41108 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 128 / Monday, July 3, 2000 / Notices

1. The applicant, Siemens Power

Corporation, 2101 Horn Rapids Road,

Richland, WA 99352–0130; and

2. The NRC staff, by delivering it to

the Executive Director for Operations,

One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville

Pike, Rockville, MD 20852, or by mail,

addressed to the Executive Director for

Operations, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555.

The NRC contact for this licensing

action is Dan E. Martin. Dan E. Martin

may be contacted at (301) 415–7254 or

by e-mail at dem1@nrc.gov for more

information about this licensing action.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd

day of June 2000.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Philip Ting,

Chief, Fuel Cycle Licensing Branch, Division

of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office

of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.

[FR Doc. 00–16728 Filed 6–30–00; 8:45 am]

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket 72–2]

Virginia Electric and Power Company;

Issuance of Environmental

Assessment and Finding of No

Significant Impact Regarding the

Proposed Amendment To Revise

Technical Specifications of License

No. SNM–2501

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC or Commission) is

considering issuance of an amendment,

pursuant to 10 CFR 72.56, to the Special

Nuclear Materials License No. 2501

(SNM–2501) held by Virginia Electric

and Power Company (Virginia Power)

for the Surry independent spent fuel

storage installation (ISFSI). The

requested amendment would revise the

Technical Specifications of SNM–2501

to specifically permit the continued

storage of burnable poison rod

assemblies (BPRA) and thimble plug

devices (TPD) within the CASTOR V/21,

NAC I28, and Westinghouse MC–10

casks used at the Surry ISFSI.

Environmental Assessment (EA)

Identification of Proposed Action: By

letter dated April 5, 1999, as

supplemented on February 29, 2000,

Virginia Power requested an

amendment to revise the Technical

Specifications of SNM–2501 for the

Surry ISFSI. The changes would

specifically permit the continued

storage of BPRAs and/or TPDs within

the CASTOR V/21, NAC I28, and

Westinghouse MC–10 dry storage casks

used at the Surry ISFSI.

Need for the Proposed Action: The

proposed action will eliminate the need

to physically remove BPRAs and TPDs

from irradiated fuel assemblies in order

for dry cask storage to continue under

the present technical specifications of

the license.

Environmental Impacts of the

Proposed Action: The NRC has

completed its evaluation of the

proposed action and concludes that

granting the request for an amendment

to specifically allow the continued

storage of BPRAs and TPDs within the

CASTOR V/21, NAC I28, and

Westinghouse MC–10 casks used at the

Surry ISFSI will not increase the

probability or consequences of

accidents. No changes are being made in

the types of any effluents that may be

released off site. With regard to

radiological impacts, the addition of

irradiated BPRAs and TPDs only affects

the gamma source term of the cask. For

this amendment, Virginia Power’s

calculated increase in surface dose rate

resulting from the added BPRAs and

TPDs remains within the bounds of the

currently approved dose rate limit and,

consequently, results in no significant

increase in occupational or public

radiation exposure. Additionally, the

applicant made physical dose rate

measurements of casks currently loaded

with BPRAs and TPDs, and they are less

than the calculated dose rates. The

measured increase in the surface dose

rate remains within the bounds of the

currently approved dose rate limit.

Therefore, there are no significant

radiological environmental impacts

associated with the proposed action.

The amendment only affects the

requirements associated with the

content of the casks and does not affect

non-radiological plant effluents or any

other aspects of the environment.

Therefore, there are no significant nonradiological environmental impacts

associated with the proposed action.

Accordingly, the Commission

concludes that there are no significant

environmental impacts associated with

the proposed action.

Alternative to the Proposed Action:

The alternative to the proposed action

would be to deny the request for an

amendment (i.e., the ‘‘no-action’’

alternative). Denial of the proposed

action would result in the need to

physically remove BPRAs and TPDs

from each fuel assembly possessing

them prior to continuing dry cask

storage. Physical removal of irradiated

BPRAs and TPDs would increase the

exposure time and dose to the plant

workers. In addition, it would require

disposal or storage of additional

radioactive material (i.e., BPRAs and

TPDs) that would otherwise be safely

stored if the BPRAs and TPDs are left

intact with their irradiated fuel

assembly. The environmental impacts of

the alternative action are greater than

the proposed action.

Given that there are greater

environmental impacts associated with

the alternative action of denying the

approval for an amendment, the

Commission concludes that the

preferred alternative is to grant this

amendment.

Agencies and Persons Consulted: On

September 27, 1999, Mr. Les Foldese of

the Virginia Department of Health,

Bureau of Radiological Health, was

contacted in regard to the proposed

action and had no concerns.

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 amendment to

permit the continued storage of BPRAs

and TPDs within the CASTOR V/21,

NAC I28, and Westinghouse MC–10

casks used at the Surry 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

action, see the amendment application

dated April 5, 1999, as supplemented on

February 29, 2000. In accordance with

10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC’s ‘‘Rules of

Practice,’’ a copy of this letter and its

enclosure will be available

electronically for public inspection in

the NRC Public Document Room or from

the Publicly Available Records (PARS)

component of NRC’s document system

(ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from

the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/

NRC/ADAMS/index.html (the Public

Electronic Reading Room).

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th 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. 00–16730 Filed 6–30–00; 8:45 am]

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