[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 137 (Tuesday, July 19, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41440-41441]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-3833]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-271]
Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power
Station; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering
modifying previous approvals, granted pursuant to Title 10 of the Code
of Federal Regulations (10 CFR 20.2002 (previously 10 CFR 20.302(a)),
for on-site disposal of slightly contaminated material at Vermont
Yankee Nuclear Power Station (Vermont Yankee), as requested by Entergy
Nuclear Operations, Inc. (the licensee). Vermont Yankee is located in
Windham County, Vermont. Therefore, as required by 10 CFR 51.21, the
NRC is issuing this environmental assessment and finding of no
significant impact.
Environmental Assessment
Identification of the Proposed Action
The proposed action would modify the previously-granted approvals
for on-site disposal of slightly contaminated material to increase the
current approved annual volume limit of 28.3 cubic meters of soil/sand
to a new annual volume limit of 150 cubic meters of soil/sand. In
addition, the licensee has requested a one-time approval for on-site
disposal of the current backlog inventory of approximately 528 cubic
meters of soil/sand.
The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's
application dated October 4, 2004, as supplemented on January 17, 2005.
The Need for the Proposed Action
The proposed action is needed to dispose of slightly contaminated
soil/sand on-site. Current restrictions on the annual volume of
slightly contaminated soil/sand that can be disposed on-site, coupled
with several plant facility projects in recent years, have resulted in
the accumulation of a backlog of slightly contaminated earthen material
that is awaiting disposal by land spreading on previously-approved on-
site disposal areas. The current approved annual volume limit of 28.3
cubic meters of soil/sand for disposal was based on licensee estimates
of soil and sand collected from road and walkway sweepings inside the
Protected Area following each year's winter cleanup (i.e., the current
annual limit does not account for future site excavation and
construction activities).
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The NRC has completed its safety evaluation of the proposed action
and concludes that the proposed action will be bounded by the
conditions for the on-site disposals previously reviewed and approved
by the NRC. The staff's safety evaluation will be provided as an
enclosure to the letter to the licensee approving the proposed action.
[[Page 41441]]
The proposed action will not significantly increase the probability
or consequences of accidents. No changes are being made in the types of
effluents that may be released off-site. There is no significant
increase in occupational or public radiation exposure. Therefore, there
are no significant radiological environmental impacts associated with
the proposed action. The licensee will continue to use the designated
and approved areas of its property for disposal. Determination of the
radiological dose impact of the new material to be disposed has been
made based on the same dose assessment models and pathway assumptions
used in previously-approved applications for Vermont Yankee. The NRC
staff's review of the proposed action concluded that the bounding dose
conditions for the previously-approved materials will not be exceeded.
The maximum dose from the radionuclides in the material was determined
to be less than 1 millirem per year to the maximally exposed individual
and less than 5 millirem per year to an inadvertent intruder.
With regard to potential non-radiological impacts, the proposed
action does not have a potential to affect any historic sites. It does
not affect non-radiological plant effluents and has no other
environmental impact. Therefore, there are no significant non-
radiological environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.
Accordingly, the NRC concludes that there are no significant
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.
Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action
As an alternative to the proposed action, the staff considered
denial of the proposed action (i.e., the ``no-action'' alternative).
The environmental impacts of the proposed action and the alternative
action are similar. If the proposed action is denied, the licensee may
be required to ship the material to an off-site low-level radioactive
waste disposal facility. The costs associated with off-site disposal
greatly exceed the cost of on-site disposal with no significant benefit
to the environment.
Alternative Use of Resources
The action does not involve the use of any different resources than
those previously considered in the Final Environmental Statement for
Vermont Yankee.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
On April 25, 2005, the staff consulted with the Vermont State
official, William Sherman, of the Department of Public Service,
regarding the environmental impact of the proposed action. The State
official had no comments.
Finding of No Significant Impact
On the basis of the environmental assessment, the NRC concludes
that the proposed action will not have a significant effect on the
quality of the human environment. Accordingly, the NRC has determined
not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the proposed
action.
For further details with respect to the proposed action, see the
licensee's letter dated October 4, 2004, as supplemented by letter
dated January 17, 2005. Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a
fee, at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland.
Publicly-available records will be accessible electronically from the
Agencywide Documents 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 [email protected].
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 12th day of July 2005.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Richard B. Ennis,
Senior Project Manager, Section 2, Project Directorate I, Division of
Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E5-3833 Filed 7-18-05; 8:45 am]
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