[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 144 (Wednesday, July 27, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49274-49279]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-17773]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-409 and 72-046; NRC-2015-0279]
LaCrosseSolutions, LLC, Dairyland Power Cooperative, La Crosse
Boiling Water Reactor
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Exemption; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing
exemptions from several of the record keeping requirements in its
regulations in response to a request from LaCrosseSolutions, LLC, and
the Dairyland Power Cooperative (collectively, the licensee).
Specifically, the licensee requested that the La Crosse Boiling Water
Reactor be granted a partial exemption from regulations that require
retention of records for certain systems, structures, and components
until the termination of the operating license. The NRC is also issuing
an exemption from the portion of the regulations that requires certain
records for spent fuel in storage to be kept in duplicate for the La
Crosse Boiling Water Reactor Independent Spent Fuel Storage
Installation.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2015-0279 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You
may obtain publicly-available information related to this document
using any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2015-0279. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this document.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and
then select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS,
please contact the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at
1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by email to [email protected]. The
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced in this notice (if
that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a
document is referenced. In most cases, documents available in the ADAMS
Legacy Library are available to the public on microfiche in the NRC's
PDR.
NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marlayna G. Vaaler, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards; telephone: 301-415-3178; email:
[email protected]; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor (LACBWR) was an Atomic Energy
Commission (AEC) Demonstration Project Reactor that first went critical
in 1967, commenced commercial operation in November 1969, and was
capable of producing 50 megawatts electric. The LACBWR is located on
the east bank of the Mississippi River in Vernon County, Wisconsin. The
Allis-Chalmers Company was the original licensee; the AEC later sold
the plant to the Dairyland Power Cooperative (DPC) and granted it
Provisional Operating License No. DPR-45 on August 28, 1973 (ADAMS
Legacy Accession No. 3001002570).
The LACBWR permanently ceased operations on April 30, 1987 (ADAMS
Legacy Accession No. 8705280175), and reactor defueling was completed
on June 11, 1987 (ADAMS Legacy Accession No. 8707090206). In a letter
dated August 4, 1987 (ADAMS Legacy Accession No. 8708060296), the NRC
terminated DPC's authority to operate LACBWR under Provisional
Operating License No. DPR-45, and granted the licensee a possess-but-
not-operate status. By letter dated August 18, 1988 (ADAMS Legacy
Accession No. 8808240330), the NRC amended DPC's Provisional Operating
License No. DPR-
[[Page 49275]]
45 to Possession Only License No. DPR-45 to reflect the permanently
defueled configuration at LACBWR. Therefore, pursuant to the provisions
of section 50.82(a)(1)(iii) and 50.82(a)(2) of title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), DPC's part 50 license does not authorize
operation of LACBWR or emplacement or retention of fuel into the
reactor vessel.
The NRC issued an order to authorize decommissioning of LACBWR and
approve the licensee's proposed Decommissioning Plan (DP) on August 7,
1991 (ADAMS Legacy Accession No. 9108160044). Because the NRC approved
DPC's DP before August 28, 1996, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.82, the DP is
considered the Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR)
for LACBWR. The PSDAR public meeting was held on May 13, 1998, and
subsequent updates to the LACBWR decommissioning report have combined
the DP and PSDAR into the ``LACBWR Decommissioning Plan and Post-
Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report'' (D-Plan/PSDAR).
The DPC developed an onsite Independent Spent Fuel Storage
Installation (ISFSI) and completed the movement of all 333 spent
nuclear fuel elements from the Fuel Element Storage Well to dry cask
storage at the ISFSI by September 19, 2012 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML12290A027). The remaining associated buildings and structures are
ready for dismantlement and decommissioning activities.
By Order dated May 20, 2016 (ADAMS Accession No. ML16123A073), the
NRC approved the direct transfer of Possession Only License No. DPR-45
for LACBWR from DPC to LaCrosse Solutions, LLC (LS), a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Energy Solutions, LLC, and approved a conforming license
amendment, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80 and 50.90, to reflect the change.
The Order was published in the Federal Register on June 2, 2016 (81 FR
35383). The transfer assigns DPC's licensed possession, maintenance,
and decommissioning authorities for LACBWR to LS in order to implement
expedited decommissioning at the LACBWR site. LS also assumed
responsibility as the primary licensee for all outstanding licensing
actions that were submitted by DPC prior to the license transfer being
implemented.
II. Request/Action
By letter dated October 13, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15314A068),
as supplemented by letter dated December 2, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML15357A054), which replaced the October 13, 2015, submittal in its
entirety, the licensee filed a request for NRC approval of 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; (4) 10 CFR 50.71(c), which requires certain records be
maintained consistent with various elements of the NRC regulations,
facility technical specifications and other licensing bases documents;
and (5) 10 CFR 72.72(d), which requires that certain records of spent
fuel and high-level radioactive waste in storage be kept in duplicate
in a separate location sufficiently remote from the original records
that a single event would not destroy both sets of records. The request
was made pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, ``Specific exemptions,'' and 10 CFR
72.7, ``Specific exemptions.''
The licensee is proposing to: (1) Eliminate these records for
LACBWR when the licensing basis requirements previously applicable to
the nuclear power unit and associated systems, structures, and
components (SSCs) are no longer effective (e.g., removed from the DP/
PSDAR, Defueled Safety Analysis Report, and/or technical specifications
by appropriate change mechanisms); and (2) eliminate the duplicate
copies of spent fuel records for the LACBWR ISFSI by storing them using
the same procedures and processes used for the LACBWR spent fuel
records, which are stored in accordance with the NRC-approved LACBWR
Quality Assurance Program Description (QAPD) Manual. The licensee cites
record retention exemptions granted to Zion Nuclear Power Station,
Units 1 and 2 (ADAMS Accession No. ML111260277), Millstone Power
Station, Unit 1, (ADAMS Accession No. ML070110567), and Haddam Neck
Plant (ADAMS Accession No. ML052160088), as precedents for the NRC
granting the licensee's request.
Records associated with residual radiological activity and
programmatic controls necessary to support decommissioning, such as
security and quality assurance (QA), are not affected by the exemption
request because they will be retained as decommissioning records until
the termination of the LACBWR license. In addition, the licensee did
not request an exemption associated with any other record keeping
requirements for the storage of spent fuel at its ISFSI under 10 CFR
part 50 or the general license requirements of 10 CFR part 72. No
exemption was requested from the decommissioning records retention
requirements of 10 CFR 50.75, or any other requirements of 10 CFR part
50 applicable to decommissioning.
III. 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 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. However, the
Commission will not consider granting an exemption unless special
circumstances are present. Special circumstances are described in 10
CFR 50.12(a)(2).
Pursuant to 10 CFR 72.7 the Commission may, upon application by any
interested person or upon its own initiative, grant exemptions from the
requirements of 10 CFR part 72 when it determines that the exemptions
are authorized by law, will not endanger life or property or the common
defense and security, and are otherwise in the public interest.
As described in the DP/PSDAR and subsequent updates, LACBWR is
being returned to a condition suitable for unrestricted use. According
to the December 2, 2015, submittal, there are no SSCs classified as
safety-related remaining on the site, 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, are being prepared for removal, or have already been
dismantled. The only SSCs that remain operable are associated with the
liquid waste discharge system. The plant is considered to be in a
``cold and dark'' condition awaiting final dismantlement and the
completion of decommissioning.
The licensee's general justification for eliminating records
associated with LACBWR SSCs that have been or will be removed from
service under the NRC license, dismantled, or demolished, is that these
SSCs will not in the future serve any LACBWR functions regulated by the
NRC. The licensee's 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 via
[[Page 49276]]
NRC-approved technical specification changes, as applicable); revising
the Defueled Safety Analysis Report as necessary; and then proceeding
with an orderly dismantlement.
While the licensee intends to retain the records required by its
license as the project transitions from current plant conditions to a
fully decommissioned state, plant dismantlement will obviate the
regulatory and business need for maintenance of most records. As the
SSCs already removed from the licensing basis are subsequently
dismantled and the need for the associated 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, thereby eliminating the associated regulatory
and economic burdens of creating alternative storage locations,
relocating records, and retaining irrelevant records.
The exemption request states that all records necessary for spent
fuel and spent fuel storage SSCs and activities have been, and will
continue to be, retained for LACBWR and the LACBWR ISFSI in accordance
with the applicable sections of 10 CFR part 50 and 10 CFR part 72.
However, under the proposed exemption from 10 CFR 72.72(d), the
licensee would eliminate the duplicate storage requirement for the
LACBWR ISFSI spent fuel records and instead store them in the same
manner used for the LACBWR plant's QA records, using a single storage
facility subject to the same procedures and processes outlined in the
NRC-approved QAPD. The NRC previously determined that the QAPD meets
the applicable requirements of appendix B to 10 CFR part 50. Under the
provisions of the QAPD, both the LACBWR ISFSI and plant's spent fuel
documents are considered QA records to be stored in accordance with the
QAPD.
According to Revision 29 of the LACBWR QAPD, document storage
requirements must meet American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
standard N45 2.9-1974, ``Requirements for Collection, Storage, and
Maintenance of Quality Assurance Records,'' which specifies, in part,
design requirements for use in the construction of record storage
facilities when the use of a single storage facility is desired. In
approving the QAPD, the NRC also approved the single facility location
used for the storage and maintenance of QA records at LACBWR.
Section XVII, ``Quality Assurance Records,'' of the LACBWR QAPD
states that the facility has established measures for maintaining ISFSI
records that cover all documents and records associated with the
operation, maintenance, installation, repair, and modification of SSCs
covered by the QAPD. Also included are historical records gathered and
collected during plant and ISFSI operations that are either required to
support the dry cask storage systems stored at the ISFSI or ultimate
shipment of the fuel to a federal repository. The QAPD also allows for
QA records to be stored in accordance with ANSI N45 2.9-1974 in a
single storage facility designed and maintained to minimize the risk of
damage from adverse conditions. The licensee affirmed in its
application that the record storage vault at LACBWR was constructed and
is maintained to meet the requirements of the NRC-approved QAPD.
In addition, the licensee recognized in its application that the
LACBWR site will continue to be under NRC regulation until license
termination, primarily due to residual radioactivity. The operational,
radiological, and other necessary programmatic controls (such as
security and QA) for the facility, as well as the implementation of
controls for the decommissioning activities, are and will continue to
be appropriately addressed through the 10 CFR part 50 license and
current decommissioning documents such as the DP/PSDAR and plant
technical specifications.
The Exemption is Authorized by Law: Under 10 CFR 50.12 and
10 CFR 72.7, the Commission may grant exemptions from the regulations
in 10 CFR part 50 and 10 CFR part 72, as the Commission determines are
authorized by law. 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, other laws, or the Commission's
regulations. Therefore, the exemption from the record keeping
requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, appendix A, Criterion
I; 10 CFR part 50, appendix B, Criterion XVII; 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3); and
10 CFR 72.72(d) is authorized by law.
The Exemption Presents no Undue Risk to Public Health and
Safety and Will Not Endanger Life or Property: Removal of the
underlying SSCs associated with the records for which the licensee has
requested an exemption from record keeping requirements 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. These change processes involve either a
determination by the licensee or an approval from the NRC that the
affected SSCs no longer serve any safety purpose regulated by the NRC.
Elimination of records associated with these removed SSCs can have no
impact to public health and safety.
The partial exemption from the record keeping requirements of 10
CFR 50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, appendix A, Criterion I; 10 CFR part 50,
appendix B, Criterion XVII; 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 only advance the schedule for disposition of the
specified records. Considering the content of these records, the
elimination of these records on an advanced timetable will have no
reasonable potential of presenting any undue risk to the public health
and safety.
The exemption from the portion of 10 CFR 72.72(d) that requires
records for spent fuel in storage to be kept in duplicate for the
LACBWR ISFSI continues to meet the record keeping requirements of 10
CFR part 50, appendix B, and other applicable 10 CFR part 72
requirements in that the spent fuel records will be stored and
maintained in accordance with the NRC-approved QAPD. Specifically, 10
CFR 72.140(d) states that a QA program that is approved by the NRC as
meeting the applicable requirements of appendix B to 10 CFR part 50,
will be accepted as satisfying the requirements of 10 CFR 72.140(b) for
establishment of an ISFSI QA program, except the licensee must also
meet the record keeping provisions of 10 CFR 72.174. As noted above,
the NRC previously reviewed the licensee's QA program and determined
that it met the applicable requirements of appendix B to part 50. In
addition, the exemption will not affect the record content,
retrievability, or retention requirements specified in 10 CFR 72.72 or
10 CFR 72.174, such that the licensee will continue to meet all other
applicable record requirements for the LACBWR ISFSI and associated
special nuclear materials. The NRC staff determined that the process
and procedures that will be used to store these records (i.e., in
accordance with the QAPD at a facility designed for protection against
degradation mechanisms such as fire, humidity, and condensation) will
help ensure that the required spent fuel information is adequately
maintained. Therefore, the staff concludes that granting an exemption
from the duplicate record requirement of 10 CFR 72.72(d) will not have
an impact on public health and safety, and, in
[[Page 49277]]
accordance with 10 CFR 72.7, will not endanger life or property.
The Exemption is Consistent with, and Will Not Endanger,
the Common Defense and Security: The elimination of the record keeping
requirements 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, maintaining conditions that would affect the ongoing health and
safety of workers or the public, or informing decisions related to
nuclear security.
Rather, the exemption requested is administrative in nature and
would only advance the current schedule for disposition of the
specified records. Therefore, the partial exemption from the record
keeping requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, appendix A,
Criterion I; 10 CFR part 50, appendix B, Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR
50.59(d)(3) for the types of records described above is consistent with
the common defense and security.
The exemption from 10 CFR 72.72(d) continues to meet the record
keeping requirements of 10 CFR part 50, appendix B, and other
applicable 10 CFR part 72 requirements in that the spent fuel records
will be stored and maintained in accordance with the NRC-approved QAPD.
In addition, the exemption will not affect the record content,
retrievability, or retention requirements specified in 10 CFR 72.72 or
10 CFR 72.174, such that the licensee will continue to meet all other
applicable record requirements for the LACBWR ISFSI and associated
special nuclear materials. Therefore, the exemption will not endanger
the common defense and security.
The Exemption is In the Public Interest: Allowing the
LACBWR ISFSI spent fuel records to be stored in the same manner as the
spent fuel records for the LACBWR facility provides for greater
efficiency in the storage of all of LACBWR's QA records now that the
facility is entering the final stages of decommissioning whereby only
the ISFSI facility will remain after license termination. Requiring a
separate method for the storage of certain ISFSI QA records diverts
resources from decommissioning activities at the LACBWR site.
Therefore, the exemption from 10 CFR 72.72(d) is in the public interest
since it will allow decommissioning at LACBWR to be accomplished more
efficiently and effectively without the need to maintain two separate
records storage systems.
Special Circumstances: Paragraph 50.12(a)(2) states, in
part: ``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; (iii)
Compliance would result in undue hardship or other costs that are
significantly in excess of those contemplated when the regulation was
adopted. . . .''
Criterion 1 of 10 CFR part 50, Appendix A, 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.''
Criterion XVII of 10 CFR part 50, appendix B, 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. . . .''
In the statement of considerations (SOC) for the final rulemaking,
``Retention Periods for Records'' (53 FR 19240; May 27, 1988), in
response to public comments received during the rulemaking process, the
NRC stated that records must be retained ``for NRC to ensure compliance
with the safety and health aspects of the nuclear environment and for
the NRC to accomplish its mission to protect the public health and
safety.'' In the SOC, the Commission also explained that requiring
licensees to maintain adequate records assists the NRC ``in judging
compliance and noncompliance, to act on possible noncompliance, and to
examine facts as necessary following any incident.''
These regulations apply to licensees in decommissioning despite the
fact that, during the decommissioning process, safety-related SSCs are
retired or disabled and subsequently removed from NRC licensing basis
documents by appropriate change mechanisms. Appropriate removal of an
SSC from the licensing basis requires either a determination by the
licensee or an approval from the NRC that the SSC no longer has the
potential to cause an accident, event, or other problem which would
adversely impact public health and safety.
The records subject to removal under this exemption are associated
with SSCs that had been important to safety during power operation or
operation of the SFP but are no longer capable of causing an event,
incident, or condition that would adversely impact public health and
safety, as evidenced by their appropriate removal from the licensing
basis documents. If the SSCs no longer have the potential to cause
these scenarios, then it is reasonable to conclude that the records
associated with these SSCs would not reasonably be necessary to assist
the NRC in determining compliance and noncompliance, taking action on
possible noncompliance, and examining facts following an incident.
Therefore, their retention would not serve the underlying purpose of
the rule.
In addition, once removed from the licensing basis documents, SSCs
are no longer governed by the NRC's regulations, and therefore are not
subject to compliance with the safety and health aspects of the nuclear
environment. As such, retention of records associated with SSCs that
are or will no longer be part of the facility serves no safety or
regulatory purpose, nor does it serve the underlying purpose of the
rule of maintaining compliance with the safety and health aspects of
the nuclear environment in order to accomplish the NRC's mission.
Accordingly, special circumstances are present which the NRC may
consider, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii), to grant the requested
exemption.
Records which continue to serve the underlying purpose of the rule,
that is, to maintain compliance and to protect public health and safety
in support of the NRC's mission, will continue to be retained pursuant
to the regulations in 10 CFR part 50 and 10 CFR part 72. These retained
records not subject to the exemption include those associated with
programmatic controls, such as those pertaining to residual
radioactivity, security, and quality assurance, as well as records
associated with the ISFSI and spent fuel assemblies.
The retention of records required by 10 CFR 50.71(c); 10 CFR part
50, appendix A, Criterion I; 10 CFR part 50,
[[Page 49278]]
appendix B, Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3) provides assurance
that records associated with SSCs will be captured, indexed, and stored
in an environmentally suitable and retrievable condition. Given the
volume of records associated with the SSCs, compliance with the records
retention rule results in a considerable cost to the licensee.
Retention of the volume of records associated with the SSCs during the
operational phase is appropriate to serve the underlying purpose of
determining compliance and noncompliance, taking action on possible
noncompliance, and examining facts following an incident, as discussed
above.
However, the cost effect of retaining operational phase records
beyond the operations phase until the termination of the license was
not fully considered or understood when the records retention rule was
put in place. For example, existing records storage facilities are
often eliminated as decommissioning progresses. Retaining records
associated with SSCs and activities that no longer serve a safety or
regulatory purpose would therefore necessitate creation of new
facilities and retention of otherwise unneeded administrative support
personnel. As such, compliance with the rule would result in an undue
cost in excess of that contemplated when the rule was adopted.
Accordingly, special circumstances are present which the NRC may
consider, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(iii), to grant the requested
exemption.
Environmental Considerations: Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b)
and (c)(25), the granting of an exemption from the requirements of any
regulation in Chapter I of 10 CFR is a categorical exclusion provided
that (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 are among those
identified in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(vi).
The NRC staff has determined that approval of the exemption request
involves no significant hazards consideration because allowing the
licensee exemption from the record keeping requirements of 10 CFR
50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, appendix A, Criterion I; 10 CFR part 50,
appendix B, Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3); and 10 CFR 72.72(d)
at the decommissioning La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor does not: (1)
Involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an
accident previously evaluated; (2) create the possibility of a new or
different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated; or
(3) involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety (10 CFR
50.92(c)). Likewise, there is no significant change in the types or
significant increase in the amounts of any effluents that may be
released offsite, and no significant increase in individual or
cumulative public or occupational radiation exposure.
The exempted regulations are not associated with construction, so
there is no significant construction impact. The exempted regulations
do not concern the source term (i.e., potential amount of radiation
involved an accident) or accident mitigation; therefore, there is no
significant increase in the potential for, or consequences from,
radiological accidents. Allowing the licensee partial exemption from
the record retention requirements for which the exemption is sought
involves record keeping requirements, as well as reporting requirements
of an administrative, managerial, or organizational nature.
Therefore, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b) and 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25), no
environmental impact statement or environmental assessment need be
prepared in connection with the approval of this exemption request.
IV. Conclusions
The NRC 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, Criterion I; 10 CFR part 50, appendix B, Criterion
XVII; 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3); and 10 CFR 72.72(d) will not present an undue
risk to the public health and safety, nor endanger life or property.
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 NRC 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. In addition, the staff determined that
the exemption is in the public interest because it will allow
decommissioning at LACBWR to be accomplished more efficiently and
effectively without the need to maintain redundant record retention
systems, unneeded administrative personnel, and the associated costs.
The purpose for the record keeping regulations is to assist the NRC
in carrying out its mission to protect the public health and safety by
ensuring that the licensing and design basis of the facility is
understood, documented, preserved and retrievable in such a way that
will aid the NRC in determining compliance and noncompliance, taking
action on possible noncompliance, and examining facts following an
incident. Since the LACBWR SSCs that were safety-related or important
to safety have been or 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 records retention rule.
The NRC previously approved the QAPD, including use of the single
facility location for the storage and maintenance of QA records at
LACBWR. This approach remains acceptable to satisfy the record keeping
requirements of both 10 CFR part 50, appendix B, and 10 CFR part 72.
Granting an exemption from the duplicate record keeping requirement in
10 CFR 72.72(d) will not affect the record content, retrievability, or
retention requirements specified in 10 CFR 72.72 or 10 CFR 72.174, such
that the licensee will continue to meet all other applicable record
requirements for the LACBWR ISFSI and associated special nuclear
materials.
Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR
50.12 and 10 CFR 72.7, the exemption is authorized by law, will not
present an undue risk to the public health and safety, will not
endanger life or property or the common defense and security, is
consistent with the common defense and security, and is in the public
interest. Also, special circumstances are present. Therefore, the
Commission hereby grants the Dairyland Power Cooperative a one-time
partial exemption from the record keeping requirements of 10 CFR
50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, appendix A, Criterion I; 10 CFR part 50,
appendix B, Criterion XVII; 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3); and 10 CFR 72.72(d) for
the La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor to advance the schedule to remove
records associated with SSCs that have been removed from NRC licensing
basis documents by appropriate change mechanisms.
This exemption is effective upon issuance.
[[Page 49279]]
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 18th day of July 2016.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John R. Tappert,
Director, Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste
Programs, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2016-17773 Filed 7-26-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P