ML20147A677

5/28/2020 Advanced Reactor Generic Environmental Impact Statement Scoping Meeting Slides

ML20147A677
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Issue date:	05/28/2020
From:	Jack Cushing, Laura Willingham Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
To:
Willingham L
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Download: ML20147A677 (24)

Text

Scoping Meeting Small-Scale Advanced Reactor Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS)

Jack Cushing, Sr. Project Manager Laura Willingham, Project Manager U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission May 28, 2020 Bridge line: (888) 622-9844; Pass Code: 5484985 Webinar Info: https://usnrc.webex.com; Meeting No: 905642855 Technical Difficulties? Please email Daniel.Barnhurst@nrc.gov

Purpose of the Meeting

• Overview of the NRCs Mission

• What is a GEIS

• Describe the NRCs environmental review process and scoping

• Approach for developing the GEIS

• Describe how you can provide comments during the scoping period

• Listen to and gather your comments 2

Who We Are and What We Do U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

• Independent Federal Agency

• Over 45 years of experience regulating operating reactors and other civilian use of nuclear materials

• Mission: To protect public health and safety, promote common defense and security, and protect the environment 3

What is a GEIS

• A type of environmental impact statement that considers the environmental impacts of environmental issues to reach generic or common conclusions.

• An application specific review is required for any environmental issues that are not generic and would be analyzed in a supplemental environmental impact statement.

• A GEIS streamlines the environmental review because the site specific review only needs to focus on unbounded category 1 issues and category 2 issues.

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Environmental Review Process Decision to Notice of Intent Scoping Develop GEIS Published Process Information Gathering: Draft GEIS Scoping and other sources Issued Comments Final GEIS On Draft GEIS Issued 5

Scoping Process

• Scoping process helps determine the significant issues to be analyzed in an environmental impact statement

• Comments that are relevant are considered in developing the environmental impact statement

• A Scoping Summary Report will be issued following the close of the scoping period 6

Scoping Process for the GEIS

• Identify the parameters needed to evaluate the environmental impacts of constructing and operating a small-scale advanced reactor

• Help us identify issues that can be resolved generically in the GEIS and issues that will need to be addressed in a site-specific supplemental environmental impact statement

• GEIS scoping period ends on June 30, 2020 7

GEIS Background

• Staff issued an information paper (SECY 20-0020) informing the Commission that it planned to develop an advanced reactor GEIS for small-scale reactor of approximately 30 megawatts thermal.

• Exact power level to be determined in scoping process.

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GEIS Approach

• Generally follow approach of license renewal GEIS. Address construction and operational impacts

• Rely on Decommissioning GEIS and Continued Storage GEIS

• Determine which environmental issues will be categorized as generic (category 1) or site-specific (category 2)

• Supplemental environmental impact statement issued for each future application.

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GEIS Approach (Cont.)

How to generically evaluate the impacts from any type of advanced reactor located anywhere in the US?

• Establish limits on the size of the reactor and the site so most environmental impacts would be category 1.

• Use a technology inclusive plant parameter envelope to bound all types of small-scale reactors.

• Use a site parameter envelope to bound the site.

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GEIS General Assumptions

• Assumes the site meets NRC regulations in 10 CFR 100 Reactor Siting Criteria

• Assumes the reactor meets NRC dose limits in 10 CFR 20 Standards for Protection Against Radiation

• Project can receive required permits from other agencies

• Standard mitigation practices followed (best management practices) 11

Resource Areas/Issues Terrestrial Aquatic Ecology Ecology Human Health Air Quality/Meteorology Climate Change Economics (Benefits Assessment/

EIS Need for Project) Fuel Cycle/RadWaste/

Accident-SAMA Demographics/

Socioeconomics/

Environmental Justice Surface and Groundwater Historic and Use Cultural Resources Water Transportation/ Quality Land Use 12

Draft Plant Parameter Envelope Parameter Value/Description Assumptions Site Size 100 acres 1. Meets NRC Siting Regulations

2. Stand-alone site or designated portion of larger site (e.g., Government reservation, military base, or existing power plant site)

3. Complies with applicable zoning

4. Not inconsistent with any comprehensive plans or other land use plans Permanent Footprint of 30 acres 1. No prime farmland, or not adjacent to actively used Disturbance farmland

2. No wetlands, floodplains, surface water features, riparian habitat, climax or old-growth vegetation, or dedicated conservation land Temporary Footprint of Additional 20 acres 1. Restored to original grade and seeded or planted Disturbance with indigenous vegetation once construction is complete.

2. Meets assumptions for permanent footprint Offsite right-of-way 1000 ft X 100 ft (new right-of- 1. Meets assumptions for site size way) or unlimited length 2. Does not cross or pass adjacent to parks, wildlife (within or adjacent to existing refuges, or conservation lands right-of-way) 3. Does not cross Wild and Scenic River or National Heritage River, or river of similar state designation 13

Draft Plant Parameter Envelope (Cont.)

Parameter Value/Description Assumptions Cooling and Service Water 1000 Gallons per minute 1. If water cooled, maximum amount of water removed Intake (gpm) from surface water bodies for cooling water makeup Consumptive water use 400 gpm 1. Consumption through evaporative loss during the cooling process Plant Water Discharge 600 gpm 1. Amount of water discharged to waterbody after use for plant purposes including cooling (i.e., blowdown),

and service water system.

2. Also includes other discharges from potable and sanitary systems (if applicable).

Blowdown Temperature and Within applicable Clean 1. Discharge results mainly from plant blowdown.

Constituent Concentrations Water Act limits. 2. Discharges are regulated under a clean water act permit and meets established discharge limits for temperature and for quantity of waste and concentration of each constituent.

Potable and Sanitary Water 5 gpm 1. If groundwater is used, pumping rates fall within Use and Discharge permittable limits.

2. If municipal water and sewage is used, usage amount is available and within capacity of the system.

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Draft Plant Parameter Envelope (Cont.)

Parameter Value/Description Assumptions Emissions from construction Criteria pollutants are less 1. Clean Air Act requires a conformity determination for equipment and standby than Clean Air Act de maintenance or nonattainment areas that exceed de power equipment during minimis levels. minimis values. Not applicable to attainment areas.

operations Megawatts Thermal (MW(t)) 60 MW(t) 1. Total thermal power generated by all units on site; can be more than one unit, however total thermal power is 60 MW(t).

The operational life for which 80 years 1. Bounding value. Assumes 40 year license with two the plant is designed 20 year license renewals for operational life Building Height 50 feet 1. Tallest structure, other than meteorology tower Foundation embedment 50 feet 1. The depth from finished grade to the bottom of the basemat for the most deeply embedded power block structure 15

Draft Plant Parameter Envelope (Cont.)

Parameter Value/description Assumptions Maximum number of 150 people 1. Maximum number of construction workforce, half of whom Construction workers in-migrate to the host county is less than 5% of total host county populations The number of total 50 people 1. Maximum operations workforce all of whom in- migrate to permanent staff to support the host county.

operations The additional number of 100 people 1. No refueling workers in-migrate to the host county.

temporary staff for refueling outage Noise Generation 65 Dba 1. At site boundary 16

Draft Plant Parameter Envelope (Cont.)

Parameter Value with units Definitions/Assumptions Station Capacity Factor 95% or greater 1. The percentage of time that a plant is capable of providing power to the grid The normal plant operating cycle 2 to 20 years 1. Different designs have different operating cycle length length Electrical output in mega-watt- 20 MW(e) 1. Most nuclear steam supply system designs are electric MW(e) approximately 33 to 37% efficient applying a Rankine cycle without superheated steam.

2. It is acceptable that if the efficiency is higher than the bounding value can be slightly higher than 20 MW(e).

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Draft Site Parameter Envelope Parameter Value/description Assumptions Water for Sanitary and Up to 5 gpm supply provided by 1. If groundwater is used, pumping rates fall within Potable Water Uses municipal systems or permittable limits and the aquifer supplying water groundwater resources. must support the required amount at a rate that is sustainable and does not impact offsite uses or users

2. If municipal water supply is used, usage amount is available and within capacity of the system

3. Sanitary discharge to sewage treatment plant is within available capacity and permittable. The plant is allowed to hook up to municipal water and sewage system with sufficient capacity Surface Water-Availability If plant uses surface water, 1. Not applicable if plant is air cooled monthly minimum flow is 75 2. Maximum average plant water withdrawals are less cubic feet per second (cfs). than 3% of minimum monthly flow of water body

3. Water availability is demonstrated by state-issued withdrawal permit

4. Withdrawals do not prevent the maintenance of applicable instream flow requirements

5. Water rights are obtainable, if needed, and amount is available without impact to other uses and users.

6. Large water bodies such as the oceans, Great Lakes are presumed to have sufficient water availability

7. Coastal Zone Management Act consistency determination obtained 18

Draft Site Parameter Envelope (Cont.)

Parameter Value/description Assumptions Surface Water Discharge If plant is discharging to 1. Not applicable if plant is air cooled surface water, monthly 2. Maximum average plant discharge is small in minimum flow is 75 cfs comparison to monthly minimum flow of water body

(<3%) and thermal and chemical components within the discharge would be diluted quickly

3. Discharge is in accordance with state/local permits

4. Altered current patterns and salinity gradients would be localized

5. Large water bodies such as the oceans, Great Lakes are presumed to have sufficient water capacity for dilution as long as restrictions on localized impacts are met Groundwater- Availability and Pumping rate of < 100 gpm 1. Pumping rate is sustainable, is a small percent of Quality (regardless of proposed flow within the aquifer and does not impact purpose) availability to offsite uses and users

2. Withdrawal rates are within limits which are permittable by applicable state or local agencies

3. Groundwater usage does not impact quality within the aquifer 19

Draft Site Parameter Envelope (Cont.)

Parameter Value/description Assumptions Air quality Attainment, Maintenance 1. Emission of criteria pollutants are less than de Area, or Nonattainment minimis levels Economics Annual property tax for the 1. Overnight construction cost of the proposed project is no proposed project is less more than $500 million USD than ten percent of the total property tax revenue of the host county 20

Likely Category 2 Issues These issues are likely to be category 2 in the advanced reactor GEIS:

• Endangered Species

• Historic and Cultural Resources

• Severe Accidents/severe accident mitigation alternatives

• Climate Change 21

Likely Category 2 Issues (Cont.)

• Alternatives - require a comparison between project and alternatives only available when application is received

• Need for the project - need for the project can only be determined when application is received

• Cost and Benefit of the project can only be determined when application is received 22

Important Dates

• Scoping period ends - June 30, 2020

• Draft GEIS issued - May 1, 2021

• Final GEIS issued - May 1, 2022 23

How to Submit Scoping Comments

• Only need to submit comments once using one of the below methods.

Email comments to: AdvancedReactors-GEIS@nrc.gov.

Submit comments Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2020-0101.

Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop TWFN-7-A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

At this meeting: Comments are recorded at this meeting. By Phone - Press

• then 1. By WebEx - send WebEx chat to All Panelists 24