Constellation Energy Generation, LLC; Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Unit 2 and Unit 3; Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation; Exemption, 24879-24882 [2024-07455]
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 69 / Tuesday, April 9, 2024 / Notices
Environmental Impacts of the
Alternatives to the Proposed Action
In addition to the proposed action, the
NRC staff also considered denial of the
proposed action (i.e., the ‘‘no-action’’
alternative). Denial of the exemption
request would result in no change in
current environmental impacts. The
environmental impacts of the proposed
action and the alternative action would
be similar.
Alternative Use of Resources
There are no unresolved conflicts
concerning alternative uses of available
resources under the proposed action.
Agencies Consulted
By email dated February 16, 2024, the
NRC provided a copy of the draft EA to
the Massachusetts Department of Public
Health, Radiation Control Program,
Bureau of Environmental Health, for
review. By email dated March 14, 2024,
Massachusetts Department of Public
Health, Radiation Control Program,
Bureau of Environmental Health
indicated that it had no comments.
Endangered Species Act Section 7
Consultation
Section 7 of the Endangered Species
Act of 1973, as amended (ESA), requires
Federal agencies to consult with the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or
National Marine Fisheries Service
regarding actions that may affect listed
species or designated critical habitats.
The ESA is intended to prevent further
decline of endangered and threatened
species and restore those species and
their critical habitat.
The NRC staff determined that a
consultation under section 7 of the ESA
is not required because the proposed
action will not affect listed species or
critical habitat.
National Historic Preservation Act
Section 106 Consultation
Section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act (NHPA) requires
Federal agencies to consider the effects
of their undertakings on historic
properties. As stated in the NHPA,
historic properties are any prehistoric or
historic district, site, building, structure,
or object included in, or eligible for
inclusion in the National Register of
Historic Places.
The NRC determined that the scope of
activities described in this exemption
request do not have the potential to
cause effects on historic properties
because the NRC’s approval of this
exemption request will not authorize
new construction or land disturbance
activities. The NRC staff also
determined that the proposed action is
not a type of activity that has the
potential to impact historic properties
because the proposed action would
occur within the established Yankee
Rowe site boundary. Therefore, in
accordance with 36 CFR 800.3(a)(1), no
consultation is required under section
106 of NHPA.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The environmental impacts of the
proposed action—an exemption from
the requirements of 10 CFR
50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 10 CFR 50.75(h)(2)
allowing YAEC to make withdrawals
from the segregated account, on an
annual basis, for SNF and GTCC waste
management and non-radiological site
restoration without prior notification to
the NRC—have been reviewed under the
requirements in 10 CFR part 51, which
implement the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969, as amended.
The proposed exemption would not
have a significant adverse effect on the
probability of an accident occurring and
would not have any significant
radiological or non-radiological impacts.
The proposed exemption involves an
exemption from requirements that are of
a financial and/or administrative nature
and would not have an impact on the
human environment. Consistent with 10
CFR 51.21, the NRC conducted the EA
for the proposed exemption, and this
FONSI incorporates by reference the EA
included in this document. Therefore,
the NRC concludes that the proposed
action will not have significant effects
on the quality of the human
environment. Accordingly, the NRC has
determined not to prepare an
environmental impact statement for the
proposed action.
IV. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the
following table are available to
interested persons through ADAMS, as
indicated.
Document description
ADAMS accession No.
Request for Exemption from 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 10 CFR 50.75(h)(2) for the Yankee Nuclear
Power Station Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation, dated May 4, 2023.
Email to State of Massachusetts providing draft environmental assessment related to Yankee Rowe exemption request, dated February 16, 2024.
Email Response from State of Massachusetts on draft EA/FONSI, dated March 14, 2024 .........................
Yankee Rowe Decommissioning Funding Assurance Status Report, dated March 6, 2023 ........................
Yankee Nuclear Power Station—Release of Land from Part 50 License, dated August 10, 2007 ..............
Dated: April 4, 2024.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Yoira Diaz-Sanabria,
Chief, Storage and Transportation Licensing
Branch, Division of Fuel Management, Office
of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
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[FR Doc. 2024–07508 Filed 4–8–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 72–37, 50–237, and 50–249;
NRC–2024–0054]
Constellation Energy Generation, LLC;
Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Unit 2
and Unit 3; Independent Spent Fuel
Storage Installation; Exemption
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Notice; issuance.
AGENCY:
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ML23157A101
ML24060A232
ML24075A201
ML23080A107
ML071830515
permitting Dresden Nuclear Power
Station (Dresden) to maintain loaded
and to load 68M multi-purpose canisters
with continuous basket shims in the HI–
STORM 100 Cask System at its Dresden
Unit 2 and Unit 3 independent spent
fuel storage installation in a storage
condition where the terms, conditions,
and specifications in the Certificate of
Compliance No. 1014, Amendment No.
8, Revision No. 1 are not met.
The exemption was issued on
April 1, 2024.
DATES:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) issued an exemption
to Constellation Energy Generation, LLC
SUMMARY:
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24879
Please refer to Docket ID
NRC–2024–0054 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of
ADDRESSES:
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 69 / Tuesday, April 9, 2024 / Notices
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–2024–0054. Address
questions about Docket IDs in
Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann;
telephone: 301–415–0624; email:
Stacy.Schumann@nrc.gov. For technical
questions, contact the individual listed
in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section of this document.
• NRC’s Agencywide Documents
Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly
available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at
https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/
adams.html. To begin the search, select
‘‘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, at
301–415–4737, or by email to
PDR.Resource@nrc.gov. The ADAMS
accession number for each document
referenced (if it is available in ADAMS)
is provided the first time that it is
mentioned in this document.
• NRC’s PDR: The PDR, where you
may examine and order copies of
publicly available documents, is open
by appointment. To make an
appointment to visit the PDR, please
send an email to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov
or call 1–800–397–4209 or 301–415–
4737, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern
time (ET), Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: YenJu Chen, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555; telephone: 301–415–1018;
email: Yen-Ju.Chen@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of
the exemption is attached.
Dated: April 3, 2024.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Yoira K. Diaz-Sanabria,
Chief, Storage and Transportation Licensing
Branch, Division of Fuel Management, Office
of Nuclear Material Safety, and Safeguards.
Attachment—Exemption
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
Docket Nos. 72–37, 50–237, and 50–249
Constellation Energy Generation, LLC;
Dresden Nuclear Power Station Unit 2
and Unit 3; Independent Spent Fuel
Storage Installation
I. Background
Constellation Energy Generation, LLC
(Constellation) is the holder of Renewed
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Facility Operating License Nos. DPR–19
and DPR–25, which authorize operation
of the Dresden Nuclear Power Station,
Unit 2 and Unit 3 (Dresden) in Morris,
Illinois, pursuant to Part 50 of Title 10
of the Code of Federal Regulations (10
CFR), ‘‘Domestic Licensing of
Production and Utilization Facilities.’’
The licenses provide, 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.
Consistent with 10 CFR part 72,
subpart K, ‘‘General License for Storage
of Spent Fuel at Power Reactor Sites,’’
a general license is issued for the storage
of spent fuel in an Independent Spent
Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) at
power reactor sites to persons
authorized to possess or operate nuclear
power reactors under 10 CFR part 50.
Constellation is authorized to operate
nuclear power reactors under 10 CFR
part 50 and holds a 10 CFR part 72
general license for storage of spent fuel
at the Dresden ISFSI. Under the terms
of the general license, Constellation
stores spent fuel at its Dresden ISFSI
using the HI–STORM 100 Cask System
in accordance with Certificate of
Compliance (CoC) No. 1014,
Amendment No. 8, Revision No. 1.
II. Request/Action
By a letter dated February 23, 2024
(Agencywide Documents Access and
Management System [ADAMS]
Accession No. ML24054A031), and
supplemented on February 28, 2024
(ML24065A292) and March 8, 2024
(ML24068A069), Constellation
requested an exemption from the
requirements of 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2),
72.212(b)(3), 72.212(b)(5)(i),
72.212(b)(11), and 72.214 that require
Dresden to comply with the terms,
conditions, and specifications of the
CoC No. 1014, Amendment No. 8,
Revision No. 1 (ML16041A233). If
approved, Constellation’s exemption
request would accordingly allow
Dresden to maintain loaded and to load
Multi-Purpose Canisters (MPC) with an
unapproved, variant basket design (i.e.,
MPC–68M–CBS) in the HI–STORM 100
Cask System, and thus, to load the
systems in a storage condition where the
terms, conditions, and specifications in
the CoC No. 1014, Amendment No. 8,
Revision No. 1 are not met.
Constellation currently uses the HI–
STORM 100 Cask System under CoC
No. 1014, Amendment No. 8, Revision
No. 1, for dry storage of spent nuclear
fuel in MPC–68M at the Dresden ISFSI.
Holtec International (Holtec), the
designer and manufacturer of the HI–
STORM 100 Cask System, developed a
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variant of the design with continuous
basket shims (CBS) for the MPC–68M,
known as MPC–68M–CBS. Holtec
performed a non-mechanistic tip-over
analysis with favorable results and
implemented the CBS variant design
under the provisions of 10 CFR 72.48,
‘‘Changes, tests, and experiments,’’
which allows licensees to make changes
to cask designs without a CoC
amendment under certain conditions
(listed in 10 CFR 72.48(c)). After
evaluating the specific changes to the
cask designs, the NRC determined that
Holtec erred when it implemented the
CBS variant design under 10 CFR 72.48,
as this is not the type of change allowed
without a CoC amendment. For this
reason, the NRC issued three Severity
Level IV violations to Holtec
(ML24016A190).
Prior to the issuance of the violations,
Constellation had loaded four MPC–
68M–CBS in the HI–STORM 100 Cask
System, which are safely in storage at
the Dresden ISFSI. Constellation’s nearterm loading campaigns for the Dresden
ISFSI include plans to load one MPC–
68M–CBS in the HI–STORM 100 Cask
System in May 2024 and four MPC–
68M–CBS in March 2025. While Holtec
was required to submit a CoC
amendment to the NRC to seek approval
of the CBS variant design, such a
process will not be completed in time to
inform decisions for these near-term
loading campaigns. Therefore,
Constellation submitted this exemption
request in order to allow for the
continued storage of the four already
loaded MPC–68M–CBS, and future
loadings of one MPC–68M–CBS in May
2024 and four in March 2025, at the
Dresden ISFSI. This exemption is
limited to the use of MPC–68M–CBS in
the HI–STORM 100 Cask System only
for the four already loaded systems and
specific near-term planned loadings of
five systems using the MPC–68M–CBS
variant basket design.
III. Discussion
Pursuant to 10 CFR 72.7, ‘‘Specific
exemptions,’’ 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.
A. The Exemption Is Authorized by Law
This exemption would allow
Constellation to maintain loaded and to
load MPC–68M–CBS in the HI–STORM
100 Cask System at its Dresden ISFSI in
a storage condition where the terms,
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conditions, and specifications in the
CoC No. 1014, Amendment No. 8,
Revision No. 1, are not met.
Constellation is requesting an
exemption from the provisions in 10
CFR part 72 that require the licensee to
comply with the terms, conditions, and
specifications of the CoC for the
approved cask model it uses. Section
72.7 allows the NRC to grant
exemptions from the requirements of 10
CFR part 72. This authority to grant
exemptions is consistent with the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended,
and is not otherwise inconsistent with
NRC’s regulations or other applicable
laws. Additionally, no other law
prohibits the activities that would be
authorized by the exemption. Therefore,
the NRC concludes that there is no
statutory prohibition on the issuance of
the requested exemption, and the NRC
is authorized to grant the exemption by
law.
B. The Exemption Will Not Endanger
Life or Property or the Common Defense
and Security
This exemption would allow
Constellation to maintain loaded and to
load MPC–68M–CBS in the HI–STORM
100 Cask System at the Dresden ISFSI
in a storage condition where the terms,
conditions, and specifications in the
CoC No. 1014, Amendment No. 8,
Revision No. 1, are not met. In support
of its exemption request, Constellation
asserts that issuance of the exemption
would not endanger life or property
because the administrative controls the
applicant has in place prevent a tip-over
or handling event, and that the
containment boundary would be
maintained in such an event.
Constellation relies, in part, on the
approach in the NRC’s Safety
Determination Memorandum
(ML24018A085). The NRC issued this
Safety Determination Memorandum to
address whether, with respect to the
enforcement action against Holtec
regarding this violation, there was any
need to take an immediate action for the
cask systems that were already loaded
with non-compliant basket designs. The
Safety Determination Memorandum
documents a risk-informed approach
concluding that, during the design basis
event of a non-mechanistic tip-over, the
fuel in the basket in the MPC–68M–CBS
remains in a subcritical condition.
Constellation also provided sitespecific technical information, as
supplemented, including information
explaining why the use of the approach
in the NRC’s Safety Determination
Memorandum is appropriate for
determining the safe use of the CBS
variant baskets at the Dresden ISFSI.
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Specifically, Constellation described
that the analysis of the tip-over design
basis event that is relied upon in the
NRC’s Safety Determination
Memorandum, which demonstrates that
the MPC confinement barrier is
maintained, is documented in the
updated final safety analysis report
(UFSAR) for the HI–STORM 100 Cask
System CoC No. 1014, Amendment 8,
Revision No. 1 that is used at the
Dresden site. Constellation also
described its administrative controls for
handling of the HI–STORM 100 Cask
System at the Dresden ISFSI to prevent
a tip-over or handling event. Those
controls include operational procedures
that demonstrate that the system is
handled with a single failure proof
device, complying with ANSI N14.6,
‘‘for Radioactive Materials—Special
Lifting Devices for Shipping Containers
Weighing 10 000 Pounds (4500 kg) or
More,’’ and consistent with NUREG–
612, ‘‘Control of Heavy Loads at Nuclear
Power Plants,’’ (ML070250180) for
heavy load lifting component, inside of
the Reactor Buildings and during
transport to the ISFSI. In addition, the
transporter includes redundant drop
protection.
Additionally, Constellation provided
specific information from Dresden’s
72.212 Evaluation Report, Revision 15,
indicating that during the design basis
event of a non-mechanistic tip-over,
Dresden’s ISFSI would meet the
requirements in 10 CFR 72.104,
‘‘Criteria for radioactive materials in
effluents and direct radiation from an
ISFSI or MRS,’’ and 72.106, ‘‘Controlled
area of an ISFSI or MRS.’’ Specifically,
Constellation described that, in the
highly unlikely event of a tip-over, any
potential fuel damage from a nonmechanistic tip-over event would be
localized, the confinement barrier
would be maintained, and the shielding
material would remain intact. Coupled
with the distance of the Dresden ISFSI
to the site area boundary, Constellation
concluded that compliance with 72.104
and 72.106 is not impacted by
approving this exemption request.
The NRC staff reviewed the
information provided by Constellation
and concludes that issuance of the
exemption would not endanger life or
property because the administrative
controls Constellation has in place at
the Dresden ISFSI sufficiently minimize
the possibility of a tip-over or handling
event, and that the containment
boundary would be maintained in such
an event. The staff confirmed that these
administrative controls comply with the
technical specifications and UFSAR for
the HI–STORM 100 Cask System CoC
No. 1014, Amendment 8, Revision No.
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24881
1 that is used at the Dresden site. In
addition, the staff confirmed that the
information provided by Constellation
regarding Dresden’s 72.212 Evaluation
Report, Revision 15, demonstrates that
the consequences of normal and
accident conditions would be within the
regulatory limits of the 10 CFR 72.104
and 10 CFR 72.106. The staff also
determined that the requested
exemption is not related to any aspect
of the physical security or defense of the
Dresden ISFSI; therefore, granting the
exemption would not result in any
potential impacts to common defense
and security.
For these reasons, 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 or the common defense and
security.
C. The Exemption Is Otherwise in the
Public Interest
The proposed exemption would allow
the four already loaded MPC–68M–CBS
in the HI–STORM 100 Cask System to
remain in storage at the Dresden ISFSI,
and allow Constellation to load one
MPC–68M–CBS in the HI–STORM 100
Cask System in May 2024 and four
MPC–68M–CBS in March 2025,at the
Dresden ISFSI, even though the CBS
variant basket design is not part of the
approved CoC No. 1014, Amendment
No. 8, Revision No. 1. According to
Constellation, the exemption is in the
public interest because unloading fuel
from already loaded canisters and not
being able to load fuel into dry storage
in future loading campaigns would
impact Constellation’s ability to offload
fuel from the Dresden reactor units,
consequently impacting continued safe
reactor operation. The reflooding of the
MPCs, removal of fuel assemblies, and
replacement into a different MPC would
result in additional doses and handling
operations with no added safety benefit.
In addition, future loading campaigns
would need to be delayed until older
design canisters can be fabricated and
delivered to the site.
Constellation stated that to unload
already loaded MPC–68M–CBS or delay
the future loading campaigns would
impact the ability to effectively manage
the margin to full core discharge
capacity in the Dresden Unit 2 and Unit
3 spent fuel pools. The low spent fuel
pool capacity would make it difficult to
refuel and present potential risks to fuel
handling operations during pre- and
post-outage. In addition, a crowded
spent fuel pool would challenge the
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decay heat removal demand of the pool
and increase the likelihood of a loss of
fuel pool cooling event and a fuel
handling accident. Furthermore,
Dresden planned the cask loading
campaigns years in advance based on
availability of the specialized workforce
and equipment that is shared
throughout the Constellation fleet.
These specialty resources support
competing priorities including refueling
outages, loading campaigns, fuel pool
cleanouts, fuel inspections, fuel handing
equipment upgrade and maintenance,
fuel sipping, new fuel receipt, and crane
maintenance and upgrades. Any delays
would have a cascading impact on other
scheduled specialized activities.
For the reasons described by
Constellation in the exemption request,
the NRC agrees that it is in the public
interest to grant the exemption. If the
exemption is not granted, in order to
comply with the CoC, Constellation
would have to unload MPC–68M–CBS
from the HI–STORM 100 Cask System at
the Dresden ISFSI and reload into the
older design MPC–68M to restore
compliance with terms, conditions, and
specifications of the CoC. This would
subject onsite personnel to additional
radiation exposure, increase the risk of
a possible fuel handling accident, and
increase the risk of a possible heavy
load handling accident. Furthermore,
the removed spent fuel would need to
be placed in the spent fuel pool until it
can be loaded into another storage cask
or remain in the spent fuel pool if it is
not permitted to be loaded into casks for
future loading campaigns. As described
by Constellation, this scenario would
affect Constellation’s ability to
effectively manage the spent pool
capacity and reactor fuel offloading at
Dresden. In addition, the rescheduling
of the specialized resources for the
future loading campaigns would impact
the operations of Dresden and other
Constellation sites.
Therefore, the staff concludes that
approving the exemption is in the
public interest.
Environmental Consideration
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
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effluents that may be released offsite,
and there would be 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
April 1, 2024 (89 FR 22463).
IV. Conclusion
Based on these considerations, the
NRC has determined that, pursuant to
10 CFR 72.7, 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 NRC
grants Constellation an exemption from
the requirements of §§ 72.212(a)(2),
72.212(b)(3), 72.212(b)(5)(i),
72.212(b)(11), and 72.214 with respect
to the ongoing storage of four MPC–
68M–CBS in the HI–STORM 100 Cask
System and future loading in the HI–
STORM 100 Cask System of one MPC–
68M–CBS in May 2024 and four MPC–
68M–CBS in March 2025.
This exemption is effective upon
issuance.
Dated: April 1, 2024.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
/RA/
Yoira K. Diaz-Sanabria,
Chief, Storage and Transportation Licensing
Branch, Division of Fuel Management, Office
of Nuclear Material Safety, and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2024–07455 Filed 4–8–24; 8:45 am]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50–338–SLR–2 and 50–339–
SLR–2; ASLBP No. 24–984–02–SLR–BD01]
Virginia Electric and Power Company;
Establishment of Atomic Safety and
Licensing Board
Pursuant to the Commission’s
regulations, see, e.g., 10 CFR 2.104,
2.105, 2.300, 2.309, 2.313, 2.318, 2.321,
notice is hereby given that an Atomic
Safety and Licensing Board (Board) is
being established to preside over the
following proceeding:
Virginia Electric and Power Company
(North Anna Power Station, Units 1 and
2)
This proceeding involves the twentyyear subsequent license renewal of
Renewed Facility Operating Licenses
NPF–4 and NPF–7, which currently
authorize Virginia Electric and Power
Company to operate North Anna Power
Station, Units 1 and 2, located in Louisa
County, Virginia, until, respectively,
Frm 00107
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Dated: April 3, 2024.
Edward R. Hawkens,
Chief Administrative Judge, Atomic Safety
and Licensing Board Panel.
[FR Doc. 2024–07447 Filed 4–8–24; 8:45 am]
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The Board is comprised of the
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Licensing Board Panel, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555–0001
All correspondence, documents, and
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ADDRESSES: Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent
within 30 days of publication of this
notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/
PRAMain. Find this particular
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\09APN1.SGM
09APN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 69 (Tuesday, April 9, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24879-24882]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07455]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 72-37, 50-237, and 50-249; NRC-2024-0054]
Constellation Energy Generation, LLC; Dresden Nuclear Power
Station, Unit 2 and Unit 3; Independent Spent Fuel Storage
Installation; Exemption
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued an
exemption to Constellation Energy Generation, LLC permitting Dresden
Nuclear Power Station (Dresden) to maintain loaded and to load 68M
multi-purpose canisters with continuous basket shims in the HI-STORM
100 Cask System at its Dresden Unit 2 and Unit 3 independent spent fuel
storage installation in a storage condition where the terms,
conditions, and specifications in the Certificate of Compliance No.
1014, Amendment No. 8, Revision No. 1 are not met.
DATES: The exemption was issued on April 1, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0054 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of
[[Page 24880]]
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-2024-0054. Address
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann;
telephone: 301-415-0624; 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, at 301-415-4737,
or by email to [email protected]. The ADAMS accession number for
each document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the
first time that it is mentioned in this document.
NRC's PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. To make an
appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8
a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Yen-Ju Chen, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555; telephone: 301-415-1018; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the exemption is attached.
Dated: April 3, 2024.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Yoira K. Diaz-Sanabria,
Chief, Storage and Transportation Licensing Branch, Division of Fuel
Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety, and Safeguards.
Attachment--Exemption
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Docket Nos. 72-37, 50-237, and 50-249
Constellation Energy Generation, LLC; Dresden Nuclear Power Station
Unit 2 and Unit 3; Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation
I. Background
Constellation Energy Generation, LLC (Constellation) is the holder
of Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-19 and DPR-25, which
authorize operation of the Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Unit 2 and
Unit 3 (Dresden) in Morris, Illinois, pursuant to Part 50 of Title 10
of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Domestic Licensing of
Production and Utilization Facilities.'' The licenses provide, 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.
Consistent with 10 CFR part 72, subpart K, ``General License for
Storage of Spent Fuel at Power Reactor Sites,'' a general license is
issued for the storage of spent fuel in an Independent Spent Fuel
Storage Installation (ISFSI) at power reactor sites to persons
authorized to possess or operate nuclear power reactors under 10 CFR
part 50. Constellation is authorized to operate nuclear power reactors
under 10 CFR part 50 and holds a 10 CFR part 72 general license for
storage of spent fuel at the Dresden ISFSI. Under the terms of the
general license, Constellation stores spent fuel at its Dresden ISFSI
using the HI-STORM 100 Cask System in accordance with Certificate of
Compliance (CoC) No. 1014, Amendment No. 8, Revision No. 1.
II. Request/Action
By a letter dated February 23, 2024 (Agencywide Documents Access
and Management System [ADAMS] Accession No. ML24054A031), and
supplemented on February 28, 2024 (ML24065A292) and March 8, 2024
(ML24068A069), Constellation requested an exemption from the
requirements of 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2), 72.212(b)(3), 72.212(b)(5)(i),
72.212(b)(11), and 72.214 that require Dresden to comply with the
terms, conditions, and specifications of the CoC No. 1014, Amendment
No. 8, Revision No. 1 (ML16041A233). If approved, Constellation's
exemption request would accordingly allow Dresden to maintain loaded
and to load Multi-Purpose Canisters (MPC) with an unapproved, variant
basket design (i.e., MPC-68M-CBS) in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System, and
thus, to load the systems in a storage condition where the terms,
conditions, and specifications in the CoC No. 1014, Amendment No. 8,
Revision No. 1 are not met.
Constellation currently uses the HI-STORM 100 Cask System under CoC
No. 1014, Amendment No. 8, Revision No. 1, for dry storage of spent
nuclear fuel in MPC-68M at the Dresden ISFSI. Holtec International
(Holtec), the designer and manufacturer of the HI-STORM 100 Cask
System, developed a variant of the design with continuous basket shims
(CBS) for the MPC-68M, known as MPC-68M-CBS. Holtec performed a non-
mechanistic tip-over analysis with favorable results and implemented
the CBS variant design under the provisions of 10 CFR 72.48, ``Changes,
tests, and experiments,'' which allows licensees to make changes to
cask designs without a CoC amendment under certain conditions (listed
in 10 CFR 72.48(c)). After evaluating the specific changes to the cask
designs, the NRC determined that Holtec erred when it implemented the
CBS variant design under 10 CFR 72.48, as this is not the type of
change allowed without a CoC amendment. For this reason, the NRC issued
three Severity Level IV violations to Holtec (ML24016A190).
Prior to the issuance of the violations, Constellation had loaded
four MPC-68M-CBS in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System, which are safely in
storage at the Dresden ISFSI. Constellation's near-term loading
campaigns for the Dresden ISFSI include plans to load one MPC-68M-CBS
in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System in May 2024 and four MPC-68M-CBS in
March 2025. While Holtec was required to submit a CoC amendment to the
NRC to seek approval of the CBS variant design, such a process will not
be completed in time to inform decisions for these near-term loading
campaigns. Therefore, Constellation submitted this exemption request in
order to allow for the continued storage of the four already loaded
MPC-68M-CBS, and future loadings of one MPC-68M-CBS in May 2024 and
four in March 2025, at the Dresden ISFSI. This exemption is limited to
the use of MPC-68M-CBS in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System only for the
four already loaded systems and specific near-term planned loadings of
five systems using the MPC-68M-CBS variant basket design.
III. Discussion
Pursuant to 10 CFR 72.7, ``Specific exemptions,'' 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.
A. The Exemption Is Authorized by Law
This exemption would allow Constellation to maintain loaded and to
load MPC-68M-CBS in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System at its Dresden ISFSI
in a storage condition where the terms,
[[Page 24881]]
conditions, and specifications in the CoC No. 1014, Amendment No. 8,
Revision No. 1, are not met. Constellation is requesting an exemption
from the provisions in 10 CFR part 72 that require the licensee to
comply with the terms, conditions, and specifications of the CoC for
the approved cask model it uses. Section 72.7 allows the NRC to grant
exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR part 72. This authority to
grant exemptions is consistent with the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as
amended, and is not otherwise inconsistent with NRC's regulations or
other applicable laws. Additionally, no other law prohibits the
activities that would be authorized by the exemption. Therefore, the
NRC concludes that there is no statutory prohibition on the issuance of
the requested exemption, and the NRC is authorized to grant the
exemption by law.
B. The Exemption Will Not Endanger Life or Property or the Common
Defense and Security
This exemption would allow Constellation to maintain loaded and to
load MPC-68M-CBS in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System at the Dresden ISFSI
in a storage condition where the terms, conditions, and specifications
in the CoC No. 1014, Amendment No. 8, Revision No. 1, are not met. In
support of its exemption request, Constellation asserts that issuance
of the exemption would not endanger life or property because the
administrative controls the applicant has in place prevent a tip-over
or handling event, and that the containment boundary would be
maintained in such an event. Constellation relies, in part, on the
approach in the NRC's Safety Determination Memorandum (ML24018A085).
The NRC issued this Safety Determination Memorandum to address whether,
with respect to the enforcement action against Holtec regarding this
violation, there was any need to take an immediate action for the cask
systems that were already loaded with non-compliant basket designs. The
Safety Determination Memorandum documents a risk-informed approach
concluding that, during the design basis event of a non-mechanistic
tip-over, the fuel in the basket in the MPC-68M-CBS remains in a
subcritical condition.
Constellation also provided site-specific technical information, as
supplemented, including information explaining why the use of the
approach in the NRC's Safety Determination Memorandum is appropriate
for determining the safe use of the CBS variant baskets at the Dresden
ISFSI. Specifically, Constellation described that the analysis of the
tip-over design basis event that is relied upon in the NRC's Safety
Determination Memorandum, which demonstrates that the MPC confinement
barrier is maintained, is documented in the updated final safety
analysis report (UFSAR) for the HI-STORM 100 Cask System CoC No. 1014,
Amendment 8, Revision No. 1 that is used at the Dresden site.
Constellation also described its administrative controls for handling
of the HI-STORM 100 Cask System at the Dresden ISFSI to prevent a tip-
over or handling event. Those controls include operational procedures
that demonstrate that the system is handled with a single failure proof
device, complying with ANSI N14.6, ``for Radioactive Materials--Special
Lifting Devices for Shipping Containers Weighing 10 000 Pounds (4500
kg) or More,'' and consistent with NUREG-612, ``Control of Heavy Loads
at Nuclear Power Plants,'' (ML070250180) for heavy load lifting
component, inside of the Reactor Buildings and during transport to the
ISFSI. In addition, the transporter includes redundant drop protection.
Additionally, Constellation provided specific information from
Dresden's 72.212 Evaluation Report, Revision 15, indicating that during
the design basis event of a non-mechanistic tip-over, Dresden's ISFSI
would meet the requirements in 10 CFR 72.104, ``Criteria for
radioactive materials in effluents and direct radiation from an ISFSI
or MRS,'' and 72.106, ``Controlled area of an ISFSI or MRS.''
Specifically, Constellation described that, in the highly unlikely
event of a tip-over, any potential fuel damage from a non-mechanistic
tip-over event would be localized, the confinement barrier would be
maintained, and the shielding material would remain intact. Coupled
with the distance of the Dresden ISFSI to the site area boundary,
Constellation concluded that compliance with 72.104 and 72.106 is not
impacted by approving this exemption request.
The NRC staff reviewed the information provided by Constellation
and concludes that issuance of the exemption would not endanger life or
property because the administrative controls Constellation has in place
at the Dresden ISFSI sufficiently minimize the possibility of a tip-
over or handling event, and that the containment boundary would be
maintained in such an event. The staff confirmed that these
administrative controls comply with the technical specifications and
UFSAR for the HI-STORM 100 Cask System CoC No. 1014, Amendment 8,
Revision No. 1 that is used at the Dresden site. In addition, the staff
confirmed that the information provided by Constellation regarding
Dresden's 72.212 Evaluation Report, Revision 15, demonstrates that the
consequences of normal and accident conditions would be within the
regulatory limits of the 10 CFR 72.104 and 10 CFR 72.106. The staff
also determined that the requested exemption is not related to any
aspect of the physical security or defense of the Dresden ISFSI;
therefore, granting the exemption would not result in any potential
impacts to common defense and security.
For these reasons, 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 or the
common defense and security.
C. The Exemption Is Otherwise in the Public Interest
The proposed exemption would allow the four already loaded MPC-68M-
CBS in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System to remain in storage at the Dresden
ISFSI, and allow Constellation to load one MPC-68M-CBS in the HI-STORM
100 Cask System in May 2024 and four MPC-68M-CBS in March 2025,at the
Dresden ISFSI, even though the CBS variant basket design is not part of
the approved CoC No. 1014, Amendment No. 8, Revision No. 1. According
to Constellation, the exemption is in the public interest because
unloading fuel from already loaded canisters and not being able to load
fuel into dry storage in future loading campaigns would impact
Constellation's ability to offload fuel from the Dresden reactor units,
consequently impacting continued safe reactor operation. The reflooding
of the MPCs, removal of fuel assemblies, and replacement into a
different MPC would result in additional doses and handling operations
with no added safety benefit. In addition, future loading campaigns
would need to be delayed until older design canisters can be fabricated
and delivered to the site.
Constellation stated that to unload already loaded MPC-68M-CBS or
delay the future loading campaigns would impact the ability to
effectively manage the margin to full core discharge capacity in the
Dresden Unit 2 and Unit 3 spent fuel pools. The low spent fuel pool
capacity would make it difficult to refuel and present potential risks
to fuel handling operations during pre- and post-outage. In addition, a
crowded spent fuel pool would challenge the
[[Page 24882]]
decay heat removal demand of the pool and increase the likelihood of a
loss of fuel pool cooling event and a fuel handling accident.
Furthermore, Dresden planned the cask loading campaigns years in
advance based on availability of the specialized workforce and
equipment that is shared throughout the Constellation fleet. These
specialty resources support competing priorities including refueling
outages, loading campaigns, fuel pool cleanouts, fuel inspections, fuel
handing equipment upgrade and maintenance, fuel sipping, new fuel
receipt, and crane maintenance and upgrades. Any delays would have a
cascading impact on other scheduled specialized activities.
For the reasons described by Constellation in the exemption
request, the NRC agrees that it is in the public interest to grant the
exemption. If the exemption is not granted, in order to comply with the
CoC, Constellation would have to unload MPC-68M-CBS from the HI-STORM
100 Cask System at the Dresden ISFSI and reload into the older design
MPC-68M to restore compliance with terms, conditions, and
specifications of the CoC. This would subject onsite personnel to
additional radiation exposure, increase the risk of a possible fuel
handling accident, and increase the risk of a possible heavy load
handling accident. Furthermore, the removed spent fuel would need to be
placed in the spent fuel pool until it can be loaded into another
storage cask or remain in the spent fuel pool if it is not permitted to
be loaded into casks for future loading campaigns. As described by
Constellation, this scenario would affect Constellation's ability to
effectively manage the spent pool capacity and reactor fuel offloading
at Dresden. In addition, the rescheduling of the specialized resources
for the future loading campaigns would impact the operations of Dresden
and other Constellation sites.
Therefore, the staff concludes that approving the exemption is in
the public interest.
Environmental Consideration
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 would be 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 April 1, 2024 (89 FR 22463).
IV. Conclusion
Based on these considerations, the NRC has determined that,
pursuant to 10 CFR 72.7, 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 NRC grants
Constellation an exemption from the requirements of Sec. Sec.
72.212(a)(2), 72.212(b)(3), 72.212(b)(5)(i), 72.212(b)(11), and 72.214
with respect to the ongoing storage of four MPC-68M-CBS in the HI-STORM
100 Cask System and future loading in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System of
one MPC-68M-CBS in May 2024 and four MPC-68M-CBS in March 2025.
This exemption is effective upon issuance.
Dated: April 1, 2024.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
/RA/
Yoira K. Diaz-Sanabria,
Chief, Storage and Transportation Licensing Branch, Division of Fuel
Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety, and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2024-07455 Filed 4-8-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
