[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 98 (Thursday, May 21, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28012-28013]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-13509]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-298]


Nebraska Public Power District, Cooper Nuclear Station; 
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is 
considering issuance of an exemption from certain requirements of its 
regulations for Facility Operating License No. DRP-46 issued to 
Nebraska Public Power District (the licensee), for operation of Cooper 
Nuclear Station located in Nemaha County, Nebraska.

Environmental Assessment

Identification of Proposed Action

    The proposed action would exempt Nebraska Public Power District 
from the requirements of 10 CFR 70.24, which require a monitoring 
system that will energize clear audible alarms if accidental 
criticality occurs in each area in which special nuclear material is 
handled, used, or stored. The proposed action would also exempt the 
licensee from the requirements to maintain emergency procedures for 
each area in which this licensed special nuclear material is handled, 
used, or stored to ensure that all personnel withdraw to an area of 
safety upon the sounding of the alarm, to familiarize personnel with 
the evacuation plan, and to designate responsible individuals for 
determining the cause of the alarm, and to place radiation survey 
instruments in accessible locations for use in such an emergency.
    The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's 
application for exemption dated February 23, 1998.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    The purpose of 10 CFR 70.24 is to ensure that if a criticality were 
to occur during the handling of special nuclear

[[Page 28013]]

material, personnel would be alerted to that fact and would take 
appropriate action. At a commercial nuclear power plant the inadvertent 
criticality with which 10 CFR 70.24 is concerned could occur during 
fuel handling operations. The special nuclear material that could be 
assembled into a critical mass at a commercial nuclear power plant is 
in the form of nuclear fuel; the quantity of other forms of special 
nuclear material that is stored on site in any given location is small 
enough to preclude achieving a critical mass. Because the fuel is not 
enriched beyond 5.0 weight percent Uranium-235 and because commercial 
nuclear plant licensees have procedures and design features that 
prevent inadvertent criticality, the staff has determined that it is 
unlikely that an inadvertent criticality could occur due to the 
handling of special nuclear material at a commercial power reactor. The 
requirements of 10 CFR 70.24, therefore, are not necessary to ensure 
the safety of personnel during the handling of special nuclear 
materials at commercial power reactors.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The Commission has completed its evaluation of the proposed action 
and concludes that there is no significant environmental impact if the 
exemption is granted. Inadvertent or accidental criticality will be 
precluded through compliance with the Cooper Nuclear Station Technical 
Specifications (TSs), the design of the fuel storage racks providing 
geometric spacing of fuel assemblies in their storage locations, and 
administrative controls imposed on fuel handling procedures. TSs 
requirements specify reactivity limits for the fuel storage racks and 
minimum spacing between the fuel assemblies in the storage racks.
    Appendix A of 10 CFR part 50, ``General Design Criteria for Nuclear 
Power Plants,'' Criterion 62, requires the criticality in the fuel 
storage and handling system shall be prevented by physical systems or 
processes, preferably by use of geometrically-safe configurations. This 
is met at Cooper Nuclear Station, as identified in the TSs and the 
Updated Safety Analysis Report (USAR). Cooper Nuclear Station TSs 
Section 5.5, Fuel Storage, states that, ``The new fuel storage vault 
shall be such that K<INF>eff</INF> dry is less than 0.90 and flooded is 
less than 0.95. These K<INF>eff</INF> limits are satisfied by 
maintaining the maximum, exposure-dependent K<infinity> of the 
individual fuel bundles <ls-thn-eq>1.29.'' USAR Section X-2.0, New Fuel 
Storage, states that, ``The new fuel racks shall be designed with 
sufficient spacing between the new fuel assemblies to assure that under 
normal conditions (dry) the fully loaded array will have a 
K<INF>eff</INF> <0.90. Under abnormal conditions, in the event of 
complete flooding, the fully loaded array will have a K<INF>eff</INF> 
<0.95. * * * The analysis, which shows that the new fuel storage vault 
will have a K<INF>eff</INF> <ls-thn-eq>0.90 dry and a K<INF>eff</INF> 
<0.95 flooded, provided the maximum exposure-dependent K<infinity> 
<ls-thn-eq>1.31, has been approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
as a part of GESTAR II.'' Note: to provide further assurance, the 
Technical Specifications have a more conservative limit than the USAR.
    The proposed exemption would not result in any significant 
radiological impacts. The proposed exemption would not affect 
radiological plant effluents nor cause any significant occupational 
exposures since the Technical Specifications, design controls 
(including geometric spacing of fuel assembly storage spaces) and 
administrative controls preclude inadvertent criticality. The amount of 
radioactive waste would not be changed by the proposed exemption.
    The proposed exemption does not result in any significant 
nonradiological environmental impacts. The proposed exemption involves 
features located entirely within the restricted area as defined in 10 
CFR part 20. It does not affect non-radiological plant effluents and 
has no other environmental impact. Accordingly, the Commission 
concludes that there are no significant non-radiological environmental 
impacts associated with the proposed action.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    Since the Commission has concluded that there is no measurable 
environmental impact associated with the proposed action, any 
alternatives with equal or greater environmental impact need not be 
evaluated. As an alternative to the proposed exemption, the staff 
considered denial of the requested exemption. Denial of the request 
would result in no change in current environmental impacts. 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 ``Final Environmental Statement Related to 
the Operation of Cooper Nuclear Station'' dated February 1973.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    In accordance with its stated policy, on May 7, 1998, the staff 
consulted with Mr. John Fassell, Health Physicist, of the Nebraska 
Department of Health, regarding the environmental impact of the 
proposed action. The State official had no comments.

Finding of No Significant Impact

    Based upon the environmental assessment, the Commission concludes 
that the proposed action will not have a significant effect on the 
quality of the human environment. Accordingly, the Commission 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 February 23, 1998, which is available for 
public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, which is 
located at The Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC, and 
at the local public document room located at the Auburn Memorial 
Library, 1810 Courthouse Avenue, Auburn, NE 68305.

    Dated at Rockville, Md., this 14th day of May 1998.

    For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James R. Hall,
Senior Project Manager, Project Directorate IV-1, Division of Reactor 
Projects III/IV, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 98-13509 Filed 5-20-98; 8:45 am]
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