Arizona Public Service Company; Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1, 2, and 3, 13676-13678 [2020-04767]
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 46 / Monday, March 9, 2020 / Notices
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with qualifications appropriate for a
permanently shutdown and defueled
reactor to approve the suspension of
security measures in an emergency to
protect the public health and safety and
during severe weather to protect the
personal health and safety of the
security force personnel. The actions
permitted by the exemption may be
implemented at each Indian Point 2 and
3 unit separately when both the
‘‘Certification of Permanent Cessation of
Operations’’ and the ‘‘Certification of
Permanent Fuel Removal’’ for that
respective reactor is submitted in
accordance with 10 CFR 50.82(a)(1)(i)
and (ii), which is consistent with the
similar authority provided by 10 CFR
50.54(y). Therefore, the exemption is in
the public interest.
D. Environmental Consideration
The NRC’s approval of the proposed
exemption belongs to a category of
actions that the Commission, by rule or
regulation, has declared to be a
categorical exclusion, after first finding
that the category of actions does not
individually or cumulatively have a
significant effect on the human
environment. Pursuant to 10 CFR
51.22(b), as determined by the
Commission, an environmental
assessment or an environmental impact
statement is not required for any action
within a category of actions included in
the list of categorical exclusions set out
in paragraph (c) of Section 51.22.
Specifically, the NRC’s approval of the
exemption is categorically excluded
from further environmental analysis
under 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25).
Under 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25), the
granting of an exemption from the
requirements of any regulation of
Chapter I to 10 CFR is a categorical
exclusion provided that: (i) There is no
significant hazards consideration; (ii)
there is no significant change in the
types or significant increase in the
amounts of any effluents that may be
released offsite; (iii) there is no
significant increase in individual or
cumulative public or occupational
radiation exposure; (iv) there is no
significant construction impact; (v)
there is no significant increase in the
potential for or consequences from
radiological accidents; and (vi) the
requirements from which an exemption
is sought involve: Recordkeeping
requirements; reporting requirements;
inspection or surveillance requirements;
equipment servicing or maintenance
scheduling requirements; education,
training, experience, qualification,
requalification or other employment
suitability requirements; safeguard
plans, and materials control and
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accounting inventory scheduling
requirements; scheduling requirements;
surety, insurance or indemnity
requirements; or other requirements of
an administrative, managerial, or
organizational nature.
The NRC staff has determined that
granting the proposed exemption
involves no significant hazards
consideration because allowing a CFH,
in addition to a licensed senior operator,
to approve the security suspension at a
permanently shutdown and defueled
power plant does not (1) involve a
significant increase in the probability or
consequences of an accident previously
evaluated, or (2) create the possibility of
a new or different kind of accident from
any accident previously evaluated, or
(3) involve a significant reduction in a
margin of safety. The proposed
exemption is unrelated to any
operational restriction. Accordingly,
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 proposed exemption is
not associated with construction, so
there is no significant construction
impact. The proposed exemption does
not concern the source term (i.e.,
potential amount of radiation in an
accident) or mitigation. Thus, there is
no significant increase in the potential
for or consequences from radiological
accidents. Finally, the requirement
regarding suspensions of security
measures involves either safeguards,
materials control, or managerial/
organizational matters.
Therefore, pursuant to 10 CFR
51.22(b) and (c)(25), no environmental
impact statement or environmental
assessment need be prepared in
connection with the approval of the
proposed exemption.
IV. Conclusion
Accordingly, the Commission has
determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR
73.5, the 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 the licensee’s request for an
exemption from the requirements of 10
CFR 73.55(p)(1)(i) and (ii) to authorize
that the suspension of security measures
must be approved, as a minimum, by
either a licensed senior operator or a
CFH at Indian Point 2 and 3 during
emergency or severe weather, once the
respective unit’s certifications required
under 10 CFR 50.82(a)(1) have been
submitted.
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Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 28th day
of February, 2020.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Craig G. Erlanger,
Director, Division of Operating Reactor
Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2020–04710 Filed 3–6–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. STN 50–528, STN 50–529, and
STN 50–530; NRC–2020–0069]
Arizona Public Service Company; Palo
Verde Nuclear Generating Station,
Units 1, 2, and 3
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Exemption; issuance.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is issuing an
exemption in response to a July 6, 2018,
request, as supplemented by letters
dated October 18, 2018; March 1, 2019;
May 17, 2019; October 4, 2019;
November 26, 2019; and December 19,
2019, from Arizona Public Service
Company (the licensee) in order to use
Framatome M5® alloy as a fuel rod
cladding material at Palo Verde Nuclear
Generating Station, Units 1, 2, and 3.
DATES: The exemption was issued on
March 4, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID
NRC–2020–0069 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–2020–0069. 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 ADAMS accession number
for each document referenced in this
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\09MRN1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 46 / Monday, March 9, 2020 / Notices
document (if that document 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: Siva
P. Lingam, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555–
0001; telephone: 301–415–1564, email:
Siva.Lingam@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of
the exemption is attached.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 4th day
of March, 2020.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Siva P. Lingam,
Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch IV,
Division of Operating Reactor Licensing,
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
Attachment: Exemption
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Docket Nos. STN 50–528, STN 50–529,
and STN 50–530 Arizona Public Service
Company Palo Verde Nuclear
Generating Station, Units 1, 2, and 3
Exemption
I. Background
Arizona Public Service Company
(APS, the licensee) is the holder of
Renewed Facility Operating License
Nos. NPF–41, NPF–51, and NPF–74,
which authorizes operation of Palo
Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Units
1, 2, and 3 (Palo Verde), respectively.
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. The facility
consists of a pressurized-water reactor
(PWR) located in Maricopa County,
Arizona.
By application dated July 6, 2018, as
supplemented by letters dated October
18, 2018; March 1, 2019; May 17, 2019;
October 4, 2019; November 26, 2019;
and December 19, 2019 (Agencywide
Documents Access and Management
System (ADAMS) Accession Nos.
ML18187A417, ML18296A466,
ML19060A298, ML19137A118,
ML19277J457, ML19331A361, and
ML19353C038, respectively), APS,
pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Section
50.12, ‘‘Specific exemptions,’’ requested
an exemption from certain requirements
of 10 CFR 50.46, ‘‘Acceptance criteria
for emergency core cooling systems
[ECCS] for light-water nuclear power
reactors,’’ and 10 CFR part 50,
Appendix K, ‘‘ECCS Evaluation
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Models,’’ for Palo Verde. Since these
regulations specifically refer only to
zircaloy and ZIRLOTM, an exemption
would be required to apply them to fuel
clad with other materials, such as
Framatome M5® zirconium alloy.1
Therefore, APS has requested such an
exemption to support transition to the
Framatome M5® alloy cladding. The
proposed request would not exempt
Palo Verde from the requirements of 10
CFR 50.46 or 10 CFR part 50, Appendix
K regarding acceptance criteria,
evaluation model features and
documentation, reporting of changes or
errors, etc.
The submittal from APS described
above also contains the fuel transition
license amendment request that is
necessary to support batch loading of
Framatome Advanced Combustion
Engineering (CE) 16x16 High Thermal
Performance (HTPTM) fuel. This
exemption is specific to the Framatome
M5® cladding material exemption
request only. The fuel transition and
associated technical specification
changes are subject to a concurrent
review that is being documented in the
safety evaluation (SE) with the license
amendments (ADAMS Accession No.
ML20031C947).
Precedent exemptions have also been
approved for other CE plants including
St. Lucie Plant, Unit Nos. 1 and 2
(ADAMS Accession Nos. ML14064A125
and ML16015A286, respectively).
II. Request/Action
By application dated July 6, 2018, as
supplemented by letters dated October
18, 2018, and March 1, 2019; May 17,
2019; October 4, 2019; November 26,
2019; and December 19, 2019, APS,
pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, requested an
exemption from the requirements of 10
CFR 50.46 and Appendix K to 10 CFR
part 50. The proposed exemption
request would permit the application of
10 CFR 50.46 and Appendix K to 10
CFR part 50 to fuel rods cladded with
Framatome M5® alloy at Palo Verde.
Since the requirements in 10 CFR 50.46
and Appendix K to 10 CFR part 50 are
predicated upon the use of fuel clad
with zircaloy or ZIRLOTM alloy, an
exemption is necessary to apply these
requirements to fuel rods clad with
Framatome M5® alloy.
The technical basis supporting the use
of fuel clad with M5® in PWRs is
documented primarily in Topical Report
BAW–10227–P–A, Revision 1,
‘‘Evaluation of Advanced Cladding and
Structural Material (M5®) in PWR
1 HTP and M5®″ are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Framatome, Inc. (formerly AREVA
Inc.).
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13677
Reactor Fuel,’’ dated June 2003
(ADAMS Accession No. ML15162B043).
This topical report describes
Framatome’s evaluation supporting the
use of the M5® alloy in PWR fuel
assemblies as a replacement for
Zircaloy-4. This topical report discusses
fundamental material properties of M5®,
as well as its behavior under normal
operation, anticipated transients, and
postulated accident conditions.
III. Discussion
The regulation in Section
50.46(a)(1)(i) of 10 CFR states, in part:
Each boiling or pressurized light-water
nuclear power reactor fueled with uranium
oxide pellets within cylindrical zircaloy or
ZIRLO cladding must be provided with an
emergency core cooling system (ECCS) that
must be designed so that its calculated
cooling performance following postulated
loss-of-coolant accidents conforms to the
criteria set forth in paragraph (b) of this
section. ECCS cooling performance must be
calculated in accordance with an acceptable
evaluation model and must be calculated for
a number of postulated loss-of-coolant
accidents of different sizes, locations, and
other properties sufficient to provide
assurance that the most severe postulated
loss-of-coolant accidents are calculated.
Since 10 CFR 50.46 specifically refers
to fuel with zircaloy or ZIRLOTM
cladding, its application to fuel clad
with materials other than zircaloy or
ZIRLOTM requires an exemption from
this section of the regulations.
The regulation in paragraph I.A.5,
‘‘Metal—Water Reaction Rate,’’ of 10
CFR part 50, Appendix K, states, in part:
The rate of energy release, hydrogen
generation, and cladding oxidation from the
metal/water reaction shall be calculated
using the Baker-Just equation (Baker, L., Just,
L.C., ‘‘Studies of Metal Water Reactions at
High Temperatures, III. Experimental and
Theoretical Studies of the Zirconium-Water
Reaction,’’ ANL–6548, page 7, May 1962).
The requirement for using the BakerJust equation in Appendix Kconformant loss-of-coolant accident
evaluation models presumes use of
zircaloy or ZIRLOTM clad fuel rods.
Therefore, application of 10 CFR part
50, Appendix K to cladding materials
other than zircaloy or ZIRLOTM also
requires an exemption.
The exemption request from APS
relates solely to the particular types of
fuel cladding materials specified in
these regulations. As written, the
regulations presume use of zircaloy or
ZIRLOTM cladding. Thus, an exemption
is necessary to apply 10 CFR 50.46 and
10 CFR part 50, Appendix K to other
cladding materials such as M5®. The
proposed request would not exempt
Palo Verde from any other requirements
of 10 CFR 50.46 or 10 CFR part 50,
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 46 / Monday, March 9, 2020 / Notices
Appendix K regarding acceptance
criteria, evaluation model features and
documentation, reporting of changes or
errors, etc.
Section 50.12 of 10 CFR states that the
Commission may grant exemptions from
requirements of the regulations in 10
CFR part 50 for reasons, which are (1)
the exemption is authorized by law, (2)
the exemption will not present an
undue risk to the public health and
safety, (3) the exemption is consistent
with the common defense and security,
and (4) special circumstances, as
defined in 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2), are
present. The licensee’s submittal
identifies in particular that the special
circumstance associated with this
exemption request is that restricting
application of 10 CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR
part 50, Appendix K to fuels clad with
only zircaloy or ZIRLOTM is not
necessary to achieve the underlying
purpose of these regulations.
A. The Exemption is Authorized by Law
The NRC has the authority under 10
CFR 50.12 to grant exemptions from the
requirements of Part 50 upon
demonstration of proper justification.
The fuel that will be irradiated at Palo
Verde is clad with a zirconium-based
alloy that is not expressly within the
scope of 10 CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR part
50, Appendix K. However, the NRC staff
considers the acceptance criteria and
methods of these regulations applicable
to M5®, and the licensee will ensure
that these regulations are satisfied for
operation with fuel clad with M5®.
Therefore, the exemption is authorized
by law.
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B. The Exemption Presents No Undue
Risk to Public Health and Safety
The NRC-approved Topical Report
BAW–10227–P–A, which concerns the
properties of the M5® alloy, provides
assurance that predicted chemical,
thermal, and mechanical characteristics
of M5® alloy cladding are acceptable
under normal operation, anticipated
transients, and postulated accidents.
The NRC staff further found that the
acceptance criteria and analytical
methods from 10 CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR
part 50, Appendix K provide acceptable
safety margins for fuel clad with M5®
that are consistent with those the NRC
has established for zircaloy and
ZIRLOTM. Reload cores involving M5®
cladding will continue to be subject to
the operating limits specified in the
technical specifications and core
operating limits report. Thus, granting
this exemption request will not pose
undue risk to public health and safety.
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C. The Exemption Is Consistent With the
Common Defense and Security
The proposed exemption will allow
the licensee to use an enhanced fuel rod
cladding material relative to the zircaloy
material for which the requirements of
10 CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR part 50,
Appendix K were originally established.
In addition to its review of the
exemption request described in this SE,
the NRC staff has further evaluated all
licensing-basis changes necessary to
support loading fuel clad with M5® in
a separate SE and documented the basis
for their acceptability. Based on these
reviews, the NRC staff concludes that
the use of M5® fuel rod cladding at Palo
Verde will not significantly affect plant
operations and is therefore consistent
with the common defense and security.
D. Special Circumstances
Neither 10 CFR 50.46 nor 10 CFR part
50, Appendix K explicitly applies to
fuel clad with M5®. However, the
underlying purpose of 10 CFR 50.46 and
10 CFR part 50, Appendix K is to
provide requirements capable of
ensuring adequate core cooling
following the most limiting postulated
loss-of-coolant accident. As discussed
above, Framatome has demonstrated in
an NRC-approved topical report (i.e.,
BAW–10227–P–A) that application of
the acceptance criteria and analytical
methods required in 10 CFR 50.46 and
10 CFR part 50, Appendix K to fuel clad
with M5® is acceptable. Normal core
reload safety analyses will further
confirm on a cycle-specific basis that
there is no adverse impact on ECCS
performance for Palo Verde. Therefore,
strict application of the material-specific
requirements for fuel cladding in 10
CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR part 50,
Appendix K is not necessary to achieve
the underlying purpose of ensuring
adequate core cooling in this instance.
Furthermore, granting an exemption to
allow application of the balance of these
regulations to fuel clad with M5® at
Palo Verde would be consistent with the
underlying regulatory purpose.
E. Supplemental Information
For more technical details, refer to the
SE associated with this exemption
under ADAMS Accession No.
ML20022A109 (Enclosure 2).
F. Environmental Considerations
The NRC staff determined that the
exemption discussed herein meets the
eligibility criteria for the categorical
exclusion set forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(9)
because it is related to a requirement
concerning the installation or use of
facility components located within the
restricted area, as defined in 10 CFR
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part 20, and the granting of this
exemption involves: (i) No significant
hazards consideration, (ii) no significant
change in the types or a significant
increase in the amounts of any effluents
that may be released offsite, and (iii) no
significant increase in individual or
cumulative occupational radiation
exposure. Therefore, in accordance with
10 CFR 51.22(b), no environmental
impact statement or environmental
assessment need be prepared in
connection with the NRC’s
consideration of this exemption request.
IV. Conclusions
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 APS an
exemption from the requirements of 10
CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR part 50,
Appendix K, to allow the use of
Framatome M5® alloy fuel rod cladding
material at Palo Verde, Units 1, 2, and
3. As stated above, this exemption
relates solely to the cladding material
specified in these regulations.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 4th day
of March 2020.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Craig G. Erlanger,
Director, Division of Operating Reactor
Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2020–04767 Filed 3–6–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL
MANAGEMENT
Submission for Review: 3206–0136,
Designation of Beneficiary: Federal
Employees’ Group Life Insurance, SF
2823
Office of Personnel
Management.
ACTION: 60-day notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:
The Federal Employee
Insurance Operations, Healthcare
Insurance, Office of Personnel
Management (OPM) offers the general
public and other federal agencies the
opportunity to comment on a revised
information collection request (ICR),
Designation of Beneficiary: Federal
Employees’ Group Life Insurance, SF
2823.
DATES: Comments are encouraged and
will be accepted until May 8, 2020.
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\09MRN1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 46 (Monday, March 9, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13676-13678]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-04767]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. STN 50-528, STN 50-529, and STN 50-530; NRC-2020-0069]
Arizona Public Service Company; Palo Verde Nuclear Generating
Station, Units 1, 2, and 3
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Exemption; issuance.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an
exemption in response to a July 6, 2018, request, as supplemented by
letters dated October 18, 2018; March 1, 2019; May 17, 2019; October 4,
2019; November 26, 2019; and December 19, 2019, from Arizona Public
Service Company (the licensee) in order to use Framatome M5[supreg]
alloy as a fuel rod cladding material at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating
Station, Units 1, 2, and 3.
DATES: The exemption was issued on March 4, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2020-0069 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-2020-0069. Address
questions about NRC docket IDs in Regulations.gov 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
[[Page 13677]]
document (if that document 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: Siva P. Lingam, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-1564, email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the exemption is attached.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 4th day of March, 2020.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Siva P. Lingam,
Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch IV, Division of Operating
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
Attachment: Exemption
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Docket Nos. STN 50-528, STN 50-529, and STN 50-530 Arizona Public
Service Company Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1, 2, and
3 Exemption
I. Background
Arizona Public Service Company (APS, the licensee) is the holder of
Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-41, NPF-51, and NPF-74,
which authorizes operation of Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station,
Units 1, 2, and 3 (Palo Verde), respectively. 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. The facility consists of a pressurized-
water reactor (PWR) located in Maricopa County, Arizona.
By application dated July 6, 2018, as supplemented by letters dated
October 18, 2018; March 1, 2019; May 17, 2019; October 4, 2019;
November 26, 2019; and December 19, 2019 (Agencywide Documents Access
and Management System (ADAMS) Accession Nos. ML18187A417, ML18296A466,
ML19060A298, ML19137A118, ML19277J457, ML19331A361, and ML19353C038,
respectively), APS, pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR) Section 50.12, ``Specific exemptions,'' requested
an exemption from certain requirements of 10 CFR 50.46, ``Acceptance
criteria for emergency core cooling systems [ECCS] for light-water
nuclear power reactors,'' and 10 CFR part 50, Appendix K, ``ECCS
Evaluation Models,'' for Palo Verde. Since these regulations
specifically refer only to zircaloy and ZIRLOTM, an
exemption would be required to apply them to fuel clad with other
materials, such as Framatome M5[supreg] zirconium alloy.\1\ Therefore,
APS has requested such an exemption to support transition to the
Framatome M5[supreg] alloy cladding. The proposed request would not
exempt Palo Verde from the requirements of 10 CFR 50.46 or 10 CFR part
50, Appendix K regarding acceptance criteria, evaluation model features
and documentation, reporting of changes or errors, etc.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ HTP and M5[supreg]'' are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Framatome, Inc. (formerly AREVA Inc.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The submittal from APS described above also contains the fuel
transition license amendment request that is necessary to support batch
loading of Framatome Advanced Combustion Engineering (CE) 16x16 High
Thermal Performance (HTPTM) fuel. This exemption is specific
to the Framatome M5[supreg] cladding material exemption request only.
The fuel transition and associated technical specification changes are
subject to a concurrent review that is being documented in the safety
evaluation (SE) with the license amendments (ADAMS Accession No.
ML20031C947).
Precedent exemptions have also been approved for other CE plants
including St. Lucie Plant, Unit Nos. 1 and 2 (ADAMS Accession Nos.
ML14064A125 and ML16015A286, respectively).
II. Request/Action
By application dated July 6, 2018, as supplemented by letters dated
October 18, 2018, and March 1, 2019; May 17, 2019; October 4, 2019;
November 26, 2019; and December 19, 2019, APS, pursuant to 10 CFR
50.12, requested an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 50.46 and
Appendix K to 10 CFR part 50. The proposed exemption request would
permit the application of 10 CFR 50.46 and Appendix K to 10 CFR part 50
to fuel rods cladded with Framatome M5[supreg] alloy at Palo Verde.
Since the requirements in 10 CFR 50.46 and Appendix K to 10 CFR part 50
are predicated upon the use of fuel clad with zircaloy or
ZIRLOTM alloy, an exemption is necessary to apply these
requirements to fuel rods clad with Framatome M5[supreg] alloy.
The technical basis supporting the use of fuel clad with M5[supreg]
in PWRs is documented primarily in Topical Report BAW-10227-P-A,
Revision 1, ``Evaluation of Advanced Cladding and Structural Material
(M5[supreg]) in PWR Reactor Fuel,'' dated June 2003 (ADAMS Accession
No. ML15162B043). This topical report describes Framatome's evaluation
supporting the use of the M5[supreg] alloy in PWR fuel assemblies as a
replacement for Zircaloy-4. This topical report discusses fundamental
material properties of M5[supreg], as well as its behavior under normal
operation, anticipated transients, and postulated accident conditions.
III. Discussion
The regulation in Section 50.46(a)(1)(i) of 10 CFR states, in part:
Each boiling or pressurized light-water nuclear power reactor
fueled with uranium oxide pellets within cylindrical zircaloy or
ZIRLO cladding must be provided with an emergency core cooling
system (ECCS) that must be designed so that its calculated cooling
performance following postulated loss-of-coolant accidents conforms
to the criteria set forth in paragraph (b) of this section. ECCS
cooling performance must be calculated in accordance with an
acceptable evaluation model and must be calculated for a number of
postulated loss-of-coolant accidents of different sizes, locations,
and other properties sufficient to provide assurance that the most
severe postulated loss-of-coolant accidents are calculated.
Since 10 CFR 50.46 specifically refers to fuel with zircaloy or
ZIRLOTM cladding, its application to fuel clad with
materials other than zircaloy or ZIRLOTM requires an
exemption from this section of the regulations.
The regulation in paragraph I.A.5, ``Metal--Water Reaction Rate,''
of 10 CFR part 50, Appendix K, states, in part:
The rate of energy release, hydrogen generation, and cladding
oxidation from the metal/water reaction shall be calculated using
the Baker-Just equation (Baker, L., Just, L.C., ``Studies of Metal
Water Reactions at High Temperatures, III. Experimental and
Theoretical Studies of the Zirconium-Water Reaction,'' ANL-6548,
page 7, May 1962).
The requirement for using the Baker-Just equation in Appendix K-
conformant loss-of-coolant accident evaluation models presumes use of
zircaloy or ZIRLOTM clad fuel rods. Therefore, application
of 10 CFR part 50, Appendix K to cladding materials other than zircaloy
or ZIRLOTM also requires an exemption.
The exemption request from APS relates solely to the particular
types of fuel cladding materials specified in these regulations. As
written, the regulations presume use of zircaloy or ZIRLOTM
cladding. Thus, an exemption is necessary to apply 10 CFR 50.46 and 10
CFR part 50, Appendix K to other cladding materials such as M5[supreg].
The proposed request would not exempt Palo Verde from any other
requirements of 10 CFR 50.46 or 10 CFR part 50,
[[Page 13678]]
Appendix K regarding acceptance criteria, evaluation model features and
documentation, reporting of changes or errors, etc.
Section 50.12 of 10 CFR states that the Commission may grant
exemptions from requirements of the regulations in 10 CFR part 50 for
reasons, which are (1) the exemption is authorized by law, (2) the
exemption will not present an undue risk to the public health and
safety, (3) the exemption is consistent with the common defense and
security, and (4) special circumstances, as defined in 10 CFR
50.12(a)(2), are present. The licensee's submittal identifies in
particular that the special circumstance associated with this exemption
request is that restricting application of 10 CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR part
50, Appendix K to fuels clad with only zircaloy or ZIRLOTM
is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of these
regulations.
A. The Exemption is Authorized by Law
The NRC has the authority under 10 CFR 50.12 to grant exemptions
from the requirements of Part 50 upon demonstration of proper
justification. The fuel that will be irradiated at Palo Verde is clad
with a zirconium-based alloy that is not expressly within the scope of
10 CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR part 50, Appendix K. However, the NRC staff
considers the acceptance criteria and methods of these regulations
applicable to M5[supreg], and the licensee will ensure that these
regulations are satisfied for operation with fuel clad with M5[supreg].
Therefore, the exemption is authorized by law.
B. The Exemption Presents No Undue Risk to Public Health and Safety
The NRC-approved Topical Report BAW-10227-P-A, which concerns the
properties of the M5[supreg] alloy, provides assurance that predicted
chemical, thermal, and mechanical characteristics of M5[supreg] alloy
cladding are acceptable under normal operation, anticipated transients,
and postulated accidents. The NRC staff further found that the
acceptance criteria and analytical methods from 10 CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR
part 50, Appendix K provide acceptable safety margins for fuel clad
with M5[supreg] that are consistent with those the NRC has established
for zircaloy and ZIRLO\TM\. Reload cores involving M5[supreg] cladding
will continue to be subject to the operating limits specified in the
technical specifications and core operating limits report. Thus,
granting this exemption request will not pose undue risk to public
health and safety.
C. The Exemption Is Consistent With the Common Defense and Security
The proposed exemption will allow the licensee to use an enhanced
fuel rod cladding material relative to the zircaloy material for which
the requirements of 10 CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR part 50, Appendix K were
originally established. In addition to its review of the exemption
request described in this SE, the NRC staff has further evaluated all
licensing-basis changes necessary to support loading fuel clad with
M5[supreg] in a separate SE and documented the basis for their
acceptability. Based on these reviews, the NRC staff concludes that the
use of M5[supreg] fuel rod cladding at Palo Verde will not
significantly affect plant operations and is therefore consistent with
the common defense and security.
D. Special Circumstances
Neither 10 CFR 50.46 nor 10 CFR part 50, Appendix K explicitly
applies to fuel clad with M5[supreg]. However, the underlying purpose
of 10 CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR part 50, Appendix K is to provide
requirements capable of ensuring adequate core cooling following the
most limiting postulated loss-of-coolant accident. As discussed above,
Framatome has demonstrated in an NRC-approved topical report (i.e.,
BAW-10227-P-A) that application of the acceptance criteria and
analytical methods required in 10 CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR part 50,
Appendix K to fuel clad with M5[supreg] is acceptable. Normal core
reload safety analyses will further confirm on a cycle-specific basis
that there is no adverse impact on ECCS performance for Palo Verde.
Therefore, strict application of the material-specific requirements for
fuel cladding in 10 CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR part 50, Appendix K is not
necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of ensuring adequate core
cooling in this instance. Furthermore, granting an exemption to allow
application of the balance of these regulations to fuel clad with
M5[supreg] at Palo Verde would be consistent with the underlying
regulatory purpose.
E. Supplemental Information
For more technical details, refer to the SE associated with this
exemption under ADAMS Accession No. ML20022A109 (Enclosure 2).
F. Environmental Considerations
The NRC staff determined that the exemption discussed herein meets
the eligibility criteria for the categorical exclusion set forth in 10
CFR 51.22(c)(9) because it is related to a requirement concerning the
installation or use of facility components located within the
restricted area, as defined in 10 CFR part 20, and the granting of this
exemption involves: (i) No significant hazards consideration, (ii) no
significant change in the types or a significant increase in the
amounts of any effluents that may be released offsite, and (iii) no
significant increase in individual or cumulative occupational radiation
exposure. Therefore, in accordance with 10 CFR 51.22(b), no
environmental impact statement or environmental assessment need be
prepared in connection with the NRC's consideration of this exemption
request.
IV. Conclusions
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 APS an exemption from the
requirements of 10 CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR part 50, Appendix K, to allow
the use of Framatome M5[supreg] alloy fuel rod cladding material at
Palo Verde, Units 1, 2, and 3. As stated above, this exemption relates
solely to the cladding material specified in these regulations.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 4th day of March 2020.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Craig G. Erlanger,
Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2020-04767 Filed 3-6-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P