[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 5, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39134-39136]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-16723]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-295 and 50-304; NRC-2011-0145]
ZIONSOLUTIONS, LLC; Zion Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2
Exemption From Recordkeeping Requirements
1.0 Background
Zion Nuclear Power Station (ZNPS or Zion), Unit 1, is a
Westinghouse 3250 MWt Pressurized Water Reactor which was granted
Operating License No. DPR-39 on October 19, 1973, and subsequently shut
down on February 21, 1997. Zion, Unit 2, is also a Westinghouse 3250
MWt Pressurized Water Reactor which was granted Operating License No.
DPR-48 on November 14, 1973, and was shut down on September 19, 1996.
Zion is located in Lake County, Illinois.
In February 1998, pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR) 50.82(a)(1)(i), the licensee certified to the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) that as of
February 13, 1998, operations had ceased at Zion, Units 1 and 2. The
licensee later certified, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.82(a)(1)(ii), that all
fuel had been removed from the reactor vessel of both units, and
committed to maintaining the units in a permanently defueled status.
Therefore, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.82(a)(2), operations at Zion are no
longer authorized under the 10 CFR part 50 licenses.
On September 1, 2010, the facility license was transferred from
Exelon to ZionSolutions for the express purpose of expediting the
decommissioning of the site. ZionSolutions intends to use a process
that will reduce the labor-intensive separation of contaminated
materials and transport the facility in bulk to the EnergySolutions
disposal site in Utah. Preparations for decontamination and
dismantlement have begun. Completion of fuel transfer to the
independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) is scheduled for
2014. Final site survey and license reduction to the ISFSI is currently
planned for 2020.
2.0 Request/Action
By letter dated February 28, 2011, as supplemented on April 5,
2011, ZionSolutions filed a request for NRC approval of an exemption
from the record keeping requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(c); 10 CFR part
50, Appendix A Criterion 1; 10 CFR part 50, Appendix B Criterion XVII;
and 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3).
ZionSolutions requested a permanent exemption from the record
retention requirements of: (1) 10 CFR part 50 Appendix A Criterion 1
which requires certain records be retained ``throughout the life of the
unit''; (2) 10 CFR part 50 Appendix B Criterion XVII, which requires
certain records be retained consistent with regulatory requirements for
a duration established by the licensee; (3) 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3) which
requires certain records be maintained until ``termination of a license
issued pursuant to'' 10 CFR part 50; and (4) 10 CFR 50.71(c) which
requires certain records to be maintained consistent with various
elements of the NRC regulations, facility technical specifications and
other licensing bases documents. The licensee is proposing to eliminate
the records when: (1) The licensing basis requirements previously
applicable to the nuclear power units and associated systems,
structures, and components (SSC) are no longer effective (e.g., removed
from the Defueled Safety Analysis Report and/or Technical
Specifications by appropriate change mechanisms); or (2) for SSCs
associated with safe storage of fuel in the spent fuel pool (SFP), when
spent nuclear fuel has been completely transferred from the SFP to dry
storage, and the spent fuel building is ready for demolition and the
associated licensing bases are no longer effective.
The licensee did not request an exemption associated with any
record keeping requirements for storage of spent fuel at its future
ISFSI under 10 CFR part 50 or the general license requirements of 10
CFR part 72.
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 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.
Decommissioning of the ZNPS has begun and the nuclear reactor and
essentially all associated SSCs in the nuclear steam supply system and
balance of plant that supported the generation of power have been
retired in place and are being prepared for removal. The SSCs that
remain operable are associated with the SFP and the spent fuel
building, needed to meet other regulatory requirements, or needed to
support other site facilities (e.g., radwaste handling, heating
ventilation and air conditioning, etc).
[[Page 39135]]
No remaining SSCs are classified as safety related. The SSCs related to
safe storage of nuclear fuel are designated as Important to the
Defueled Condition by the current licensing basis.
ZionSolutions' dismantlement plans involve evaluating SSCs with
respect to the current facility safety analysis; progressively removing
them from the licensing basis where necessary through appropriate
change mechanisms (e.g., 10 CFR 50.59 or NRC-approved Technical
Specification changes, as applicable); revising the Defueled Safety
Analysis Report if and as necessary; and then proceeding with an
orderly dismantlement. Dismantlement of the plant structures will also
include dismantling existing records storage facilities.
While ZionSolutions intends to retain the records required by its
license as the project transitions from the current plant conditions to
fully dismantled with the fuel in dry storage, plant dismantlement will
obviate the regulatory and business needs for maintenance of most
records. As the SSCs are removed from the licensing basis and the need
for their records is, on a practical basis, eliminated, the licensee
proposes that they be exempted from the records retention requirements
for SSCs and historical activities that are no longer relevant
eliminating the associated, unnecessary regulatory and economic burdens
of creating alternative storage locations, relocating and retaining
records for them.
All records necessary for spent fuel and spent fuel storage SSCs
and activities have been, and will continue to be, retained for the SFP
throughout its functional life. Similar to other plant records, once
the SFP is emptied of fuel, drained and ready for demolition, there
will be no safety-significant function or other regulatory need for
retaining SFP related records. Also, similar to the power generation
``footprint'', the SFP SSC's ``footprint'' remains under the
radiological controls provided by the Defueled Safety Analysis Report,
Quality Assurance Project Plan, Physical Security Plan, and other
programmatic elements as appropriate through final dismantlement.
Specific Exemption is Authorized by Law
Paragraph 50.71(d)(2) allows for the granting of specific
exemptions to the record retention requirements specified in the
regulations. Paragraph 50.71(d)(2) states, in part: ``* * *the
retention period specified in the regulations in this part for such
records shall apply unless the Commission, pursuant to Sec. 50.12 of
this part, has granted a specific exemption from the record retention
requirements specified in the regulations in this part.''
If the specific exemption requirements of 10 CFR 50.12 are
satisfied, the exemption from the record keeping requirements of 10 CFR
50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, Appendix A; 10 CFR part 50, Appendix B, and
10 CFR 50.59(d)(3) is authorized by law. The specific exemption
requirements of 10 CFR 50.12 are discussed below.
Specific Exemption Will Not Present an Undue Risk to the Public Health
and Safety
Removal of the underlying SSCs associated with the records has been
or will be determined by the licensee to have no adverse public health
and safety impact, in accordance with 10 CFR 50.59 or an NRC approved
license amendment. Elimination of records for these removed SSCs can
have no additional impact.
The partial exemption from the record keeping requirements of 10
CFR 50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, Appendix A; 10 CFR part 50, Appendix B;
and 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3), for the records described above is
administrative in nature and will have no impact on any remaining
decommissioning activities or on radiological effluents. The exemption
will merely advance the schedule for destruction of the specified
records. Considering the content of these records, the elimination of
these records on an advanced timetable will have no reasonable
possibility of presenting any undue risk to the public health and
safety.
Specific Exemption Consistent With the Common Defense and Security
The elimination of the recordkeeping requirements is administrative
in nature and does not involve information or activities that could
potentially impact the common defense and security of the United
States. Upon dismantlement of the affected SSCs, the records have no
functional purpose relative to maintaining the safe operation of the
SSCs nor to maintaining conditions that would affect the ongoing health
and safety of workers or the public.
Rather, the exemption requested is administrative in nature and
would merely advance the current schedule for destruction of the
specified records. Therefore, the partial exemption from the
recordkeeping requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, Appendix
A; 10 CFR part 50, Appendix B; and 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3), for the types of
records described above is consistent with the common defense and
security.
Special Circumstances
Paragraph 50.12(a)(2) states, in part: ``(2) The Commission will
not consider granting an exemption unless special circumstances are
present. Special circumstances are present whenever:
(ii) 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.''
Appendix A of 10 CFR 50, Criterion 1, states in part: ``Appropriate
records of the design, fabrication, erection, and testing of
structures, systems, and components important to safety shall be
maintained by or under the control of the nuclear power unit licensee
throughout the life of the unit.''
Appendix B of 10 CFR 50, Criterion XVII, states in part:
``Sufficient records shall be maintained to furnish evidence of
activities affecting quality.''
Paragraph 50.59(d)(3) states in part: ``The records of changes in
the facility must be maintained until the termination of an operating
license issued under this part * * *''
Paragraph 50.71(c), states in part: ``Records that are required by
the regulations in this part or Part 52 of this chapter, by license
condition, or by technical specifications must be retained for the
period specified by the appropriate regulation, license condition, or
technical specification. If a retention period is not otherwise
specified, these records must be retained until the Commission
terminates the facility license * * *''
The common and underlying purpose for the records related
regulations cited above is to ensure that the licensing and design
basis of the facility is understood, documented, preserved and
retrievable relative to establishing and maintaining the SSC's safety
functions for the life of the facility. These regulations, however, do
not consider the reduction in safety related SSCs during the
decommissioning process. Removal of the SSCs from the licensing basis
has been, or will be, evaluated by the licensee in accordance with 10
CFR 50.59 or NRC-approved license amendment, to have no adverse public
health and safety impact prior to elimination of any records.
Ultimately the SSCs will be physically removed from the facility.
Elimination of associated records for these SSCs can have no additional
impact. Retention of records associated with SSCs that are or will no
longer be part of the facility serves no safety or regulatory purpose.
Therefore, application of these record requirements in those
circumstances
[[Page 39136]]
does not serve the underlying purpose of the regulations.
Based on the above, the application of the subject record keeping
requirements to the ZNPS' records specified above is not required to
achieve the underlying purpose of the rule. Thus, special circumstances
are present which the NRC may consider, pursuant to 10 CFR
50.12(a)(2)(ii), to grant the requested exemption.
4.0 Conclusion
Section 50.12 allows the Commission to grant specific exemptions to
the record retention requirements specified in 10 CFR part 50 provided
the requirements of 10 CFR 50.12 are satisfied.
The staff has determined that the requested partial exemption from
the record keeping requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50,
Appendix A; 10 CFR part 50, Appendix B; and 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3) will not
present an undue risk to the public health and safety. The destruction
of the identified records will not impact remaining decommissioning
activities; plant operations, configuration, and/or radiological
effluents; operational and/or installed SSCs that are quality-related
or important to safety; or nuclear security.
The staff has determined that the destruction of the identified
records is administrative in nature and does not involve information or
activities that could potentially impact the common defense and
security of the United States.
The staff has determined that the purpose for the record keeping
regulations is to ensure that the licensing and design basis of the
facility is understood, documented, preserved and retrievable relative
to establishing and maintaining the SSC's safety functions for the life
of the facility. Since the ZNPS' SSCs that were safety-related or
important-to-safety will be removed from the licensing basis and
removed from the plant, the staff agrees that the records identified in
the partial exemption will no longer be required to achieve the
underlying purpose of the rule.
Therefore, the Commission grants ZionSolutions the requested
partial exemption to the record keeping requirements of 10 CFR
50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, Appendix A; 10 CFR part 50, Appendix B; and
10 CFR 50.59(d)(3), as described in the February 28, 2011, letter as
supplemented on April 5, 2011.
The Commission has determined that this licensing action meets the
categorical exclusion provision in 10 CFR part 51.22(c)(25), as this
action is an exemption from the requirements of the Commission's
regulations, and (i) there is no significant hazards consideration;
(ii) there is no significant change in the types or significant
increase in the amounts of any effluents that may be released offsite;
(iii) there is no significant increase in individual or cumulative
public or occupational radiation exposure; (iv) there is no significant
construction impact; (v) there is no significant increase in the
potential for or consequences from radiological accidents; and (vi) the
requirements from which an exemption is sought involve recordkeeping
requirements. Therefore, this action does not require either an
environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement.
This exemption is effective upon issuance.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd day of June 2011.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Keith I. McConnell,
Deputy Director, Decommissioning and Uranium Recovery, Licensing
Directorate, Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection,
Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management
Programs.
[FR Doc. 2011-16723 Filed 7-1-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P