[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 12, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2460-2463]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-00368]



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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-316; NRC-2021-0019]


Indiana Michigan Power Company; Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant, 
Unit No. 2

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: License amendment request; opportunity to provide comment, 
request a hearing, and 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 No. DPR-
74, issued to Indiana Michigan Power Company (I&M), for operation of 
the Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant, Unit No. 2 (CNP-2). The proposed 
amendment would revise the CNP-2 technical specifications (TSs) to 
allow a one-time change to permit the current integrated leak rate test 
interval of 15 years to be extended by approximately 18 months to no 
later than the plant startup after the fall 2022 refueling outage.

DATES: Submit comments by February 11, 2021. Requests for a hearing or 
petitions for leave to intervene must be filed by March 15, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods; 
however, the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal Rulemaking website:
    <bullet> Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov/ and search for Docket ID NRC-2021-0019. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges; 
telephone: 301-287-9127; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ffb59a919196999a8dd1bd908d989a8cbf918d9cd1989089"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7b311e1515121d1e09553914091c1e083b150918551c140d">[email protected]</span></a>. For technical 
questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section of this document.
    <bullet> 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: Scott P. Wall, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-2855; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5605353922227801373a3a1638243578313920"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0e5d6d617a7a20596f62624e607c6d20696178">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2021-0019 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:
    <bullet> Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2021-0019.
    <bullet> 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 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#95e5f1e7bbe7f0e6fae0e7f6f0d5fbe7f6bbf2fae3"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="48382c3a663a2d3b273d3a2b2d08263a2b662f273e">[email protected]</span></a>. The application for amendment dated 
December 14, 2020, is available in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML20363A011.
    <bullet> Attention: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies 
of public documents, is currently closed. You may submit your request 
to the PDR via email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c9b9adbbe7bbacbaa6bcbbaaac89a7bbaae7aea6bf"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2b5b4f5905594e58445e59484e6b455948054c445d">[email protected]</span></a> or call 1-800-397-4209 or 
301-415-4737, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (EST), Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays.

B. Submitting Comments

    The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal Rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please 
include Docket ID NRC-2021-0019 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 an amendment to Renewed Facility 
Operating License No. DPR-74, issued to I&M, for operation of the CNP-
2, located in Berrien County, Michigan.
    The proposed amendment would revise the CNP-2 TSs to allow a one-
time change to permit the current integrated leak rate test interval of 
15 years to be extended by approximately 18 months to no later than the 
plant startup after the fall 2022 refueling outage.
    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 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 proposed amendment involves changes to the [CNP-2] 
containment leakage rate testing program. The proposed amendment 
does not involve a physical change to the plant or a change in the 
manner in which the plant is operated or controlled. The primary 
containment function is to provide an essentially leak-tight barrier 
against the uncontrolled release of radioactivity to the environment 
for postulated accidents. As such, the containment itself, and the 
testing requirements to periodically demonstrate the integrity of 
containment, exist to ensure the plant's ability to mitigate the 
consequences of an accident and do not involve any accident 
precursors or initiators. Therefore, the probability of occurrence 
of an accident previously evaluated is not significantly increased 
by the proposed amendment.
    The proposed amendment modifies TS 5.5.14, Containment Leakage 
Rate Testing Program, to allow for a one-time extension to

[[Page 2461]]

the containment Type A test interval. The potential consequences of 
extending the containment Type A test interval one time by 
approximately eighteen months have been evaluated by analyzing the 
resulting changes in risk. The increase in risk in terms of person-
rem per year within 50 miles resulting from design basis accidents 
was estimated to be acceptably small and determined to be within the 
guidelines published in the [NRC] Final Safety Evaluation for 
Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) Topical Report (TR) 94-01, Revision 
3-A. Additionally, the proposed change maintains defense-in-depth by 
preserving a reasonable balance among prevention of core damage, 
prevention of containment failure, and consequence mitigation. I&M 
has determined that the increase in conditional containment failure 
probability due to the proposed change would be very small. 
Therefore, it is concluded that the proposed amendment 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 amendment modifies TS 5.5.14, Containment Leakage 
Rate Testing Program, to allow for a one-time extension to the 
containment Type A test interval. Containment, and the testing 
requirements to periodically demonstrate the integrity of 
containment, exist to ensure the plant's ability to mitigate the 
consequences of an accident and do not involve any accident 
precursors or initiators. The proposed change does not involve a 
physical change to the plant (i.e., no new or different type of 
equipment will be installed) or a change to the manner in which the 
plant is operated or controlled. 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 amendment modifies TS 5.5.14, Containment Leakage 
Rate Testing Program, to allow for a one-time extension to the 
containment Type A test interval. This amendment does not alter the 
manner in which safety limits, limiting safety system setpoints, or 
limiting conditions for operation are determined. The specific 
requirements and conditions of the containment leakage rate testing 
program, as defined in the TS, ensure that the degree of primary 
containment structural integrity and leak-tightness that is 
considered in the plant's safety analysis is maintained. The overall 
containment leakage rate limit specified by the TS is maintained, 
and the Type A, Type B, and Type C containment leakage tests would 
be performed at the frequencies established in accordance with the 
NRC-accepted guidelines of NEI 94-01, Revision 3-A. Containment 
inspections performed in accordance with other plant programs serve 
to provide a high degree of assurance that containment would not 
degrade in a manner that is not detectable by a Type A Test. A risk 
assessment using the current [CNP-2] Probabilistic Risk Analysis 
model concluded that extending the Type A test interval onetime by 
approximately eighteen months results in a small change to the risk 
profile. Therefore, the proposed change does not involve a 
significant reduction in a margin of safety.

    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 amendment until the 
expiration of 60 days after the date of publication of this notice. The 
Commission may issue the license amendment before expiration of the 60-
day notice period if the Commission concludes the amendment involves no 
significant hazards consideration. In addition, the Commission may 
issue the amendment 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 that 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 that 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 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 that, 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

[[Page 2462]]

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 amendment and make it 
immediately effective, notwithstanding the request for a hearing. Any 
hearing would take place after issuance of the amendment. 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 amendment 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 petition is submitted, 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 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#86eee3e7f4efe8e1a8e2e9e5ede3f2c6e8f4e5a8e1e9f0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0c64696d7e65626b2268636f6769784c627e6f226b637a">[email protected]</span></a>, 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 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 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c08d938884ee92a5b3afb5b2a3a580aeb2a3eea7afb6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="115c4259553f4374627e64637274517f63723f767e67">[email protected]</span></a>, 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.

[[Page 2463]]

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 December 14, 2020 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML20363A011).
    Attorney for licensee: Robert B. Haemer, Senior Nuclear Counsel, 
Indiana Michigan Power Company, One Cook Place, Bridgman, MI 49106.
    NRC Branch Chief: Nancy L. Salgado.

    Dated: January 6, 2021.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Scott P. Wall,
Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch III, Division of 
Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2021-00368 Filed 1-11-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P


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