SRP Statement of Reasons

NOTICE OF FILING
1. SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION LISTED IN 35 ILL. ADM. CODE 102.202(b)
  1. ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
2. ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL

BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

IN THE MATTER OF:

)

PROCEDURES REQUIRED BY

)

R 07-020

P.A. 94-849 FOR REPORTING

)

(Rulemaking - Water)

RELEASES OF RADIONUCLIDES AT

)

NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS: NEW 35

)

ILL.ADM.CODE PART 1010

Marie Tipsord, Hearing Officer

Illinois Pollution Control Board

James R. Thompson Center

100 West Randolph Street, Suite 11-500

Chicago, Illinois 60601

Matthew Dunn, Chief

Bill Richardson

Environmental Bureau

Office of Legal Counsel

Office of the Attorney General

Department of Natural Resources

100 W. Randolph, 12

Floor

One Natural Resources Way

Chicago, Illinois 60601

Springfield, IL 62702-1271

Alan Bielawski

John Van Vranken

William G. Dickett

Exelon Law Department

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that today I filed with the Illinois Pollution Control Board the

Submission of Information Listed in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 102.202(b), a copy of which is herewith

served upon you.

ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL

PROTECTION AGENCY

Dated: September 26, 2007

1021 North Grand Avenue East

Springfield, Illinois 62794-9276

Assistant Counsel

(217) 782-5544

Electronic Filing, Received, Clerk's Office, September 26, 2007

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BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

IN THE MATTER OF:

)

PROCEDURES REQUIRED BY

)

R 07-020

P.A. 94-849 FOR REPORTING

)

(Rulemaking - Water)

RELEASES OF RADIONUCLIDES AT

)

NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS: NEW 35

)

ILL.ADM.CODE PART 1010

)

SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION LISTED IN 35 ILL. ADM. CODE 102.202(b)

NOW COMES the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency ("Illinois EPA") and,

pursuant to the Hearing Officer’s request at the September 5, 2007, hearing in this matter,

submits the following information listed in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 102.202(b). The information is

roughly organized according to the order in which it is listed in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 102.202(b).

As discussed with the Hearing Officer, the Illinois EPA has not included Illinois Register notice

pages, an Illinois Register version of the rules, or an economic and budgetary effects analysis

form since these items are not required under 35 Ill. Adm. Code 102.202.

A statement of the facts that support the proposal:

The Illinois EPA submits this proposal pursuant to Public Act 94-849 (“P.A. 94-849”),

which added Section 13.6 to the Environmental Protection Act (“Act”). Section 13.6 of the Act

requires the Illinois EPA, in consultation with the Illinois Emergency Management Agency

(“IEMA”), to “propose rules to the Board prescribing standards for detecting and reporting

unpermitted releases of radionuclides.” 415 ILCS 5/13.6(e).

Section 13.6 was added to the Act “to require the detection and reporting of unpermitted

releases of any radionuclides into groundwater, surface water, or soil at nuclear power plants, to

the extent that federal law or regulation does not preempt such requirements.” 415 ILCS

Electronic Filing, Received, Clerk's Office, September 26, 2007

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5/13.6(a). It carries out this purpose by requiring that “[w]ithin 24 hours after an unpermitted

release of a radionuclide from a nuclear power plant, the owner or operator of the nuclear power

plant where the release occurred shall report the release to the [Illinois Environmental

Protection] Agency and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.” 415 ILCS 5/13.6(c). An

“unpermitted release of a radionuclide” is defined as “any spilling, leaking, emitting,

discharging, escaping, leaching, or disposing of a radionuclide into groundwater, surface water,

or soil that is not permitted under State or federal law or regulation.” 415 ILCS 5/13.6(c).

Section 13.6 was added to the Act following a series of leaks at the Braidwood Nuclear

Power Station (“Braidwood Station”) in Will County, Illinois. The leaks involved releases of

tritiated water from several vacuum breakers along an underground pipe known as the

“blowdown line.” The blowdown line carries tritiated water and other liquid effluent from the

Braidwood Station to the Kankakee River, where it is discharged. The tritium leaks resulted in

groundwater contamination and impacted a nearby residential well. Other nuclear power stations

in Illinois have also experienced tritium leaks that have resulted in groundwater contamination.

A statement of the purpose and effect of the proposal:

The purpose of the proposal is to comply with Section 13.6 of the Act and propose rules

that set forth standards for detecting and reporting unpermitted releases of radionuclides under

Section 13.6 of the Act. Under Section 1010.200 of the rules, an unpermitted release of a

radionuclide is deemed to have been detected if an unpermitted release of station generated

liquids either (i) results in tritium concentrations of 200 pCi/L or more outside the licensee

controlled area or (ii) contains tritium at quantities of 0.002 Curies or more. The procedural

requirements for reporting the release are set forth in Sections 1010.202 and 1010.204 of the

rules.

Electronic Filing, Received, Clerk's Office, September 26, 2007

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The effect of the proposal will be to establish standards for owners and operators of

nuclear power plants to comply with the release reporting requirements of Section 13.6 of the

Act so that the Illinois EPA and IEMA receive timely notification of unpermitted releases of

radionuclides from nuclear power plants.

Environmental justification:

The proposed rules help alert appropriate state agencies to the fact that a release of

radionuclides from a nuclear power plant has occurred, and helps protect against degredation of

the State’s water resources. The detection and reporting levels set forth in Section 1010.200 are

based on tritium levels that result in, or that could result in, off-site tritium concentrations

exceeding background levels. Please see the technical justification section below for the reasons

200 pCi/L is proposed as the detection level for tritium instead of the background level of 35

pCi/L.

Technical justification:

The requirement for reporting unpermitted releases of radionuclides is established in

Section 13.6 of the Act. The proposed rules further refine when the reporting requirement is

triggered. The detection and reporting levels set forth in Section 1010.200 were chosen to ensure

that releases are reported if they result, or could result, in off-site tritium concentrations that

exceed background levels.

Based on information from the Braidwood Station, the background level for tritium is 35

pCi/L. However, the practical quantitation limit that can be achieved in commercial, State, and

private laboratories (other than research laboratories) is 200 pCi/L. Therefore, the reporting

levels are based upon the practical quantitation limit 200 pCi/L. Tritium levels in the vicinity of

Electronic Filing, Received, Clerk's Office, September 26, 2007

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a nuclear power plant that equal or exceed this concentration are assumed to be the result of a

release from the nuclear power plant.

0.002 Curies was chosen as a detection and reporting level because of its proactive and

practical utility. It is a measure that on-site Exelon staff is familiar with, and one that can be

easily determined without analytical testing. It is used in lieu of requiring the modeling of each

on-site release to determine whether the release might result in tritium concentrations of 200

pCi/L or more outside of the licensee controlled area. Based on Illinois EPA modeling, releases

of tritium in quantities of less than 0.002 Curies are not expected to result in tritium

concentrations of 200 pCi/L or more outside the licensee controlled areas of the nuclear power

plants in Illinois.

Economic justification:

From an economic standpoint, the Illinois EPA does not believe the proposed rules create

unreasonable standards for owners and operators to follow to comply with Section 13.6 of the

Act. The Illinois EPA believes that any additional costs owners and operators of nuclear power

plants incur in order to comply with the rules will be reasonable when compared to the public

benefit of providing timely notification of radionuclide releases to the Illinois EPA and IEMA,

and ultimately to the public. At the September 5, 2007, hearing, Exelon stated that any

additional costs it incurs to comply with the proposed rules will be reasonable.

Applicable factors listed in Section 27(a) of the Act:

The proposed rules do not contain different provisions for different contaminant sources,

or for different geographical areas. They do not apply to sources outside the State; do not make

special provision for alert and abatement standards and procedures respecting occurrences or

emergencies of pollution or other short-term conditions constituting an acute danger to health or

Electronic Filing, Received, Clerk's Office, September 26, 2007

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to the environment (the rules do not contain special provisions because they address only one

issue: the detection and reporting of unpermitted releases of radionuclides); and do not include

regulations specific to individual persons or sites. The proposed regulations do not establish or

assess any charge by the Board or the Agency.

Regarding the physical conditions and character of the areas involved, the nuclear power

plant sites in Illinois range from several hundred acres to several thousand acres in size.

Surrounding land uses range from agricultural and recreational uses to commercial and

residential uses. The power plants are either adjacent to or near larger bodies of water such as

large ponds, lakes, and rivers. Detailed information regarding five of the seven nuclear power

plants in Illinois is included in the “Station Description” portion (Section 2.0 et seq.) of the

reports submitted to the Board on September 17, 2007.

Affected sources and facilities:

The proposed rules apply to owners and operators of nuclear power plants. Currently,

Exelon owns and operates all of the nuclear power plants located in Illinois. The universe of

affected sources and facilities consists of the following:

Braidwood Generating Station, Braceville, Illinois

Byron Generating Station, Byron, Illinois

Clinton Power Station, Clinton, Illinois

Dresden Generating Station, Morris, Illinois

LaSalle County Generating Station, Marseilles, Illinois

Quad Cities Generating Station, Cordova, Illinois

Zion Generating Station, Zion, Illinois

Electronic Filing, Received, Clerk's Office, September 26, 2007

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Economic impact of the proposed rule:

Exelon testified to the economic impact of the proposed rules at the September 5, 2007,

hearing. It stated that any additional costs it incurs to comply with the rules will be reasonable.

See Transcript of September 5, 2007, hearing at 48-49.

The Illinois EPA will be happy to answer any additional questions the Board may have

about its proposal at the October 10, 2007, hearing in Springfield.

Respectfully submitted,

ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL

DATED: September 26, 2007

1021 North Grand Avenue East

P.O. Box 19276

Springfield, Illinois 62794-9276

(217) 782-554

Electronic Filing, Received, Clerk's Office, September 26, 2007

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PROOF OF SERVICE

I, the undersigned, certify that I have served the enclosed Submission of Information

Listed in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 102.202(b) upon the following persons:

Clerk

Marie Tipsord, Hearing Officer

Illinois Pollution Control Board

James R. Thompson Center

100 West Randolph Street, Suite 11-500

Chicago, Illinois 60601

(electronically filed)

Matthew Dunn, Chief

Bill Richardson

Environmental Bureau

Office of Legal Counsel

Office of the Attorney General

Department of Natural Resources

100 W. Randolph, 12

Floor

One Natural Resources Way

Chicago, Illinois 60601

Springfield, IL 62702-1271

Alan Bielawski

John Van Vranken

William G. Dickett

Exelon Law Department

by sending a true and correct copy of the documents to the above addresses via first-class mail

from Springfield, Illinois, on the date below with sufficient postage affixed.

ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL

Dated: September 26, 2007

1021 North Grand Avenue East

P.O. Box 19276

Springfield, Illinois 62794-9276

(217) 782-5544

Electronic Filing, Received, Clerk's Office, September 26, 2007

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