Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 221 / Wednesday, November 17, 2004 / Notices 67371

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[Docket No. 50–312] 

Sacramento Municipal Utility District; 

Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating 

Station; Environmental Assessment 

and Finding of No Significant Impact

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John 

B. Hickman, Project Manager, Reactor 

Decommissioning Section, 

Decommissioning Directorate, Division 

of Waste Management and 

Environmental Protection, Office of 

Nuclear Material and Safeguards 

Information, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, Washington, DC, 20555. 

Telephone: 301–415–3017; fax number: 

(301) 415–5397; e-mail: jbh@nrc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 

is considering granting a partial 

exemption from the Recordkeeping 

requirements of Title 10 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations (10 CFR) part 

50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, Appendix A; 

10 CFR part 50, Appendix B, for the 

Rancho Seco Generating Station 

(Rancho Seco) as requested by 

Sacramento Municipal Utility District 

(SMUD) on September 2, 2004. An 

environmental assessment (EA) was 

performed by the NRC staff in support 

of its review of the exemption request. 

I. Introduction 

SMUD is the licensee and holder of 

Facility Operating License No. DPR–54 

for Rancho Seco, a permanently 

shutdown decommissioning nuclear 

plant. Although permanently shutdown, 

this facility is still subject to all rules, 

regulations, and orders of the U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). 

SMUD shut down Rancho Seco 

permanently on June 7, 1989, after 

approximately 15 years of operation. On 

August 29, 1989, SMUD formally 

informed the NRC that the plant was 

shut down permanently. On May 20, 

1991, SMUD submitted the Rancho Seco 

decommissioning plan and on March 

20, 1995, the NRC issued an Order 

approving the decommissioning plan 

and authorizing the decommissioning of 

Rancho Seco. 

II. Environmental Assessment 

Summary 

Identification of Proposed Action 

The exemption will allow the 

disposal of records, prior to termination 

of the Rancho Seco Possession Only 

License No. DPR–54, that (1) are 

associated with the operation, design, 

fabrication, erection, and testing of 

structures, systems, and components 

that are no longer quality-related and/or 

important to safety or have been 

removed from the plant for disposal, 

and (2) require storage in their original 

hardcopy format due to practical and 

feasibility limitations associated with 

transferring them to microfilm or 

microfiche. 

Need for Proposed Action 

The requested exemption and 

application of the exemption will 

eliminate the requirement to maintain 

records that are no longer necessary due 

to the permanently shutdown status of 

the facility and thereby reduce the 

financial burden on ratepayers 

associated with the storage of a large 

volume of hardcopy records. 

The Affected Environment and 

Environmental Impacts 

The proposed action is purely 

administrative in nature and 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 and 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 

nonradiological impacts, the proposed 

action does not have a potential to affect 

any historic sites. It does not affect 

nonradiological plant effluents, and it 

has no other environmental impact. 

Therefore, there are no significant 

nonradiological environmental impacts 

associated with the proposed action. 

Accordingly, the NRC concludes that 

the proposed action will have no 

significant effect on the environment. 

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). Under this alternative 

Rancho Seco would continue to store 

the records in question until license 

termination which would result in no 

change in current environmental 

impacts. The environmental impacts of 

the proposed action and the alternative 

action are similar. 

Agencies and Persons Contacted 

None. 

III. Finding of No Significant Impact 

Based on this review, the NRC staff 

has concluded that there are no 

significant impacts on the quality of the 

human environment. Accordingly, the 

staff has determined that preparation of 

an Environmental Impact Statement is 

not warranted, and a Finding of No 

Significant Impact is appropriate. 

IV. Further Information 

For further details with respect to the 

proposed action, see the licensee’s letter 

dated September 2, 2004 (Agencywide 

Documents Access and Management 

System (ADAMS) Accession No. 

ML042540018). 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’s Public Document 

Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1–800–

397–4209, (301) 415–4737, or by e-mail 

to pdr@nrc.gov.

These documents may also be viewed 

electronically on the public computers 

located at the NRC’s PDR, O 1 F21, One 

White Flint North, 11555 Rockville 

Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR 

reproduction contractor will copy 

documents for a fee. 

Please note that on October 25, 2004, 

the NRC suspended public access to 

ADAMS, and initiated an additional 

security review of publicly available 

documents to ensure that potentially 

sensitive information is removed from 

the ADAMS database accessible through 

the NRC’s Web site. Interested members 

of the public may obtain copies of the 

referenced documents for review and/or 

copying by contacting the Public 

Document Room pending resumption of 

public access to ADAMS. The NRC 

Public Document Room is located at 

NRC Headquarters in Rockville, MD, 

and can be contacted at 800–397–4209 

or (301) 415–4737 or pdr@nrc.gov.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day 

of November, 2004.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Claudia M. Craig, 

Acting Deputy Director, Decommissioning 

Directorate, Division of Waste Management 

and Environmental Protection, Office of 

Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.

[FR Doc. 04–25460 Filed 11–16–04; 8:45 am] 

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