS site where the generating units are connected to the distribution system. Therefore, the APE for the proposed PBAPS license renewal is the plant site, which is wholly within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The PBAPS APE does not extend into Maryland or Delaware.
In its letter of December 14, 2000, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Bureau for Historic Preservation (the State Historic Preservation Office), determined that National Register-listed, eligible, historic, and archeological resources are present in the general vicinity of the PBAPS site, and stated an opinion that the proposed license renewal will not affect any of those resources. The NRC staff agreed with this determination and opinion.
Therefore, consultation was not required.
In response to your interest in the degraded portion of the feeder canal, where it crosses the transmission line corridor in Delaware, the NRC staff included this site in its review of environmental resources of interest as the staff prepared its environmental impact statement (EIS) to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The NRC staff review included a visit to the canal during the staffs PBAPS site audit in November 2001. The staff
D. Griffith disclosed its NEPA findings in its Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) issued for public comment on July 5, 2002.
The NRC staff has determined that, even if the APE were to be extended through Maryland to the Delaware portion of the Keeney transmission line corridor, the proposed renewal of the PBAPS operating licenses would have no effect on the feeder canal where it crosses the Peach Bottom-to-Keeney transmission line corridor. In light of your expressed interest in this matter, we are providing, by separate correspondence, a copy of your September 9, 2002, letter, along with a copy of this reply, to the owner/operator of the Delaware portion of the Keeney transmission line corridor (who is not an NRC licensee) to ensure it is aware of your concerns (Conectiv Power Delivery, Newark, DE).
Additional information regarding the NRC staff review of your interest is enclosed. The staff will include a discussion of this matter in the Final SEIS scheduled for publication in February 2003.
No further action is considered necessary. If there are any questions regarding this correspondence, please contact me at (301) 415-1444.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Louis L. Wheeler, Senior Project Manager Environmental Section License Renewal and Environmental Impacts Program Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Enclosure:
Additional Responses to DE SHPO Correspondence cc w/encl: See next page
D. Griffith disclosed its NEPA findings in its Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) issued for public comment on July 5, 2002.
The NRC staff has determined that, even if the APE were to be extended through Maryland to the Delaware portion of the Keeney transmission line corridor, the proposed renewal of the PBAPS operating licenses would have no effect on the feeder canal where it crosses the Peach Bottom-to-Keeney transmission line corridor. In light of your expressed interest in this matter, we are providing, by separate correspondence, a copy of your September 9, 2002, letter, along with a copy of this reply, to the owner/operator of the Delaware portion of the Keeney transmission line corridor (who is not an NRC licensee) to ensure it is aware of your concerns (Conectiv Power Delivery, Newark, DE).
Additional information regarding the NRC staff review of your interest is enclosed. The staff will include a discussion of this matter in the Final SEIS scheduled for publication in February 2003.
No further action is considered necessary. If there are any questions regarding this correspondence, please contact me at (301) 415-1444.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Louis L. Wheeler, Senior Project Manager Environmental Section License Renewal and Environmental Impacts Program Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Enclosure:
Additional Responses to DE SHPO Correspondence cc w/encl: See next page DISTRIBUTION:
L Wheeler J Tappert OGC PTKuo DMatthews HBerilla RLEP R/F Accession no.: ML030090187 Document Name: C:\ORPCheckout\FileNET\ML030090187.wpd
- See prior concurrence OFFICE *PM:RLEP *LA:RLEP *SC:RLEP *OGC (NLO) PM:RLEP D:DRIP NAME DWheeler* HBerilla* JTappert* BSmith* PTKuo* DMatthews*
DATE 12/18/02 12/18/02 12/18/02 12/19/02 12/22/02 12/23/02 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY As the Agency official, I agree.
/RA/
Samuel J. Collins, Director NRR
Enclosure Responses to comments in correspondence received from the Delaware State Historical Preservation Office (DE SHPO) regarding the feeder canal:
Comment: The Atomic Energy Commission might not have met National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 responsibilities when it made its early 1970s decisions to grant operating licenses for Units 2 and 3 at Peach Bottom.
Response: The NRC staff carefully reviewed the records and found that the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) met the compliance standard for historic preservation consideration when the AEC made its decisions to issue the initial operating licenses for Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and 3 (PBAPS).
The original regulations, implementing Section 106 of the Act (36 CFR 800), were promulgated in 1979, five years after the NRC granted the original licenses for operation of Units 2 and 3 at Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station. The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation had no prescribed regulatory process for Federal agencies to demonstrate compliance with National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 responsibilities until 1979.
As required by Section 106, in 1972 the AEC provided information on the proposed action for PBAPS, including information on historic and archeological resources and determinations, to the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation with a request for comment. There is no record to indicate that the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation objected to the AECs determinations.
The feeder canal, now identified as a historic property by the DE SHPO, was documented in September 1974, after the AEC issued the operating licenses. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was not aware of the feeder canal until informed by the DE SHPOs office in 2001.
Comment: The proposed license renewal is a Federal undertaking with the potential to affect historic properties.
Response: The NRC staff agrees.
Comment: The feeder canal is a historic resource that meets standards for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
Response: Without taking a position in agreement or disagreement with the DE SHPO, the NRC staff considered the canal as though it were a historic resource potentially eligible for listing on the National Register for the limited purpose of addressing the DE SHPOs interests.
Comment: Operation of the PBAPS under the current license has caused adverse effects on the feeder canal at the transmission line crossing.
Response: Operation and maintenance of the Peach Bottom-to-Keeney transmission line was not the cause of past adverse effects on the feeder canal at the transmission line crossing. The utility corridor at the intersection with the feeder canal is approximately 400-feet wide; it is the same width as it was in 1968, well before the Peach Bottom line was added to the corridor.
Three other overhead transmission line easements, and at least one underground utility easement share the corridor at the crossing. An NRC decision to either approve or deny the license renewal applications for PBAPS would not alter maintenance practices along the Delaware portion of the Peach Bottom-to-Keeney transmission line; maintenance would continue the same with or without the use of an easement on the corridor for the Peach Bottom-to-Keeney transmission line. The licensee does not own the land at the corridor crossing of the feeder canal nor does it have maintenance responsibility for the corridor at the crossing. The corridor is clear of trees, but is grass and brush covered, and has been in a similar condition since before the Peach Bottom-to-Keeney transmission line was constructed.
A gravel-surfaced utility road meanders through the corridor and crosses the remnant trench for the feeder canal underneath the Peach Bottom line, but is not exclusively for maintenance of the Peach Bottom-to-Keeney transmission line. The access road that crosses the feeder canal replaced previous fords in the area of the corridor dating back to as early as 1937.
The old feeder canal alignment remains a visible and well-defined feature along much of its original route through present-day woodlands. It displays less definition and more in-filling as it passes under the transmission corridor. The changes under the transmission corridor are cumulative effects from a range of human and natural activities that extend back in time to a period well before the addition of the Peach Bottom-to-Keeney transmission line to the utility corridor.
NRC team review of aerial photographs indicates the feeder canal remained relatively intact until after 1968. At that time, and before 1977, small noticeable changes began to occur and continue today. First, a utility road crossed the feeder canal at a new place in the transmission corridor and below the present-day Peach Bottom-to-Keeney transmission line. Second, a series of cumulative changes began then, and continue to the present. These include gradual loss of vegetation along the alignment of the canal and a progressive loss of sharpness in the features of the canal as viewed from the air.
Comment: The NRC staff should consider three specific actions to take into account the effects of the undertaking to grant the license renewals for PBAPS.
Response: The DE SHPO requests fall into two categories: (1) an action suggested with the intent to correct the perceived negative result of past operations, and (2) specific actions to prevent future deterioration of the feeder canal. The NRC staff forwarded the recommendations to the applicant in correspondence dated November 26, 2001, even though the recommended actions have no direct bearing on the undertaking.
For the license renewal period, the applicant indicated that it plans (1) no major structural modifications, (2) to limit maintenance activities to previously disturbed areas, and (3) no additional land disturbance. Consistent with the NRCs "Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants" (NUREG-1437), under such conditions, the NRC staff believes continued operation of PBAPS would have no effect on any known or on potential unknown or undiscovered historic or archaeological resources located in areas of potential effect.
As part of its consideration of the DE SHPO correspondence, the NRC staff completed a supplementary analysis based on a scenario which postulated the inclusion of the Delaware
portion of the Peach Bottom-to-Keeney transmission line corridor in the National Historic Preservation Act Area of Potential Effect. In that supplemental analysis, the NRC staff applied the criteria of adverse effect pursuant to 36 CFR § 800.5(a)(1) and found that the proposed undertaking to extend the PBAPS licenses would not alter the characteristics of the potentially historic property known as the Chesapeake and Delaware feeder canal. This conclusion followed consideration of DE SHPO views concerning such effects and incorporated analyses of past, present, and potential future conditions.
Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station Units 2 and 3 License Renewal Environmental Review cc:
Vice President, General Counsel and Correspondence Control Desk Secretary Exelon Generation Company, LLC Exelon Generation Company, LLC 200 Exelon Way, KSA 1-N-1 300 Exelon Way Kennett Square, PA 19348 Kennett Square, PA 19348 Rich Janati, Chief Site Vice President Division of Nuclear Safety Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station Bureau of Radiation Protection Exelon Generation Company, LLC Department of Environmental Protection 1848 Lay Road Rachel Carson State Office Building Delta, PA 17314 P.O. Box 8469 Harrisburg, PA 17105-8469 Plant Manager Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station Board of Supervisors Exelon Generation Company, LLC Peach Bottom Township 1848 Lay Road 545 Broad Street Ext.
Delta, PA 17314 Delta, PA 17314-9203 Regulatory Assurance Manager Mr. Richard McLean Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station Power Plant and Environmental Exelon Generation Company, LLC Review Division 1848 Lay Road Department of Natural Resources Delta, PA 17314 B-3, Tawes State Office Building Annapolis, MD 21401 Resident Inspector U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Dr. Judith Johnsrud Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station National Energy Committee P.O. Box 399 Sierra Club Delta, PA 17314 433 Orlando Avenue State College, PA 16803 Regional Administrator, Region I U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Manager-Financial Control & Co-Owner 475 Allendale Road Affairs King of Prussia, PA 19406 Public Service Electric and Gas Company P.O. Box 236 Mr. Roland Fletcher Hancocks Bridge, NJ 08038-0236 Department of Environment Radiological Health Program 1800 Washington Blvd.
Baltimore, MD 21230
Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and 3 cc:
Manager Licensing-Limerick and Peach Manager License Renewal Bottom Exelon Generation Company, LLC Exelon Generation Company, LLC 200 Exelon Way Nuclear Group Headquarters Kennett Square, PA 19348 Correspondence Control P.O. Box 160 Public Service Commission of Maryland Kennett Square, PA 19348 Engineering Division Chief Engineer Director - Licensing 6 St. Paul Center Mid-Atlantic Regional Operating Group Baltimore, MD 21202-6806 Exelon Generation Company, LLC Nuclear Group Headquarters Chief Operating Officer Correspondence Control Exelon Generation Company, LLC P.O. Box 160 4300 Winfield Road Kennett Square, PA 19348 Warrenville, IL 60555 Vice President-Licensing and Regulatory Senior Vice President, Operations Support Affairs Exelon Generation Company, LLC Exelon Generation Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555 Warrenville, IL 60555 Mr. Oliver D. Kingsley, President Senior Vice President Exelon Nuclear Mid-Atlantic Regional Operating Group Exelon Generation Company, LLC Exelon Generation Company, LLC 200 Exelon Way, KSA 3-E 200 Exelon Way, KSA 3-N Kennett Square, PA 19348 Kennett Square, PA 19348 Mr. George Meyn Senior Vice President, Nuclear Services Whiteford Branch Library Exelon Generation Company, LLC 2407 Whiteford Road 4300 Winfield Road Whiteford, MD 21160 Warrenville, IL 60555 Ms. Martha Gunder or Ms. Essy Day Vice President, Mid-Atlantic Operations Collinsville Community Library Support 1632 Delta Road Exelon Generation Company, LLC Brogue, PA 17309 200 Exelon Way, KSA 3-N Kennett Square, PA 19348 Ms. Katrina Anderson, Director Quarryville Library P.O. Box 678 357 Buck Road Quarryville, PA 17566
Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and 3 cc:
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Barbara Baldwin Commission 670 Burk Road Bureau for Historic Preservation Delta, PA 17314 Commonwealth Keystone Bldg, 2nd Floor 400 North Street Paul Barnett Harrisburg, PA 17120-0093 1909 Rivervue Drive Drumore, PA 17518 Delaware Historical Preservation Office 15 The Green B. Birchall Dover, DE 19901 303 Tucquan Glen ATTN: Faye Stocum Holtwood, PA 17532 Maryland Historical Trust Mary Boyd 100 Community Place 518 Burke Road Crownsville, MD 21032 Delta, PA 17314 Chief Billy Tyac William Coble Piscataway Indian Nation 1854 Rivervue Drive P.O. Box 131 Drumore, PA 17518 Accokeek, MD 20607 Traci Confer Chief Roy Crazy Horse, Chairperson 1434 Elbridge Street The New Jersey Commission on Philadelphia, PA 19149 American Indian Affairs Department of State James Donnelly P.O. Box 456 2794 Chestnut Run Road Trenton, NJ 08625-0456 York, PA 17402 Mr. Jim Rementer Amy Donohue Delaware Tribe of Indians 657 East Posey Road 220 NW Virginia Ave Airville, PA 17302 Bartlesville, OK 74003 Jeff Griffith Ms. Mervin Savoy, Tribal Chairperson 210 Griffith Road Piscataway-Conoy Confederacy Delta, PA 17314 P.O. Box 1484 La Plata, MD 20646 Bill Dorward 2163 Berryhill Street Kip Adams Harrisburg, PA 17104 43 River Road Airville, PA 17302
Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and 3 cc:
Mike Ewall David Harry 1434 Elbridge Street 3853 Heaps School Road Philadelphia, PA 19149 Pylesville, MD 21132 Laura Jacobson William R. Farally 3964 Prospect Road Sheet Metal Workers Intl. Street, MD 21154 1750 New York Ave, NW Washington, DC 20006 Jane Lee 183 Valley Road Jeffrey D. Foster Etters, PA 17319 1012 Fieldstone Court Lancaster, PA 17603 Shirley Liebman 91 Pinnacle Road, West Steve Frantz Holtwood, PA 17532 Morgan, Lewis & Bochius 1800 M Street, NW Sam McConnell Washington, DC 20036 815 Pikes Peak Road Delta, PA 17314 Timothy J. Gearan 906 Pennsylvania Ave, SE Noble McHugh Washington, DC 20003 611 Willow Valley Lakes Drive Willow Street, PA 17584 Ernest Eric Guyll 471 Kirks Mill Road Gary D. Morgan Nottingham, PA 19362 108 Academy Road Kirkwood, PA 17536 Rick Farrington P.O. Box 208 Mary Osborn Delta, PA 17314 4951 Highland Street Harrisburg, PA 17111 Salvatore Ferranti 20 Paper Mill Road Terry Peck Delta, PA 17314 7193 Jonestown Road Harrisburg, PA 17112 William A. Griffith 177 Griffith Road Karen Patterson Delta, PA 17934 900 Trail Ridge Road Aiken, SC 29803 Janet Harris P.O. Box 79 Delta, PA 17314
Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and 3 cc:
Rebecca Ritzel Alan Brinser 8 W. King Street 2605 Interstate Dr.
P.O. Box 1328 Harrisburg, PA 17057 Lancaster, PA 17608 Bruce L. Clark Cindy Seibel 133 Skyline Drive P.O. Box 425 New Holland, PA 17557 Delta, PA 17314 Jess Collins Michelle Soder 10 Hays St.
545 Broad Street Extended Bel Air, MD 21014 Delta, PA 17314 Roger Cooper John Tucker 1154 Flintville Rd.
2916 Sunset Drive Delta, PA 17314 Dallastown, PA 17313 Donna Cuthbert Paul Wiley P.O. Box 3063 509 Wiley Drive Stowe, PA 19464 Delta, PA 17314 Martha Denick Susan Allen 343 Countryside Ct.
1612 Michelle Ct, Apt E Collegeville, PA 19426 Forrest Hill, MD 21050 Mike Fetrow Karen Anderson 118 Pleasant Acres Rd.
2250 N. George St York, PA 17402 York, PA 17402 Linda Gallucci Bernard August 140 Leader Heights Rd.
101 Cardiff Ct. W. York, PA 17403 Newark, DE 19711 Chris Kauffman Frieda Berryhill 415 S. Charles St, Apt 4 2610 Grendon Dr. Red Lion, PA 17356 Wilmington, DE 19808 Paul Gunter Rita Bright 1424 16th St, NW, #404 851 Federal Hill Rd. Washington, DC 20036 Street, MD 21154
Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and 3 cc:
Joseph Mangano Martha Wickelhaus 786 Caroll St. 314 N. Morris St.
Brooklyn, NY 11215 Shippensburg, PA 12257 Chris Neumann Heather Will 297 Kilgore Rd. 2005 S. Queen St.
Delta, PA 17314 York PA 17403 Catherine Reed Norm and Joan Wurzback 295 Slab Rd. 100 Highland Lane Delta, PA 17314 Brogue, PA 17309 David M. Ritter Mr. Alan P. Nelson 215 Pennsylvania Ave, SE Nuclear Energy Institute Washington, DC 20003 1776 I Street, N.W., Suite 400 Washington, DC 20006-3708 Jon Rutter APN@NEI.ORG 8 West King St.
Lancaster, PA 17603 Mr. William Maher, PE 203 Hazelton Court Sandy Smith Mullica Hill, NJ 08062 1650 Furnace Rd.
Brogue, PA 17309 Robert M. Scarborough 218 N. George St.
York, PA 17401 Ben and Sandy Shapiro 1601 Waterbury Ct.
Bel Air, MD 21014 Hal Trimble 805 N. Shippen St.
Lancaster, PA 17602 Silver Cloud Washburn P.O. Box 460 Conowingo, MD 21918-0460