[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 98 (Tuesday, May 23, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23632-23635]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-10431]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-305; NRC-2017-0121]


Dominion Energy Kewaunee, Inc.; Kewaunee Power Station

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 an October 13, 2016, request from 
Dominion Energy Kewaunee, Inc. (the licensee or DEK). The issuance of 
the exemption would grant DEK a partial exemption from regulations that 
require the retention of records for certain systems, structures, and 
components associated with the Kewaunee Power Station (KPS) until the 
termination of the KPS operating license.

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

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2017-0121 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-2017-0121. 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 is available 
in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in 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: Ted H. Carter, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-5543; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    By letter dated May 14, 2013, DEK submitted a certification of 
permanent removal of fuel from the KPS reactor vessel (ADAMS Accession 
No.

[[Page 23633]]

ML13135A209). Consequently, the part 50 of title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), license for KPS no longer authorizes 
operation of the reactor or emplacement or retention of fuel into the 
reactor vessel, as specified in 10 CFR 50.82(a)(2). The DEK's 
decommissioning plans for KPS are described in the Post Shutdown 
Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR) submitted on April 25, 2014 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML14118A382).
    According to its PSDAR, DEK plans to decommission KPS using a 
SAFSTOR method in which most fluid systems are drained and the plant is 
left in a stable condition until final decontamination and 
dismantlement activities begin. The irradiated fuel will be stored in 
the Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) until it is 
shipped off site. With the reactor and the spent fuel pool (SFP) 
emptied of fuel, the reactor, reactor coolant system, secondary system, 
and SFP (including its support systems) will no longer be in operation 
and will have no function related to the safe storage and management of 
irradiated fuel.

II. Request/Action

    By letter dated October 13, 2016 (ADAMS Accession No. ML16291A494), 
DEK filed a request for NRC approval of an exemption from the record 
retention requirements of: (1) 10 CFR part 50, appendix B, Criterion 
XVII, ``Quality Assurance Records,'' which requires certain records 
(e.g., results of inspections, tests, and materials analyses) be 
maintained consistent with applicable regulatory requirements; (2) 10 
CFR 50.59(d)(3), which requires that records of changes in the facility 
must 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 to 
be retained for the period specified by the appropriate regulation, 
license condition, or technical specification, or until termination of 
the license if not otherwise specified.
    The licensee proposed to eliminate: (1) Records associated with 
structures, systems, and components (SSCs) and activities that were 
applicable to the nuclear unit, which are no longer required by the 10 
CFR part 50 licensing basis (i.e., removed from the Updated Safety 
Analysis Report and/or Technical Specifications by appropriate change 
mechanisms; and (2) records associated with the storage of spent 
nuclear fuel in the SFP once all fuel has been removed from the SFP and 
the KPS license no longer allows storage of fuel in the SFP. 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), 
Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (ADAMS Accession No. ML15344A243), 
and San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1, 2, and 3 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML15355A055), 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 because they will be retained as decommissioning records until 
the termination of the KPS license. In addition, the licensee did not 
request an exemption associated with any other recordkeeping 
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 and dismantlement.

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).
    As described in the PSDAR, many of the KPS reactor facility SSCs 
are planned to be abandoned in place pending dismantlement. Abandoned 
SSCs are no longer operable or maintained. Following permanent removal 
of fuel from the SFP, those SSCs required to support safe storage of 
spent fuel in the SFP will also be abandoned. In its October 13, 2016, 
exemption request, the licensee stated that the basis for eliminating 
records associated with reactor facility SSCs and activities is that 
these SSCs have been (or will be) removed from service per regulatory 
change processes, dismantled or demolished, and no longer have any 
function regulated by the NRC.
    The DEK recognizes that some records related to the nuclear unit 
will continue to be under NRC regulation primarily due to residual 
radioactivity. The radiological and other necessary programmatic 
controls (such as security, quality assurance, etc.) for the facility 
and the implementation of controls for the defueled condition and the 
decommissioning activities are and will continue to be appropriately 
addressed through the license and current plant documents such as the 
Updated Safety Analysis Report and Technical Specifications. Except for 
future changes made through the applicable change process defined in 
the regulations (e.g., 10 CFR 50.48(f), 10 CFR 50.59, 10 CFR 50.90, 10 
CFR 50.54(a), 10 CFR 50.54(p), 10 CFR 50.54(q), etc.), these 
programmatic elements and their associated records are unaffected by 
the requested exemption.
    Records necessary for SFP SSCs and activities will continue to be 
retained through the period that the SFP is needed for safe storage of 
irradiated fuel. Analogous to other plant records, once the SFP is 
permanently emptied of fuel, there will be no need for retaining SFP 
related records.
    The licensee's general justification for eliminating records 
associated with KPS 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 KPS functions regulated by the NRC. 
The DEK'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 NRC-approved technical 
specification changes, as applicable); revising the Defueled Safety 
Analysis Report and/or Updated Safety Analysis Report as necessary; and 
then proceeding with an orderly dismantlement. Dismantlement of the 
plant structures will also include dismantling existing records storage 
facilities.
    The DEK intends to retain the records required by its license as 
the facility's decommissioning transitions as described in the PSDAR. 
However, equipment abandonment will obviate the regulatory and business 
needs for maintenance of most records. As the SSCs are removed from the 
licensing basis, DEK asserts that the need for their records is, on a 
practical basis, eliminated. Therefore, DEK is requesting exemption 
from the associated records retention requirements for SSCs and 
historical activities that are no longer relevant. Approval of the 
requested exemption would eliminate the associated burden of creating 
alternative record storage locations, and relocating

[[Page 23634]]

records to, and retaining records in the alternative locations for 
those records relevant only to past power operations. The DEK is not 
requesting exemption from any recordkeeping requirements for storage of 
spent fuel at an ISFSI under 10 CFR part 50 or the general license 
requirements of 10 CFR part 72.

The Exemption Is Authorized by Law

    The NRC staff 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 the Commission's regulations. 
Therefore, the exemption from the recordkeeping 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 underlying SSCs associated with the records for 
which KPS has requested an exemption from recordkeeping 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 recordkeeping requirements of 10 CFR 
50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, appendix B, Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR 
50.59(d)(3) for the records described 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 possibility of presenting any undue 
risk to the public health and safety.

The Exemption Is Consistent With the Common Defense and Security

    The elimination of the recordkeeping 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 
recordkeeping 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 
described is consistent with the common defense and security.

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; [and] (iii) Compliance 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, 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

[[Page 23635]]

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 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.
    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: (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 staff has determined that approval of the exemption request 
involves no significant hazards consideration because allowing the 
licensee exemption from the recordkeeping 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 Kewaunee Power Station 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 recordkeeping 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 recordkeeping 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 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.
    The purpose for the recordkeeping 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 KPS 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.
    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. Also, special circumstances are present. 
Therefore, the Commission hereby grants the Dominion Energy Kewaunee, 
Inc., a partial exemption from the recordkeeping requirements of 10 CFR 
50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, appendix B, Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR 
50.59(d)(3) for the Kewaunee Power Station to advance the schedule to 
remove records associated with SSCs that have been or will be removed 
from NRC licensing basis documents by appropriate change mechanisms.
    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. 2017-10431 Filed 5-22-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P