ML15124A847

Attachment 1 Draft EA and Fonsi

ML15124A847
Person / Time
Site:	Vermont Yankee File:NorthStar Vermont Yankee icon.png
Issue date:	05/04/2015
From:	Kim J S Plant Licensing Branch IV
To:	Entergy Nuclear Operations
SECY RAS
References
50-271-LA-2, ASLBP 15-937-02-LA-BD01, RAS 27673
Download: ML15124A847 (17)

Text

ATTACHMENT 1

-o{'" ^*,h,^4 )- lá Ii.wiUNITED STATESNUCLEAR REGU LATORY COMMISSIONWASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001Apnl 24,2O15Site Vice PresidentEntergy Nuclear Operations, lnc.Vermonl Yankee Nuclear Power StationP.O. Box 250Governor Hunt RoadVernon, VT 05354

SUBJECT:

VERMONT YANKEE NUCLEAR POWER STATION - DRAFTENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND FINDING OF NO SIQNIFICANIMPACT RELATED TO REQUEST FOR EXEMPT]ONS FROM CERTAINEMERGENCY PLANNING REQUIREMENTS (TAC NO. MF3614)

Dear Sir or Madam:

Enclosed is a copy of the Draft Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant lmpactrelated to your application dated March 14,2A14, as supplemented by letters dated August 29,2014, and October 21, 2014, regarding your request for exemptions from certain emergencyplanning requirements.The proposed action would exempt Entergy Nuclear Operations, lnc., from cerlain requirementsset forth in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations section 5A.47, "Emergency plans," andPart S0, Appendix E, "Emergency Planning and Preparedness for Production and UtilizationFacilities," based on the permanently shutdown and defueled status of the Vermont YankeeNuclear Power Station.The Draft EnvironmentalAssessment and Finding of No Significant lmpact is being forwarded tothe Office of the Federal Register for publication for a 30-day public comment period.

-¿-lf you have any questions, please contact me at 301415-4125, or by e-mail atJames'Kim@nrc'gov sincerery,k'-"'-James Kim, Project ManagerPlant Licensing lV-2 and DecommissioningTransition BranchDivision of Operating Reactor LicensingOffice of Nuclear Reactor RegulationDocket No. 50-271

Enclosure:

Draft Environmental Assessmentcc w/enclosure: Distribution via Listserv ENCLOSUREDRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND FINDING OF NOSIGNIFICANT IMPACTENTERGY NUCLEAR OPERATIONS, INC.VERMONT YANKEE NUCLEAR POWER STATIONDOCKET NO. 50-271

[7590-0r-P]NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION[Docket No. 50-271 ; <NRC-20YY-XXXX>]Entergy Nuclear OPerations, lnc.Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power StationAGENGY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.ACTION: Draft environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact; reques forcomment.SUMMARY: The U,S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering issuane ofexemptions in response to a request from Entergy Nuclear Operations, lnc. (Entergy or thelicensee) that would permit the licensee to reduce its emergency planning (EP) activities at theVermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (VY). The licensee is seeking exemptions that wouldeliminate the requirements for the licensee to maintain offsite radiological emergency plans andreduce some of the onsite EP activities based on the reduced risks at W, which is permanentlyshutdown and defueled. However, requirements for certain onsite capabilities to communicateand coordinate with offsite response authorities would be retained. ln addition, offsite EPprovisions would still exist through State and local government use of a comprehensiveemergency management plan process in accordance with the Federal Emergency ManagementAgency's (FEMA's) Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 101, "Developing andMaintaining Emergency Operations Plans." The NRC staff is issuing, for public comment, thisdraft environmental assessment (EA) and findíng of no significant impact (FONSI) associatedwith the proposed exemPtions.

DATES: Submit comments by INSERT DATE 30 DAYS FROM DATE OF PUBLICATION lNTHE FEDERA! REGTSTEF{,. Comments received after this date will be considered if it ispractical to do so, but the Commission is able to ensure consideration only for commentsreceived before this date.ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods (unless thisdocumnt describes a different method for submitting comments on a specific subject):. Federat Rulemaking Web Site: Go lo http://www.requlations.qov and search forDocket lD NRC-2OYY-XXXX. Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher;telephone: 301-415-3463; e-mail: Carol.gallaoh-er(Onrc.pov. Fortechnicalquestions, contactthe individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.. Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration, Mail Stop: OWFN-12-HO$, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.For additionaldirection on obtaining information and submitting comments, see"Obtaining lnformation and Submitting Comments' in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATIONsection of this document.FOR FURTHER TNFORMATION CONTACT: James Kim, Office of Nuclear ReactorRegulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington DC 20555-0001; telephone301 -41 5-4125',e-mail: James.Kim(Onrc.oov.2 SU PPLEMENTARY NFORMATIONl. Obtaining lnformation and Submitting Gomments.A. Obtaining lnformation.Please refer to Docket lD <NRC-20YY-XXXX> when contacting the NRC about theavailability of information regarding this this draft EA and FONSI. You may obtain publicly-available information related to this this draft EA and FONSI using any of the following methods:. Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Go to http://www.requlations.qov and search forDocket ID <NRC-2OYY'XXXX>.. NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS):You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the ADAMS Public Documents collectionat http://www.nrc.qov/readinq-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select "ADAMS PublicDocuments" and then select "Beqin Web-based ADAMS Search. For problems with ADAMS,please contact the NRC's Publlc Document Room (PDR) reference statf at 1-800-397-4209,301-41 5-4737, or by e-mail to pdr.resource(nrc.qov. For the convenience of the reader, theADAMS accession numbers are provided in a table in the "Availability of Documents" section ofthis document.. NRG's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public documents at theNRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, OneWhite Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland20852.B. Submitting Comments.Please include Docket lD <NRC-2OYY-XXXX> in your comment submission.3 The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact information that you do notwant to be publicly disclosed in your comment submission. The NRC will post all commentsubmissions at http:l/www.Legulations.qov as well as enter the comment submissions intoADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to remove identifying orcontact information.lf you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons for submission to theNRC, then you should inform those persons not to include identifying or contact information thatthey do not want to be publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request shouldstate that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to remove such informationbefore making the comment submissions available to the pubtic or entering the comment intoADAMS.ll. lntroduction.W is a permanently shutdown and defueled nuclear power plant that is in the process ofdecommissioning. W is located in Windham County, Vermont, 5 miles south of Brattleboro,Vermont. Entergy is the holder of the Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-28 for W.VY has been shut down since December 29, 2014, and the final removal of fuel from the Wreactor vessel was completed on January 12,2015. By letter dated January 12,2015, Entergysubmitted to the NRC a certification of the permanent cessation of power operations at W andthe permanent removal of fuel from the VY reactor vessel. As a permanently shutdown anddefueled facility, and pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR)section 50.82(aX2), VY is no longer authorized to be operated or to have fuel placed into itsreactor vessel, but the licensee is still authorized to possess and store irradiated nuclear fuel.4 lrradiated nuclear fuel is currently stored onsite at W in a spent fuel pool (SFP) and in anindependent spent fuel storage installation (lSFSl).The licensee has requested exemptions for W from certain EP requirements in 10 CFRPart 50, "Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities." The NRC regulationsconcerning EP do not recognize the reduced risks afier a reactor is permanently shut down anddefueled. As such, a permanently shutdown and defueled reactor, such as W, must continueto maintain the same EP requirements as an operating power reactor under the existingregulatory requirements. To establish a level of EP commensurate with the reduced risks of apermanently shutdown and defueled reactor, Entergy requires exemptions from certain EPr,egulatory requirements before it can change its emergéncy plans.The NRC is considering issuing to Entergy exemptions from portions of 10 CFR 50.47,"Emergency plans," and 10 CFR part 50, appendix E, "Emergency Planning and Preparednessfor Production and Utilization Facilities," which would eliminate the requirements for Entergy tomaintain otfsite radiological emergency plans and reduce some of the onsite EP activities basedon the reduced risks at W, due to its permanently shutdown and defueled status. Based on thedecision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Brodsky v. NRCassociated with a fire protection exemption for lndian Point Nuclear Generating Unit No, 3, anddemonstrated public interest in this exemption request, particularly the State of Vermont, theNRC is issuing for public comment, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.33, this draft EA and FONSIassociated with the exemption request. The NRC has concluded that the proposed action willhave no significant environmental impact.5 l1. DraftEnvironmentalAssessment.Description of the Proposed ActionThe proposed action would exempt Entergy from meeting certain requirements set forthin 10 CFR 50.47 and appendix E to 10 CFR part 50. More specifically, Entergy requestedexemptions from: (1) certain requirements in 10 CFR 50.47(b) regarding onsite and offsiteemergency response plans for nuclear power reactors; (2) certain requirements in10 CFR 50.47(c)(2) to establish plume exposure and ingestion pathway EP zones for nuclearpower reactors; and (3) certain requirements in 10 CFR part 50, appendix E, section lV, whichestablishes the elements that make up the content of emergency plans. The proposed action ofgranting these exemptions would eliminale the requirements for Entergy to maintain offsiteradiological emergency plans and reduce some of the onsite EP activities at VY, based on thereduced risks at the permanently shutdown and defueled reactor. However, requirements forcertain onsite capabilities to communicate and coordinate with offsite response authoritieswould be retained. Additionally, if necessary, offsite protective actions could still beimplemented using a comprehensive emergency management plan (CEMP) process. A CEMPin this context, also referred to as an emergency operations plan (EOP), is addressed in FederalEmergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 101.The CPG 101 is the foundation for State, territorial, tribal, and local EP in the United States. ltpromotes a common understanding of the fundamentals of risk-informed planning and decisionmaking, and helps planners at all levels of government in their efforts to develop and maintainviable, all-hazards, all-threats emergency plans. An EOP is flexible enough for use in allemergencies. lt describes how people and property will be protected; details who is responsiblefor carrying out specific actions; identifies the personnel, equipment, facilities, supplies, and6 other resources available; and outlines how all actions will be coordinated. A CEMP is ofienreferred to as a synonym for "all-hazards" planning.The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's application datedMarch 14,2014, as supplemented by letters dated August 29, 2014, and October 21,2014. lnilsletters dated August29,2O14, and October21,2014, Entergy provided responses to the NRCstaffs requests for additional information concerning the proposed exemptions.Need for the Proposed ActionThe proposed action is needed for Entergy to revise the W emergency plan to reflectthe permanently shutdown and defueled status of the facility. The EP requirements currentlyapplicable to W are for an operating power reactor. There are no explicit regulatory provisionsdistinguishing EP requirements for a power reactor that has been permanently shut down fromthose for an operating power reactor. Therefore, since the 10 CFR Part 50 license for W nolonger authorizes operation of the reactor or emplacement or retention of fuel into the reactorvessel, as specified in 10 CFR 50.82(aX2), the occurrence of postulated accidents associatedwith reactor operation is no longer credible.ln its exemption request, the licensee identified four possible radiological accidents atVY in its permanently shutdown and defueled condition. These are: (1) a fuel-handlingaccident; (2) a radioactive waste-handling accident; (3) a loss of SFP normal cooling (i.e., boiloff); and (4) an adiabatic heat up of the hottest fuel assembly. The NRC staff evaluated thesepossible radiological accidents in the Commission Paper (SECY) 14-0125, "Request byEntergy Nuclear Operations, lnc., for Exemptions from Certain Emergency PlanningRequirements," dated November 14,2014. ln SECY-'14 -0125,the NRC staff verified thatEntergy's analyses and calculations provided reasonable assurance that if the requested7 exemptons were granted, then: (1) for a design-basis accident (DBA), an offsite radiologicalrelease will not exceed the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Protective ActionGuides (PAGs) at the site boundary, as detailed in the EPA "PAG Manual, Protective ActionGuides and Planning Guidance for Radiological lncidents," dated March 2013, which wasissued as Draft for lnterim Use and Public Comment; and (2) in the unlikely event of a beyondDBA resulting in a loss of all SFP cooling, there is sufficient time to initiate appropriatemitigating actions, and if a release is projected to occur, there is sufficient time for offsiteagencies to take protective actions using a CEMP to protect the health and safety of thepublic. The Commission approved the NRC staff's recommendation to grant the exemptionsbased on this evaluation in its Staff Requirements Memorandum to SECY-14'0125, datedMarch 2,2015.Based on these analyses, the licensee states that complete application of the EP rule toW, in its particular circumstances as a permanently shutdown and defueled reactor would notserve the underlying purpose of the rule or is not necessary to achieve the underlying purposeof the rule. Entergy also states that ít would incur undue costs in the applicatíon of operatingplant EP requirements for the maintenance of an emergency response organization in excess ofthat actually needed to respond to the diminished scope of credible accidents for a permanentiyshutdown and defueled reactor.Environmental lmpacts of the Proposed ActionThe NRC staff concluded that the exemptions, if granted, would not significantly increasethe probability or consequences of accidents at VY in its permanently shutdown and defueledcondition. There would be no significant change in the types of any effluents that may bereleased offsite. There would be no significant increase in the amounts of any effluents thatI may be released offsite, There would be no significant increase in individual or cumulativeoccupational or public radiation exposure. Therefore, there are no significant radiologicalenvironmental impacts associated with the proposed action.With regard to potential non-radiological impacts, the proposed.action does not have anyforeseeable impacts to land, air, or water resources, including impacts to biota. ln addition,there are also no known socioeconomic or environmentaljustice impacts associated with theproposed action. Therefore, there are no significant non-radiological environmental impactsassociated with the proposed action.Accordingly, the NRC concludes that there are no significant environmental impactsassociated with the proposed action.Enviranmental lmpacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed ActionAs an alternative to the proposed action, the NRC staff considered the denial of theproposed action (i.e., the "no-action" alternative). The denial of the application would result inno change in current environmental impacts. Therefore, the environmental impacts of theproposed action and the alternative action are similar.Alternative Use of ResourcesThe proposed action does not involve the use of any different resources than thosepreviously considered in the Final Environmental Statement for VY, dated July 1972, assupplemented by NUREG-1437, Supplement 30, "Generic Environmental lmpact Statement forLicense Renewal of Nuclear Plants: Regarding Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station,"Volumes 1 and 2, published in August 2007 .I Agencies or Persons ConsultedThe NRC staff did not enter into consultation with any other Federal agency or with theState of Vermont regarding the environmental impact of the proposed action. On April 24,2015,the Vermont State representative was notified of this drafi EA and FONSI.lV. Finding of No Significant lmpact.The licensee has proposed exemptions from: (1) certain requirements in 10 CFR 50.47(b)regarding onsite and offsite emergency response plans for nuclear power reactors; (2) certainrequirements in 10 CFR 50.47(cX2) to establish plume exposure and ingestion pathway EP zonesfor nuclear power reactors; and (3) certain requirements in 10 CFR part 50, appendix E,section lV, which establishes the elements that make up the content of emergency plans. Theproposed action of granting these exemptions would eliminate the requirements for the licensee tomaintain offsite radiological emergency plans and reduce some of the onsite EP activities at VY,based on lhe reduced risks at the permanently shutdown and defueled reactor. However,requirements for certain onsite capabilities to communicate and coordinate with offsite responseauthorities will be retained and offsite EP provisions will still exist through State and localgovernment use of a CEMP.Consistent with 10 CFR 51 .21, the NRC conducted the EA for the proposed aclionincluded in Section lll of this document, and incorporated by reference in this finding. On thebasis of this EA, the NRC concludes that the proposed action will not have a significant effect onthe quality of the human environment, Accordingly, the NRC has decided not to prepare anenvironmental impact statement for the proposed action.10 V. Availability of Documents.The documents identified in the following table are available to interested personsthrough one or more of the following methods, as indicated.ADAMS Accession No. / Web link'/Federal RegisferCitationDocumenthttp://www.fema.qov/media-li brarv-data/20 1 30726- 1 828-250450014/cpq .,101 comprehensive preoaredness ouide2010.odfdevelooino aions olanmaintainino emeroencvDeveloping and MaintainingEmergency Operations Plans,Comprehe nsive PreparednessGuide (CPG) 101, Version 2.0,November 2010.ADAMS Accession No. ML140804141Docket No. 50-271, Request forExemptions from Portions of 10CFR 50.47 and 10 CFR 50,Appendix E, Vermont YankeeNuclear Power Station,March 14,2414.ADAMS Accession No. ML142464176Docket No. 50-271, Request forExemptions from Portions of 10CFR 50.47 and 10 CFR 50,Appendix E - Supplement 1,Vermont Yankee Nuclear PowerStation, Auqust 29. 2014.ADAMS Accession No. ML142974159Docket No. 50-271, Request forExemptions from Portions of 10CFR 50.47 and '10 CFR 50,Appendix E - Supplement 2,Vermont Yankee Nuclear PowerStation, October 21, 2014.http://www. epa.o ov/rodweb00/docs/er/paq-manual-interim-publ ic-comment4-2-20 1 3. pdfProtective Action Guides andPlanning Guidance forRadiological lncidents, U.S.Environmental ProtectionAgency Drafi for lnterim Use andPublic Comment, March 2013.ADAMS Accession No. ML14227A711SECY-14-01 25, "Request byEntergy Nuclear Operations, lnc.for Exemptions from CertainEmergency PlanningRequirements," November 1 4,2014.11 ADAMS Accession No. ML15061A516Staff RequirementsMemorandum to SECY-14-0125,"Request by Entergy NuclearOperations, lnc., for Exemptionsfrom Certain EmergencyPlanning Requirements,"March 2,2015.NUREG-1437, Supplement 30,"Generic Environmental lmpactStatement for License Renewalof Nuclear Plants RegardingVermont Yankee Nuclear PowerStation." Auoust 2007ADAMS Accession No. ML071840398Dated at Rockville, Maryland, tnt24 day of April, 2015.For the Nuclear Regulatory CommissioriMeena K. Khanna, Chief,Plant Licensing lV-2 and DecommissioningTransition Branch,Division of Operating Reactor Licensing,Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.12 lf you have any questions, please contact me at 301-415-4125, or by e-mail atJames.Kim(@nrc.oov.Sincerely,/RNJames Kím, Project ManagerPlant Licensing lV-2 and DecommissioningTransition BranchDivision of Operating Reactor LicensingOffice of Nuclear Reactor RegulationDocket No. 50-271

Enclosure:

Draft Environmental Assessmentcc Wenclosure: Distribution via ListservDISTRIBUTION:PUBLICLPL4-2 R/FRidsAcrsAcnw*MailCTR Reso u rceRidsNrrDlrRerb ResourceRidsRgn 1 MailCenter ResourceRidsNmssDuwpRdb ResourceRidsNmssDsfmSfl b ResourceRidsOgcMailCenter Resource*Via e-mailRidsNrrDorlLpl4-2 ResourceRidsNrrLAPBlechman ResourceRidsNrrPMVe rmonlYankee ResourceRidsNsirDprDdep ResourceFRN: ML151034400ADAMS Accesson No.: MLl5103A4l9NMSS/DUWP/RDB/BC-NRR/DORL/LPL4-2IPMNRRiDORL/LPL4-ZILANSIR/DPR/DDEP/BC*OFFICEPBlechmanJAndersonBWatsonNAMEJKim4t15t154t141154t14t15411515DATENRR/DORULPL4-2IBCNRR/DORULPL4.2IPMOFFICENRR/DLR/RERB/BCOGC - NLO WcommentsJWachutkaMKhannaJKimNAMEDWrona41211154t23t154t24t15DATE4t16115COPY