[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