[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 90 (Wednesday, May 8, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38923-38925]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10046]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 72-53, 50-254, and 50-265; NRC-2024-0074]


Constellation Energy Generation, LLC.; Quad Cities Nuclear Power 
Station, Units 1 and 2; 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. that permits Quad 
Cities Nuclear Power Station (QCNPS) to load four model 68M multi-
purpose canisters with continuous basket shims beginning June 2024 in 
the HI-STORM 100 Cask System at its QCNPS Units 1 and 2 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 30, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0074 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-2024-0074. 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: May 3, 2024.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Yoira 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. 72-53, 50-254, and 50-265

Constellation Energy Generation, LLC; Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station 
Units 1 and 2; Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation

I. Background

    Constellation Energy Generation, LLC (Constellation) is the holder 
of Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-29 and DPR-30, which 
authorize operation of the Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 
and 2 (QCNPS) in Cordova, 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

[[Page 38924]]

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 QCNPS ISFSI. Under the terms of the 
general license, Constellation stores spent fuel at its QCNPS 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 March 15, 2024 (Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System [ADAMS] Accession No. ML24075A001), 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 
QCNPS 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 
QCNPS to load four Multi-Purpose Canisters (MPC) with an unapproved 
variant basket design with continuous basket shims (CBS) (i.e., MPC-
68M-CBS) in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System, beginning June 2024, 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 QCNPS ISFSI. Holtec International 
(Holtec), the designer and manufacturer of the HI-STORM 100 Cask 
System, developed a variant of the design with 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).
    Constellation's near-term loading campaign for the QCNPS ISFSI 
includes loading four MPC-68M-CBS in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System 
beginning in June 2024. 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 this 
near-term loading campaign. Therefore, Constellation submitted this 
exemption request to allow for the future loading of four new MPC-68M-
CBS beginning in June 2024, at the QCNPS ISFSI. This exemption is 
limited to the use of four MPC-68M-CBS in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System 
for the specific near-term planned loading beginning June 2024.

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 load four MPC-68M-CBS 
in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System beginning June 2024 at its QCNPS 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. 
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 load four MPC-68M-CBS 
in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System beginning June 2024 at the QCNPS 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, 
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 QCNPS 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 QCNPS site. 
Constellation also described its administrative controls for handling 
of the HI-STORM 100 Cask System at the QCNPS 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, designed in accordance with ANSI N14.6, ``Radioactive 
Materials--Special Lifting Devices for Shipping Containers Weighing 10 
000 Pounds

[[Page 38925]]

(4500 kg) or More,'' for heavy load lifting component, inside of the 
Reactor Buildings and during transport to the ISFSI. In addition, the 
transporter employs redundant drop features.
    Additionally, Constellation provided specific information from 
QCNPS's 72.212 Evaluation Report, Revision 17, indicating that during 
the design basis event of a non-mechanistic tip-over, QCNPS'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 QCNPS 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 that Constellation has in 
place at the QCNPS 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 QCNPS site. In addition, the staff 
confirmed that the information provided by Constellation regarding the 
QCNPS's 72.212 Evaluation Report, Revision 17, 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 QCNPS 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 Constellation to load four MPC-
68M-CBS in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System beginning in June 2024 at the 
QCNPS 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 the 
inability to load fuel into dry storage in the future loading campaign 
would impact Constellation's ability to offload fuel from the QCNPS 
reactor units, consequently impacting continued safe reactor operation.
    Constellation stated that delaying the future loading campaign 
would impact its ability to effectively manage the margin to full core 
discharge capacity in the QCNPS Unit 1 and Unit 2 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 
decay heat removal demand of the pool and, therefore, increase the 
consequence of a loss of fuel pool cooling event. The additional fuel 
moves that would be required to manage the fuel pool loading with extra 
bundles in the pool would also increase the likelihood of a fuel 
handling accident. Furthermore, QCNPS planned the cask loading campaign 
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, to comply with the CoC, 
Constellation would have to delay future loading and keep the spent 
nuclear fuel in the spent fuel pool. As described by Constellation, 
this scenario would affect Constellation's ability to effectively 
manage the spent pool capacity and reactor fuel offloading at QCNPS. In 
addition, a crowded spent fuel pool would challenge the decay heat 
removal demand of the pool increasing the consequence of a loss of fuel 
pool cooling event; and, because additional fuel moves would be 
required, it would also increase the likelihood of a fuel handling 
accident. Moreover, the rescheduling of the specialized resources for 
the future loading campaign would impact the operations of QCNPS 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 30, 2024 (89 FR 34282).

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 future loading in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System of 
four MPC-68M-CBS beginning in June 2024.

    This exemption is effective upon issuance.
    Dated: April 30, 2024.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
/RA/
Yoira Diaz-Sanabria,
Chief, Storage and Transportation Licensing Branch, Division of Fuel 
Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety, and Safeguards.

[FR Doc. 2024-10046 Filed 5-7-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P