[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 95 (Thursday, May 18, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22859-22862]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-10071]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-133; NRC-2017-0117]


Pacific Gas and Electric Company; Humboldt Bay Power Plant, Unit 
3

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Exemption; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a 
partial exemption in response to a March 9, 2017, request from the 
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E or the licensee). The issuance 
of the exemption would grant the Humboldt Bay Power Plant, Unit 3 
(HBPP-3), a partial exemption from regulations that require the 
retention of records for certain systems, structures, and components.

DATES: The exemption was issued on May 10, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2017-0117 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-2017-0117. 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 (if it available in 
ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is referenced.
     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 Hickman, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-3017; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The HBPP-3 facility is a decommissioning power reactor located in 
Humboldt County, California. The PG&E is the holder of HBPP-3 Facility 
Operating License No. DPR-7. On July 2, 1976, HBPP-3 was shut down for 
annual refueling and to conduct seismic modifications. In 1983, updated 
economic analyses indicated that restarting HBPP-3 probably would not 
be cost-effective, and on June 27, 1983, PG&E announced its intention 
to decommission the unit. In 1984, PG&E submitted the HBPP-3 SAFSTOR 
\1\ Decommissioning Plan in support of the application to amend the 
HBPP-3 operating license to a possession-only license. On July 16, 
1985, the NRC issued Amendment No. 19 to the HBPP Unit 3 Operating 
License (ADAMS Legacy No. 8507260040) to change the status to possess-
but-not-operate, and the plant was placed into a SAFSTOR status. On 
December 11, 2008, PG&E completed the transfer of spent fuel from the 
HBPP-3 spent fuel pool (SFP) into the Humboldt Bay Independent Spent 
Fuel Storage Installation. PG&E then began decontamination and 
dismantlement of HBPP-3.
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    \1\ ``SAFSTOR'' is a method of decommissioning in which a 
nuclear facility is placed and maintained in a condition that allows 
the facility to be safely stored and subsequently decontaminated 
(deferred decontamination) to levels that permit release for 
unrestricted use.
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II. Request/Action

    By letter dated March 9, 2017 (ADAMS Accession No. ML17068A095), 
PG&E filed a request for NRC approval of an exemption from the record 
retention requirements of: (1) Part 50 of title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), appendix B, Criterion XVII, which 
requires certain records be retained consistent with other regulatory 
requirements; (2) 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3), which requires certain records be 
maintained until termination of a license issued pursuant to 10 CFR 
part 50; and (3) 10 CFR 50.71(c), which requires certain records be 
maintained

[[Page 22860]]

consistent with various elements of the NRC's regulations, facility 
technical specifications, and other licensing basis documents.
    The PG&E proposed to eliminate these records for the nuclear power 
unit and associated systems, structures, and components (SSCs) that no 
longer exist, including SSCs that were associated with the 
decommissioning and storage of spent fuel under the 10 CFR part 50 
license for HBPP-3. The licensee cites record retention exemptions 
granted to San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1, 2 and 3 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML15355A055), LaCrosse Boiling Water Reactor 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML15355A103), Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML15344A243), and Zion Nuclear Power Station, 
Units 1 and 2 (ADAMS Accession No. ML111260266), as examples of the NRC 
granting similar requests.
    Records associated with residual radiological activity and with 
programmatic controls necessary to support decommissioning, such as 
security and quality assurance, are not affected by the exemption 
request, and would be retained as decommissioning records until the 
termination of the HBPP-3 license. In addition, the licensee did not 
request an exemption from 10 CFR part 50, appendix A, Criterion 1, 
which requires certain records to be maintained ``throughout the life 
of the unit,'' because HBPP-3 is not a general design criteria 
facility. Nor did PG&E request an exemption associated with any record 
keeping requirements for storage of spent fuel at the HBPP-3 ISFSI 
under 10 CFR part 72, or for the other requirements of 10 CFR part 50 
or Facility Operating License No. DPR-7 applicable to the 
decommissioning and dismantlement of the HBPP-3 plant.

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).
    The March 9, 2017, exemption application states that the HBPP-3 is 
in an advanced state of decommissioning and that there are no HBPP-3 
SSCs remaining at the site.
    With all the SSCs removed from the site the need for the associated 
records is eliminated. Therefore, the licensee proposed that it be 
exempted from the records retention requirements for SSCs and 
historical activities associated with the HBPP-3 licensing basis 
requirements previously applicable to the nuclear power unit and 
storage of fuel in the SFP. The associated licensing bases are no 
longer effective, thereby eliminating the associated regulatory and 
economic burdens of creating alternative records storage locations, 
relocating records, and retaining irrelevant records.
    The licensee states that the radiological and other necessary 
programmatic controls (such as security and quality assurance) for the 
facility and decommissioning activities are and will continue to be 
appropriately addressed through the license and current plant documents 
such as the updated Final Safety Analysis Report and Technical 
Specifications. These programmatic elements and their associated 
records would be unaffected by the requested exemption.

The Exemption Is Authorized by Law

    The NRC has determined that granting the licensee's proposed 
exemption will not result in a violation of the Atomic Energy Act of 
1954, as amended, other laws, or Commission regulations. Therefore, the 
exemption from the record keeping requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(c); 10 
CFR part 50, appendix B, Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3) is 
authorized by law.

The Exemption Presents No Undue Risk to Public Health and Safety

    Removal of the records for which PG&E has requested an exemption 
from record keeping requirements will not have an adverse public health 
and safety impact because the SSCs have been removed from the site. 
Elimination of records associated with the removed SSCs, therefore, 
would not present an undue risk to public health and safety.
    The requested partial exemption from the record keeping 
requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, appendix B, Criterion 
XVII; and 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3) for records associated with the HBPP-3 
licensing basis requirements previously applicable to the nuclear power 
unit and associated systems, including SSCs that are no longer on site 
or part of the licensing basis, 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, which would otherwise be 
retained until license termination and require the unnecessary 
expenditure of resources by the licensee.

The Exemption Is Consistent With 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, which would otherwise be retained until license 
termination. This allows the licensee to not expend resources 
maintaining records that have no benefit or security purpose. 
Therefore, the partial exemption from the record keeping requirements 
of 10 CFR 50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, appendix B, Criterion XVII; and 10 
CFR 50.59(d)(3) for the types of records associated with the HBPP-3 
licensing basis requirements previously applicable to the nuclear power 
unit, and safe storage of fuel in the SFP and associated SSCs that no 
longer remain on site, is consistent with the common defense and 
security.

Special Circumstances

    Section 50.12(a)(2) requires that special circumstances be present 
for the Commission to consider granting an exemption. Special 
circumstances include 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, and 
compliance with the regulation would result in undue hardship or other 
costs that are significantly in excess of those contemplated when the 
regulation was adopted.
    Criterion XVII of 10 CFR part 50, appendix B, requires that 
sufficient records shall be maintained to furnish evidence of 
activities affecting quality.
    Section 50.59(d)(3) requires that the records of changes in the 
facility must be maintained until the termination of an operating 
license.
    Section 50.71(c), mandates that records that are required by the 
regulations in part 50, by license condition, or by technical 
specifications

[[Page 22861]]

must be retained for the period specified by the appropriate 
regulation, license condition, or technical specification. 
Additionally, 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), the NRC 
stated that records must be retained for the 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. Also in the SOC, the Commission 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 the requested exemption are 
those 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, given their appropriate removal from the 
licensing basis documents. If the SSCs no longer have the potential to 
cause these scenarios, then certain records associated with these SSCs 
would not 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.
    Retention of certain 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 permitting the disposal of records associated with the HBPP-3 
licensing basis requirements previously applicable to the nuclear power 
unit, safe storage of fuel in the SFP, and associated SSCs that no 
longer remain on site.
    Records that 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. The retained 
records not subject to the exemption include those associated with 
programmatic controls, such as those pertaining to residual 
radioactivity, which continue to be required for decommissioning; 
security, emergency planning and quality assurance programs which 
remain in effect; as well as records associated with the Independent 
Spent Fuel Storage Installation and spent fuel assemblies.
    The retention of records required by 10 CFR 50.71(c); 10 CFR part 
50, 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 previously in this notice.
    However, the cost of retaining operational phase records beyond the 
operations phase until the termination of the license may not have been 
fully considered when the records retention rule was put in place. As 
such, compliance with the record keeping requirements would result in 
an undue cost in excess of that contemplated when the regulation 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 (1) there is no 
significant hazards consideration; (2) there is no significant change 
in the types or significant increase in the amounts of any effluents 
that may be released offsite; (3) there is no significant increase in 
individual or cumulative public or occupational radiation exposure; (4) 
there is no significant construction impact; (5) there is no 
significant increase in the potential for or consequences from 
radiological accidents; and (6) the requirements from which an 
exemption is sought are among those identified in 10 CFR 
51.22(c)(25)(vi).
    The NRC 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 B, Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR 
50.59(d)(3) at the decommissioning HBPP-3 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 in 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 (10 CFR 51.22(c)(35)(vi)(A), as 
well as reporting requirements (10 CFR 51.22(c)(35)(vi)(B)).
    Therefore, pursuant to 10 CFR 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

    The NRC has determined that the requested partial exemption from 
the record keeping requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, 
appendix B, Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3) will not present an 
undue risk to the public health and safety. The destruction of the 
identified records will

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not impact remaining decommissioning activities; plant operations, 
configuration, and/or radiological effluents; or nuclear security. The 
NRC has determined that the destruction of the identified records does 
not involve information or activities that could potentially impact the 
common defense and security of the United States.
    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 HBPP-3 SSCs that were safety-related or important 
to safety during operations have been removed from the licensing basis 
and removed from the plant, the staff finds that the records associated 
with the HBPP-3 licensing basis requirements previously applicable to 
the nuclear power unit, safe storage of fuel in the SFP and associated 
SSCs that no longer remain on site will no longer be required to 
achieve the underlying purpose of the records retention rule.
    Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 
50.12, the exemption is authorized by law, will not present an undue 
risk to the public health and safety, and is consistent with the common 
defense and security, and that special circumstances are present. 
Therefore, the Commission hereby grants Pacific Gas and Electric 
Company a one-time partial exemption from the record keeping 
requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, appendix B, Criterion 
XVII; and 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3) for the Humboldt Bay Power Plant, Unit 3, 
to allow removal of records associated with the HBPP-3 licensing basis 
requirements previously applicable to the nuclear power unit, safe 
storage of fuel in the SFP and associated SSCs that no longer remain on 
site.
    Records associated with residual radiological activity and with 
programmatic controls necessary to support decommissioning, such as 
security, emergency planning, spent fuel management and quality 
assurance are not affected by the exemption request and are required to 
be retained consistent with existing requirements as decommissioning 
records until the termination of the HBPP-3 license.
    This exemption is effective upon issuance.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day of May 2017.

    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. 2017-10071 Filed 5-17-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P