80 FR 32989 - FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company; Beaver Valley Power Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 111 (June 10, 2015)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering issuance of an amendment to Renewed License Nos. DPR-66 and NPF-73, issued on November 5, 2009, and held by FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company for the operation of Beaver Valley Power Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2 (BVPS). The proposed action would revise the Emergency Preparedness Plan (EPP) to modify the boundary of the 10-mile Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ). Specifically, the proposed change would align the BVPS EPZ boundary with the boundary that is currently in use by the emergency management agencies of the three counties that implement protective actions around BVPS.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 111 (Wednesday, June 10, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32989-32991]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-14138]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-334 and 50-412; NRC-2015-0143]


FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company; Beaver Valley Power 
Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact; 
issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering 
issuance of an amendment to Renewed License Nos. DPR-66 and NPF-73, 
issued on November 5, 2009, and held by FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating 
Company for the operation of Beaver Valley Power Station, Unit Nos. 1 
and 2 (BVPS). The proposed action would revise the Emergency 
Preparedness Plan (EPP) to modify the boundary of the 10-mile Emergency 
Planning Zone (EPZ). Specifically, the proposed change would align the 
BVPS EPZ boundary with the boundary that is currently in use by the 
emergency management agencies of the three counties that implement 
protective actions around BVPS.

DATES: June 10, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2015-0143 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 Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2015-0143. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; 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 http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and 
then 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, 301-415-4737, or by email to [email protected]. The 
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced in this document 
(if that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time 
that a document is referenced.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Taylor Lamb, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington DC 20555-
0001; telephone: 301-415-7128, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The NRC is considering issuance of an amendment to Renewed License 
Nos. DPR-66 and NPF-73, issued to FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating 
Company, for operation of the Beaver Valley Power Station, Unit Nos. 1 
and 2, (BVPS) located in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. Therefore, as 
required by section 51.21 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR), the NRC performed an environmental assessment. 
Based on the results of the environmental assessment that follows, the 
NRC has determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement for

[[Page 32990]]

the amendment, and is issuing a finding of no significant impact.

II. Environmental Assessment

Description of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action would revise the Emergency Preparedness Plan 
(EPP) to modify the boundary of the 10-mile Emergency Planning Zone 
(EPZ). Specifically, the proposed change would align the BVPS EPZ 
boundary with the boundary that is currently in use by the emergency 
management agencies of the three counties that implement protective 
actions around BVPS.
    The proposed action is requested by the licensee's application 
dated September 4, 2014 (ADAMS Accession No. ML14247A512), as 
supplemented by letter dated December 1, 2014 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML14336A520).

Need for the Proposed Action

    The proposed action would align the BVPS EPZ boundary with the 
boundary that is currently in use by the emergency management agencies 
of the three counties that implement protective actions around BVPS.
    The proposed action is needed to address the dissimilarity between 
the BVPS EPZ and that of Columbiana County, Ohio; Hancock County, West 
Virginia; and Beaver County, Pennsylvania. After 2002, the emergency 
management agencies of the three counties modified their emergency 
plans to reflect the geopolitical boundaries for the 10-mile EPZ 
proposed for BVPS. The regulations in 10 CFR 50.47(c)(2) provide that 
the exact configuration of the 10-mile EPZ is to be determined in 
relation to local emergency response needs and capabilities as they are 
affected by such conditions as demography, topography, land 
characteristics, access routes, and jurisdictional boundaries. The 
proposed revised 10-mile EPZ boundary is used in an evacuation time 
estimate (ETE) that was developed for BVPS. The ETE, ``Beaver Valley 
Power Station Development of Evacuation Time Estimates,'' December 
2012, Final Report Revision 2, prepared by KLD Engineering, P.C. (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML130070160), was based on United States Census Bureau 
data for 2010. As a result of changes to the county emergency plans, 
BVPS proposed to make conforming changes to the BVPS 10-mile EPZ 
boundary in the EPP.
    BVPS performed an analysis of the proposed change. The county 
emergency plans describe actions that would be applicable for events at 
BVPS that warrant a protective action of sheltering or evacuation. The 
BVPS analysis concluded that aligning the BVPS EPP 10-mile EPZ with the 
EPZ boundaries used by the offsite response organizations will ensure 
consistent communications are used when determining actions to protect 
the public health and safety.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC has completed its environmental assessment of the proposed 
amendment. The staff has concluded that the proposed action to align 
the BVPS EPZ boundary with the boundary that is currently in use by the 
emergency management agencies of the three counties implementing 
protective actions around BVPS 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 updated Safety Analysis 
Report. There will be no change to radioactive effluents that effect 
radiation exposures to plant workers and members of the public. No 
changes will be made to plant buildings or the site property. 
Therefore, no changes or different types of radiological impacts are 
expected as a result of the proposed amendment.
    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 or the plant, or to threatened, 
endangered, or protected species under the Endangered Species Act, or 
impacts to essential fish habitat covered by the Magnuson-Stevens 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 noticeable effect on socioeconomic conditions in the region. 
Therefore, no changes or different types of non-radiological 
environmental impacts are expected as a result of the proposed action.
    Accordingly, the NRC concludes that there are no significant 
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.

Environmental Impacts of the 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

    The action does not involve the use of any different resources than 
those previously considered in NUREG-1437, Supplement 36, ``Generic 
Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants; 
Supplement 36; Regarding Beaver Valley Power Station Units 1 and 2,'' 
dated May 2009 (ADAMS Accession No. ML091260011).

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    On April 30, 2015, the staff consulted with the Pennsylvania State 
official, Mr. Rich Janati, regarding the environmental impact of the 
proposed action. The state official agreed with the conclusions in the 
environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    The NRC is considering issuance of an amendment to Renewed License 
Nos. DPR-66 and NPF-73 for BVPS, Units 1 and 2. The proposed amendments 
would revise the EPP to modify the boundary of the 10-mile EPZ. 
Specifically, the proposed change would align the BVPS EPZ boundary 
with the boundary that is currently in use by the emergency management 
agencies of the three counties that implement protective actions around 
BVPS.
    The NRC has determined not to prepare an environmental impact 
statement for the proposed action. The proposed action will not have a 
significant effect on the quality of the human environment because 
amending the licenses to revise the EPP to align the EPZ boundary with 
the boundary that is currently in use by the emergency management 
agencies of the three counties that implement protective actions around 
BVPS will not result in any significant radiological or non-
radiological environmental impacts. Accordingly, on the basis of the 
environmental assessment in Section II above, which is incorporated by 
reference herein, the NRC has determined that a finding of no 
significant impact is appropriate.
    The NRC's finding of no significant impact and incorporated 
environmental assessment are available for public inspection by 
publication in this notice and are available online in ADAMS at 
Accession No. ML15125A217. Environmental documents related to the

[[Page 32991]]

NRC's finding of no significant impact are (1) Supplement 36 to NUREG-
1437, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of 
Nuclear Plants; Regarding Beaver Valley Power Station Units 1 and 2,'' 
dated May 2009; and (2) Generic Environmental Impact Statement for 
License Renewal of Nuclear Plants,'' NUREG-1437, Volume 1, Revision 1, 
dated June 2013 (ADAMS Accession No. ML13106A241). All documents 
described above are also available for public inspection at the NRC's 
Public Document Room as described in the ADDRESSES section, above.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 29th day of May 2015.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Douglas A. Broaddus,
Chief, Plant Licensing Branch I-2, Division of Operating Reactor 
Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2015-14138 Filed 6-9-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P