[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 69 (Tuesday, April 9, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24879-24882]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07455]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 72-37, 50-237, and 50-249; NRC-2024-0054]


Constellation Energy Generation, LLC; Dresden Nuclear Power 
Station, Unit 2 and Unit 3; Independent Spent Fuel Storage 
Installation; Exemption

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued an 
exemption to Constellation Energy Generation, LLC permitting Dresden 
Nuclear Power Station (Dresden) to maintain loaded and to load 68M 
multi-purpose canisters with continuous basket shims in the HI-STORM 
100 Cask System at its Dresden Unit 2 and Unit 3 independent spent fuel 
storage installation in a storage condition where the terms, 
conditions, and specifications in the Certificate of Compliance No. 
1014, Amendment No. 8, Revision No. 1 are not met.

DATES: The exemption was issued on April 1, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0054 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of

[[Page 24880]]

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-2024-0054. 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: Yen-Ju Chen, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555; telephone: 301-415-1018; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the exemption is attached.

    Dated: April 3, 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.

    Attachment--Exemption

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Docket Nos. 72-37, 50-237, and 50-249

Constellation Energy Generation, LLC; Dresden Nuclear Power Station 
Unit 2 and Unit 3; Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation

I. Background

    Constellation Energy Generation, LLC (Constellation) is the holder 
of Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-19 and DPR-25, which 
authorize operation of the Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Unit 2 and 
Unit 3 (Dresden) in Morris, Illinois, pursuant to Part 50 of Title 10 
of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Domestic Licensing of 
Production and Utilization Facilities.'' The licenses provide, among 
other things, that the facility is subject to all rules, regulations, 
and orders of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) now or 
hereafter in effect.
    Consistent with 10 CFR part 72, subpart K, ``General License for 
Storage of Spent Fuel at Power Reactor Sites,'' a general license is 
issued for the storage of spent fuel in an Independent Spent Fuel 
Storage Installation (ISFSI) at power reactor sites to persons 
authorized to possess or operate nuclear power reactors under 10 CFR 
part 50. Constellation is authorized to operate nuclear power reactors 
under 10 CFR part 50 and holds a 10 CFR part 72 general license for 
storage of spent fuel at the Dresden ISFSI. Under the terms of the 
general license, Constellation stores spent fuel at its Dresden ISFSI 
using the HI-STORM 100 Cask System in accordance with Certificate of 
Compliance (CoC) No. 1014, Amendment No. 8, Revision No. 1.

II. Request/Action

    By a letter dated February 23, 2024 (Agencywide Documents Access 
and Management System [ADAMS] Accession No. ML24054A031), and 
supplemented on February 28, 2024 (ML24065A292) and March 8, 2024 
(ML24068A069), Constellation requested an exemption from the 
requirements of 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2), 72.212(b)(3), 72.212(b)(5)(i), 
72.212(b)(11), and 72.214 that require Dresden to comply with the 
terms, conditions, and specifications of the CoC No. 1014, Amendment 
No. 8, Revision No. 1 (ML16041A233). If approved, Constellation's 
exemption request would accordingly allow Dresden to maintain loaded 
and to load Multi-Purpose Canisters (MPC) with an unapproved, variant 
basket design (i.e., MPC-68M-CBS) in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System, and 
thus, to load the systems in a storage condition where the terms, 
conditions, and specifications in the CoC No. 1014, Amendment No. 8, 
Revision No. 1 are not met.
    Constellation currently uses the HI-STORM 100 Cask System under CoC 
No. 1014, Amendment No. 8, Revision No. 1, for dry storage of spent 
nuclear fuel in MPC-68M at the Dresden ISFSI. Holtec International 
(Holtec), the designer and manufacturer of the HI-STORM 100 Cask 
System, developed a variant of the design with continuous basket shims 
(CBS) for the MPC-68M, known as MPC-68M-CBS. Holtec performed a non-
mechanistic tip-over analysis with favorable results and implemented 
the CBS variant design under the provisions of 10 CFR 72.48, ``Changes, 
tests, and experiments,'' which allows licensees to make changes to 
cask designs without a CoC amendment under certain conditions (listed 
in 10 CFR 72.48(c)). After evaluating the specific changes to the cask 
designs, the NRC determined that Holtec erred when it implemented the 
CBS variant design under 10 CFR 72.48, as this is not the type of 
change allowed without a CoC amendment. For this reason, the NRC issued 
three Severity Level IV violations to Holtec (ML24016A190).
    Prior to the issuance of the violations, Constellation had loaded 
four MPC-68M-CBS in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System, which are safely in 
storage at the Dresden ISFSI. Constellation's near-term loading 
campaigns for the Dresden ISFSI include plans to load one MPC-68M-CBS 
in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System in May 2024 and four MPC-68M-CBS in 
March 2025. While Holtec was required to submit a CoC amendment to the 
NRC to seek approval of the CBS variant design, such a process will not 
be completed in time to inform decisions for these near-term loading 
campaigns. Therefore, Constellation submitted this exemption request in 
order to allow for the continued storage of the four already loaded 
MPC-68M-CBS, and future loadings of one MPC-68M-CBS in May 2024 and 
four in March 2025, at the Dresden ISFSI. This exemption is limited to 
the use of MPC-68M-CBS in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System only for the 
four already loaded systems and specific near-term planned loadings of 
five systems using the MPC-68M-CBS variant basket design.

III. Discussion

    Pursuant to 10 CFR 72.7, ``Specific exemptions,'' the Commission 
may, upon application by any interested person or upon its own 
initiative, grant such exemptions from the requirements of the 
regulations of 10 CFR part 72 as it determines are authorized by law 
and will not endanger life or property or the common defense and 
security and are otherwise in the public interest.

A. The Exemption Is Authorized by Law

    This exemption would allow Constellation to maintain loaded and to 
load MPC-68M-CBS in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System at its Dresden ISFSI 
in a storage condition where the terms,

[[Page 24881]]

conditions, and specifications in the CoC No. 1014, Amendment No. 8, 
Revision No. 1, are not met. Constellation is requesting an exemption 
from the provisions in 10 CFR part 72 that require the licensee to 
comply with the terms, conditions, and specifications of the CoC for 
the approved cask model it uses. Section 72.7 allows the NRC to grant 
exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR part 72. This authority to 
grant exemptions is consistent with the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as 
amended, and is not otherwise inconsistent with NRC's regulations or 
other applicable laws. Additionally, no other law prohibits the 
activities that would be authorized by the exemption. Therefore, the 
NRC concludes that there is no statutory prohibition on the issuance of 
the requested exemption, and the NRC is authorized to grant the 
exemption by law.

B. The Exemption Will Not Endanger Life or Property or the Common 
Defense and Security

    This exemption would allow Constellation to maintain loaded and to 
load MPC-68M-CBS in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System at the Dresden ISFSI 
in a storage condition where the terms, conditions, and specifications 
in the CoC No. 1014, Amendment No. 8, Revision No. 1, are not met. In 
support of its exemption request, Constellation asserts that issuance 
of the exemption would not endanger life or property because the 
administrative controls the applicant has in place prevent a tip-over 
or handling event, and that the containment boundary would be 
maintained in such an event. Constellation relies, in part, on the 
approach in the NRC's Safety Determination Memorandum (ML24018A085). 
The NRC issued this Safety Determination Memorandum to address whether, 
with respect to the enforcement action against Holtec regarding this 
violation, there was any need to take an immediate action for the cask 
systems that were already loaded with non-compliant basket designs. The 
Safety Determination Memorandum documents a risk-informed approach 
concluding that, during the design basis event of a non-mechanistic 
tip-over, the fuel in the basket in the MPC-68M-CBS remains in a 
subcritical condition.
    Constellation also provided site-specific technical information, as 
supplemented, including information explaining why the use of the 
approach in the NRC's Safety Determination Memorandum is appropriate 
for determining the safe use of the CBS variant baskets at the Dresden 
ISFSI. Specifically, Constellation described that the analysis of the 
tip-over design basis event that is relied upon in the NRC's Safety 
Determination Memorandum, which demonstrates that the MPC confinement 
barrier is maintained, is documented in the updated final safety 
analysis report (UFSAR) for the HI-STORM 100 Cask System CoC No. 1014, 
Amendment 8, Revision No. 1 that is used at the Dresden site. 
Constellation also described its administrative controls for handling 
of the HI-STORM 100 Cask System at the Dresden ISFSI to prevent a tip-
over or handling event. Those controls include operational procedures 
that demonstrate that the system is handled with a single failure proof 
device, complying with ANSI N14.6, ``for Radioactive Materials--Special 
Lifting Devices for Shipping Containers Weighing 10 000 Pounds (4500 
kg) or More,'' and consistent with NUREG-612, ``Control of Heavy Loads 
at Nuclear Power Plants,'' (ML070250180) for heavy load lifting 
component, inside of the Reactor Buildings and during transport to the 
ISFSI. In addition, the transporter includes redundant drop protection.
    Additionally, Constellation provided specific information from 
Dresden's 72.212 Evaluation Report, Revision 15, indicating that during 
the design basis event of a non-mechanistic tip-over, Dresden's ISFSI 
would meet the requirements in 10 CFR 72.104, ``Criteria for 
radioactive materials in effluents and direct radiation from an ISFSI 
or MRS,'' and 72.106, ``Controlled area of an ISFSI or MRS.'' 
Specifically, Constellation described that, in the highly unlikely 
event of a tip-over, any potential fuel damage from a non-mechanistic 
tip-over event would be localized, the confinement barrier would be 
maintained, and the shielding material would remain intact. Coupled 
with the distance of the Dresden ISFSI to the site area boundary, 
Constellation concluded that compliance with 72.104 and 72.106 is not 
impacted by approving this exemption request.
    The NRC staff reviewed the information provided by Constellation 
and concludes that issuance of the exemption would not endanger life or 
property because the administrative controls Constellation has in place 
at the Dresden ISFSI sufficiently minimize the possibility of a tip-
over or handling event, and that the containment boundary would be 
maintained in such an event. The staff confirmed that these 
administrative controls comply with the technical specifications and 
UFSAR for the HI-STORM 100 Cask System CoC No. 1014, Amendment 8, 
Revision No. 1 that is used at the Dresden site. In addition, the staff 
confirmed that the information provided by Constellation regarding 
Dresden's 72.212 Evaluation Report, Revision 15, demonstrates that the 
consequences of normal and accident conditions would be within the 
regulatory limits of the 10 CFR 72.104 and 10 CFR 72.106. The staff 
also determined that the requested exemption is not related to any 
aspect of the physical security or defense of the Dresden ISFSI; 
therefore, granting the exemption would not result in any potential 
impacts to common defense and security.
    For these reasons, the NRC staff has determined that under the 
requested exemption, the storage system will continue to meet the 
safety requirements of 10 CFR part 72 and the offsite dose limits of 10 
CFR part 20 and, therefore, will not endanger life or property or the 
common defense and security.

C. The Exemption Is Otherwise in the Public Interest

    The proposed exemption would allow the four already loaded MPC-68M-
CBS in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System to remain in storage at the Dresden 
ISFSI, and allow Constellation to load one MPC-68M-CBS in the HI-STORM 
100 Cask System in May 2024 and four MPC-68M-CBS in March 2025,at the 
Dresden ISFSI, even though the CBS variant basket design is not part of 
the approved CoC No. 1014, Amendment No. 8, Revision No. 1. According 
to Constellation, the exemption is in the public interest because 
unloading fuel from already loaded canisters and not being able to load 
fuel into dry storage in future loading campaigns would impact 
Constellation's ability to offload fuel from the Dresden reactor units, 
consequently impacting continued safe reactor operation. The reflooding 
of the MPCs, removal of fuel assemblies, and replacement into a 
different MPC would result in additional doses and handling operations 
with no added safety benefit. In addition, future loading campaigns 
would need to be delayed until older design canisters can be fabricated 
and delivered to the site.
    Constellation stated that to unload already loaded MPC-68M-CBS or 
delay the future loading campaigns would impact the ability to 
effectively manage the margin to full core discharge capacity in the 
Dresden Unit 2 and Unit 3 spent fuel pools. The low spent fuel pool 
capacity would make it difficult to refuel and present potential risks 
to fuel handling operations during pre- and post-outage. In addition, a 
crowded spent fuel pool would challenge the

[[Page 24882]]

decay heat removal demand of the pool and increase the likelihood of a 
loss of fuel pool cooling event and a fuel handling accident. 
Furthermore, Dresden planned the cask loading campaigns years in 
advance based on availability of the specialized workforce and 
equipment that is shared throughout the Constellation fleet. These 
specialty resources support competing priorities including refueling 
outages, loading campaigns, fuel pool cleanouts, fuel inspections, fuel 
handing equipment upgrade and maintenance, fuel sipping, new fuel 
receipt, and crane maintenance and upgrades. Any delays would have a 
cascading impact on other scheduled specialized activities.
    For the reasons described by Constellation in the exemption 
request, the NRC agrees that it is in the public interest to grant the 
exemption. If the exemption is not granted, in order to comply with the 
CoC, Constellation would have to unload MPC-68M-CBS from the HI-STORM 
100 Cask System at the Dresden ISFSI and reload into the older design 
MPC-68M to restore compliance with terms, conditions, and 
specifications of the CoC. This would subject onsite personnel to 
additional radiation exposure, increase the risk of a possible fuel 
handling accident, and increase the risk of a possible heavy load 
handling accident. Furthermore, the removed spent fuel would need to be 
placed in the spent fuel pool until it can be loaded into another 
storage cask or remain in the spent fuel pool if it is not permitted to 
be loaded into casks for future loading campaigns. As described by 
Constellation, this scenario would affect Constellation's ability to 
effectively manage the spent pool capacity and reactor fuel offloading 
at Dresden. In addition, the rescheduling of the specialized resources 
for the future loading campaigns would impact the operations of Dresden 
and other Constellation sites.
    Therefore, the staff concludes that approving the exemption is in 
the public interest.
Environmental Consideration
    The NRC staff also considered whether there would be any 
significant environmental impacts associated with the exemption. For 
this proposed action, the NRC staff performed an environmental 
assessment pursuant to 10 CFR 51.30. The environmental assessment 
concluded that the proposed action would not significantly impact the 
quality of the human environment. The NRC staff concluded that the 
proposed action would not result in any changes in the types or amounts 
of any radiological or non-radiological effluents that may be released 
offsite, and there would be no significant increase in occupational or 
public radiation exposure because of the proposed action. The 
environmental assessment and the finding of no significant impact was 
published on April 1, 2024 (89 FR 22463).

IV. Conclusion

    Based on these considerations, the NRC has determined that, 
pursuant to 10 CFR 72.7, the exemption is authorized by law, will not 
endanger life or property or the common defense and security, and is 
otherwise in the public interest. Therefore, the NRC grants 
Constellation an exemption from the requirements of Sec. Sec.  
72.212(a)(2), 72.212(b)(3), 72.212(b)(5)(i), 72.212(b)(11), and 72.214 
with respect to the ongoing storage of four MPC-68M-CBS in the HI-STORM 
100 Cask System and future loading in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System of 
one MPC-68M-CBS in May 2024 and four MPC-68M-CBS in March 2025.
    This exemption is effective upon issuance.

    Dated: April 1, 2024.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

/RA/

Yoira K. Diaz-Sanabria,

Chief, Storage and Transportation Licensing Branch, Division of Fuel 
Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety, and Safeguards.

[FR Doc. 2024-07455 Filed 4-8-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P