Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Units 2 and 3, Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering issuance of an exemption from certain requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4) for Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-19 and DPR-25, issued to Exelon Generation Company, LLC (the licensee), for operation of the Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Units 2 and 3, located in Grundy County, Illinois, and for Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-29 and DPR-30, issued to the licensee, for operation of the Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2, located in Rock Island County, Illinois. 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 grant a schedular extension for Dresden Nuclear Power Station (Dresden), Units 2 and 3, and for Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station (Quad Cities), Units 1 and 2, for submittal of revised Updated Final Safety Analysis Reports (UFSARs) from the regularly scheduled dates. 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4) requires that subsequent revisions to the UFSAR be submitted periodically to the NRC provided that the interval between successive updates does not exceed 24 months. The Dresden and Quad Cities UFSAR revisions are currently submitted on a 24-month cycle. The next scheduled date for submittal of the revised UFSAR for Dresden is June 30, 2003, and for Quad Cities is October 20, 2003. However, the licensee plans to submit revised UFSARs along with Operating License Renewal Applications (LRAs) for Dresden and Quad Cities in January 2003. The licensee plans to resume the established schedule for submittal of the UFSAR revisions in 2005 for both stations. The licensee requests a one-time exemption to postpone submittal of the revised Dresden and Quad Cities UFSARs until 2005.

The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's application dated August 9, 2002.

The Need for the Proposed Action

The licensee proposes to submit revised UFSARs with LRAs in January 2003, and to resume the established schedule for submittal of UFSAR revisions for Dresden on June 30, 2005, and for Quad Cities on October 20, 2005. An exemption is required because 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4) requires that subsequent revisions to the UFSAR be submitted periodically to the NRC provided that the interval between successive updates does not exceed 24 months.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and concludes that there are no significant adverse environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.

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 nonradiological impacts, the proposed action does not have a potential to affect any historic sites. It does not affect nonradiological plant effluents and has no other environmental impact. Therefore, there are no significant nonradiological 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 Final Environmental Statement for the Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Units 2 and 3, dated November 1973, and for the Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2, dated September 1972.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

On August 22, 2002, the staff consulted with the Illinois State official, Mr. F. Niziolek of the Department of Nuclear Safety, 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 letter dated August 9, 2002. Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (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 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov.