[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 63 (Monday, April 1, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22462-22463]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06820]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-309 and 72-30; NRC-2024-0020]


Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company; Maine Yankee Atomic Power 
Station; Exemption

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued an 
exemption in response to the March 31, 2023, request from Maine Yankee 
Atomic Power Company (MYAPC or Maine Yankee), for the Maine Yankee 
Atomic Power Station (MYAPS), located in Wiscasset, Maine. The 
exemption permits MYAPC to make withdrawals from a separate account 
within Maine Yankee's overall Nuclear Decommissioning Trust (NDT), on 
an annual basis, for spent nuclear fuel and Greater than Class C (GTCC) 
waste management and non-radiological site restoration without prior 
notification to the NRC.

DATES: The exemption was issued on February 29, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0020 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-2024-0020. 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, at 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: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies 
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. 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 
a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tilda Liu, Office of Nuclear Material 
Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
DC 20555-0001; telephone: 404-997-4730, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: By letter dated March 31, 2023, (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML23113A005), the Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company 
(MYAPC or Maine Yankee) submitted a request to the NRC for an exemption 
from sections 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 50.75(h)(2) of title 10 of the Code 
of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) for the Maine Yankee Independent Spent 
Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI).\1\
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    \1\ The Maine Yankee ISFSI sits on the former site of the Maine 
Yankee Atomic Power Station, which MYAPC finished decommissioning in 
2005. Although only the Maine Yankee ISFSI remains on the site, 
Maine Yankee's 10 CFR part 50 license, Facility Operating License 
No. DPR-36, remains in effect. Because MYAPC requested an exemption 
from the requirements of 10 CFR part 50, this would be an exemption 
for MYAPC's 10 CFR part 50 license rather than for MYAPC's 10 CFR 
part 72 general license. Therefore, although MYAPC's submission 
requested an exemption for the Maine Yankee ISFSI, the NRC considers 
it a request for an exemption for the Maine Yankee Atomic Power 
Station.
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    Maine Yankee has established a separate (segregated) account within 
its over-arching Nuclear Decommissioning Trust (NDT), entitled ``ISFSI 
Radiological Decom,'' that identifies the funds for radiological 
decommissioning of the ISFSI apart from the larger balance of funds in 
the NDT allocated for ongoing management of spent nuclear fuel and 
Greater than Class C (GTCC) waste and for non-radiological site 
restoration activities. Although 10 CFR 50.82 applies to the segregated 
account, it does not apply to the overall NDT.
    The exemption from 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 50.75(h)(2) allows 
MYAPC to make withdrawals from the segregated account, on an annual 
basis, for spent nuclear fuel and GTCC waste management and non-
radiological site restoration without prior notification to the NRC. 
More specifically, with this exemption, MYAPC can annually transfer 
funds exceeding 110 percent of the inflation-adjusted Decommissioning 
Cost Estimate, described in 10 CFR 50.75, from the segregated account 
to its overarching NDT and use those funds for spent nuclear fuel and 
GTCC waste management and non-radiological site restoration.
    Based on the review, the NRC determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 
50.12(a), 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, the NRC determined that special 
circumstances are present. Therefore, the NRC granted Maine Yankee an 
exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 10 CFR 
50.75(h)(2) to permit MYAPC to make withdrawals from the segregated 
account, on an annual basis, for spent nuclear fuel and GTCC waste 
management and non-radiological site restoration without prior 
notification to the NRC. All other relevant

[[Page 22463]]

requirements shall be met. On February 29, 2024, the NRC issued an 
exemption for MYAPC (ADAMS Package Accession No. ML23286A325). The NRC 
staff also prepared an environmental assessment and finding of no 
significant impact regarding the proposed exemption request, published 
in the Federal Register on February 28, 2024 (89 FR 14723), and 
concluded that the proposed exemption would not have a significant 
impact on the quality of the human environment.

    Dated: March 27, 2024.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Yoira K. Diaz-Sanabria,
Chief, Storage and Transportation Licensing Branch, Division of Fuel 
Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2024-06820 Filed 3-29-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P