[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 136 (Friday, July 16, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42783-42784]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-16155]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-219]
AmerGen Energy Company, LLC, Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating
Station; Exemption
1.0 Background
AmerGen Energy Company, LLC (the licensee), is the holder of
Facility Operating License No. DPR-16, which authorizes operation of
the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station (OCNGS), a boiling-water
reactor facility, located in Ocean County, New Jersey. 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.
2.0 Request/Action
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) part 50,
paragraph 50.71(e)(4) requires that licensees provide the NRC with
updates to the Updated Final Safety Analysis Report (UFSAR) annually or
6 months after each refueling outage provided the interval between
successive updates does not exceed 24 months. The revisions must
reflect changes up to 6 months prior to the date of filing. This
regulation would require the licensee to submit the next OCNGS UFSAR
update by April 25, 2005, which is 24 months after the most recent
update (April 25, 2003).
By letter dated March 26, 2004, the licensee requested a one-time
schedular exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4),
extending the filing date by ``approximately 6 months.'' This one-time
schedular exemption would
[[Page 42784]]
thus extend the 24-month interval between the last and next filing to
be 30 months. Since the licensee last submitted an update on April 25,
2003, this proposed one-time, 6-month extension would permit the next
update to be as late as October 25, 2005. The requirement to reflect
changes up to 6 months prior to the date of filing is unaffected by
this exemption, and would still apply.
The licensee also requested a permanent schedular exemption to
allow filing of all future UFSAR updates up to 12 months, instead of 6
months, after completion of a refueling outage. Thus, accordingly to
the licensee's current refueling schedule, this would permit the
licensee to file future updates in the fall of odd-numbered years.
3.0 Discussion
In its March 26, 2004, application, the licensee stated that
following the schedular requirements of 10 CFR 50.72(e)(4) literally
means that the licensee has to file both OCNGS and Peach Bottom Atomic
Power Station (PBAPS, owned by the licensee's parent company, Exelon)
UFSAR updates in the same time frame (i.e., spring) of odd-numbered
years. Such filing schedule for both OCNGS and PBAPS constitutes a
hardship for the licensee and its parent company Exelon; additional
temporary resources would have to be employed in order to
simultaneously prepare both OCNGS and PBAPS updates. Such additional
resource expenditure does not contribute to increased nuclear safety.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, the Commission may, upon application by
any interested person, or upon its own initiative, grant exemptions
from the requirements of 10 CFR part 50, when (1) the exemptions are
authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to public health or
safety, and are consistent with the common defense and security; and
(2) when special circumstances are present. Section 50.12(a)(2)(iii) of
10 CFR part 50 indicates that special circumstances exist when
compliance with a regulation would result in undue hardship
significantly in excess of those contemplated when the regulation was
adopted, or that are significantly in excess of those incurred by
others similarly situated. In the licensee's case, a special
circumstance exists because of the hardship described above, and the
special circumstance requirement of section 50.12(a)(2)(iii) of 10 CFR
part 50 is satisfied.
The requested schedular exemptions are administrative and would not
affect plant equipment, operation, or procedures. The UFSAR is simply a
repository document that contains the analysis, assumptions, and
technical details of facility design and operating parameters. Until
the UFSAR is updated, the recent design and operational changes are
documented in the licensee's safety analysis reports, and in the
Commission's Safety Evaluations for changes requiring prior approval.
Changes to a facility or its operation are effected through processes
defined in regulations other than 10 CFR 50.71, such as, 10 CFR 50.90,
10 CFR 50.59, and 10 CFR 50.54. These regulations provide the basis for
evaluating proposed changes and ensuring that the changes will not
present an undue risk to the public health and safety, and are
consistent with the common defense and security. The UFSAR, and its
periodic updates, only reflect changes that have already been
implemented under various processes prescribed by other NRC regulations
such as those cited above. Consequently, extending the due date for the
filing of UFSAR updates does not present an undue risk to the public
health and safety.
4.0 Conclusion
Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR
50.12(a), the exemptions are authorized by law, will not endanger life
or property or common defense and security, and are, otherwise, in the
public interest. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants the licensee
exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR part 50, paragraph
50.71(e)(4) for OCNGS. Specifically, the licensee is granted a one-time
exemption to delay the next UFSAR update to 30 months after the last
update, instead of the 24 months allowed by the regulation, to October
25, 2005, and a permanent exemption to file all future UFSAR updates up
to 12 months after completion of a refueling outage, instead of the 6
months allowed by the regulation.
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 (69 FR 40989).
This exemption is effective upon issuance.
Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day of July, 2004.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Ledyard B. Marsh,
Director, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 04-16155 Filed 7-15-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P