[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 102 (Wednesday, May 27, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31818-31821]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-11347]
[[Page 31818]]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-289; NRC-2020-0122]
Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Three Mile Island Nuclear
Station, Unit 1
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Exemption; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a
partial exemption in response to a July 12, 2019, request from Exelon
Generation Company, LLC (the licensee). The issuance of the exemption
grants the licensee a partial exemption from regulations that require
the retention of records for certain systems, structures, and
components associated with Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1,
until the termination of its operating license.
DATES: The exemption was issued on May 19, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2020-0122 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-2020-0122. 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 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: Justin C. Poole, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-2048, email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the exemption is attached.
Dated: May 21, 2020.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James S. Kim,
Project Manager, Projects Licensing Branch I, Division of Operating
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
Attachment: Exemption
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Docket No. 50-289
Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit
1
Exemption
Exelon Generation Company, LLC (Exelon or the licensee) is the
holder of Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-50 for Three Mile
Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1 (TMI-1). 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 or the
Commission) now or hereafter in effect. The TMI-1 facility is located
in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.
By letter dated June 20, 2017 (Agencywide Documents Access and
Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML17171A151), Exelon submitted
a certification in accordance with Section 50.82(a)(1)(i) of Title 10
of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), stating its determination
to permanently cease operations at TMl-1 no later than September 30,
2019. By letter dated September 26, 2019 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML19269E480), Exelon submitted to the NRC a certification in accordance
with 10 CFR 50.82(a)(1)(ii), stating that as of September 26, 2019, all
fuel had been permanently removed from the TMl-1 reactor vessel.
However, the licensee is still authorized to possess and store
irradiated nuclear fuel. Irradiated fuel is currently being stored
onsite in a spent fuel pool (SFP). TMI-1 is currently designing and
constructing an independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI)
facility, which is expected to be completed in early 2021 and that will
allow for dry cask storage. The irradiated fuel will be stored in the
ISFSI until it is shipped offsite. 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 July 12, 2019 (ADAMS Accession No. ML19193A005),
Exelon submitted a partial exemption request for NRC approval from the
record retention requirements of: (1) 10 CFR part 50, Appendix B,
Criterion XVII, 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 is 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 spent fuel pool and the TMI-1 license no
longer allows storage of fuel in the SFP. The licensee cites record
retention partial exemptions granted to Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating
Station (ADAMS Accession No. ML18122A306); Millstone Power Station,
Unit 1 (ADAMS Accession No. ML070110567); Zion Nuclear Power Station,
Units 1 and 2 (ADAMS Accession No. ML111260277); Vermont Yankee Nuclear
Power Station (ADAMS Accession No. ML15344A243); San Onofre Nuclear
Generating Station, Units 1, 2, and 3 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML15355A055); Kewaunee Power Station (ADAMS Accession No. ML17069A394);
and Fort Calhoun Station (ADAMS Accession No. ML17172A730), 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
TMI-1 license. In addition, the licensee did not request an exemption
[[Page 31819]]
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 TMI-1 reactor facility SSCs are planned to be abandoned
in place pending dismantlement. Abandoned SSCs will no longer be
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 July 12, 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 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.
Exelon's general justification for eliminating records associated
with TMI-1 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 TMI-1 functions regulated by the NRC. Exelon's
decommissioning plans for TMI-1 are described in the Post Shutdown
Decommissioning Activities Report dated April 5, 2019 (ADAMS Accession
No. ML19095A041). 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 by NRC-
approved TS changes, as applicable); revising the defueled safety
analysis report and/or UFSAR as necessary; and then proceeding with an
orderly dismantlement.
Exelon intends to retain the records required by its license as the
state of the facility transitions through decommissioning. However,
equipment abandonment will obviate the regulatory and business needs
for maintenance of most records. As the SSCs are removed from the
licensing basis, Exelon asserts that the need for its records is, on a
practical basis, eliminated. Therefore, Exelon is requesting partial
exemptions from the associated records retention requirements for SSCs
and historical activities that are no longer relevant. Exelon is not
requesting to be exempted 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. The Exemption Is 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 staff has determined
that special circumstances exist to grant the partial exemption. In
addition, granting the licensee's proposed partial exemption 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. The Exemption Presents 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 SSCs
would not present an undue risk to 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. The Exemption is 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 exemption requested is 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
[[Page 31820]]
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) of 10 CFR 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 Appendix B to 10 CFR part 50 states, in part:
``Sufficient records shall be maintained to furnish evidence of
activities affecting quality.''
Paragraph 50.59(d)(3) of 10 CFR 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) of 10 CFR, 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 that 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, 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 TSs), 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. Therefore, special circumstances are
present that the NRC may consider, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii),
to grant the partial exemption request.
Records that 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 other 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. Therefore, special circumstances are present that 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 part 50 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
[[Page 31821]]
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 types 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 that 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 staff 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 TMI-1 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 partial exempted regulations are not associated with
construction, so there is no significant construction impact. The
partial exempted regulations do not concern the source term (i.e.,
potential amount of radiation involved for 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 exemption request.
IV. Conclusions
The NRC staff 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, following permanent
removal of the related SSCs and/or SFP from service, 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 has determined that the destruction of the identified records
at that time 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 are
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 TMI-1 SSCs that were safety-related or important to
safety have been or will have been removed from the licensing basis and
permanently removed from service prior to destruction of the related
records, the NRC staff 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 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 Exelon 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 TMI-1 only to
the extent necessary to allow the licensee to advance the schedule to
remove records associated with SSCs that have been or will have been
removed from NRC licensing basis prior to the destruction of the
related documents by appropriate change mechanisms (e.g., 10 CFR 50.59
or by NRC-approved license amendment request, as applicable).
This exemption is effective upon issuance.
Dated: May 19, 2020.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Craig G. Erlanger,
Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2020-11347 Filed 5-26-20; 8:45 am]
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