[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 22 (Friday, February 3, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9243-9246]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-02336]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-461, 72-1046, 50-254, 50-265, 72-53, 50-219 and 72-15;
NRC-2017-0014]
Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Clinton Power Station, Unit No.
1; Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2; Oyster Creek
Nuclear Generating Station
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 an August 16, 2016, request from Exelon
Generation Company, LLC (Exelon or the licensee), from certain
regulatory requirements. The exemption would allow a certified fuel
handler (CFH), besides a licensed senior operator, to approve the
emergency suspension of security measures for Clinton Power Station,
Unit No. 1 (CPS); Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2
(QCNPS); and Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station (OCNGS) during
certain emergency conditions or during severe weather.
DATES: The exemption was issued on January 23, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2017-0014 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-2017-0014. 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]. For
the convenience of the reader, the ADAMS accession numbers are provided
in a table in the ``Availability of Documents'' section of this
document.
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: John G. Lamb, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington DC
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-3100; email: [email protected].
I. Background
Exelon is the holder of Facility Operating License No. NPF-62 for
CPS, Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-29 and DPR-30 for
QCNPS, and Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-16 for OCNGS. The
license provides, among other things, that the facility is subject to
all rules, regulations, and orders of the NRC now or hereafter in
effect. The CPS, QCNPS, and OCNGS facilities consist of boiling-water
reactors located in DeWitt County, Illinois; Rock Island County,
Illinois; and Ocean County, New Jersey, respectively, and site-specific
licensed independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSI) at CPS,
QCNPS, and OCNGS.
By letter dated January 7, 2011, the licensee submitted
Certification of Permanent Cessation of Operations for OCNGS. In this
letter, Exelon provided notification to the NRC of its intent to
permanently cease power operation no later than December 31, 2019.
By letter dated June 20, 2016, the licensee submitted Certification
of Permanent Cessation of Operations for CPS. In this letter, Exelon
provided notification to the NRC of its intent to permanently cease
power operation by June 1, 2017.
By letter dated June 20, 2016, the licensee submitted Certification
of Permanent Cessation of Operations for QCNPS. In this letter, Exelon
provided notification to the NRC of its intent to permanently cease
power operation by June 1, 2018.
In accordance with Sec. 50.82(a)(1)(i) and (ii), and Sec.
50.82(a)(2) of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR),
[[Page 9244]]
the 10 CFR part 50 licenses for the facilities will no longer authorize
reactor operation, placement, or retention of fuel in the respective
reactor vessel after certifications of permanent cessation of
operations and of permanent removal of fuel from the reactor vessel are
docketed for CPS, QCNPS, and OCNGS.
By letter dated September 6, 2016, the NRC approved the Certified
Fuel Handler Training and Retraining Program for CPS, QCNPS, and OCNGS.
By letters dated December 14, 2016, Exelon withdrew its
``Certification of Permanent Cessation of Power Operations'' for CPS
and QCNPS. The withdrawal letters for CPS and QCNPS did not revise its
request for exemption, and did not change the effectiveness of the
exemption or the conditions required to implement the actions permitted
by the exemption.
II. Request/Action
On August 16, 2016, the licensee requested an exemption from Sec.
73.55(p)(1)(i) and (ii), pursuant to Sec. 73.5, ``Specific
exemptions.'' Section 73.55(p)(1)(i) and (ii) require, in part, that
the suspension of security measures during certain emergency conditions
or during severe weather be approved by a licensed senior operator.
Exelon requested an exemption from these rules to allow either a
licensed senior operator or a CFH to approve the suspension of security
measures. There is no need for an exemption from these rules for a
licensed senior operator because the current regulation allows the
licensed senior operator to approve the suspension of security
measures. The exemption request relates solely to the licensing
requirements specified in the regulations for the staff directing
suspension of security measures in accordance with Sec. 73.55(p)(1)(i)
and (ii), and would allow a CFH, besides a licensed senior operator, to
provide this approval. The exemption would allow the suspension of
security measures during certain emergency conditions or during severe
weather by a licensed senior operator or a CFH.
The current Sec. 73.55(p)(1)(i) and (ii) regulations state the
licensed senior operator can approve suspension of security measures.
The proposed exemption would authorize that the suspension of
security measures must be approved as a minimum by either a licensed
senior operator or a certified fuel handler, at a nuclear power plant
reactor facility for which the certifications required under Sec.
50.82(a)(1) have been submitted.
III. Discussion
The NRC's security rules have long recognized the potential need to
suspend security or safeguards measures under certain conditions.
Accordingly, 10 CFR 50.54(x) and (y), first published in 1983, allow a
licensee to take reasonable steps in an emergency that deviate from
license conditions when those steps are ``needed to protect the public
health and safety'' and there are no conforming comparable measures (48
FR 13970; April 1, 1983). As originally issued, the deviation from
license conditions must be approved by, as a minimum, a licensed senior
operator. In 1986, in its final rule, ``Miscellaneous Amendments
Concerning the Physical Protection of Nuclear Power Plants'' (51 FR
27817; August 4, 1986), the Commission issued Sec. 73.55(a).
In 1996, the NRC made a number of regulatory changes to address
decommissioning. One of the changes was to amend Sec. 50.54 (x) and
(y) to authorize a non-licensed operator called a ``Certified Fuel
Handler,'' in addition to a licensed senior operator, to approve such
protective steps. Specifically, in addressing the role of the CFH
during emergencies, the Commission stated in the proposed rule,
``Decommissioning of Nuclear Power Reactors'' (60 FR 37379; July 20,
1995):
The Commission is proposing to amend 10 CFR 50.54(y) to permit a
certified fuel handler at nuclear power reactors that have
permanently ceased operations and permanently removed fuel from the
reactor vessel, subject to the requirements of Sec. 50.82(a) and
consistent with the proposed definition of ``Certified Fuel
Handler'' specified in Sec. 50.2, to make these evaluations and
judgments. A nuclear power reactor that has permanently ceased
operations and no longer has fuel in the reactor vessel does not
require a licensed individual to monitor core conditions. A
certified fuel handler at a permanently shutdown and defueled
nuclear power reactor undergoing decommissioning is an individual
who has the requisite knowledge and experience to evaluate plant
conditions and make these judgments.
In the final rule (61 FR 39298; July 29, 1996), the NRC added the
following definition to Sec. 50.2: ``Certified fuel handler means, for
a nuclear power reactor facility, a non-licensed operator who has
qualified in accordance with a fuel handler training program approved
by the Commission.'' However, the decommissioning rule did not propose
or make parallel changes to Sec. 73.55(a), and did not discuss the
role of a non-licensed CFH.
In the final rule, ``Power Reactor Security Requirements'' (74 FR
13926; March 27, 2009), the NRC relocated the security suspension
requirements from Sec. 73.55(a) to Sec. 73.55(p)(1)(i) and (ii). The
role of a CFH was not discussed in the rulemaking, so the suspension of
security measures in accordance with Sec. 73.55(p) continued to
require approval as a minimum by a licensed senior operator, even for a
site that otherwise no longer operates.
However, pursuant to Sec. 73.5, the Commission may, upon
application by any interested person or upon its own initiative, grant
exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR part 73, as it determines
are authorized by law and will not endanger life or property or the
common defense and security, and are otherwise in the public interest.
A. The Exemption Is Authorized by Law
The exemption from Sec. 73.55(p)(1)(i) and (ii) would allow a CFH,
besides a licensed senior operator, to approve the suspension of
security measures, under certain emergency conditions or severe
weather. The licensee intends to align these regulations with Sec.
50.54(y) by using the authority of a CFH in place of a licensed senior
operator to approve the suspension of security measures during certain
emergency conditions or during severe weather.
Per Sec. 73.5, the Commission is allowed to grant exemptions from
the regulations in 10 CFR part 73, as 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,
or other laws. Therefore, the exemption is authorized by law.
B. Will Not Endanger Life or Property or the Common Defense and
Security
Relaxing the requirement to allow a CFH, besides a licensed senior
operator, to approve suspension of security measures during emergencies
or severe weather will not endanger life or property or the common
defense and security for the reasons described in this section.
First, Sec. 73.55(p)(2) continues to require that ``[s]uspended
security measures must be reinstated as soon as conditions permit.''
Second, the suspension for non-weather emergency conditions under
Sec. 73.55(p)(1)(i) will continue to be invoked only ``when this
action is immediately needed to protect the public health and safety
and no action consistent with license conditions and technical
specifications that can provide adequate or equivalent protection is
immediately apparent.'' Thus, the exemption would not prevent the
licensee from meeting the underlying purpose of Sec. 73.55(p)(1)(i) to
protect
[[Page 9245]]
public health and safety even after the exemption is granted.
Third, the suspension for severe weather under Sec.
73.55(p)(1)(ii) will continue to be used only when ``the suspension of
affected security measures is immediately needed to protect the
personal health and safety of security force personnel and no other
immediately apparent action consistent with the license conditions and
technical specifications can provide adequate or equivalent
protection.'' The requirement to receive input from the security
supervisor or manager will remain. The exemption would not prevent the
licensee from meeting the underlying purpose of Sec. 73.55(p)(1)(ii)
to protect the health and safety of the security force.
Additionally, by letter dated September 6, 2016, the NRC approved
Exelon's CFH training and retraining program for the CPS, QCNPS, and
OCNGS facilities. The NRC staff found that, among other things, the
program addresses the safe conduct of decommissioning activities, safe
handling and storage of spent fuel, and the appropriate response to
plant emergencies. Because the CFH is sufficiently trained and
qualified under an NRC-approved program, the NRC staff considers a CFH
to have sufficient knowledge of operational and safety concerns, such
that allowing a CFH to suspend security measures during emergencies or
severe weather will not result in undue risk to public health and
safety.
In addition, the exemption does not reduce the overall
effectiveness of the physical security plan and has no adverse impacts
to Exelon's ability to physically secure the sites or protect special
nuclear material at CPS, QCNPS, and OCNGS, and thus would not have an
effect on the common defense and security. The NRC staff has concluded
that the exemption would not reduce security measures currently in
place to protect against radiological sabotage. Therefore, relaxing the
requirement to allow a CFH, besides a licensed senior operator, to
approve the suspension of security measures in an emergency or during
severe weather, does not adversely affect public health and safety
issues or the assurance of the common defense and security.
C. Is Otherwise in the Public Interest
Exelon's proposed exemption would relax the requirement to allow a
CFH, besides a licensed senior operator, to approve suspension of
security measures in an emergency when ``immediately needed to protect
the public health and safety'' or during severe weather when
``immediately needed to protect the personal health and safety of
security force personnel.'' Without the exemption, the licensee cannot
implement changes to its security plan to authorize a CFH to approve
the temporary suspension of security regulations during an emergency or
severe weather, comparable to the authority given to the CFH by the NRC
when it published Sec. CFR 50.54(y). Instead, the regulations would
continue to require that a licensed senior operator be available to
make decisions for a permanently shutdown plant, even though CPS,
QCNPS, and OCNGS would no longer require a licensed senior operator
after the certifications required by 10 CFR 50.82(a)(1)(i) and 10 CFR
50.82(a)(1)(ii) were submitted. It is unclear how the licensee would
implement emergency or severe weather suspensions of security measures
without a licensed senior operator. This exemption is in the public
interest for two reasons. First, without the exemption, there is
uncertainty on how the licensee will invoke temporary suspension of
security matters that may be needed for protecting public health and
safety or the safety of the security force during emergencies and
severe weather. The exemption would allow the licensee to make
decisions pursuant to Sec. 73.55(p)(1)(i) and (ii) without having to
maintain a staff of licensed senior operators. The exemption would also
allow the licensee to have an established procedure in place to allow a
trained CFH to suspend security measures in the event of an emergency
or severe weather. Second, the consistent and efficient regulation of
nuclear power plants serves the public interest. This exemption would
assure consistency between the security regulations in 10 CFR part 73
and CFR 50.54(y), and the requirements concerning licensed operators in
10 CFR part 55. The NRC staff has determined that granting the
licensee's proposed exemption would allow the licensee to designate an
alternative position, with qualifications appropriate for a permanently
shutdown and defueled reactor, to approve the suspension of security
measures during an emergency to protect the public health and safety,
and during severe weather to protect the safety of the security force,
consistent with the similar authority provided by Sec. 50.54(y).
Therefore, the exemption is in the public interest.
D. Environmental Considerations
The NRC's approval of the exemption to security requirements
belongs to a category of actions that the Commission, by rule or
regulation, has declared to be a categorical exclusion, after first
finding that the category of actions does not individually or
cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment.
Specifically, the exemption is categorically excluded from further
analysis under Sec. 51.22(c)(25).
Under Sec. 51.22(c)(25), the granting of an exemption from the
requirements of any regulation of Chapter I to 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
involve: Safeguard plans, and materials control and accounting
inventory scheduling requirements; or involve other requirements of an
administrative, managerial, or organizational nature.
The Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of
Nuclear Reactor Regulation, has determined that approval of the
exemption request involves no significant hazards consideration because
allowing a CFH, besides a licensed senior operator, to approve the
security suspension at a defueled shutdown power plant does not (1)
involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an
accident previously evaluated; or (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. The
exempted security regulation is unrelated to any operational
restriction. Accordingly, 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
regulation is not associated with construction, so there is no
significant construction impact. The exempted regulation does not
concern the source term (i.e., potential amount of radiation in an
accident), nor mitigation. Thus, there is no significant increase in
the potential for, or consequences of, a radiological accident. The
requirement to have a licensed senior operator approve departure from
security actions may be
[[Page 9246]]
viewed as involving either safeguards, materials control, or managerial
matters.
Therefore, pursuant to Sec. 51.22(b) and (c)(25), no environmental
impact statement or environmental assessment need be prepared in
connection with the approval of this exemption request.
IV. Conclusions
Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR
73.5, the exemption 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 the licensee's
request for an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 73.55(p)(1)(i)
and (ii), to authorize that the suspension of security measures must be
approved as a minimum by either a licensed senior operator or a
certified fuel handler, at a nuclear power plant reactor facility for
which the certifications required under 10 CFR 50.82(a)(1) have been
submitted.
The exemption is effective upon receipt.
V. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the following table are available to
interested persons.
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ADAMS accession
Title Date No.
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Exelon letter to NRC, ``Permanent 1/07/2011 ML110070507
Cessation of Operations at Oyster
Creek Nuclear Generating Station.''.
Exelon letter to NRC, Clinton Power 6/20/2016 ML16172A137
Station, Unit 1, ``Certification of
Permanent Cessation of Power
Operations.''.......................
Exelon letter to NRC, Quad Cities 6/20/2016 ML16172A151
Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and
2, ``Certification of Permanent
Cessation of Power Operations.''....
NRC letter to Exelon, Oyster Creek 9/06/2016 ML16222A787
Nuclear Generating Station;
``Clinton Power Station, Unit No. 1;
and Quad Cities Nuclear Power
Station, Units 1 and 2--Approval of
Certified Fuel Handler Training and
Retraining Program.''...............
Exelon letter to NRC, Clinton Power 8/16/2016 ML16229A133
Station, Unit No. 1, Quad Cities
Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and
2, and Oyster Creek Nuclear
Generating Station, ``Request for
Exemption from Specific Provisions
in 10 CFR 7355(p)(1)(i) and
(p)(1)(ii) Related to the Suspension
of Security Measures in an Emergency
or During Severe Weather.''.........
Exelon letter to NRC, Oyster Creek 5/17/2016 ML16138A129
Nuclear Generating Station,
``License Amendment Request--
Proposed Changes to Technical
Specifications Section 6.0
Administrative Controls for
Permanently Defueled Condition''....
Exelon letter to NRC, Clinton Power 7/28/2016 ML16210A300
Station, Unit No. 1, ``License
Amendment Request--Proposed Changes
to Technical Specifications Section
5.0 Administrative Controls for
Permanently Defueled Condition''....
Exelon letter to NRC, Quad Cities 10/20/2016 ML16294A203
Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and
2, ``License Amendment Request--
Proposed Changes to Technical
Specifications Section 5.0
Administrative Controls for
Permanently Defueled Condition......
Exelon Letter to NRC, Quad Cities 12/14/2016 ML16349A311
Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and
2, ``Withdrawal of Certification of
Permanent Cessation of Power
Operations.''.......................
Exelon Letter to NRC, Clinton Power 12/14/2016 ML16349A314
Station, Unit No. 1, ``Withdrawal of
Certification of Permanent Cessation
of Power Operations.''..............
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Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 23rd day of January 2017.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Anne T. Boland,
Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2017-02336 Filed 2-2-17; 8:45 am]
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