36476 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 111 / Thursday, June 8, 2000 / Notices

the Illinois State official, Mr. Frank

Niziolek, of the Illinois Department of

Nuclear Safety, 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 April 30, 1999, which is available

for public inspection at the

Commission’s Public Document Room,

The Gelman Building, 2120 L Street,

NW., Washington, DC. Publicly

available records will be accessible

electronically from the ADAMS Public

Library Component on the NRC Web

site, http://www.nrc.gov (the Electronic

Reading Room).

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 1st day

of June 2000.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Lawrence W. Rossbach,

Project Manager, Section 2, Project

Directorate III, Division of Licensing Project

Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

[FR Doc. 00–14492 Filed 6–7–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket 72–37]

Commonwealth Edison Company,

Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Unit 1;

Issuance of Environmental

Assessment and Finding of No

Significant Impact Regarding the

Proposed Exemption From Certain

Requirements of 10 CFR Part 72

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC or Commission) is

considering issuance of an exemption,

pursuant to 10 CFR 72.7, from the

provisions of 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2),

72.212(b)(2)(i), and 72.214 to

Commonwealth Edison Company

(ComEd). The requested exemption

would allow ComEd to deviate from the

requirements of Certificate of

Compliance 1008 (the Certificate),

Appendix B, Items 1.4.6.b and 1.4.6.c

and place HI-STAR 100 Cask Systems,

loaded with spent nuclear fuel, on a

concrete storage pad with a concrete

compressive strength of less than or

equal to 4,200 psi at 28 days and

concrete reinforcement of 60 ksi yield

strength ASTM material at the Dresden

Nuclear Power Station (Dresden)

Independent Spent Fuel Storage

Installation (ISFSI).

Environmental Assessment (EA)

Identification of Proposed Action: By

letter dated April 24, 2000, ComEd

requested an exemption from the

requirements of 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2),

72.212(b)(2)(i), and 72.214 to deviate

from the requirements of Certificate of

Compliance 1008, Appendix B, Items

1.4.6.b and 1.4.6.c. ComEd is a general

licensee, authorized by NRC to use

spent fuel storage casks approved under

10 CFR Part 72, Subpart K.

ComEd plans to use the HI-STAR 100

Cask System to store spent nuclear fuel,

generated at Dresden Unit 1, at an ISFSI

located in Morris, Illinois, on the

Dresden Nuclear Power Station site. The

Dresden ISFSI has been constructed for

interim dry storage of spent nuclear

fuel.

By exempting ComEd from 10 CFR

72.212(a)(2), 72.212(b)(2)(i), and 72.214,

ComEd will be authorized to place

loaded HI–STAR 100 Casks Systems on

cask storage pads that include the

following characteristics:

(1) Compressive Strength: ≤ 4,200 psi

at 28 days.

(2) Reinforcement top and bottom

(both directions): Reinforcement area

and spacing determined by analysis

Reinforcement shall be 60 ksi yield

strength ASTM material.

The storage pad characteristics

specified above would be in lieu of

those specified in Certificate of

Compliance 1008, Appendix B, Items

1.4.6.b and 1.4.6.c, respectively. The

proposed action before the Commission

is whether to grant this exemption

under 10 CFR 72.7.

On November 24, 1999, as

supplemented February 4, 18 and 28,

and March 2, 16 and 31, 2000, the cask

designer, Holtec International (Holtec),

submitted to NRC an application to

amend Certificate of Compliance 1008.

The requested amendment includes

revisions to the storage pad

specifications in Items 1.4.6.b and

1.4.6.c in Appendix B to the Certificate.

Item 1.4.6.b requires a concrete

compressive strength of less than or

equal to 4,200 psi; Holtec is requesting

that this requirement be revised to

specify a concrete compressive strength

of less than or equal to 4,200 psi at 28

days. Item 1.4.6.c includes the

requirement that the reinforcement

yield strength be less than or equal to

60,000 psi; Holtec is requesting that this

requirement be revised to specify that

reinforcement shall be 60 ksi yield

strength ASTM material. The NRC staff

has reviewed the application and

determined that placement of HI–STAR

100 Cask Systems on storage pads with

the revised characteristics would have

minimal impact on the design basis and

would not be inimical to public health

and safety.

Need for the Proposed Action: There

are a number of Dresden Unit 1 spent

fuel assemblies in the Dresden Unit 2

spent fuel pool. To maintain full core

offload capability in the Dresden Unit 2

spent fuel pool once new fuel arrives for

the Fall 2001 refueling outage, ComEd

needs to begin loading Dresden Unit 1

spent fuel into storage casks in June

2000. Unless the exemption is granted

or the Certificate is amended, the

storage pads at the Dresden ISFSI will

not be in full conformance with the

Certificate. Because the 10 CFR Part 72

rulemaking to amend the Certificate will

not be completed prior to the date that

ComEd plans to begin loading HI–STAR

100 Cask Systems, the NRC is granting

this exemption based on the staff’s

technical review of information

submitted by ComEd and Holtec.

Environmental Impacts of the

Proposed Action: The potential

environmental impact of using the HI–

STAR 100 Cask System was initially

presented in the Environmental

Assessment (EA) for the Final Rule to

add the HI–STAR 100 Cask System to

the list of approved spent fuel storage

casks in 10 CFR 72.214 (64 FR 171, 09/

03/99). Furthermore, each general

licensee must assess the environmental

impacts of the specific ISFSI in

accordance with the requirements of 10

CFR 72.212(b)(2). This section also

requires the general licensee to perform

written evaluations to demonstrate

compliance with the environmental

requirements of 10 CFR 72.104,

‘‘Criteria for radioactive materials in

effluents and direct radiation from an

ISFSI or MRS [Monitored Retrievable

Storage Installation].’’

The HI–STAR 100 Cask System is

designed to mitigate the effects of design

basis accidents that could occur during

storage. Design basis accidents account

for human-induced events and the most

severe natural phenomena reported for

the site and surrounding area.

Postulated accidents analyzed for an

ISFSI include tornado winds and

tornado generated missiles, design basis

earthquake, design basis flood,

accidental cask drop, lightning effects,

fire, explosions, and other incidents.

The HI–STAR 100 Cask System

consists of a stainless steel multipurpose canister and a steel overpack.

The welded MPC provides confinement

and criticality control for the storage

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 111 / Thursday, June 8, 2000 / Notices 36477

and transfer of spent nuclear fuel. The

overpack provides radiation shielding

and structural protection of the MPC

during storage and handling operations.

Special design feature requirements for

the cask and for the site are specified in

Certificate of Compliance 1008,

Appendix B. These include the storage

pad design characteristics.

Considering the specific cask and site

design requirements for each accident

condition, the design of the cask would

prevent loss of containment, shielding,

and criticality control. Without the loss

of either containment, shielding, or

criticality control, the risk to public

health and safety is not compromised.

The staff performed a safety

evaluation of the proposed exemption

and the Certificate amendment. The

proposed exemption and Certificate

amendment request authorization to use

storage pads with a concrete

compressive strength of less than or

equal to 4,200 psi at 28 days. This is a

deviation from the pad requirement

currently given in Certificate of

Compliance 1008, Appendix B, Item

1.4.6.b, which does not specify a time

frame for when the concrete

compressive strength is to be measured.

A time frame is necessary because

concrete typically gets stronger as it

ages. Measuring the concrete

compressive strength at 28 days is

standard practice. Thus, specifying a

time frame of 28 days provides

clarification and ensures that full

compliance with the Certificate can be

achieved.

The proposed exemption and

Certificate amendment also request

authorization to use storage pads with

concrete reinforcement made of 60 ksi

yield strength ASTM material. This is a

deviation from the storage pad

requirements currently given in

Certificate of Compliance 1008,

Appendix B, Item 1.4.6.c, which

specifies a reinforcement yield strength

of less than or equal to 60,000 psi. The

standard practice for reinforcing bar

specification and procurement is by the

grade of the material. Reinforcing bar

specified as Grade 60 has a nominal

yield strength of 60 ksi and may in fact

exceed 60 ksi. Thus, specifying the

concrete reinforcement as ‘‘60 ksi yield

strength ASTM material’’ takes into

account that the yield strength is a

nominal value and ensures that full

compliance with the certificate can be

achieved.

The staff found that the proposed

exemption and Certificate amendment

are consistent with the cask drop and

tipover analyses presented in the Safety

Analyses Report for the HI–STAR 100

Cask System and do not reduce the

safety margin. In addition, the staff has

determined that placement of loaded

HI–STAR 100 Cask Systems on storage

pads with a concrete compressive

strength of less than or equal to 4,200

psi at 28 days and concrete

reinforcement of 60 ksi yield strength

ASTM material does not pose any

increased risk to public health and

safety. Furthermore, the proposed action

now under consideration would not

change the potential environmental

effects assessed in the initial rulemaking

(64 FR 171, 09/03/99).

Therefore, the staff has determined

that there is no reduction in the safety

margin nor significant environmental

impacts as a result of placing loaded HI–

STAR 100 Cask Systems on storage pads

with a concrete compressive strength of

less than or equal to 4,200 psi at 28 days

and concrete reinforcement of 60 ksi

yield strength ASTM material.

Alternative to the Proposed Action:

Since there is no significant

environmental impact associated with

the proposed action, any alternatives

with equal or greater environmental

impact are not evaluated. The

alternative to the proposed action would

be to deny approval of the exemption.

Denial of the exemption request will

have the same environmental impact.

Agencies and Persons Consulted: On

May 19, 2000, 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 EA, the Commission finds that

the proposed action of granting an

exemption from 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2),

72.212(b)(2)(i), and 72.214 so that

ComEd may place loaded HI–STAR 100

Cask Systems on concrete storage pads

with a concrete compressive strength of

less than or equal to 4,200 psi at 28 days

and concrete reinforcement of 60 ksi

yield strength ASTM material at the

Dresden ISFSI 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.

For further details with respect to this

exemption request, see the ComEd

exemption request dated April 24, 2000,

which is docketed under 10 CFR Part

72, Docket No. 72–37.

The exemption request is available for

public inspection at the Commission’s

Public Document Room, 2120 L Street,

NW, Washington, DC, 20555.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 1st day

of June, 2000.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

E. William Brach,

Director, Spent Fuel Project Office, Office of

Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.

[FR Doc. 00–14494 Filed 6–7–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–U

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket 72–36]

Southern Nuclear Operating Company,

Inc., Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant;

Issuance of Environmental

Assessment and Finding of No

Significant Impact Regarding the

Proposed Exemption from Certain

Requirements of 10 CFR Part 72

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC or Commission) is

considering issuance of an exemption,

pursuant to 10 CFR 72.7, from the

provisions of 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2),

72.212(b)(2)(i), and 72.214 to Southern

Nuclear Operating Company, Inc. (SNC).

The requested exemption would allow

SNC to deviate from the requirements of

Certificate of Compliance 1008 (the

Certificate), Appendix B, Items 1.4.6.b

and 1.4.6.c and place HI–STAR 100

Cask Systems, loaded with spent

nuclear fuel, on a concrete storage pad

with a concrete compressive strength of

less than or equal to 4,200 psi at 28 days

and concrete reinforcement of 60 ksi

yield strength ASTM material at the

Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant (Hatch)

Independent Spent Fuel Storage

Installation (ISFSI).

Environmental Assessment (EA)

Identification of Proposed Action: By

letter dated May 1, 2000, SNC requested

an exemption from the requirements of

10 CFR 72.212(b)(2)(i) and 72.214 to

deviate from the requirements of

Certificate of Compliance 1008,

Appendix B, Items 1.4.6.b and 1.4.6.c.

The NRC staff determined that, to

deviate from those conditions of the

Certificate, an exemption from the

requirement of 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2) is

also necessary. SNC is a general

licensee, authorized by NRC to use

spent fuel storage casks approved under

10 CFR Part 72, Subpart K.

SNC plans to use the HI–STAR 100

Cask System to store spent nuclear fuel,

generated at Hatch, at an ISFSI located

in Baxley, Georgia, on the Edwin I.

Hatch Nuclear Plant site. The Hatch