[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 139 (Friday, July 19, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58776-58778]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-15938]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-259, 50-260, 50-296, and 72-052; NRC-2024-0114]
Tennessee Valley Authority; Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1,
2, and 3; 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 a request dated September 28, 2023, as
supplemented by letter dated March 14, 2024, from Tennessee Valley
Authority related to the use of a locked door or gate with a monitored
alarm at the access control point to radioactive waste that contains
category 1 or category 2 quantities of radioactive material at the
Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3, site.
DATES: The exemption was issued on July 15, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0114 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-2024-0114. 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: Kimberly Green, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-1627; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the exemption is attached.
Dated: July 16, 2024.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Kimberly Green,
Senior Project Manager, Licensing Plant Branch II-2, Division of
Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
Attachment--Exemption
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
[Docket Nos. 50-259, 50-260, 50-296, and 72-052; NRC-2024-0114]
Tennessee Valley Authority; Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and
3; Exemption
I. Background
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is the holder of Renewed
Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-33, DPR-52, and DPR-68, and General
License No. 72-052, which authorize the operation of the Browns Ferry
Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3, and an independent spent fuel storage
installation (Browns Ferry or Browns Ferry site), respectively, located
in Limestone County, Alabama. The renewed operating licenses are
subject to all applicable provisions of the Atomic Energy Act, and to
the rules, regulations, and orders of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC or Commission) now or hereafter in effect.
II. Request/Action
By letter dated September 28, 2023 (Agencywide Documents Access and
Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML23271A063), as supplemented
on March 14, 2024 (ML24074A457), TVA requested an exemption from the
requirement in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR),
part 37, paragraph 37.11(c)(2) to use a locked door or gate at the
access control point to where radioactive waste that contains category
1 or category 2 quantities of radioactive material is stored.
The provisions of 10 CFR part 37 establish physical security
requirements to prevent the theft or diversion of risk-significant
radioactive materials (i.e., category 1 and category 2 quantities of
radioactive material). As stated in NUREG-2155, Rev. 2,
``Implementation Guidance for 10 CFR part 37, ``Physical Protection of
Category 1 and Category 2 Quantities of Radioactive Material''''
(ML22083A141), 10 CFR 37.11 exempts radioactive wastes that contain
category 2 quantities or greater of radioactive material from the
security requirements in subparts B, C, and D of 10 CFR part 37.
Instead, the radioactive waste is subject to the requirements in 10 CFR
37.11(c)(1) through (c)(4). The
[[Page 58777]]
regulation at 10 CFR 37.11(c)(2) requires that the licensee secure the
radioactive waste by a locked door or gate with monitored alarm at the
access control point.
The Browns Ferry site includes a low-level radioactive waste
storage facility (LLRWSF) that is used to store the original steam
dryers for Browns Ferry, which were removed during the extended power
uprate outages. The steam dryers exceed the threshold for a category 2
quantity of radioactivity, as defined in 10 CFR 37.5, but do not
contain discrete radioactive sources, ion-exchange resins, or activated
materials that weigh less than 2,000 kilograms (4,409 pounds), as
described in 10 CFR 37.11(c). As such, the licensee is required by 10
CFR 37.11(c)(2) to have a monitored alarm at the access control point
to the LLRWSF vaults where the steam dryers are stored.
TVA describes the LLRWSF as a robust structure consisting of a
group of rectangular box-type concrete storage modules that are located
outside the Browns Ferry protected area, but inside the owner-
controlled area and exclusion zone. Each LLRWSF storage module is
closed by five precast concrete caps, weighing approximately 45,813
kilograms (101,000 pounds) each. Removal of the caps is the only access
point to the stored steam dryers and requires heavy lifting and rigging
equipment that cannot be staged or utilized quickly. Removal of the
caps is an evolution that is easily observable over an extended period
of time.
TVA has requested a permanent exemption from the requirement in 10
CFR 37.11(c)(2) to address a regulatory noncompliance that has resulted
in the issuance of minor violations at the Browns Ferry site.
III. Discussion
Pursuant to 10 CFR 37.11(a), the Commission may, upon application
of any interested person or upon its own initiative, grant such
exemptions from the requirements of the regulations in 10 CFR part 37
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
The exemption would exempt the licensee from the requirement to
have a monitored alarm at the access control point to the LLRWSF vaults
where the steam dryers are stored. As stated previously, 10 CFR
37.11(a) allows the NRC to grant exemptions from the requirements of 10
CFR part 37. The NRC staff has determined that granting of the
exemption is permissible under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as
amended, and other regulatory requirements. Therefore, the exemption is
authorized by law.
B. The Exemption Will Not Endanger Life or Property or the Common
Defense and Security
The purpose of 10 CFR part 37 is to provide reasonable assurance of
the security of category 1 or category 2 quantities of radioactive
material by protecting these materials from theft or diversion. As
required by 10 CFR 37.11, each licensee that possesses radioactive
waste that contains category 1 or category 2 quantity of radioactive
material shall implement the following requirements to secure the
radioactive waste: (1) use continuous physical barriers that allow
access to the radioactive waste only through established access control
points; (2) use a locked door or gate with monitored alarm at the
access control point; (3) assess and respond to each actual or
attempted unauthorized access to determine whether an actual or
attempted theft, sabotage, or diversion occurred; and (4) immediately
notify the local law enforcement agency (LLEA) and request an armed
response from the LLEA upon determination that there was an actual or
attempted theft, sabotage, or diversion of the radioactive waste that
contains category 1 or category 2 quantities of radioactive material.
After issuance of the final part 37 rule, the NRC issued
Enforcement Guidance Memorandum (EGM) 2014-001, ``Interim Guidance for
Dispositioning 10 CFR part 37 Violations with Respect to Large
Components or Robust Structures Containing Category 1 or Category 2
Quantities of Material at Power Reactor Facilities Licensed Under 10
CFR parts 50 and 52'' (ML14056A151), on March 13, 2014, to provide
guidance to NRC staff for dispositioning violations associated with 10
CFR part 37 with respect to large components containing category 1 and
category 2 quantities of radioactive material stored in robust
structures at power reactor facilities licensed under 10 CFR parts 50
and 52. The EGM acknowledges that due to their size and weight, these
large components are not easily moved without cranes, rigging, and
heavy equipment. In addition, these large components are not easily
concealed during loading or when they are in motion, and the amount of
time required to steal or divert these large components is such that it
is reasonable to expect that the licensee would detect these
activities.
TVA has a written 10 CFR part 37 security plan for Browns Ferry
that identifies the original steam dryers as large components and the
LLRWSF as a robust structure containing category 1 or category 2
quantities of radioactive material. The plan also identifies the
security measures that are adequate to detect, assess, and respond to
actual or attempted theft or diversion of stored materials from the
LLRWSF. TVA provided a written analysis that considers the time needed
to accomplish these activities given the proximity and mobility of the
equipment available for the large components and robust structures
supporting the 10 CFR part 37 security plan. TVA also provided a
written analysis documenting that the measures for the protection of
large components or robust structures containing category 1 or category
2 quantities of material do not decrease the effectiveness of the 10
CFR part 73 security plan.
Because TVA has a security plan that contains measures to control
access to the radioactive waste, assess and respond to unauthorized
access, and notify and request an armed response by the LLEA, the NRC
finds that the exemption will not endanger life or property or the
common defense and security.
C. The Exemption Is in the Public Interest
TVA stated that the exemption would preclude the expenditure of
resources that provide no additional security and protection for the
stored steam dryers. Granting of the exemption would also allow TVA to
address a regulatory noncompliance and avoid future violations.
As noted previously, the original steam dryers are large components
that are stored in robust structures that would require the use of
heavy lifting and rigging equipment that cannot be staged or utilized
quickly. Requiring the use of a locked door or gate with monitored
alarm at the access control point is supplanted by the licensee's
security plan which utilizes other means to detect unauthorized access,
while the exemption would reduce the regulatory burden on the licensee
and the NRC staff. Therefore, the NRC staff concludes that the
exemption is in the public interest.
IV. Environmental Considerations
Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.21, 51.32, and 51.35, an environmental
assessment and finding of no significant impact regarding this
exemption request was
[[Page 58778]]
published in the Federal Register on June 27, 2024 (89 FR 53663). Based
upon the environmental assessment, the Commission has determined that
issuance of this exemption will not have a significant effect on the
quality of the human environment.
V. Conclusions
Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR
37.11(a), the exemption is authorized by law, will not endanger life or
property or the common defense and security, and is in the public
interest.
Dated: July 15, 2024.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
/RA/
Bo Pham,
Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2024-15938 Filed 7-18-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P