[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 240 (Wednesday, December 16, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66697-66698]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-29874]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-395; NRC-2009-0559]
South Carolina Electric and Gas Company, Virgil C. Summer Nuclear
Station, Unit 1, Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant
Impact
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering
issuance of an exemption pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50, Section 50.12, ``Specific Exemptions,''
for Facility Operating License No. NPF-12, issued to South Carolina
Electric & Gas Company (the licensee), for operation of the Virgil C.
Summer Nuclear Station, Unit 1, located in Fairfield County, South
Carolina. Therefore, as required by 10 CFR 51.21, the NRC performed an
environmental assessment. Based on the results of the environmental
assessment, the NRC is issuing a finding of no significant impact.
Environmental Assessment
Identification of the Proposed Action
The proposed action would provide a one-time exemption to the
requirements of 10 CFR 50, Appendix E, ``Emergency Planning and
Preparedness for Production and Utilization Facilities,'' Section
IV.F.2.b, to postpone the onsite portion of the biennial emergency
preparedness exercise from calendar year 2009 until April 2010.
The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's
application dated October 15, 2009, as supplemented by letter dated
November 3, 2009.
The Need for the Proposed Action
The licensee states that it has made a good faith effort to comply
with the regulation in that the biennial exercise was previously
scheduled to be performed on October 7, 2009. The licensee further
states that ``However, a plant trip occurred on October 2, 2009, due to
failure of the main generator output breaker. The plant trip required
redirection of station resources to respond to the forced outage and to
perform recovery activities. Since the recovery efforts were a major
distraction, the decision was made to postpone the exercise.'' The
licensee states that it did participate in the offsite portion of the
exercise on October 7, 2009, with Federal, state and local authorities.
Since the scenario for the exercise would thus be known to the licensee
emergency response organization (ERO) team members designated for the
offsite portion of the exercise, the scenario will require modification
for the forthcoming onsite portion of the exercise and a new ERO team
will need to be selected to participate in the onsite portion of the
biennial exercise.
In summary, as a result of the impact of the combined need to
repair the generator output breaker, an ongoing extensive refueling
outage, the associated unavailability of key station personnel and the
need to perform activities to support the onsite portion of the
exercise, the licensee proposes to reschedule the onsite portion of the
exercise for April 2010.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The underlying purpose of 10 CFR 50, Appendix E, Section IV.F.2.b,
requiring licensees to conduct a biennial exercise, is to ensure that
ERO personnel are familiar with their duties and to test the adequacy
of emergency plans. In addition, 10 CFR 50, Appendix E, Section
IV.F.2.b, also requires licensees to maintain adequate emergency
response capabilities during the intervals between biennial exercises
by conducting drills to exercise the principal functional areas of
emergency response. In order to accommodate the scheduling of full
participation exercises, the NRC has allowed licensees to schedule the
exercises at any time during the calendar biennium. Conducting the
VCSNS full-participation exercise in calendar year 2010 places the
exercise past the previously scheduled biennial calendar year of 2009.
Since the last biennial exercise on October 2, 2007, the licensee has
conducted nine full-station participation training drills to exercise
these principal functional areas, including an after-hours augmentation
drill. In addition, at the request of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA), the licensee supported the State and local authorities
with the offsite portion of the biennial exercise
[[Page 66698]]
on October 7, 2009, thereby facilitating the FEMA evaluation of the
State and local authorities. The NRC staff considers the intent of this
requirement is met by having conducted these series of training drills.
The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and
concludes that it does not create new accident precursors and that the
probability and consequences of postulated accidents are not
significantly increased.
The details of the staff's safety evaluation will be provided in
the exemption that will be issued as part of the letter to the licensee
approving the exemption to the regulation.
No changes are being made in the types of effluents that may be
released offsite. There is no significant increase in the amount of any
effluent released offsite. There is no significant increase in
occupational or public radiation exposure. Therefore, there are no
significant radiological environmental impacts associated with the
proposed action.
With regard to potential non-radiological impacts, the proposed
action does not have any foreseeable impacts to land, air, or water
resources, including impacts to biota. In addition, there are also no
known socioeconomic or environmental justice impacts associated with
such proposed action. 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 for
the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station, Unit No. 1, NUREG-0719, dated May
1981, and Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (NUREG-1437
Supplement 15) dated February 2004.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
In accordance with its stated policy, on November 25, 2009, the
staff consulted with the South Carolina State official, Ms. Susan
Jenkins of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental
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 October 15, 2009, as supplemented by letter
dated November 3, 2009. 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 O1 F21, 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 send an e-mail to
[email protected].
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day of December 2009.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Robert E. Martin,
Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch 2-1, Division of
Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E9-29874 Filed 12-15-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P