Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 29 / Monday, February 12, 2001 / Notices 9885

Office of Management and Budget,

Washington, DC 20503.

Comments can also be submitted by

telephone at (202) 395–7318.

The NRC Clearance Officer is Brenda

Jo. Shelton, 301–415–7233.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 5th day

of February, 2001.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Brenda Jo. Shelton,

NRC Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief

Information Officer.

[FR Doc. 01–3500 Filed 2–9–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50–325 and 50–324]

In the Matter of Carolina Power & Light

Company (Brunswick Steam Electric

Plant, Units 1 and 2); Exemption

I

The Carolina Power & Light Company

(CP&L) is the holder of Facility

Operating License Nos. DPR–71 and

DPR–62, which authorize operation of

the Brunswick Steam Electric Plant,

Units 1 and 2. The licenses provide,

among other things, that the facility is

subject to all rules, regulations, and

orders of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC, the Commission)

now or hereafter in effect.

The facility consists of two boiling

water reactors located in Brunswick

County in North Carolina.

II

Title 10 of the Code of Federal

Regulations, part 50, Section 36a(a)(2)

(10 CFR 50.36a(a)(2)) requires each

licensee to submit a report to the

Commission annually that specifies the

quantity of each of the principal

radionuclides released to unrestricted

areas in liquid and in gaseous effluents

during the previous 12 months,

including any other information as may

be required by the Commission to

estimate maximum potential annual

radiation doses to the public resulting

from effluent releases. The report must

be submitted as specified in § 50.4, and

the time between submission of the

reports must be no longer than 12

months. CP&L has proposed an

amendment to Technical Specification

5.6.3 to change the submittal date for

the report to ‘‘prior to May 1.’’ The

approval of the amendment necessitates

the required submittal date for the year

2000 report be changed to ‘‘prior to May

1, 2001.’’

In summary, the exemption does not

affect the information required to be

submitted or the time period the report

covers, only the date the report is

submitted.

III

Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, the

Commission may, upon application by

any interested person or upon its own

initiative, grant exemptions from the

requirements of 10 CFR part 50, when:

(1) the exemptions are authorized by

law, will not present an undue risk to

public health or safety, and are

consistent with the common defense

and security; and (2) when special

circumstances are present. These

circumstances include the special

circumstances that would provide only

temporary relief from the applicable

regulation and the license or applicant

has made good faith efforts to comply

with the regulation.

Therefore, the staff concludes that

granting an exemption under the special

circumstances of 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(v)

is appropriate.

IV

Accordingly, the Commission has

determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR

50.12(a), the exemption is authorized by

law, will not endanger life or property

or common defense and security, and is,

otherwise, in the public interest. Also,

special circumstances are present.

Therefore, the Commission hereby

grants CP&L an exemption from the

requirements of 10 CFR 50.36a9a)(2), for

Brunswick Steam Electric Plant, Units 1

and 2.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the

Commission has determined that the

granting of this exemption will not have

a significant effect on the quality of the

human environment (66 FR 8813).

This exemption is effective upon

issuance.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 6th day

of February 2001.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

John A. Zwolinski,

Director, Division of Licensing Project

Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

[FR Doc. 01–3502 Filed 2–9–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50–344]

Portland General Electric Company;

Trojan Nuclear Plant; Environmental

Assessment and Finding of No

Significant Impact

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC) is considering

issuance of an amendment to Facility

Operating License No. NPF–1 issued to

Portland General Electric Company

(PGE), the licensee, for the Trojan

Nuclear Plant (TNP), a permanently

shutdown nuclear reactor facility

located in Columbia County, Oregon.

Environmental Assessment

Identification of the Proposed Action

The proposed action would approve

the TNP license termination plan (LTP)

and an LTP change process to allow

certain changes once the LTP is

approved by license amendment. The

approval of the LTP is essential only for

the approval of the licensee’s proposed

final radiation survey plan design. In

accordance with the regulations, the

licensee has, and will continue to have,

the authority to remediate the site

without an approved LTP. Site

remediation is performed under the

provisions of Title 10, U.S. Code of

Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 50.82(a)(6)

and 50.59. The proposed license

amendment does not authorize

additional plant activities beyond those

that are already authorized and,

therefore, is administrative.

The proposed action is in accordance

with the licensee’s application for

amendment dated August 5, 1999, as

supplemented by letters dated

November 23, 1999, December 27, 1999,

May 4, 2000, October 19, 2000, and

November 22, 2000.

The Need for the Proposed Action

The proposed action would allow the

licensee to meet the requirements of 10

CFR 50.82(a)(9), in which a licensee is

required to submit an LTP to the NRC

for approval. Further, in accordance

with the requirements of 10 CFR

50.82(a)(10) and (11), the staff will: (1)

Approve an LTP by license amendment

if the remaining decommissioning

activities will be performed in

accordance with the regulations, will

not be inimical to the common defense

and security or the health and safety of

the public, and will not have a

significant effect on the quality of the

environment; and (2) terminate the

license if the remaining dismantlement

has been performed in accordance with

the approved LTP, and that the final

radiation survey and associated

documents demonstrate the facility and

site are suitable for release.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed

Action

Background

The Trojan site, 2.57 square

kilometers (634 acres) owned by the

licensee, is located in Columbia County,

9886 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 29 / Monday, February 12, 2001 / Notices

in northwest Oregon, on the west bank

of the Columbia River, at 116.7

kilometers (km) [72.5 miles (m)] from

the mouth. The river at this location is

the boundary between the States of

Oregon and Washington. This region is

moderately populated. There is

considerable variation in the population

density because of the mountainous

nature of the terrain surrounding the

Trojan site. The town of St. Helen’s,

Oregon, the county seat of Columbia

County, is located approximately 19.3

km (12 m) south-southwest of the site.

There are several towns and small

unincorporated communities within an

8.1-km (5 m) radius of the site—Rainier,

Oregon, located approximately 7.2 km

(4.5 m) northwest; Prescott, Oregon,

located approximately 0.8 km (0.5 m)

north; Goble, Oregon, located 2.4 km

(1.5 m) south-southeast; Kalama,

Washington, 5 km (3 m) southeast; and

Carrolls, Washington, located

approximately 4 km (2.5 m) northnortheast of the site across the Columbia

River. The city of Portland, Oregon, and

its suburbs of Gresham and Beaverton

are located 50 km (31 m) from the site.

The major land use within an 80 km

(50 m) radius of the site is in timber,

owned and controlled by Federal and

State governments and private

corporations. Most of the terrain is

suitable only for tree farming and

related forestry operations. There is also

some farming of meat, milk, poultry,

hay, grain, grass seed, vegetables, fruit,

and berries.

NRC granted the operating license for

Trojan on November 21, 1975, and the

plant formally began commercial

operation on March 20, 1976. On

November 9, 1992, Trojan was shut

down because of a leak in the ‘‘B’’ steam

generator. On January 27, 1993, PGE

notified NRC of its decision to

permanently cease power operation of

its TNP. The licensee transferred the

reactor fuel from the reactor vessel to

the spent fuel pool. On May 5, 1993,

NRC amended the TNP Facility

Operating License (NPF–1) to remove

the licensee’s authority to operate

Trojan.

By letter dated January 26, 1995, the

licensee submitted the Trojan

Decommissioning Plan and a

decommissioning environmental report

(DER), ‘‘Supplement to Applicant’s

Environmental Report—Post Operating

License Stage,’’ in accordance with the

requirements of 10 CFR 51.53(d). The

DER supplemented the environmental

report, submitted on May 29, 1970, as

supplemented on November 8, 1971.

The staff, by letter dated December 18,

1995, approved the licensee’s

decommissioning plan. Included in this

letter as Enclosure 2 was the staff’s

environmental assessment,

‘‘Environmental Assessment by the U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Related

to the Request to Authorize Facility

Decommissioning’’ (DEA). In its DEA,

the staff determined that both the

radiological and nonradiological

environmental impacts associated with

decommissioning the Trojan facility

were bounded by the conditions

evaluated in the ‘‘Generic

Environmental Impact Statement on

Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities’’

(NUREG–0586), dated August 1988, and

the ‘‘Final Environmental Impact

Statement related to the Operation of

the Trojan Nuclear Plant’’ (EIS), dated

August 1973. Further, the staff

concluded that there were no significant

environmental impacts associated with

the proposed action and that the

proposed action would not have a

significant effect on the quality of the

human environment.

PGE submitted its LTP, in accordance

with the requirements of 10 CFR

50.82(a)(9) and 51.53(d). The LTP

contains the following information: (1)

A site characterization; (2) identification

of remaining dismantlement activities;

(3) plans for site remediation; (4)

detailed plans for the final radiation

survey; (5) an updated site-specific

estimate of remaining decommissioning

costs; and (6) a supplement to the

environmental report, pursuant to 10

CFR 51.53, describing any new

information or significant

environmental change associated with

the licensee’s proposed termination

activities. In addition, the licensee

requested the authority to make certain

changes to the LTP once the NRC had

approved this document.

The licensee began site remediation

shortly after the NRC approved the

licensee’s decommissioning plan. The

licensee has removed and successfully

shipped the Trojan steam generators,

pressurizer, and reactor pressure vessel

for off-site disposal at the US Ecology

low-level radioactive waste disposal

facility near Richland, Washington.

With the removal of these components,

the licensee has removed approximately

2 million curies of activity from the 10

CFR part 50 license. Thus, the licensee

has removed about 99 percent of the

activity covered under its Part 50

license. The remaining activity is

contamination located in the remaining

equipment and concrete. The licensee is

continuing its site remediation efforts.

Environmental Impacts of Site

Remediation

In its LTP, the licensee provided

supplemental data on both the

radiological and non-radiological

environmental impacts based on

remediation work completed thus far. In

the DEA, the staff noted that the

licensee, in its DER, estimated the

occupational exposure to be about 5.9

person-Sievert (Sv) [591 personroentgen equivalent man (rem)] which

was less than the estimated exposure of

12 person-Sv (1215 person-rem) given in

NUREG–0586 for decommissioning of a

reference pressurized water reactor

using the DECON alternative. The

licensee, based on the work completed

(not including the removal and

shipment of the reactor pressure vessel),

has revised its estimate of radiation

exposure that will occur to complete the

decommissioning of Trojan from 5.9

person-Sv (591 person-rem) to 5.5

person-Sv (551 person-rem). Further, as

noted above, the licensee has removed

and shipped the reactor pressure vessel

for off-site disposal. The licensee, with

the removal and shipment of the steam

generators, pressurizer, and reactor

pressure vessel, has already removed

about 99 percent of the radioactivity

from the site that was covered under its

Part 50 license.

The licensee, in its DER, estimated

that the decommissioning of its Trojan

facility would generate about 8,850 m3

(313,000 ft3) of low-level radioactive

waste that would have to be shipped offsite for disposal. The staff, in its DEA,

found that this estimate was within the

bounds of the waste volume estimated

for the referenced pressurized water

reactor in NUREG–0586 of 18,340 cubic

meters (648,000 ft3). The licensee, in its

LTP, has revised its estimate of the

volume of waste that will be generated

by the decommissioning of its Trojan

facility from 8,850 m3 (313,000 ft3) to

about 8652 m3 (305,719 ft3). Further, the

licensee has already shipped

approximately 5377 m3 (190,000 ft3) of

this low-level waste material off-site for

disposal.

The staff concludes, based on the

above, that the findings in its DEA are

still valid, and that the remaining

activities necessary to terminate the

Trojan license are bounded by that DEA.

Environmental Impacts of LTP Change

Process

In addition, the licensee has proposed

that it be authorized to make certain

changes to the NRC-approved LTP

without NRC approval if these changes

do not: (1) require Commission approval

pursuant to 10 CFR 50.59; (2) violate the

requirements of 10 CFR 50.82(a)(6); (3)

reduce the coverage requirements for

scan measurements; (4) increase the

radioactivity level, relative to the

applicable derived concentration

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 29 / Monday, February 12, 2001 / Notices 9887

1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.

guideline level, at which an

investigation occurs; or (5) change the

statistical test applied to the final survey

data to one other than the Sign test or

the Wilcoxon Rank Sum test.

The NRC staff has determined that the

amendment approving the LTP and LTP

change process involves no significant

change in the types, or significant

increase in the amounts, of any effluents

that may be released off site, and that

there is no significant increase in

individual or cumulative occupational

radiation exposure.

The proposed action will not

significantly increase the probability or

consequences of accidents, no changes

are being made in the types of any

effluents that may be released off site,

and there is no significant increase in

occupational or public radiation

exposure. Therefore, there are no

significant radiological environmental

impacts associated with the proposed

action.

With regard to potential nonradiological impacts, the proposed

action does not involve any historic

sites. It does not affect non-radiological

plant effluents and has no other

environmental impact. Therefore, there

are no significant non-radiological

environmental impacts associated with

the proposed action.

Accordingly, the NRC concludes that

there are no significant environmental

impacts associated with the proposed

action.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

As an alternative to the proposed

action, the staff considered denial of the

proposed action (i.e., the ‘‘no action’’

alternative). Denial of the application

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 for the Trojan Nuclear Plant

or the Generic Environmental Impact

Statement on Decommissioning of

Nuclear Facilities.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

The NRC staff has prepared this

environmental assessment with input

from the State of Oregon’s Historical

Preservation Officer, letter dated

February 28, 2000; the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, letter dated March 9,

2000; and the State of Oregon’s Office of

Energy, letter dated April 10, 2000. No

other sources were used beyond those

referenced in this environmental

assessment.

The State of Oregon’s Historical

Preservation Officer noted that there is

a historically significant area,

Archaeological Site 35C01, on the

Trojan property, and a burial site, Coffin

Rock, near the Trojan property. The

licensee, in its letter to NRC, dated May

18, 2000, noted that it had established

agreements to preserve Archaeological

Site 35C01. Therefore, the activities

necessary to decommission the Trojan

facility will not impact this historically

significant area. Further, based on the

distance between any activities

necessary to decommission Trojan

property and Coffin Rock, it is very

unlikely that these activities will have

any impact on the burial site.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

provided a revised list of threatened and

endangered species in the vicinity of the

Trojan site. Additional species from the

Fish and Wildlife Service’s August 18,

1995, list now included as either

threatened or endangered are the

northern spotted owl, chum salmon,

steelhead, and Nelson’s checkeredmallow. The licensee, in its letter dated

May 18, 2000, noted that license

termination activities will continue to

be largely confined to previously

developed portions of the Trojan site.

Consequently, these activities should

not substantially affect undisturbed

areas of the site, which are where

protected bird, mammal, and plant

species might be found. With regard to

aquatic life, the licensee noted that the

design of the intake and discharge

systems minimized the impacts on

Columbia River aquatic life during

power operation of the Trojan plant.

These impacts have been significantly

reduced during this post-power

operational phase of the facility.

Therefore, the finding made in the

staff’s DEA, that the impact of

decommissioning activities at the Trojan

facility would not affect Federally

protected, threatened, or endangered

species in the vicinity of the Trojan

facility, is still valid.

In accordance with its stated policy,

on January 3, 2001, the staff consulted

with the Oregon State Official, Mr.

Adam Bless of the Oregon Office of

Energy, 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 August 5, 1999, as supplemented

by letters dated November 23, 1999,

December 27, 1999, May 4, 2000,

October 19, 2000, and November 22,

2000. Documents may be examined,

and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC’s

Public Document Room, located at One

White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike

(first floor), Rockville, Maryland.

Publicly available records will be

accessible electronically from the

ADAMS Public Library component on

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

(the Electronic Reading Room).

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 6th day

of February 2001.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

David J. Wrona,

Project Manager, Decommissioning Section,

Project Directorate IV & Decommissioning

Division of Licensing Project Management,

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

[FR Doc. 01–3501 Filed 2–9–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

[Release No. 34–43925; File No. SR–PCX–

01–06]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice

of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness

of Proposed Rule Change by the

Pacific Exchange, Inc. Regarding the

Dissemination of Options Quote Size

February 5, 2001.

Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

(‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2

notice is hereby given that on January

22, 2001, the Pacific Exchange, Inc.

(‘‘PCX’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the

Securities and Exchange Commission

(‘‘SEC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’) the proposed

rule change as described in Items I, II,

and III below, which Items have been

prepared by the PCX. The Commission

is publishing this notice to solicit

comments on the proposed rule change

from interested persons.

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement of the Terms of Substance of

the Proposed Rule Change

The Exchange is proposing to effect a

systems change to disseminate via the

Options Price Reporting Authority

(‘‘OPRA’’) the size of options markets in

issues quoted and traded in decimals.