Indiana Michigan Power Company; Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant, Unit 1; Exemption, 59269-59270 [E9-27527]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 220 (Tuesday, November 17, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59269-59270]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-27527]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2009-0503l; Docket No. 50-315]


Indiana Michigan Power Company; Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant, 
Unit 1; Exemption

1.0 Background

    The Indiana Michigan Power Company (the licensee) is the holder of 
Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-58, which authorizes operation of 
the Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant, Unit 1 (CNP-1). The license provides, 
among other things, that the facility is subject to all rules, 
regulations, and orders of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the 
Commission) now or hereafter in effect.
    The facility consists of two pressurized-water reactors located in 
Berrien County in Michigan.

2.0 Request/Action

    Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), part 26, 
section 205(d)(4) [10 CFR 26.205(d)(4)] provides that during the first 
60 days of a unit outage, licensees need not meet the requirements of 
10 CFR 26.205(d)(3) for individuals specified in 10 CFR 26.4(a)(1) 
through 10 CFR 26.4(a)(4), while those individuals are working on 
outage activities. However, 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4) also provides that the 
licensee shall ensure that the individuals specified in 10 CFR 
26.4(a)(1) through (a)(3) have at least 3 days off in each successive 
(i.e., non-rolling) 15-day period and that the individuals specified in 
10 CFR 26.4(a)(4) have at least 1 day off in any 7-day period.
    The less restrictive requirements of 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4) would be 
applied following a period of normal plant operation in which the 
workload and overtime levels are controlled by 10 CFR 26.205(d)(3). As 
stated in 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4), the less restrictive work hour 
requirements are permitted during the first 60 days of a unit outage. 
Since the current CNP-1 extended outage commenced in September 2008, 
the first 60 days of the unit outage have already elapsed.
    The licensee adopted the regulations of 10 CFR 26, subpart I, on 
October 1, 2009, and has been controlling work hours accordingly. The 
proposed scheduler exemption would allow the less restrictive working 
hours of 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4) during a 60-day period beginning within 
three days of issuance of the exemption, rather than during the first 
60 days of the current unit outage (which commenced in September 2008). 
The exemption would include those operations and maintenance personnel 
required to support outage-related activities, including preparations 
for unit restart. The licensee would ensure that the affected 
individuals in these departments would not work excessive overtime 
during the period immediately preceding the application of 10 CFR 
26.205(d)(4).
    The exemption would continue to serve the underlying purpose of 10 
CFR 26, subpart I, in that assurance would be provided such that 
cumulative fatigue of individuals to safely and competently perform 
their duties will not be compromised.

3.0 Discussion

    Pursuant to 10 CFR 26.9, the Commission may, upon application by 
any interested person or upon its own initiative, grant exemptions from 
the requirements of 10 CFR part 26 when (1) the exemptions are 
authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to public health or 
safety, are consistent with the common defense and security, and are 
otherwise in the public interest.

Authorized by Law

    This scheduler exemption would allow the licensee to use the less 
restrictive working hour limitations provided in 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4) 
during a 60 day period beginning within three days of issuance of the 
exemption. Because CNP-1 was already in an extended outage during the 
implementation of 10 CFR part 26, Subpart I, the licensee has not been 
able to apply the less restrictive working hours provided for in 10 CFR 
26.205(d)(4). This scheduler exemption would merely place CNP-1 in a 
similar position as licensees with outages that commenced after 
implementing Subpart I. As stated above, 10 CFR 26.9 allows the NRC to 
grant exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR Part 26. The NRC staff 
has determined that granting of the licensee's proposed exemption will 
not result in a violation of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 
or the Commission's regulations. Therefore, the exemption is authorized 
by law.

No Undue Risk to Public Health and Safety

    The underlying purpose of 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4) is to provide 
licensees flexibility in scheduling required days off while 
accommodating the more intense work schedules associated with a unit 
outage, while assuring that cumulative fatigue does not compromise the 
abilities of individuals to safely and competently perform their 
duties. Therefore, no new accident precursors are created by invoking 
the less restrictive work hour limitations on a date commensurate with 
the start of those activities supporting the restart of CNP-1, provided 
that the licensee has effectively managed fatigue for the affected 
individuals prior to this date. Thus, the probability of postulated 
accidents is not increased. Also, based on the above, the consequences 
of postulated accidents are not increased. Therefore, there is no undue 
risk to public health and safety.

Consistent With Common Defense and Security

    The proposed scheduler exemption would allow for the use of the 
less restrictive work hour requirements of 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4) for 
operations and maintenance personnel to support restart activities for 
CNP-1, which has been in an extended outage since September 20, 2008. 
This change to the operation of the plant has no relation to security 
issues. Therefore, the common defense and security is not impacted by 
this exemption.

Consistent With the Public Interest

    The proposed scheduler exemption would allow the licensee to 
implement the less restrictive work hour requirements of 10 CFR 
26.205(d)(4) to allow flexibility in scheduling required days off while 
accommodating the more intensive work schedules that accompany a unit 
outage. During the CNP-1 restart period, the workload for operations 
and maintenance personnel will undergo a temporary but significant 
increase due to filling, venting, flushing, calibration, and testing 
evolutions necessitated by the repairs to the secondary and electrical 
generation systems and components. These evolutions are in addition to 
the normal unit startup activities involving operation and surveillance 
testing of primary systems and components. Ensuring a sufficient number 
of qualified personnel are available to support these activities is in 
the interest of overall public health and safety. Therefore, this 
scheduler exemption is consistent with the public interest.

[[Page 59270]]

4.0 Conclusion

    Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 
26.9, the exemption is authorized by law, will not endanger life or 
property nor present an undue risk to the public health and safety, is 
consistent with the common defense and security, and is otherwise in 
the public interest. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants Indiana 
Michigan Power Company an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 
26.205(d)(4) for the Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant, Unit 1.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that the 
granting of this exemption will not have a significant effect on the 
quality of the human environment (74 FR 58063).
    This exemption is effective upon issuance, and implementation of 
the work hour limitations as specified in 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4) for CNP-1 
operations and maintenance personnel working on outage activities 
associated with unit restart will commence no later than November 13, 
2009. The licensee may implement the work hour provisions of 10 CFR 
26.205(d)(4) for 60 days or until completion of the current CNP-1 
forced outage, whichever is shorter. The licensee may implement the 
provisions of 10 CFR 26.205(d)(6), if applicable.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day of November 2009.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Joseph G. Giitter,
Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E9-27527 Filed 11-16-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P