[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 147 (Monday, August 1, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50566-50568]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-18144]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-005; NRC-2016-0153]
Pennsylvania State University Breazeale Nuclear Reactor
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Exemption; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an
exemption in response to a letter dated November 6, 2014, from the
Pennsylvania State University (Penn State). In this letter, Penn State
requested an exemption from certain regulatory requirements, which, if
granted, would allow Penn State to submit its annual financial results
within 180 days after the close of each succeeding fiscal year. The NRC
staff
[[Page 50567]]
has reviewed this request and determined that it is appropriate to
grant the exemption, as requested.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2016-0153 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information about 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-2016-0153. 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 ``Begin Web-based ADAMS
Search.'' For assistance 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 document (if that document is available in
ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is referenced.
The NRC's PDR: 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: Xiaosong Yin, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-1404; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Penn State is holder of Facility Operating License No. R-2, which
authorizes operation of the TRIGA Mark III Breazeale Reactor, located
at University Park, Pennsylvania. Penn State seeks an extension from 90
to 180 days by exemption from compliance with section 50.75 of title 10
of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Reporting and
recordkeeping for decommissioning planning,'' and appendix E,
``Criteria Relating to Use of Financial Tests and Self-Guarantee for
Providing Reasonable Assurance of Funds for Decommissioning by
Nonprofit Colleges, Universities, and Hospitals,'' to 10 CFR part 30,
``Rules of general applicability to domestic licensing of byproduct
material.'' The regulations in 10 CFR part 30, appendix E, require that
a nonprofit college, university, or hospital using a self-guarantee for
decommissioning funding assurance shall, after the initial financial
test, repeat passage of the test and provide financial documentation to
the NRC of its continued eligibility to use the self-guarantee 90 days
after the close of each succeeding fiscal year.
II. Request/Action
By letter dated November 6, 2014 (ADAMS Accession No. ML14321A408),
Penn State requested that the NRC grant a 90-day extension to the
reporting requirements of 10 CFR 50.75 and 10 CFR part 30, appendix E.
Penn State made this request under 10 CFR 50.12, ``Specific
exemptions.''
Penn State is currently using a self-guarantee to provide financial
assurance for decommissioning, as allowed by 10 CFR 50.75(e)(1)(iii)(C)
for nonprofit entities such as universities. The regulation states that
``. . . a guarantee of funds by the applicant or licensee may be used
if the guarantee and test are as contained in appendix E to 10 CFR part
30.''
The regulations in 10 CFR part 30, appendix E, require all entities
using a self-guarantee to provide financial assurance for
decommissioning to submit annual financial tests within 90 days after
the close of each succeeding fiscal year to demonstrate their continued
eligibility.
The regulations in 10 CFR 50.12 allow the NRC to grant exemptions
to the requirements in 10 CFR part 50, ``Domestic licensing of
production and utilization facilities,'' if it deems that the
exemptions are authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to
public health and safety, and are consistent with the common defense
and security. The regulations in 10 CFR 50.12 also specify that the NRC
will not consider granting an exemption unless special circumstances
are present; for example, 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,
or compliance would result in undue hardship.
Penn State requests an exemption from the requirement to submit its
annual financial results information within 90 days after the close of
each succeeding fiscal year. Instead, Penn State's exemption request
asks to submit this information within 180 days after the close of each
succeeding fiscal year.
According to Penn State, the requested exemption is permissible
under 10 CFR 50.12 because it will not present a risk to public health
and safety, it is consistent with the common defense and security, and
the 90-day requirement is not necessary to achieve the underlying
purpose of the decommissioning funding rule. Penn State states that it
presented the basis for a longer financial recertification time period
during the license renewal process (see ADAMS Accession No.
ML092650603) and claims that the 90-day rule presents an undue hardship
for Penn State. Specifically, Penn State's final financial statements
are not available within 90 days of the close of its fiscal year. In
part, this is a result of the time necessary for auditing the
university finances as a whole, not just the finances for the Breazeale
Reactor, which makes the process complex and longer to complete. In
addition, Penn State asserts that the requested exemption in no way
reduces the effectiveness of the approved decommissioning plan.
Based on the staff's review of Penn State's request for exemption,
the NRC believes that Penn State's comprehensive financial reviewing
process, which involves Penn State's book balancing, external audits,
and the internal approval processes for recertification, does present a
special circumstance whereby the 90-day rule will result in an undue
hardship to Penn State. In addition, the NRC believes that allowing
Penn State to submit its annual financial results within 180 days
instead of 90 days after the close of the succeeding fiscal year will
not reduce the effectiveness of its currently approved decommissioning
funding plan. Furthermore, the NRC finds that granting this exemption
will not present an undue risk to public health and safety, is
consistent with the common defense and security, and does not undermine
the intent of the stated regulations. Therefore, the NRC has elected to
grant Penn State an exemption to the requirement of 10 CFR part 50 and
appendix E to 10 CFR part 30, allowing Penn State to submit its annual
financial results within 180 days of the close of the succeeding fiscal
year.
The NRC notes that Penn State has made good faith efforts to comply
with these annual financial reporting requirements. The NRC also notes
that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of
Radiation Protection, issued a similar exemption to Penn State's Type A
Broad Scope license (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania PA-0100).
[[Page 50568]]
III. Discussion
The Exemption Is Authorized by Law
The staff concluded that 10 CFR 50.12 allows for an exemption to
the requirements of the regulations in 10 CFR 50.75 and appendix E to
10 CFR part 30.
The Exemption Presents No Undue Risk to Public Health and Safety
The staff determined that the exemption is related to the Penn
State financial surety self-guarantee annual reporting, which does not
involve Penn State's reactor operation and safety aspects. Therefore,
the exemption presents no undue risk to public health and safety.
The Exemption Is Consistent With the Common Defense and Security
The staff determined that the exemption is related to the Penn
State financial surety self-guarantee annual reporting, which does not
involve Penn State's reactor operation and safety aspects. Therefore,
granting the exemption will have no effect on the common defense and
security.
Environmental Considerations
The staff determined that granting an exemption from the
requirements of 10 CFR part 50 and appendix E to 10 CFR part 30 belongs
to a category of regulatory actions eligible for categorical exclusion.
Since this exemption involves only Penn State's self-guarantee
financial surety reporting and does not involve the operations of the
Penn State Breazeale Reactor, there is no significant hazards
consideration, there is no significant change in the types or
significant increase in the amounts of any effluents that may be
released off site, there is no significant increase in individual or
cumulative public or occupational radiation exposure, there is no
significant construction impact; and there is no significant increase
in the potential for or consequences from radiological accidents as a
result of the NRC granting this exemption. The requirements from which
the exemption is sought involve surety, insurance, or indemnity
requirements. The exemption meets all categorical exclusion
requirements of 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(i) through (vi). Therefore, in
accordance with 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(vi)(H), the staff determines that
an environmental review is not required.
IV. Conclusion
The NRC has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, the
exemption is authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to
public health and safety, and is consistent with the common defense and
security. Therefore, the NRC hereby grants Penn State an exemption to
the requirements in 10 CFR part 50 and appendix E to 10 CFR part 30. As
a result of this exemption, Penn State shall submit its annual
financial results within 180 days after the close of each succeeding
fiscal year.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 25th day of July, 2016.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Mirela Gavrilas,
Deputy Director, Division of Policy and Rulemaking, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2016-18144 Filed 7-29-16; 8:45 am]
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