[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 213 (Friday, November 4, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66757-66762]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-23975]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-320; NRC-2022-0193]


TMI-2 Solutions, LLC; Three Mile Island Station, Unit No. 2

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Exemption; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing 
partial exemptions, with a conforming amendment, from several of the 
record keeping requirements in its regulations in response to a request 
from TMI-2 Solutions, LLC. Specifically, the licensee requested partial 
exemptions for certain NRC regulations which require certain records to 
be retained for the period specified by the appropriate regulation, 
license condition, or technical specifications (TS), or until 
termination of the license if not otherwise specified. In response to 
the licensee's requests, the NRC also issued a conforming amendment 
that revised the license to reflect the specific exemptions and 
associated changes in the TS.

DATES: The exemption was issued on and was effective on September 16, 
2022.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2022-0193 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-2022-0193. 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].
     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. Eastern Time (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: The text of the exemption is attached.

    Dated: October 31, 2022.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Shaun M. Anderson,
Chief, Reactor Decommissioning Branch, Division of Decommissioning, 
Uranium Recovery, and Waste Programs, Office of Nuclear Material Safety 
and Safeguards.

Attachment--Exemption

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Docket No. 50-320

TMI-2 Solutions, LLC

Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit No. 2

Partial Exemptions and Conforming Amendment

I. Background

    TMl-2 Solutions, LLC, (TMI-2 Solutions or the licensee) is the 
holder of Possession Only License (POL) No. DPR-73 for Three Mile 
Island Nuclear Station, Unit No. 2 (TMI-2). The license

[[Page 66758]]

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.
    On March 28, 1979, the unit experienced an accident initiated by 
interruption of secondary feedwater flow. This led to a core heat up 
that caused fuel damage. Most of the fuel material travelled down 
through the region of the southeastern assemblies and into the core 
bypass region. A portion of the fuel material passed around the bypass 
region and migrated down into the lower internals and lower head 
region, but overall reactor vessel integrity was maintained throughout 
the accident. As a result of this accident, small quantities of spent 
nuclear fuel, damaged core material, and high-level waste (collectively 
referred to as ``Debris Material'') were transported through the 
reactor coolant system and the Reactor Building. In addition, a small 
quantity of Debris Material was transported to the auxiliary and fuel 
handling buildings (AFHB). Further spread of the Debris also occurred 
as part of the post-accident water processing cleanup activities.
    The quantity of fuel remaining at TMI-2 is a small fraction of the 
initial fuel load; approximately 99 percent was successfully removed in 
the defueling. Additionally, large quantities of radioactive fission 
products that were released into various systems and structures were 
removed as part of the waste processing activities during the TMI-2 
Cleanup Program. The cleanup to meet the NRC post-accident safe storage 
criteria was completed and accepted by the NRC with TMI-2 entering into 
Postdefueling Monitored Storage (PDMS) in 1993.
    In a letter dated February 13, 2013, (Agencywide Documents and 
Access Management System Accession No. ML12349A291), the NRC stated 
that September 14, 1993, is considered the date of TMI-2's cessation of 
operations. The September 14, 1993, date coincides with the issuance of 
License Amendment No. 45, which converted the TMI-2 operating license 
into a POL (ML20029E532).
    Approximately 99 percent of the fuel was removed and shipped to the 
Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) under 
the responsibility of the U.S. Department of Energy. The reactor 
coolant system was decontaminated to the extent practical to reduce 
radiation levels to as low as is reasonably achievable. As part of the 
decontamination effort, water was removed to the extent practical from 
the reactor coolant system and the fuel transfer canal, and the fuel 
transfer tubes were isolated. Radioactive wastes from the major cleanup 
activities have been shipped off-site or have been packaged and staged 
for shipment off-site. Following the decontamination activities, only 
the Reactor Building and a few areas in the AFHB continued to have 
general area radiation levels higher than those of an undamaged reactor 
facility nearing the end of its operating life.
    With the accident cleanup completed and the spent fuel moved to 
INEEL, there is no facility function related to the safe storage and 
management of irradiated fuel.

II. Request/Action

    By letter dated October 5, 2021 (ML21279A278), as supplemented on 
December 15, 2021 (ML21354A027), TMI-2 Solutions submitted an exemption 
request asking for permanent partial exemptions from: (1) Title 10 of 
the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50, Appendix B, Criterion 
XVII, ``Quality Assurance Criteria for Nuclear Power Plants and Fuel 
Reprocessing Plants,'' which requires certain records to be retained 
consistent with applicable regulatory requirements for a duration 
established by the licensee; (2) 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3), ``Changes, tests, 
and experiments,'' which requires certain records to be maintained 
until ``termination of an operating license issued under this part;'' 
and (3) 10 CFR 50.71(c), ``Maintenance of records, making of reports,'' 
which requires certain records to be retained for the period specified 
by the appropriate regulation, license condition, or Technical 
Specifications (TS), or until termination of the license if not 
otherwise specified.
    The licensee also submitted a license amendment request, which 
would revise the license to reflect the specific exemptions and 
associated changes in the TS, should the NRC approve the partial 
exemption request.
    The licensee requests these exemptions to eliminate the requirement 
to maintain records that are no longer necessary or applicable due to 
the permanently defueled condition and decommissioning status of the 
station. Specifically, TMI-2 Solutions states that the following 
records would no longer be retained: Records associated with 
structures, systems, and components (SSCs), and activities that were 
applicable to the nuclear unit, which are no longer required by the 
Part 50 licensing basis (e.g., removed from the Decommissioning Final 
Safety Analysis Report and/or Technical Specifications by appropriate 
change mechanisms). Such partial exemptions would eliminate the 
associated, unnecessary regulatory and economic burdens of retaining 
records for SSCs and activities that are no longer part of the TMI-2 
licensing basis.
    TMI-2 Solutions, in its December 15, 2021, supplement, committed to 
preserve all records pertaining to the 1979 Records Preservation Order, 
published in the Federal Register (FR) on May 29, 1979, ((44 FR 30788, 
and Attachment 1 of December 15, 2021 submittal (ML21354A027)). TMI-2 
Solutions notes that an inventory of such records for the period from 
March 27, 1979, through May 1, 1979, was submitted to the NRC on 
November 18, 2021, to assist the NRC Historian in determining if the 
NRC document collection for the TMI-2 accident was missing any needed 
documents.
    In the exemption request, TMI-2 Solutions cites record retention 
partial exemptions granted consistent with similar exemption requests 
that have been approved recently by the NRC for other nuclear power 
reactor facilities beginning decommissioning. Specifically, TMI-2 
Solutions notes that the NRC granted similar partial exemptions to 
Three Mile Island, Unit No. 1 (ML20107J648), Oyster Creek Nuclear 
Generating Station (ML18122A306), Millstone Power Station, Unit No. 1, 
(ML070110567); Zion Nuclear Power Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2 
(ML111260277); Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (ML15344A243), San 
Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, Unit Nos. 1, 2, and 3 (ML15355A055); 
Kewaunee Power Station (ML17069A394); and Fort Calhoun Station 
(ML17172A730).
    Records associated with residual radiological activity and with 
programmatic controls necessary to support decommissioning, such as 
security and quality assurance, are not affected by the exemption 
request because they will be retained as decommissioning records, as 
required by 10 CFR part 50, ``Domestic Licensing of Production and 
Utilization Facilities,'' until the termination of the TMI-2 license. 
No exemption was requested from the decommissioning records retention 
requirements of 10 CFR 50.75, ``Reporting and recordkeeping for 
decommissioning planning,'' or any other requirements of 10 CFR part 50 
applicable to decommissioning and dismantlement.

III. Discussion

    Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, ``Specific exemptions,'' the Commission 
may,

[[Page 66759]]

upon application by any interested person or upon its own initiative, 
grant exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR part 50 when 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. However, the Commission will not consider granting an 
exemption unless special circumstances are present. Special 
circumstances are described in 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2).
    TMI-2 Solutions states in its application that decommissioning of 
the TMl-2 and the nuclear reactor and essentially all associated SSCs 
in the nuclear steam supply system and balance of plant that supported 
the generation of power have been retired in place and are being 
prepared for removal. SSCs that remain operable are associated with the 
Reactor Building and effluent monitoring, are needed to meet other 
regulatory requirements, or are needed to support other site facilities 
(e.g., radwaste handling, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning). 
There are no SSCs classified as safety-related. SSCs related to safe 
storage of the remaining Debris Material are designated as Important to 
Safety by the current licensing basis. The licensee also states in its 
application that TMI-2 Solutions is progressively removing these SSCs 
related to safe storage of the remaining Debris Material from the 
licensing basis where necessary through appropriate change mechanisms 
(e.g., 10 CFR 50.59 or NRC approved TS changes, as applicable); 
revising the Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR) for PDMS, as 
necessary; and, then proceeding with an orderly dismantlement.
    In its October 5, 2021, exemption request, the TMI-2 Solutions 
indicates that the basis for eliminating records associated with 
reactor facility SSCs and activities is that these SSCs have been (or 
will be) removed from service per regulatory change processes, 
dismantled or demolished, and no longer have any function regulated by 
the NRC.
    The licensee recognizes that some records related to the nuclear 
unit will continue to be under NRC regulation primarily due to residual 
radioactivity. The radiological and other necessary programmatic 
controls (such as security, quality assurance, etc.) for the facility 
and the implementation of controls for the defueled condition and the 
decommissioning activities are and will continue to be appropriately 
addressed through the license and current plant documents such as the 
FSAR for PDMS and the TS. Through a license application request dated 
February 19, 2021 (ML21057A046), TMI-2 Solutions requested that certain 
Technical Specification records requirements be relocated to the 
Decommissioning Quality Assurance Plan. This action is currently under 
review. TMI-2 Solutions indicated in its exemption request that future 
changes to the Technical Specifications will be made through the 
applicable change processes defined in the regulations (e.g., 10 CFR 
50.48(f), ``Fire protection,'' 10 CFR 50.59, 10 CFR 50.54(a), 
``Conditions of licenses,'' 10 CFR 50.54(p), 10 CFR 50.54(q)). The NRC 
staff notes that except for future changes made through the applicable 
change process defined in the regulations (e.g., 10 CFR 50.48(f), 10 
CFR 50.59, 10 CFR 50.90, ``Application for amendment of license, 
construction permit, or early site permit,'' 10 CFR 50.54(a), 10 CFR 
50.54(p), 10 CFR 50.54(q)), these programmatic elements and their 
associated records are unaffected by the requested exemptions.
    TMI-2 Solutions justifies the elimination of records associated 
with TMI-2 SSCs for retired equipment that have been removed from 
service and have been or will be physically removed, dismantled, or 
demolished, because it believes these SSCs now and will not in the 
future serve any TMI-2 functions regulated by the NRC. For example, the 
primarily coolant system is currently not in service and will never be 
in service again nor are there any vital areas that will be used for 
their intended purposes. Maintaining decommissioning records on the SSC 
associated with the primarily coolant system will not serve any TMI-2 
function regulated by the NRC. TMI-2 Solutions decommissioning plans 
for TMI-2 are described in the Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities 
Report dated March 17, 2021 (ML21084A229). The licensee's 
decommissioning process involves evaluating SSCs with respect to the 
current facility safety analysis; progressively removing them from the 
licensing basis where necessary through appropriate change mechanisms 
(e.g., 10 CFR 50.59 or by NRC approved TS changes, as applicable); 
revising the FSAR, as necessary; and then proceeding with an orderly 
dismantlement.
    TMI-2 Solutions intends to retain the records required by its 
license as the state of the facility transitions through 
decommissioning. However, equipment abandonment will obviate the 
regulatory and business needs for maintenance of most records. As the 
SSCs are removed from the licensing basis, TMI-2 Solutions asserts that 
the need for its records is, on a practical basis, eliminated. 
Therefore, TMI-2 Solutions is requesting partial exemptions from the 
associated records retention requirements for SSCs for retired 
equipment that have been removed from service and have been or will be 
physically removed and historical activities that are no longer 
relevant, except it has committed to preserve all records pertaining to 
the 1979 Records Preservation Order ((44 FR 30788, dated May 29, 1979 
and Attachment 1 of December 15, 2021 submittal (ML21354A027)).

A. The Exemption Is Authorized by Law

    As stated above, 10 CFR 50.12 allows the NRC to grant exemptions 
from 10 CFR part 50 requirements if it makes certain findings. As 
described here and in the sections below, the NRC staff has determined 
that special circumstances exist to grant the partial exemptions. In 
addition, granting the licensee's proposed exemptions will not result 
in a violation of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended; other 
laws; or the Commission's regulations. Therefore, the granting of the 
exemption request from the recordkeeping requirements of 10 CFR 
50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, Appendix B, Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR 
50.59(d)(3) is authorized by law.

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

    As SSCs are prepared for safe storage and eventual decommissioning 
and dismantlement, they will be removed from NRC licensing basis 
documents through appropriate change mechanisms, such as through the 10 
CFR 50.59 process or through a license amendment request approved by 
the NRC. These change processes involve either a determination by the 
licensee or an approval from the NRC that the affected SSCs no longer 
serve any safety purpose regulated by the NRC. Therefore, the removal 
of the SSCs would not present an undue risk to public health and 
safety. In turn, elimination of records associated with these removed 
SSCs would not cause any additional impact to public health and safety.
    The granting of the exemption request from the recordkeeping 
requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, Appendix B, Criterion 
XVII; and 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3) for the records described is 
administrative in nature and will have no impact on any remaining 
decommissioning activities or on radiological effluents. The granting 
of the exemption request will only advance the schedule for disposition 
of the specified records. Because these

[[Page 66760]]

records contain information about SSCs associated with reactor 
operation and contain no information needed to maintain the facility in 
a safe condition when the facility is eventually decommissioned through 
approved NRC licensing proceedings and the SSCs are dismantled, the 
elimination of these records on an advanced timetable will have no 
reasonable possibility of presenting any undue risk to the public 
health and safety. TMI-2 Solutions is not requesting any exemption 
associated with retention of spent fuel debris related records required 
by 10 CFR part 50 and 10 CFR part 72, ``Licensing Requirements for the 
Independent Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High-Level Radioactive 
Waste, and Reactor-Related Greater Than Class C Waste.''

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

    The elimination of the recordkeeping requirements does not involve 
information or activities that could potentially impact the common 
defense and security of the United States. Upon dismantlement of the 
affected SSCs, the records have no functional purpose relative to 
maintaining the safe operation of the SSCs, maintaining conditions that 
would affect the ongoing health and safety of workers or the public, or 
informing decisions related to nuclear security.
    Rather, the exemptions requested are administrative in nature and 
would only advance the current schedule for disposition of the 
specified records. Therefore, the exemption request from the 
recordkeeping requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, Appendix 
B, Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3) for the types of records 
described is consistent with the common defense and security.

D. Special Circumstances

    Paragraph 50.12(a)(2) of 10 CFR states, in part:

    The Commission will not consider granting an exemption unless 
special circumstances are present. Special circumstances are present 
whenever--. . .
    (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
    (iii) Compliance would result in undue hardship or other costs 
that are significantly in excess of those contemplated when the 
regulation was adopted . . .

    Criterion XVII of Appendix B to 10 CFR part 50 states, in part: 
``Sufficient records shall be maintained to furnish evidence of 
activities affecting quality.''
    Paragraph 50.59(d)(3) of 10 CFR states, in part: ``The records of 
changes in the facility must be maintained until the termination of an 
operating license issued under this part . . .''
    Paragraph 50.71(c) of 10 CFR, states, in part:

    Records that are required by the regulations in this part or 
part 52 of this chapter, by license condition, or by Technical 
Specifications must be retained for the period specified by the 
appropriate regulation, license condition, or Technical 
Specification. If a retention period is not otherwise specified, 
these records must be retained until the Commission terminates the 
facility license. . . .

    In the statement of considerations for the final rulemaking, 
``Retention Periods for Records'' (53 FR 19240, dated May 27, 1988), in 
response to public comments received during the rulemaking process, the 
NRC stated that records must be retained ``for NRC to ensure compliance 
with the safety and health aspects of the nuclear environment and for 
the NRC to accomplish its mission to protect the public health and 
safety.'' In the statement of considerations, the Commission also 
explained that requiring licensees to maintain adequate records assists 
the NRC ``in judging compliance and noncompliance, to act on possible 
noncompliance, and to examine facts as necessary following any 
incident.''
    These regulations apply to licensees in decommissioning. During the 
decommissioning process, safety-related SSCs are retired or disabled 
and subsequently removed from NRC licensing basis documents by 
appropriate change mechanisms. Appropriate removal of an SSC from the 
licensing basis requires either a determination by the licensee or an 
approval from the NRC that the SSC no longer has the potential to cause 
an accident, event, or other problem that would adversely impact public 
health and safety.
    The records subject to removal under this exemption request are 
associated with SSCs that had been important to safety during power 
operation or operation of the spent fuel pool, but are no longer 
capable of causing an event, incident, or condition that would 
adversely impact public health and safety, as evidenced by their 
appropriate removal from the licensing basis documents. If the SSCs no 
longer have the potential to cause these scenarios, then it is 
reasonable to conclude that the records associated with these SSCs 
would not reasonably be necessary to assist the NRC in determining 
compliance and noncompliance, taking action on possible noncompliance, 
or examining facts following an incident. Therefore, their retention 
would not serve the underlying purpose of the rule.
    In addition, once removed from the licensing basis documents (e.g., 
FSAR or TS), SSCs are no longer governed by the NRC's regulations, and 
therefore, are not subject to compliance with the safety and health 
aspects of the nuclear environment. As such, retention of records 
associated with SSCs that are or will no longer be part of the facility 
serves no safety or regulatory purpose, nor does it serve the 
underlying purpose of the rule of maintaining compliance with the 
safety and health aspects of the nuclear environment in order to 
accomplish the NRC's mission. Therefore, special circumstances are 
present that the NRC may consider, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii), 
to grant the exemption request.
    Records that continue to serve the underlying purpose of the rule, 
that is, to maintain compliance and to protect public health and safety 
in support of the NRC's mission, will continue to be retained pursuant 
to other regulations in 10 CFR part 50 and 10 CFR part 72. Retained 
records that are not subject to the proposed exemption include those 
associated with programmatic controls, such as those pertaining to 
residual radioactivity, security, and quality assurance, as well as 
records associated with the ISFSI and spent fuel debris.
    The retention of records required by 10 CFR 50.71(c); 10 CFR part 
50, Appendix B, Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3) provides 
assurance that records associated with SSCs will be captured, indexed, 
and stored in an environmentally suitable and retrievable condition. 
Given the volume of records associated with the SSCs, compliance with 
the records retention rule results in a considerable cost to the 
licensee. Retention of the volume of records associated with the SSCs 
during the operational phase is appropriate to serve the underlying 
purpose of determining compliance and noncompliance, taking action on 
possible noncompliance, and examining facts following an incident, as 
discussed.
    However, the cost effect of retaining operational phase records 
beyond the operations phase until the termination of the license was 
not fully considered or understood when the records retention rule was 
put in place. For example, existing records storage facilities are 
eliminated as decommissioning progresses. Retaining records associated 
with SSCs and activities that no longer serve a safety or regulatory 
purpose would, therefore, result in an unnecessary financial and 
administrative burden. As such,

[[Page 66761]]

compliance with the rule would result in an undue cost in excess of 
that contemplated when the rule was adopted. Therefore, special 
circumstances are present that the NRC may consider, pursuant to 10 CFR 
50.12(a)(2)(iii), to grant the exemption request. The licensee has 
committed to preserve all records pertaining to the 1979 Records 
Preservation Order ((44 FR 30788, dated May 29, 1979 and Attachment 1 
of December 15, 2021 submittal (ML21354A027)). TMI-2 Solutions is not 
requesting any exemption associated with retention of spent fuel debris 
related records required by 10 CFR part 50 and 10 CFR part 72.

E. Environmental Considerations

    Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b) and (c)(25), ``Criterion for 
categorical exclusion; identification of licensing and regulatory 
actions eligible for categorical exclusion or otherwise not requiring 
environmental review,'' the granting of an exemption from the 
requirements of any regulation in Chapter I of 10 CFR part 50 meets the 
eligibility criteria for categorical exclusion provided that: (1) there 
is no significant hazards consideration; (2) there is no significant 
change in the types or significant increase in the amounts of any 
effluents that may be released off-site; (3) there is no significant 
increase in individual or cumulative public or occupational radiation 
exposure; (4) there is no significant construction impact; (5) there is 
no significant increase in the potential for or consequences from 
radiological accidents; and (6) the requirements from which an 
exemption is sought are among those identified in 10 CFR 
51.22(c)(25)(vi).
    The exemption request is administrative in nature. The exemption 
request has no effect on SSCs and no effect on the capability of any 
plant SSC to perform its design function. The exemption request would 
not increase the likelihood of the malfunction of any plant SSC.
    The probability of occurrence of previously evaluated accidents is 
not increased since most previously analyzed accidents will no longer 
be able to occur, and the probability and consequences of the remaining 
fuel handling accident are unaffected by the exemption request. 
Therefore, the exemption request does not involve a significant 
increase in the probability or consequences of an accident previously 
evaluated.
    The exemption request does not involve a physical alteration of the 
plant. No new or different types of equipment will be installed, and 
there are no physical modifications to existing equipment associated 
with the exemption request. Similarly, the exemption request will not 
physically change any SSCs involved in the mitigation of any accidents. 
Thus, no new initiators or precursors of a new or different kind of 
accident are created. Furthermore, the exemption request does not 
create the possibility of a new accident as a result of new failure 
modes associated with any equipment or personnel failures. No changes 
are being made to parameters within which the plant is normally 
operated or in the setpoints that initiate protective or mitigative 
actions, and no new failure modes are being introduced. Therefore, the 
exemption request does not create the possibility of a new or different 
kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated.
    The exemption request does not alter the design basis or any safety 
limits for the plant. The exemption request does not impact station 
operation or any plant SSC that is relied upon for accident mitigation. 
Therefore, the exemption request does not involve a significant 
reduction in a margin of safety.
    For these reasons, the NRC staff has determined that approval of 
the exemption request involves no significant hazards consideration 
because granting the licensee's exemption request from the 
recordkeeping requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, Appendix 
B, Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3) at TMI-2 does not: (1) 
involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an 
accident previously evaluated, (2) create the possibility of a new or 
different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated, or 
(3) involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety (10 CFR 
50.92(c), ``Issuance of Amendment.'') Likewise, there is no significant 
change in the types or significant increase in the amounts of any 
effluents that may be released off-site and no significant increase in 
individual or cumulative public or occupational radiation exposure.
    The exempted regulations are not associated with construction, so 
there is no significant construction impact. The exempted regulations 
do not concern the source term (i.e., potential amount of radiation 
involved for an accident) or accident mitigation; therefore, there is 
no significant increase in the potential for, or consequences from, 
radiological accidents. Allowing the licensee exemption from the record 
retention requirements for which the partial exemption is sought 
involves recordkeeping requirements, as well as reporting requirements 
of an administrative, managerial, or organizational nature.
    Therefore, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b), 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25), and 10 
CFR 51.22(c)(ii), no environmental impact statement or environmental 
assessment need be prepared in connection with the approval of this 
exemption request or conforming amendment.

IV. Conclusions

    The NRC staff has determined that the granting of the exemption 
request from the recordkeeping requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(c); 10 CFR 
part 50, Appendix B, Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3) will not 
present an undue risk to the public health and safety. The destruction 
of the identified records related to SSCs that have been removed from 
service and have been or will be physically removed will not impact 
remaining decommissioning activities; plant operations, configuration, 
and/or radiological effluents; operational and/or installed SSCs that 
are quality-related or important to safety; or nuclear security. The 
NRC staff has determined that the destruction of the identified records 
at that time is administrative in nature and does not involve 
information or activities that could potentially impact the common 
defense and security of the United States.
    The purpose for the recordkeeping regulations is to assist the NRC 
in carrying out its mission to protect the public health and safety by 
ensuring that the licensing and design basis of the facility are 
understood, documented, preserved, and retrievable in such a way that 
will aid the NRC in determining compliance and noncompliance, taking 
action on possible noncompliance, and examining facts following an 
incident. Since the TMI-2 SSCs for retired equipment have been removed 
from service and have been or will be physically removed, the NRC staff 
has determined that the records identified in the exemption request 
will no longer be required to achieve the underlying purpose of the 
records retention rule. TMI-2 Solutions has committed to preserve all 
records pertaining to the 1979 Records Preservation Order ((44 FR 
30788, dated May 29, 1979 and Attachment 1 of December 15, 2021 
submittal (ML21354A027)).
    Accordingly, the Commission has determined that pursuant to 10 CFR 
50.12, the partial exemptions are authorized by law, will not present 
an undue risk to the public health and safety, and are consistent with 
the

[[Page 66762]]

common defense and security. Also, special circumstances are present. 
Therefore, the Commission hereby grants TMI-2 Solutions partial 
exemptions from the recordkeeping requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(c); 10 
CFR part 50, Appendix B, Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3) for 
TMI-2 only to the extent necessary to allow the licensee to advance the 
schedule to remove records associated with retired SSCs that have been 
removed from service and have been or will be physically removed by 
appropriate change mechanisms (e.g., 10 CFR 50.59 or by NRC approved 
license amendment request, as applicable). Again, the licensee has 
committed to preserve all records pertaining to the 1979 Records 
Preservation Order ((44 FR 30788, dated May 29, 1979 and Attachment 1 
of December 15, 2021 submittal (ML21354A027)).TMI-2 Solutions is not 
requesting any exemption associated with retention of spent fuel debris 
related records required by 10 CFR part 50 and 10 CFR part 72.
    These exemptions are effective upon issuance.

    Dated: September 16, 2022.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

/RA September 16, 2022/

Jane E. Marshall,

Director, Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery, and Waste 
Programs Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.

[FR Doc. 2022-23975 Filed 11-3-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P