[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 145 (Monday, July 29, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36626-36629]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-15961]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-293; NRC-2019-0130]
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) is issuing an
exemption in response to a November 16, 2018, request from Entergy
Nuclear Operations, Inc. (the licensee or Entergy). The issuance of the
exemption would permit Entergy to use funds from the Pilgrim Nuclear
Power Station (Pilgrim) decommissioning trust fund (DTF) for spent fuel
management and site restoration activities.
DATES: The exemption was issued on July 22, 2019
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2019-0130 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 https://www.regulations.gov/ and search for Docket ID NRC-2019-0130. Address
questions about NRC docket 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 https://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 23rd day of July 2019.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Scott P. Wall,
Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch III, Division of
Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
Attachment--Exemption.
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Docket No. 50-293
Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.
Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station
Exemption
I. Background.
Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Entergy, the licensee), is the
holder of Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-35 for the Pilgrim
Nuclear Power
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Station (Pilgrim). The facility is located in the town of Plymouth,
Plymouth County, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
By letter dated November 10, 2015 (Agencywide Documents Access and
Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML15328A053), Entergy submitted
a notification to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
indicating that it would permanently shut down Pilgrim no later than
June 1, 2019. By letter dated June 10, 2019 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML19161A033), Entergy submitted to the NRC a certification in
accordance with Sec. 50.82(a)(1) of Title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR), stating that Pilgrim permanently ceased power
operations on May 31, 2019, and that as of June 9, 2019, all fuel had
been permanently removed from the Pilgrim reactor vessel and placed in
the spent fuel pool. Accordingly, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.82(a)(2), the
Pilgrim renewed facility operating license no longer authorizes
operation of the reactor or emplacement or retention of fuel in the
reactor vessel.
II. Request/Action.
By letter dated November 16, 2018 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML18320A037), Entergy submitted a request for exemption from 10 CFR
50.82(a)(8)(i)(A). The exemption from 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) would
permit Entergy to make withdrawals from the Pilgrim Decommissioning
Trust Fund (DTF) for spent fuel management and site restoration
activities in accordance with the Pilgrim decommissioning cost
estimate. By a separate letter dated November 16, 2018 (ADAMS Accession
No. ML18320A036), Entergy submitted an update to the Pilgrim Spent Fuel
Management Plan pursuant to 10 CFR 50.54(bb). By another separate
letter dated November 16, 2018 (ADAMS Accession No. ML18320A034), as
supplemented by letter dated January 9, 2019 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML19015A020), Entergy submitted the Post[dash]Shutdown Decommissioning
Activities Report and site-specific decommissioning cost estimate for
Pilgrim.
The 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) requirement restricts the use of DTF
withdrawals to expenses for legitimate decommissioning activities
consistent with the definition of decommissioning that appears in 10
CFR 50.2. The definition of ``decommission'' in 10 CFR 50.2 reads as
follows:
to remove a facility or site safely from service and reduce residual
radioactivity to a level that permits--
(1) Release of the property for unrestricted use and termination of
the license; or
(2) Release of the property under restricted conditions and
termination of the license.
This definition does not include activities associated with spent
fuel management and site restoration activities. Therefore, an
exemption from 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) is needed to allow Entergy to
use funds from the DTF for spent fuel management and site restoration
activities.
Similar to 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A), provisions of 10 CFR
50.75(h)(1)(iv) and (h)(2) dictate that with certain exceptions,
disbursements from nuclear decommissioning trusts ``are restricted to
decommissioning expenses.'' However, in accord with 10 CFR 50.75(h)(5),
these provisions do not apply to ``any licensee that as of December 24,
2003, has existing license conditions relating to decommissioning trust
agreements, so long as the licensee does not elect to amend those
license conditions.'' The operating license for Pilgrim included
``existing license conditions relating to decommissioning trust
agreements'' on December 24, 2003, and as such, Pilgrim is exempt from
the provisions of paragraphs (h)(1) through (h)(3) of the regulations
in 10 CFR 50.75, pursuant to the terms of 10 CFR 50.75(h)(5).
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 (1) when 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;
and (2) when any of the special circumstances listed in 10 CFR
50.12(a)(2) are present. These special circumstances include, among
other things:
(a) 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
(b) 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.
A. Authorized by Law
The requested exemption from 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) would allow
Entergy to use a portion of the funds from the DTF for spent fuel
management and site restoration activities at Pilgrim in the same
manner that withdrawals are made under 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8) for
decommissioning activities. As stated above, 10 CFR 50.12 allows the
NRC to grant exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR part 50 when
the exemptions are authorized by law. The NRC staff has determined, as
explained below, that granting the licensee's proposed exemption will
not result in a violation of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended,
or the Commission's regulations. Therefore, the exemption is authorized
by law.
B. No Undue Risk to Public Health and Safety
The underlying purpose of 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) is to provide
reasonable assurance that adequate funds will be available for the
radiological decommissioning of power reactors and license termination.
Based on the site-specific cost estimate and the cash flow analysis,
use of a portion of the DTF for spent fuel management and site
restoration activities will not adversely impact Entergy's ability to
complete radiological decommissioning within 60 years and terminate the
Pilgrim license. Furthermore, withdrawals from the DTF for spent fuel
management and site restoration should not affect the sufficiency of
funds in the DTF to accomplish radiological decontamination of the site
because such withdrawals are still constrained by the provisions of 10
CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(B)-(C) and are reviewable under the annual reporting
requirements of 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(v)-(vii).
Based on the above, there are no new accident precursors created by
using the DTF in the proposed manner. Thus, the probability of
postulated accidents is not increased. Also, based on the above, the
consequences of postulated accidents are not increased. No changes are
being made in the types or amounts of effluents that may be released
offsite. There is no significant increase in occupational or public
radiation exposure. Therefore, the requested exemption will not present
an undue risk to the public health and safety.
C. Consistent with the Common Defense and Security
The requested exemption would allow Entergy to use funds from the
Pilgrim DTF for spent fuel management and site restoration activities
at Pilgrim. Spent fuel management under 10 CFR 50.54(bb) is an integral
part of the planned Entergy decommissioning and license termination
process and will not
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adversely affect Entergy's ability to physically secure the site or
protect special nuclear material. This change to enable the use of a
portion of the funds from the DTF for spent fuel management and site
restoration activities has no relation to security issues. Therefore,
the common defense and security is not impacted by the requested
exemption.
D. Special Circumstances
Special circumstances, in accordance with 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii),
are present whenever application of the regulation in the particular
circumstances is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the
regulation.
The underlying purpose of 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A), which restricts
withdrawals from DTFs to expenses for radiological decommissioning
activities, is to provide reasonable assurance that adequate funds will
be available for radiological decommissioning of power reactors and
license termination. Strict application of this requirement would
prohibit the withdrawal of funds from the Pilgrim DTF for activities
other than radiological decommissioning activities at Pilgrim, such as
for spent fuel management and site restoration activities, until final
radiological decommissioning at Pilgrim has been completed.
The total Pilgrim DTF balance as of October 31, 2018, was
approximately $1,051,722,000. The Entergy analysis projects the total
radiological decommissioning cost of Pilgrim to be approximately
$1,187,994,000 (2018 dollars). As required by 10 CFR 50.54(bb), Entergy
estimated the costs associated with the long-term spent fuel management
at Pilgrim to be $420.3 million in 2018 dollars.
The NRC staff performed an independent cash flow analysis of the
DTF over the 60-year SAFSTOR period (assuming an annual real rate of
return of 2 percent, as allowed by 10 CFR 50.75(e)(1)(ii)) and
determined the projected earnings of the DTF. The NRC staff confirmed
that the current funds in the DTF and projected earnings provide
reasonable assurance of adequate funding to complete all NRC-required
radiological decommissioning activities, and also to pay for spent fuel
management and site restoration activities. Therefore, the NRC staff
finds that Entergy has provided reasonable assurance that adequate
funds will be available for the radiological decommissioning of
Pilgrim, even with the disbursement of funds from the DTF for spent
fuel management and site restoration activities. Consequently, the NRC
staff concludes that application of the 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A)
requirement that funds from the DTF only be used for radiological
decommissioning activities and not for spent fuel management and site
restoration activities is not necessary to achieve the underlying
purpose of the rule; thus, special circumstances are present supporting
approval of the exemption request.
By granting the exemption to 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A), the NRC
staff considers that withdrawals consistent with the licensee's
submittal dated November 16, 2018, are authorized. As stated
previously, the NRC staff has determined that there are sufficient
funds in the DTF to complete radiological decommissioning activities as
well as to conduct spent fuel management and site restoration
activities consistent with the Post[dash]Shutdown Decommissioning
Activities Report, decommissioning cost estimate, Spent Fuel Management
Plan, and the November 16, 2018, exemption request. Pursuant to the
requirements in 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(v) and (vii), licensees are required
to monitor and annually report to the NRC the status of the DTF and the
licensee's funding for managing spent fuel. These reports provide the
NRC staff with awareness of, and the ability to take action on, any
actual or potential funding deficiencies. Additionally, 10 CFR
50.82(a)(8)(vi) requires that the annual financial assurance status
report must include additional financial assurance to cover the
estimated cost of completion if the sum of the balance of any remaining
decommissioning funds, plus earnings on such funds calculated at not
greater than a 2 percent real rate of return, together with the amount
provided by other financial assurance methods being relied upon, does
not cover the estimated cost to complete the decommissioning. The
requested exemption would not allow the withdrawal of funds from the
DTF for any other purpose that is not currently authorized in the
regulations without prior notification to the NRC.
Special circumstances, in accordance with 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(iii),
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 licensee states that the DTF
contains funds in excess of the estimated costs of radiological
decommissioning and that these excess funds are needed for spent fuel
management and site restoration activities. The NRC does not preclude
the use of funds from the decommissioning trust in excess of those
needed for radiological decommissioning for other purposes, such as
spent fuel management or site restoration activities.
The NRC has stated that funding for spent fuel management and site
restoration activities may be commingled in the DTF, provided that the
licensee is able to identify and account for the radiological
decommissioning funds separately from the funds set aside for spent
fuel management and site restoration activities (see NRC Regulatory
Issue Summary 2001-07, Rev. 1, ``10 CFR 50.75 Reporting and
Recordkeeping for Decommissioning Planning,'' dated January 8, 2009
(ADAMS Accession No. ML083440158), and Regulatory Guide 1.184, Revision
1, ``Decommissioning of Nuclear Power Reactors,'' dated October 2013
(ADAMS Accession No. ML13144A840)). Preventing access to those excess
funds in the DTF because spent fuel management and site restoration
activities are not associated with radiological decommissioning would
create an unnecessary financial burden without any corresponding safety
benefit. The adequacy of the DTF to cover the cost of activities
associated with spent fuel management and site restoration, in addition
to radiological decommissioning, is supported by the site-specific
decommissioning cost analysis. If the licensee cannot use its DTF for
spent fuel management and site restoration activities, it would need to
obtain additional funding that would not be recoverable from the DTF,
or the licensee would have to modify its decommissioning approach and
methods. The NRC staff concludes that either outcome would impose an
unnecessary and undue burden significantly in excess of that
contemplated when 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) was adopted.
The underlying purposes of 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) would be
achieved by allowing Entergy to use a portion of the Pilgrim DTF for
spent fuel management and site restoration activities, and compliance
with the regulation would result in an undue hardship or other costs
that are significantly in excess of those contemplated when the
regulations were adopted. Thus, the special circumstances required by
10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii) and 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(iii) exist and support
the approval of the requested exemption.
E. Environmental Considerations
In accordance with 10 CFR 51.31(a), the Commission has determined
that the granting of the exemption will not have a significant effect
on the quality of the
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human environment (see Environmental Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact published in the Federal Register on July 1, 2019
(84 FR 31356).
IV. Conclusions.
In consideration of the above, the NRC staff finds that the
proposed exemption confirms the adequacy of funding in the Pilgrim DTF,
considering growth, to complete radiological decommissioning of the
site and to terminate the license and also to cover estimated spent
fuel management and site restoration activities.
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 Entergy exemption from the 10
CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) requirement to allow use of a portion of the
funds from the Pilgrim DTF for spent fuel management and site
restoration activities in accordance with the Pilgrim
Post[dash]Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report and
decommissioning cost estimate, dated November 16, 2018, as supplemented
by letter dated January 9, 2019.
This exemption is effective upon issuance.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd day of July, 2019.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Craig G. Erlanger,
Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2019-15961 Filed 7-26-19; 8:45 am]
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