[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 115 (Monday, June 15, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36243-36245]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-12846]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 72-1032, 72-78, 50-317 and 50-318; NRC-2020-0113]
Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power
Station, Units 1 and 2; Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation
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 request submitted by Exelon Generation
Company, LLC (EGC) on October 3, 2019, for the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear
Power Plant (CCNPP). This exemption would permit CCNPP to load and
store spent fuel with a larger pellet diameter than is authorized in
the Holtec International, Inc. (Holtec) HI-STORM FW storage system in
Certificate of Compliance No. 1032, Amendment 1, Revision 1.
DATES: The exemption was issued on June 8, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2020-0113 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-2020-0113. Address
questions about NRC docket IDs 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 in this document (if that document is available in
ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is referenced.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Allen, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-6877; email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
CCNPP has been storing PWR spent fuel in its specific licensed
independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) utilizing Special
Nuclear Materials License No. SNM-2505, which was issued in November
1992. However, for the loading campaign commencing in early summer of
2021, CCNPP is transitioning to store its PWR fuel at a separate on-
site ISFSI, which will use the HI-STORM FW dry storage system,
Certificate of Compliance No. 1032, Amendment No. 1, Revision 1 (ADAMS
Package Accession No. ML15152A358) under the general license provisions
in part 72 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR).
Although the HI-STORM FW storage system is approved for a fuel pellet
diameter of 0.3805 inches (0.9665 centimeters), some of the CCNPP spent
fuel assemblies would be precluded from being loaded in an upcoming
loading campaign because they have fuel pellets with a maximum diameter
of 0.3810 inches (0.9677 centimeters).
II. Request/Action
By application dated October 3, 2019 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML19276D398), EGC submitted a request for an exemption from those
provisions of 10 CFR 72.212(b)(3) and 72.212(b)(11) that require
compliance with the terms, conditions, and specifications of
Certificate of Compliance No. 1032, Amendment No. 1, Revision 1 to
allow CCNPP to load spent fuel with a maximum fuel pellet diameter of
0.3810 inches (0.9677 centimeters), utilizing Amendment No. 1, Revision
1 for the Holtec HI-STORM FW storage system. In evaluating the request,
the NRC also considered, pursuant to authority in 10 CFR 72.7,
exempting Exelon from similar requirements in 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2) and
(b)(5)(i) and 10 CFR 72.214, ``List of approved spent fuel storage
casks.''
III. Discussion
Pursuant to 10 CFR 72.7, the Commission may, upon application by
any interested person or upon its own initiative, grant such exemptions
from the requirements of the regulations of 10 CFR part 72 as it
determines are authorized by law and will not endanger life or property
or the common defense and security, and are otherwise in the public
interest.
The NRC staff prepared a safety evaluation report (ADAMS Accession
No. ML20115E378) to document its safety evaluation of the proposed
action (i.e., granting an exemption to authorize loading spent fuel
with a maximum fuel pellet diameter of 0.3810 inches (0. 9677
centimeters)), to assure that the exemption is authorized by law, will
protect life or property or the common defense and security and are
otherwise in the public interest. As summarized in this document, the
NRC's safety review concludes that the requested exemption meets the
requirements for issuance in 10 CFR 72.7.
[[Page 36244]]
A. The Exemption Is Authorized by Law
This exemption would permit CCNPP to load spent fuel with a larger
fuel pellet diameter than authorized in Certificate of Compliance No.
1032, Amendment No. 1, Revision 1. Section 72.7 allows the Commission
to grant exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR part 72 if the
exemption is authorized by law and will not endanger life or property
or the common defense and security. Issuance of this exemption is
consistent with the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and is not
otherwise inconsistent with NRC's regulations or other applicable laws.
Therefore, issuance of the exemption is authorized by law.
B. Will Not Endanger Life or Property or the Common Defense and
Security
As discussed in the safety evaluation report and summarized in the
following sections, the NRC staff has found that EGC's proposed action
is acceptable and will not endanger life or property or the common
defense and security.
Safety Review of the Requested Exemption
EGC submitted an exemption request to deviate from the maximum fuel
pellet diameter for 14x14C fuel, stored in the Holtec HI-STORM FW
storage system. The staff reviewed the exemption request and concludes
that the proposed exemption from certain requirements of 10 CFR part 72
will not cause the HI-STORM FW storage system to encounter conditions
beyond those for which it has been evaluated and demonstrated to meet
the applicable safety requirements in 10 CFR part 72. As explained
below, the staff evaluated the potential thermal, radiation and
criticality safety impacts of granting the exemption.
Thermal
EGC stated that the small change in fuel pellet diameter, which is
used in the effective fuel thermal conductivity calculations, has a
second order impact on the effective fuel thermal properties, and that
a larger fuel pellet diameter reduces the resistance to heat transfer
by decreasing the helium gap between the fuel pellet and cladding. In
addition, EGC asserted that the 14x14C fuel assembly is bounded by the
WE 17x17 fuel assembly adopted in the licensing basis analyses. Staff
reviewed the information provided and concluded that the impact of
loading a fuel pellet with a slightly increased diameter is negligible
to the thermal design functions of the loaded cask. Staff also reviewed
the HI-STORM FW final safety analysis report (FSAR) and confirmed that
the heat load of the 14x14C fuel assembly is bounded by the head load
of the 17x17 fuel assembly.
Shielding
EGC evaluated the impact of increasing the fuel pellet diameter
from 0.3805 inches (0.9665 cm) to 0.3810 inches (0.9677 cm). EGC
determined that the small increase in heavy metal from 438 kg to 439.15
kg caused by increasing the fuel pellet diameter is conservatively
bounded by the uranium weight for the design basis fuel assembly in
Table 5.2.1 of the HI-STORM FW FSAR of 469 kg. The staff reviewed this
information and determined that the proposed change to the fuel pellet
diameter will not significantly change the system shielding analyses in
the HI-STORM FW FSAR. Further, the staff determined that the WE17X17
design basis fuel assembly in the HI-STORM FW FSAR with 469 kg of heavy
metal bounds the CCNPP 14X14C fuel assemblies with 439.15 kg of heavy
metal since the system shielding analyses in the FSAR also bound the
expected increase in radiation from the slightly larger fuel pellets.
Criticality
EGC stated that Holtec evaluated a fuel pellet diameter of 0.3805
inches (0.9665 cm) in the HI-STORM FW FSAR, to determine the effect of
an upper manufacturing tolerance of 0.0005 inches (0.0013 cm) applied
to the nominal value of 0.3805 inches (0.9665 cm). In that final safety
analysis report, Holtec determined that the system k-effective with
this larger diameter of fuel pellet is statistically the same as the
system k-effective with the nominal fuel pellet diameter. Therefore,
EGC stated that its proposed exemption has no effect on the criticality
safety of the HI-STORM FW storage system. The staff reviewed the final
safety analysis report and determined that the proposed change to the
fuel pellet diameter will not result in changes to system k-effective
that are statistically significant. The staff finds that this proposed
exemption does not affect the ability of the HI-STORM FW storage system
to meet the criticality safety requirements of 10 CFR part 72.
Review of Common Defense and Security
EGC's exemption request is not related to any aspect of the
physical security or defense of the CCNPP ISFSI. Modification of the
fuel pellet diameter does not affect the ISFSI security plans.
Therefore, granting the exemption would not result in any potential
impacts to common defense and security.
Based on its review, the NRC staff has determined that under the
requested exemption, the storage system will continue to meet the
safety requirements of 10 CFR part 72 and the offsite dose limits of 10
CFR part 20 and, therefore, will not endanger life or property. The NRC
staff also found that the exemption would not endanger the common
defense and security.
D. Otherwise in the Public Interest
In determining whether the exemption is in the public interest, the
staff considered the no-action alternative of denying the exemption
request. Denial of the exemption request would cause CCNPP to postpone
loading of spent fuel that contains the larger fuel pellet diameter
until it is approved in an amendment for CoC No. 1032 or alternative
loading arrangements are implemented.
EGC stated that the proposed exemption is in the public interest
because it would allow CCNPP to load spent fuel in an inherently safe,
passive system on schedule, which would enable CCNPP to continue to
maintain full-core offload capability. The staff reviewed the
information provided by EGC, and based upon the above stated
information, concludes that granting the requested exemption continues
to provide adequate protection of public health and safety and is
otherwise in the public interest.
E. Environmental Considerations
The NRC staff also considered whether there would be any
significant environmental impacts associated with the exemption. For
this proposed action, the NRC staff performed an environmental
assessment pursuant to 10 CFR 51.30. The environmental assessment
concluded that the proposed action would not significantly impact the
quality of the human environment. The NRC staff concluded that the
proposed action would not result in any changes in the types or amounts
of any radiological or non-radiological effluents that may be released
offsite, and there is no significant increase in occupational or public
radiation exposure because of the proposed action. The environmental
assessment and the finding of no significant impact was published on
June 1, 2020 (85 FR 33204).
IV. Conclusion
Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR
72.7, this exemption is authorized by law, will not endanger life or
property
[[Page 36245]]
or the common defense and security, and is otherwise in the public
interest. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants EGC an exemption from
those provisions of 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2), (b)(3), and (b)(5)(i), 10 CFR
72.214, and the portion of 10 CFR 72.212(b)(11) that require compliance
with terms, conditions, and specifications of the Certificate of
Compliance No. 1032, Amendment No. 1, Revision 1 for the CCNPP to load
spent fuel with a maximum fuel pellet diameter of 0.3810 inches (0.9677
centimeters) in the HI-STORM FW storage system using Certificate of
Compliance No. 1032, Amendment No. 1, Revision 1.
The exemption is effective upon issuance.
Dated: June 10, 2020.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John B. McKirgan,
Chief, Storage and Transportation Licensing Branch, Division of Fuel
Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2020-12846 Filed 6-12-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P