[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 143 (Friday, July 24, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44933-44936]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-16116]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-333; NRC-2020-0130]


Exelon Generation Company, LLC James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power 
Plant

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Exemption; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued an 
exemption in response to an August 8, 2019, request from Exelon 
Generation Company, LLC (Exelon or the licensee). The licensee 
requested that the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant be granted 
a permanent exemption from regulations regarding the containment leak 
rate test to exclude the main steam isolation valve leakage from the 
leakage rate test measurements.

DATES: The exemption was issued on July 21, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2020-0130 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document.

[[Page 44934]]

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-2020-0130. Address 
questions about NRC docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges; 
telephone: 301-287-9127; email: [email protected]. For technical 
questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section of this document.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS 
Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public 
Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or 
by email to [email protected]. The ADAMS accession number for each 
document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the first 
time that it is mentioned in this document. The NRC staff's approval is 
available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML20140A071.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Samson S. Lee, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-3168, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the exemption is attached.

    Dated: July 21, 2020.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samson S. Lee,
Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch I, Division of Operating 
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
    Attachment--Exemption.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Docket No. 50-333; Exelon Generation Company, LLC; James A. FitzPatrick 
Nuclear Power Plant

Exemption

I. Background

    Exelon Generation Company, LLC (Exelon or the licensee) is the 
holder of Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-59, which 
authorizes operation of the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant 
(FitzPatrick). The facility consists of a boiling-water reactor located 
in Oswego County, New York. 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.

II. Request/Action

    By letter dated August 8, 2019 (Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System Accession No. ML19220A043), the licensee requested an 
exemption from (1) the requirements of Appendix J, Option B, paragraph 
III.A to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50 
to allow exclusion of the main steam isolation valve (MSIV) leakage 
from the overall integrated leakage rate measured when performing a 
Type A Test, and (2) the requirements of Appendix J, Option B, 
paragraph III.B to 10 CFR part 50 to allow exclusion of the MSIV 
leakage rate of the penetration valves subject to Type B and C tests. 
This exemption is in conjunction with a license amendment request.
    Appendix J to 10 CFR part 50 specifies the leakage test 
requirements, schedules, and acceptance criteria for tests of the 
leaktight integrity of the primary reactor containment and systems and 
components that penetrate the containment.
    Appendix J, Option B, paragraph III.B to 10 CFR part 50 requires, 
in part, that the overall integrated leakage rate must not exceed the 
allowable leakage rate with margin as specified in the facility's TSs. 
The overall integrated leakage rate is defined in Appendix J to 10 CFR 
part 50 as ``the total leakage rate through all tested leakage paths, 
including containment welds, valves, fittings, and components that 
penetrate the containment system.'' This includes the contribution from 
MSIV leakage.
    Appendix J, Option B, paragraph III.B to 10 CFR part 50 requires, 
in part, that the sum of the leakage rates at accident pressure of Type 
B tests and pathway leakage rates from Type C tests be less than the 
performance criterion with margin, as specified in the facility's TSs. 
The licensee requests an exemption from this requirement to allow 
exclusion of the MSIV leakage rate of the penetration valves subject to 
Type B and C tests.
    Appendix J to 10 CFR part 50 testing ensures primary containment 
leakage following a design-basis loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) will 
be within the allowable leakage limits. The licensee requests this 
exemption because the radiological dose consequences of MSIV leakage 
for FitzPatrick are modeled as a separate primary containment release 
path to the environment that bypasses secondary containment. The LOCA 
dose calculation assumes all MSIV leakage migrates to the turbine 
building. However, if MSIV leakage were also included as part of the 
primary-to-secondary containment modeling, it would be ``double-
counted.''

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 (1) the exemptions are 
authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to public health and 
safety, and are consistent with the common defense and security; and 
(2) when special circumstances are present. Special circumstances are 
present whenever, according to 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(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 . . . .''

A. The Exemption Is Authorized by Law

    The exemption would permit exclusion of the MSIV contributions from 
the overall integrated leakage rate (Type A) test measurement and from 
the sum of the leakage rates from local leakage rate (Type B and C) 
tests.
    As stated above, 10 CFR 50.12 allows the NRC to grant exemptions 
from the requirements of Appendix J to 10 CFR part 50. The NRC staff 
has determined that granting of the licensee's proposed exemption will 
not result in a violation of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 
or the Commission's regulations. Therefore, the exemption is authorized 
by law.

B. The Exemption Presents No Undue Risk to Public Health and Safety

    The underlying purposes of Appendix J to 10 CFR part 50 are to 
assure that containment leaktight integrity is maintained (a) as tight 
as reasonably achievable, and (b) sufficiently tight so as to limit 
effluent release to values bounded by the analyses of radiological dose 
consequences of design-basis accidents.
    The licensee's exemption request was submitted in conjunction with 
an application for a TS amendment to increase the allowable leak rate 
for the MSIVs in adopting the alternative source term (AST) in 
accordance with 10 CFR 50.67. The amendment will be issued concurrently 
with this exemption as License Amendment No. 338. In the amendment, the 
NRC approves the use of the AST in the calculations of the radiological 
dose consequences of design-basis accidents for FitzPatrick. The MSIV 
leakage for the design-basis accident analysis has been accounted for 
separately from the overall leakage

[[Page 44935]]

associated with the primary containment boundary (Type A) and local 
leakage rate (Type B and C). The radiological dose consequence analysis 
evaluates the MSIV leakage separately as migration to the turbine 
building that bypasses the secondary containment. The inclusion of MSIV 
leakage as part of Type A and as part of Type B and C test results is 
not necessary to ensure the actual radiological dose consequences of 
design-basis accidents remain below the regulatory limit. With the 
exemption, the FitzPatrick primary containment leakage test program 
would more closely align with the assumptions used in associated 
accident consequence analyses. The exemption would not remove the MSIVs 
from the requirements of leakage testing. The MSIVs would continue to 
be tested under the FitzPatrick TS for primary containment leakage rate 
testing with an allowable leakage rate that is within the licensee's 
radiological dose analysis. Because the staff finds the licensee's 
radiological dose consequences meet the criteria in 10 CFR 50.67, the 
exemption presents no undue risk in public health and safety.

C. The Exemption Is Consistent With the Common Defense and Security

    The exemption would permit exclusion of the MSIV leakage 
contributions from the overall integrated leakage rate (Type A) test 
measurement and from the sum of the leakage rates from local leakage 
rate (Type B and C) tests. This change to accounting for leakage rate 
measurement has no relation to security issues. Therefore, the common 
defense and security is not impacted by this exemption.

D. Special Circumstances

    Special circumstances in accordance with 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2) are 
present whenever 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. The 
underlying purpose of 10 CFR part 50, Appendix J, Option B, paragraphs 
lll.A and III.B is to ensure the radiological consequences of design-
basis accidents remain below those previously evaluated and accepted, 
as demonstrated by the actual, periodic measurement of containment 
leakage (Type A) and local leakage rate measurement (Type B and C).
    Although Type A and Type B and C leakage tests measure the 
associated leakages, inclusion of the MSIV leakage results in double-
counting at FitzPatrick, once as a part of the actual containment 
leakage and again as part of MSIV leakage used in dose calculations. 
This is because FitzPatrick's radiological dose consequence analysis 
addresses MSIV leakage separately as migration to the turbine building 
that bypasses the secondary containment. The MSIV leakages are 
periodically measured as part of the Appendix J to the 10 CFR part 50 
program to ensure the leakage rates will not exceed the TS limit, which 
is the maximum rate assumed in the safety analysis for radiological 
dose consequences. Since the MSIV leakage is considered a separate 
leakage path and its effects are specifically accounted for in the dose 
analysis, it is appropriate to exclude MSIV leakage from Type A and 
Type B and C test result totals. Therefore, requiring inclusion of MSIV 
leakage in the Type A and Type B and C leakage is not necessary to 
achieve the underlying purpose of the rule.
    Because compliance with 10 CFR part 50, Appendix J, Option B, 
paragraphs lII.A and III.B, is not necessary to achieve the underlying 
purpose of the requirements, the special circumstances required by 10 
CFR 50.12(a)(2) for the granting of an exemption from 10 CFR part 50, 
Appendix J, Option B, paragraphs III.A and III.B exist.

IV. Environmental Considerations

    The NRC staff determined that the issuance of the requested 
exemption meets the provisions for a categorical exclusion from the 
preparation of an environmental impact statement or environmental 
assessment, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(c)(9), because the exemption is 
from a requirement with respect to the installation or use of a 
facility component located within the restricted area, as defined in 10 
CFR part 20, and the issuance of the exemption involves: (i) No 
significant hazards consideration, (ii) no significant change in the 
types or significant increase in the amounts of any effluents that may 
be released offsite, and (iii) no significant increase in individual or 
cumulative occupational radiation exposure. Therefore, in accordance 
with 10 CFR 51.22(b), no environmental impact statement or 
environmental assessment need be prepared in connection with the NRC's 
issuance of this exemption. The basis for the NRC staff's determination 
is provided in the following evaluation of the requirements in 10 CFR 
51.22(c)(9)(i) through (iii).

Requirements in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(9)(i)

    The NRC staff evaluated whether the exemption involves no 
significant hazards consideration by using the standards in 10 CFR 
50.92(c), as presented below:
    1. Does the requested exemption involve a significant increase in 
the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated?
    No. The proposed exemption would allow FitzPatrick to exclude the 
MSIV leakage contributions from the overall integrated leakage rate 
(Type A) test measurement and from the sum of the leakage rates from 
local leakage rate (Type B and C) tests as required by 10 CFR part 50, 
Appendix J. The licensee's evaluation of the allowable leakage rate for 
the MSIVs is based on adopting the AST in accordance with 10 CFR 50.67. 
The MSIV leakage is treated separately from the remainder of the 
assumed leakage from primary containment in the LOCA analysis. The 
Appendix J to 10 CFR part 50 testing ensures primary containment 
leakage following a design-basis LOCA will be within the allowable 
leakage limits specified in the facility's TSs and assumed in the 
safety analysis for determining radiological dose consequences. The 
MSIV leakage effluent would be treated as a different pathway to the 
environment when compared to a typical containment penetration. The 
MSIV leakage would bypass secondary containment and instead would 
migrate to the turbine building. The proposed exemption from Appendix J 
to 10 CFR part 50 would separate MSIV leakage from other containment 
leakage and is consistent with the radiological dose consequence 
analysis. Otherwise, the MSIV leakage would be ``double-counted'' 
because of the different pathways. Since design-basis accident 
initiators are not being altered by the proposed exemption, the 
probability of an accident previously evaluated is not affected. Also, 
the consequences of previously evaluated accidents remain within the 
regulatory limits.
    Therefore, the proposed exemption does not involve a significant 
increase in the probability or consequences of an accident previously 
evaluated.
    2. Does the requested exemption create the possibility of a new or 
different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated?
    No. The underlying purpose of Appendix J to 10 CFR part 50 is to 
ensure that the radiological dose consequences of design-basis 
accidents remain below the applicable regulatory limits and are 
supported by the actual periodic measurement of containment leakage. 
The proposed exemption would treat the MSIV leakage separately from the 
remainder of the assumed leakage from primary containment based on the 
radiological dose consequence analysis

[[Page 44936]]

in accordance with 10 CFR 50.67. No plant configuration changes are 
required. Measuring the MSIV leakage separately to ensure it is within 
limits of the radiological dose consequence analysis does not create 
initiators or precursors of a new or different kind of accident.
    Therefore, the proposed exemption does not create the possibility 
of a new or different kind of accident from any previously evaluated.
    3. Does the requested exemption involve a significant reduction in 
a margin of safety?
    No. The proposed exemption from Appendix J to 10 CFR part 50 would 
separate MSIV leakage from other containment leakage based on the 
radiological dose consequence analysis for the design-basis LOCA 
through application of the AST (10 CFR 50.67). Safety margins have been 
evaluated and analytical conservatisms have been utilized to ensure 
that the radiological dose consequence analysis adequately bounds the 
postulated limiting event scenario. Approval of the proposed exemption 
request would align the FitzPatrick TS limits with the LOCA dose 
consequence analysis.
    Therefore, the proposed exemption does not involve a significant 
reduction in a margin of safety.
    Based on the evaluation above, the NRC staff has determined that 
the proposed exemption involves no significant hazards consideration. 
Therefore, the requirements of 10 CFR 51.22(c)(9)(i) are met.

Requirements in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(9)(ii) and (iii)

    The proposed exemption would allow FitzPatrick to treat MSIV 
leakage separately from other containment leakage. The MSIV leakage for 
the FitzPatrick design-basis accident analysis has been accounted for 
separately in the AST analysis. Approval of the proposed exemption 
request would align the TS limits with the radiological dose 
consequence calculation. The exemption does not modify plant 
operations. The MSIVs would continue to be tested under the FitzPatrick 
TS for primary containment leakage rate testing with an allowable 
leakage rate that is within the licensee's radiological dose analysis. 
Because the NRC staff finds the MSIV leakage radiological dose 
consequence analysis meets the limits in 10 CFR 50.67, 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 occupational radiation exposure. 
Therefore, the requirements of 10 CFR 51.22(c)(9)(ii) and (iii) are 
met.

V. Conclusions.

    Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 
50.12, the exemption is authorized by law, will not present an undue 
risk to the public health and safety, and is consistent with the common 
defense and security; also, special circumstances are present. 
Therefore, the Commission hereby grants to Exelon an exemption from the 
requirements of 10 CFR part 50, Appendix J, Option B, paragraphs lll.A 
and III.B, for FitzPatrick.
Dated: July 21, 2020.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Gregory F. Suber,
Deputy Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2020-16116 Filed 7-23-20; 8:45 am]
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