Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, 31425-31429 [2018-14391]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 129 (Thursday, July 5, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31425-31429]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-14391]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-219; NRC-2018-0136]


Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating 
Station

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Exemption; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a partial 
exemption in response to an April 12, 2018, request from Exelon 
Generation Company, LLC (the licensee or Exelon). The issuance of the 
exemption grants Exelon a partial exemption from regulations that 
require the retention of records for certain systems, structures, and 
components associated with the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station 
(Oyster Creek) until the termination of the Oyster Creek operating 
license.

DATES: The exemption was issued on June 26, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2018-0136 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-2018-0136. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Jennifer Borges; telephone: 301-287-
9127; 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 ``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 [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: 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: John G. Lamb, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-3100, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the exemption is attached.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 29th day of June, 2018.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John G. Lamb,
Senior Project Manager, Special Projects and Process Branch, Division 
of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
Attachment--Exemption.

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. 50-219] Exelon Generation 
Company, LLC Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station Exemption

I. Background.

    The Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station (Oyster Creek) site is 
a single unit facility located in Lacey Township, New Jersey. The site 
is near the Atlantic Ocean situated on approximately 152 acres in Ocean 
County, New Jersey. The Oyster Creek facility employs a General 
Electric boiling water reactor nuclear steam supply system licensed to 
generate 1,930 megawatts-thermal. The boiling water reactor and 
supporting facilities are owned and operated by Exelon Generation 
Company, LLC (Exelon, the licensee). Exelon is the holder of the Oyster 
Creek Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-16. The license 
provides, among other things, that the facility is subject to all 
rules, regulations, and orders of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (NRC) now or hereafter in effect.
    By letter dated February 14, 2018 (Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML18045A084), Exelon submitted 
a notification to the NRC

[[Page 31426]]

indicating that it would permanently shut down Oyster Creek no later 
than October 31, 2018. Once Exelon certifies that it has permanently 
defueled the Oyster Creek reactor vessel and placed the fuel in the 
spent fuel pool (SFP), accordingly, pursuant to Sec.  50.82(a)(2) of 
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), the Oyster Creek 
renewed facility operating license would no longer authorize operation 
of the reactor or emplacement or retention of fuel in the reactor 
vessel. However, the licensee would still be authorized to possess and 
store irradiated nuclear fuel. Irradiated fuel is currently being 
stored onsite in a SFP and in independent spent fuel storage 
installation (ISFSI) dry casks. The irradiated fuel will be stored in 
the ISFSI until it is shipped off site. With the reactor emptied of 
fuel, the reactor, reactor coolant system, and secondary system 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 April 12, 2018 (ADAMS Accession No. ML18102A763), 
Exelon submitted an exemption request for NRC approval 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 requested the exemptions because it wants 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 final 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 Oyster Creek 
license no longer allows storage of fuel in the SFP. The licensee cites 
record retention exemptions granted to Millstone Power Station, Unit 1 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML070110567), Zion Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 
and 2 (ADAMS Accession No. ML111260277), Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power 
Station (ADAMS Accession No. ML15344A243), and San Onofre Nuclear 
Generating Station, Units 1, 2, and 3 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML15355A055), and Kewaunee Power Station (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML17069A394) 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, as 
required by 10 CFR part 50, until the termination of the Oyster Creek 
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).
    Many of the Oyster Creek reactor facility SSCs are planned to be 
abandoned in place pending dismantlement. Abandoned SSCs will no longer 
be 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 April 12, 2018, 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 licensee 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 final safety analysis report (UFSAR) and technical 
specifications (TSs). 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.
    Exelon's general justification for eliminating records associated 
with Oyster Creek 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 Oyster Creek functions regulated by 
the NRC. The licensee'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[dash]approved TS changes, as applicable); revising the defueled 
safety analysis report and/or UFSAR as necessary; and then proceeding 
with an orderly dismantlement. Dismantlement of the plant structures 
will also include dismantling existing records storage facilities.
    Exelon intends to retain the records required by its license as the 
facility's decommissioning transitions. However, equipment abandonment 
will obviate the regulatory and business needs for maintenance of most 
records. As the SSCs are removed from the licensing basis, Exelon 
asserts that the need for their records is, on a practical basis, 
eliminated. Therefore, Exelon is requesting to be exempted from the 
associated records retention requirements for SSCs and historical 
activities that are no longer relevant.

[[Page 31427]]

Approval of the exemption request would eliminate the associated burden 
of creating alternative record storage locations, and relocating 
records to, and retaining records in the alternative locations for 
those records relevant only to past power operations. Exelon is not 
requesting to be exempted 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.

A. Authorized by Law.

    As stated above, 10 CFR 50.12 allows the NRC to grant exemptions 
from 10 CFR part 50 requirements if it makes certain findings. As 
described here and in the sections below, the NRC staff has determined 
that special circumstances exist to grant the exemption. In addition, 
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 granting of the exemption 
request 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.

B. No Undue Risk to Public Health and Safety.

    As SSCs are prepared for SAFSTOR and eventual decommissioning and 
dismantlement, they will be removed from NRC licensing basis documents 
through appropriate change mechanisms, such as through the 10 CFR 50.59 
process or through a license amendment request approved by the NRC. 
These change processes involve a determination by the licensee or an 
approval by the NRC that the affected SSC no longer serves any safety 
purpose regulated by the NRC. Therefore, the removal of the SSC would 
not present an undue risk to public health and safety. In turn, 
elimination of records associated with these removed SSCs would not 
cause any additional impact to public health and safety.
    The granting of the exemption request 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 granting 
of the exemption request will only advance the schedule for disposition 
of the specified records. Because these records contain information 
about SSCs associated with reactor operation and contain no information 
needed to maintain the facility in a safe condition when the facility 
is permanently defueled and the SSCs are dismantled, 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.

C. Consistent with 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 exemptions requested are administrative in nature in 
that they would only advance the current schedule for disposition of 
the specified records. Therefore, the exemption request 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.

D. 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; or (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, during the 
decommissioning process, safety-related SSCs are retired or disabled 
and subsequently removed from NRC licensing basis documents by 
appropriate means. Appropriate removal of an SSC from the licensing 
basis requires either a determination by the licensee, or an approval 
from the NRC that concludes 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 that would be subject to removal, if the exemption 
request is granted, 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, 
or 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 (e.g., 
UFSAR or TSs), 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 no longer part of the facility serves no 
safety or regulatory purpose, nor does it

[[Page 31428]]

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. Therefore, special circumstances are 
present which the NRC may consider, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii), 
to grant the exemption request.
    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 other regulations in 10 CFR part 50 and 10 CFR part 72. Retained 
records that are not subject to the proposed exemption include those 
associated with programmatic controls, such as those pertaining to 
residual radioactivity, security, and quality 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 
eliminated as decommissioning progresses. Retaining records associated 
with SSCs and activities that no longer serve a safety or regulatory 
purpose could therefore necessitate the needless creation of new 
facilities and retention of 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. Therefore, special 
circumstances are also present which the NRC may consider, pursuant to 
10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(iii), to grant the exemption request.

E. 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 meets the eligibility criteria for 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 exemption request is administrative in nature. The exemption 
request has no effect on SSCs and no effect on the capability of any 
plant SSC to perform its design function. The exemption request would 
not increase the likelihood of the malfunction of any plant SSC.
    The probability of occurrence of previously evaluated accidents is 
not increased, since most previously analyzed accidents will no longer 
be able to occur and the probability and consequences of the remaining 
Fuel Handling Accident are unaffected by the Exemption request. 
Therefore, the exemption request does not involve a significant 
increase in the probability or consequences of an accident previously 
evaluated.
    The exemption request does not involve a physical alteration of the 
plant. No new or different type of equipment will be installed and 
there are no physical modifications to existing equipment associated 
with the exemption request. Similarly, the exemption request will not 
physically change any SSCs involved in the mitigation of any accidents. 
Thus, no new initiators or precursors of a new or different kind of 
accident are created. Furthermore, the exemption request does not 
create the possibility of a new accident as a result of new failure 
modes associated with any equipment or personnel failures. No changes 
are being made to parameters within which the plant is normally 
operated, or in the setpoints which initiate protective or mitigative 
actions, and no new failure modes are being introduced. Therefore, the 
exemption request does not create the possibility of a new or different 
kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated.
    The exemption request does not alter the design basis or any safety 
limits for the plant. The exemption request does not impact station 
operation or any plant SSC that is relied upon for accident mitigation. 
Therefore, the exemption request does not involve a significant 
reduction in a margin of safety.
    For these reasons, the NRC staff has determined that approval of 
the exemption request involves no significant hazards consideration 
because granting the licensee's exemption request 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 Oyster 
Creek 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 granting of the exemption 
request 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

[[Page 31429]]

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 Oyster Creek 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 exemption request 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 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. Also, special circumstances are present. 
Therefore, the Commission hereby grants the Exelon, 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 Oyster Creek 
only to the extent necessary to allow the licensee to advance the 
schedule to remove records associated with SSCs that have been or will 
be removed from NRC licensing basis documents through appropriate 
change mechanism (e.g., 10 CFR 50.59 or via NRC-approved license 
amendment request, as applicable.
    This exemption is effective upon submittal of the licensee's 
certification of permanent fuel removal, under Sec.  50.82(a)(1).

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th day of June, 2018.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Joseph G. Giitter, Director,
Division of Operating Reactor Licensing,
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

[FR Doc. 2018-14391 Filed 7-3-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P