16202 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 65 / Friday, April 4, 1997 / Notices

petition without requesting leave of the

Board up to 15 days prior to the first

prehearing conference scheduled in the

proceeding, but such an amended

petition must satisfy the specificity

requirements described above.

Not later than 15 days prior to the first

prehearing conference scheduled in the

proceeding, a petitioner shall file a

supplement to the petition to intervene

which must include a list of the

contentions which are sought to be

litigated in the matter. Each contention

must consist of a specific statement of

the issue of law or fact to be raised or

controverted. In addition, the petitioner

shall provide a brief explanation of the

bases of the contention and a concise

statement of the alleged facts or expert

opinion which support the contention

and on which the petitioner intends to

rely in proving the contention at the

hearing. The petitioner must also

provide references to those specific

sources and documents of which the

petitioner is aware and on which the

petitioner intends to rely to establish

those facts or expert opinion. Petitioner

must provide sufficient information to

show that a genuine dispute exists with

the applicant on a material issue of law

or fact. Contentions shall be limited to

matters within the scope of the

amendment under consideration. The

contention must be one which, if

proven, would entitle the petitioner to

relief. A petitioner who fails to file such

a supplement which satisfies these

requirements with respect to at least one

contention will not be permitted to

participate as a party.

Those permitted to intervene become

parties to the proceeding, subject to any

limitations in the order granting leave to

intervene, and have the opportunity to

participate fully in the conduct of the

hearing, including the opportunity to

present evidence and cross-examine

witnesses.

If a hearing is requested, the

Commission will make a final

determination on the issue of no

significant hazards consideration. The

final determination will serve to decide

when the hearing is held.

If the final determination is that the

amendment request involves no

significant hazards consideration, the

Commission may issue the amendment

and make it immediately effective,

notwithstanding the request for a

hearing. Any hearing held would take

place after issuance of the amendment.

If the final determination is that the

amendment request involves a

significant hazards consideration, any

hearing held would take place before

the issuance of any amendment.

A request for a hearing or a petition

for leave to intervene must be filed with

the Secretary of the Commission, U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

Washington, DC 20555–0001, Attention:

Docketing and Services Branch, or may

be delivered to the Commission’s Public

Document Room, the Gelman Building,

2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC, by

the above date. Where petitions are filed

during the last 10 days of the notice

period, it is requested that the petitioner

promptly so inform the Commission by

a toll-free telephone call to Western

Union at 1-(800) 248–5100 (in Missouri

1-(800) 342–6700). The Western Union

operator should be given Datagram

Identification Number N1023 and the

following message addressed to Herbert

N. Berkow: petitioner’s name and

telephone number, date petition was

mailed, plant name, and publication

date and page number of this Federal

Register notice. A copy of the petition

should also be sent to the Office of the

General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear

Regulatory Commission, Washington,

DC 20555–0001, and to M. Stanford

Blanton, Esq., Balch and Bingham, Post

Office Box 306, 1710 Sixth Avenue

North, Birmingham, Alabama 35201,

attorney for the licensee.

Nontimely filings of petitions for

leave to intervene, amended petitions,

supplemental petitions and/or requests

for hearing will not be entertained

absent a determination by the

Commission, the presiding officer or the

presiding Atomic Safety and Licensing

Board that the petition and/or request

should be granted based upon a

balancing of the factors specified in 10

CFR 2.714(a)(1)(i)-(v) and 2.714(d).

For further details with respect to this

action, see the application for

amendment dated March 23, 1997,

which is available for public inspection

at the Commission’s Public Document

Room, the Gelman Building, 2120 L

Street, NW., Washington, DC, and at the

local public document room located at

the Houston-Love Memorial Library,

212 W. Burdeshaw Street, Post Office

Box 1369, Dothan, Alabama.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 31st day

of March 1997.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Jacob I. Zimmerman,

Project Manager, Project Directorate II–2,

Division of Reactor Projects—I/II, Office of

Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

[FR Doc. 97–8650 Filed 4–3–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

[Docket No. 72–16 (50–338, –339]

Virginia Electric and Power Company,

Notice of Issuance of Environmental

Assessment and Finding of No

Significant Impact for the Independent

Spent Fuel Storage Installation at the

North Anna Nuclear Power Station

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (the Commission) is

considering issuance of a materials

license under the requirements of Title

10 of the Code of Federal Regulations,

Part 72 (10 CFR Part 72), to Virginia

Electric and Power Company (the

applicant), authorizing the construction

and operation of an independent spent

fuel storage installation (ISFSI) located

at its North Anna Nuclear Power Station

in Louisa County, Virginia. The

Commission’s Spent Fuel Project Office

in the Office of Nuclear Material Safety

and Safeguards has completed its

environmental review in support of the

issuance of a materials license. The

‘‘Environmental Assessment (EA)

Related to Construction and Operation

of the North Anna Independent Spent

Fuel Storage Installation’’ has been

issued in accordance with 10 CFR Part

51.

Summary of Environmental Assessment

Description of the Proposed

Action: The proposed licensing action

would authorize the applicant to

construct and operate a dry storage

ISFSI. The ISFSI is to provide additional

interim storage of spent nuclear fuel

generated from the continued operation

of the North Anna Nuclear Power

Station Units 1 and 2. The proposed

ISFSI spent fuel cask is designed by

Transnuclear, Inc. The spent fuel cask,

referred to as TN–32, is a smooth rightcircular cylinder of multi-wall

construction that holds a fuel basket

designed to accommodate 32

pressurized water reactor (PWR) fuel

assemblies. The license for an ISFSI

under 10 CFR Part 72 is issued for 20

years, but the applicant may apply to

the Commission to renew the license, if

necessary, prior to its expiration.

Need for the Proposed Action

The spent fuel assemblies generated

from the operation of the North Anna

Nuclear Power Station Units 1 and 2 are

currently stored onsite in a spent fuel

pool. Under the current refueling

schedule for the North Anna Units 1

and 2, the capability to discharge an

entire core (157 assemblies) will be lost

in early 1999, and the spent fuel pool

will be at its capacity by late 2000.

Therefore, additional spent fuel storage

capacity is needed in 1998. Delay in the
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 65 / Friday, April 4, 1997 / Notices 16203

availability of this additional storage

capacity may cause a reduction in the

power operation or temporary shutdown

of Units 1 and 2. The applicant’s

proposed action would provide the

additional capacity required to store

spent fuel that is expected to be

generated at the North Anna Nuclear

Power Station through the end of its

currently licensed operating life.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed

Action

Construction of the proposed ISFSI

will affect approximately 4.4 ha (11

acres) of the 422 ha (1,043 acres) site

area which is committed to nuclear

power plant development. With good

construction practices, the potential for

fugitive dust, erosion, and noise impacts

typical of the planned construction

activities can be controlled to

insignificant levels. The only resources

committed irretrievably are the steel,

concrete, and other construction

materials in the ISFSI slab and storage

cask. Therefore, no significant

construction impacts are anticipated.

The routine operation of the proposed

ISFSI involves only dry storage of spent

nuclear fuel that is sealed in containers

(TN–32 casks); there will be no gaseous

or liquid effluents released to the

environment. External exposure to

direct and scattered radiation is the

primary pathway of radiation exposure

to workers and the general public. The

dose to the nearest resident from routine

ISFSI operation is estimated to be about

10 μSv/yr (1.0 mrem/yr). The combined

dose to the nearest resident from the

ISFSI and the nuclear power plant

operation is about 58 μSv/yr (5.8 mrem/

yr). These doses are well below the 250

μSv/yr (25 mrem/yr) limit specified in

10 CFR 72.104. These doses are a small

fraction of the natural background from

terrestrial and cosmic radiation of about

1,100 μSv/yr (110 mrem/yr) in the State

of Virginia.

The dose to an individual at the

nearest site boundary from a

hypothetical accident has been

calculated to be 0.49 mSv (0.049 rem)

(whole-body) which is well below the

50 mSv (5 rem) criteria set forth in 10

CFR 72.106(b) and by the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency’s

protective action guidelines.

There are no nonradiological impacts

resulting from the routine ISFSI

operation. The operational noise

associated with the proposed action will

result from the transfer of casks from the

North Anna Nuclear Power Station

protected area to the ISFSI. Noise

associated with this operation is onsite

and is expected to be minimal; no

adverse impacts to the general public

are anticipated.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

If a permanent Federal repository

were available, the preferred alternative

would be to ship spent fuel to the

repository for disposal. The Department

of Energy is currently working to

develop a repository, as required under

the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, but is not

likely to have a licensed repository

ready to receive spent fuel before 2010.

Although DOE recommended that a

Monitored Retrievable Storage (MRS)

facility be constructed and operated for

interim storage, this proposed action has

not taken place so far. Given the

uncertainties of schedules for a

repository and MRS, these alternatives,

therefore, do not meet the near-term

interim storage needs of the applicant.

Given these conditions, a number of

alternatives for the storage of spent fuel

prior to the selection of the dry storage

ISFSI are discussed in the EA. These

alternatives included: (a) expansion of

the existing pool, (b) construction of a

new storage pool, (c) increasing capacity

of the existing pool, (d) spent fuel rod

consolidation, (e) transshipment to

Surry Nuclear Power Station ISFSI, (f)

reduction in rate of spent fuel

generation by using high burnup fuel or

by reduction in operation, and (g) no

action alternative. As discussed in the

EA, the Commission has concluded

there are no significant environmental

impacts associated with the proposed

dry storage ISFSI, and other alternatives

were not chosen because of the time

required for the design and licensing, its

high cost, or the storage limitation for

expanding existing pool storage at the

North Anna Nuclear Power Station.

Agencies and Persons Contacted

Officials from the State of Virginia

Bureau of Radiological Health, as well

as the Department of Environmental

Quality, were contacted in preparing

this assessment.

Finding of No Significant Impact

The staff has reviewed the

environmental impacts of the proposed

ISFSI relative to the requirements set

forth in 10 CFR Part 51 and prepared an

EA. Based on the EA, the staff concludes

that there are no significant radiological

or non-radiological impacts associated

with the proposed action and that

issuance of a license will have no

significant impact on the quality of the

human environment. Therefore,

pursuant to 10 CFR 51.31 and 51.32, a

finding of no significant impact is

appropriate and an environmental

impact statement need not be prepared

for the issuance of a materials license

for the North Anna ISFSI.

For further details related to this

proposed action, the EA and the

application, dated May 9, 1995, as

supplemented, are available for public

inspection, and for copying for a fee, at

the NRC Public Document Room,

Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, NW,

Washington, DC 20555 and at the Local

Public Document Room for North Anna

located at the University of Virginia,

Alderman Library, Charlottesville,

Virginia 22903.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 28th day

of March 1997.

For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission.

Charles J. Haughney,

Deputy Director, Spent Fuel Project Office,

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and

Safeguards.

[FR Doc. 97–8646 Filed 4–3–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

Advisory Committee on Reactor

Safeguards; Meeting of the ACRS

Subcommittee on Materials and

Metallurgy; Notice of Meeting

The ACRS Subcommittee on Materials

and Metallurgy will hold a meeting on

April 15–16, 1997, Room T–2B3, 11545

Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland.

The entire meeting will be open to

public attendance.

The agenda for the subject meeting

shall be as follows:

Tuesday April 15, 1997—1:00 p.m. until

the conclusion of business

Wednesday April 16, 1997—8:30 a.m.

until the conclusion of business

The Subcommittee will discuss

generic letters regarding steam generator

tube inspection techniques, effective use

of ultrasonic testing techniques in

inservice inspection programs,

degradation of steam generator

internals, and degradation of reactor

vessel head penetrations. The

Subcommittee will also discuss the

status of issues related to reactor

pressure vessel integrity. The purpose of

this meeting is to gather information,

analyze relevant issues and facts, and to

formulate proposed positions and

actions, as appropriate, for deliberation

by the full Committee.

Oral statements may be presented by

members of the public with the

concurrence of the Subcommittee

Chairman; written statements will be

accepted and made available to the

Subcommittee. Electronic recordings

will be permitted only during those

portions of the meeting that are open to

the public, and questions may be asked