[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 227 (Tuesday, November 30, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67981-67983]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25980]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-325 and 50-324; NRC-2021-0216]
Duke Energy Progress, LLC; Brunswick Steam Electric Plant, Units
1 and 2
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Exemption; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission)
is issuing an exemption in response to a request from Duke Energy
Progress, LLC (Duke Energy, the facility licensee), on behalf of an
individual named in the request, dated July 29, 2021, as supplemented
by letters dated August 26, 2021 and October 25, 2021. The exemption
permits a waiver of examination and test requirements for that
individual to be supported by extensive actual operating experience at
a comparable facility that occurred greater than 2 years before the
date of application, as opposed to the regulatory requirement that this
experience be within 2 years. The exemption is effective upon issuance,
but only applies to the specifically named individual.
DATES: The exemption was issued on November 23, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2021-0216 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-2021-0216. 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]. 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.
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: Andrew Hon, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001; telephone: 301-415-8480; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Duke Energy is the holder of Renewed Facility Operating License
Nos. DPR-71 and DPR-62, which authorize the operation of Brunswick
Steam Electric Plant, Units 1 and 2 (BSEP). BSEP consists of two
boiling-water reactors located in Brunswick County, North Carolina. The
licenses are subject to the rules, regulations, and orders of the NRC.
II. Request/Action
Part 55 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR),
``Operators' Licenses,'' specifies the procedures and criteria for the
issuance of licenses to operators and senior operators of utilization
facilities licensed under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, or
Section 202 of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended, and
10 CFR part 50, Part 52, or Part 54. Pursuant to 10 CFR 55.11,
``Specific exemptions,'' the Commission may, upon application by an
interested person, or upon its own initiative, grant such exemptions
from the requirements of the regulations in 10 CFR part 55 as it
determines are authorized by law and will not endanger life or property
and are otherwise in the public interest.
The specific requirements for written examinations and operating
tests for senior operator candidates are described in 10 CFR 55.43,
``Written examination: Senior operators,'' and 10 CFR 55.45,
``Operating tests,'' respectively. Additionally, 10 CFR 55.47, ``Waiver
of examination and test requirements,'' provides the criteria under
which the Commission may waive any or all of the requirements for a
written examination and operating test, upon application by a facility
licensee. One criterion is that the Commission must find that the
applicant ``[h]as had extensive actual operating experience at a
comparable facility, as determined by the Commission, within two years
before the date of application . . . .''
By letter dated July 29, 2021 (ADAMS Accession No. ML21211A003), as
supplemented by letters dated August 26, 2021 and October 25, 2021
(ADAMS Accession Nos. ML21238A332 and ML21298A166, respectively), the
facility licensee requested a one-time exemption from a specific
requirement in 10 CFR 55.47 on behalf of an individual who had
previously been licensed as a senior operator at BSEP. The facility
licensee stated that the application for this individual to be licensed
a second time as a senior operator at BSEP was submitted approximately
2 years and 1 month since the individual had last been licensed at
BSEP. Since 10 CFR 55.47 requires extensive actual operating experience
within the 2 years before the date of application, the facility
licensee requested a one-time exemption from this 2-year limit for the
individual.
III. Discussion
Pursuant to 10 CFR 55.11, the Commission may, upon application by
an interested person, or upon its own initiative, grant exemptions from
the requirements of 10 CFR part 55 as it determines (1) are authorized
by law, (2) will not endanger life or property, and (3) are otherwise
in the public interest.
The Exemption Is Authorized by Law
Exemptions are authorized by law where they are not expressly
prohibited by statute or regulation. A proposed exemption is implicitly
authorized by law if it will not endanger life or property and is
otherwise in the public interest and no other provisions in law
prohibit, or otherwise restrict, its application. The NRC has reviewed
the exemption request and finds that granting the proposed exemption
will not result in a violation of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as
amended, or other laws. Accordingly, the NRC finds that the exemption
is authorized by law.
[[Page 67982]]
The Exemption Will Not Endanger Life or Property
Pursuant to 10 CFR 55.33(a)(2), the Commission will approve an
initial application for a senior operator license if it finds, in part,
that the applicant has passed the requisite written examination and
operating test in accordance with 10 CFR 55.43 and 55.45. The written
examination and operating test determine whether the applicant has
learned to operate a facility, and to direct the licensed activities of
licensed operators at the facility, competently and safely. The
regulations in 10 CFR 55.47 allow for, instead, a waiver of the written
examination and operating test if the Commission finds that the
applicant:
(1) Has had extensive actual operating experience at a
comparable facility, as determined by the Commission, within two
years before the date of application;
(2) Has discharged his or her responsibilities competently and
safely and is capable of continuing to do so; and
(3) Has learned the operating procedures for and is qualified to
operate competently and safely the facility designated in the
application.
Regarding the application of the 10 CFR 55.47 criteria to the
specifically named individual (whose name is redacted and replaced with
``[[ ]]''), the facility licensee stated the following:
Mr. [[ ]] discharged his responsibilities competently and safely
during his nearly 6 years and 5 months as a licensed operator at
BSEP. Mr. [[ ]] was issued License No. OP-21982 for BSEP, Units 1
and 2, effective January 17, 2013. Subsequently, the license was
upgraded to SRO [senior operator] License No. SOP-501215, effective
September 20, 2017. Mr. [[ ]] voluntarily resigned and his SOP
License was terminated on June 13, 2019, when he left the company.
Along with his duties as a Control Room supervisor, Mr. [[ ]] served
as an instructor for the Brunswick Initial License Training Program
with a focus on Abnormal and Emergency Procedure training in the
simulator until his departure in June 2019.
. . . Since returning to BSEP on June 7, 2021, Mr. [[ ]] has
completed a training process of self-study and one-on-one
instruction, which included the licensed operator requalification
material for all training segments since his June 2019 departure.
Mr. [[ ]] then commenced attending licensed operator requalification
training in July 2021 and will continue in this training program.
As part of this additional training, Mr. [[ ]] spent a total of
168 hours on shift during June and July 2021 as follows:
(1) 36 hours as a non-licensed operator under the direction of
the qualified on-duty operators performing plant walk downs and
refamiliarization tours;
(2) 36 hours of shift functions under the direction of a Reactor
Operator in the position of Reactor Operator;
(3) 48 hours of shift functions under the direction of a Senior
Reactor Operator in the position of Control Room Supervisor; and
(4) 48 hours of Work Control Center functions under direction of
a Senior Reactor Operator.
At the completion of this additional training and on-shift time,
Mr. [[ ]] took and passed the annual licensed operator
requalification written, simulator operating, and Job Performance
Measure exams administered on July 7, 2021.
In accordance with 10 CFR 55.47(b) and (c), an authorized
representative of the facility licensee certified that the specifically
named individual's past performance and current qualifications meet the
criteria of 10 CFR 55.47(a). Specifically, the facility licensee
certified that the individual discharged his responsibilities
competently and safely and is capable of continuing to do so. The
facility licensee also certified that the individual has learned the
operating procedures for and is qualified to operate competently and
safely the facilities at BSEP. The certification included a description
of the individual's operating experience. Specifically, the individual
received a license as an operator of BSEP, Units 1 and 2 from January
2013, until upgrading the license to that of a senior operator in
September 2017. While at BSEP, the individual operated the controls of
the facilities, performed extensive licensed operator duties, and had
responsibilities commensurate with a licensed operator. The
individual's license was terminated in June 2019. The NRC received an
application for the individual to reinstate his license on July 29,
2021, approximately 1 month beyond the 2-year waiver limit of 10 CFR
55.47(a)(1). Since returning to BSEP, the individual completed self-
study, one-on-one instruction, requalification examinations, and 168
hours on-shift under the direction of on-duty operators. The individual
will continue training and examinations in the requalification program.
Based on the above, the NRC determined that the individual's
knowledge and abilities associated with the operation of BSEP
demonstrate, consistent with 10 CFR 55.47, that the individual has
learned to operate the facility, and to direct the licensed activities
of licensed operators at the facility, competently and safely,
notwithstanding the fact that their extensive actual operating
experience at the facility occurred approximately 1 month beyond the 2-
year waiver limit of 10 CFR 55.47(a)(1). Accordingly, the NRC finds
that the exemption will not endanger life or property.
The Exemption Is Otherwise in the Public Interest
The granting of the requested exemption is otherwise in the public
interest because it is a part of the facility licensee's ongoing
effort, consistent with the NRC's regulations, to avoid excessive use
of overtime by its licensed operators. The facility licensee stated
that it expected to need fatigue rule waivers of one or more work hour
controls, per 10 CFR 26.207, ``Waivers and exceptions,'' to maintain
licensed operator shift staffing. Worker fatigue at BSEP and in the
nuclear industry is a safety concern to the NRC and prompted the
Commission to amend 10 CFR part 26 in March 2008, to include new
requirements for facility licensees to establish written policies for
the management of fatigue for all individuals who are subject to a
facility licensee's fitness-for-duty program, including licensed
operators. Accordingly, 10 CFR 26.207(a)(2) states, ``To the extent
practicable, licensees shall rely on the granting of waivers only to
address circumstances that could not have been reasonably controlled. .
. .'' The facility licensee stated that all off-shift individuals with
operator licenses, both within operations staff and other departments,
are now reactivated and supporting shift overtime coverage and, to the
full extent possible, individuals with operator licenses have been
wholly rededicated to shift coverage. Furthermore, the facility
licensee has initiated a licensed operator class that is relatively
large (i.e., 30 candidates) with a currently scheduled licensing date
in February 2023. Nonetheless, the facility licensee stated that
fatigue rule waivers would still be needed before this date. The
facility licensee further stated that BSEP has already begun
experiencing temporary periods below the requirements of the Brunswick
On-Shift Staffing Analysis due to illness and that the majority of the
BSEP licensed operators are at their fatigue rule limits through the
end of 2021 without all future coverage yet filled.
The granting of the requested exemption would allow the re-
licensing of the specifically named individual, which would alleviate
the BSEP licensed operator staffing challenge over approximately 200
shifts through February 2023, the coverage of which would otherwise
require additional overtime and possibly fatigue rule waivers.
Therefore, delaying the individual's opportunity to be re-licensed
until the next examination date would not be in the public interest,
and the cost of preparing, approving, and
[[Page 67983]]
administering a special licensing examination before that date for the
individual would be substantial for both the facility licensee and the
NRC, without a commensurate benefit to life or property, as determined
above.
Based on the above, the NRC finds that the exemption is otherwise
in the public interest.
Environmental Considerations
The NRC's approval of the exemption is categorically excluded under
10 CFR 51.22(c)(25) and there are no special circumstances present that
would preclude reliance on this exclusion. The NRC staff determined,
per 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(vi)(E), that the requirements from which the
exemption is sought involve education, training, experience,
qualification, requalification, or other employment suitability
requirements. The NRC staff also determined that approval of the
exemption involves no significant hazards consideration because it does
not authorize any physical changes to the facility or any of its safety
systems, nor does it change any of the assumptions or limits used in
the facility licensee's safety analyses or introduce any new failure
modes. There is no significant change in the types or significant
increase in the amounts of any effluents that may be released offsite
because the exemption does not affect any effluent release limits as
provided in the facility licensee's technical specifications or by the
regulations in 10 CFR part 20, ``Standards for Protection Against
Radiation.'' There is no significant increase in individual or
cumulative public or occupational radiation exposure because the
exemption does not affect limits on the release of any radioactive
material, or the limits provided in 10 CFR part 20 for radiation
exposure to workers or members of the public. There is no significant
construction impact because the exemption does not involve any
construction activities or changes to a construction permit. There is
no significant increase in the potential for or consequences from
radiological accidents because the exemption does not alter any of the
assumptions or limits in the facility licensee's safety analysis. In
addition, the NRC determined that there would be no significant impacts
to biota, water resources, historic properties, cultural resources, or
socioeconomic conditions in the region. As such, there are no special
circumstances present that would preclude reliance on this categorical
exclusion. Therefore, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b), no environmental
impact statement or environmental assessment need be prepared in
connection with the approval of the exemption.
IV. Conclusion
Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR
55.11, the exemption is authorized by law, will not endanger life or
property, and is otherwise in the public interest. Therefore, effective
immediately, the Commission hereby grants, on a one-time basis, the
request to exempt the specifically named individual from the 10 CFR
55.47(a)(1) requirement that his extensive actual operating experience
at a comparable facility be within 2 years before the date of
application.
Dated: November 23, 2021.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brian D. Wittick,
Acting Deputy Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office
of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2021-25980 Filed 11-29-21; 8:45 am]
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