[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
[[Page 29989]]
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
[[Page 29991]]
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
[[Page 29992]]
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