[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 5 (Friday, January 7, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1197-1199]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-113]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-341; NRC-2010-0388]


Detroit Edison Company, FERMI 2; Exemption

1.0 Background

    Detroit Edison Company (DECo) (the licensee) is the holder of 
Facility Operating License No. NFP-43 which authorizes operation of the 
Fermi 2. The license provides, among other things, that the facility is 
subject to all rules, regulations, and orders of the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (NRC, the Commission) now or hereafter in effect. The 
facility consists of a boiling water reactor located in Monroe County 
in Michigan.

2.0 Request/Action

    Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Part 50, 
Appendix E, Section IV.F.2.b requires that ``Each licensee at each site 
shall conduct an exercise of its onsite emergency plan every 2 years.'' 
By letter dated August 3, 2010 (Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML102230442), the licensee 
requested a one-time exemption from this requirement that would have 
allowed the licensee to not conduct the onsite portion of a biennial 
emergency preparedness (EP) exercise in 2010. Requests for additional 
information (RAIs) were sent to the licensee on September 13, 2010 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML102580355), and a teleconference was held with 
the licensee on September 17, 2010, to discuss the RAIs. By letter 
dated October 22, 2010 (ADAMS Accession No. ML102950490), the licensee 
responded to the RAIs and amended their request to include only a one-
time

[[Page 1198]]

schedular exemption to postpone the onsite portion of the biennial EP 
exercise until calendar year (CY) 2011. As a result of the licensee's 
responses to first set of RAIs, a second set of RAIs were sent to the 
licensee on October 29, 2010 (ADAMS Accession No. ML103050328). A 
telephone call was conducted with the licensee on November 4, 2010, to 
discuss these additional RAIs. The licensee responded to the second set 
of RAIs by letter dated November 15, 2010 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML103200126).
    The licensee's original request for an exemption stated that a 
tornado swept across the Fermi 2 property on June 6, 2010, and that the 
resulting damage led to an Alert declaration and the activation of the 
licensee's Emergency Response Organization (ERO). Due to the tornado 
event, the licensee chose to cancel its scheduled biennial EP exercise 
on June 8, 2010. In the original request, the licensee asked to be 
given credit for their scheduled 2010 biennial EP exercise based upon 
the Alert declaration and subsequent response to the June 6, 2010, 
tornado event. In the licensee's letter in response to the first set of 
RAIs, the licensee states that: ``Rescheduling the cancelled exercise 
in calendar year 2010 is not considered due to the unavailability of 
resources necessary to prepare for and conduct an NRC-evaluated 
exercise. DECo resources since the cancellation of the exercise were 
devoted to safely planning and preparing for the fall refueling 
outage.'' The licensee's original request stated that it did 
participate in a limited scope biennial EP exercise utilizing partial 
onsite participation and full participation by state and local response 
organizations on June 8, 2010. Participation by state and local 
response organizations was evaluated by the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency (FEMA) and therefore met the biennial exercise 
requirement for these offsite agencies.
    In summary, as a result of the impact of the combined need to 
recover from the tornado damage and support a scheduled refueling 
outage, the licensee requested, in response to the staff RAIs, an 
exemption that would allow rescheduling the onsite portion of the 
exercise from CY 2010 until CY 2011.

3.0 Discussion

    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, Appendix E, 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) special circumstances are present.

Authorized by Law

    This exemption would allow the licensee to accommodate these 
impacts upon its resources by postponing the onsite portion of the 
exercise from the previously scheduled date during CY 2010 until CY 
2011.
    As stated above, 10 CFR 50.12 allows the NRC to grant exemptions 
from the requirements of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix E. The NRC staff has 
determined that granting of the licensee's proposed exemption will not 
result in a violation of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, or 
the Commission's regulations. Therefore, the exemption is authorized by 
law.

No Undue Risk to Public Health and Safety

    The underlying purpose of 10 CFR part 50, Appendix E, Section 
IV.F.2.b requiring licensees to conduct a biennial EP exercise is to 
ensure that ERO personnel are familiar with their duties and to test 
the adequacy of emergency plans. In addition, 10 CFR part 50, Appendix 
E, Section IV.F.2.b also requires licensees to maintain adequate 
emergency response capabilities during the intervals between biennial 
EP exercises by conducting drills to exercise the principal functional 
areas of emergency response. In order to accommodate the scheduling of 
full participation exercises, the NRC has allowed licensees to schedule 
the exercises at any time during the calendar biennium. Conducting the 
Fermi 2 full-participation exercise in CY 2011, rather than CY 2010, 
places the exercise outside of the required biennium. Since the last 
biennial EP exercise on May 20, 2008, the licensee has conducted 20 
training drills that collectively exercised the principal functional 
areas of emergency response, including management, coordination of 
emergency response, accident assessment, protective action decision 
making, and plant system repair and corrective actions. These drills, 
collectively, involved all onsite emergency response facilities and 
many of the drills included participation by offsite response 
organizations. In addition, at the request of FEMA, the licensee 
supported the State and local authorities with the offsite portion of 
the biennial EP exercise on June 8, 2010, thereby facilitating the FEMA 
evaluation of the State and local authorities. The NRC staff considers 
the intent of this requirement is met by having conducted these series 
of training drills.
    Based on the above, no new accident precursors are created by 
allowing the licensee to postpone the onsite portion of the exercise 
from the previously scheduled date of June 8, 2010, to CY 2011. Thus, 
the probability and consequences of postulated accidents are not 
increased. Therefore, there is no undue risk to public health and 
safety.

Consistent With Common Defense and Security

    The proposed exemption would allow rescheduling of the onsite 
portion of the biennial EP exercise from the previously scheduled date 
of June 8, 2010, to CY 2011. This change to the EP exercise schedule 
has no relation to security issues. Therefore, the common defense and 
security is not impacted by this exemption.

Special Circumstances

    In order to grant exemptions in accordance with 10 CFR 50.12, 
special circumstances must be present. Special circumstances per 10 CFR 
50.12 that apply to this exemption request are 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii) 
and (v). Special circumstances, per 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii), are present 
when: ``Application of the regulation in the particular circumstances 
would not serve the underlying purpose of the rule or is not necessary 
to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule.'' Section IV.F.2.b of 10 
CFR Part 50, Appendix E requires licensees at each site to conduct an 
exercise of onsite emergency plans biennially with full-participation 
by each offsite authority having a role under the plan. The underlying 
purposes of 10 CFR part 50, Appendix E, Section IV.F.2.b requiring 
licensees to conduct a biennial EP exercise is to ensure that ERO 
personnel are familiar with their duties and to test the adequacy of 
emergency plans. Since the licensee has conducted 20 training drills 
exercising the principle functional areas of emergency response since 
the last evaluated biennial EP exercise, has activated all onsite 
emergency response facilities during those drills, and has supported 
the FEMA evaluation of the State and local authorities, the NRC staff 
considers that these measures are adequate to maintain an acceptable 
level of emergency preparedness during this period, satisfying the 
underlying purpose of the rule.
    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 or applicant has made good faith 
efforts to comply

[[Page 1199]]

with the regulation. Due to the activation of ERO personnel as a result 
of the tornado two days prior to June 8, 2010 biennial exercise, the 20 
training drills conducted since the last evaluated biennial EP 
exercise, and the licensee's support of the FEMA evaluation of the 
State and local authorities during the June 8, 2010 exercise, the NRC 
staff considers the licensee to have made good faith efforts to comply 
with the regulation. Also, the requested exemption to conduct the 
onsite EP exercise in CY 2011 instead of CY 2010 would grant only 
temporary relief from the applicable regulation. Since the underlying 
purpose of 10 CFR part 50, Appendix E, Section IV.F.2.b is achieved, 
the licensee has made a good faith effort to comply with the 
regulation, and the exemption would grant only temporary relief from 
the applicable regulation, the special circumstances required by 10 CFR 
50.12(a)(2)(ii and v) exist for the granting of an exemption.

4.0 Conclusion

    Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 
50.12, the exemption is authorized by law, will not present an undue 
risk to the public health and safety, is consistent with the common 
defense and security, and special circumstances are present. Therefore, 
the Commission, hereby grants DECo an exemption from the requirements 
of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix E, Section IV.F.2.b to conduct the onsite 
portion of the Fermi 2 biennial EP exercise required for CY 2010, 
permitting that part of the exercise to be conducted in coordination 
with NRC Region III and Fermi 2 plant schedule as soon as reasonably 
achievable in CY 2011.
    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 (75 FR 81316).
    This exemption is effective upon issuance.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 27th day of December 2010.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Allen. G. Howe,
Acting Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2011-113 Filed 1-6-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P