[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 214 (Tuesday, November 5, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66385-66388]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-26379]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-285; NRC-2013-0243]


Omaha Public Power District Fort Calhoun Station, Unit 1; 
Exemption

1.0 Background

    Omaha Public Power District (OPPD, the licensee) is the holder of 
Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-40, which authorizes 
operation of Fort Calhoun Station (FCS), Unit 1. 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) 
now or hereafter in effect.
    The facility consists of one pressurized-water reactor located in 
Washington County, Nebraska.

2.0 Request/Action

    Section 26.205(d)(3) of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(10 CFR), requires licensees to ensure that individuals who perform 
duties identified in 10 CFR 26.4(a)(1) through (a)(5) to comply with 
the requirements for maximum average work hours in 10 CFR 26.205(d)(7). 
However, 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4) provides that during the first 60 days of 
a unit outage, licensees need not meet the requirements of 10 CFR 
26.205(d)(7) for individuals specified in 10 CFR 26.4(a)(1) through 
(a)(4), while those individuals are working on outage activities. The 
less restrictive requirements of 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4) and (d)(5) are 
permitted to be applied during the first 60 days of a unit outage 
following a period of normal plant operation in which the workload and 
overtime levels are controlled by 10 CFR 26.205(d)(3). Regulations in 
10 CFR 26.205(d)(4) also require licensees to ensure that the 
individuals specified in 10 CFR 26.4(a)(1) through (a)(3) have at least 
3 days off in each successive (i.e., non-rolling) 15-day period and 
that the individuals specified in 10 CFR 26.4(a)(4) have at least 1 day 
off in any 7-day period. Regulatory Guide (RG) 5.73, ``Fatigue 
Management for Nuclear Power Plant Personnel,'' endorses Nuclear Energy 
Institute (NEI) 06-11, ``Managing Personnel Fatigue at Nuclear Power 
Reactor Sites,'' Revision 1, with exceptions, additions, and deletions. 
Position 10 of RG 5.73 ``C. Regulatory Position'' provides an 
acceptable alternate method to the method stated in the NEI 06-11, 
Section 8.3, for transitioning individuals who are working an outage at 
one site onto an outage at another site. On June 11, 2013, OPPD 
received a previous exemption from the NRC (Agencywide Documents Access 
and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML13157A135).
    By letter dated August 16, 2013 (ADAMS Accession No. ML13231A018), 
OPPD requested a one-time exemption from specific requirements of 10 
CFR 26.205(d)(7). The proposed exemption would allow the use of the 
less restrictive working hour limitations described in 10 CFR 
26.205(d)(4) and (d)(5) to support activities required for plant 
startup from the current extended outage. This request was made 
subsequent to the previous exemption period which was approved for a 
60-day period, and expired on August 9, 2013. In the previous exemption 
request, OPPD provided background on what has led to their need for the 
exemption including flooding and a significant operational event 
involving a fire in safety-related electrical switchgear which led to 
transitioning to Inspection Manual Chapter (IMC) 0350, ``Oversight of 
Reactor Facilities in a Shutdown Condition due to Significant 
Performance and/or Operational Concerns,'' from being in an extended 
shutdown with significant performance problems. Because of these 
events, there has been an increase in workload prior to restart. In 
obtaining the previous exemption, OPPD committed to ensure that no 
individual covered by 10 CFR 26.4(a)(1) through (a)(5) would work more 
than 50 hours per week averaged over the 2-week period prior to the 
effective date of the exemption. The licensee is requesting this 
additional one-time exemption assist in its efforts to complete work 
activities supporting the restart of FCS from the current extended 
refueling outage, which began in April 2011.
    The licensee stated in its letter dated August 16, 2013, that 
during the previous exemption period, OPPD completed activities 
required to restart FCS, however, due to a revision to the current 
licensing basis to comply with Regulatory Guide 1.76, ``Design-Basis 
Tornado and Tornado Missiles for Nuclear Power Plants,'' additional 
work remains to support the restart of the plant. This is due to the 
required installation of barriers and other activities to address 
tornado missile vulnerabilities that were identified. By letter dated 
August 30, 2013 (ADAMS Accession No. ML13246A182), the licensee stated 
that the installation of the upper guide structure and the reactor 
vessel head were delayed by the activities related to the resolution of 
tornado missile vulnerabilities. By letter dated September 23, 2013 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML13267A186), in response to the NRC staff's 
request for additional information dated September 18, 2013 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML13261A212), the licensee specified that the schedule 
delay was directly related to the exigent license amendment dated July 
26, 2013 (ADAMS Accession No. ML13203A070), which permitted OPPD to 
presume that the raw water system was protected from a tornado by 
crediting the barriers. The licensee stated that this became evident on 
July 20, 2013. This work performed during the latter weeks of the 
exemption period ending on August 9, 2013, was not start-up activities 
as requested and initially scheduled by the licensee; however, the work 
associated with the exigent amendment request was necessary to begin 
fuel loading.
    In its supplemental information letter dated August 30, 2013, the 
licensee stated that in addition to the tornado missile 
vulnerabilities, there was an issue with high-energy line breaks (HELB) 
that required modifications and testing prior to plant start-up. This 
issue is described in Licensee Event Report (LER) 2013-011 dated August 
12, 2013 (ADAMS Accession No. ML13225A367). Additionally, an issue with 
high-pressure safety injection (HPSI) as described in LER 2013-010 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML13186A011) was identified. The resolution of 
this issue diverted individuals subject to work hour controls away from 
start-up activities. In its letter dated September 23, 2013, the 
licensee stated that work remains to resolve the HELB issue by 
individuals subject to work hour controls, whereas the work associated 
with the HPSI issue has been completed. The licensee described the work 
scheduled for completion during the proposed exemption period. The 
resolution of the alternate seismic, piping code, and equipment 
reclassification issues associated with the HELB modifications are not 
expected to require work by individuals who are under the provisions of 
work hour controls during the proposed exemption period. The licensee 
provided a summary of the work schedule for the proposed exemption 
period. The schedule consists primarily

[[Page 66386]]

of those activities associated with a normal plant start-up, including 
system alignments and confirmation walkdowns, fill and vent procedures, 
modifications, monitoring, just-in-time training for operators, and 
with closing the breakers signifying the end of the outage on October 
26, 2013. Subsequent to OPPD letter dated September 23, 2013, the NRC 
staff was informed that changes to the schedule have occurred such that 
the target date of October 26, 2013, for closing the breakers, 
signifying the end of the outage is no longer valid. Nevertheless, in 
its letter dated September 23, 2013, OPPD requested that the remaining 
activities necessary for plant start-up and the activities necessary to 
resolve the HELB issues be completed within a 45-day exemption period, 
even though the work is scheduled for 30 days. The licensee has 
requested approval for a 45-day duration. Previous exemption requests 
granted by the NRC have not exceeded 30 days, with the exception of 
what had been granted previously for FCS. Due to the extended shutdown 
period of over 2 years, the NRC staff concludes that the 45-day 
exemption period is acceptable because unforeseen issues may arise 
while completing start-up activities. By letter dated October 25, 2013 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML13298A809), the licensee withdrew a portion of 
its original request in that this exemption would only apply to those 
individuals described in 10 CFR 26.4 (a)(1) through (a)(4). During the 
exemption period, the licensee commits to the application of 10 CFR 
26.205(d)(4) to the individuals performing those duties specified in 10 
CFR 26.4(a)(1) through (a)(4) regarding minimum days off for covered 
personnel.
    As written in the statements of considerations in the Federal 
Register notice for part 26, subpart I, the regulations, meeting the 
work hour control limits does not definitively mitigate fatigue. The 
licensee stated that since August 10, 2013, FCS personnel have averaged 
less than 47 hours per week. This schedule was maintained to minimize 
the effects of cumulative fatigue management before the exemption 
period begins. The licensee provided a description of the 30-day period 
preceding the proposed exemption period that is intended to mitigate 
cumulative fatigue. Below are tables provided in the licensee's letters 
dated August 30 and September 23, 2013. The tables describe the hours 
worked by individuals subject to the work hour controls separated by 
the functions described in 10 CFR 26.4(a). It should be noted that OPPD 
does not track the fire brigade work hours that fall under 10 CFR 26.4 
(a)(3) separately. Rather, the fire brigade personnel are taken from 
the operations (10 CFR 26.4 (a)(1)) and security (10 CFR 26.4 (a)(5)) 
groups. For the purpose of this exemption, the fire brigade personnel 
subject to this exemption are those within the operations group. Table 
2.1 represents the average work hours from August 10, 2013, to the time 
of the August 30, 2013, submittal, and Table 2.2 represents the average 
work hours from August 11, 2013, through September 21, 2013.

                                Table 2.1
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                   Work
                           Department                             hours
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chemistry......................................................       47
Radiation Protection...........................................       42
Maintenance....................................................       42
Operations.....................................................       43
Security.......................................................       44
------------------------------------------------------------------------


                                Table 2.2
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                   Work
                           Department                             hours
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chemistry......................................................       40
Radiation Protection...........................................       40
Maintenance....................................................       46
Operations.....................................................       40
Security.......................................................       44
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    These hours represent the time worked by individuals immediately 
after the previous exemption period ended until the NRC approval of the 
proposed exemption request. The licensee stated that this represents an 
approximate 6-week shift cycle.
    The NRC staff considers the work hours averaged by individuals 
acceptable to mitigate cumulative fatigue in the instance of this 
exemption request. Due to the scheduling of the two outage relaxation 
exemption periods requested, the NRC staff considers it important to 
mitigate cumulative fatigue before the proposed exemption period of 45 
days. Because the exemption is tied to activities that directly relate 
to heating the reactor coolant Tcold greater than 210 [deg]F 
(i.e., exiting Mode 4 or 5), the exemption is being issued coincident 
with the date that OPPD intends to heat the reactor coolant 
Tcold greater than 210 [deg]F (i.e., exit Mode 4 or 5). 
Further, the exemption is granted to those individuals who perform 
duties described in 10 CFR 26.4(a)(1) through (a)(4) that, as of the 
date of this exemption, have not exceeded a 48 hour average work week 
for the 6 week period prior to the date of this exemption. By limiting 
the exemption to individuals that meet these criteria the staff 
considers that cumulative fatigue is acceptably mitigated in the 
instance of this exemption request. By letter dated October 11, 2013 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML13284A104), in response to the NRC staff's 
request for additional information dated October 9, 2013 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML13282A536), the licensee stated that a 50-hour average 
work week for those individuals described in 10 CFR 26.4 (a)(5) would 
be more appropriate due to an upcoming force-on-force (FOF) exercise, 
modifications necessary to meet the requirements of 10 CFR 73.55, in 
addition to activities related to startup. Subsequently, by letter 
dated October 25, 2013, the licensee withdrew a portion of its original 
request in that this exemption would only apply to those individuals 
described in 10 CFR 26.4 (a)(1) through (a)(4) and not 10 CFR 26.4 
(a)(5) for security personnel. The NRC staff considers that because 
personnel associated with the fire brigade are taken from different 
groups at OPPD, limiting the fire brigade to a 48 hour average work 
week for the 6 week period prior to the date of this exemption will 
ensure the cumulative fatigue is acceptably mitigated for those 
individuals that perform duties in the operations group.

3.0 Discussion

    Pursuant to 10 CFR 26.9, the Commission may, upon application by 
any interested person or upon its own initiative, grant exemptions from 
the requirements of 10 CFR part 26 when the exemptions are authorized 
by law, and will not endanger life or property or the common defense 
and security, and are otherwise in the public interest.
    FCS commenced a refueling outage on April 9, 2011, and declared an 
Unusual Event on June 6, 2011. The first 60 days of the outage during 
which the less restrictive work hour limitations of 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4) 
and (d)(5) were in effect, ended in June 2011. On October 10, 2012, 
OPPD requested an exemption from specific requirements of 10 CFR 
26.205(d)(7) and instead allow the use of the less restrictive working 
hour limitations described in 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4) and (d)(5) to support 
activities required for plant start-up. The NRC granted the exemption 
for a period, which lasted 60 days and ended on August 9, 2013, and 
individuals began working a normal, on-line schedule in compliance with 
10 CFR 26.205(d)(7). Work group timekeepers for on-line and plant 
outage periods are to maintain schedules and time reports. Duration of 
scheduled work and break

[[Page 66387]]

periods, start times, rotating schedules, training, and vacation are 
considered when establishing work schedules.
    Notwithstanding the exemption for this specific requirement, the 
licensee will continue to be in compliance with all other requirements 
as described in 10 CFR part 26.

Authorized by Law

    This exemption would allow the licensee to use the less restrictive 
working hour limitations provided in 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4) for completion 
of the outage activities, for a period of 45 days, during the current 
extended outage. The approval of this exemption, as noted above, would 
allow the licensee the use of the less restrictive working hour 
limitations described in 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4) for an additional period 
not to exceed 45 days or until the reactor unit is connected to the 
electrical grid whichever occurs first, to support activities required 
to be finished before plant startup can be completed. As stated above, 
10 CFR 26.9 allows the NRC to grant exemptions from the requirements of 
10 CFR part 26. The NRC staff has determined that granting of the 
licensee's proposed exemption would not result in a violation of the 
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, or the Commission's regulations. 
Therefore, law authorizes the exemption.

Will Not Endanger Life or Property

    The underlying purpose of 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4) is to provide 
licensees flexibility in scheduling required days off when 
accommodating the more intense work schedules associated with a unit 
outage, while assuring that cumulative fatigue does not compromise the 
abilities of individuals to safely and competently perform their 
duties.
    Based on the information provided by OPPD in its August 30, and 
September 23, 2013, letters, FCS personnel have averaged less than 48 
hours per week. Further, the exemption is granted to those individuals 
who perform duties described in 10 CFR 26.4(a)(1) through (a)(4) that, 
as of the date of this exemption, have not exceeded a 48-hour average 
work week for the 6-week period prior to the date of this exemption. 
This provides assurance that covered workers are not already fatigued 
from working an outage schedule. This exemption would allow the 
licensee to implement the less restrictive work hour requirements of 10 
CFR 26.205(d)(4) to allow flexibility in scheduling required days off 
while accommodating the more intensive work schedules that accompany 
completion of the FCS extended outage. Therefore, cumulative fatigue 
will not compromise the abilities of affected individuals to safely and 
competently perform their duties.
    No new accident precursors are created by invoking the less 
restrictive work hour limitations on a date commensurate with the start 
of those activities supporting the completion of the extended outage at 
FCS, provided that the licensee has effectively managed fatigue for the 
affected individuals prior to this date. Thus, no new accident 
precursors are created by invoking the less restrictive work hour 
limitations on a date commensurate with the start of activities 
supporting the restart of FCS. The licensee will effectively manage 
fatigue for the covered individuals prior to this date. Thus, the 
probability of postulated accidents is not increased. Also, based on 
the above, the consequences of postulated accidents are not increased. 
Therefore, granting this exemption will not endanger life or property.

Consistent With Common Defense and Security

    The proposed exemption would allow for the use of the less 
restrictive work-hour requirements of 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4) for those 
individuals who perform duties described in 10 CFR 26.4(a)(1) through 
(a)(4) that, as of the date of this exemption, have not exceeded a 48-
hour average work week for the 6-week period prior to the date of this 
exemption in lieu of 10 CFR 26.205(d)(7). This exemption would affect 
operations (including fire, radiation protection, chemistry, fire 
brigade, and maintenance personnel supporting the completion of the 
outage activities for FCS, which has been in an extended outage since 
April 9, 2011.
    The licensee will maintain the qualified personnel to which this 
exemption applies in the operations, radiation protection, chemistry, 
fire brigade, and maintenance departments on a schedule that complies 
with 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4) requirements during the proposed exemption 
period. The exemption would continue to serve the underlying purpose of 
10 CFR part 26, subpart I, in that assurance would be provided such 
that cumulative fatigue of individuals to safely and competently 
perform their duties will not be compromised. Therefore, the common 
defense and security is not impacted by this exemption.

Consistent With the Public Interest

    The proposed exemption would allow the licensee to implement the 
less restrictive work hour requirements of 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4) for 
those individuals who perform duties described in 10 CFR 26.4(a)(1) 
through (a)(4) that, as of the date of this exemption, have not 
exceeded a 48-hour average work week for the 6-week period prior to the 
date of this exemption in lieu of 10 CFR 26.205(d)(7) to allow 
flexibility in scheduling required days off while accommodating the 
more intensive work schedules that accompany a unit outage. By letters 
dated August 30 and September 23, 2013, the licensee explained the 
emergent events supporting the less restrictive limitations requiring 
flexibility in scheduling. During the completion of the extended 
outage, the workload for the affected personnel will undergo a 
temporary but significant increase due to the various activities from 
being in an extended shutdown with significant performance problems, in 
addition to tornado missile vulnerabilities, and issues concerning the 
HELB accident scenario. During the extended shutdown, extensive work 
has been initiated to address deficiencies noted in containment 
building electrical penetrations, containment structural supports, and 
the impact of flooding hazards related to systems, structures, and 
components. These activities are in addition to the normal FCS startup 
activities involving operation and surveillance testing of primary 
systems and components. Ensuring a sufficient number of qualified 
personnel are available to support these activities is in the interest 
of overall public health and safety. Therefore, this exemption is 
consistent with the public interest.

4.0 Environmental Consideration

    The exemption would authorize a one-time exemption from the 
requirements of 10 CFR 26.205(d)(7) to allow the use of the less 
restrictive hour limitations described in 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4). Using 
the standard set forth in 10 CFR 50.92 for amendments to operating 
licenses, the NRC staff determined that the subject exemption sought 
involves employment suitability requirements. The NRC has determined 
that this exemption involves no significant hazards considerations:
    (1) The proposed exemption is administrative in nature and is 
limited to changing the timeframe when less restrictive hours can be 
worked. This does not result in any changes to the design basis 
requirements for the structures, systems, and components (SSCs) at FCS 
that function to limit the release of non-radiological effluents during 
and following postulated accidents. Therefore, issuance of this 
exemption does not increase the probability or consequences of an 
accident previously evaluated.

[[Page 66388]]

    (2) The proposed exemption is administrative in nature and is 
limited to changing the timeframe when less restrictive hours can be 
worked. The proposed exemption does not make any changes to the 
facility or operating procedures and would not create any new accident 
initiators. The proposed exemption does not alter the design, function, 
or operation of any plant equipment. Therefore, this exemption does not 
create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any 
accident previously evaluated.
    (3) The proposed exemption is administrative in nature and is 
limited to changing the timeframe when less restrictive hours can be 
worked. The proposed exemption does not alter the design, function, or 
operation of any plant equipment. Therefore, this exemption does not 
involve a significant reduction in the margin of safety.
    Based on the above, the NRC concludes that the proposed exemption 
does not involve a significant hazards consideration under the 
standards set forth in 10 CFR 50.92, and accordingly, a finding of ``no 
significant hazards consideration'' is justified.
    The NRC staff has also determined that the exemption involves no 
significant increase in the amounts, and no significant change in the 
types, of any effluents that may be released offsite; that there is no 
significant increase in individual or cumulative occupational radiation 
exposure; and there is no significant increase in the potential for or 
consequences from a radiological accident. Furthermore, the requirement 
from which the licensee will be exempted involves scheduling 
requirements. Accordingly, the exemption meets the eligibility criteria 
for categorical exclusion set forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25). Pursuant to 
10 CFR 51.22(b), no environmental impact statement or environmental 
assessment is required to be prepared in connection with granting the 
exemption.

5.0 Conclusion

    Accordingly, the Commission has determined that pursuant to 10 CFR 
26.9, ``Specific exemptions,'' an exemption from 10 CFR 26.205(d)(7) is 
authorized by law and will not endanger life or property or the common 
defense and security, and is otherwise in the public interest.
    Therefore, the Commission hereby grants OPPD a one-time, 45-day 
exemption from 10 CFR 26.205(d)(7) to allow the use of the work hour 
limitations described in 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4) for those individuals who 
perform duties described in 10 CFR 26.4(a)(1) through (a)(4) that, as 
of the date of this exemption, have not exceeded a 48-hour average work 
week for the 6-week period prior to the date of this exemption.
    This exemption is effective upon issuance. The licensee may 
implement the work hour provisions of 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4) for those 
individuals subject to the work hour controls separated by the 
functions described in 10 CFR 26.4(a) that, as of the date of this 
exemption, have not exceeded a 48-hour average work week for the 6 week 
period prior to the date of this exemption for 45 days or until the 
completion of the current extended outage, whichever is shorter.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 28th day of October 2013.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Michele G. Evans,
Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2013-26379 Filed 10-4-13; 8:45 am]
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