[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 51 (Thursday, March 17, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13051-13052]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-5277]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-271; License No. DPR-28]
Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power
Station; Notice of Issuance of Director's Decision Under 10 CFR 2.206
Notice is hereby given that the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued a
Director's Decision on an April 23, 2004, petition by the New England
Coalition, hereinafter referred to as the ``Petitioner.'' The petition
was supplemented on September 10, 2004. The petition concerns the
operation of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (Vermont Yankee).
The basis for the April 23, 2004, petition, was the absence of two
pieces of fuel rods in the spent fuel pool (SFP) at Vermont Yankee from
their documented location. The Petitioner stated that Entergy Nuclear
Operations, Inc. (Entergy or the licensee) had lost control of the
spent fuel inventory at Vermont Yankee. The Petitioner would have no
confidence that Entergy did not put leaking fuel rods or suspected
leaking fuel assemblies back into the reactor core during the April
2004 refueling outage until Entergy accounted for all special nuclear
material (SNM). The New England Coalition contends that operation with
leaking fuel in the reactor core would be potentially unsafe and in
violation of Federal regulations.
On May 5 and September 22, 2004, the Petitioner and the licensee
met with the staff's Petition Review Board (PRB). These meetings gave
the Petitioner and the licensee an opportunity to provide additional
information and to clarify issues raised in the petition.
The NRC sent a copy of the proposed Director's Decision to the
Petitioner and to the licensee for comment on December 27, 2004. The
Petitioner responded with comments on January 25, 2005. The comments
and the NRC staff's responses are included in the Director's Decision.
The staff did not receive any comments from the licensee.
The Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation denies the
Petitioner's request that the NRC make Entergy do an accurate and NRC-
verified inventory of the location, disposition, and condition of all
irradiated fuel, including fuel currently loaded in the reactor, and
order Entergy to halt all fuel movement at Vermont Yankee until the
inventory is completed. The reasons for this decision are explained in
the Director's Decision pursuant to Title 10 of Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR), Section 2.206 (DD-05-01), the complete text of
which is available in ADAMS for inspection at the Commission's Public
Document Room at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555
Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland, and from the ADAMS
Public Library component of the NRC's Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room).
The Petitioner's request that all fuel movement be stopped is moot.
All fuel movement for the April 2004 refueling outage had been
completed before the NRC received the petition. The licensee has
completed a documented inventory to confirm the total number of fuel
[[Page 13052]]
assemblies and their locations and the locations of the individual
rods. The licensee successfully located the two fuel rod pieces in the
SFP and did core verifications. The NRC therefore concludes that as of
July 13, 2004, Entergy has been in full compliance with regulatory
requirements to account for all SNM in its possession. Therefore the
Petitioner's request has in effect been granted. The licensee took the
requested actions voluntarily obviating the need for an order.
Furthermore, the licensee has updated its inventory of SNM, so there is
no need for the NRC to prohibit fuel movement.
The Petitioner claimed to have no confidence that Entergy did not
put leaking fuel or suspected leaking fuel assemblies back into the
reactor core during the last refueling outage. The NRC inspectors
verified that no leaking fuel assemblies were reloaded in the reactor
core. The NRC has concluded that Entergy is now in compliance with
regulatory requirements to account for all SNM. However in the special
inspection report issued on December 2, 2004, the inspectors identified
an apparent violation of 10 CFR 74.19, ``Material Control and
Accounting of Special Nuclear Material-Recordkeeping,'' related to the
two spent fuel rod pieces. The NRC is considering escalated enforcement
action for this finding.
A copy of the Director's Decision will be filed with the Secretary
of the Commission for the Commission's review in accordance with 10 CFR
2.206 of the Commission's regulations. As provided for by this
regulation, the Director's Decision will constitute the final action of
the Commission 25 days after the date of the decision, unless the
Commission, on its own motion, institutes a review of the Director's
Decision in that time.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day of March 2005.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
J.E. Dyer,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 05-5277 Filed 3-16-05; 8:45 am]
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