Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 17, 1995 / Notices 26465

evaluated the accidental release of

radioactive materials. The intakes and

predicted doses for three of the

radiological accident scenarios were

small with negligible associated health

impacts. The fourth radiological

accident, rupture of a UF6 cylinder

(liquid), produced a dose of 3.9 rem at

the nearest resident. While the potential

consequences of such an event would be

severe, the likelihood of such an event

is low because of design and procedural

controls. The fifth accident analyzed,

the release of gaseous ammonia, would

be expected to produce noticeable, but

non-life-threatening effects both onsite

and offsite. Given the low likelihood for

these accidents, it is concluded that the

proposed license renewal will not have

a significant impact on the general

population.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

Alternatives to the proposed action

include denial of Allied’s renewal

application. Not granting a license

renewal for the facility would cause

Allied to cease production of UF6 at this

site. The only benefits to be gained by

nonrenewal would be the cessation of

the minor environmental impact from

operation of the facility. Because

Allied’s site is the only operating

facility to convert uranium ore to UF6,

denial of a license for Allied would

result in the transfer of the activity and

associated environmental impact to an

alternative site.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

The staff utilized the application

dated July 11, 1994, and additional

information dated September 6, and

November 16, 1994. Discussions were

held with the Agreement States of

Illinois and Kentucky. The Region III

inspectors and Allied representatives

were also consulted in preparing this

document.

Conclusion

The staff concludes that the

environmental impacts associated with

the proposed license renewal for

continued operation of Allied’s

Metropolis facility are expected to be

insignificant.

Finding of No Significant Impact

The NRC has prepared an

Environmental Assessment related to

the renewal of Source Material License

SUB–526. On the basis of the

assessment, NRC has concluded that

environmental impacts that would be

created by the proposed licensing action

would not be significant and do not

warrant the preparation of an

Environmental Impact Statement.

Accordingly, it has been determined

that a Finding of No Significant Impact

is appropriate.

The Environmental Assessment and

the documents related to this proposed

action are available for public

inspection and copying at NRC’s Public

Document Room at the Gelman

Building, 2120 L Street NW,

Washington, DC.

Opportunity for a Hearing

Any person whose interest may be

affected by the issuance of this renewal

may file a request for a hearing. Any

request for hearing must be filed with

the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear

Regulatory Commission, Washington,

DC 20555, within 30 days of the

publication of this notice in the Federal

Register; be served on the NRC staff

(Executive Director for Operations, One

White Flint North, 11555 Rockville

Pike, Rockville, MD 20852), and on the

licensee (AlliedSignal, Inc., Route 45

North, P.O. Box 430, Metropolis, IL

62960); and must comply with the

requirements for requesting a hearing

set forth in the Commission’s regulation,

10 CFR Part 2, Subpart L, ‘‘Informal

Hearing Procedures for Adjudications in

Materials Licensing Proceedings.’’

These requirements, which the

requestor must address in detail, are:

1. The interest of the requestor in the

proceeding;

2. How that interest may be affected

by the results of the proceeding,

including the reasons why the requestor

should be permitted a hearing;

3. The requestor’s areas of concern

about the licensing activity that is the

subject matter of the proceeding; and

4. The circumstances establishing that

the request for hearing is timely, that is,

filed within 30 days of the date of this

notice.

In addressing how the requestor’s

interest may be affected by the

proceeding, the request should describe

the nature of the requestor’s right under

the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as

amended, to be made a party to the

proceeding; the nature and extent of the

requestor’s property, financial, or other

(i.e., health, safety) interest in the

proceeding; and the possible effect of

any order that may be entered in the

proceeding upon the requester’s

interest.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 11th day

of May 1995.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Robert C. Pierson,

Chief, Licensing Branch, Division of Fuel

Cycle Safety and Safeguards, NMSS.

[FR Doc. 95–12103 Filed 5–16–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

[Docket No. 72–10 (50–282/306)

Northern States Power Co. Prairie

Island Nuclear Generating Plant

Independent Spent Fuel Storage

Installation; Exemption

I

Northern States Power Company (NSP

or the licensee) holds materials license

(SNM–2506) for receipt and storage of

spent fuel from its Prairie Island

Nuclear Generating Plant at an

independent spent fuel storage

installation (ISFSI) located on the

Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant

site. This facility is located at the

licensee’s site in Goodhue County,

Minnesota.

II

Pursuant to 10 CFR 72.7, the Nuclear

Regulatory Commission (NRC) may

grant exemptions from the requirements

of the regulations in 10 CFR Part 72 as

it determines are authorized by law and

will not endanger life or property or the

common defense and security and are

otherwise in the public interest.

Section 72.82(e) of 10 CFR Part 72

requires each licensee to provide a

report of preoperational test acceptance

criteria and test results to the

appropriate NRC Regional Office with a

copy to the Director, Office of Nuclear

Material Safety and Safeguards, at least

30 days prior to receipt of spent fuel or

high level radioactive waste for storage

in an ISFSI. The purpose of the 30-day

period is to allow the NRC an

opportunity to review test results prior

to initial operation of the ISFSI.

III

By letter dated January 4, 1995, the

licensee requested a schedular

exemption pursuant to 10 CFR 72.7

from the requirement of 10 CFR

72.82(e). The licensee committed to

submit its report no less than 3 days

prior to receipt of spent fuel at its ISFSI.

In July 1993, NSP suspended cask

fabrication and site construction

activities until the Minnesota State

Legislature authorized the ISFSI on May

10, 1994. After authorization, NSP

resumed the ISFSI construction and the

facility was completed in November

1994. The fist cask was received on

January 26, 1995.

The NRC conducted an inspection of

the quality assurance records related to

the manufacture of the cask at vendor

sites, and on October 11, 1994, and

January 25, 1995, issued Inspection

Reports Nos. 72–0010/94–210 and 72–

0010/94–212, respectively, to NSP. On

February 23, 1995, and March 8, 1995,

NSP responded to the Notice of
26466 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 17, 1995 / Notices

Violation in the inspection report and

provided additional information. In a

letter dated March 21, 1995, NRC found

NSP’s corrective actions acceptable.

Since receipt of the first cask on site,

NRC has observed selected portions of

the preoperational testing activities and

has reviewed associated test procedures

and results. In addition, during the

weeks of April 17, and April 24, 1995,

the NRC conducted a special team

inspection of cask fabrication records

and preoperational test results at the

Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant.

On April 28, 1995, NRC held an

inspection exit meeting, which was

open to public attendance, in Red Wing,

Minnesota, to discuss its inspection

findings and conclusions. NSP

submitted the report of preoperational

test acceptance criteria and test results

required by 10 CFR 72.83(e) to the NRC

on April 20, 1995. At the inspection exit

meeting held on April 28, 1995, the

following five outstanding issues and

their resolution were:

Issue (1): Fabrication of the

temperature and pressure monitoring

equipment was not complete.

Resolution: NRC Resident Inspectors

observed completion of installation of

fabricated equipment.

Issue (2): NRC review of the

unloading procedure was not complete.

Resolution: NRC Resident Inspectors

have completed their review and all

identified concerns have been

acceptably resolved.

Issue (3): NRC review of licensee

disposition of weld discrepancies was

not complete.

Resolution: NRC staff have completed

their review and have accepted the

licensee’s dispositions.

Issue (4): Resolution of cask

hydrostatic testing requirements was not

complete.

Resolution: NRC staff have resolved

the cask hydrostatic testing

requirements. In addition, the licensee

performed a 10 CFR 72.48 evaluation to

revise the Safety Analysis Report. The

Resident Inspectors have reviewed the

evaluation and found it acceptable.

Issue (5): NRC review of adequate

spent fuel retrievability was not

complete.

Resolution: The licensee provided

information regarding retrievability in a

letter dated May 3, 1995. In a letter to

NSP dated May 5, 1995, NRC found

NSP’s rationale acceptable.

Based on the resolutions described

above, the staff has completed its review

and is granting the exemption.

An exemption to the requirement of

10 CFR 72.82(e) for a 30-day waiting

period would allow NSP to start loading

the first cask before May 20, 1995, the

end of the 30-day period.

IV

As previously described in the

foregoing discussion, and based on its

oversight and inspection of NSP’s ISFSI

preoperational testing activities, the

NRC finds that NSP has satisfactorily

addressed all of the outstanding safety

issues associated with cask loading,

handling, and storage. The results of the

NRC activities described above confirm

there is adequate assurance that the cask

can perform its intended safety

functions and that NSP has the

necessary equipment and procedures in

place to safely conduct spent fuel cask

handling activities.

Accordingly, the NRC has determined

in accordance with 10 CFR 72.7 that this

exemption is authorized by law, will not

endanger life or property or the common

defense and security, and is otherwise

in the public interest. Therefore, the

NRC hereby grants the licensee an

exemption from the 30-day waiting

period required by 10 CFR 72.82(e) as

requested by the licensee’s letter of

January 4, 1995.

The documents related to this

proposed action are available for public

inspection and for copying (for a fee) at

the NRC Public Document Room, 2120

L Street, NW, Washington, DC 20555,

and at the Local Public Document Room

located in the Minneapolis Public

Library, 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis,

Minnesota 55401.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the NRC

has determined that granting this

exemption will have no significant

impact on the quality of the human

environment (60 FR 13477).

This exemption is effective upon

issuance.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 11 day

of May 1995.

Donald A. Cool,

Director, Division of Industrial and Medical

Nuclear Safety, Office of Nuclear Material

Safety and Safeguards.

[FR Doc. 95–12100 Filed 5–16–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–M

Elimination of Low-Level Radioactive

Waste Topical Report Review Program

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory

Commission.

ACTION: Notice of elimination of

program.

SUMMARY: This notice is in reference to

low-level radioactive waste (LLW)

topical reports (TRs) submitted in

support of the implementation of 10

CFR Part 61, or compatible Agreement

State regulations. The U.S. Nuclear

Regulatory Commission’s Division of

Waste Management (DWM) is currently

responsible for the Federal review of

these TRs. However, due to higher

priorities and limited staff availability,

DWM has decided to terminate its LLW

TR review program.

ADDRESSES: Documents referred to in

this notice may be examined at the

Commission’s Public Document Room,

1717 H Street, NW., Washington, DC.

Copies of technical positions and

topical report review procedures may be

obtained from the Division of Waste

Management, Office of Nuclear Material

Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear

Regulatory Commission, Washington,

DC 20555, or by calling the contact

listed below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Robert J. Lewis, Engineering and

Geosciences Branch, Division of Waste

Management, Office of Nuclear Material

Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear

Regulatory Commission, Washington,

DC 20555; telephone (301) 415–6680.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: To help

ensure a cost effective and orderly

implementation of 10 CFR Part 61, and

since many licensees utilize similar

services from the same firm, the U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued

a Federal Register notice (48 FR 40512)

encouraging these firms to submit, for

NRC review, generic topical reports on

these services.

To meet 10 CFR 20.2006(d), 10 CFR

61.55, and 10 CFR 61.56, radioactive

waste generators and disposal operators

must demonstrate compliance with the

waste classification and waste form

requirements. One acceptable approach

to satisfying these regulations is to

reference previously reviewed and

approved TRs. A TR is a document

submitted by an industry organization

(i.e., a vendor) for review by NRC or an

Agreement State, outside of specific

licensing action. LLW TRs typically

include reports on qualification of highintegrity containers, solidification

procedures, or computer codes designed

to classify waste.

The ultimate acceptability of a

particular waste is subject to the

disposal restrictions and requirements

specified by the waste disposal facility

operators and governing Agreement

State regulatory agencies. NRC approved

LLW TRs are often accepted by a State

as an acceptable means of

demonstrating compliance with the

State equivalent regulations to 10 CFR

Part 61. However, due to higher

priorities and limited staff availability,

DWM has decided to terminate the LLW

TR review program. The number of LLW