Arizona Public Service Company, Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation, 45552-45554 [2019-18616]
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45552
Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 168 / Thursday, August 29, 2019 / Notices
The Commission’s related evaluation
of the amendments is contained in a
Safety Evaluation dated July 30, 2019.
No significant hazards consideration
comments received: No.
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Union Electric Company, Docket No.
50–483, Callaway Plant, Unit No. 1,
Callaway County, Missouri
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 23rd day
of August, 2019.
17:00 Aug 28, 2019
Jkt 247001
[FR Doc. 2019–18617 Filed 8–28–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
Date of amendment request:
September 4, 2018, as supplemented by
letter dated February 20, 2019.
Brief description of amendment: The
amendment revised Emergency Action
Levels CA6.1, ‘‘Cold Shutdown/
Refueling System Malfunction—
Hazardous event affecting a SAFETY
SYSTEM needed for the current
operating MODE: Alert,’’ and SA9.1,
‘‘System Malfunction—Hazardous event
affecting a SAFETY SYSTEM needed for
the current operating MODE: Alert.’’ In
addition, the amendment added a new
definition for the term ‘‘Loss of Safety
Function (LOSF)’’ and re-definition of
the term ‘‘Visible Damage’’ and deleted
Initiating Condition HG1 and associated
EAL HG1.1, ‘‘Hazard—HOSTILE
ACTION resulting in loss of physical
control of the facility: General
Emergency,’’ within the Callaway Plant,
Unit No. 1 Radiological Emergency
Response Plan.
Date of issuance: July 30, 2019.
Effective date: As of the date of
issuance and shall be implemented
within 90 days from the date of
issuance.
Amendment No.: 220. A publiclyavailable version is in ADAMS under
Accession No. ML19158A290;
documents related to this amendment
are listed in the Safety Evaluation
enclosed with the amendment.
Renewed Facility Operating License
No. NPF–30: The amendment revised
the Renewed Facility Operating License.
Date of initial notice in Federal
Register: December 4, 2018 (83 FR
62621). The supplement dated February
20, 2019, provided additional
information that 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 amendment is contained in a
Safety Evaluation dated July 30, 2019.
No significant hazards consideration
comments received: No.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Gregory F. Suber,
Deputy Director, Division of Operating
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation.
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 72–1031, 72–44, 50–528, 50–
529, and 50–530; NRC–2019–0161]
Arizona Public Service Company, Palo
Verde Nuclear Generating Station,
Independent Spent Fuel Storage
Installation
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Exemption; issuance.
AGENCY:
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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is issuing an
exemption in response to a request
submitted by Arizona Public Service
Company on July 5, 2019, for its general
license to operate an independent spent
fuel storage installation at the Palo
Verde Nuclear Generating Station. This
exemption would permit the Arizona
Public Service Company to load spent
fuel with a larger pellet diameter than
is authorized in the MAGNASTOR®
storage cask system in Certificate of
Compliance No. 1031, Amendment No.
7.
DATES: The exemption was issued on
August 23, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID
NRC–2019–0161 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–2019–0161. Address
questions about NRC docket IDs to
Jennifer Borges; telephone: 301–287–
9127; email: Jennifer.Borges@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
‘‘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@
SUMMARY:
nrc.gov. The ADAMS accession number
for each document referenced in this
document (if that document is available
in ADAMS) is provided the first time
that a document is referenced.
• 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:
Bernard White, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone:
301–415–6577; email: Bernard.White@
nrc.gov.
Palo Verde Nuclear Generating
Station began operation in 1986 and has
been storing pressurized-water reactor
spent fuel in its independent spent fuel
storage installation since March 2003
utilizing Certificate of Compliance No.
1015 for the NAC–UMS storage system.
For the loading campaign commencing
in August 2019, Arizona Public Service
Company is transitioning to the
MAGNASTOR® storage system,
Certificate of Compliance No. 1031,
Amendment No. 7 (ADAMS Package
Accession No. ML17013A466). The
majority of the spent fuel assemblies to
be loaded in the upcoming loading
campaign have pellets with a maximum
diameter of 0.3255 inches (0.8268
centimeters). While the NAC–UMS
system was approved for this pellet
diameter in Amendment No. 2 to CoC
No. 1015 (ADAMS Package Accession
No. ML020250546), the MAGNASTOR®
storage system is approved for the
nominal pellet diameter of 0.325 inches
(0.8255 centimeters), thereby precluding
some of the spent fuel at the Palo Verde
Nuclear Generating Station from being
loaded in the upcoming loading
campaign.
II. Request/Action
By application dated July 5, 2019
(ADAMS Accession No. ML19186A449),
Arizona Public Service Company
submitted a request for an exemption
from those provisions of title 10 of the
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR)
72.212(a)(2), 72.212(b)(3),
72.212(b)(5)(i), 72.212(b)(11), and
72.214 that require compliance with the
terms, conditions, and specifications of
Certificate of Compliance No. 1031,
Amendment No. 7, for the Palo Verde
Nuclear Generating Station to load spent
fuel with a maximum pellet diameter of
0.3255 inches (0.8268 centimeters),
utilizing Amendment No. 7 for the NAC
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 168 / Thursday, August 29, 2019 / Notices
International MAGNASTOR® storage
system.
III. Discussion
Pursuant to 10 CFR 72.7, the
Commission may, upon application by
any interested person or upon its own
initiative, grant such exemptions from
the requirements of the regulations of 10
CFR part 72 as it determines are
authorized by law and will not endanger
life or property or the common defense
and security, and are otherwise in the
public interest.
The NRC staff prepared a safety
evaluation report (ADAMS Accession
No. ML19213A033) to document the
safety evaluation of the proposed action
(i.e., exemption to authorize loading
spent fuel with a maximum pellet
diameter of 0.3255 inches (0.8268
centimeters)), to assure that the
exemption is authorized by law, will
protect life or property or the common
defense and security and are otherwise
in the public interest. As summarized in
this document, the NRC’s safety review
concludes that the requested exemption
meets the requirements for issuance in
10 CFR 72.7.
A. The Exemption is Authorized by Law
This exemption would permit the
Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station
to load spent fuel with a larger pellet
diameter than authorized in Certificate
of Compliance No. 1031, Amendment
No. 7.
Section 72.7 allows the Commission
to grant exemptions from the
requirements of 10 CFR part 72 if the
exemption is authorized by law and will
not endanger life or property nor the
common defense and security. Issuance
of this exemption is consistent with the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended,
and not otherwise inconsistent with
NRC’s regulations or other applicable
laws. Therefore, issuance of the
exemption is authorized by law.
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B. Will Not Endanger Life or Property or
the Common Defense and Security
As discussed in the safety evaluation
report and summarized in the following
sections, the NRC staff has found that
Arizona Public Service Company’s
proposed action is acceptable and will
not endanger life or property or the
common defense and security.
Safety Review of the Requested
Exemption
The staff reviewed the exemption
request for Palo Verde Nuclear
Generating Station and concludes, as
discussed in this document, that the
proposed exemption from certain
requirements of 10 CFR part 72 will not
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:00 Aug 28, 2019
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cause the MAGNASTOR® storage cask
to encounter conditions beyond those
for which it has been evaluated and
demonstrated to meet the applicable
safety requirements in 10 CFR part 72.
As explained in this document, the
staff’s evaluation includes only the
criticality safety area of review, since it
is the only technical area revised by this
exemption.
The licensee submitted an exemption
request to deviate from the maximum
pellet diameter for Combustion
Engineering 16×16 fuel, stored in the
NAC MAGNASTOR® dry storage
system. The licensee stated that NAC
International evaluated a pellet diameter
of 0.3255 inches (0.8268 centimeters) in
the MAGNASTOR® final safety analysis
report (ADAMS Accession No.
ML091030364), to determine the effect
of an upper manufacturing tolerance of
0.0005 inches (0.0013 centimeters)
applied to the nominal value of 0.3250
inches (0.8255 centimeters). In that final
safety analysis report, NAC
International determined that the
system k-effective with this larger
diameter pellet is statistically the same
as the system k-effective with the
nominal pellet diameter. Therefore,
Arizona Public Service Company stated
that its proposed exemption has no
effect on the criticality safety of the
MAGNASTOR® storage system.
The staff reviewed the final safety
analysis report and agrees that the
proposed change to the pellet diameter
will not result in changes to system keffective that are statistically significant.
The staff also agrees that the results of
the NAC International criticality
analysis, and with the licensee’s
conclusion that this proposed
exemption does not affect the ability of
the MAGNASTOR® system to meet the
criticality safety requirements of 10 CFR
part 72.
Based on these evaluations, the staff
has concluded that granting this
exemption will be consistent with the
requirements of 10 CFR part 72 and will
not endanger life or property.
Review of Common Defense and
Security: Modification of the pellet
diameter does not affect the
independent spent fuel storage
installation security plans. Accordingly,
the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating
Station independent spent fuel storage
installation will continue to be
physically protected under Arizona
Public Service Company’s independent
spent fuel storage installation Physical
Security Plan to the same level of
security.
Based on its review, the NRC staff has
determined that under the requested
exemption, the storage system will
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45553
continue to meet the safety
requirements of 10 CFR part 72 and the
offsite dose limits of 10 CFR part 20
and, therefore, will not endanger life or
property. The NRC staff also found that
the exemption would not endanger
common defense and security.
D. Otherwise in the Public Interest
In determining whether the
exemption is in the public interest, the
staff considered the no-action
alternative of denying the exemption
request. Denial of the exemption request
would cause Arizona Public Service
Company to postpone loading of spent
fuel that contains the larger pellet
diameter until it is approved in an
amendment for CoC No. 1031 or
alternative loading arrangements are
implemented.
The licensee stated that the proposed
exemption is in the public interest
because it would allow Arizona Public
Service Company to load spent fuel on
schedule, maintain full-core offload
capability and would not affect power
plant operations or refueling outages for
the three units at the Palo Verde Nuclear
Generating Station.
E. Environmental Considerations
The NRC staff also considered
whether there would be any significant
environmental impacts associated with
the exemption. For this proposed action,
the NRC staff performed an
environmental assessment pursuant to
10 CFR 51.30. The environmental
assessment concluded that the proposed
action would not significantly impact
the quality of the human environment.
The NRC staff concluded that the
proposed action would not result in any
changes in the types or amounts of any
radiological or non-radiological
effluents that may be released offsite,
and there is no significant increase in
occupational or public radiation
exposure because of the proposed
action. The environmental assessment
and the finding of no significant impact
was published on August 23, 2019 (84
FR 44339).
IV. Conclusion
Accordingly, the Commission has
determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR
72.7, this exemption is authorized by
law, will not endanger life or property
or the common defense and security,
and is otherwise in the public interest.
Therefore, the Commission hereby
grants Arizona Public Service Company
an exemption from those provisions of
10 CFR 72.212(a)(2), 10 CFR
72.212(b)(3), 10 CFR 72.212(b)(5)(i), 10
CFR 72.214, and the portion of 10 CFR
72.212(b)(11) that require compliance
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45554
Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 168 / Thursday, August 29, 2019 / Notices
with terms, conditions, and
specifications of the Certificate of
Compliance No. 1031, Amendment No.
7, for the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating
Station to load spent fuel with a
maximum pellet diameter of 0.3255
inches (0.8268 centimeters) in the
MAGNASTOR® storage system using
Certificate of Compliance No. 1031,
Amendment No. 7.
The exemption is effective upon
issuance.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 23rd day
of August, 2019.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John B. McKirgan,
Chief, Spent Fuel Licensing Branch, Division
of Spent Fuel Management, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2019–18616 Filed 8–28–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket No. 03039133; NRC–2019–0166]
Order Suspending License; APINDE
Inc.
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Order; issuance.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is issuing an Order
suspending the license of APINDE Inc.
(APINDE) located in Huntington, West
Virginia. The NRC has determined that
this action is necessary based on an
ongoing review of the circumstances
through which APINDE obtained and
subsequently used its NRC license for
industrial radiography. Specifically, the
NRC has determined that APINDE
submitted inaccurate information in its
initial license application pertaining to
the qualifications for an individual
proposed to be the Radiation Safety
Officer (RSO). This resulted in the NRC
issuing a license to the company that
was, in part, based on the inaccurate
information and in APINDE maintaining
an industrial radiography license
without a qualified RSO. Further, after
the initial RSO resigned, and APINDE
submitted an application to amend the
license and name a new RSO, the
company submitted inaccurate
information pertaining to that
individual. Moreover, the NRC has
information indicating that APINDE
used its NRC license to procure a sealed
radiography source, and may have
allowed unauthorized access to the
source.
As a result, the NRC has lost
assurance that APINDE can conduct the
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SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:00 Aug 28, 2019
Jkt 247001
activities authorized under its license in
compliance with NRC regulations and
will protect the health and safety of the
public. In accordance with the Order,
APINDE must immediately cease all
radiographic operations and return any
byproduct material possessed under the
license to locked, safe storage. APINDE
shall not receive any NRC-licensed
material while the Order is in effect.
APINDE must respond to the Order
within 20 days and specifically admit or
deny each allegation or charge.
This Order takes effect
immediately.
DATES:
Please refer to Docket ID
NRC–2019–0166 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–2019–0166. Address
questions about NRC docket IDs in
Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges;
telephone: 301–287–9127; email:
Jennifer.Borges@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
‘‘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 Order is available in
ADAMS under Accession No.
ML19234A068.
• 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.
ADDRESSES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Anne DeFrancisco, Division of Nuclear
Materials Safety, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Region I, 2100
Renaissance Blvd., Suite 100, King of
Prussia, PA 19406; telephone: 610–337–
5078, email: Anne.DeFrancsico@
nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The text of
the Order is attached.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th day
of August, 2019.
PO 00000
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For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
George A. Wilson,
Director, Office of Enforcement.
Attachment—Order Suspending
License
United States of America Nuclear
Regulatory Commission
In the Matter of
Docket No. 03039133
APINDE Inc.
License No. 47–35507–01
Huntington, West Virginia
EA–19–090
Order Suspending License (Effective
Immediately)
I
APINDE Inc. (Licensee or APINDE) is
the holder of Byproduct Material
License No. 47–35507–01 issued on
January 9, 2019, by the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC or
Commission) pursuant to Part 30 of Title
10 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(10 CFR). The license authorizes
possession and use of iridium-192 in
sealed sources for use in industrial
radiography operations and depleted
uranium for use as shielding. The
Licensee is located in Huntington, West
Virginia, but the license also authorizes
the company to perform work at
temporary jobsites in all areas within
NRC jurisdiction. The license, originally
issued on January 9, 2019, is due to
expire on January 31, 2034.
II
As a result of a current and ongoing
review of APINDE’s licensed activities,
the NRC identified that information
submitted by APINDE in the license
application and in a subsequent license
amendment request, was not complete
and accurate in all material respects,
which is an apparent violation of
regulatory requirements. Specifically, in
an initial license application dated
October 10, 2018 (ML18297A261;
nonpublic because it contains securityrelated information), 1 and in a related
correspondence dated November 26,
2018 (ML18347A473; nonpublic
because it contains security-related
information), APINDE submitted
inaccurate information about the
qualifications for an individual
proposed to be named on the license as
the radiation safety officer (RSO). This
resulted in the NRC issuing a license to
APINDE that was based on inaccurate
1 Designation in parentheses refers to an Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS) accession number. Unless otherwise
noted, documents referenced in this letter are
publicly-available using the accession number in
ADAMS.
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 168 (Thursday, August 29, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45552-45554]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-18616]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 72-1031, 72-44, 50-528, 50-529, and 50-530; NRC-2019-0161]
Arizona Public Service Company, Palo Verde Nuclear Generating
Station, Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Exemption; issuance.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an
exemption in response to a request submitted by Arizona Public Service
Company on July 5, 2019, for its general license to operate an
independent spent fuel storage installation at the Palo Verde Nuclear
Generating Station. This exemption would permit the Arizona Public
Service Company to load spent fuel with a larger pellet diameter than
is authorized in the MAGNASTOR[supreg] storage cask system in
Certificate of Compliance No. 1031, Amendment No. 7.
DATES: The exemption was issued on August 23, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2019-0161 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-2019-0161. Address
questions about NRC docket IDs 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 ``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 in this document (if that document is available in
ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is referenced.
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: Bernard White, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-6577; email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station began operation in 1986 and
has been storing pressurized-water reactor spent fuel in its
independent spent fuel storage installation since March 2003 utilizing
Certificate of Compliance No. 1015 for the NAC-UMS storage system. For
the loading campaign commencing in August 2019, Arizona Public Service
Company is transitioning to the MAGNASTOR[supreg] storage system,
Certificate of Compliance No. 1031, Amendment No. 7 (ADAMS Package
Accession No. ML17013A466). The majority of the spent fuel assemblies
to be loaded in the upcoming loading campaign have pellets with a
maximum diameter of 0.3255 inches (0.8268 centimeters). While the NAC-
UMS system was approved for this pellet diameter in Amendment No. 2 to
CoC No. 1015 (ADAMS Package Accession No. ML020250546), the
MAGNASTOR[supreg] storage system is approved for the nominal pellet
diameter of 0.325 inches (0.8255 centimeters), thereby precluding some
of the spent fuel at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station from
being loaded in the upcoming loading campaign.
II. Request/Action
By application dated July 5, 2019 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML19186A449), Arizona Public Service Company submitted a request for an
exemption from those provisions of title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR) 72.212(a)(2), 72.212(b)(3), 72.212(b)(5)(i),
72.212(b)(11), and 72.214 that require compliance with the terms,
conditions, and specifications of Certificate of Compliance No. 1031,
Amendment No. 7, for the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station to load
spent fuel with a maximum pellet diameter of 0.3255 inches (0.8268
centimeters), utilizing Amendment No. 7 for the NAC
[[Page 45553]]
International MAGNASTOR[supreg] storage system.
III. Discussion
Pursuant to 10 CFR 72.7, the Commission may, upon application by
any interested person or upon its own initiative, grant such exemptions
from the requirements of the regulations of 10 CFR part 72 as it
determines are authorized by law and will not endanger life or property
or the common defense and security, and are otherwise in the public
interest.
The NRC staff prepared a safety evaluation report (ADAMS Accession
No. ML19213A033) to document the safety evaluation of the proposed
action (i.e., exemption to authorize loading spent fuel with a maximum
pellet diameter of 0.3255 inches (0.8268 centimeters)), to assure that
the exemption is authorized by law, will protect life or property or
the common defense and security and are otherwise in the public
interest. As summarized in this document, the NRC's safety review
concludes that the requested exemption meets the requirements for
issuance in 10 CFR 72.7.
A. The Exemption is Authorized by Law
This exemption would permit the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating
Station to load spent fuel with a larger pellet diameter than
authorized in Certificate of Compliance No. 1031, Amendment No. 7.
Section 72.7 allows the Commission to grant exemptions from the
requirements of 10 CFR part 72 if the exemption is authorized by law
and will not endanger life or property nor the common defense and
security. Issuance of this exemption is consistent with the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and not otherwise inconsistent with
NRC's regulations or other applicable laws. Therefore, issuance of the
exemption is authorized by law.
B. Will Not Endanger Life or Property or the Common Defense and
Security
As discussed in the safety evaluation report and summarized in the
following sections, the NRC staff has found that Arizona Public Service
Company's proposed action is acceptable and will not endanger life or
property or the common defense and security.
Safety Review of the Requested Exemption
The staff reviewed the exemption request for Palo Verde Nuclear
Generating Station and concludes, as discussed in this document, that
the proposed exemption from certain requirements of 10 CFR part 72 will
not cause the MAGNASTOR[supreg] storage cask to encounter conditions
beyond those for which it has been evaluated and demonstrated to meet
the applicable safety requirements in 10 CFR part 72. As explained in
this document, the staff's evaluation includes only the criticality
safety area of review, since it is the only technical area revised by
this exemption.
The licensee submitted an exemption request to deviate from the
maximum pellet diameter for Combustion Engineering 16x16 fuel, stored
in the NAC MAGNASTOR[supreg] dry storage system. The licensee stated
that NAC International evaluated a pellet diameter of 0.3255 inches
(0.8268 centimeters) in the MAGNASTOR[supreg] final safety analysis
report (ADAMS Accession No. ML091030364), to determine the effect of an
upper manufacturing tolerance of 0.0005 inches (0.0013 centimeters)
applied to the nominal value of 0.3250 inches (0.8255 centimeters). In
that final safety analysis report, NAC International determined that
the system k-effective with this larger diameter pellet is
statistically the same as the system k-effective with the nominal
pellet diameter. Therefore, Arizona Public Service Company stated that
its proposed exemption has no effect on the criticality safety of the
MAGNASTOR[supreg] storage system.
The staff reviewed the final safety analysis report and agrees that
the proposed change to the pellet diameter will not result in changes
to system k-effective that are statistically significant. The staff
also agrees that the results of the NAC International criticality
analysis, and with the licensee's conclusion that this proposed
exemption does not affect the ability of the MAGNASTOR[supreg] system
to meet the criticality safety requirements of 10 CFR part 72.
Based on these evaluations, the staff has concluded that granting
this exemption will be consistent with the requirements of 10 CFR part
72 and will not endanger life or property.
Review of Common Defense and Security: Modification of the pellet
diameter does not affect the independent spent fuel storage
installation security plans. Accordingly, the Palo Verde Nuclear
Generating Station independent spent fuel storage installation will
continue to be physically protected under Arizona Public Service
Company's independent spent fuel storage installation Physical Security
Plan to the same level of security.
Based on its review, the NRC staff has determined that under the
requested exemption, the storage system will continue to meet the
safety requirements of 10 CFR part 72 and the offsite dose limits of 10
CFR part 20 and, therefore, will not endanger life or property. The NRC
staff also found that the exemption would not endanger common defense
and security.
D. Otherwise in the Public Interest
In determining whether the exemption is in the public interest, the
staff considered the no-action alternative of denying the exemption
request. Denial of the exemption request would cause Arizona Public
Service Company to postpone loading of spent fuel that contains the
larger pellet diameter until it is approved in an amendment for CoC No.
1031 or alternative loading arrangements are implemented.
The licensee stated that the proposed exemption is in the public
interest because it would allow Arizona Public Service Company to load
spent fuel on schedule, maintain full-core offload capability and would
not affect power plant operations or refueling outages for the three
units at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station.
E. Environmental Considerations
The NRC staff also considered whether there would be any
significant environmental impacts associated with the exemption. For
this proposed action, the NRC staff performed an environmental
assessment pursuant to 10 CFR 51.30. The environmental assessment
concluded that the proposed action would not significantly impact the
quality of the human environment. The NRC staff concluded that the
proposed action would not result in any changes in the types or amounts
of any radiological or non-radiological effluents that may be released
offsite, and there is no significant increase in occupational or public
radiation exposure because of the proposed action. The environmental
assessment and the finding of no significant impact was published on
August 23, 2019 (84 FR 44339).
IV. Conclusion
Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR
72.7, this exemption is authorized by law, will not endanger life or
property or the common defense and security, and is otherwise in the
public interest. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants Arizona Public
Service Company an exemption from those provisions of 10 CFR
72.212(a)(2), 10 CFR 72.212(b)(3), 10 CFR 72.212(b)(5)(i), 10 CFR
72.214, and the portion of 10 CFR 72.212(b)(11) that require compliance
[[Page 45554]]
with terms, conditions, and specifications of the Certificate of
Compliance No. 1031, Amendment No. 7, for the Palo Verde Nuclear
Generating Station to load spent fuel with a maximum pellet diameter of
0.3255 inches (0.8268 centimeters) in the MAGNASTOR[supreg] storage
system using Certificate of Compliance No. 1031, Amendment No. 7.
The exemption is effective upon issuance.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 23rd day of August, 2019.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John B. McKirgan,
Chief, Spent Fuel Licensing Branch, Division of Spent Fuel Management,
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2019-18616 Filed 8-28-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
