Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 15 / Monday, January 25, 2010 / Notices 3945 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[NRC–2010–0019; Docket Nos. 50–390 and 

50–391] 

Tennessee Valley Authority; Watts Bar 

Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2; 

Environmental Assessment and 

Finding of No Significant Impact 

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) is considering 

issuance of an Exemption, pursuant to 

Title 10 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations (10 CFR) Section 73.5, 

‘‘Specific exemptions,’’ from the 

implementation date for certain new 

requirements of 10 CFR Part 73, 

‘‘Physical protection of plants and 

materials,’’ for Facility Operating 

License No. NPF–90, issued to 

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA, the 

licensee), for operation of the Watts Bar 

Nuclear Plant (WBN), Unit 1, located in 

Rhea County, Tennessee. This 

consideration is also applicable to Unit 

2, currently under licensing process. In 

accordance with 10 CFR 51.21, the NRC 

prepared an environmental assessment 

documenting its finding. The NRC 

concluded that the proposed actions 

will have no significant environmental 

impact. 

Environmental Assessment 

Identification of the Proposed Action 

The proposed action would exempt 

the TVA from the required 

implementation date of March 31, 2010, 

for several new requirements of 10 CFR 

Part 73. Specifically, WBN, Units 1 and 

2 would be granted an exemption from 

being in full compliance with certain 

new requirements contained in 10 CFR 

73.55 by the March 31, 2010, deadline. 

TVA has proposed an alternate full 

compliance implementation date of 

September 24, 2012, approximately two 

and half years beyond the date required 

by 10 CFR Part 73. The proposed action, 

an extension of the schedule for 

completion of certain actions required 

by the revised 10 CFR Part 73, does not 

involve any physical changes to the 

reactor, fuel, plant structures, support 

structures, water, or land at the WBN, 

Units 1 and 2 site that were not 

previously considered in the 

environmental assessment and finding 

of no significant impact made by the 

Commission in promulgating its 

revisions to 10 CFR Part 73, Power 

Reactor Security Requirements, 74 FR 

13926, 13967 (March 27, 2009). 

The proposed action is in accordance 

with the licensee’s application dated 

November 6, 2009, as supplemented by 

letter dated January 11, 2010. 

The Need for the Proposed Action 

The proposed action is needed to 

provide the licensee with additional 

time to perform the required upgrades to 

the WBN, Units 1 and 2 security system 

because they involve new components 

and engineering that cannot be obtained 

or completed by the March 31, 2010, 

implementation date. 

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed 

Action 

The NRC has completed its 

environmental assessment of the 

proposed exemption. The staff has 

concluded that the proposed action to 

extend the implementation deadline 

would not significantly affect plant 

safety and would not have a significant 

adverse effect on the probability of an 

accident occurring. 

The proposed action would not result 

in an increased radiological hazard 

beyond those previously analyzed in the 

environmental assessment and finding 

of no significant impact made by the 

Commission in promulgating its 

revisions to 10 CFR Part 73 (74 FR 

13967). There will be no change to 

radioactive effluents that affect radiation 

exposures to plant workers and 

members of the public. Therefore, no 

changes or different types of 

radiological impacts are expected as a 

result of the proposed exemption. 

The proposed action does not result 

in changes to land use or water use, or 

result in changes to the quality or 

quantity of non-radiological effluents. 

No changes to the National Pollution 

Discharge Elimination System permit 

are needed. No effects on the aquatic or 

terrestrial habitat in the vicinity of the 

plant, or to threatened, endangered, or 

protected species under the Endangered 

Species Act, or impacts to essential fish 

habitat covered by the MagnusonSteven’s Act are expected. 

There are no impacts to the air or 

ambient air quality. There are no 

impacts to historical and cultural 

resources. There would be no impact to 

socioeconomic resources. Therefore, no 

changes to or different types of nonradiological environmental impacts are 

expected as a result of the proposed 

exemption. 

Accordingly, the NRC concludes that 

there are no significant environmental 

impacts associated with the proposed 

action. 

The licensee currently maintains a 

security system acceptable to the NRC 

and will continue to provide acceptable 

physical protection of the WBN, Units 1 

and 2 as TVA implements certain new 

requirements in 10 CFR Part 73. 

Therefore, the extension of the 

implementation date of the new 

requirements of 10 CFR Part 73 to 

September 24, 2012, would not have 

any significant environmental impacts. 

The NRC staff’s safety evaluation will 

be provided in the exemption that will 

be issued as part of the letter to the 

licensee approving the exemption to the 

regulation, if granted. 

Environmental Impacts of the 

Alternatives to the Proposed Action 

As an alternative to the proposed 

actions, the NRC staff considered denial 

of the proposed actions (i.e., the ‘‘noaction’’ alternative). Denial of the 

exemption request would result in no 

change in current environmental 

impacts. If the proposed action was 

denied, the licensee would have to 

comply with the March 31, 2010, 

implementation deadline. The 

environmental impacts of the proposed 

exemption and the ‘‘no action’’ 

alternative are similar. 

Alternative Use of Resources 

The action does not involve the use of 

any different resources than those 

considered in the Final Environmental 

Statement for the WBN, Units 1 and 2, 

NUREG–0498, dated December 1978, 

and a supplement to the Final 

Environmental Statement (NUREG–0498 

Supplement 1), dated April 1995. 

Agencies and Persons Consulted 

In accordance with its stated policy, 

on December 24, 2009, the NRC staff 

consulted with the Tennessee State 

official, Elizabeth Flanagan of the 

Tennessee Bureau of Radiological 

Health, regarding the environmental 

impact of the proposed action. The State 

official had no comments. 

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 the 

proposed action, see the licensee’s letter 

dated November 6, 2009, as 

supplemented by letter dated January 

11, 2010. Portions of the November 6, 

2009, submittal contain safeguards and 

security sensitive information and, 

accordingly, are not available to the 

public. Other parts of these documents 

may be examined, and/or copied for a 

fee, at the NRC’s Public Document 

Room (PDR), located at One White Flint 

North, Public File Area O–1F21, 11555 

Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
3946 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 15 / Monday, January 25, 2010 / Notices 

Maryland 20852. Publicly available 

records will be accessible electronically 

from the Agencywide Document Access 

and Management System (ADAMS) 

Public Electronic Reading Room on the 

Internet at the NRC Web site: http:// 

www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. 

Persons who do not have access to 

ADAMS or who encounter problems in 

accessing the documents located in 

ADAMS should contact the NRC PDR 

Reference staff by telephone at 1–800– 

397–4209 or 301–415–4737, or send an 

e-mail to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 14th day 

of January 2010. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

John G. Lamb, 

Senior Project Manager, Watts Bar Special 

Projects Branch, Division of Operating 

Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor 

Regulation. 

[FR Doc. 2010–1304 Filed 1–22–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[Docket Nos. 50–438–CP, 50–439–CP; 

ASLBP No. 10–896–01–CP–BD01] 

Tennessee Valley Authority; 

Establishment of Atomic Safety and 

Licensing Board 

Pursuant to delegation by the 

Commission dated December 29, 1972, 

published in the Federal Register, 37 FR 

28,710 (1972), and the Commission’s 

regulations, see 10 CFR 2.104, 2.105, 

2.300, 2.313, 2.318, and 2.321, notice is 

hereby given that an Atomic Safety and 

Licensing Board (Board) is being 

established to preside over the following 

proceeding: 

Tennessee Valley Authority (Bellefonte 

Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2) 

This proceeding concerns a Petition to 

Intervene submitted by the Blue Ridge 

Environment Defense League, its 

chapter Bellefonte Efficiency and 

Sustainability Team, and the Southern 

Alliance for Clean Energy in response to 

a Federal Register Notice published on 

March 13, 2009 (74 FR 10,969) stating 

that any person adversely affected by 

the Commission’s determination to 

reinstate the construction permits for 

Bellefonte Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2, 

to be located in Jackson County, 

Alabama, may request a hearing. The 

scope of the hearing request ‘‘is limited 

to whether good cause exists for the 

reinstatement of the [construction 

permits]’’ (ibid.; see also In the Matter of 

Tennessee Valley Authority (Bellefonte 

Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2), CLI–10– 

06, 71 NRC _(slip op. at 6–7, 19 (Jan. 7, 

2010))). 

The Board is comprised of the 

following administrative judges: 

G. Paul Bollwerk III, Chair, Atomic 

Safety and Licensing Board Panel, 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, Washington, DC 

20555–0001; 

Dr. Anthony J. Baratta, Atomic Safety 

and Licensing Board Panel, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001; 

Dr. William W. Sager, Atomic Safety 

and Licensing Board Panel, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001. 

All correspondence, documents, and 

other materials shall be filed in 

accordance with the NRC E-filing rule, 

which the NRC promulgated in August 

2007 (72 FR 49,139). 

Issued at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th 

day of January 2010. 

E. Roy Hawkens, 

Chief Administrative Judge, Atomic Safety 

and Licensing Board Panel. 

[FR Doc. 2010–1319 Filed 1–22–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[Docket Nos. 50–282 and 50–306; NRC– 

2010–0022] 

License Nos. DPR–42 and DPR–60; 

Northern States Power Company; 

Prairie Island Nuclear Generating 

Plant, Units 1 and 2; Receipt of 

Request for Action Under 10 CFR 2.206 

Notice is hereby given that by petition 

dated September 4, 2009, Mr. David Lee 

Sebastian (petitioner) has requested that 

the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) take action with 

regard to the licensee for the Prairie 

Island Nuclear Generating Plant, Units 1 

and 2. The Prairie Island Nuclear 

Generating Plant is operated by 

Northern States Power Company, 

incorporated in Minnesota as a wholly 

owned subsidiary of Xcel Energy, Inc. 

(Xcel). The petitioner requests that the 

NRC: 

(1) Order Xcel to cease and desist 

from its current arbitrary and capricious 

practices using the Access 

Authorization and Fitness for Duty (AA/ 

FFD) Programs other than their intended 

created intent, as they are being applied 

against the petitioner. 

(2) Order compliance with: 

(A) The NRC’s regulations under 

Section 73.56, ‘‘Personnel Access 

Authorization Requirements for Nuclear 

Power Plants,’’ of Title 10 of the Code 

of Federal Regulations (10 CFR 73.56); 

(B) The rationale described in the 

final rule ‘‘Access Authorization 

Program for Nuclear Power Plants’’ (RIN 

3150–AA90) published in the Federal 

Register on April 26, 1991 (56 FR 

18997); and 

(C) Nuclear Energy Institute’s (NEI) 

implementation guidance in ‘‘Nuclear 

Power Plant Access Authorization 

Program’’ (NEI–03–01, Rev. 2). 

(3) That the petitioner be granted 

access authorization without further 

delay to perform his accepted job tasks 

with all record of denial removed from 

any and all records wherever found. 

(4) Issue any other Order, or grant any 

other relief, to which the petitioner may 

have shown himself entitled. 

As the basis for the request, the 

petitioner states that Xcel is in violation 

of 10 CFR 73.56 in denying him access 

to the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating 

Plant using the AA/FFD program by 

basing the decision solely upon an 

existing tax lien. The petitioner states 

that Xcel failed to base the decision to 

grant or deny unescorted access 

authorization on a review and 

evaluation of all pertinent information. 

The petitioner states that Xcel failed to 

incorporate all three elements (i.e., 

background investigation, psychological 

assessment, and behavioral observation) 

of the unescorted access authorization 

program when making the decision to 

deny the petitioner unescorted access, 

contrary to the rationale for rule ‘‘Access 

Authorization Program for Nuclear 

Power Plants’’ (56 FR 18997). 

The NRC is treating the petitioner’s 

request pursuant to 10 CFR 2.206, 

‘‘Requests for Action under This 

Subpart.’’ The request has been referred 

to the Director of the Office of Nuclear 

Reactor Regulation. As provided by 

Section 2.206, the NRC will take 

appropriate action on this petition 

within a reasonable time. A copy of the 

petition is available for inspection at the 

Commission’s Public Document Room 

(PDR), located at One White Flint North, 

Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 

Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, 

MD 20852. Publicly available records 

related to this action will be accessible 

from the Agencywide Documents 

Access and Management System 

(ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading 

Room on the Internet at the NRC Web 

site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/ 

adams.html. Persons who do not have 

access to ADAMS or who encounter 

problems in accessing the documents 

located in ADAMS should contact the 

NRC PDR reference staff by telephone at 

1–800–397–4209 or 301–415–4737, or 

by e-mail to pdr.Resource@nrc.gov. The 

ADAMS accession number for the 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES