[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 249 (Friday, December 28, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67328-67330]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-31931]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-317 and 50-318]


Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Inc. (Calvert Cliffs Nuclear 
Power Plant, Unit Nos. 1 and 2); Exemption

I

    Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Inc. (CCNPPI or the licensee) 
is the holder of Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-53 and DPR-69, 
which authorizes operation of the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant 
(CCNPP), Unit Nos. 1 and 2 at power levels not to exceed 2700 megawatts 
thermal. The facility consists of two pressurized-water reactors 
located at the licensee's site in Calvert County, Maryland. The license 
provides, among other things, that the licensee is subject to all 
rules, regulations, and orders of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
(NRC, the Commission) now or hereafter in effect.

II

    Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), part 50, 
Appendix E, section IV.F.2.b requires each licensee at each site to 
conduct an exercise of its onsite emergency plan every 2 years and 
indicates the exercise may be included in the full participation 
biennial exercise required by paragraph 2.c of the same section. In 
addition, licensees are to take actions necessary to ensure that 
adequate emergency response capabilities are maintained during the 
interval between biennial exercises by conducting drills. Paragraph 2.c 
requires offsite plans for each site to be exercised biennially with 
full participation by each offsite authority having a role under the 
plan. Normally during such biennial full participation exercises, the 
NRC evaluates onsite, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency 
(FEMA) evaluates offsite, emergency preparedness activities.
    By letter dated September 28, 2001, the licensee requested an 
exemption from section IV.F.2.c of Appendix E regarding the conduct of 
a full-participation exercise originally scheduled for September 25, 
2001. Specifically, the licensee proposed rescheduling the exercise 
originally scheduled for September 25, 2001, to sometime prior to 
December 31, 2002. However, the next full-participation exercise will 
continue to be scheduled biennially from 2001.
    CCNPPI is among several licensees requesting schedular exemptions 
for emergency exercises in the wake of the national emergency of 
September 11, 2001. It is recognized that it was not appropriate to 
conduct an exercise during the period of disruption and heightened 
security after the national emergency. Considering the extraordinary 
circumstances, a schedular exemption is appropriate. However, in this 
period of heightened security concerns regarding nuclear plant 
vulnerability, it is prudent to conduct the full-participation exercise 
as soon as practical to demonstrate and maintain readiness.
    The licensee is faced with a difficult task to coordinate and 
schedule an exercise that involves multiple governmental agencies at 
the Federal, State, and local level. Many local response organizations 
depend on volunteers. In order to accommodate this difficult task, the 
NRC has allowed licensees to schedule full participation exercises at 
any time during the calendar biennium. This gives the

[[Page 67329]]

licensee the flexibility to schedule the exercise within a 12- to 36-
month window and still meet the biennial requirement specified in the 
regulations.
    It should be noted that the licensee requested relief from 10 CFR 
part 50, Appendix E, section IV.F.2.c. While the intent of the request 
is clear, the NRC staff determined that a schedular exemption from the 
onsite exercise requirements of 10 CFR part 50, Appendix E, section 
IV.F.2.b, was also necessary. The following evaluation addresses the 
technical issues necessary to grant a schedular exemption from 
requirements in 10 CFR part 50, Appendix E, sections IV.F.2.b and c, to 
conduct an evaluated biennial exercise.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, the NRC may grant exemptions from the 
requirements of its regulations which, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a), are 
(1) authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to the public 
health and safety, and are consistent with the common defense and 
security and (2) present special circumstances. 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 has made good faith efforts to comply with 
the regulation.

III

    The licensee was scheduled to conduct a biennial full participation 
exercise on September 25, 2001. The requested exemption is to postpone 
that exercise and conduct it during 2002. The interval between biennial 
exercises could be as long as 38 months, if the exercise were conducted 
in December of 2002. However, given the circumstances and the fact that 
other 2001 exercises in NRC Region I will be rescheduled for 2002, this 
time frame is acceptable. To reschedule this exercise, the licensee 
will have to coordinate with local and State supporting agencies as 
well as NRC Region I and FEMA Region III. This effort will be 
complicated by the fact that NRC and FEMA will have to support the 
normally scheduled exercises in addition to the rescheduled exercises 
during 2002. The increased flexibility requested by the licensee may be 
necessary for scheduling of Federal resources more so than local or 
utility resources.
    CCNPPI successfully conducted a full-participation exercise in 
October 1999, which was evaluated by the NRC (NRC Inspection Report 
Nos. 50-317/99-10 and 50-318/99-10) and FEMA (Final Exercise Report 
CCNPP, March 14, 2000.) The results of this exercise determined that 
the overall performance of the emergency response organization 
demonstrated that onsite emergency plans are adequate and that the 
organization is capable of implementing these plans.
    The licensee provided a description of recently completed drills 
and training evolutions, as well as the planned training and drill 
schedule for the next year. CCNPPI had previously conducted one full-
participation emergency preparedness exercise on August 23, 2001. 
Additionally, a site-wide non-state participation drill was conducted 
on May 24, 2001. Although these drills were not evaluated by NRC and 
FEMA, the May and August 2001 drill results were critiqued by the 
emergency response organization and the Nuclear Plant Assessment 
Department. Issues identified during the drill critiques are being 
resolved under the corrective action program.
    CCNPPI stated that emergency preparedness has been maintained in 
accordance with the Emergency Response Plan. The requirements for semi-
annual health physics drills were met by the conduct of the May 24 and 
August 23, 2001, drills. The requirement for a post-accident sampling 
drill was met on June 7, 2001. The annual requirement for an 
environmental sampling drill was met on September 4, 2001. Dose 
assessment office drills were conducted on January 17, 2001, and May 
29, 2001. The annual requirement for a severe accident management drill 
was met in the May 24 and August 23 drills.
    The State of Maryland and local governments have maintained 
radiological emergency preparedness by fully participating in the 
August 23, 2001 drill. Additionally, the State agencies participated in 
the federally-evaluated Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station exercise on 
August 15, 2000. Calvert County Public Safety, Calvert Memorial 
Hospital, and local rescue squads participated in a simulated 
contaminated injury drill at CCNPP on November 16, 2000. Dorchester 
County successfully demonstrated corrective action for a deficiency 
noted in the CALVEX 99 FEMA exercise report.
    CCNPPI has stated that between September 2001 and December 2002, 
measures will be taken to maintain emergency preparedness at CCNPP. The 
existing training and drill schedule currently in place for emergency 
response activities will remain in place and be adjusted as necessary 
to ensure the readiness of both onsite and offsite emergency response 
personnel. For onsite emergency responders, this includes annual 
training and participation in drills. CCNPPI 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 Maryland are routinely invited to, and actively 
participate in, these drills and exercises as a training activity for 
offsite response personnel. Local response groups conduct annual 
training and participate in emergency operations center drills. The 
biennial medical support (MS-1) drill conducted in conjunction with 
Calvert Memorial Hospital and Calvert County took place in October 
2001.
    These activities satisfy the drill and exercise requirements of 10 
CFR part 50, Appendix E, IV.F.2.b. CCNPPI stated that it meets 
routinely with State and local emergency management and support groups, 
has discussed rescheduling of the biennial exercise with these groups, 
and that these groups support the exercise postponement.
    For this exemption request, the special circumstances described in 
section 50.12(a)(2)(v) of 10 CFR part 50 are present. The exemption 
only provides temporary relief from the applicable regulation, in that 
the licensee has committed to conduct the exercise during the next 
calendar year (2002) and has not requested any permanent changes in 
future exercise scheduling. The licensee made a good faith effort to 
conduct the exercise and comply with regulations. The circumstances 
dictating the request for exemption are beyond the licensee's control. 
The regulations of this part allow for the postponement of exercises 
and the regulations have been invoked for appropriate circumstances.
    Based upon the consideration of the public health and safety, 
schedule, and resource issues resulting from the national emergency of 
September 11, 2001, the staff concludes that the request for exemption 
is acceptable. The staff has determined that conduct of the full-
participation exercise as early as practical in 2002 is prudent even 
though the licensee is expected to conduct another full-participation 
exercise in 2003.

IV

    Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 
50.12(a), the exemption is authorized by law, will not present an undue 
risk to the public health and safety, and is consistent with the common 
defense and security, and is otherwise in the public interest. Further, 
the Commission has determined, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a)(v), that 
special circumstances

[[Page 67330]]

are present, in that the exemption would only provide temporary relief 
from the applicable regulations, and the licensee has made a good faith 
effort to comply with the regulation. Therefore, the Commission hereby 
grants CCNPPI a one-time schedular exemption from the requirements to 
conduct an exercise of its onsite and offsite emergency plans every 2 
years as required by 10 CFR part 50, Appendix E, section IV.F.2.b and 
c. This conclusion is based on the licensee's commitment to conduct the 
postponed exercise in 2002.
    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 (66 FR 64063).
    This exemption is effective upon issuance.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day of December 2001.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Ledyard B. Marsh,
Acting Director, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 01-31931 Filed 12-27-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P