Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Braidwood Station, Units 1 and 2, 51075-51078 [2020-18106]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 161 (Wednesday, August 19, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51075-51078]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-18106]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-456; 50-457; NRC-2020-0180]


Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Braidwood Station, Units 1 and 2

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: License amendment application; opportunity to provide comments, 
request a hearing, and to petition for leave to intervene.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering 
issuance of an amendment to Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. 
NPF-72 and NPF-77, issued to Exelon Generation Company, LLC, for 
operation of the Braidwood Station, Units 1 and 2. The proposed 
amendment is contained in the licensee's letter dated July 15, 2020, 
and would change Technical Specifications (TS) Surveillance Requirement 
(SR) 3.7.9.2 to allow an ultimate heat sink (UHS) temperature of less 
than or equal to 102.8 degrees Fahrenheit ([deg]F) through September 
30, 2020. The proposed amendment would also permanently extend the 
completion time for the Required Action of both Braidwood Station, 
Units 1 and 2, to be placed in Mode 3 within 12 hours when the UHS is 
inoperable due to average water temperature.

DATES: Submit comments by September 18, 2020. Comments received after 
this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the 
Commission is able to ensure consideration only for comments received 
before this date. A request for a hearing or petition for leave to 
intervene must be filed by October 19, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2020-0180. 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.
     Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop: 
TWFN-7-A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff.
    For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting 
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joel S. Wiebe, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-6606, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2020-0180 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain 
publicly-available information related to this action by any of the 
following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2020-0180.
     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 reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by 
email to [email protected]. The proposed license amendment request, 
dated July 15, 2020, is available in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML20197A434.

B. Submitting Comments

    Please include Docket ID NRC-2020-0180 in your comment submission.
    The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact 
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your 
comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at 
https://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment submissions 
into ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to 
remove identifying or contact information.
    If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons 
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to 
include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be 
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should 
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to 
remove such information before making the comment submissions available 
to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.

II. Introduction

    The NRC is considering issuance of amendments to Renewed Facility 
Operating License Nos. NPF-72 and NPF-77, issued to Exelon Generation 
Company, LLC, for operation of the Braidwood Station, Units 1 and 2, 
located in Will County Illinois.
    The proposed amendments would change TS SR 3.7.9.2 to allow a UHS 
temperature of less than or equal to 102.8 [deg]F through September 30, 
2020. The proposed amendments would also permanently extend the 
completion time for the Required Action of both Braidwood Station, 
Units 1 and 2, to be placed in Mode 3 within 12 hours when the UHS is 
inoperable due to average water temperature. Before any issuance of the 
proposed license amendment, the NRC will need to make the findings 
required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and 
NRC's regulations.
    The NRC has made a proposed determination that the license 
amendment request involves no significant hazards consideration. Under 
the NRC's regulations in Sec.  50.92 of title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR), this means that operation of the facility in 
accordance with the proposed amendment would not: (1) Involve a 
significant increase in the probability or consequences of an

[[Page 51076]]

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. As 
required by 10 CFR 50.91(a), the licensee has provided its analysis of 
the issue of no significant hazards consideration, which is presented 
below:

    1. Does the proposed change involve a significant increase in 
the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated?
    Response: No.
    The likelihood of a malfunction of any systems, structures or 
components (SSCs) supported by the Ultimate Heat Sink (UHS) is not 
significantly increased by increasing the allowable UHS temperature 
from <= 102 [deg]F to <= 102.8 [deg]F or extending the time for both 
Unit 1 and Unit 2 to be placed in Mode 3 to 12 hours. The UHS 
provides a heat sink for process and operating heat from safety 
related components during a transient or accident, as well as during 
normal operation. The proposed change does not make any physical 
changes to any plant SSCs, nor does it alter any of the assumptions 
or conditions upon which the UHS is designed. The UHS is not an 
initiator of any analyzed accident. All equipment supported by the 
UHS has been evaluated to demonstrate that their performance and 
operation remains as described in the UFSAR with no increase in 
probability of failure or malfunction.
    The SSCs credited to mitigate the consequences of postulated 
design basis accidents remain capable of performing their design 
basis function. The change in maximum UHS temperature has been 
evaluated using the UFSAR described methods to demonstrate that the 
UHS remains capable of removing normal operating and post-accident 
heat. The change in UHS temperature and resulting containment 
response following a postulated design basis accident has been 
demonstrated to not be impacted. Additionally, all the UHS supported 
equipment, credited in the accident analysis to mitigate an 
accident, has been shown to continue to perform their design 
function as described in the UFSAR.
    Therefore, the proposed change does not involve a significant 
increase in the probability or consequences of an accident 
previously evaluated.
    2. Does the proposed change create the possibility of a new or 
different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated?
    Response: No.
    The proposed change does not create the possibility of a new or 
different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated. 
The proposed change does not introduce any new modes of plant 
operation, change the design function of any SSC, or change the mode 
of operation of any SSC. There are no new equipment failure modes or 
malfunctions created as affected SSCs continue to operate in the 
same manner as previously evaluated and have been evaluated to 
perform as designed at the increased UHS temperature and as assumed 
in the accident analysis. Additionally, accident initiators remain 
as described in the UFSAR and no new accident initiators are 
postulated as a result of the increase in UHS temperature.
    Therefore, the proposed change does not create the possibility 
of a new or different kind of accident from any previously 
evaluated.
    3. Does the proposed change involve a significant reduction in a 
margin of safety?
    Response: No.
    The proposed change continues to ensure that the maximum 
temperature of the cooling water supplied to the plant SSCs during a 
UHS design basis event remains within the evaluated equipment limits 
and capabilities assumed in the accident analysis. The proposed 
change does not result in any changes to plant equipment function, 
including setpoints and actuations. All equipment will function as 
designed in the plant safety analysis without any physical 
modifications. The proposed change does not alter a limiting 
condition for operation, limiting safety system setting, or safety 
limit specified in the Technical Specifications.
    The proposed change does not adversely impact the UHS inventory 
required to be available for the UFSAR described design basis 
accident involving the worst case 30-day period including losses for 
evaporation and seepage to support safe shutdown and cooldown of 
both Braidwood Station units. Additionally, the structural integrity 
of the UHS is not impacted and remains acceptable following the 
change, thereby ensuring that the assumptions for both UHS 
temperature and inventory remain valid.
    Therefore, since there is no adverse impact of this proposed 
change on the Braidwood Station safety analysis, there is no 
reduction in the margin of safety of the plant.

    The NRC staff has reviewed the licensee's analysis and, based on 
this review, it appears that the three standards of 10 CFR 50.92(c) are 
satisfied. Therefore, the NRC staff proposes to determine that the 
license amendment request involves a no significant hazards 
consideration.
    The NRC is seeking public comments on this proposed determination 
that the license amendment request involves no significant hazards 
consideration. Any comments received within 30 days after the date of 
publication of this notice will be considered in making any final 
determination.
    Normally, the Commission will not issue the amendments until the 
expiration of 60 days after the date of publication of this notice. The 
Commission may issue the license amendments before expiration of the 
60-day notice period if the Commission concludes the amendments involve 
no significant hazards consideration. In addition, the Commission may 
issue the amendments prior to the expiration of the 30-day comment 
period if circumstances change during the 30-day comment period such 
that failure to act in a timely way would result, for example, in 
derating or shutdown of the facility. If the Commission takes action 
prior to the expiration of either the comment period or the notice 
period, it will publish in the Federal Register a notice of issuance. 
If the Commission makes a final no significant hazards consideration 
determination, any hearing will take place after issuance. The 
Commission expects that the need to take this action will occur very 
infrequently.

III. Opportunity To Request a Hearing and Petition for Leave To 
Intervene

    Within 60 days after the date of publication of this notice, any 
persons (petitioner) whose interest may be affected by this action may 
file a request for a hearing and petition for leave to intervene 
(petition) with respect to the action. Petitions shall be filed in 
accordance with the Commission's ``Agency Rules of Practice and 
Procedure'' in 10 CFR part 2. Interested persons should consult a 
current copy of 10 CFR 2.309. The NRC's regulations are accessible 
electronically from the NRC Library on the NRC's website at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/. If a petition is filed, 
the Commission or a presiding officer will rule on the petition and, if 
appropriate, a notice of a hearing will be issued.
    As required by 10 CFR 2.309(d) the petition should specifically 
explain the reasons why intervention should be permitted with 
particular reference to the following general requirements for 
standing: (1) The name, address, and telephone number of the 
petitioner; (2) the nature of the petitioner's right to be made a party 
to the proceeding; (3) the nature and extent of the petitioner's 
property, financial, or other interest in the proceeding; and (4) the 
possible effect of any decision or order which may be entered in the 
proceeding on the petitioner's interest.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(f), the petition must also set 
forth the specific contentions which the petitioner seeks to have 
litigated in the proceeding. Each contention must consist of a specific 
statement of the issue of law or fact to be raised or controverted. In 
addition, the petitioner must provide a brief explanation of the bases 
for the contention and a concise statement of the alleged facts or 
expert opinion which support the contention and on which the petitioner 
intends to rely in proving the contention at the hearing. The 
petitioner must also provide references to the specific sources and 
documents on which the petitioner intends to rely to support its 
position on the issue. The petition must

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include sufficient information to show that a genuine dispute exists 
with the applicant or licensee on a material issue of law or fact. 
Contentions must be limited to matters within the scope of the 
proceeding. The contention must be one which, if proven, would entitle 
the petitioner to relief. A petitioner who fails to satisfy the 
requirements at 10 CFR 2.309(f) with respect to at least one contention 
will not be permitted to participate as a party.
    Those permitted to intervene become parties to the proceeding, 
subject to any limitations in the order granting leave to intervene. 
Parties have the opportunity to participate fully in the conduct of the 
hearing with respect to resolution of that party's admitted 
contentions, including the opportunity to present evidence, consistent 
with the NRC's regulations, policies, and procedures.
    Petitions must be filed no later than 60 days from the date of 
publication of this notice. Petitions and motions for leave to file new 
or amended contentions that are filed after the deadline will not be 
entertained absent a determination by the presiding officer that the 
filing demonstrates good cause by satisfying the three factors in 10 
CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i) through (iii). The petition must be filed in 
accordance with the filing instructions in the ``Electronic Submissions 
(E-Filing)'' section of this document.
    If a hearing is requested, and the Commission has not made a final 
determination on the issue of no significant hazards consideration, the 
Commission will make a final determination on the issue of no 
significant hazards consideration. The final determination will serve 
to establish when the hearing is held. If the final determination is 
that the amendment request involves no significant hazards 
consideration, the Commission may issue the amendments and make them 
immediately effective, notwithstanding the request for a hearing. Any 
hearing would take place after issuance of the amendments. If the final 
determination is that the amendment request involves a significant 
hazards consideration, then any hearing held would take place before 
the issuance of the amendments unless the Commission finds an imminent 
danger to the health or safety of the public, in which case it will 
issue an appropriate order or rule under 10 CFR part 2.
    A State, local governmental body, Federally-recognized Indian 
Tribe, or agency thereof, may submit a petition to the Commission to 
participate as a party under 10 CFR 2.309(h)(1). The petition should 
state the nature and extent of the petitioner's interest in the 
proceeding. The petition should be submitted to the Commission no later 
than 60 days from the date of publication of this notice. The petition 
must be filed in accordance with the filing instructions in the 
``Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)'' section of this document, and 
should meet the requirements for petitions set forth in this section, 
except that under 10 CFR 2.309(h)(2) a State, local governmental body, 
or Federally-recognized Indian Tribe, or agency thereof does not need 
to address the standing requirements in 10 CFR 2.309(d) if the facility 
is located within its boundaries. Alternatively, a State, local 
governmental body, Federally-recognized Indian Tribe, or agency thereof 
may participate as a non-party under 10 CFR 2.315(c).
    If a hearing is granted, any person who is not a party to the 
proceeding and is not affiliated with or represented by a party may, at 
the discretion of the presiding officer, be permitted to make a limited 
appearance pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 2.315(a). A person 
making a limited appearance may make an oral or written statement of 
his or her position on the issues but may not otherwise participate in 
the proceeding. A limited appearance may be made at any session of the 
hearing or at any prehearing conference, subject to the limits and 
conditions as may be imposed by the presiding officer. Details 
regarding the opportunity to make a limited appearance will be provided 
by the presiding officer if such sessions are scheduled.

IV. Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)

    All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including a 
request for hearing and petition for leave to intervene (petition), any 
motion or other document filed in the proceeding prior to the 
submission of a request for hearing or petition to intervene, and 
documents filed by interested governmental entities that request to 
participate under 10 CFR 2.315(c), must be filed in accordance with the 
NRC's E-Filing rule (72 FR 49139; August 28, 2007, as amended at 77 FR 
46562; August 3, 2012). The E-Filing process requires participants to 
submit and serve all adjudicatory documents over the internet, or in 
some cases to mail copies on electronic storage media. Detailed 
guidance on making electronic submissions may be found in the Guidance 
for Electronic Submissions to the NRC and on the NRC website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. Participants may not submit 
paper copies of their filings unless they seek an exemption in 
accordance with the procedures described below.
    To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 10 
days prior to the filing deadline, the participant should contact the 
Office of the Secretary by email at [email protected], or by 
telephone at 301-415-1677, to (1) request a digital identification (ID) 
certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or 
representative) to digitally sign submissions and access the E-Filing 
system for any proceeding in which it is participating; and (2) advise 
the Secretary that the participant will be submitting a petition or 
other adjudicatory document (even in instances in which the 
participant, or its counsel or representative, already holds an NRC-
issued digital ID certificate). Based upon this information, the 
Secretary will establish an electronic docket for the hearing in this 
proceeding if the Secretary has not already established an electronic 
docket.
    Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is 
available on the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/getting-started.html. Once a participant has obtained a 
digital ID certificate and a docket has been created, the participant 
can then submit adjudicatory documents. Submissions must be in Portable 
Document Format (PDF). Additional guidance on PDF submissions is 
available on the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/electronic-sub-ref-mat.html. A filing is considered complete at the 
time the document is submitted through the NRC's E Filing system. To be 
timely, an electronic filing must be submitted to the E-Filing system 
no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date. Upon receipt of 
a transmission, the E Filing system time-stamps the document and sends 
the submitter an email notice confirming receipt of the document. The 
E-Filing system also distributes an email notice that provides access 
to the document to the NRC's Office of the General Counsel and any 
others who have advised the Office of the Secretary that they wish to 
participate in the proceeding, so that the filer need not serve the 
document on those participants separately. Therefore, applicants and 
other participants (or their counsel or representative) must apply for 
and receive a digital ID certificate before adjudicatory documents are 
filed so that they can obtain access to the documents via the E-Filing 
system.
    A person filing electronically using the NRC's adjudicatory E-
Filing system may seek assistance by contacting the

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NRC's Electronic Filing Help Desk through the ``Contact Us'' link 
located on the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html, by email to [email protected], or by a toll-free 
call at 1 866-672-7640. The NRC Electronic Filing Help Desk is 
available between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through 
Friday, excluding government holidays.
    Participants who believe that they have a good cause for not 
submitting documents electronically must file an exemption request, in 
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper filing 
stating why there is good cause for not filing electronically and 
requesting authorization to continue to submit documents in paper 
format. Such filings must be submitted by: (1) First class mail 
addressed to the Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: 
Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff; or (2) courier, express mail, or 
expedited delivery service to the Office of the Secretary, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, Attention: Rulemaking and 
Adjudications Staff. Participants filing adjudicatory documents in this 
manner are responsible for serving the document on all other 
participants. Filing is considered complete by first-class mail as of 
the time of deposit in the mail, or by courier, express mail, or 
expedited delivery service upon depositing the document with the 
provider of the service. A presiding officer, having granted an 
exemption request from using E-Filing, may require a participant or 
party to use E-Filing if the presiding officer subsequently determines 
that the reason for granting the exemption from use of E-Filing no 
longer exists.
    Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in the 
NRC's electronic hearing docket which is available to the public at 
https://adams.nrc.gov/ehd, unless excluded pursuant to an order of the 
Commission or the presiding officer. If you do not have an NRC-issued 
digital ID certificate as described above, click ``cancel'' when the 
link requests certificates and you will be automatically directed to 
the NRC's electronic hearing dockets where you will be able to access 
any publicly available documents in a particular hearing docket. 
Participants are requested not to include personal privacy information, 
such as social security numbers, home addresses, or personal phone 
numbers in their filings, unless an NRC regulation or other law 
requires submission of such information. For example, in some 
instances, individuals provide home addresses in order to demonstrate 
proximity to a facility or site. With respect to copyrighted works, 
except for limited excerpts that serve the purpose of the adjudicatory 
filings and would constitute a Fair Use application, participants are 
requested not to include copyrighted materials in their submission.
    For further details with respect to this action, see the 
application for license amendment dated July 15, 2020.
    Attorney for licensee: Tamra Domeyer, Associate General Counsel, 
Exelon Generation Company, LLC, 4300 Winfield Road, Warrenville, IL 
60555.
    NRC Branch Chief: Nancy L. Salgado.

    Dated: August 13, 2020.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Joel S. Wiebe,
Senior Project Manager, Licensing Projects Branch III, Division of 
Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2020-18106 Filed 8-18-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P