[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 176 (Monday, September 13, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55199-55200]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-20591]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 72-25]
Foster Wheeler Environmental Corporation; Issuance of
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact Regarding
a Proposed Exemption
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is
considering issuance of an exemption, pursuant to 10 CFR 72.7, from the
provisions of 10 CFR 72.30(c) to Foster Wheeler Environmental
Corporation (FWENC or applicant). The requested exemption would allow
FWENC to rely on the Statement of Intent from the Department of Energy
(DOE) to satisfy the requirements for financial assurance for
decommissioning of the Idaho Spent Fuel (ISF) Facility. FWENC submitted
the exemption request on April 2, 2003, in support of its November 19,
2001, license application for the ISF Facility, an independent spent
fuel storage installation (ISFSI) to be located at the Idaho National
Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL).
Environmental Assessment (EA)
Identification of Proposed Action: The applicant requested an
exemption from the requirement in 10 CFR 72.30(c) which states that
financial assurance for decommissioning must be provided by one or more
of the following methods, including: (1) Prepayment; (2) a surety
method, insurance, or other guarantee method; (3) an external sinking
fund; or (4) in the case of Federal, State, or local government
licensees, a statement of intent containing a cost estimate for
decommissioning, and indicating that funds for decommissioning will be
obtained when necessary. FWENC, a private entity, will be the licensee
for the ISF Facility, and the provisions of 10 CFR 72.30(c)(4) do not
explicitly allow such a non-government entity to meet the
decommissioning financial assurance requirements through reliance on a
statement of intent. The requested exemption would allow the applicant
to rely on the statement of intent provided by DOE for decommissioning
funding assurance. DOE has contracted with FWENC for the licensing,
construction, and operation of the ISF Facility, which will repackage
and store spent fuel possessed by DOE, in partial fulfillment of the
1995 settlement agreement among DOE, the U.S. Navy, and the State of
Idaho.
The proposed action before the Commission is whether to grant this
exemption pursuant to 10 CFR 72.7.
Need for the Proposed Action: The applicant has requested a license
to construct and operate the ISF Facility, as described in its license
application, dated November 19, 2001, on behalf of the Department of
Energy (DOE). FWENC will be the license holder for the ISF Facility,
which would be the second NRC-licensed ISFSI at the INEEL. The proposed
facility will be adjacent to the existing ISFSI for the TMI-2 fuel
debris, and close to the DOE facilities currently storing the spent
fuel to be moved to the ISF Facility. The ISF Facility represents an
additional milestone in the 1995 settlement agreement among DOE, the
U.S. Navy, and the State of Idaho regarding the disposition of spent
nuclear fuel at INEEL.
The exemption would allow the applicant to rely on DOE's statement
of intent to provide decommissioning funding for the ISF Facility when
needed, instead of using one or more of the other methods specified in
10 CFR 72.30(c). These other methods would require the applicant to
contribute substantial funds into one of these other
[[Page 55200]]
financial instruments well in advance of decommissioning. This facility
will be designed and operated exclusively for the interim storage of
DOE spent fuel, and the licensing, construction, and operational costs
will be paid directly or indirectly by DOE. DOE has also committed to
obtain sufficient funding for the decommissioning of the facility from
the U.S. Congress, when needed, so funding for all phases of the ISF
Facility will ultimately be provided by DOE. To preclude FWENC from
relying on the method in 10 CFR 72.30(c)(4) to meet the decommissioning
financial assurance requirements for this facility would result in an
unnecessary financial burden on the applicant, increasing overall
project costs.
The NRC staff has evaluated the proposed exemption in its
preliminary safety evaluation report (SER) for the ISF Facility, dated
July 29, 2004. In the SER, the staff concludes that the intent of 10
CFR 72.30(c)(4) is met and that the commitments identified in the
requested exemption are consistent with the requirements of the
regulation. The staff finds the exemption request acceptable and will
impose appropriate license conditions to ensure that the
decommissioning funding commitments will be met.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action: The NRC staff
previously evaluated the environmental impacts resulting from the
construction, operation and decommissioning of the ISF Facility, and
determined that such impacts would be acceptably small. The staff's
conclusions are documented in the ``Environmental Impact Statement for
the Proposed Idaho Spent Fuel Facility at the Idaho National
Engineering and Environmental Laboratory in Butte County, Idaho (Final
Report), NUREG-1773,'' issued in January 2004. In that environmental
impact statement (EIS), the staff performed a cost-benefit analysis,
and concluded that the benefits of the facility outweigh the associated
impacts and costs. This conclusion was based on the assumption that DOE
would obtain the necessary decommissioning funding, as described in the
exemption request. On this basis, and the fact that the proposed
exemption deals with financial matters that will not affect the
physical design or operation of the ISF Facility, the staff finds that
the proposed exemption will not have any significant environmental
impact.
Alternative 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). Approval or denial of the
exemption request would result in no change in the environmental
impacts described in the staff's final EIS. Therefore, the
environmental impacts of the proposed action and the alternative action
are similar.
Agencies and Persons Consulted: On August 2, 2004, Mr. Doug Walker,
Senior Health Physicist with the State of Idaho INEEL Oversight
Program, was contacted regarding the environmental assessment for the
proposed exemption and had no comments. The NRC staff previously
evaluated the environmental impacts of the ISF Facility in the final
EIS issued in January 2004, and has determined that additional
consultation under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act is not
required for this specific exemption which involves financial assurance
mechanisms and will not affect listed species or critical habitat. The
NRC staff has similarly determined that the proposed exemption is not a
type of activity having the potential to cause effects on historic
properties. Therefore, no further consultation is required under
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
Finding of No Significant Impact
The environmental impacts of the proposed action have been reviewed
in accordance with the requirements set forth in 10 CFR Part 51. Based
upon the foregoing EA, the Commission finds that the proposed action of
granting the exemption from 10 CFR 72.30(c), so that FWENC may rely on
DOE's statement of intent for the decommissioning financial assurance
for the ISF Facility, will not significantly impact the quality of the
human environment. Accordingly, the Commission has determined that a
Finding of No Significant Impact is appropriate, and that an
environmental impact statement for the proposed exemption is not
necessary.
For further details with respect to this exemption request, see the
FWENC license application for the ISF Facility, and the accompanying
Safety Analysis Report, dated November 19, 2001, and the request for
exemption, dated April 2, 2003, which were docketed under 10 CFR Part
72, Docket No. 72-25. These documents are available for public
inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, One White Flint
North Building, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD, or from the
publicly available records component of NRC's Agencywide Documents
Access and Management System (ADAMS). These documents may be accessed
through the NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. If there are problems in
accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public
Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737 or
by e-mail at [email protected].
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day of September, 2004.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James R. Hall,
Senior Project Manager, Spent Fuel Project Office, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 04-20591 Filed 9-10-04; 8:45 am]
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