[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 148 (Wednesday, August 1, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37532-37535]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-16393]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-409; NRC-2018-0157]
LaCrosse Solutions, LLC; Dairyland Power Cooperative La Crosse
Boiling Water Reactor
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Exemption; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an
exemption in response to a February 22, 2018, request from
LaCrosseSolutions, LLC (LS) from the regulatory requirement to maintain
a specified level of onsite property damage insurance to permit the La
Crosse Boiling Water Reactor (LACBWR) to reduce its onsite insurance
coverage from $180 million to $50 million.
DATES: The exemption was issued on July 24, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2018-0157 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-2018-0157. 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: Marlayna G. Vaaler, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-3178, email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor was an Atomic Energy Commission
(AEC) Demonstration Project Reactor that first went critical in 1967,
commenced commercial operation in November 1969, and was capable of
producing 50 megawatts of electric power. The LACBWR site is located on
the east bank of the Mississippi River in Vernon County, Wisconsin, and
is co-located with the Genoa Generating Station, which is a coal-fired
electrical power plant that is still in operation. The Allis-Chalmers
Company was the original licensee; the AEC later sold the plant to the
Dairyland Power Cooperative (DPC) and granted it Provisional Operating
License No. DPR-45 on August 28, 1973 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML17080A423).
The LACBWR permanently ceased operations on April 30, 1987 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML17080A422), and reactor defueling was completed on June
11, 1987 (ADAMS Accession No. ML17080A420). In a letter dated August 4,
1987 (ADAMS Accession No. ML17080A393), the NRC terminated DPC's
authority to operate LACBWR under Provisional Operating License No.
DPR-45, and granted the licensee a possess-but-not-operate status. By
letter dated August 18, 1988 (ADAMS Accession No. ML17080A421), the NRC
amended DPC's Provisional Operating License No. DPR-45 to Possession
Only License No. DPR-45 to reflect the permanently defueled
configuration at LACBWR.
The NRC issued an order to authorize decommissioning of LACBWR and
approve the licensee's proposed Decommissioning Plan (DP) on August 7,
1991 (ADAMS Accession No. ML17080A454). Because the NRC approved DPC's
DP before August 28, 1996, pursuant to section 50.82 of title 10 of the
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), the DP is considered the Post-
Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR) for LACBWR. The
PSDAR public meeting was held on May 13, 1998, and subsequent updates
to the LACBWR decommissioning report have combined the DP and PSDAR
into the ``LACBWR Decommissioning Plan and Post-Shutdown
Decommissioning Activities Report'' (D-Plan/PSDAR). This document is
also considered the Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR) for LACBWR and
is updated every 24 months in accordance with 10 CFR 50.71(e). The DPC
constructed an onsite Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation
(ISFSI) under its 10 CFR part 72 general license, and completed the
movement of all 333 spent nuclear fuel elements from the Fuel Element
Storage Well to dry cask storage at the ISFSI by September 19, 2012
(ADAMS Accession No. ML12290A027). The remaining associated buildings
and structures are currently undergoing
[[Page 37533]]
dismantlement and decommissioning activities.
By order dated May 20, 2016 (ADAMS Accession No. ML16123A073), the
NRC approved the direct transfer of Possession Only License No. DPR-45
for LACBWR from DPC to LS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of
EnergySolutions, LLC, and approved a conforming license amendment,
pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80, ``Transfer of licenses,'' and 10 CFR 50.90,
``Application for amendment of license, construction permit, or early
site permit,'' to reflect the change. The order was published in the
Federal Register (FR) on June 2, 2016 (81 FR 35383). The transfer
assigns DPC's licensed possession, maintenance, and decommissioning
responsibilities for LACBWR to LS in order to implement expedited
decommissioning at the LACBWR site. Decommissioning of the LACBWR
facility and site is scheduled to be completed in 2018.
II. Request/Action
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, ``Specific exemptions,'' LS has requested
an exemption from 10 CFR 50.54(w)(1) by letter dated February 22, 2018
(ADAMS Accession No. ML18057A021). The exemption from the requirements
of 10 CFR 50.54(w)(1) would permit LS to reduce its onsite property
damage insurance from $180 million to $50 million.
The regulation in 10 CFR 50.54(w)(1) requires each licensee to have
and maintain onsite property damage insurance to stabilize and
decontaminate the reactor and reactor site in the event of an accident.
The onsite insurance coverage must be either $1.06 billion or whatever
amount of insurance is generally available from private sources
(whichever is less). The LACBWR site currently maintains $180 million
in onsite insurance coverage in accordance with a previous exemption
approved by the NRC on June 26, 1986 (51 FR 24456).\1\
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\1\ At the time the previous exemption was granted in 1986, 10
CFR 50.54(w)(1) required the licensee to maintain on-site property
insurance in the amount of $500 million. Based on a finding that
special circumstances were present, the Commission approved the
licensee's exemption request to permit LACBWR to reduce its onsite
insurance coverage from $500 million to $180 million. See 51 FR
24456.
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The licensee stated that there is a reduced potential for, and
consequences from, an accident at a permanently shutdown and defueled
reactor when compared to the risks at an operating power reactor. In
addition, since the license no longer authorizes reactor operation or
emplacement or retention of fuel in the reactor vessel at LACBWR, there
are no events that would require the stabilization of reactor
conditions after an accident. Similarly, the risk of an accident that
that would result in significant onsite contamination at LACBWR is also
much lower than the risk of such an event at an operating reactor.
Therefore, LS requested an exemption from 10 CFR 50.54(w)(1) that would
permit a reduction in its onsite property damage insurance from $180
million to $50 million, commensurate with the reduced risk of an
accident at the permanently shutdown and defueled LACBWR reactor.
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 (1) 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; and
(2) any of the special circumstances listed in 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2) are
present.
The financial protection limits of 10 CFR 50.54(w)(1) were
established after the Three Mile Island accident out of concern that
licensees may be unable to financially cover onsite cleanup costs in
the event of a major nuclear accident. The specified coverage
requirement was developed based on an analysis of an accident at a
nuclear reactor operating at power, resulting in a large fission
product release and requiring significant resource expenditures to
stabilize the reactor conditions and ultimately decontaminate and clean
up the site.
The NRC developed these cost estimates from the spectrum of
postulated accidents for an operating nuclear reactor and the
consequences of any associated release of radioactive material from the
reactor. Although the risk of an accident at an operating reactor is
very low, the consequences can be large. In an operating plant, the
high temperature and pressure of the reactor coolant system, as well as
the inventory of relatively short-lived radionuclides, contribute to
both the risk and consequences of an accident. With the permanent
cessation of reactor operations at LACBWR, the permanent removal of the
fuel from the reactor core, and the movement of all the irradiated fuel
assemblies into storage at the onsite ISFSI, such accidents are no
longer possible. As a result, the reactor, reactor coolant system, and
supporting systems no longer operate, and the majority of these
components have already been dismantled and removed from the site as
part of the decommissioning process. Therefore, these systems and
components no longer serve any function related to the storage of the
irradiated fuel. As such, postulated accidents involving failure or
malfunction of the reactor, reactor coolant system, or supporting
systems are no longer applicable at LACBWR.
During reactor decommissioning, the principal radiological risks
are associated with the storage of spent fuel onsite, as well as the
inventory of radioactive liquids, activated reactor components, and
contaminated materials. In its February 22, 2018, exemption request, LS
noted that because all of the irradiated fuel assemblies are currently
stored in the onsite ISFSI, a fuel handling accident and a zirconium
fire caused by drain down of the spent fuel pool are no longer
considered credible events. In the current state of decommissioning at
LACBWR, with the reactor building being the only contaminated structure
that still remains onsite, only minor liquid and airborne effluent
releases resulting from dismantlement activities are considered
credible events. The licensee determined that the minimal radioactive
material remaining at the site that resulted from LACBWR's operation is
insufficient for any potential event to result in exceeding dose limits
or otherwise involving a significant adverse effect on public health
and safety.
Specifically, there are no credible events at LACBWR that could
result in a radiological release exceeding the limits established by
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) early-phase
Protective Action Guidelines (PAGs) of one roentgen equivalent man at
the exclusion area boundary, which demonstrates that any possible
radiological releases would be minimal and would not require
precautionary protective actions (e.g., sheltering in place or
evacuation). The staff evaluated the radiological consequences
associated with various decommissioning activities, and credible
accident events at LACBWR, in consideration of the permanently shutdown
and defueled status of the facility. The possible accident scenarios at
LACBWR have greatly reduced radiological consequences. Based on its
review, the staff concluded that no reasonably conceivable radiological
release event exists that could cause an offsite release greater than
the EPA PAGs.
In addition, given that all of the irradiated fuel assemblies at
LACBWR have already been moved into storage at the onsite ISFSI, the
fuel is no longer thermal-hydraulically capable of sustaining a
zirconium fire, and can be
[[Page 37534]]
air-cooled in all credible accident scenarios and fuel configurations.
Since NRC approval of the previous exemption in 1986, which permitted
LACBWR to reduce its onsite insurance coverage to $180 million, the NRC
staff has authorized a lesser amount of onsite property damage
insurance coverage based on an analysis of the zirconium fire risk. In
SECY-96-256, ``Changes to Financial Protection Requirements for
Permanently Shutdown Nuclear Power Reactors, 10 CFR 50.54(w)(1) and 10
CFR 140.11,'' dated December 17, 1996 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML15062A483), the NRC staff recommended changes to the power reactor
insurance regulations that would allow licensees to lower onsite
insurance levels to $50 million upon demonstration that the fuel stored
in the spent fuel pool can be air-cooled.
In its Staff Requirements Memorandum to SECY-96-256, dated January
28, 1997 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15062A454), the Commission supported
the staff's recommendation that, among other things, would allow
permanently shutdown power reactor licensees to reduce commercial
onsite property damage insurance coverage to $50 million when the
licensee was able to demonstrate the technical criterion that the spent
fuel could be air-cooled if the spent fuel pool was drained of water.
The staff has used this technical criterion to grant similar exemptions
to other decommissioning reactors (e.g., Maine Yankee Atomic Power
Station, published in the Federal Register on January 19, 1999 (64 FR
2920); and Zion Nuclear Power Station, published in the Federal
Register on December 28, 1999 (64 FR 72700)). These prior exemptions
were based on the licensees demonstrating that the spent fuel could be
air-cooled, consistent with the technical criterion discussed above.
Based on this criterion, the NRC staff determined $50 million to be an
adequate level of onsite property damage insurance coverage for the
LACBWR site, given that the spent fuel is no longer susceptible to a
zirconium fire.
In addition, the staff has postulated that there is still a
potential for other radiological incidents at a decommissioning reactor
that could result in significant onsite contamination besides a
zirconium fire. In SECY-96-256, the NRC staff cited the rupture of a
large contaminated liquid storage tank, causing soil contamination and
potential groundwater contamination, as the most costly postulated
event to decontaminate and remediate (other than a zirconium fire). The
postulated large liquid radiological waste storage tank rupture event
was determined to have a bounding onsite cleanup cost of approximately
$50 million. However, decommissioning activities at LACBWR have
progressed to such an extent that there are no longer any large
radiological waste storage tanks onsite, as described in the most
recent update to the D-Plan/PSDAR (ADAMS Accession No. ML18155A395).
The only potential source of radioactive liquid remaining at LACBWR is
water generated during decommissioning and decontamination activities
(e.g., draining, decontamination, and cutting processes), including the
retention tank used to store this water, which has a total capacity of
6000 gallons and is therefore considerably less that the 450,000 gallon
large contaminated liquid storage tank postulated in SECY-96-256.
According to the analysis described in the LACBWR D-Plan/PSDAR, in the
event that 80 percent of the retention tank volume were to be released
from the tank via a non-mechanistic rupture, the normal effluent
concentration limits of 10 CFR part 20, ``Standards for Protection
Against Radiation,'' appendix B, table 2, would not be exceeded. The
staff has examined this analysis and concluded that there are no
credible phenomena that could reasonably be postulated to cause a
release from the LACBWR retention tank that would challenge the
assumptions made in SECY-96-256 regarding the rupture of a large
contaminated liquid storage tank. Therefore, the staff determined that
the licensee's proposal to reduce onsite insurance to a level of $50
million would be consistent with the bounding cleanup and
decontamination cost, as discussed in SECY-96-256, to account for the
postulated rupture of the retention tank at the LACBWR site.
A. Authorized by Law
The regulation in 10 CFR 50.54(w)(1) requires each licensee to have
and maintain onsite property damage insurance of either $1.06 billion
or whatever amount of insurance is generally available from private
sources, whichever is less. In accordance with 10 CFR 50.12, the
Commission may grant exemptions from the regulations in 10 CFR part 50,
as the Commission determines are authorized by law.
In 1986, the Commission granted LACBWR an exemption from 10 CFR
50.54(w)(1), permitting the reduction of onsite insurance coverage from
$500 million to $180 million. As explained above, the NRC staff has
determined that the licensee's proposed reduction in onsite property
damage insurance coverage to a level of $50 million is consistent with
SECY-96-256 because there is no credible risk of a zirconium fire with
all irradiated fuel stored in the onsite ISFSI, where it is air-cooled
in all accident scenarios.
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, or other laws, as amended. Therefore, based on its review
of LS's exemption request, as discussed above, and consistent with
SECY-96-256, the NRC staff concludes that the exemption is authorized
by law.
B. No Undue Risk to Public Health and Safety
The onsite property damage insurance requirements of 10 CFR
50.54(w)(1) were established to provide financial assurance that
following a significant nuclear accident, onsite reactor conditions
could be stabilized and the site decontaminated. The requirements of 10
CFR 50.54(w)(1) and the existing level of onsite insurance coverage for
LACBWR are predicated on the assumption that the reactor is operating.
However, LACBWR is a permanently shutdown and defueled facility. The
permanently defueled status of the facility has resulted in a
significant reduction in the number and severity of potential
accidents, and correspondingly, a significant reduction in the
potential for and severity of onsite property damage. The proposed
reduction in the amount of onsite insurance coverage does not impact
the probability or consequences of potential accidents. The proposed
level of insurance coverage is commensurate with the reduced
consequences of credible nuclear accidents at LACBWR. Therefore, the
NRC staff concludes that granting the requested exemption will not
present an undue risk to the health and safety of the public.
C. Consistent With the Common Defense and Security
The proposed exemption would not eliminate any requirements
associated with physical protection of the site and would not adversely
affect LS's ability to physically secure the site or protect special
nuclear material. Physical security measures at LACBWR are not affected
by the requested exemption. Therefore, the proposed exemption is
consistent with the common defense and security.
D. Special Circumstances
Under 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii), special circumstances are present if
the application of the regulation in the particular circumstances would
not
[[Page 37535]]
serve the underlying purpose of the rule or is not necessary to achieve
the underlying purpose of the rule. The underlying purpose of 10 CFR
50.54(w)(1) is to provide reasonable assurance that adequate funds will
be available to stabilize reactor conditions and cover onsite cleanup
costs associated with site decontamination, following an accident that
results in the release of a significant amount of radiological
material.
Because LACBWR is permanently shutdown and defueled, with all
irradiated fuel assemblies stored in the onsite ISFSI, and a very small
radioactive source term remaining at the site given the progress of
decommissioning and dismantlement activities, it is no longer possible
for the radiological consequences of design-basis accidents or other
credible events at LACBWR to exceed the limits of the EPA PAGs at the
exclusion area boundary. Therefore, the staff concludes that the
application of the current requirements in 10 CFR 50.54(w)(1), as
exempted, for LS to maintain $180 million in onsite insurance coverage
is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule for the
permanently shutdown and defueled LACBWR facility.
Under 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(iii), special circumstances are present
whenever compliance would result in undue hardship or other costs that
are significantly in excess of those contemplated when the regulation
was adopted, or that are significantly in excess of those incurred by
others similarly situated.
The NRC staff concludes that if the licensee was required to
continue to maintain an onsite insurance level of $180 million, the
associated insurance premiums would be in excess of those necessary and
commensurate with the radiological contamination risks posed by the
site. In addition, such insurance levels would be significantly in
excess of other decommissioning reactor facilities that have been
granted similar exemptions by the NRC.
As such, the NRC staff finds that compliance with the existing
requirement would result in an undue hardship or other costs that are
significantly in excess of those contemplated when the regulation was
adopted and are significantly in excess of those incurred by others
similarly situated. Therefore, the special circumstances required by 10
CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii) and 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(iii) exist for the LACBWR
facility.
E. Environmental Considerations
The NRC approval of an exemption to insurance or indemnity
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 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25).
Under 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25), 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: Surety, insurance, or indemnity requirements.
The Director, Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery, and
Waste Programs, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, has
determined that approval of the exemption request involves no
significant hazards consideration because reducing the licensee's
onsite property damage insurance for LACBWR 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
financial protection regulation is unrelated to the operation of
LACBWR. 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. Therefore, there is no significant
increase in the potential for, or consequences of, a radiological
accident. In addition, there would be no significant impacts to biota,
water resources, historic properties, cultural resources, or
socioeconomic conditions in the region. The requirement for onsite
property damage insurance involves surety, insurance, and indemnity
matters. 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
Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR
50.12(a), 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 LS an exemption from the
requirements of 10 CFR 50.54(w)(1), to permit the licensee to reduce
its onsite property damage insurance coverage to a level of $50
million.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th day of July 2018.
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. 2018-16393 Filed 7-31-18; 8:45 am]
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