[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 66 (Wednesday, April 5, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17905-17906]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-8336]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-293]


Entergy Nuclear Generation Company (Pilgrim Nuclear Power 
Station); Exemption

I

    Entergy Nuclear Generation Company (Entergy or the licensee) is the 
owner of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (Pilgrim), and is authorized 
to possess, use, and operate the facility as reflected in Facility 
Operating License No. DPR-35. Pilgrim is a boiling-water reactor 
located at the licensee's site in Plymouth County, on the southeast 
coast of the State of Massachusetts. The license provides, among other 
things, that the licensee is subject to all rules, regulations, and 
orders of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the 
Commission) now or hereafter in effect.

II

    Section IV.F.2.c of Appendix E to 10 CFR Part 50 requires each 
licensee at each site to conduct an exercise of offsite emergency plans 
biennially with full participation by each offsite authority having a 
role under the plan. During such biennial full-participation exercises, 
the NRC evaluates onsite and the Federal Emergency Management Agency 
(FEMA) evaluates offsite emergency preparedness activities. The 
licensee conducted a biennial full-participation exercise and 6-year 
ingestion exercise in December 1999. By letter dated July 30, 1999, as 
supplemented on September 23, 1999, the licensee requested an exemption 
from Sections IV.F.2.c of Appendix E regarding the conduct of a full-
participation exercise in 2001. The requested exemption is to conduct 
the next biennial full-participation exercise that should occur in 
2001, a few months later, tentatively in May 2002. Future full-
participation exercises will be scheduled biennially from the year 
2002. The NRC has provided flexibility in scheduling these exercises by 
allowing licensees to schedule full-participation exercises at any time 
during the biennial calendar year. This provides a 12- to 36-month 
window to schedule full-participation exercises while still meeting the 
biennial requirement specified in the regulations. Conducting the 
Pilgrim full-participation exercise in calendar year 2002 places the 
exercise past the previously scheduled biennial exercise that had been 
scheduled for calendar year 2001. However, the interval

[[Page 17906]]

between biennial exercises would be 29 months, which is within the 
parameters of the existing general policy and practice.
    The Commission, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a)(1), may grant 
exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR Part 50 that are authorized 
by law, will not present an undue risk to public health and safety, and 
are consistent with the common defense and security. The Commission, 
however, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2), will not consider granting an 
exemption unless special circumstances are present. Under 10 CFR 
50.12(a)(2)(ii), special circumstances are present when application of 
the regulation in the particular circumstances would not serve the 
underlying purpose of the rule or is not necessary to achieve the 
underlying purpose of the rule. Under 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(v), special 
circumstances are present whenever the exemption would provide only 
temporary relief from the applicable regulation and the licensee or 
applicant has made good faith efforts to comply with the regulation.

III

    The staff has completed its evaluation of Entergy's request for an 
exemption and the measures that will be taken to maintain the level of 
emergency preparedness at Pilgrim between December 1999 and May 2002. 
By letter dated September 23, 1999, the licensee provided supplemental 
information in support of the exemption request. The existing training 
and drill schedule currently in place for emergency response activities 
will remain in place to ensure the readiness of both onsite and offsite 
emergency response personnel. For onsite emergency responders, this 
includes annual classroom training and participation in drills. The 
licensee will conduct quarterly combined functional and/or activation 
drills and a self-evaluated annual exercise. These drills and the self-
evaluated annual exercise satisfy the drill requirements of 10 CFR Part 
50, Appendix E, IV.F.2.b. Offsite agencies in Massachusetts are 
routinely invited to, and actively participate in, these drills and 
exercises as a training activity for offsite responders personnel. 
Local response groups are offered annual training and participation in 
emergency operations center drills. Representatives of the licensee 
meet monthly with State and local emergency management and support 
groups. The rescheduling of the biennial exercise has been discussed in 
these meetings and greeted with support by both State and local 
representatives. Rescheduling the exercise to 1 year later allows more 
freedom in the scheduling of exercises by scheduling the exercise to 
the years in which the licensee does not have scheduled refueling 
outages. The staff considers that these measures are adequate to 
maintain an acceptable level of emergency preparedness during this 
period, satisfying the underlying purpose of the rule. Therefore, the 
special circumstances of 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii) are satisfied.
    Only temporary relief from the regulation is provided by the 
requested exemption since an exercise will be conducted at a future 
date. The licensee has made a good faith effort to comply with the 
regulation. The exemption is being sought by the licensee in voluntary 
response to a request by the NRC to accommodate an adjustment in 
exercise scheduling that affects multiple agencies. The revised 
exercise schedule allows for better balance in the utilization of 
Federal resources, and added flexibility to the scheduling of exercises 
for the licensee and State and local agencies. The exercise will be 
conducted in a timeframe that is within generally accepted policy. The 
staff, having considered the schedule and resource issues within FEMA 
and the NRC, and the proposed licensee compensatory measures, believes 
that the exemption request meets the special circumstances of 10 CFR 
50.12(a)(2)(v) and should be granted.

IV

    The Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR Part 50, 
Appendix E, this exemption is authorized by law, will not endanger life 
or property or the common defense and security, and is otherwise in the 
public interest. Further, the Commission has determined, pursuant to 10 
CFR 50.12(a), that special circumstances of 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii) and 
10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(v) are applicable in that application of the 
regulation is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the 
rule, and the exemption would provide only temporary relief from the 
applicable regulation and the licensee has made good faith efforts to 
comply with the regulation. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants the 
exemption from Section IV.F.2.c of Appendix E to 10 CFR Part 50.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that the 
granting of this exemption will have no significant impact on the 
quality of the human environment (65 FR 16972).
    This exemption is effective upon issuance.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 30th day of March 2000.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John A. Zwolinski,
Director, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 00-8336 Filed 4-4-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P