[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 132 (Wednesday, July 10, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45768-45769]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-17287]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-10]


Exelon Generation Company, LLC, Dresden Nuclear Power Station, 
Unit 1; Exemption

1.0  Background

    The Exelon Generation Company (EGC), or the licensee, is the holder 
of Facility Operating License No. DPR-2, which authorizes operation of 
the Dresden Nuclear Power Station (DNPS), Unit 1. The license provides, 
among other things, that the facility is subject to all rules, 
regulations, and orders of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, 
the Commission) now or hereafter in effect.
    DNPS, Unit 1, is located approximately 50 miles southwest of 
Chicago in Grundy County, Illinois. DNPS, Unit 1, was shut down in 
October 1978. On July 23, 1986, NRC issued Amendment No. 36 to License 
DRP-2 for DNPS, Unit 1, changing the license to possess-but-not-operate 
status. The licensee at that time, Commonwealth Edison, informed the 
NRC that it had decided to permanently cease operations at DNPS, Unit 
1, and that all fuel had been permanently removed from the reactor. In 
accordance with 10 CFR 50.82, upon docketing of the certifications in 
August 31, 1984, the facility operating license no longer authorizes 
the licensee to operate the

[[Page 45769]]

reactor or to load fuel into the reactor vessel.

2.0  Request/Action

    Section 140.11(a)(4), Part 140 Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR) requires a reactor with a rated capacity of 
100,000 electrical kilowatts or more to maintain liability insurance of 
$200 million and to participate in a secondary insurance pool.
    EGC requested to be exempted from participation in the secondary 
insurance pool based on the permanently defueled status of DNPS, Unit 
1. Subpart, Part 140.11(a)(4), applies to applicants for and holders of 
licenses issued pursuant to 10 CFR Part 50.
    The NRC may grant exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR Part 
140 of the regulations which, pursuant to 10 CFR 140.8, are authorized 
by law and are otherwise in the public interest. The underlying purpose 
of Section 140.11 is to provide sufficient liability insurance to 
ensure funding for claims resulting from a nuclear incident or a 
precautionary evacuation.

3.0  Discussion

    On December 18, 2001, EGC requested an exemption from the financial 
protection requirement limits of 10 CFR 140.11(a)(4). The exemption 
would allow EGC to withdraw from participation in the secondary 
insurance pool based on the permanently defueled status, with all spent 
fuel removed from the spent fuel pool of DNPS, Unit 1. By letter 
received on February 13, 2002, the licensee notified the NRC that as of 
January 15, 2002, the DNPS, Unit 1, spent fuel storage pool no longer 
contains spent fuel assemblies.
    The DNPS, Unit 1, spent fuel assemblies were either relocated to 
the DNPS, Unit 3, spent fuel pool or were loaded into dry cask storage 
containers and relocated to the independent spent fuel storage 
installation (ISFSI).
    The financial protection limits of 10 CFR 140.11 were established 
to require a licensee to maintain sufficient insurance to cover the 
costs of a nuclear accident at an operating reactor. Those costs were 
derived from the consequences of a release of radioactive material from 
the reactor. In a permanently shutdown and defueled reactor facility, 
the reactor will never again be operated, thus eliminating the 
possibility of accidents involving the reactor. Because DNPS, Unit 1, 
no longer contributes as great a risk as does an operating reactor 
plant, this reduction in risk should be reflected in the 
indemnification requirements to which the licensee is subject. The NRC 
staff examined the licensee's rationale to support the exemption 
request and concluded that the exemption only involves changes to 
indemnity insurance.
    The NRC staff concluded, based on an environmental assessment, that 
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.
    SECY 96-256, ``Changes to the Financial Protection Requirements for 
Permanently Shutdown Nuclear Power Reactors, 10 CFR 50.54(w) and 10 CFR 
140.11,'' dated January 17, 1997, states that, in a staff requirements 
memorandum dated July 13, 1993, the Commission approved staff 
recommendations to allow licensees that have permanently shut down to 
withdraw from secondary financial protection. SECY 96-256, also 
addressed a petition, PRM-50-57, requesting that the requirement for 
offsite primary and secondary liability coverages required under 10 CFR 
140.11(a)(4) be reduced or, preferably, eliminated for shutdown 
reactors when no nuclear fuel is on the reactor site.
    SECY 96-256 defines several configurations for permanently shutdown 
reactors. A reactor in configuration 3 is a reactor that is permanently 
shutdown with no spent fuel either in the reactor or the spent fuel 
pool. This configuration also includes the fact that all spent fuel has 
been removed to an offsite or onsite dry storage ISFSI and that the 
remaining radioactive inventory depends on the decommissioning status 
and includes liquid radwaste, activated reactor components, and 
contaminated structural materials.
    EGC requested elimination of the secondary insurance liability. 
However, the primary offsite liability insurance coverage requirement 
of 10 CFR 140.11(a)(4) will remain unchanged. The NRC staff determined 
that the offsite cleanup costs of an accident considered to be the most 
costly for a permanently defueled reactor with spent fuel removed from 
the spent fuel pool would be negligible. Thus, participation in the 
secondary insurance pool for offsite financial protection should not be 
required for a facility in that condition.
    Based upon SECY 96-256 and the current status of DNPS, Unit 1, the 
NRC staff concludes that participation in the secondary insurance pool 
for off site financial protection pursuant to 10 CFR 140.11(a)(4) is 
not required for a permanently shutdown and defueled plant.

4.0  Conclusion

    Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 
140.8, the exemption from the participation in the private liability 
insurance pool 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. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants EGC an exemption 
from the requirements of 10 CFR 140.11(a)(4) for DNPS, Unit 1.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that the 
granting of this exemption will not have a significant effect on the 
quality of the human environment (67 FR 39446 dated June 7, 2002).
    This exemption is effective upon issuance.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day of July, 2002.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Ledyard B. Marsh,
Acting Director, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 02-17287 Filed 7-9-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P