[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 117 (Monday, June 17, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 51377]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-13205]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-213 and 72-39; NRC-2024-0093]


Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company; Haddam Neck Plant; 
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 April 24, 2023, request from Connecticut 
Yankee Atomic Power Company (CYAPCO), for the Haddam Neck Plant (HNP or 
Haddam Neck) located in East Hampton, Connecticut. The exemption 
permits CYAPCO to make withdrawals from a separate account within 
CYAPCO's overall nuclear decommissioning trust (NDT), on an annual 
basis, for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) 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 May 30, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0093 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-2024-0093. 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 April 24, 2023 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML23130A118), CYAPCO submitted a request to the NRC for 
an exemption from paragraphs 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 50.75(h)(2) of title 
10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) for the HNP Independent 
Spent Fuel Storage Installation \1\ (ISFSI).
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    \1\ As discussed in this document, the Haddam Neck ISFSI sits on 
the former site of HNP, which CYAPCO finished decommissioning in 
2007. Although only the Haddam Neck ISFSI remains on the site, 
CYAPCO's 10 CFR part 50 license, Facility Operating License No. DPR-
61 remains in effect. Because CYAPCO requested an exemption from the 
requirements of 10 CFR part 50, this would be an exemption for 
CYAPCO's 10 CFR part 50 license rather than for CYAPCO's 10 CFR part 
72 general license. Therefore, although CYAPCO's submission 
requested an exemption for the Haddam Neck ISFSI, the NRC staff 
considers it a request for an exemption for HNP.
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    CYAPCO has established a separate (segregated) account within its 
over-arching 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 SNF and 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 
CYAPCO to make withdrawals from the segregated account, on an annual 
basis, for SNF and GTCC waste management and non-radiological site 
restoration without prior notification to the NRC. More specifically, 
with this exemption, CYAPCO 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 SNF 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, consistent with 10 CFR 50.12(a)(ii) and (iii), are 
present. Therefore, the NRC granted CYAPCO an exemption from the 
requirements of 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 10 CFR 50.75(h)(2) to 
permit CYAPCO to make withdrawals from the segregated account, on an 
annual basis, for SNF and GTCC waste management and non-radiological 
site restoration without prior notification to the NRC. All other 
relevant requirements shall be met. On May 30, 2024, the NRC issued an 
exemption for CYAPCO (ADAMS Package Accession No. ML24099A196). 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 May 28, 2024 (89 FR 46170), and concluded 
that the proposed exemption would not have a significant impact on the 
quality of the human environment.

    Dated: June 11, 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.
[FR Doc. 2024-13205 Filed 6-14-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P