[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 63 (Monday, April 1, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22463-22465]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06772]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 72-37, 50-237, and 50-249; NRC-2024-0054]
Constellation Energy Generation, LLC; Dresden Nuclear Power
Station, Unit 2 and Unit 3; Independent Spent Fuel Storage
Installation; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant
Impact
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an
environmental assessment (EA) and a finding of no significant impact
(FONSI) for an exemption request submitted by Constellation Energy
Generation, LLC (Constellation) that would permit Dresden Nuclear Power
Station (Dresden) to maintain loaded and to load 68M multi-purpose
canister (MPC) with continuous basket shims (CBS) in the HI-STORM 100
Cask System at its Dresden Unit 2 and Unit 3 independent spent fuel
storage installation (ISFSI) in a storage condition where the terms,
conditions, and specifications in the Certificate of Compliance (CoC)
No. 1014, Amendment No. 8, Revision No. 1 are not met.
DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in this document are available on
April 1, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0054 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You
may obtain publicly available information related to this document
using any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2024-0054. Address
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann;
telephone: 301-415-0624; email: [email protected]. For technical
questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section of this document.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS
Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public
Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, at 301-415-4737,
or by email to [email protected]. For the convenience of the reader,
instructions about obtaining materials referenced in this document are
provided in the ``Availability of Documents'' section.
NRC's PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. To make an
appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8
a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Yen-Ju Chen, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555; telephone: 301-415-1018; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The NRC is reviewing an exemption request from Constellation, dated
February 23, 2024, and supplemented on February 28, 2024, and March 8,
2024. Constellation is requesting an exemption, pursuant to section
72.7 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), in
sections 72.212(a)(2), 72.212(b)(3), 72.212(b)(5)(i), 72.212(b)(11),
and 72.214 that require Constellation to comply with the terms,
conditions, and specifications of the CoC No. 1014, Amendment No. 8,
Revision No. 1. If approved, the exemption would allow Constellation to
maintain loaded and to load MPC-68-CBS in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System
at the Dresden ISFSI in a storage condition where the terms,
conditions, and specifications in the CoC No. 1014, Amendment No. 8,
Revision No. 1, are not met.
II. Environmental Assessment
Background
Dresden is located on the south bank of the Illinois River at the
confluence of the Des Plaines and the Kankakee Rivers in Goose Lake
Township, Grundy County, near the city of Morris, Illinois. Unit 2
began operating in 1970 and Unit 3 began operating in 1971.
Constellation has been storing spent fuel in an ISFSI at Dresden under
a general license as authorized by 10 CFR part 72, subpart K, ``General
License for Storage of Spent Fuel at Power Reactor Sites.''
Constellation currently uses the HI-STORM 100 Cask System under CoC No.
72-1014, Amendment No. 8, Revision No. 1 for dry storage of spent
nuclear fuel in a specific MPC (i.e., MPC-68M) at the Dresden ISFSI.
Description of the Proposed Action
The CoC is the NRC approved design for each dry cask storage
system. The proposed action would exempt the applicant from the
requirements of 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2), 72.212(b)(3), 72.212(b)(5)(i),
72.212(b)(11), and 72.214 only as these requirements pertain to the use
of the MPC-68-CBS in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System for the already
loaded systems and the near-term planned loadings of the systems. The
exemption would allow Constellation to maintain loaded and to load MPC-
68-CBS in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System at the Dresden ISFSI, despite
the MPC-68-CBS in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System not being in compliance
with the terms, conditions, and specifications in the CoC No. 1014,
Amendment No. 8, Revision No. 1.
The HI-STORM 100 Cask System CoC provides the requirements,
conditions, and operating limits necessary for use of the system to
store spent fuel. Holtec International (Holtec), the designer and
manufacturer of the HI-STORM 100 Cask System, developed a variant of
the design with continuous basket shims (CBS) for the MPC-68M, known as
MPC-68M-CBS. Holtec originally implemented the CBS variant design under
the provisions of 10 CFR 72.48, which allows licensees to make changes
to cask designs without a CoC amendment under certain conditions
(listed in 10 CFR 72.48(c)). After evaluating the specific changes to
the cask designs, the NRC determined that Holtec erred when it
implemented the CBS variant design under 10 CFR 72.48, as this was not
the type of change allowed without a CoC amendment. For this reason,
the NRC issued three Severity Level IV violations to Holtec. Prior to
the issuance of the violations, Constellation had already loaded four
[[Page 22464]]
MPC-68M-CBS in a HI-STORM 100 Cask System, which are safely in storage
on the Dresden ISFSI pad. Additionally, Constellation plans to load one
MPC-68M-CBS in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System in May 2024 and four MPC-
68M-CBS in March 2025. This exemption considers the loading of the
already loaded systems and the near-term planned loadings of the
systems with the CBS variant basket design.
Need for the Proposed Action
Constellation requested this exemption because Constellation is
currently out of compliance with NRC requirements, resulting from the
previous loading of spent fuel into a storage system with the CBS
variant basket design. This exemption would allow four already loaded
MPC-68M-CBS in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System to remain in storage at the
Dresden ISFSI. The applicant also requested the exemption in order to
allow Dresden to load MPC-68M-CBS in HI-STORM 100 Cask System at the
Dresden ISFSI for the future loading campaigns scheduled in May 2024
and in March 2025.
Approval of the exemption request would allow Constellation to
effectively manage the spent fuel pool margin and capacity to enable
refueling and offloading fuel from the reactor. It would also allow
Constellation to effectively manage the availability of the specialized
workforce and equipment needed to support competing fuel loading and
operational activities at Dresden and other Constellation sites.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
This EA evaluates the potential environmental impacts of granting
an exemption from the terms, conditions, and specifications in CoC No.
1014, Amendment No. 8, Revision No. 1. The exemption would allow four
loaded MPC-68M-CBS in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System to remain loaded at
the Dresden ISFSI. The exemption also would allow five additional MPC-
68M-CBS to be loaded in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System in near-term
loading campaigns and maintained in storage at the Dresden ISFSI.
The potential environmental impacts of storing spent nuclear fuel
in NRC-approved storage systems have been documented in previous
assessments. On July 18, 1990 (55 FR 29181), the NRC amended 10 CFR
part 72 to provide for the storage of spent fuel under a general
license in cask designs approved by the NRC. The EA for the 1990 final
rule analyzed the potential environmental impacts of using NRC-approved
storage casks. The EA for the HI-STORM 100 Cask System, CoC No. 1014,
Amendment No. 8, Revision No. 1, (80 FR 49887), published in 2015,
tiers off of the EA issued for the July 18, 1990, final rule.
``Tiering'' off earlier EAs is a standard process encouraged by the
regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(NEPA) that entails the use of impact analyses of previous EAs to bound
the impacts of a proposed action where appropriate. The Holtec HI-STORM
100 Cask System is designed to mitigate the effects of design basis
accidents that could occur during storage. Considering the specific
design requirements for the accident conditions, the design of the cask
would prevent loss of containment, shielding, and criticality control.
If there is no loss of containment, shielding, or criticality control,
the environmental impacts would not be significant.
The exemptions requested by Constellation at the Dresden site as
they relate to CoC No. 1014, Amendment No. 8, Revision No. 1, for the
HI-STORM 100 Cask System are limited to the use of the CBS variant
basket design only for the already loaded four systems and near-term
planned loadings of five systems utilizing the CBS variant basket
design. The staff has determined that this change in the basket will
not result in either radiological or non-radiological environmental
impacts that significantly differ from the environmental impacts
evaluated in the environmental assessment supporting the issuance of
CoC No. 1014, Amendment No. 8, Revision No. 1. If the exemption is
granted, there will be no significant change in the types or amounts of
any effluents released, no significant increase in individual or
cumulative public or occupational radiation exposure, and no
significant increase in the potential for or consequences from
radiological accidents. Accordingly, the Commission concludes that
there would be no significant environmental impacts associated with the
proposed action.
Alternative to the Proposed Action
The staff considered the no-action alternative. The no-action
alternative (denial of the exemption request) would require
Constellation to unload spent fuel from the MPC-68M-CBS in the HI-STORM
100 Cask System to bring it in compliance with the CoC terms,
conditions, and specifications in the CoC No. 1014, Amendment No. 8,
Revision No. 1. Unloading the cask would subject station personnel to
additional radiation exposure, generate additional contaminated waste,
increase the risk of a possible fuel handling accident, and increase
the risk of a possible heavy load handling accident. Furthermore, the
removed spent fuel would need to be placed in the spent fuel pool,
where it would remain until it could be loaded into an approved storage
cask. Delay in the loading of this spent fuel into other casks could
affect Constellation's ability to effectively manage the spent fuel
pool capacity and reactor fuel offloading. Not allowing the two planned
future loading campaigns could also affect Constellation's ability to
manage pool capacity, reactor fuel offloading, and refueling. It could
also pose challenges to spent fuel heat removal and impact the
availability of the specialized workforce and equipment needed to
support competing fuel loading and operational activities at Dresden
and other Constellation sites. The NRC has determined that the no-
action alternative would result in undue potential human health and
safety impacts that could be avoided by proceeding with the proposed
exemption, especially given that the staff has concluded in NRC's
Safety Determination Memorandum, issued with respect to the enforcement
action against Holtec regarding these violations, that fuel can be
stored safety in the MPC-68M-CBS casks.
Agencies Consulted
The NRC provided the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and
Office of Homeland Security (IL IEMA-OHS) a copy of this draft EA for
review by an email dated March 15, 2024. On March 22, 2024, IL-IEMA-OHS
provided its concurrence by email.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The environmental impacts of the proposed action have been reviewed
in accordance with the requirements in 10 CFR part 51, which implement
NEPA. Based upon the foregoing environmental assessment, the NRC finds
that the proposed action of granting the exemption from the regulations
in 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2), 72.212(b)(3), 72.212(b)(5)(i), 72.212(b)(11)
and 72.214, which require the licensee to comply with the terms,
conditions, and specifications of the CoC, in this case limited to past
and specific future loadings of baskets with the CBS variant design,
would not significantly impact the quality of the human environment.
Accordingly, the NRC has determined that a finding of no significant
impact (FONSI) is appropriate, and an environmental impact statement is
not warranted.
IV. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the following table are available to
[[Page 22465]]
interested persons through ADAMS, as indicated.
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ADAMS accession No. or
Document description Federal Register notice
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Constellation's request for exemption, ML24054A031.
dated February 23, 2024.
Supplements to request for exemption, dated ML24065A292.
February 28, 2024, and March 8, 2024. ML24068A069.
Certificate of Compliance No. 1014, ML16041A233 (Package).
Amendment 8, Revision 1, dated February
10, 2016.
Notice of Violation to Holtec ML24016A190.
International, Inc., The U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission Inspection Report
No. 07201014/2022-201, EA-23-044, dated
January 30, 2024.
10 CFR part 72 amendment to allow spent 55 FR 29181.
fuel storage in NRC-approved casks, dated
July 18, 1990.
EA for part 72 amendment to allow spent ML051230231.
fuel storage in NRC-approved casks, dated
March 8, 1989.
Final rule for List of Approved Spent Fuel 80 FR 49887.
Storage Casks: HI-STORM 100 Cask System,
CoC No. 1014, Amendment 8, Revision 1,
dated August 18, 2015.
Safety Determination of a Potential ML24018A085.
Structural Failure of the Fuel Basket
During Accident Conditions for the HI-
STORM 100 and HI-STORM Flood/Wind Dry Cask
Storage Systems, dated January 31, 2024.
NRC email to IL IEMA-OHS, ``Request: State ML24078A377.
review of the Dresden exemption request
environmental assessment,'' dated March
15, 2024.
IL IEMA-OHS email response, ``IEMA-OHS ML24083A002.
review of Draft Environmental Assessment
and Finding of No Significant Impact
Related to Constellation's Exemption
Request for Dresden Nuclear Power Station,
Units 2 and 3, from Certain Requirements
in 10 CFR 72.212 and 10 CFR 72.214,''
dated March 22, 2024.
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Dated: March 26, 2024.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Yoira K. Diaz-Sanabria,
Chief, Storage and Transportation Branch, Division of Fuel Management,
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2024-06772 Filed 3-29-24; 8:45 am]
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