[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 56 (Tuesday, March 24, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14044-14047]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-05658]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-261; NRC-2025-0076]
Duke Energy Progress, LLC; H.B. Robinson Steam Electric Plant,
Unit No. 2; Exemption
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued an
exemption, on its own initiative, from the regulation that would have
required Duke Energy Progress, LLC (Duke) to submit an amendment to the
application for subsequent renewal of Renewed Facility Operating
License No. DPR-23 for H.B. Robinson Steam Electric Plant, Unit No. 2
(Robinson), each year following its submittal and at least 3 months
before scheduled completion of the NRC review, that identifies any
change to the current licensing basis of the facility that materially
affects the content of the application during the NRC's review of that
application. Due to this exemption, such amendments are no longer
required for the Robinson subsequent license renewal application.
DATES: The exemption was issued on March 17, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2025-0076 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-2025-0076. Address
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Bridget Curran;
telephone: 301-415-1003; email:
[[Page 14045]]
[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 ADAMS Public 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].
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: Mark Yoo, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001; telephone: 301-415-8583; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the exemption is attached.
Dated: March 19, 2026.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Mark Yoo,
Senior Project Manager, License Renewal Projects Branch, Division of
New and Renewed Licenses, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
Attachment--Exemption
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Docket No. 50-261; Duke Energy Progress, LLC; H.B. Robinson Steam
Electric Plant, Unit No. 2; Exemption
I. Background
Duke Energy Progress, LLC (Duke) is the holder of Renewed Facility
Operating License No. DPR-23 for H.B. Robinson Steam Electric Plant,
Unit No. 2 (Robinson). The license provides, among other things, that
the licensee is subject to all rules, regulations, and orders of the
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) now or
hereafter in effect. Robinson consists of one Westinghouse three-loop
pressurized-water reactor with a licensed power level of 2,339
megawatts thermal and is located in Hartsville, South Carolina.
On April 1, 2025, Duke submitted to the NRC an application for
subsequent renewal of Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-23 for
Robinson, pursuant to title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10
CFR) part 54, ``Requirements for Renewal of Operating Licenses for
Nuclear Power Plants,'' requesting subsequent renewal for a period of
20 years beyond the current renewed facility operating license's
expiration date of July 31, 2030 (Agencywide Documents Access and
Management System Accession No. ML25091A291). A final NRC decision on
this application is expected on or about April 27, 2026.
The NRC's regulations governing license renewal, which are
applicable to the Robinson subsequent license renewal application,
include 10 CFR 54.21, ``Contents of application--technical
information,'' which at paragraph (b) states that ``[e]ach year
following submittal of the license renewal application and at least 3
months before scheduled completion of the NRC review, an amendment to
the renewal application must be submitted that identifies any change to
the CLB [current licensing basis] of the facility that materially
affects the contents of the license renewal application, including the
FSAR [final safety analysis report] supplement.''
On May 23, 2025, the President issued Executive Order (E.O.) 14300
(90 FR 22587), ``Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission,'' and section 5(a) of E.O. 14300 directs the NRC, in part,
to establish fixed deadlines for its evaluation and approval of license
renewals. Specifically, the E.O. directs the NRC to establish ``a
deadline of no more than 1 year for final decision on an application to
continue operating an existing reactor of any type, commencing with the
first required step in the regulatory process.''
Pursuant to 10 CFR 54.15, ``Specific exemptions,'' exemptions from
the requirements of 10 CFR part 54 may be granted by the Commission in
accordance with 10 CFR 50.12, ``Specific exemptions.'' Pursuant to 10
CFR 50.12, the Commission may, upon application by an interested person
or upon its own initiative, grant exemptions from its requirements
when: (1) the exemptions are authorized by law, will not present an
undue risk to the public health and safety, and are consistent with the
common defense and security; and (2) special circumstances are present.
Under 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii), special circumstances are present
whenever application of the regulation in the particular circumstances
would not serve the underlying purpose of the rule or is not necessary
to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule. Under 10 CFR
50.12(a)(2)(vi), special circumstances are also present whenever there
is present any material circumstance not considered when the regulation
was adopted for which it would be in the public interest to grant an
exemption.
II. Action
Based on the direction in E.O. 14300, its review of its regulations
in 10 CFR part 54, and the specific circumstances of the Robinson
subsequent license renewal application review, the NRC has determined
that the granting of an exemption upon its own initiative, pursuant to
10 CFR 54.15 and 10 CFR 50.12, from the requirements of 10 CFR 54.21(b)
with respect to the Robinson subsequent license renewal application is
warranted. Moreover, for the reasons explained below, the NRC has
determined that the requirements of 10 CFR 54.15 and 10 CFR 50.12 are
met. Therefore, an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 54.21(b)
with respect to the Robinson subsequent license renewal application is
granted.
III. Discussion
The Exemption Is Authorized by Law
The exemption would remove the 10 CFR 54.21(b) requirement for Duke
to submit an amendment to the Robinson subsequent license renewal
application, each year following its submittal and at least 3 months
before scheduled completion of the NRC review, that identifies any
change to the CLB of the facility that materially affects the content
of the application during the NRC's review of that application. As
previously stated, 10 CFR 54.15 and 10 CFR 50.12 allow the NRC to grant
exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR part 54, including 10 CFR
54.21(b), when the exemptions are authorized by law. The requirement of
10 CFR 54.21(b) is not required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as
amended (AEA), or any other law and granting an exemption from that
requirement would not result in a violation of the AEA or the NRC's
regulations. As explained in subsequent sections of this document, the
exemption will not present an undue risk to the public health and
safety and is consistent with the common defense and security.
Therefore, the NRC finds that the exemption is authorized by law.
The Exemption Will Not Present an Undue Risk to the Public Health and
Safety
The exemption would remove the 10 CFR 54.21(b) requirement for Duke
to submit an amendment to the Robinson
[[Page 14046]]
subsequent license renewal application, each year following its
submittal and at least 3 months before scheduled completion of the NRC
review, that identifies any change to the CLB of the facility that
materially affects the content of the application during the NRC's
review of that application. As previously stated, 10 CFR 54.15 and 10
CFR 50.12 allow the NRC to grant exemptions from the requirements of 10
CFR part 54, including 10 CFR 54.21(b), when the exemptions will not
present an undue risk to the public health and safety.
The standards in 10 CFR 54.29, ``Standards for issuance of a
renewed license,'' that must be met before the Commission issues
renewed licenses would not be affected by an exemption from 10 CFR
54.21(b). Moreover, the NRC staff has a robust process for reviewing
how license renewal applications address the standards in 10 CFR 54.29
(and other relevant regulations). This process includes considering new
information such as supplements to license renewal applications, of
which Duke submitted two such supplements, by letters dated August 28,
2025 (ML25240B655), and October 1, 2025 (ML25274A131), as part of the
NRC staff's determination of whether the standards for license renewal
are met. For the Robinson subsequent license renewal, no further
supplements are expected, and the NRC staff expects to complete its
review of the Robinson subsequent license renewal application at
approximately the same time that the annual amendment to the subsequent
license renewal application would be due. This NRC staff review
schedule is consistent with that directed by E.O. 14300 of one year for
final decision on license renewal applications. Therefore, although
Duke is required by 10 CFR 54.21(b) to submit amendments annually and
at least 3 months before scheduled completion of the NRC review, these
amendments would have no impact on the NRC staff's determination of
whether the license renewal standards are met. Accordingly, the NRC
finds that an exemption from the amendment requirement of 10 CFR
54.21(b) in this instance will not present an undue risk to the public
health and safety.
The Exemption Is Consistent With the Common Defense and Security
The exemption would remove the 10 CFR 54.21(b) requirement for Duke
to submit an amendment to the Robinson subsequent license renewal
application, each year following its submittal and at least 3 months
before scheduled completion of the NRC review, that identifies any
change to the CLB of the facility that materially affects the content
of the application during the NRC's review of that application. As
previously stated, 10 CFR 54.15 and 10 CFR 50.12 allow the NRC to grant
exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR part 54, including 10 CFR
54.21(b), when the exemptions are consistent with the common defense
and security. The NRC has determined that the exemption does not impact
the common defense and security because the common defense and security
is not within the scope of license renewal reviews, which, instead,
focuses on the effects of aging on systems, structures, and components.
When promulgating revisions to its license renewal rule in 1995 (60 FR
22461, 22463-64), the Commission re-affirmed its philosophy that the
existing regulatory process is adequate to ensure that the licensing
bases of all currently operating plants provide and maintain an
acceptable level of safety such that their operation will not be
inimical to the public health and safety or common defense and
security. Therefore, the NRC finds that the exemption is consistent
with the common defense and security.
Special Circumstances Are Present
The exemption would remove the 10 CFR 54.21(b) requirement for Duke
to submit an amendment to the Robinson subsequent license renewal
application, each year following its submittal and at least 3 months
before scheduled completion of the NRC review, that identifies any
change to the CLB of the facility that materially affects the content
of the application during the NRC's review of that application. As
previously stated, 10 CFR 54.15 and 10 CFR 50.12 allow the NRC to grant
exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR part 54, including 10 CFR
54.21(b), when special circumstances are present. Special circumstances
are present, in part, whenever: (1) application of the regulation in
the particular circumstances would not serve the underlying purpose of
the rule or is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the
rule (10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii)); and (2) there is present any other
material circumstance not considered when the regulation was adopted
for which it would be in the public interest to grant an exemption (10
CFR 50.12(a)(2)(vi)).
The underlying purpose of 10 CFR 54.21(b) is to ensure that the
effect of changes to a renewal applicant's existing licensing basis is
evaluated during the review of a renewal application (56 FR 64954).
Since the promulgation of 10 CFR part 54 in 1991, the NRC has developed
a robust, well-established process to review license renewal
applications, which is discussed in NUREG-1800, Revision 2, ``Standard
Review Plan for Review of License Renewal Applications for Nuclear
Power Plants'' (ML103490036). As part of that process, during its
review of a license renewal application, the NRC staff routinely
identifies and communicates to the renewal applicant any changes to the
license renewal application that are needed to complete the NRC staff's
review. During the NRC staff's review of the Robinson subsequent
license renewal application, Duke submitted two supplements, by letters
dated August 28, 2025 (ML25240B655), and October 1, 2025 (ML25274A131),
that document changes to the Robinson subsequent license renewal
application resulting from NRC staff feedback as part of the license
renewal process. The NRC staff expects to finish its safety review of
the Robinson subsequent license renewal application before Duke would
have the opportunity to submit the annual and the three-months-before-
scheduled-completion amendments required under 10 CFR 54.21(b). Because
of the NRC's license renewal review process, the specific circumstances
of the Robinson subsequent license renewal application review, and the
schedule for the completion of that review, the application of the
amendment requirement of 10 CFR 54.21(b) is not necessary in this
instance to achieve the underlying purpose of that rule of ensuring
that the effect of changes to a renewal applicant's existing licensing
basis are evaluated during the review of a renewal application.
Furthermore, there is present a material circumstance not
considered when 10 CFR 54.21(b) was adopted for which it would be in
the public interest to grant an exemption. At the time that 10 CFR
54.21(b) was adopted, the NRC staff expected the review of a license
renewal application to take three to four years. However, E.O. 14300
has since directed the NRC to complete license renewal reviews in one
year. This direction is a material circumstance that, because it was
issued in 2025, was necessarily not considered when the NRC adopted 10
CFR 54.21(b) in 1991 and decided to require amendments to license
renewal applications at specific times. Additionally, it would be in
the public interest to grant an exemption from the requirements of 10
CFR 54.21(b) with respect to the Robinson subsequent license renewal
application
[[Page 14047]]
because, under the circumstances, they are not necessary.
On these bases, the NRC finds that the special circumstances of 10
CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii) and 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(vi) are present.
Environmental Considerations
The exemption would remove the 10 CFR 54.21(b) requirement for Duke
to submit an amendment to the Robinson subsequent license renewal
application, each year following its submittal and at least 3 months
before scheduled completion of the NRC review, that identifies any
change to the CLB of the facility that materially affects the content
of the application during the NRC's review of that application. The NRC
has determined that this exemption does not have a significant effect
on the human environment and, therefore, that a categorical exclusion
under 10 CFR 51.22, ``Criterion for categorical exclusion;
identification of licensing and regulatory actions eligible for
categorical exclusion or otherwise not requiring environmental
review,'' is appropriate. Specifically, under 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25),
categories of actions that are categorical exclusions include the
granting of an exemption from the requirements of any NRC regulation,
provided that: (i) there is no significant hazards consideration; (ii)
there is no significant change in the types or significant increase in
the amounts of any effluents that may be released offsite; (iii) there
is no significant increase in individual or cumulative public or
occupational radiation exposure; (iv) there is no significant
construction impact; (v) there is no significant increase in the
potential for or consequences from radiological accidents; and (vi) the
requirements from which the exemption is sought involve, in part,
recordkeeping requirements, reporting requirements, or other
requirements of an administrative, managerial, or organizational
nature. As explained below, these criteria are satisfied for this
exemption.
The criteria for determining whether an action involves no
significant hazards consideration are found in 10 CFR 50.92(c). As
discussed in this document, the exemption from 10 CFR 54.21(b) with
respect to the Robinson subsequent license renewal application would
have no impact on the NRC staff's determination of whether the license
renewal standards are met. Therefore, the exemption would not: (1)
involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an
accident previously evaluated; or (2) create the possibility of a new
or different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated;
or (3) involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety.
Additionally, the exemption would not change any manner in which the
facility would operate; therefore, the exemption would not
significantly change the types or significantly increase the amounts of
any effluents that may be released offsite, would not significantly
increase individual or cumulative public or occupational radiation
exposure, would have no significant construction impact, and would not
significantly increase the potential for or consequences from
radiological accidents. Finally, the requirement from which the
exemption is sought, 10 CFR 54.21(b), involves recordkeeping
requirements, reporting requirements, or other requirements of an
administrative, managerial, or organizational nature. Accordingly, the
exemption from 10 CFR 54.21(b) meets the eligibility criteria for
categorical exclusion set forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25). Pursuant to 10
CFR 51.22(b), no environmental impact statement or environmental
assessment need be prepared in connection with the issuance of this
exemption.
IV. Conclusions
Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR
54.15 and 10 CFR 50.12, the exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR
54.21(b) with respect to the Robinson subsequent license renewal
application 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, special circumstances are present. Therefore, the
Commission hereby grants an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR
54.21(b) and, accordingly, Duke is no longer required to submit an
amendment to the Robinson subsequent license renewal application, each
year following its submittal and at least 3 months before scheduled
completion of the NRC review, that identifies any change to the CLB of
the facility that materially affects the content of the application
during the NRC's review of that application.
The exemption is effective upon issuance.
Dated: March 17, 2026.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
/RA/
Michele Sampson,
Director, Division of New and Renewed Licenses, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2026-05658 Filed 3-23-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P