[Federal Register: July 21, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 139)] [Notices] [Page 42112-42113] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr21jy05-145] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. 50-346] FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company; Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, Unit 1; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering issuance of an exemption from Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50, Appendix R, Section III.G.3 for Facility Operating License No. NPF-3, issued to FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (FENOC or the licensee), for operation of the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, Unit 1 (DBNPS), located in Ottawa County, Ohio. Therefore, as required by 10 CFR 51.21, the NRC is issuing this environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact. Environmental Assessment Identification of the Proposed Action The proposed action would be an exemption to certain requirements of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix R, ``Fire Protection Program for Nuclear Power Facilities Operating Prior to January 1, 1979,'' Section III.G.3, ``Fire Protection of Safe Shutdown Capability.'' Specifically, the licensee would be exempt from the requirements to install a fixed fire suppression system in Fire Area HH for DBNPS and to install fire detection in the approximately 4 percent of Fire Area HH not currently covered by a fire detection system. The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's application dated January 20, 2004 (Agencywide Documents Access Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML0420220470), as supplemented by letters dated September 3, 2004 (ADAMS Accession No. ML0402520326), and February 25, 2005 (ADAMS Accession No. ML050610249). The Need for the Proposed Action The requirements specified in 10 CFR 50, Appendix R, Section III.G.3, require fire detection and fixed fire suppression in areas for which alternate shutdown capability is provided. The total combustible loading in Fire Area HH is less than 20,000 BTU/ft \2\. Existing fire protection capability in the area consists of a fire detection system, protecting Room 603 (approximately 96 percent of Fire Area HH, not including Rooms 603A and 603B) and manual fire suppression capability consisting of portable fire extinguishers and standpipe hose stations for the protection of the entire area. The exemption is needed because the current fire detection and fire suppression capability is sufficient to protect the health and safety of the public. Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and concludes that the proposed exemption does not involve radioactive wastes, release of radioactive material into the atmosphere, solid radioactive waste, or liquid effluents released to the environment. The details of the staff's safety evaluation will be provided in the exemption that will be issued as part of the letter to the licensee approving the exemption to the regulation. The DBNPS systems were evaluated in the Final Environmental Statement (FES) dated October 1975 (NUREG 75/097). The proposed exemption will not involve any change in the waste treatment systems described in the FES. The proposed action will not significantly increase the probability or consequences of accidents, no changes are being made in the types of 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 non-radiological impacts, the proposed action does not have a potential to affect 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. 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 resource than those previously considered in the DBNPS FES dated October 1975. Agencies and Persons Consulted On April 8, 2005, the staff consulted with Ohio State official, Ms. Carol O'Claire of the Ohio Emergency Management Agency, 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 letters dated January 20, 2004, September 3, 2004, and February 25, 2005. Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible electronically from the ADAMS Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by telephone at 1-800- [[Page 42113]] 397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 6th day of July, 2005. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. William A. Macon, Jr., Project Manager, Section 2, Project Directorate III, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. 05-14362 Filed 7-20-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P