2996 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 12 / Wednesday, January 19, 2000 / Notices

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed

Action

Regarding the fabrication exemption,

the Environmental Assessment for the

final rule, ‘‘Storage of Spent Nuclear

Fuel in NRC-Approved Storage Casks at

Nuclear Power Reactor Sites’ (55 FR

29181 (1990)), considered the potential

environmental impacts of overpacks

which are used to store spent nuclear

fuel under a CoC and concluded that

there would be no significant

environmental impacts. The proposed

action now under consideration would

not permit use of the overpacks, but

would only permit fabrication. There

are no radiological environmental

impacts from fabrication since overpack

fabrication does not involve radioactive

materials. The major non-radiological

environmental impacts involve use of

natural resources due to overpack

fabrication. Each HI–STORM 100

overpack weighs approximately 100

tons and is constructed of metal and

concrete. The HI–TRAC 100 transfer

cask weighs approximately 125 tons and

is made of structural steel and lead. The

amount of materials required to

fabricate these components is expected

to have very little impact on the

associated industry. Fabrication of the

metal components would be at a metal

fabrication facility, while fabrication of

the concrete overpacks would be

partially fabricated at the same metal

fabrication facility, with only the

concrete pours being done at Dresden.

The metal and concrete used in the

fabrication of these components is

insignificant compared to the amount of

metal and concrete fabrication

performed annually in the United

States. If the components are not usable,

the components could be disposed of or

recycled. The amount of metal and

concrete disposed of is insignificant

compared to the amount of metal and

concrete that is disposed of annually in

the United States. Based upon this

information, the fabrication of these

components will have no significant

impact on the environment since no

radioactive materials are involved, and

the amount of natural resources used is

minimal.

Alternative to the Proposed Action

Since there is no significant

environmental impact associated with

the proposed actions, any alternatives

with equal or greater environmental

impact are not evaluated. The

alternative to the proposed actions

would be to deny approval of the

exemption and, therefore, not allow

fabrication until a CoC is issued. This

alternative would have the same

environmental impact.

Given that there are no significant

differences in environmental impact

between the proposed action and the

alternative considered and that the

applicant has a legitimate need to

fabricate the components prior to

certification and is willing to assume

the risk that any fabricated components

may not be approved or may require

modification, the Commission

concludes that the preferred alternative

is to grant the exemption from the

prohibition on fabrication prior to

receipt of a CoC.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

Mr. F. Niziolek, Reactor Safety

Section Head, Illinois Department of

Nuclear Safety, was contacted about the

Environmental Assessment for the

proposed action and had no comments.

Finding of No Significant Impact

The environmental impacts of the

proposed action have been reviewed in

accordance with the requirements set

forth in 10 CFR Part 51. Based upon the

foregoing Environmental Assessment,

the Commission finds that the proposed

action of granting an exemption from 10

CFR 72.234(c) so that Holtec may

fabricate four HI–STORM 100 overpacks

and one HI–TRAC–100 transfer cask

prior to issuance of a CoC will not

significantly impact the quality of the

human environment. Accordingly, the

Commission has determined not to

prepare an environmental impact

statement for the proposed exemption.

The request for the exemption from 10

CFR 72.234(c) was filed on November

15, 1999. For further details with

respect to this action, see the

application for CoC for the HI–STORM

100 cask system, dated October 26,

1995. On July 30, 1999, a preliminary

Safety Evaluation Report and a

proposed CoC for the HI–STORM 100

cask system were issued by the NRC

staff to initiate the rulemaking process.

The exemption request and CoC

application are docketed under 10 CFR

Part 72, Docket 72–1014. These

documents are available for public

inspection at the Commission’s Public

Document Room, 2120 L Street, NW,

Washington, DC 20555.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day

of January 2000.P=’02’≤

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

E. William Brach,

Director Spent Fuel Project, Office of Nuclear

Material Safety and Safeguards.

[FR Doc. 00–1173 Filed 1–18–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

Experts’ Meeting on High-Burnup Fuel

Behavior Under Postulated Accident

Conditions

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory

Commission.

ACTION: Notice of Meeting.

SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory

Commission will hold a meeting to

develop Phenomena Identification and

Ranking Tables (PIRTs). PIRTs have

been used at NRC since 1988, and they

provide a structured way to obtain a

technical understanding that is needed

to address certain issues. About twenty

of the world’s best technical experts are

participating in this activity, and the

experts represent a balance between

industry, universities, foreign

researchers, and regulatory

organizations. The current PIRT activity

is addressing a postulated BWR accident

wherein power oscillations occur, the

reactor fails to scram, and the

oscillations then reach sufficient

magnitude that fuel failure may occur

before the emergency operating

procedures are able to terminate the

oscillations and shut the reactor down.

DATES: February 8–10, 2000, 8:30 am–

5:30 pm.

ADDRESSES: Room T10A1 (TWFN) of

the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

Ralph Meyer, SMSAB, Division of

Systems Analysis and Regulatory

Effectiveness, Office of Nuclear

Regulatory Research, Washington, DC

20555–0001, telephone (301) 415–6789.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

meeting agenda will be posted on the

NRC Web site at www.nrc.gov/RES/

meetings.html by February 1, 2000. The

meeting is open to the public. Attendees

will need to obtain a visitor badge at the

TWFN building lobby.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day

of January 2000.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Charles E. Rossi,

Director, Division of Systems Analysis and

Regulatory Effectiveness, Office of Nuclear

Regulatory Research.

[FR Doc. 00–1176 Filed 1–18–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

Sunshine Act Meeting

AGENCY HOLDING THE MEETING: Nuclear

Regulatory Commission.P=’02’≤