[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 129 (Thursday, July 5, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31425-31429]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-14391]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-219; NRC-2018-0136]
Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating
Station
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Exemption; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a partial
exemption in response to an April 12, 2018, request from Exelon
Generation Company, LLC (the licensee or Exelon). The issuance of the
exemption grants Exelon a partial exemption from regulations that
require the retention of records for certain systems, structures, and
components associated with the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station
(Oyster Creek) until the termination of the Oyster Creek operating
license.
DATES: The exemption was issued on June 26, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2018-0136 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 Website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2018-0136. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Jennifer Borges; telephone: 301-287-
9127; 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: John G. Lamb, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-3100, email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the exemption is attached.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 29th day of June, 2018.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John G. Lamb,
Senior Project Manager, Special Projects and Process Branch, Division
of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
Attachment--Exemption.
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. 50-219] Exelon Generation
Company, LLC Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station Exemption
I. Background.
The Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station (Oyster Creek) site is
a single unit facility located in Lacey Township, New Jersey. The site
is near the Atlantic Ocean situated on approximately 152 acres in Ocean
County, New Jersey. The Oyster Creek facility employs a General
Electric boiling water reactor nuclear steam supply system licensed to
generate 1,930 megawatts-thermal. The boiling water reactor and
supporting facilities are owned and operated by Exelon Generation
Company, LLC (Exelon, the licensee). Exelon is the holder of the Oyster
Creek Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-16. The license
provides, among other things, that the facility is subject to all
rules, regulations, and orders of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) now or hereafter in effect.
By letter dated February 14, 2018 (Agencywide Documents Access and
Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML18045A084), Exelon submitted
a notification to the NRC
[[Page 31426]]
indicating that it would permanently shut down Oyster Creek no later
than October 31, 2018. Once Exelon certifies that it has permanently
defueled the Oyster Creek reactor vessel and placed the fuel in the
spent fuel pool (SFP), accordingly, pursuant to Sec. 50.82(a)(2) of
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), the Oyster Creek
renewed facility operating license would no longer authorize operation
of the reactor or emplacement or retention of fuel in the reactor
vessel. However, the licensee would still be authorized to possess and
store irradiated nuclear fuel. Irradiated fuel is currently being
stored onsite in a SFP and in independent spent fuel storage
installation (ISFSI) dry casks. The irradiated fuel will be stored in
the ISFSI until it is shipped off site. With the reactor emptied of
fuel, the reactor, reactor coolant system, and secondary system 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 April 12, 2018 (ADAMS Accession No. ML18102A763),
Exelon submitted an exemption request for NRC approval 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 requested the exemptions because it wants 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 final 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 Oyster Creek
license no longer allows storage of fuel in the SFP. The licensee cites
record retention exemptions granted to Millstone Power Station, Unit 1
(ADAMS Accession No. ML070110567), Zion Nuclear Power Station, Units 1
and 2 (ADAMS Accession No. ML111260277), Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power
Station (ADAMS Accession No. ML15344A243), and San Onofre Nuclear
Generating Station, Units 1, 2, and 3 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML15355A055), and Kewaunee Power Station (ADAMS Accession No.
ML17069A394) 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, as
required by 10 CFR part 50, until the termination of the Oyster Creek
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).
Many of the Oyster Creek reactor facility SSCs are planned to be
abandoned in place pending dismantlement. Abandoned SSCs will no longer
be 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 April 12, 2018, 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 licensee 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 final safety analysis report (UFSAR) and technical
specifications (TSs). 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.
Exelon's general justification for eliminating records associated
with Oyster Creek 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 Oyster Creek 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
NRC[dash]approved TS changes, as applicable); revising the defueled
safety analysis report and/or UFSAR as necessary; and then proceeding
with an orderly dismantlement. Dismantlement of the plant structures
will also include dismantling existing records storage facilities.
Exelon intends to retain the records required by its license as the
facility's decommissioning transitions. However, equipment abandonment
will obviate the regulatory and business needs for maintenance of most
records. As the SSCs are removed from the licensing basis, Exelon
asserts that the need for their records is, on a practical basis,
eliminated. Therefore, Exelon is requesting to be exempted from the
associated records retention requirements for SSCs and historical
activities that are no longer relevant.
[[Page 31427]]
Approval of the exemption request would eliminate the associated burden
of creating alternative record storage locations, and relocating
records to, and retaining records in the alternative locations for
those records relevant only to past power operations. Exelon is not
requesting to be exempted 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.
A. Authorized by Law.
As stated above, 10 CFR 50.12 allows the NRC to grant exemptions
from 10 CFR part 50 requirements if it makes certain findings. As
described here and in the sections below, the NRC staff has determined
that special circumstances exist to grant the exemption. In addition,
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 granting of the exemption
request 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.
B. No Undue Risk to Public Health and Safety.
As SSCs are prepared for SAFSTOR and eventual decommissioning and
dismantlement, they will be removed from NRC licensing basis documents
through appropriate change mechanisms, such as through the 10 CFR 50.59
process or through a license amendment request approved by the NRC.
These change processes involve a determination by the licensee or an
approval by the NRC that the affected SSC no longer serves any safety
purpose regulated by the NRC. Therefore, the removal of the SSC would
not present an undue risk to public health and safety. In turn,
elimination of records associated with these removed SSCs would not
cause any additional impact to public health and safety.
The granting of the exemption request 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 granting
of the exemption request will only advance the schedule for disposition
of the specified records. Because these records contain information
about SSCs associated with reactor operation and contain no information
needed to maintain the facility in a safe condition when the facility
is permanently defueled and the SSCs are dismantled, 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.
C. Consistent with 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 exemptions requested are administrative in nature in
that they would only advance the current schedule for disposition of
the specified records. Therefore, the exemption request 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.
D. 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; or (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, during the
decommissioning process, safety-related SSCs are retired or disabled
and subsequently removed from NRC licensing basis documents by
appropriate means. Appropriate removal of an SSC from the licensing
basis requires either a determination by the licensee, or an approval
from the NRC that concludes 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 that would be subject to removal, if the exemption
request is granted, 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,
or 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 (e.g.,
UFSAR or TSs), 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 no longer part of the facility serves no
safety or regulatory purpose, nor does it
[[Page 31428]]
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. Therefore, special circumstances are
present which the NRC may consider, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii),
to grant the exemption request.
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 other regulations in 10 CFR part 50 and 10 CFR part 72. Retained
records that are not subject to the proposed 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 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
eliminated as decommissioning progresses. Retaining records associated
with SSCs and activities that no longer serve a safety or regulatory
purpose could therefore necessitate the needless creation of new
facilities and retention of 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. Therefore, special
circumstances are also present which the NRC may consider, pursuant to
10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(iii), to grant the exemption request.
E. 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 meets the eligibility criteria for 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 exemption request is administrative in nature. The exemption
request has no effect on SSCs and no effect on the capability of any
plant SSC to perform its design function. The exemption request would
not increase the likelihood of the malfunction of any plant SSC.
The probability of occurrence of previously evaluated accidents is
not increased, since most previously analyzed accidents will no longer
be able to occur and the probability and consequences of the remaining
Fuel Handling Accident are unaffected by the Exemption request.
Therefore, the exemption request does not involve a significant
increase in the probability or consequences of an accident previously
evaluated.
The exemption request does not involve a physical alteration of the
plant. No new or different type of equipment will be installed and
there are no physical modifications to existing equipment associated
with the exemption request. Similarly, the exemption request will not
physically change any SSCs involved in the mitigation of any accidents.
Thus, no new initiators or precursors of a new or different kind of
accident are created. Furthermore, the exemption request does not
create the possibility of a new accident as a result of new failure
modes associated with any equipment or personnel failures. No changes
are being made to parameters within which the plant is normally
operated, or in the setpoints which initiate protective or mitigative
actions, and no new failure modes are being introduced. Therefore, the
exemption request does not create the possibility of a new or different
kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated.
The exemption request does not alter the design basis or any safety
limits for the plant. The exemption request does not impact station
operation or any plant SSC that is relied upon for accident mitigation.
Therefore, the exemption request does not involve a significant
reduction in a margin of safety.
For these reasons, the NRC staff has determined that approval of
the exemption request involves no significant hazards consideration
because granting the licensee's exemption request 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 Oyster
Creek 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 granting of the exemption
request 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
[[Page 31429]]
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 Oyster Creek 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 exemption request 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 exemptions are authorized by law, will not present an undue
risk to the public health and safety, and are consistent with the
common defense and security. Also, special circumstances are present.
Therefore, the Commission hereby grants the Exelon, 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 Oyster Creek
only to the extent necessary to allow the licensee to advance the
schedule to remove records associated with SSCs that have been or will
be removed from NRC licensing basis documents through appropriate
change mechanism (e.g., 10 CFR 50.59 or via NRC-approved license
amendment request, as applicable.
This exemption is effective upon submittal of the licensee's
certification of permanent fuel removal, under Sec. 50.82(a)(1).
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th day of June, 2018.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Joseph G. Giitter, Director,
Division of Operating Reactor Licensing,
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2018-14391 Filed 7-3-18; 8:45 am]
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