[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 97 (Tuesday, May 19, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29988-29992]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-10742]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-331; NRC-2020-0046]


NextEra Energy Duane Arnold, LLC; Duane Arnold Energy Center

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 January 16, 2020, request from 
NextEra Energy Duane Arnold, LLC (the licensee or NEDA). The issuance 
of the exemption grants NEDA a partial exemption from regulations that 
require the retention of records for certain systems, structures, and 
components associated with the Duane Arnold Energy Center (DAEC) until 
the termination of the DAEC operating license.

DATES: The exemption was issued on May 12, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2020-0046 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-2020-0046. 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

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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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mahesh L. Chawla, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-8371; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the exemption is attached.

    Dated: May 14, 2020.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Mahesh L. Chawla,
Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch III, Division of Operating 
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

Attachment--Exemption

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Docket No. 50-331

NextEra Energy Duane Arnold, LLC

Duane Arnold Energy Center

Exemption

I. Background

    The Duane Arnold Energy Center (DAEC) is a single boiling-water 
reactor located in Linn County, Iowa. NextEra Energy Duane Arnold, LLC 
(NEDA, the licensee) holds renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-
49 for DAEC. The license provides 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 January 18, 2019 (Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML19023A196), NEDA submitted a 
notification to the NRC indicating that it would permanently shut down 
the DAEC in the fourth quarter of 2020. NEDA's letter also stated that 
NEDA would submit a supplement with the date on which DAEC would cease 
operations following a grid reliability review by the Midcontinent 
Independent System Operator, Inc. Once NEDA certifies that it has 
permanently defueled the DAEC reactor vessel and placed the fuel in the 
spent fuel pool (SFP), pursuant to Section 50.82(a)(2) of Title 10 of 
the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), the DAEC renewed facility 
operating license will no longer authorize operation of the reactor or 
emplacement or retention of fuel in the reactor vessel. However, the 
licensee will still be 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. When the reactor is defueled, the reactor, the 
reactor coolant system, and the 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 January 16, 2020 (ADAMS Accession No. ML20016A380), 
NEDA 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 
(TS), 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 TSs 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 DAEC 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 
DAEC 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 DAEC 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 January 16, 2020, partial exemption request, 
the licensee stated that the basis for eliminating records associated 
with reactor facility SSCs and activities is that these SSCs 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.

[[Page 29990]]

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 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 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.
    NEDA's general justification for eliminating records associated 
with DAEC SSCs that have been or will be removed from service under the 
NRC license, dismantled, or demolished, is that these SSCs will not 
serve any future DAEC functions regulated by the NRC. NEDA will 
describe its decommissioning plans for DAEC in the Post Shutdown 
Decommissioning Activities Report which it will submit under a separate 
letter.
    NEDA 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, NEDA asserts 
that the need for their records is, on a practical basis, eliminated. 
Therefore, NEDA is requesting partial exemptions from the associated 
records retention requirements for SSCs and historical activities that 
are no longer relevant. Approval of the partial exemption request would 
eliminate the associated burden of retaining records for SSCs that are 
no longer part of the DAEC licensing basis. NEDA is not requesting to 
be exempt 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. Additionally, 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.

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 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, which NEDA currently plans to 
use, 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 in that they 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; 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 [TSs] must be retained for the period specified by the 
appropriate regulation, license condition, or [TS]. 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

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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 means. 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 that would be subject to removal, if the partial 
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 TS), SSCs are no longer governed by the NRC's regulations and, 
therefore, are not subject to compliance with the safety and health 
aspects of the nuclear environment. As such, retention of records 
associated with SSCs that are or will no longer be part of the facility 
serves no safety or regulatory purpose, nor does it serve the 
underlying purpose of the rule of maintaining compliance with the 
safety and health aspects of the nuclear environment in order to 
accomplish the NRC's mission. Accordingly, special circumstances are 
present which the NRC may consider, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii), 
to grant the requested partial 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 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 could 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

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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 DAEC 
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 in 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 compliance and noncompliance, taking 
action on possible noncompliance, and examining facts following an 
incident. Since the DAEC SSCs that were safety-related or important to 
safety have been or will be removed from the licensing basis and 
removed from the plant, the staff agrees that the records identified in 
the partial exemption 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 NEDA 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 
DAEC 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 10 CFR 
50.82(a)(1).

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 12th day of May, 2020.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Craig G. Erlanger,
Director Division of Operating Reactor Licensing.
[FR Doc. 2020-10742 Filed 5-18-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P