[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 92 (Wednesday, May 12, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26417-26418]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-10734]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 70-1151]
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC., Environmental Assessment and
Issuance of Finding of No Significant Impact Related to Proposed
Exemption From the Annual Physical Inventory Frequency Requirement of
the Fundamental Nuclear Material Control Plan
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Finding of no significant impact and environmental assessment.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Don Stout, Fuel Cycle Facilities
Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Mail Stop T8-A33, Washington DC 20555-0001, telephone (301) 415-5269
and e-mail des1@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the
issuance of an amendment to NRC Materials License SNM-1107 to allow a
one-time exemption that extends the SNM physical inventory completion
date by four days at the Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC, (WEC)
facility in Columbia, South Carolina, and has prepared an Environmental
Assessment (EA) in support of this action. Based upon the EA, the NRC
has concluded that a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is
appropriate, and, therefore, an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
will not be prepared.
II. Environmental Assessment
Background
The WEC, Nuclear Fuel, Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility
fabricates nuclear fuel assemblies containing low-enriched uranium
oxide for use in commercial nuclear power reactors. The NRC staff has
received an exemption request (Ref. 1), dated November 21, 2003, to
exempt WEC from 10 CFR 74.31(c)(5), requirements that SNM physical
inventories be performed at least every 12 months. In Section 5.3.1 of
the licensee's NRC approved Fundamental Nuclear Material Control Plan
(FNMC), WEC specifies an annual SNM physical inventory will be
performed at an interval of at least every 12 months, plus or minus 30
days. Because the last SNM physical inventory was performed on April
18, 2003, the next physical inventory is required to be completed no
later than May 18, 2004. WEC requested a license amendment to allow a
one-time exemption that extends the SNM physical inventory completion
date to May 22, 2004. The purpose of this document is to assess the
environmental consequences of the proposed exemption.
Review Scope
The purpose of this EA is to assess the environmental impacts of
the exemption request. It does not approve the request. This EA is
limited to the extension of the SNM physical inventory date to May 22,
2004, at the Columbia facility. The existing conditions and operations
for the Columbia facility were evaluated by the NRC for environmental
impacts in a July 12, 1995, EA related to the renewal of the WEC
license (Ref. 2). This assessment will determine whether to issue a
FONSI or to prepare an EIS. Should the NRC issue a FONSI, no EIS will
be prepared.
Proposed Action
The proposed action is to grant an exemption from the requirements
in 10 CFR 74.31(c)(5) and allow WEC to extend the completion date of
the annual SNM physical inventory to May 22, 2004.
Purpose and Need for Proposed Action
WEC is currently manufacturing nuclear fuel at the Columbia, South
Carolina facility. It is requesting an extension from May 18, 2004, to
May 22, 2004, to complete its annual SNM physical inventory. This one-
time extension expires on May 26, 2004. WEC is requesting this
extension because it has a high production workload for the month of
April due to the seasonal refueling activities. WEC has indicated that
the high production workload may cause significant challenges to
achieving a successful and complete physical inventory.
Alternatives
The alternatives available to the NRC are:
1. Approve the exemption request as submitted;
2. No action (i.e., deny the exemption request).
Affected Environment
The affected environment for Alternatives 1 and 2 is the WEC site.
A full description of the site and its characteristics is given in the
1995 EA related to the renewal of the WEC license (Ref.1). This plant
is located in the central part of South Carolina in Richland County,
approximately 8 miles southeast of Columbia. The plant is set back
approximately 1800 feet from the nearest roadway on a plot of
approximately 1,156 acres near the Congaree River. The site is bounded
to the north by Highway 48 (Bluff Road), and by the Congaree River to
the south. The area adjacent to the site consists primarily of forest.
Effluent Releases and Monitoring
A full description of the effluent monitoring program at the site
is provided in the 1995 EA related to the renewal of the WEC license
(Ref. 2). The WEC-Columbia facility conducts effluent and environmental
monitoring programs to evaluate potential public health impacts and
comply with the NRC effluent and environmental monitoring requirements.
The effluent program monitors the airborne, liquid,
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and solid waste streams produced during operation of the facility. The
environmental program monitors the air, surface water, sediment, soil,
groundwater, and vegetation in and around the Columbia plant.
Airborne, liquid, and solid effluent streams that contain
radioactive material generated at the Columbia facility are monitored
to ensure compliance with NRC regulations in 10 CFR Part 20. The
results of effluent monitoring are reported on a semi-annual basis to
the NRC in accordance with 10 CFR 70.59.
Airborne and liquid effluents are also monitored for
nonradiological constituents in accordance with State discharge
permits. For the purpose of this EA, the State of South Carolina is
expected to set limits on effluents under its regulatory control that
are protective of health and safety and the local environment.
Environmental Impacts of Proposed Action
The proposed action will not result in the release of any chemical
or radiological constituents to the environment. In addition, the
proposed action will not cause any adverse impacts to local land use,
biotic resources, or cultural resources.
Environmental Impacts of No Action Alternative
Under the no action alternative, WEC would have to complete the
annual SNM physical inventory by May 18, 2004. In order to complete the
physical inventory by May 18, 2004, WEC would encounter significant
challenges in achieving a successful and complete physical inventory
due to a high production workload and the sharing of common resources.
Based on its review, the NRC staff has concluded that the
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action are
insignificant. Thus, the staff considers that Alternative 1 is the
appropriate alternative for selection.
Agencies and Persons Contacted
On April 27, 2004, the NRC staff contacted the South Carolina
Department of Health and Environmental Conservation (DHEC) concerning
this request. Based on information provided by the NRC, concerning the
exemption allowing the extension of the SNM physical inventory
completion date, DHEC did not object to granting this exemption and the
EA.
The NRC staff has determined that consultation under Section 7 of
the Endangered Species Act is not required because the proposed action
is administrative in nature and will not affect listed species or
critical habitat.
The NRC staff has determined that the proposed action is not a type
of activity that has potential to cause effect on historic properties
because it is administrative in nature. Therefore, consultation under
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act is not required.
References
Unless otherwise noted, a copy of this document and the references
listed below will be available electronically for public inspection in
the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records
(PARS) component of NRC's document system (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible
from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
1. Westinghouse Electric Company (WEC), LLC, Letter to the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``Request for One-Time Exemption to
Annual SNM Physical Inventory Frequency Requirement of Fundamental
Nuclear Material Control (FNMC) Plan--License Number SNM-1107, Docket
70-1151, November 21, 2003,'' ADAMS No. ML033320331.
2. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), July 1995,
``Environmental Assessment for Renewal of Special Nuclear Material
License SNM-1107.''
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
Pursuant to 10 CFR Part 51, the NRC staff has considered the
environmental consequences of amending WEC Materials License SNM-1107
to exempt WEC from the annual SNM physical inventory requirement in 10
CFR 74.31(c)(5) and extend the completion date. On the basis of this
assessment, the Commission has concluded that environmental impacts
associated with the proposed action would not be significant and the
Commission is making a finding of no significant impact. Accordingly,
preparation of an EIS is not warranted.
IV. Further Information
For further details, see the references listed above. Documents may
be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public Document Room
(PDR), located at One White Flint North, Room O-1F21, 11555 Rockville
Pike, Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be
accessible electronically from the Agencywide Document Access and
Management System (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the
Internet at the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in
accessing the documents located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC PDR
Reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or (301) 415-4737, or by
e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, the 5th day of May 2004.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Robert C. Pierson,
Director, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office of
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 04-10734 Filed 5-11-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P