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Commonwealth Edison Company; Zion Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

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 [Federal Register: August 23, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 162)]
[Notices]               
[Page 45981-45982]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23au99-106]                         

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-295 and 50-304]

 
Commonwealth Edison Company; Zion Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 
and 2; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is 
considering issuance of an exemption from certain requirements of its 
regulations for Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-39 and DPR-48, 
issued to Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd or the licensee) for the 
Zion Nuclear Power Station (ZNPS) Units 1 and 2, located in Lake 
County, Illinois.

Environmental Assessment

Identification of the Proposed Action

    The proposed exemption would exempt the ZNPS, because of its 
permanently shutdown and defueled status, from certain requirements of 
10 CFR 50.47(b) regarding onsite and offsite emergency response plans 
and 10 CFR 50.47(c)(2) to establish plume exposure and ingestion 
pathway emergency planning zones.
    The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's 
application for exemption dated April 13, 1999, as

[[Page 45982]]

supplemented by letters dated July 8 and July 19, 1999.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    ZNPS was shut down permanently in February 1997. ComEd certified 
the permanent shutdown on February 13, 1998, and on March 9, 1998, 
certified that all fuel had been removed from the reactor vessels. In 
accordance with 10 CFR 50.82(a)(2), upon docketing of the 
certifications, the facility operating license no longer authorizes 
ComEd to operate the reactor or to load fuel into the reactor vessel. 
In this permanently shutdown condition, the facility poses a reduced 
risk to public health and safety. Because of this reduced risk, certain 
requirements of 10 CFR 50.47 are no longer required. An exemption is 
required from portions of 10 CFR 50.47(b) and (c)(2) to allow the 
licensee to implement a revised defueled station emergency plan (DSEP) 
that is appropriate for the permanently shutdown and defueled reactor 
facility.

Environmental Impact of the Proposed Action

    The Commission has completed its evaluation of the proposed action 
and concludes that the granting of the exemption will not 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 involve 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 Commission concludes that there are no significant 
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.

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

    This action does not involve the use of resources not previously 
considered in the Final Environmental Statement for the Zion Nuclear 
Power Station, Units 1 and 2, dated December 1972.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    In accordance with its stated policy, on August 4, 1999, the staff 
consulted with the Illinois State official, Mr. Gary Wright, of the 
Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety (IDNS) 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 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 action.
    For further details with respect to the proposed action, see the 
licensee's letter dated April 13, 1999, as supplemented by letters 
dated July 8 and July 19, 1999, which are available for public 
inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, The Gelman 
Building, 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, D.C., and at the local public 
document room located at the Waukegan Public Library, 128 N. County 
Street, Waukegan, Illinois 60085.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 13th day of August 1999.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Dino C. Scaletti,
Project Manager, Decommissioning Section, Project Directorate IV & 
Decommissioning, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 99-21794 Filed 8-20-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
 

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