[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 35 (Tuesday, February 23, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8149-8150]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-3496]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. STN 50-528, STN 50-529, and STN 50-530; NRC-2010-0058]
Arizona Public Service Company, et al. Palo Verde Nuclear
Generating Station, Units 1, 2, and 3 Environmental Assessment and
Finding of No Significant Impact
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering
issuance of an exemption from Title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50, Appendix G, ``Fracture Toughness
Requirements,'' for Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-41, NPF-51, and
NPF-74, issued to the Arizona Public Service Company (APS, or the
licensee), for operation of the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station
(PVNGS, the facility), Units 1, 2, and 3, respectively, located in
Maricopa County, Arizona. 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
By letter dated February 19, 2009, as supplemented by letter dated
December 22, 2009, the licensee submitted a license amendment request
where, among other changes, the licensee requested the use of an
alternate methodology for calculating the stress intensity factor
KIM due to internal pressure loading. As specified in the
NRC safety evaluation approving Combustion Engineering (CE) Topical
Report NPSD-683-A, Revision 6, ``Development of a RCS [Reactor Coolant
System] Pressure and Temperature Limits Report (PTLR) for the removal
of P-T [Pressure Temperature] Limits and LTOP [Low-Temperature
Overpressure Protection] Requirements from the Technical
Specifications,'' dated March 16, 2001, the licensee's application
included a request for an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR
Part 50, Appendix G for pressure temperature (P-T) limits, since the
alternate methodology applies the CE Nuclear Steam Supply System method
[[Page 8150]]
for calculating KIM stress intensity values.
The proposed action would exempt the licensee from certain
requirements of Appendix G to 10 CFR Part 50 to allow the application
of the methodology in CE NPSD-683-A, Revision 6, for the calculation of
flaw stress intensity factors due to internal pressure loadings
(KIM).
The Need for the Proposed Action
The exemption is needed to allow the licensee to use an alternate
methodology to meet the fracture toughness requirements for the reactor
coolant pressure boundary. In the considering the exemption request,
the staff has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii), the
application of the regulation in the particular circumstances is not
necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule, based on the
alternate methodology proposed by the licensee. The proposed action
would revise the currently-approved methodology for P-T limit
calculations to incorporate the methodology approved for use in CE
NPSD-683-A, Revision 6. The topical report allows the use of an
alternate methodology to calculate the flaw stress intensity factors
due to internal pressure loadings (KIM). Specifically, the
exemption is needed because the methodology in CE NPSD-683-A, Revision
6, could not be shown to be conservative with respect to the
methodology for the determination of KIM provided in
Editions and Addenda of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (ASME Code), Section XI, Appendix G,
through the 1995 Edition and 1996 Addenda (the latest Edition and
Addenda of the ASME Code which had been incorporated into 10 CFR 50.55a
at the time of the staff's review of CE NPSD-683-A, Revision 6).
Therefore, the licensee submitted an exemption request, consistent with
the requirements of 10 CFR 50.60, to apply the KIM
calculational methodology of CE NPSD-683-A, Revision 6, as part of the
PVNGS, Units 1, 2, and 3, PTLR methodology.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and
concludes that the use of the alternate methodology described above
would provide an adequate margin of safety against brittle failure of
the reactor pressure vessels at PVNGS, Units 1, 2 and 3. The proposed
change does not involve any replacement or modification of plant
components and no changes are proposed in the operation of PVNGS.
Therefore the staff concludes that the use of an alternate methodology
as described in the licensee's request would not significantly affect
plant safety and would not have a significant adverse affect on the
probability of an accident occurring.
The proposed action will not result in any non-radiological impacts
or radiological impacts. The proposed action does not result in changes
to the operation of the plant and supporting facilities, land use, or
water use, nor does it result in changes to the quality or quantity of
non-radiological and radiological effluents. No impacts are expected to
the air or ambient air quality. No impacts are expected to aquatic or
terrestrial habitats or species, or to threatened, endangered, or
protected species. No impacts are expected to historic and cultural
resources, or to socioeconomic resources. Accordingly, the NRC
concludes that there are no significant environmental impacts
associated with the proposed action.
The details of the staff's safety evaluation will be provided in
the exemption to 10 CFR 50, Appendix G, which will allow the use of the
methodology in Topical Report CE NPSD-683-A, Revision 6, to calculate
the flaw stress intensity factors due to internal pressure loadings
(KIM). The exemption will be issued in a future letter to
the licensee.
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).
Denial of the application would result in no change in current
environmental impacts. The environmental impacts of the proposed action
and the alternative action are similar.
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
the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1, 2, and 3, NUREG-
0841, dated February 1982.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
In accordance with its stated policy, on February 12, 2010, the
staff consulted with the Arizona State official, Mr. Aubrey Godwin of
the Arizona Radiation Regulatory Agency, 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 letters dated February 19 and December 22, 2009 (Agencywide
Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession Nos.
ML090641014 and ML10040069, respectively). Documents may be examined,
and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR),
located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555
Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available
records will be accessible electronically from the 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 send an e-mail to [email protected].
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day of February 2010.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James R. Hall,
Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch IV, Division of
Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2010-3496 Filed 2-22-10; 8:45 am]
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