Dominion Energy Kewaunee, Inc.; Kewaunee Power Station, 23632-23635 [2017-10431]
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methodology, as established in NRC
Regulatory Guide 1.183, ‘‘Alternative
Radiological Source Terms for
Evaluating Design Basis Accidents at
Nuclear Power Reactors,’’ July 2000
(ADAMS Accession No. ML003716792),
is used to calculate the offsite and
control room radiological consequences
of postulated accidents for DCPP, Units
1 and 2. The amendments revised
Technical Specification (TS) 1.1,
‘‘Definitions,’’ for the definition of Dose
Equivalent I–131; TS 3.4.16, ‘‘RCS
[Reactor Coolant System] Specific
Activity,’’ to revise the noble gas
activity limit; TS 3.6.3, ‘‘Containment
Isolation Valves,’’ to require the 48-inch
containment purge supply and exhaust
valves to be sealed closed during Modes
1, 2, 3, and 4; TS 5.5.11, ‘‘Ventilation
Filter Testing Program (VFTP),’’ to
change the allowable methyl iodide
penetration testing criteria for the
auxiliary building system charcoal filter;
TS 5.5.19, ‘‘Control Room Habitability
Program,’’ to replace ‘‘whole body or its
equivalent to any part of the body,’’
with ‘‘Total Effective Dose Equivalent,’’
which is the dose criteria specified in 10
CFR 50.67, and Appendix D,
‘‘Additional Conditions,’’ for Facility
Operating License Nos. DPR–80 and
DPR–82 for DCPP, Units 1 and 2, to add
additional license conditions.
Date of issuance: April 27, 2017.
Effective date: As of its date of
issuance and shall be implemented
within 365 days from the date of
issuance.
Amendment Nos.: Unit 1–230; Unit
2–232. A publicly-available version is in
ADAMS under Accession No.
ML17012A246; documents related to
these amendments are listed in the
Safety Evaluation enclosed with the
amendments.
Facility Operating License Nos. DPR–
80 and DPR–82: The amendments
revised the Facility Operating Licenses
and Technical Specifications.
Date of initial notice in Federal
Register: The license amendment
request was originally noticed in the
Federal Register on October 13, 2015
(80 FR 61486). As a result of the
supplemental letters dated October 22,
November 2, November 6, and
December 17, 2015; and February 1,
February 10, April 21, June 9, and
September 15, 2016, the notice was
reissued in its entirety to include the
revised scope, description of the
amendment request, and proposed no
significant hazards consideration
determination on November 8, 2016 (81
FR 78664).
The supplemental letters dated
October 6 and December 27, 2016,
provided additional information that
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clarified the application, did not expand
the scope of the application as originally
noticed, and did not change the NRC
staff’s original proposed no significant
hazards consideration determination as
published in the Federal Register.
The Commission’s related evaluation
of the amendments is contained in a
Safety Evaluation dated April 27, 2017.
No significant hazards consideration
comments received: No.
Tennessee Valley Authority, Docket No.
50–390, Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, Unit 1,
Rhea County, Tennessee
Date of amendment request: June 7,
2016.
Brief description of amendment: The
amendment modified the Technical
Specifications to allow the use of
Component Cooling System (CCS) pump
2B–B to support Train 1B operability
when the normally aligned CCS pump
C–S is removed from service.
Date of issuance: April 27, 2017.
Effective date: As of the date of
issuance and shall be implemented
within 60 days of issuance.
Amendment No.: 113. A publiclyavailable version is in ADAMS under
Accession No. ML17081A263;
documents related to this amendment
are listed in the Safety Evaluation
enclosed with the amendment.
Facility Operating License No. NPF–
90: Amendment revised the Facility
Operating License and Technical
Specifications.
Date of initial notice in Federal
Register: September 13, 2016 (81 FR
62932).
The Commission’s related evaluation
of the amendment is contained in a
Safety Evaluation dated April 27, 2017.
No significant hazards consideration
comments received: No.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 11th day
of May 2017.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Kathryn M. Brock,
Deputy Director, Division of Operating
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2017–10570 Filed 5–22–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50–305; NRC–2017–0121]
Dominion Energy Kewaunee, Inc.;
Kewaunee Power Station
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Exemption; issuance.
AGENCY:
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The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is issuing a partial
exemption in response to an October 13,
2016, request from Dominion Energy
Kewaunee, Inc. (the licensee or DEK).
The issuance of the exemption would
grant DEK a partial exemption from
regulations that require the retention of
records for certain systems, structures,
and components associated with the
Kewaunee Power Station (KPS) until the
termination of the KPS operating
license.
DATES: The exemption was issued on
May 10, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID
NRC–2017–0121 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 Web site: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2017–0121. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol
Gallagher; telephone: 301–415–3463;
email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. 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 publiclyavailable documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at
https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/
adams.html. To begin the search, select
‘‘ADAMS Public Documents’’ and then
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, 301–415–4737, or by
email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. 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: You may examine and
purchase copies of public documents at
the NRC’s PDR, Room O1–F21, One
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville
Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ted
H. Carter, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards; U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555–0001; telephone: 301–415–
5543; email: Ted.Carter@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
I. Background
By letter dated May 14, 2013, DEK
submitted a certification of permanent
removal of fuel from the KPS reactor
vessel (ADAMS Accession No.
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ML13135A209). Consequently, the part
50 of title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR), license for KPS no
longer authorizes operation of the
reactor or emplacement or retention of
fuel into the reactor vessel, as specified
in 10 CFR 50.82(a)(2). The DEK’s
decommissioning plans for KPS are
described in the Post Shutdown
Decommissioning Activities Report
(PSDAR) submitted on April 25, 2014
(ADAMS Accession No. ML14118A382).
According to its PSDAR, DEK plans to
decommission KPS using a SAFSTOR
method in which most fluid systems are
drained and the plant is left in a stable
condition until final decontamination
and dismantlement activities begin. The
irradiated fuel will be stored in the
Independent Spent Fuel Storage
Installation (ISFSI) until it is shipped off
site. With the reactor and the spent fuel
pool (SFP) emptied of fuel, the reactor,
reactor coolant system, secondary
system, and SFP (including its support
systems) will no longer be in operation
and will have no function related to the
safe storage and management of
irradiated fuel.
II. Request/Action
By letter dated October 13, 2016
(ADAMS Accession No. ML16291A494),
DEK filed a request for NRC approval of
an exemption from the record retention
requirements of: (1) 10 CFR part 50,
appendix B, Criterion XVII, ‘‘Quality
Assurance Records,’’ which requires
certain records (e.g., results of
inspections, tests, and materials
analyses) be maintained consistent with
applicable regulatory requirements; (2)
10 CFR 50.59(d)(3), which requires that
records of changes in the facility must
be maintained until termination of a
license issued pursuant to 10 CFR part
50; and (3) 10 CFR 50.71(c), which
requires certain records to be retained
for the period specified by the
appropriate regulation, license
condition, or technical specification, or
until termination of the license if not
otherwise specified.
The licensee proposed to eliminate:
(1) Records associated with structures,
systems, and components (SSCs) and
activities that were applicable to the
nuclear unit, which are no longer
required by the 10 CFR part 50 licensing
basis (i.e., removed from the Updated
Safety Analysis Report and/or Technical
Specifications by appropriate change
mechanisms; and (2) records associated
with the storage of spent nuclear fuel in
the SFP once all fuel has been removed
from the SFP and the KPS license no
longer allows storage of fuel in the SFP.
The licensee cites record retention
exemptions granted to Zion Nuclear
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Power Station, Units 1 and 2 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML111260277), Millstone
Power Station, Unit 1 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML070110567), Vermont
Yankee Nuclear Power Station (ADAMS
Accession No. ML15344A243), and San
Onofre Nuclear Generating Station,
Units 1, 2, and 3 (ADAMS Accession
No. ML15355A055), as examples of the
NRC granting similar requests.
Records associated with residual
radiological activity and with
programmatic controls necessary to
support decommissioning, such as
security and quality assurance, are not
affected by the exemption request
because they will be retained as
decommissioning records until the
termination of the KPS license. In
addition, the licensee did not request an
exemption associated with any other
recordkeeping requirements for the
storage of spent fuel at its ISFSI under
10 CFR part 50 or the general license
requirements of 10 CFR part 72. No
exemption was requested from the
decommissioning records retention
requirements of 10 CFR 50.75, or any
other requirements of 10 CFR part 50
applicable to decommissioning and
dismantlement.
III. Discussion
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, the
Commission may, upon application by
any interested person or upon its own
initiative, grant exemptions from the
requirements of 10 CFR part 50 when
the exemptions are authorized by law,
will not present an undue risk to public
health or safety, and are consistent with
the common defense and security.
However, the Commission will not
consider granting an exemption unless
special circumstances are present.
Special circumstances are described in
10 CFR 50.12(a)(2).
As described in the PSDAR, many of
the KPS reactor facility SSCs are
planned to be abandoned in place
pending dismantlement. Abandoned
SSCs are no longer operable or
maintained. Following permanent
removal of fuel from the SFP, those
SSCs required to support safe storage of
spent fuel in the SFP will also be
abandoned. In its October 13, 2016,
exemption request, the licensee stated
that the basis for eliminating records
associated with reactor facility SSCs and
activities is that these SSCs have been
(or will be) removed from service per
regulatory change processes, dismantled
or demolished, and no longer have any
function regulated by the NRC.
The DEK recognizes that some records
related to the nuclear unit will continue
to be under NRC regulation primarily
due to residual radioactivity. The
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radiological and other necessary
programmatic controls (such as security,
quality assurance, etc.) for the facility
and the implementation of controls for
the defueled condition and the
decommissioning activities are and will
continue to be appropriately addressed
through the license and current plant
documents such as the Updated Safety
Analysis Report and Technical
Specifications. Except for future
changes made through the applicable
change process defined in the
regulations (e.g., 10 CFR 50.48(f), 10
CFR 50.59, 10 CFR 50.90, 10 CFR
50.54(a), 10 CFR 50.54(p), 10 CFR
50.54(q), etc.), these programmatic
elements and their associated records
are unaffected by the requested
exemption.
Records necessary for SFP SSCs and
activities will continue to be retained
through the period that the SFP is
needed for safe storage of irradiated
fuel. Analogous to other plant records,
once the SFP is permanently emptied of
fuel, there will be no need for retaining
SFP related records.
The licensee’s general justification for
eliminating records associated with KPS
SSCs that have been or will be removed
from service under the NRC license,
dismantled, or demolished, is that these
SSCs will not in the future serve any
KPS functions regulated by the NRC.
The DEK’s dismantlement plans involve
evaluating SSCs with respect to the
current facility safety analysis;
progressively removing them from the
licensing basis where necessary through
appropriate change mechanisms (e.g., 10
CFR 50.59 or via NRC-approved
technical specification changes, as
applicable); revising the Defueled Safety
Analysis Report and/or Updated Safety
Analysis Report as necessary; and then
proceeding with an orderly
dismantlement. Dismantlement of the
plant structures will also include
dismantling existing records storage
facilities.
The DEK intends to retain the records
required by its license as the facility’s
decommissioning transitions as
described in the PSDAR. However,
equipment abandonment will obviate
the regulatory and business needs for
maintenance of most records. As the
SSCs are removed from the licensing
basis, DEK asserts that the need for their
records is, on a practical basis,
eliminated. Therefore, DEK is requesting
exemption from the associated records
retention requirements for SSCs and
historical activities that are no longer
relevant. Approval of the requested
exemption would eliminate the
associated burden of creating alternative
record storage locations, and relocating
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records to, and retaining records in the
alternative locations for those records
relevant only to past power operations.
The DEK is not requesting exemption
from any recordkeeping requirements
for storage of spent fuel at an ISFSI
under 10 CFR part 50 or the general
license requirements of 10 CFR part 72.
The Exemption Is Authorized by Law
The NRC staff has determined that
granting the licensee’s proposed
exemption will not result in a violation
of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as
amended, other laws, or the
Commission’s regulations. Therefore,
the exemption from the recordkeeping
requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(c); 10 CFR
part 50, appendix B, Criterion XVII; and
10 CFR 50.59(d)(3) is authorized by law.
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The Exemption Presents No Undue Risk
to Public Health and Safety
Removal of the underlying SSCs
associated with the records for which
KPS has requested an exemption from
recordkeeping requirements has been or
will be determined by the licensee to
have no adverse public health and
safety impact, in accordance with 10
CFR 50.59 or an NRC-approved license
amendment. These change processes
involve either a determination by the
licensee or an approval from the NRC
that the affected SSCs no longer serve
any safety purpose regulated by the
NRC. Elimination of records associated
with these removed SSCs can have no
impact to public health and safety.
The partial exemption from the
recordkeeping requirements of 10 CFR
50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, appendix B,
Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3)
for the records described is
administrative in nature and will have
no impact on any remaining
decommissioning activities or on
radiological effluents. The exemption
will only advance the schedule for
disposition of the specified records.
Considering the content of these
records, the elimination of these records
on an advanced timetable will have no
reasonable possibility of presenting any
undue risk to the public health and
safety.
The Exemption Is Consistent With the
Common Defense and Security
The elimination of the recordkeeping
requirements does not involve
information or activities that could
potentially impact the common defense
and security of the United States. Upon
dismantlement of the affected SSCs, the
records have no functional purpose
relative to maintaining the safe
operation of the SSCs, maintaining
conditions that would affect the ongoing
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health and safety of workers or the
public, or informing decisions related to
nuclear security.
Rather, the exemption requested is
administrative in nature and would only
advance the current schedule for
disposition of the specified records.
Therefore, the partial exemption from
the recordkeeping requirements of 10
CFR 50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, appendix
B, Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR
50.59(d)(3) for the types of records
described is consistent with the
common defense and security.
Special Circumstances
Paragraph 50.12(a)(2) states, in part:
‘‘The Commission will not consider
granting an exemption unless special
circumstances are present. Special
circumstances are present whenever:
. . . (ii) 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; [and]
(iii) Compliance would result in undue
hardship or other costs that are
significantly in excess of those
contemplated when the regulation was
adopted. . . .’’
Criterion XVII of 10 CFR part 50,
Appendix B, states in part: ‘‘Sufficient
records shall be maintained to furnish
evidence of activities affecting quality.’’
Paragraph 50.59(d)(3) states in part:
‘‘The records of changes in the facility
must be maintained until the
termination of an operating license
issued under this part. . . .’’
Paragraph 50.71(c), states in part:
‘‘Records that are required by the
regulations in this part or part 52 of this
chapter, by license condition, or by
technical specifications must be
retained for the period specified by the
appropriate regulation, license
condition, or technical specification. If
a retention period is not otherwise
specified, these records must be
retained until the Commission
terminates the facility license. . . .’’
In the Statement of Considerations
(SOC) for the final rulemaking,
‘‘Retention Periods for Records’’ (53 FR
19240; May 27, 1988), in response to
public comments received during the
rulemaking process, the NRC stated that
records must be retained ‘‘for NRC to
ensure compliance with the safety and
health aspects of the nuclear
environment and for the NRC to
accomplish its mission to protect the
public health and safety.’’ In the SOC
the Commission also explained that
requiring licensees to maintain adequate
records assists the NRC ‘‘in judging
compliance and noncompliance, to act
on possible noncompliance, and to
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examine facts as necessary following
any incident.’’
These regulations apply to licensees
in decommissioning despite the fact
that, during the decommissioning
process, safety-related SSCs are retired
or disabled and subsequently removed
from NRC licensing basis documents by
appropriate change mechanisms.
Appropriate removal of an SSC from the
licensing basis requires either a
determination by the licensee or an
approval from the NRC that the SSC no
longer has the potential to cause an
accident, event, or other problem which
would adversely impact public health
and safety.
The records subject to removal under
this exemption are associated with SSCs
that had been important to safety during
power operation or operation of the SFP
but are no longer capable of causing an
event, incident, or condition that would
adversely impact public health and
safety, as evidenced by their appropriate
removal from the licensing basis
documents. If the SSCs no longer have
the potential to cause these scenarios,
then it is reasonable to conclude that the
records associated with these SSCs
would not reasonably be necessary to
assist the NRC in determining
compliance and noncompliance, taking
action on possible noncompliance, and
examining facts following an incident.
Therefore, their retention would not
serve the underlying purpose of the
rule.
In addition, once removed from the
licensing basis documents, SSCs are no
longer governed by the NRC’s
regulations, and therefore are not
subject to compliance with the safety
and health aspects of the nuclear
environment. As such, retention of
records associated with SSCs that are or
will no longer be part of the facility
serves no safety or regulatory purpose,
nor does it serve the underlying purpose
of the rule of maintaining compliance
with the safety and health aspects of the
nuclear environment in order to
accomplish the NRC’s mission.
Accordingly, special circumstances are
present which the NRC may consider,
pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii), to
grant the requested exemption.
Records which continue to serve the
underlying purpose of the rule, that is,
to maintain compliance and to protect
public health and safety in support of
the NRC’s mission, will continue to be
retained pursuant to the regulations in
10 CFR part 50 and 10 CFR part 72.
These retained records not subject to the
exemption include those associated
with programmatic controls, such as
those pertaining to residual
radioactivity, security, and quality
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assurance, as well as records associated
with the ISFSI and spent fuel
assemblies.
The retention of records required by
10 CFR 50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50,
appendix B, Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR
50.59(d)(3) provides assurance that
records associated with SSCs will be
captured, indexed, and stored in an
environmentally suitable and retrievable
condition. Given the volume of records
associated with the SSCs, compliance
with the records retention rule results in
a considerable cost to the licensee.
Retention of the volume of records
associated with the SSCs during the
operational phase is appropriate to serve
the underlying purpose of determining
compliance and noncompliance, taking
action on possible noncompliance, and
examining facts following an incident,
as discussed.
However, the cost effect of retaining
operational phase records beyond the
operations phase until the termination
of the license was not fully considered
or understood when the records
retention rule was put in place. For
example, existing records storage
facilities are often eliminated as
decommissioning progresses. Retaining
records associated with SSCs and
activities that no longer serve a safety or
regulatory purpose would therefore
necessitate creation of new facilities and
retention of otherwise unneeded
administrative support personnel. As
such, compliance with the rule would
result in an undue cost in excess of that
contemplated when the rule was
adopted. Accordingly, special
circumstances are present which the
NRC may consider, pursuant to 10 CFR
50.12(a)(2)(iii), to grant the requested
exemption.
Environmental Considerations
Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b) and
(c)(25), the granting of an exemption
from the requirements of any regulation
in Chapter I of 10 CFR is a categorical
exclusion provided that: (1) There is no
significant hazards consideration; (2)
there is no significant change in the
types or significant increase in the
amounts of any effluents that may be
released offsite; (3) there is no
significant increase in individual or
cumulative public or occupational
radiation exposure; (4) there is no
significant construction impact; (5)
there is no significant increase in the
potential for or consequences from
radiological accidents; and (6) the
requirements from which an exemption
is sought are among those identified in
10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(vi).
The NRC staff has determined that
approval of the exemption request
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involves no significant hazards
consideration because allowing the
licensee exemption from the
recordkeeping requirements of 10 CFR
50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, appendix B,
Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3)
at the decommissioning Kewaunee
Power Station does not: (1) Involve a
significant increase in the probability or
consequences of an accident previously
evaluated; (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 (10 CFR 50.92(c)).
Likewise, there is no significant change
in the types or significant increase in
the amounts of any effluents that may be
released offsite, and no significant
increase in individual or cumulative
public or occupational radiation
exposure.
The exempted regulations are not
associated with construction, so there is
no significant construction impact. The
exempted regulations do not concern
the source term (i.e., potential amount
of radiation involved an accident) or
accident mitigation; therefore, there is
no significant increase in the potential
for, or consequences from, radiological
accidents. Allowing the licensee partial
exemption from the record retention
requirements for which the exemption
is sought involves recordkeeping
requirements, as well as reporting
requirements of an administrative,
managerial, or organizational nature.
Therefore, pursuant to 10 CFR
51.22(b) and 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25), no
environmental impact statement or
environmental assessment need be
prepared in connection with the
approval of this exemption request.
IV. Conclusions
The NRC staff has determined that the
requested partial exemption from the
recordkeeping requirements of 10 CFR
50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, appendix B,
Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3)
will not present an undue risk to the
public health and safety. The
destruction of the identified records will
not impact remaining decommissioning
activities; plant operations,
configuration, and/or radiological
effluents; operational and/or installed
SSCs that are quality-related or
important to safety; or nuclear security.
The NRC staff has determined that the
destruction of the identified records is
administrative in nature and does not
involve information or activities that
could potentially impact the common
defense and security of the United
States.
The purpose for the recordkeeping
regulations is to assist the NRC in
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23635
carrying out its mission to protect the
public health and safety by ensuring
that the licensing and design basis of the
facility is understood, documented,
preserved and retrievable in such a way
that will aid the NRC in determining
compliance and noncompliance, taking
action on possible noncompliance, and
examining facts following an incident.
Since the KPS SSCs that were safetyrelated or important to safety have been
or will be removed from the licensing
basis and removed from the plant, the
staff agrees that the records identified in
the partial exemption will no longer be
required to achieve the underlying
purpose of the records retention rule.
Accordingly, the Commission has
determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR
50.12, 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, special
circumstances are present. Therefore,
the Commission hereby grants the
Dominion Energy Kewaunee, Inc., a
partial exemption from the
recordkeeping requirements of 10 CFR
50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, appendix B,
Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3)
for the Kewaunee Power Station to
advance the schedule to remove records
associated with SSCs that have been or
will be removed from NRC licensing
basis documents by appropriate change
mechanisms.
This exemption is effective upon
issuance.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day
of May 2017.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John R. Tappert,
Director, Division of Decommissioning,
Uranium Recovery and Waste Programs,
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and
Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2017–10431 Filed 5–22–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL
MANAGEMENT
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The President’s Commission
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SUMMARY:
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23MYN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 98 (Tuesday, May 23, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23632-23635]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-10431]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-305; NRC-2017-0121]
Dominion Energy Kewaunee, Inc.; Kewaunee Power Station
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Exemption; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a
partial exemption in response to an October 13, 2016, request from
Dominion Energy Kewaunee, Inc. (the licensee or DEK). The issuance of
the exemption would grant DEK a partial exemption from regulations that
require the retention of records for certain systems, structures, and
components associated with the Kewaunee Power Station (KPS) until the
termination of the KPS operating license.
DATES: The exemption was issued on May 10, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2017-0121 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 Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2017-0121. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. 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 ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and
then 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, 301-415-4737, or by email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. 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: You may examine and purchase copies of public
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ted H. Carter, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-5543; email:
Ted.Carter@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
By letter dated May 14, 2013, DEK submitted a certification of
permanent removal of fuel from the KPS reactor vessel (ADAMS Accession
No.
[[Page 23633]]
ML13135A209). Consequently, the part 50 of title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), license for KPS no longer authorizes
operation of the reactor or emplacement or retention of fuel into the
reactor vessel, as specified in 10 CFR 50.82(a)(2). The DEK's
decommissioning plans for KPS are described in the Post Shutdown
Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR) submitted on April 25, 2014
(ADAMS Accession No. ML14118A382).
According to its PSDAR, DEK plans to decommission KPS using a
SAFSTOR method in which most fluid systems are drained and the plant is
left in a stable condition until final decontamination and
dismantlement activities begin. The irradiated fuel will be stored in
the Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) until it is
shipped off site. With the reactor and the spent fuel pool (SFP)
emptied of fuel, the reactor, reactor coolant system, secondary system,
and SFP (including its support systems) will no longer be in operation
and will have no function related to the safe storage and management of
irradiated fuel.
II. Request/Action
By letter dated October 13, 2016 (ADAMS Accession No. ML16291A494),
DEK filed a request for NRC approval of an exemption from the record
retention requirements of: (1) 10 CFR part 50, appendix B, Criterion
XVII, ``Quality Assurance Records,'' which requires certain records
(e.g., results of inspections, tests, and materials analyses) be
maintained consistent with applicable regulatory requirements; (2) 10
CFR 50.59(d)(3), which requires that records of changes in the facility
must be maintained until termination of a license issued pursuant to 10
CFR part 50; and (3) 10 CFR 50.71(c), which requires certain records to
be retained for the period specified by the appropriate regulation,
license condition, or technical specification, or until termination of
the license if not otherwise specified.
The licensee proposed to eliminate: (1) Records associated with
structures, systems, and components (SSCs) and activities that were
applicable to the nuclear unit, which are no longer required by the 10
CFR part 50 licensing basis (i.e., removed from the Updated Safety
Analysis Report and/or Technical Specifications by appropriate change
mechanisms; and (2) records associated with the storage of spent
nuclear fuel in the SFP once all fuel has been removed from the SFP and
the KPS license no longer allows storage of fuel in the SFP. The
licensee cites record retention exemptions granted to Zion Nuclear
Power Station, Units 1 and 2 (ADAMS Accession No. ML111260277),
Millstone Power Station, Unit 1 (ADAMS Accession No. ML070110567),
Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (ADAMS Accession No. ML15344A243),
and San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1, 2, and 3 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML15355A055), as examples of the NRC granting similar
requests.
Records associated with residual radiological activity and with
programmatic controls necessary to support decommissioning, such as
security and quality assurance, are not affected by the exemption
request because they will be retained as decommissioning records until
the termination of the KPS license. In addition, the licensee did not
request an exemption associated with any other recordkeeping
requirements for the storage of spent fuel at its ISFSI under 10 CFR
part 50 or the general license requirements of 10 CFR part 72. No
exemption was requested from the decommissioning records retention
requirements of 10 CFR 50.75, or any other requirements of 10 CFR part
50 applicable to decommissioning and dismantlement.
III. Discussion
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, the Commission may, upon application by
any interested person or upon its own initiative, grant exemptions from
the requirements of 10 CFR part 50 when the exemptions are authorized
by law, will not present an undue risk to public health or safety, and
are consistent with the common defense and security. However, the
Commission will not consider granting an exemption unless special
circumstances are present. Special circumstances are described in 10
CFR 50.12(a)(2).
As described in the PSDAR, many of the KPS reactor facility SSCs
are planned to be abandoned in place pending dismantlement. Abandoned
SSCs are no longer operable or maintained. Following permanent removal
of fuel from the SFP, those SSCs required to support safe storage of
spent fuel in the SFP will also be abandoned. In its October 13, 2016,
exemption request, the licensee stated that the basis for eliminating
records associated with reactor facility SSCs and activities is that
these SSCs have been (or will be) removed from service per regulatory
change processes, dismantled or demolished, and no longer have any
function regulated by the NRC.
The DEK recognizes that some records related to the nuclear unit
will continue to be under NRC regulation primarily due to residual
radioactivity. The radiological and other necessary programmatic
controls (such as security, quality assurance, etc.) for the facility
and the implementation of controls for the defueled condition and the
decommissioning activities are and will continue to be appropriately
addressed through the license and current plant documents such as the
Updated Safety Analysis Report and Technical Specifications. Except for
future changes made through the applicable change process defined in
the regulations (e.g., 10 CFR 50.48(f), 10 CFR 50.59, 10 CFR 50.90, 10
CFR 50.54(a), 10 CFR 50.54(p), 10 CFR 50.54(q), etc.), these
programmatic elements and their associated records are unaffected by
the requested exemption.
Records necessary for SFP SSCs and activities will continue to be
retained through the period that the SFP is needed for safe storage of
irradiated fuel. Analogous to other plant records, once the SFP is
permanently emptied of fuel, there will be no need for retaining SFP
related records.
The licensee's general justification for eliminating records
associated with KPS SSCs that have been or will be removed from service
under the NRC license, dismantled, or demolished, is that these SSCs
will not in the future serve any KPS functions regulated by the NRC.
The DEK's dismantlement plans involve evaluating SSCs with respect to
the current facility safety analysis; progressively removing them from
the licensing basis where necessary through appropriate change
mechanisms (e.g., 10 CFR 50.59 or via NRC-approved technical
specification changes, as applicable); revising the Defueled Safety
Analysis Report and/or Updated Safety Analysis Report as necessary; and
then proceeding with an orderly dismantlement. Dismantlement of the
plant structures will also include dismantling existing records storage
facilities.
The DEK intends to retain the records required by its license as
the facility's decommissioning transitions as described in the PSDAR.
However, equipment abandonment will obviate the regulatory and business
needs for maintenance of most records. As the SSCs are removed from the
licensing basis, DEK asserts that the need for their records is, on a
practical basis, eliminated. Therefore, DEK is requesting exemption
from the associated records retention requirements for SSCs and
historical activities that are no longer relevant. Approval of the
requested exemption would eliminate the associated burden of creating
alternative record storage locations, and relocating
[[Page 23634]]
records to, and retaining records in the alternative locations for
those records relevant only to past power operations. The DEK is not
requesting exemption from any recordkeeping requirements for storage of
spent fuel at an ISFSI under 10 CFR part 50 or the general license
requirements of 10 CFR part 72.
The Exemption Is Authorized by Law
The NRC staff has determined that granting the licensee's proposed
exemption will not result in a violation of the Atomic Energy Act of
1954, as amended, other laws, or the Commission's regulations.
Therefore, the exemption from the recordkeeping requirements of 10 CFR
50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, appendix B, Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR
50.59(d)(3) is authorized by law.
The Exemption Presents No Undue Risk to Public Health and Safety
Removal of the underlying SSCs associated with the records for
which KPS has requested an exemption from recordkeeping requirements
has been or will be determined by the licensee to have no adverse
public health and safety impact, in accordance with 10 CFR 50.59 or an
NRC-approved license amendment. These change processes involve either a
determination by the licensee or an approval from the NRC that the
affected SSCs no longer serve any safety purpose regulated by the NRC.
Elimination of records associated with these removed SSCs can have no
impact to public health and safety.
The partial exemption from the recordkeeping requirements of 10 CFR
50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, appendix B, Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR
50.59(d)(3) for the records described is administrative in nature and
will have no impact on any remaining decommissioning activities or on
radiological effluents. The exemption will only advance the schedule
for disposition of the specified records. Considering the content of
these records, the elimination of these records on an advanced
timetable will have no reasonable possibility of presenting any undue
risk to the public health and safety.
The Exemption Is Consistent With the Common Defense and Security
The elimination of the recordkeeping requirements does not involve
information or activities that could potentially impact the common
defense and security of the United States. Upon dismantlement of the
affected SSCs, the records have no functional purpose relative to
maintaining the safe operation of the SSCs, maintaining conditions that
would affect the ongoing health and safety of workers or the public, or
informing decisions related to nuclear security.
Rather, the exemption requested is administrative in nature and
would only advance the current schedule for disposition of the
specified records. Therefore, the partial exemption from the
recordkeeping requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, appendix
B, Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3) for the types of records
described is consistent with the common defense and security.
Special Circumstances
Paragraph 50.12(a)(2) states, in part: ``The Commission will not
consider granting an exemption unless special circumstances are
present. Special circumstances are present whenever: . . . (ii)
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; [and] (iii) Compliance would result
in undue hardship or other costs that are significantly in excess of
those contemplated when the regulation was adopted. . . .''
Criterion XVII of 10 CFR part 50, Appendix B, states in part:
``Sufficient records shall be maintained to furnish evidence of
activities affecting quality.''
Paragraph 50.59(d)(3) states in part: ``The records of changes in
the facility must be maintained until the termination of an operating
license issued under this part. . . .''
Paragraph 50.71(c), states in part: ``Records that are required by
the regulations in this part or part 52 of this chapter, by license
condition, or by technical specifications must be retained for the
period specified by the appropriate regulation, license condition, or
technical specification. If a retention period is not otherwise
specified, these records must be retained until the Commission
terminates the facility license. . . .''
In the Statement of Considerations (SOC) for the final rulemaking,
``Retention Periods for Records'' (53 FR 19240; May 27, 1988), in
response to public comments received during the rulemaking process, the
NRC stated that records must be retained ``for NRC to ensure compliance
with the safety and health aspects of the nuclear environment and for
the NRC to accomplish its mission to protect the public health and
safety.'' In the SOC the Commission also explained that requiring
licensees to maintain adequate records assists the NRC ``in judging
compliance and noncompliance, to act on possible noncompliance, and to
examine facts as necessary following any incident.''
These regulations apply to licensees in decommissioning despite the
fact that, during the decommissioning process, safety-related SSCs are
retired or disabled and subsequently removed from NRC licensing basis
documents by appropriate change mechanisms. Appropriate removal of an
SSC from the licensing basis requires either a determination by the
licensee or an approval from the NRC that the SSC no longer has the
potential to cause an accident, event, or other problem which would
adversely impact public health and safety.
The records subject to removal under this exemption are associated
with SSCs that had been important to safety during power operation or
operation of the SFP but are no longer capable of causing an event,
incident, or condition that would adversely impact public health and
safety, as evidenced by their appropriate removal from the licensing
basis documents. If the SSCs no longer have the potential to cause
these scenarios, then it is reasonable to conclude that the records
associated with these SSCs would not reasonably be necessary to assist
the NRC in determining compliance and noncompliance, taking action on
possible noncompliance, and examining facts following an incident.
Therefore, their retention would not serve the underlying purpose of
the rule.
In addition, once removed from the licensing basis documents, SSCs
are no longer governed by the NRC's regulations, and therefore are not
subject to compliance with the safety and health aspects of the nuclear
environment. As such, retention of records associated with SSCs that
are or will no longer be part of the facility serves no safety or
regulatory purpose, nor does it serve the underlying purpose of the
rule of maintaining compliance with the safety and health aspects of
the nuclear environment in order to accomplish the NRC's mission.
Accordingly, special circumstances are present which the NRC may
consider, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii), to grant the requested
exemption.
Records which continue to serve the underlying purpose of the rule,
that is, to maintain compliance and to protect public health and safety
in support of the NRC's mission, will continue to be retained pursuant
to the regulations in 10 CFR part 50 and 10 CFR part 72. These retained
records not subject to the exemption include those associated with
programmatic controls, such as those pertaining to residual
radioactivity, security, and quality
[[Page 23635]]
assurance, as well as records associated with the ISFSI and spent fuel
assemblies.
The retention of records required by 10 CFR 50.71(c); 10 CFR part
50, appendix B, Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3) provides
assurance that records associated with SSCs will be captured, indexed,
and stored in an environmentally suitable and retrievable condition.
Given the volume of records associated with the SSCs, compliance with
the records retention rule results in a considerable cost to the
licensee. Retention of the volume of records associated with the SSCs
during the operational phase is appropriate to serve the underlying
purpose of determining compliance and noncompliance, taking action on
possible noncompliance, and examining facts following an incident, as
discussed.
However, the cost effect of retaining operational phase records
beyond the operations phase until the termination of the license was
not fully considered or understood when the records retention rule was
put in place. For example, existing records storage facilities are
often eliminated as decommissioning progresses. Retaining records
associated with SSCs and activities that no longer serve a safety or
regulatory purpose would therefore necessitate creation of new
facilities and retention of otherwise unneeded administrative support
personnel. As such, compliance with the rule would result in an undue
cost in excess of that contemplated when the rule was adopted.
Accordingly, special circumstances are present which the NRC may
consider, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(iii), to grant the requested
exemption.
Environmental Considerations
Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b) and (c)(25), the granting of an
exemption from the requirements of any regulation in Chapter I of 10
CFR is a categorical exclusion provided that: (1) There is no
significant hazards consideration; (2) there is no significant change
in the types or significant increase in the amounts of any effluents
that may be released offsite; (3) there is no significant increase in
individual or cumulative public or occupational radiation exposure; (4)
there is no significant construction impact; (5) there is no
significant increase in the potential for or consequences from
radiological accidents; and (6) the requirements from which an
exemption is sought are among those identified in 10 CFR
51.22(c)(25)(vi).
The NRC staff has determined that approval of the exemption request
involves no significant hazards consideration because allowing the
licensee exemption from the recordkeeping requirements of 10 CFR
50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, appendix B, Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR
50.59(d)(3) at the decommissioning Kewaunee Power Station does not: (1)
Involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an
accident previously evaluated; (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 (10 CFR
50.92(c)). Likewise, there is no significant change in the types or
significant increase in the amounts of any effluents that may be
released offsite, and no significant increase in individual or
cumulative public or occupational radiation exposure.
The exempted regulations are not associated with construction, so
there is no significant construction impact. The exempted regulations
do not concern the source term (i.e., potential amount of radiation
involved an accident) or accident mitigation; therefore, there is no
significant increase in the potential for, or consequences from,
radiological accidents. Allowing the licensee partial exemption from
the record retention requirements for which the exemption is sought
involves recordkeeping requirements, as well as reporting requirements
of an administrative, managerial, or organizational nature.
Therefore, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b) and 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25), no
environmental impact statement or environmental assessment need be
prepared in connection with the approval of this exemption request.
IV. Conclusions
The NRC staff has determined that the requested partial exemption
from the recordkeeping requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50,
appendix B, Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3) will not present an
undue risk to the public health and safety. The destruction of the
identified records will not impact remaining decommissioning
activities; plant operations, configuration, and/or radiological
effluents; operational and/or installed SSCs that are quality-related
or important to safety; or nuclear security. The NRC staff has
determined that the destruction of the identified records is
administrative in nature and does not involve information or activities
that could potentially impact the common defense and security of the
United States.
The purpose for the recordkeeping regulations is to assist the NRC
in carrying out its mission to protect the public health and safety by
ensuring that the licensing and design basis of the facility is
understood, documented, preserved and retrievable in such a way that
will aid the NRC in determining compliance and noncompliance, taking
action on possible noncompliance, and examining facts following an
incident. Since the KPS SSCs that were safety-related or important to
safety have been or will be removed from the licensing basis and
removed from the plant, the staff agrees that the records identified in
the partial exemption will no longer be required to achieve the
underlying purpose of the records retention rule.
Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR
50.12, 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, special circumstances are present.
Therefore, the Commission hereby grants the Dominion Energy Kewaunee,
Inc., a partial exemption from the recordkeeping requirements of 10 CFR
50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, appendix B, Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR
50.59(d)(3) for the Kewaunee Power Station to advance the schedule to
remove records associated with SSCs that have been or will be removed
from NRC licensing basis documents by appropriate change mechanisms.
This exemption is effective upon issuance.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day of May 2017.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John R. Tappert,
Director, Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste
Programs, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2017-10431 Filed 5-22-17; 8:45 am]
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