[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 247 (Wednesday, December 29, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74111-74114]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-28279]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-382; NRC-2021-0224]


Entergy Operations, Inc; Waterford Steam Electric Station; Unit 3

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 October 12, 2021, request from Entergy 
Operations, Inc., as supplemented on December 13, 2021. The licensee 
requested a one-time schedular exemption for Waterford Steam Electric 
Station, Unit 3, to postpone the current scheduled Emergency 
Preparedness (EP) biennial exercise until Calendar Year 2022. This 
postponement is due to the impact of Hurricane Ida on the Waterford 
site, the State of Louisiana and the local government agencies, as they 
continue to respond to the aftermath of the Hurricane Ida.

DATES: The exemption was issued on December 21, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2021-0224 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-2021-0224. 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. The request for the 
exemption was submitted by letter dated October 12, 2021 and is 
available in ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML21285A290.
     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.

[[Page 74112]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jason J. Drake, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-8378, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the exemption is attached.

    Dated: December 22, 2021.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jason J. Drake,
Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch IV, Division of Operating 
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

Attachment--Exemption.

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Docket No. 50-382; Entergy Operations, Inc.; Waterford Steam Electric 
Station, Unit 3 Exemption

I. Background.

    Entergy Operations, Inc. (Entergy or the licensee) is the holder of 
Renewed Facility Operating License No. NPF-38, which authorizes 
operation of Waterford Steam Electric Station, Unit 3 (Waterford 3). 
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, the Commission) now or hereafter in effect. The 
facility consists of a single pressurized-water reactor located in 
Saint Charles Parish, Louisiana.

II. Request/Action.

    Sections IV.F.2.b and IV.F.2.c of Appendix E, ``Emergency Planning 
and Preparedness for Production and Utilization Facilities,'' to Title 
10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50 require the 
licensee at each site to conduct an exercise of its onsite emergency 
plan and of its offsite emergency plan biennially, with full or partial 
participation by each offsite authority having a role under the offsite 
plan. By letter dated October 12, 2021 (Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML21285A290), as supplemented 
by email dated December 13, 2021 (ADAMS Accession No. ML21349A224), the 
licensee requested a one-time exemption from these requirements that 
would allow the licensee to delay conduct of the biennial emergency 
preparedness (EP) exercise from October 26, 2021, to March 15, 2022. 
The licensee's request states that Hurricane Ida made landfall as a 
Category 4 hurricane near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, on Sunday, August 
29, 2021, at 1155 hours Central Standard Time. Hurricane Ida brought 
damaging winds of 150 miles per hour, heavy rain, and caused loss of 
power and localized flooding to several areas within the State of 
Louisiana. Due to the significant widespread damage throughout the 
State, a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration occurred on August 30, 
2021,\1\ which included both St. John the Baptist Parish and St. 
Charles Parish as part of the 25 parishes able to receive additional 
Federal support.
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    \1\ 4611-DR-LA Initial Notice, https://www.fema.gov/disaster-federal-register-notice/4611-dr-la-initial-notice, dated August 29, 
2021.
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    The licensee states that a good faith effort to comply with the 
regulations has been made in that the biennial exercise was previously 
scheduled to be performed on October 26, 2021. However, Hurricane Ida 
making landfall in Southeast Louisiana caused widespread devastation 
and flooding throughout the Waterford 3 site and surrounding areas. The 
damage onsite required the station to direct all resources to perform 
hurricane recovery activities. With the amount of damage to the plant 
site, and the offsite response agencies notifying Entergy that they 
could not support the originally scheduled biennial EP exercise date 
due to the magnitude of destruction in their respective jurisdictions 
(Attachments 1, 2, and 3 in letter dated October 12, 2021), the 
decision was made to postpone the biennial EP exercise. In a letter to 
the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) dated September 8, 2021 
(Attachment 4 in the letter dated October 12, 2021), the State of 
Louisiana, through the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality 
(LDEQ), requested that FEMA postpone the exercise until the first 
quarter of CY 2022, citing the State's focus on ongoing recovery 
operations due to Hurricane Ida. The licensee states that it has made 
reasonable efforts to reschedule the biennial EP exercise during CY 
2021 but described those efforts as being unsuccessful due to the 
magnitude of devastation experienced by St. Charles Parish and St. John 
the Baptist Parish because of Hurricane Ida.

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, Appendix E, when: (1) 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; and (2) when special circumstances are present.

A. The Exemption is Authorized by Law

    This exemption would allow the licensee and offsite response 
organizations to accommodate Hurricane Ida's impacts upon their 
resources by postponing the exercise from the previously scheduled date 
of October 26, 2021, until March 15, 2022.
    As stated above, 10 CFR 50.12 allows the NRC to grant exemptions 
from the requirements of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix E. 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 purpose of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix E, Sections 
IV.F.2.b and IV.F.2.c is to ensure that the emergency organization 
personnel are familiar with their duties, to identify and correct any 
weaknesses that may exist in the licensee's EP Program, and to test and 
maintain interfaces among affected State and local authorities and the 
licensee. In order to accommodate the scheduling of full participation 
exercises, the NRC has allowed licensees to schedule the exercises at 
any time during the calendar biennium. As stated previously, the last 
Waterford 3 full participation biennial EP exercise was conducted on 
November 20, 2019. Conducting the Waterford 3 full participation 
exercise on March 15, 2022, rather than in CY 2021, places the exercise 
outside of the required biennium. The licensee provided information in 
its letter dated October 12, 2021, that since the last biennial EP 
exercise on November 20, 2019, the licensee has conducted 27 internal 
tabletop exercises in addition to 3 workshops, 1 evaluated drill, and 
38 training sessions that have involved interface with State and/or 
local authorities. These drills and training sessions did not exercise 
all of the proposed rescheduled onsite and offsite functions, but they 
do support the licensee's assertion that it has a continuing level of 
engagement to ensure that the emergency organization personnel are 
familiar with their duties, to identify and correct any weaknesses that 
may exist in the licensee's EP Program, and to test and maintain 
interfaces among affected State and local authorities and the licensee. 
The NRC staff has determined that by conducting these tabletop 
exercises, workshops, drill, and training sessions, the licensee has 
met the purpose

[[Page 74113]]

underlying the 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix E Sections IV.F.2.b and 2.c 
requirements.
    Additionally, since the November 20, 2019, Waterford 3 exercise, 
the State of Louisiana Governor's Office of Homeland Security and 
Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) and LDEQ satisfactorily participated in 
a FEMA evaluated offsite participation only exercise for the River Bend 
Station on March 31, 2021 (ADAMS Accession No. ML21195A196). Also, on 
September 2, 2021, FEMA conducted a Disaster Initiated Review (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML21250A078) of the State of Louisiana and local offsite 
response organizations'' continued capability to respond to an incident 
at Waterford 3 following landfall of Hurricane Ida. Based on the review 
of this information, FEMA concluded that offsite radiological EP is 
adequate to provide reasonable assurance that appropriate measures can 
be taken to protect the health and safety of the public in the event of 
a radiological emergency at Waterford 3.
    No new accident precursors are created by allowing the licensee to 
postpone the selected offsite portions of the exercise from CY 2021 
until CY 2022. Thus, the probability and consequences of postulated 
accidents are not increased.
    Therefore, there is no undue risk to public health and safety.

C. The Exemption is Consistent with Common Defense and Security

    The proposed exemption would allow rescheduling of the biennial EP 
exercise from the previously scheduled date of October 26, 2021, until 
March 15, 2022. This change to the biennial EP exercise schedule has no 
relation to security issues. Therefore, the common defense and security 
is not impacted by the proposed exemption.

D. Special Circumstances

    In order to grant exemptions in accordance with 10 CFR 50.12, 
special circumstances must be present. Special circumstances per 10 CFR 
50.12 that apply to this exemption request are 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii) 
and (v). Special circumstances, per 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii), are present 
when: ``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.'' Section IV.F.2.b of 
Appendix E to 10 CFR Part 50 requires that each licensee conduct a 
subsequent exercise of its onsite emergency plan every 2 years, which 
may be included in the full participation biennial exercise required by 
Section IV.F.2.c. Sections IV.F.2.c of Appendix E to 10 CFR Part 50 
require licensees to exercise offsite plans biennially, with full or 
partial participation by each offsite authority having a role under the 
plan. The underlying purposes of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix E, Sections 
IV.F.2.b and IV.F.2.c are to ensure that the emergency organization 
personnel are familiar with their duties, to identify and correct any 
weaknesses that may exist in the licensee's EP Program, and to test and 
maintain interfaces among affected State and local authorities, and the 
licensee. No NRC findings were identified for the previous biennial EP 
exercise conducted on November 20, 2019 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML20031E865), nor did FEMA identify any findings as part of its offsite 
evaluation (ADAMS Accession No. ML20062B335). As previously discussed, 
the licensee has conducted 27 internal tabletop exercises in addition 
to 3 workshops, 1 evaluated drill, and 38 training sessions that have 
involved interface with State and/or local authorities since the 
previous biennial exercise. The NRC staff has determined that these 
measures are adequate to satisfy the underlying purpose of the rule. 
Furthermore, although this one-time exemption in the exercise schedule 
would increase the interval between biennial exercises, the NRC has 
allowed licensees the flexibility to schedule their exercises at any 
time during the biennial calendar year as highlighted in Regulatory 
Issue Summary (RIS) 2006-003, ``Guidance on Requesting an Exemption 
from Biennial Emergency Preparedness Exercise Requirements,'' dated 
February 24, 2006 (ADAMS Accession No. ML053390039). RIS 2006-003 
provides a 13-35-month window to schedule exercises while still meeting 
the biennial requirement. The licensees request of conducting the 
postponed exercise on the proposed March 15, 2022, date, falls within 
the 35-month window from the last exercise, which was conducted on 
November 20, 2019, thus meeting the intent of the regulation.
    Under 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(v), special circumstances are present 
whenever the exemption would provide only temporary relief from the 
applicable regulation, and the licensee or applicant has made good 
faith efforts to comply with the regulation. The licensee has made a 
good faith effort to comply with the regulations in that the biennial 
exercise was scheduled to be performed on October 26, 2021. However, 
because of the effects of Hurricane Ida and the widespread flooding and 
devastation throughout the Waterford 3 facility and the surrounding 
areas, the Offsite Response Agencies (OROs) informed the licensee that 
they could not support the originally scheduled Exercise date due to 
the magnitude of destruction in their respective jurisdictions. 
Furthermore, the requested exemption to conduct the biennial EP 
exercise in 2022, instead of 2021, would grant only temporary relief 
from the applicable regulation. Additionally, the licensee has 
acknowledged returning to the previous biennial EP exercise schedule of 
every odd year and conducting the next follow-on biennial EP exercise 
in CY 2023.
    Therefore, since the underlying purpose of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix 
E, Sections IV.F.2.b and IV.F.2.c is achieved, the licensee has made a 
good faith effort to comply with the regulation, and the exemption 
would grant only temporary relief from the applicable regulation, the 
special circumstances required by 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii) and (v) exist 
for the granting of an exemption.

E. Environmental Considerations

    NRC approval of the requested exemption is categorically excluded 
under 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25), and there are no extraordinary circumstances 
present that would preclude reliance on this exclusion. The NRC staff 
has determined, per 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(vi)(G) and (E), that the 
requirements from which the exemption is sought involve scheduling 
requirements and also involve education, training, experience, 
qualification, requalification, or other employment suitability 
requirements.
    The NRC staff also determined that approval of this exemption 
involves no significant hazards consideration because it does not 
authorize any physical changes to the facility or any of its safety 
systems, change any of the assumptions or limits used in the 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 this exemption 
does not affect any effluent release limits as provided in the 
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 this exemption does not affect limits on the 
release of any radioactive material, or the limits provided in 10 CFR 
Part 20

[[Page 74114]]

for radiation exposure to workers or members of the public.
    There is no significant construction impact because this exemption 
does not involve any 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 licensee's safety analysis. In addition, 
the NRC staff determined that there would be no significant impacts to 
biota, water resources, historic properties, cultural resources, or 
socioeconomic conditions in the region. 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 requested 
exemption.

IV. Conclusion.

    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 Entergy Operations, Inc., an 
exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix E, Sections 
IV.F.2.b and IV.F.2.c. to conduct the Waterford 3 biennial EP exercise 
required for CY 2021, permitting the exercise to be conducted in 
coordination with FEMA, NRC Region IV and Waterford 3 schedules by the 
licensee-provided date of March 15, 2022.
    This exemption is effective upon issuance. This exemption expires 
on March 15, 2022, or when the biennial EP exercise is performed in CY 
2022, whichever occurs first.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day of December 2021.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

/RA/

Bo M. Pham,

Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.

 [FR Doc. 2021-28279 Filed 12-28-21; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P