[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 226 (Monday, November 29, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67729-67730]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25887]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-133 and 72-027; NRC-2021-0205]


Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Humboldt Bay Power Plant, Unit 
3

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: License termination; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is noticing the 
termination of the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) Humboldt Bay 
Power Plant, Unit 3 (HBPP, Unit 3) Facility Operating License, No. DPR-
7, located near Eureka, California.

DATES: The license termination for DPR-7 was issued on November 18, 
2021.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2021-0205 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-2021-0205. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 
telephone: 301-415-0624; 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]. See the request dated October 21, 
2021 (ADAMS Accession No. ML21294A421) and the NRC staff's Safety 
Evaluation Report (SER) (ADAMS Accession No. ML21295A251). Documents 
identified in the notice are available to interested

[[Page 67730]]

persons through ADAMS, as indicated in the SER.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's PDR, Room P1 B35, One White 
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make 
an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to 
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 
8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (ET), Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy M. Snyder, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-6822, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Humboldt Bay Power Plant, Unit 3 (HBPP, Unit 3 or the facility), 
was a 65- Megawatt electric Boiling Water Reactor, which was last 
operated in 1976, and was permanently defueled in 1984.
    The HBPP, Unit 3 is located about four miles true southwest of the 
city of Eureka, Humboldt County, California, and consists of 
approximately 113 acres of land. PG&E, the licensee, is operating 
Humboldt Bay Generating Station, a new dual fueled (natural gas and 
diesel) power plant, on the Humboldt Bay site adjacent to the south 
side of the facility. The Humboldt Bay Independent Spent Fuel Storage 
Installation (ISFSI) is located on site approximately 600 feet 
northwest of the Humboldt Bay Generating Station.
    On May 4, 2016, in response to PG&E's application dated May 3, 
2013, as supplemented on February 14, March 31, April 2, and August 13, 
of 2014, and March 16, 2015, the Commission issued license Amendment 
No. 45. Among other things, this license amendment approved HBPP, Unit 
3's License Termination Plan (LTP), incorporated it into HBPP, Unit 3's 
license, specified limits to the changes the licensee could make 
without prior NRC approval. Since the issuance of Amendment No. 45 and 
the approval of the HBPP, Unit 3 LTP, the NRC staff has reviewed Final 
Status Survey Reports (FSSRs) of several survey units associated with 
HBPP, Unit 3. During its review, the NRC staff noted that the licensee 
had not accounted for either all its Radionuclides of Concern (ROCs) or 
its insignificant radionuclides in a manner consistent with the LTP. 
When asked about these issues, the licensee responded with additional 
data. By letter dated February 8, 2021, as supplemented on April 29, 
and May 20, 2021, PG&E also submitted a request to amend License No. 
DPR-7 for HBPP, Unit 3 to change how it assesses insignificant/hard-to-
detect (HTD) ROCs. The NRC approved the amended LTP by a license 
amendment, dated June 24, 2021, as corrected on July 8, 2021.
    The licensee conducted decommissioning activities at HBPP, Unit 3 
in accordance with the approved LTP from May 2016 to July 2021. In 
accordance with the approved LTP, the licensee conducted Final Status 
Surveys (FSSs) to demonstrate that site, excluding the ISFSI, meet the 
criteria for unrestricted release as presented in Section 20.1402 of 
title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR). Details of the 
FSS results were submitted to the NRC FSSRs. These reports are listed 
in Table 2 of the SER.
    PG&E submitted a request for termination of the HBPP, Unit 3 
Facility Operating License, No. DPF-7, on October 21, 2021. The 
application states that PG&E has completed the remaining radiological 
decommissioning and FSSs of the HBPP, Unit 3 site in accordance with 
the NRC approved LTP, and that the FSSs demonstrate that the site 
(entire site, excluding the ISFSI), meet the criteria for 
decommissioning and release of the site for unrestricted use in 
accordance with 10 CFR part 20, subpart E.
    The NRC conducted performance-based in-process inspections of the 
licensee's FSS program, identified in Table 1 of the SER, during the 
decommissioning process. The purpose of the inspections was to verify 
that the FSSs were being conducted in accordance with the commitments 
made by the licensee in the LTP, and to evaluate the quality of the 
FSSs by reviewing the FSS procedures, methodology, equipment, surveyor 
training and qualifications, document quality control, and survey data 
supporting the FSSRs. In addition, the NRC conducted numerous 
independent confirmatory surveys to verify the FSS results obtained and 
reported by the licensee. Confirmatory surveys consisted of surface 
scans for beta and gamma radiation, direct measurements for total beta 
activity, and collection of smear samples for determining removable 
radioactivity levels.
    The NRC staff reviewed the FSS report and concludes that: (i) The 
remaining dismantlement has been performed in accordance with the 
approved LTP; (ii) the FSSs and associated documentation, including an 
assessment of dose contributions associated with parts released for use 
before approval of the LTP, demonstrate that the entire site, excluding 
the ISFSI, have met the criteria for decommissioning in 10 CFR part 20, 
subpart E; and (iii) PG&E has met the 10 CFR part 30, 40, and 70 
requirements for forwarding specific records to NRC prior to license 
termination. Therefore, NRC is terminating HBPP, Unit 3 Facility 
Operating License No. DPR-7.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

    Dated: November 22, 2021.
Ashley B. Roberts,
Acting Division Director, Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste 
Programs, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2021-25887 Filed 11-26-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P