[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 104 (Thursday, May 30, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25079-25083]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-11250]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-293; NRC-2019-0098]


Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.; Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Exemption; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued a 
partial exemption in response to a February 8, 2019, request from 
Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (the licensee or Entergy). The 
issuance of the exemption would grant Entergy a partial exemption from 
regulations that require the retention of records for certain systems, 
structures, and components associated with the Pilgrim Nuclear Power 
Station (Pilgrim) until the termination of the Pilgrim operating 
license.

DATES: The exemption was issued on May 21, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2019-0098 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-2019-0098. Address 
questions about NRC dockets IDs in Regulations.gov 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 ``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: Scott P. Wall, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-2855; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the exemption is attached.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 24th day of May 2019.

    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.

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Docket No. 50-293

Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station

Exemption

I. Background

    The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (Pilgrim) is a single-unit 
facility located in the town of Plymouth, Plymouth County, in the 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is situated on the western coast of 
Cape Cod Bay, on approximately 1,600 acres of land. The Pilgrim 
facility employs a General Electric boiling-water reactor nuclear steam 
supply system licensed to generate 2,028 megawatts-thermal. The 
boiling-water reactor and supporting facilities are owned and operated 
by the Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Entergy, the licensee). 
Entergy is the holder of the Pilgrim Renewed Facility Operating License 
No. DPR-35. 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, the Commission) now or hereafter in effect.
    By letter dated November 10, 2015 (Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML15328A053), Entergy submitted 
a notification to the NRC indicating that it would permanently shut 
down Pilgrim no later than June 1, 2019. Once Entergy certifies that it 
has permanently defueled the Pilgrim 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 Pilgrim renewed facility

[[Page 25080]]

operating license will no longer authorize operation of the reactor or 
emplacement or retention of fuel in the reactor vessel. However, the 
licensee is still authorized to possess and store irradiated nuclear 
fuel. Irradiated fuel is currently being stored onsite in an 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 February 8, 2019 (ADAMS Accession No. ML19044A374), 
Entergy submitted a partial 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 partial 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 
(UFSAR) 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 Pilgrim license no longer allows storage of fuel in the SFP. The 
licensee cites record retention partial 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), 
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 partial 
exemption request because they will be retained as decommissioning 
records, as required by 10 CFR part 50, until the termination of the 
Pilgrim 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 Pilgrim 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 February 8, 2019, partial 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 
UFSAR 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 partial 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.
    Entergy's general justification for eliminating records associated 
with Pilgrim 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 Pilgrim functions regulated by the NRC. 
Entergy's decommissioning plans for Pilgrim is described in the Post 
Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR) dated November 16, 
2018 (ADAMS Accession No. ML18320A034). The licensee's decommissioning 
process involves 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 UFSAR 
as necessary; and then proceeding with an orderly dismantlement.
    Entergy 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, Entergy asserts that the need for their records is, on a 
practical basis, eliminated. Therefore, Entergy is requesting partial 
exemptions from the associated records retention requirements for SSCs 
and historical activities that are no longer relevant. Entergy is not 
requesting exemptions 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

[[Page 25081]]

in the sections below, the NRC has determined that special 
circumstances exist to grant the partial exemptions. In addition, 
granting the licensee's proposed partial exemptions 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 partial 
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 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. Therefore, the removal of the SSC 
would not present an undue risk to the 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 partial 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 partial 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 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 partial exemptions requested are administrative in 
nature and would only advance the current schedule for disposition of 
the specified records. Therefore, the partial 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; [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 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 Statement of Considerations, 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 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 partial exemption request 
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 (e.g., 
UFSAR or technical specification), 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 
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 partial exemptions.
    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

[[Page 25082]]

retained pursuant to the regulations in 10 CFR part 50 and 10 CFR part 
72. Retained records that are not subject to the proposed partial 
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 would therefore result in an unnecessary financial and 
administrative burden. 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 partial 
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 partial exemption request is administrative in nature. The 
partial exemption request has no effect on SSCs and no effect on the 
capability of any plant SSC to perform its design function. The partial 
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 partial 
exemption request. Therefore, the partial exemption request does not 
involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an 
accident previously evaluated.
    The partial 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 partial exemption request. Similarly, the partial 
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 partial 
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 partial exemption request does not 
create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any 
accident previously evaluated.
    The partial exemption request does not alter the design basis or 
any safety limits for the plant. The partial exemption request does not 
impact station operation or any plant SSC that is relied upon for 
accident mitigation. Therefore, the partial exemption request does not 
involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety.
    For these reasons, the NRC has determined that approval of the 
partial exemption request involves no significant hazards consideration 
because granting the licensee's partial 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 
Pilgrim 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 partial exemption 
request.

IV. Conclusions

    The NRC has determined that the granting of the partial 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 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

[[Page 25083]]

compliance and noncompliance, taking action on possible noncompliance, 
and examining facts following an incident. Since the Pilgrim 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 NRC has 
determined that the records identified in the partial 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 partial 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 Entergy 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 
Pilgrim 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 by appropriate 
change mechanisms (e.g., 10 CFR 50.59 or via NRC-approved license 
amendment request, as applicable).
    This partial 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 21st day of May 2019.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Craig G. Erlanger,
Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing

[FR Doc. 2019-11250 Filed 5-29-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P