[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 186 (Thursday, September 25, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50409-50411]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-25630]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-261]
Carolina Power & Light Company; H.B. Robinson Steam Electric
Plant, Unit No. 2 Environmental Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact
1.0 Introduction
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is
considering issuance of an amendment to Facility Operating License No.
DPR-23 issued to the Carolina Power & Light Company (CP&L or the
licensee) for operation of the H.B. Robinson Steam Electric Plant, Unit
No. 2 (Robinson) located at the licensee's site in Darlington County,
South Carolina.
Environmental Assessment
Identification of the Proposed Action
This Environmental Assessment has been prepared to address
potential environmental issues related to the licensee's application
dated August 27, 1996, as supplemented by letters dated January 17,
February 18, March 27, April 4, April 25, April 29, May 30, June 2,
June 13, June 18, August 4, August 8, and September 10, 1997. The
proposed amendment will replace the current Robinson Technical
Specifications (CTS) in their entirety with Improved Technical
Specifications (ITS) based on Revison 1 to NUREG-1431, ``Standard
Technical Specifications Westinghouse Plants'' dated April 1995, and
the CTS for Robinson.
In the application of August 27, 1996, the licensee also requested
an amendment to the Appendix B TS to relocate certain radiological and
environmental reporting requirements to a licensee-controlled document.
Appendix B TS contain environmental reporting requirements which were
relocated to Appendix B as an interim action in 1976 pending reissuance
of comprehensive Appendix B Environmental TS. These requirements are
comparable to portions of other Radiological Environmental Monitoring
TS that are also being separately relocated because they do not relate
to mitigating a design basis accident or transient.
The Need for the Proposed Action
It has been recognized that nuclear safety in all plants would
benefit from improvement and standardization of TS. The Commission's
``NRC Interim Policy Statement on Technical Specification Improvements
for Nuclear Power Reactors,'' (52 FR 3788, February 6, 1987), and later
the Commission's ``Final Policy Statement on Technical Specification
Improvements for Nuclear Power Reactors,'' 58 FR 39132 (July 22, 1993),
formalized this need. To facilitate the development of individual
improved TS, each reactor vendor owners group (OG) and the NRC staff
developed standard TS (STS). For Westinghouse plants, the STS are
published as NUREG-1431, and this document was the basis for the new
Robinson TS. The NRC Committee to Review Generic Requirements (CRGR)
reviewed the STS and made note of the safety merits of the STS and
indicated its support of conversion to the STS by operating plants.
Description of the Proposed Change
The proposed revision to the TS is based on NUREG-1431 and on
guidance provided in the Final Policy Statement. Its objective is to
completely rewrite, reformat, and streamline the existing TS. Emphasis
is placed on human factors principles to improve clarity and
understanding. The Bases section has been significantly expanded to
clarify and better explain the purpose and foundation of each
specification. In addition to NUREG-1431, portions of the existing TS
were also used as the basis for the ITS. Plant-specific issues (unique
design features, requirements, and operating practices) were discussed
at length with the licensee, and generic matters with the OG.
The proposed changes from the existing TS can be grouped into four
general categories, as follows:
1. Non-technical (administrative) changes, which were intended to
make the ITS easier to use for plant operations personnel. They are
purely editorial in nature or involve the movement or reformatting of
requirements without affecting technical content. Every section of the
Robinson TS has undergone these types of changes. In order to ensure
consistency, the NRC staff and the licensee have used NUREG-1431 as
guidance to reformat and make other administrative changes.
2. Relocation of requirements, which includes items that were in
the existing
[[Page 50410]]
Robinson TS. The TS that are being relocated to licensee-controlled
documents are not required to be in the TS under 10 CFR 50.36 and do
not meet any of the four criteria in the Commission's Final Policy
Statement for inclusion in the TS. They are not needed to obviate the
possibility that an abnormal situation or event will give rise to an
immediate threat to the public health and safety. The NRC staff has
concluded that appropriate controls have been established for all of
the current specifications, information, and requirements that are
being moved to licensee-controlled documents. In general, the proposed
relocation of items in the Robinson TS to the Final Safety Analysis
Report (FSAR), appropriate plant-specific programs, procedures and ITS
Bases follows the guidance of the Westinghouse STS (NUREG-1431). Once
these items have been relocated by removing them from the TS to
licensee-controlled documents, the licensee may revise them under the
provisions of 10 CFR 50.59 or other NRC staff-approved control
mechanisms, which provide appropriate procedural means to control
changes.
3. More restrictive requirements, which consist of proposed
Robinson ITS items that are either more conservative than corresponding
requirements in the existing Robinson TS, or are additional
restrictions that are not in the existing Robinson TS but are contained
in NUREG-1431. Examples of more restrictive requirements include:
placing a Limiting Condition of Operation (LCO) on plant equipment that
is not required by the present TS to be operable; more restrictive
requirements to restore inoperable equipment; and more restrictive
surveillance requirements.
4. Less restrictive requirements, which are relaxations of
corresponding requirements in the existing Robinson TS that provide
little or no safety benefit and place unnecessary burdens on the
licensee. These relaxations were the result of generic NRC actions or
other analyses. They have been justified on a case-by-case basis for
Robinson as will be described in the staff's Safety Evaluation to be
issued with the license amendment, which will be noticed in the Federal
Register.
In addition to the changes described above, the licensee proposed
certain changes to the existing TS that deviated from the STS in NUREG-
1431. These additional proposed changes are described in the licensee's
application and in the staff's Notice of Consideration of Issuance of
Amendment to Facility Operating License and Opportunity for a Hearing
(61 FR 55830). Where these changes represent a change to the current
licensing basis for Robinson, they have been justified on a case-by-
case basis and will be described in the staff's Safety Evaluation to be
issued with the license amendment.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The Commission has completed its evaluation of the proposed action
and concludes that the proposed TS conversion would not increase the
probability or consequences of accidents previously analyzed and would
not affect facility radiation levels or facility radiological
effluents.
Changes that are administrative in nature have been found to have
no effect on the technical content of the TS, and are acceptable. The
increased clarity and understanding these changes bring to the TS are
expected to improve the operator's control of the plant in normal and
accident conditions.
Relocation of requirements to licensee-controlled documents does
not change the requirements themselves. Future changes to these
requirements may be made by the licensee under 10 CFR 50.59 or other
NRC-approved control mechanisms, which ensures continued maintenance of
adequate requirements. All such relocations have been found to be in
conformance with the guidelines of NUREG-1431 and the Final Policy
Statement, and, therefore, are acceptable.
Changes involving more restrictive requirements have been found to
be acceptable and are likely to enhance the safety of plant operations.
Changes involving less restrictive requirements have been reviewed
individually. When requirements have been shown to provide little or no
safety benefit or to place unnecessary burdens on the licensee, their
removal from the TS was justified. In most cases, relaxations
previously granted to individual plants on a plant-specific basis were
the result of a generic NRC action, or of agreements reached during
discussions with the OG and found to be acceptable for Robinson.
Generic relaxations contained in NUREG-1431 as well as proposed
deviations from NUREG-1431 have also been reviewed by the NRC staff and
have been found to be acceptable.
In summary, the proposed revision to the TS was found to provide
control of plant operations such that reasonable assurance will be
provided so that the health and safety of the public will be adequately
protected.
These TS changes will not increase the probability or consequences
of accidents, no changes are being made in the types of any effluent
that may be released offsite, and there is no significant increase in
the allowable individual or cumulative occupational radiation exposure.
The revisions to the Appendix B TS relocate reporting requirements on
radioactive effluent releases, solid waste shipments and results of the
environmental monitoring programs. The relocation of the reporting
requirements to a licensee-controlled document is comparable to
portions of other radiological environmental monitoring TS which are
also being separately relocated. Programmatic aspects of these
specifications are retained in the ITS Administrative Controls. The
relocation of the reporting requirements will not change or affect the
possible releases or monitoring programs. Therefore, the Commission
concludes that there are no significant radiological environmental
impacts associated with the proposed action.
With regard to potential nonradiological impacts, the proposed
action involves features located entirely within the restricted area as
defined in 10 CFR Part 20. It does not affect nonradiological plant
effluents and has no other environmental impact. Accordingly, the
Commission concludes that there are no significant nonradiological
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.
Alternatives to the Proposed Action
Since the Commission has concluded there is no measurable
environmental impact associated with the proposed amendments, any
alternatives with equal or greater environmental impact need not be
evaluated. The principal alternative to this action would be to deny
the request for the amendment. Such action would not reduce the
environmental impacts of plant operations.
Alternative Use of Resources
This action did not involve the use of any resources not previously
considered in the Final Environmental Statement related to the
operation of the Robinson Electric Generating Plant.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
In accordance with its stated policy, on September 11, 1997, the
staff consulted with the South Carolina State official, Max Batavia,
Chief, South Carolina Department of Health, Bureau of Radiological
Health and Environmental Control. The State official had no comments.
[[Page 50411]]
Findings 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 amendment.
For further details with respect to this action, see the licensee's
letter dated August 27, 1996, and supplemental letters dated January
17, February 18, March 27, April 4, April 25, April 29, May 30, June 2,
June 13, June 18, August 4, August 8, and September 10, 1997, which are
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 Hartsville Memorial
Library, 147 West College, Hartsville, South Carolina 29550.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 22nd day of September, 1997.
For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Gordon E. Edison,
Acting Director, Project Directorate II-I, Division of Reactor
Projects-I/II, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 97-25630 Filed 9-24-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
