[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 206 (Friday, October 24, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61019-61020]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-26893]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-250 and 50-251]
Florida Power and Light, Turkey Point, Units 3 and 4;
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering
issuance of amendments to Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-
31 and DPR-41, issued to Florida Power and Light Company, for operation
of the Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant, Units 3 and 4, located in
Miami-Dade County, Florida. 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 increase the number of fuel assemblies
that can be stored at each unit at Turkey Point from 1,404 fuel
assemblies to 1,535 fuel assemblies, an increase of 131. A freestanding
spent fuel storage rack module would be installed in the cask pit in
each unit's spent fuel pool. In addition, the new spent fuel storage
racks will use Boral as a neutron absorbing material.
The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's
application for amendment dated November 26, 2002, as supplemented in a
letter dated September 8, 2003.
The Need for the Proposed Action
The Turkey Point Nuclear Plant, Units 3 and 4, has two pressurized-
water reactors. Unit 3 commenced operation in 1972 and Unit 4 in 1973.
Based on the current licensed capacity, current spent fuel inventory,
and the projected discharges of spent fuel, Unit 3 will lose the
capability to fully offload the reactor core by the year 2007. Unit 4
will lose the capability to fully offload the reactor core by the year
2009. To extend this capability beyond the above dates, the licensee
has proposed license amendments to install a freestanding spent fuel
storage rack module in the cask pit of each unit's fuel handling
building. The spent fuel pool for each unit is currently licensed to
store a total of 1,404 fuel assemblies in high-density racks using
Boraflex neutron absorbing panels. The new racks will use Boral as the
neutron absorbing material. The racks are designed for storage of 131
fuel assemblies, increasing the total storage capacity of each unit to
1,535 assemblies.
The additional storage capacity provided by the cask pit racks will
be used to store spent fuel to allow refueling outage fuel offloads and
non-outage fuel shuffles. The cask pit racks will be removed, cleaned,
and stored in an alternate location prior to any spent fuel cask
loading operations.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and
concludes, as set forth below, that there are no significant
environmental impacts associated with the proposed amendment. The
details of the staff's safety evaluation will be provided in the
license amendment when it is issued by the NRC.
During refueling outages, there may be a slight increase in the
amount of heat that has to be removed from the combination of the spent
fuel pool and the cask pit. The peak increase will be less than one
percent, and the heat load from spent fuel storage is very small
compared to the heat load from normal plant operations. Therefore, the
overall increase in the amount of heat released will be quite small and
insignificant.
Even though additional boron will be introduced by the Boral panels
in the storage racks in the cask pit, no significant increase in
tritium production from the neutron capture by boron-10 is expected.
The proposed action will not significantly increase the probability
or consequences of accidents, there are no significant changes in the
types or significant increase in the quantities of effluents that may
be released offsite, and there is no significant increase in
occupational or public radiation exposure.
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 impacts. 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).
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
related to operation of Turkey Point Plant, dated July 1972, and
Supplement 5 to NUREG-1437, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement
for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants Regarding Turkey Point Units 3
and 4,'' dated January 2002.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
On September 29, 2003, the staff consulted with Michael Stevens of
the Bureau of Radiological Control 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 November 26, 2002, as supplemented by a letter
dated September 8, 2003. 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 01 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first
floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be
accessible electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access and
[[Page 61020]]
Management System (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on 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 at 1-800-
397-4209, or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to [email protected].
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17th day of October 2003.
For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Eva A. Brown,
Project Manager, Section 2, Project Directorate II, Division of
Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 03-26893 Filed 10-23-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P