[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 130 (Thursday, July 6, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41739-41741]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-17034]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-327 and 50-328]


Tennessee Valley Authority; Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 
2, Environment Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering 
issuance of an amendment to Facility Operating Licenses Nos. DPR-77 and 
DPR-79, issued to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA, the licensee) 
for operation of the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant (SQN) Units 1 and 2, 
respectively. The facility is located in Hamilton County, Tennessee.

Environmental Assessment

Identification of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action would revise License Condition 2.B.(5) in each 
of the licenses, which authorizes possession of byproduct and special 
nuclear materials (SNM). The License Condition states:

    Pursuant to the Act and 10 CFR Parts 30, 40, and 70, to possess, 
but not separate, such byproduct and special nuclear materials as 
may be produced by the operation of the facility.

    These proposed amendments change the words ``as may be produced by 
the operation of the facility'' to ``as may be produced by the 
operation of the Sequoyah or Watts Bar Unit 1 Nuclear Plants.'' Upon 
NRC approval of the

[[Page 41740]]

requested license amendments, TVA plans to transport low-level 
radioactive waste (LLRW) from Watts Bar Nuclear Plant (WBN), Unit 1, to 
the SQN site for storage in a facility designed for that purpose.
    The proposed action is in accordance with TVA's application for 
license amendments dated December 17,1999.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    Byproduct material and small amounts of SNM are present as the 
radioactive contaminants in certain LLRW that has, in the past, been 
shipped to the Chem-Nuclear facility near Barnwell, South Carolina, for 
permanent deep-trench disposal. The LLRW being considered for storage 
at the SQN site includes ion-exchange resins, pressurized water reactor 
filters, tank solids, irradiated metal reactor components, and dry 
active waste.
    TVA believes that License Condition 2.B.(5) was intended, 
consistent with nonproliferation objectives, to restrict licensees from 
separating nuclides generated in the course of operation of the 
licensed facility; it was not intended to restrict licensees from 
possessing low-level by-product and SNM produced by operation of 
another facility. Nonetheless, TVA is requesting that License Condition 
2.B.(5) be modified as stated above to remove any question of 
interpretation with respect to receipt of LLRW generated at Watts Bar 
Unit 1 at the SQN site.
    TVA has, until now, made regular shipments of Class B and Class C 
LLRW (as defined in 10 CFR Part 61) to the South Carolina Barnwell 
permanent disposal facility. Class A dry active waste (the lowest 
radioactivity level) is routinely shipped to the Envirocare facility in 
Utah, which is licensed to receive Class A dry active waste, but not 
other types of Class A, Class B, or Class C wastes. Recent escalating 
LLRW access and disposal fees at Barnwell, and the prospect of sudden 
closure of the facility, with no alternative disposal facility for LLRW 
(other than Class A dry active waste) becoming available in the 
foreseeable future, have led TVA to develop an alternative solution 
until such time as a practical off-site repository option again becomes 
available. The cost to TVA of sending LLRW to Barnwell for disposal has 
increased 800% over the past 10 years. Furthermore, South Carolina has 
recently passed legislation to enter into a LLRW disposal pact with the 
States of Connecticut and New Jersey (known as the Atlantic Compact) 
and has announced that, ultimately, only those states will be allowed 
to ship LLRW to Barnwell. TVA has a very large interim storage facility 
at the SQN site with ample storage space for LLRW from operation of 
both SQN units and the single WBN unit. The LLRW storage modules were 
constructed at SQN in the early 1980s but have never been utilized.
    The proposed License Condition revision is needed to allow the 
Watts Bar Nuclear Plant the option to ship LLRW to the SQN site, 
thereby permitting continued operations of the WBN plant. TVA has 
stated its intention to ship any stored waste (predominantly Class B 
and C) to the Envirocare of Utah facility (or any other facility) at 
such time as that facility is licensed to receive and dispose of such 
wastes.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and 
concludes that, with regard to radiological impacts to the general 
public, the proposed action involves activities located entirely within 
the restricted area as defined in 10 CFR Part 20. The proposed action 
will not significantly increase the probability or consequences of 
accidents, no changes are being made in the types of any effluents that 
may be released off site, and there is no significant increase in 
occupational or public radiation exposure.
    The NRC granted Materials License No. 41-08165-14 (Docket No. 30-
19101) on September 17, 1982, for use of the LLRW storage facility at 
SQN for a period of 5 years. At the same time, the NRC issued a Safety 
Evaluation Report and Environmental Impact Appraisal to support 
operation of the storage facility using assumptions consistent with the 
40-year plant operating license. However, consistent with the NRC's 
policy of utilizing permanent off-site disposal of LLRW whenever 
possible, LLRW shipments were continued to the Barnwell facility. 
Consequently, no radioactive waste has ever been stored in the SQN LLRW 
storage facility. The Materials License was renewed once prior to 
expiration, but TVA requested its termination on April 25, 1990, since 
there were no plans for use of the storage facility in the foreseeable 
future. The termination request noted that if use of the facility 
became necessary, TVA would not need to renew the materials license but 
would, instead, perform a 10 CFR 50.59 evaluation as allowed in Generic 
Letter 81-38, ``Storage of Low-Level Radioactive Wastes at Power 
Reactor Sites.''
    Because of the licensee's ALARA [As Low As Reasonably Achievable] 
program and significant reductions in generation of LLRW (including 
coolant chemistry and reactor fuel quality improvements), the amount of 
LLRW expected to be generated and stored in the SQN LLRW storage 
facility for two SQN units and one WBN unit is significantly less in 
volume and radioactivity than the assumptions used in the Environmental 
Impact Appraisal that supported the Materials License granted by the 
NRC in 1982 for operation of two SQN units for the life of the plant. 
Specifically, there would be no incremental increase in occupational 
radiation exposure over that assumed in previous NRC actions related to 
operation of this storage facility. Therefore, there are no significant 
radiological environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.
    With regard to potential nonradiological impacts, the proposed 
action does not involve any historic sites. It does not affect 
nonradiological plant effluents and has no other environmental impact. 
Therefore, there are no significant nonradiological environmental 
impacts associated with the proposed action.
    As stated by the NRC in its Environmental Impact Appraisal for 
Materials License No. 41-08165-14 for the SQN LLRW on-site storage 
facility, the quality of the human environment will not be 
significantly affected and there will be no significant environmental 
impact from the operation of the existing SQN LLRW interim storage 
facility. The added LLRW stored as a result of WBN's single-unit 
operations will remain well within the original design and proposed 
capacity limitations considered in the above-mentioned Environmental 
Impact Appraisal.
    Accordingly, the NRC concludes that there are no significant 
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.

Alternative 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 exemption would result in no change in environmental 
impacts already analyzed by the NRC and TVA. The environmental impacts 
of the proposed action and the alternative action are similar.

Alternative Use of Resources

    This action does not involve the use of any resources not 
previously considered in the Environmental Impact Appraisal for 
Materials License No. 41-08165-14, dated September 17, 1982,

[[Page 41741]]

supporting the materials license for the SQN LLRW storage facility.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    In accordance with its stated policy, the NRC staff consulted with 
an official of the State of Tennessee, Ms. Joelle Key, on May 4, 2000, 
regarding the environmental impact of the proposed action. Ms. Key had 
a question regarding the quality of packaging for LLRW material to be 
stored at this facility. She was advised that the material will be 
packaged in 300-year high-integrity containers and will not need 
repackaging prior to shipment to a permanent disposal facility. Ms. Key 
indicated the State was in general agreement with TVA's request.

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 this action, see the licensee's 
letter dated December 17, 1999, which is available for public 
inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, the Gelman 
Building, 2120 L Street NW., Washington, DC. Publically available 
records are also accessible electronically from the ADAMS Public 
Library component on the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov (the 
Electronic Reading Room) and from the Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 29th day of June 2000.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Ronald W. Hernan,
Senior Project Manager, Section 2, Project Directorate II, Division of 
Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 00-17034 Filed 7-5-00; 8:45 am]
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