Notice2026-19603
Constellation Energy Generation, LLC; Christopher M. Crane Clean Energy Center; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact
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Published
September 25, 2026
Issuing agencies
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Abstract
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), as the lead agency, and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Dominance Financing (EDF), as a cooperating agency, are issuing an environmental assessment (EA) and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) evaluating the reasonably foreseeable environmental effects from proposed Federal actions related to reauthorizing power operations at the Christopher M. Crane Clean Energy Center (CCEC). Specifically, the NRC is considering issuance of an exemption and three license amendments, which were requested by Constellation Energy Generation, LLC (CEG) to support the potential reauthorization of power operations at the CCEC. The DOE EDF's proposed action is a decision on providing Federal financial assistance (a loan guarantee) for refueling and resumption of power operations at the CCEC.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 185 (Friday, September 25, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 185 (Friday, September 25, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60988-60990]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-19603]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-289; EAXX-429-00-000-1773009788; NRC-2026-0397]
Constellation Energy Generation, LLC; Christopher M. Crane Clean
Energy Center; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant
Impact
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), as the lead
agency, and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy
Dominance Financing (EDF), as a cooperating agency, are issuing an
environmental assessment (EA) and finding of no significant impact
(FONSI) evaluating the reasonably foreseeable environmental effects
from proposed Federal actions related to reauthorizing power operations
at the Christopher M. Crane Clean Energy Center (CCEC). Specifically,
the NRC is considering issuance of an exemption and three license
amendments, which were requested by Constellation Energy Generation,
LLC (CEG) to support the potential reauthorization of power operations
at the CCEC. The DOE EDF's proposed action is a decision on providing
Federal financial assistance (a loan guarantee) for refueling and
resumption of power operations at the CCEC.
DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in this document are available on
September 25, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2026-0397 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You
may obtain publicly available information related to this document
using any of the following methods:
<bullet> Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and search for Docket ID NRC-2026-0397. Address
questions about Docket IDs in <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a> to Bridget Curran;
telephone: 301-415-1003; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1654647f72717362385563646477785678647538717960"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="11536378757674653f52646363707f517f63723f767e67">[email protected]</span></a>. For technical
questions, contact the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.
<bullet> NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at <a href="https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html">https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html</a>. To begin the search, select ``Begin ADAMS Public Search.''
For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public Document Room
(PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, at 301-415-4737, or by email
to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#89d9cddba7dbecfae6fcfbeaecc9e7fbeaa7eee6ff"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="461602146814233529333425230628342568212930">[email protected]</span></a>. For the convenience of the reader,
instructions about obtaining materials referenced in this document are
provided in the ``Availability of Documents'' section.
<bullet> NRC's PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. To make an
appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#bbebffe995e9dec8d4cec9d8defbd5c9d895dcd4cd"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a6f6e2f488f4c3d5c9d3d4c5c3e6c8d4c588c1c9d0">[email protected]</span></a> or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8
a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time, Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays.
<bullet> NRC Public Project Website: The EA and FONSI along with
information regarding the CCEC, including licensing, operation,
decommissioning, and potential restart, is available at <a href="https://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/reactors/ccec">https://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/reactors/ccec</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin Folk, telephone: 301-415-6944;
email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#89c2ecffe0e7a7cfe6e5e2c9e7fbeaa7eee6ff"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ade6c8dbc4c383ebc2c1c6edc3dfce83cac2db">[email protected]</span></a>, or Ashley Waldron, telephone: 301-415-7317;
email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2362504b4f465a0d74424f47514c4d634d51400d444c55"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="bbfac8d3d7dec295ecdad7dfc9d4d5fbd5c9d895dcd4cd">[email protected]</span></a>. Both are staff of the Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The CCEC, formerly Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1 (TMI-
1), consists of a single pressurized-water nuclear reactor located in
Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, on Three Mile Island in the Susquehanna
River. Originally licensed for operation on April 19, 1974, the NRC
issued a renewed facility operating license (RFOL) for TMI-1 on October
22, 2009, with the license term expiring on April 19, 2034.
On June 20, 2017, and September 26, 2019, Exelon Generation
Company, LLC, the licensee who then operated the facility, submitted
certifications that it would permanently cease operations of TMI-1 and
had permanently removed fuel from the reactor vessel, respectively, in
accordance with paragraph 50.82(a)(1) of title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR). Upon the NRC's docketing of these
certifications, the RFOL no longer authorized operation of the reactor
or emplacement or retention of fuel into the reactor vessel, as
provided by 10 CFR 50.82(a)(2).
CEG is seeking to return the CCEC to power operations and has
submitted for NRC approval an exemption request and three license
amendment requests (LARs) in support of allowing the resumption of
power operations through April 19, 2034, the previous expiration date
of the facility's RFOL.
A notice of opportunity to request a hearing and petition for leave
to intervene was published in the Federal Register on February 24,
2026, regarding the three LARs. Consistent with the Atomic Energy Act
of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the NRC's regulations, the NRC did
not publish a notice of opportunity for hearing on the exemption
request.
The NRC staff prepared a draft EA and draft FONSI in accordance
with 10 CFR 51.30, ``Environmental assessment,'' documenting its
environmental review of the proposed actions related to reauthorizing
power operations at the CCEC. The NRC staff issued the draft EA and
draft FONSI with a notice in the
[[Page 60989]]
Federal Register and offered a 30-day public comment period in
accordance with 10 CFR 51.33, ``Draft finding of no significant impact;
distribution.'' The draft FONSI stated that the NRC staff had
preliminarily determined that the proposed Federal actions will not
have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment.
The environmental review included fulfillment of the NRC's
obligations related to Section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act of 1966, as amended (54 U.S.C. 300101, et seq.)
(NHPA). The regulation in 36 CFR 800.8, ``Coordination with the
National Environmental Policy Act,'' allows agencies to use their
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.)
process to fulfill the requirements of Section 106 of the NHPA.
Therefore, pursuant to 36 CFR 800.8(c), the NRC used its process for
the preparation of the EA on the proposed actions to comply with
Section 106 of the NHPA in lieu of the procedures set forth at 36 CFR
800.3 through 800.6.
After consideration of the public comments, the NRC staff finalized
the EA, which is summarized in Section II of this document. Based on
this final EA and in accordance with 10 CFR 51.31, ``Determinations
based on environmental assessment,'' the NRC staff has determined that
the preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS) is not
necessary and has prepared a FONSI in accordance with 10 CFR 51.32,
``Finding of no significant impact.'' The FONSI is detailed in Section
III of this document.
II. Summary of Environmental Assessment
Description of the Proposed Federal Actions and Need
The NRC's proposed actions are decisions on whether to grant or
deny CEG's interdependent, connected licensing and regulatory requests,
including any revisions or supplements thereto or other regulatory or
licensing requests submitted to the NRC, that are necessary to support
reauthorizing power operations and refueling of the CCEC reactor. The
DOE EDF's proposed action is a decision on providing Federal financial
assistance for refueling and resumption of power operations at the CCEC
pursuant to CEG's loan guarantee agreement with the DOE that was issued
pursuant to the Energy Policy Act (EPA) of 2005.
The need for the NRC proposed actions, which would collectively
support the reauthorization of power operations and refueling of the
CCEC under the existing RFOL, is to provide 835 megawatts-electric of
baseload power generation capability to the Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
and Maryland electric grid. In support of its decision to pursue the
resumption of power operations at the CCEC, CEG cites a 20-year power
purchase agreement signed in 2024 with Microsoft to supply carbon-free
energy from the CCEC to Microsoft's data centers located within the PJM
Interconnection LLC's electric grid. The need for the DOE proposed
action (Federal financial assistance in the form of a loan guarantee)
is to implement DOE's authority under Title XVII of the EPA of 2005,
which was reauthorized, amended, and revised by the Inflation Reduction
Act of 2022 (42 U.S.C. 16517) and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Pub.
L. 119-21 (July 4, 2025)) to create the EDF Program. The purpose of the
EDF Program is to finance projects and facilities in the United States
that retool, repower, repurpose, or replace energy infrastructure that
has ceased operations or enable operating energy infrastructure to
increase capacity or output.[FEDREG][VOL]*[/VOL][NO]*[/NO][DATE]*[/
DATE][NOTICES][NOTICE][PREAMB][AGENCY]*[/AGENCY][SUBJECT]*[/SUBJECT]
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Federal Actions
In the EA, the NRC staff assessed the potential reasonably
foreseeable environmental effects (impacts) from the proposed actions
associated with the following relevant resource areas: land use and
visual resources; meteorology, air quality, and noise; surface water
resources; groundwater resources; ecological resources (terrestrial and
aquatic); Federally protected ecological resources; historic and
cultural resources; socioeconomic conditions; radiological and
nonradiological human health; waste management; uranium fuel cycle and
transportation; and postulated accidents. The NRC staff also considered
decommissioning impacts as well as greenhouse gas emissions and climate
change effects. The NRC staff determined that the environmental impacts
of the proposed actions would be NOT SIGNIFICANT for each potentially
affected environmental resource area. In addition, the NRC staff
determined that the projected effects of climate change would not alter
any of the impact determinations described in the EA.
Environmental Impacts of Alternatives to the Proposed Federal Actions
The NRC staff considered a reasonable range of alternatives to the
proposed actions, including an analysis of any environmental impacts of
not implementing the proposed actions (i.e., the no-action
alternative). The alternatives discussion in an EA does not need to be
as extensive as would be required for an EIS. The NRC staff determined
that there are no alternatives that meet the need for the proposed
actions. For the no-action alternative, the NRC staff determined that
the environmental impacts could potentially be SIGNIFICANT such as
those associated with the construction and operation of new replacement
power facilities. In contrast, the potential environmental impacts from
the proposed actions of reauthorizing power operations at the existing
CCEC would be NOT SIGNIFICANT for each potentially affected
environmental resource area. Therefore, the NRC staff concluded that
there are no environmentally preferrable alternatives to the proposed
actions.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The proposed Federal actions before the NRC are whether to grant
requests for an exemption and license amendments to support
reauthorizing power operations at the CCEC through the remainder of its
RFOL term (to April 19, 2034). The NRC staff has conducted an
environmental review of these actions and prepared an EA. This FONSI
incorporates by reference the EA summarized in Section II of this
notice and referenced in Section IV of this notice. Based on its
determination in the EA that the environmental impacts of the proposed
actions would be NOT SIGNIFICANT for each potentially affected resource
area, the NRC staff has determined that the proposed Federal actions
will not have a significant effect on the quality of the human
environment. Accordingly, the NRC staff has made a determination not to
prepare an EIS for the proposed Federal actions and that a FONSI is
warranted.
This FONSI and the related environmental documents referenced
throughout this notice are available for public inspection as discussed
in the EA and Section IV of this notice. At the conclusion of the NRC
environmental review, the DOE EDF will publish a separate notice or
decision document, as appropriate.
IV. Availability of Documents
The EA and related documents identified in the following table are
available to interested parties through ADAMS, as indicated.
[[Page 60990]]
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Document description ADAMS accession No.
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Environmental Assessment and Finding of No ML26231A018.
Significant Impact for the Christopher M.
Crane Clean Energy Center Reauthorization of
Power Operations Project, dated September
18, 2026.
Constellation Energy Generation, LLC; ML26149A334; 91 FR 34658.
Christopher M. Crane Clean Energy Center;
Draft Environmental Assessment and Draft
Finding of No Significant Impact, dated June
8, 2026.
Draft Environmental Assessment and Draft ML26120A058.
Finding of No Significant Impact for the
Christopher M. Crane Clean Energy Center
Reauthorization of Power Operations Project,
June 2026.
Constellation Energy Generation, LLC; ML26013A106; 91 FR 8910.
Christopher M. Crane Clean Energy Center;
Applications for Amendments to Renewed
Facility License Involving Proposed No
Significant Hazards Consideration
Determination and Containing Safeguards
Information and Order Imposing Procedures
for Access to Safeguards Information;
License amendment request (LAR); notice of
opportunity to comment, request a hearing,
and petition for leave to intervene; order
imposing procedures, dated February 24, 2026.
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Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.
Dated: September 22, 2026.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Stephen Koenick,
Chief, License Renewal Environmental Branch, Division of Licensing
Projects II, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2026-19603 Filed 9-24-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
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