Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station Environmental Documents
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SACRAMENTO MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT OSMUDThe Power Tj)Do Mr. P.O. Box 15830, Sacramento, CA 95852-1830; 1-888-742-SMUD (7683) NQA 06-043 November 7, 2006 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Attn.: Document Control Desk Washington, DC 20555 Docket No. 50-312 Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station License No. DPR-54 ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTS TO SUPPORT LICENSE TERMINATION PLAN REVIEW Attention: John Hickman Attached is a copy of the documents you requested to support the preparation of the environmental assessment for the Rancho Seco License Termination Plan (LTP). The attached documents include: 1. "Supplement to Rancho Seco Environmental Report - Post Operating License Stage," 1991. 2. Biological surveys performed on the site including the 1994 survey that was part of the Master Plan for development of Rancho Seco Park and the biological survey conducted in support of the Cosumnes Power Plant. 3. Cultural resources survey performed in support of the Cosumnes Power Plant. 4. NPDES Permit including the renewal application. 5. Our contract with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. We do not have an agreement with the County of Sacramento regarding the operation Rancho Seco Park nor do we have any permits from the Army Corp of Engineers to dredge, discharge, or deposit materials into navigable waters or their tributaries. RANCHO SECO NUCLEAR PLANT ° 14440 Twin Cities Road, Herald, CA 95638-9799; (209) 333-2935 J. Hickman -2- NQA 06-043 Members of your staff with questions requiring additional information or clarification may contact me at (916) 732-4843. Sincerely, Robert E es Supe sing Quality Engineer Attachment Cc w/ attachment: B.S. Mallett, NRC, Region V '~ ~ AF 91"G21fMUD - 2, SACRAMENTO MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT C 6201 S Street, P.O. Box 15830, Sacramento CA 95852-1830, (916) 452-3211 AN ELECTRIC SYSTEM SERVING THE HEART OF CALIFORNIA DAGM/NUC 91-0136 October 21, 1991 U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Attn: Director of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Washington, DC 20555 Docket No. 50-312 Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station License No. DPR-54 SUPPLEMENT TO RANCHO SECO ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT - POST OPERATING LICENSE STAGE Attention: Thomas E. Murley In accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR 51.53(b), the District hereby submits its Supplement to Rancho Seco's Environmental Report - Post Operating License Stage. This report provides an assessment of the environmental effects of decommissioning Rancho Seco, and provides a comparison of those impacts with the NRC's Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS), NUREG-0586. The report concludes that the decommissioning attributes for Rancho Seco fall within the envelope of the GEIS, and that the environmental effects of decommissioning Rancho Seco are not significant, given the mitigation measures proposed in the report. Members of your staff with questions requiring additional information or clarification may call Ken Miller at 916/452-3211, extension 4513. Sincerely, James R. Shetler Deputy Assistant General Manager Nuclear cc: J. B. Martin, NRC, Region V C. Myers, NRC, Rancho Seco Seymour Weiss, NRC, Washington, DC RANCHO SECO NUCLEAR GENERATING STATION 0 14440 Twin Cities Road, Herald, CA 95638-9799; (209) 333-2935 SUPPLEMENT TO APPLICANT'S ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT - POST OPERATING LICENSE STAGE RANCHO SECO NUCLEAR GENERATING STATION SMUD SACRAMENTO MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT SUPPLEMENT TO RANCHO SECO ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT -- POST OPERATING LICENSE STAGE TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 PURPOSE 1.2 DECOMMISSIONING PLAN DESCRIPTION 1.3 REGULATORY CONSIDERATIONS 1.4 DECOMMISSIONING ORGANIZATION 1.5 NEED FOR PROPOSED ACTION 1.6 SUMMARY OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF DECOMMISSIONING 2.0 HISTORY AND CURRENT STATUS OF FACILITY 2.1 NUCLEAR OPERATING HISTORY 2.2 RADIONUCLIDE INVENTORY 2.3 RADIATION SURVEY RESULTS 3.0 PROPOSED ACTION 3.1 INTRODUCTION 3.2 SAFSTOR ACTIVITIES AND TASKS 3.3 STAFFING AND EXPOSURE SUMMARIES 3.4 DEFERRED-DECON 3.5 SITE RESTORATION 4.0 SITE AND ENVIRONMENT 4.1 SITE LOCATION AND SITE DESCRIPTION 4.2 POPULATION DISTRIBUTION AND TRENDS 4.3 ADJACENT LAND USE 4.4 METEOROLOGY 4.5 HYDROLOGY 4.6 GEOLOGY AND SEISMOLOGY 4.7 BIOTA 5.0 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF PROPOSED ACTION 5.1 INTRODUCTION 5.2 RADIOLOGICAL IMPACTS 5.3 ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF ACCIDENTS 5.4 PUBLIC SERVICES AND SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS 5.5 NATURAL RESOURCES 5.6 TRANSPORTATION AND NOISE 6.0 ALTERNATIVES TO PROPOSED ACTION 6.1 DECOMMISSIONING ALTERNATIVES 6.2 OTHER DECOMMISSIONING ALTERNATIVES 7.0 STATUS OF COMPLIANCE 8.0 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS i SUPPLEMENT TO RANCHO SECO ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT -- POST OPERATING LICENSE STAGE LIST OF TABLES Table No. Title Table 1-1 Summary of the Environmental Attributes of Decommissioning for the GEIS Plant and Rancho Seco Radionuclide Material Inventory Table .2-1 (Curies) at Rancho Seco Table 4-1 Permanent Population Distribution Within 13 Miles Table 4-2 Projected Population Within 50-Mile Radius of Rancho Seco ii SUPPLEMENT TO RANCHO SECO ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT -- POST OPERATING LICENSE STAGE LIST OF FIGURES Figure No. Title Figure 1-I Rancho Seco Long Range Plan Figure 4-1 General Area Map Figure 4-2 Site Location Figure 4-3 Permanent Population within a 10 Mile Radius of Rancho Seco iii2 SUPPLEMENT TO RANCHO SECO ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT -- POST OPERATING LICENSE STAGE CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 PURPOSE Because of a public vote on June 6, 1989, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (District) decided to shut down the Rancho. Seco Nuclear Generating Station (RSNGS). Accordingly, on August 29, 1989, the District notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) of its intent to seek amendments to the RSNGS operating license and decommission the facility. The NRC acknowledged this notification on November 27, 1989. The purpose of decommissioning Rancho Seco is to allow the facility to be taken safely from service and to reduce the residual radioactivity to a level that permits the release of the site for unrestricted use and termination of the operating license. The District has selected the SAFSTOR option for decommissioning Rancho Seco. A discussion of other decommissioning alternatives examined, and the reasoning for selecting SAFSTOR with Deferred-DECON, is* provided in Chapter 6. In accordance with 10 CFR 51.53(b), the District submits this Supplement to the Rancho Seco Environmental Report- Post Operating License Stage. This environmental report addresses the actual or potential environmental impacts associated with Custodial and Hardened-SAFSTOR, and provides an initial assessment of the effects of Deferred-DECON. The environmental impacts associated with Deferred-DECON will be further evaluated after the District develops detailed plans for Deferred-DECON, towards the end of the Hardened-SAFSTOR dormancy stage. In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the District has also conducted an initial study of the potential environmental impacts resulting from closing and decommissioning Rancho Seco. Based on the results of that study, the District staff has prepared a Negative Declaration stating that decommissioning would not have a significant environmental impact. In addition to the environmental impacts associated with the. District's proposed radiological decommissioning activities, the CEQA study addresses additional potential environmental impacts associated with other plant closure activities. These additional environmental impacts are outside the scope of proposed decommissioning activities and are therefore outside the NRC's scope of review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). 1-1 SUPPLEMENT TO RANCHO SECO ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT -- POST OPERATING LICENSE STAGE The CEQA report has previously been sent to the NRC for review and comment. 1-2 SUPPLEMENT TO RANCHO SECO ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT-- POST OPERATING LICENSE STAGE 1.2 DECOMMISSIONING PLAN DESCRIPTION 1.2.1 Description of SAFSTOR Alternative Under SAFSTOR with Deferred-DECON, Rancho Seco will be maintained in a dormant condition that allows the facility to be safely stored and subsequently decontaminated (Deferred-DECON) to levels that permit its release for unrestricted use. The Rancho Seco Decommissioning Plan (DP) details the District's decommissioning strategy using the SAFSTOR alternative. This strategy includes the following three stages: 1. Custodial-SAFSTOR, where the spent fuel is stored in the spent fuel pool. 2. Hardened-SAFSTOR, which will be implemented after the fuel has been moved into dry storage at the Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation. 3. Deferred-DECON, which involves decontamination and dismantlement of the facility. The District has determined the SAFSTOR alternative provides for reasonably prompt license termination considering the limitationsand of spent fuel storage, waste disposal, occupational exposure, funding. The Custodial and Hardened-SAFSTOR portions of this alternative reasonably ensure the protection of public health and safety from residual radioactivity remaining at the site without the need for extensive modifications to the facility. During SAFSTOR, the facility will be left intact with structures maintained in a sound condition. Systems not required to be operational for maintenance and surveillance purposes are drained, de-energized, and secured. Plant staff will perform minimal cleaning or removal of loose radioactive contamination and/or fixation and sealing of remaining contamination. Access to contaminated areas is sealed and/or secured to provide controlled access for inspection and maintenance. SAFSTOR Duration The