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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 14, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3261-3264]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-00598]

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-328; NRC-2024-0226]

Tennessee Valley Authority; Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, Unit 2; 
Exemption

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued an 
exemption in response to a request dated November 27, 2024, from 
Tennessee Valley Authority. The exemption authorizes a one-time 
exemption for Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, Unit 2, to allow the use of the 
less restrictive work hour limitations described in NRC regulations for 
a 21-day period starting no earlier than January 6, 2025, and no later 
than January 31, 2025.

DATES: The exemption was issued on December 23, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0226 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly available information related to this document 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2024-0226. 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 exemption request dated 
November 27, 2024, is available in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML24332A119.
     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: Perry Buckberg, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-1383, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the exemption is attached.

    Dated: January 8, 2025.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Perry H. Buckberg,
Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch II-2, Division of 
Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

Attachment--Exemption

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Docket No. 50-328

Tennessee Valley Authority, Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, Unit 2; Exemption

I. Background

    The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA, the licensee) is the holder of 
Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-79, which authorizes 
operation of Sequoyah Nuclear Plant (Sequoyah), Unit 2. The license 
provides, among other things, that the facility is subject to all 
applicable rules, regulations, and orders of the U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) now or hereafter in effect. 
Sequoyah consists of two pressurized-water reactors located in Hamilton 
County, Tennessee.

II. Request/Action

    By letter dated November 27, 2024 (Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML24332A119), and pursuant to 
title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) part 26, ``Fitness 
for Duty Programs,'' section 26.9, ``Specific exemptions,'' TVA 
requested a one-time exemption from the work hour requirements in 10 
CFR 26.205, ``Work hours,'' paragraph (d)(7). Specifically, TVA 
requested to use the work hour requirements in 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4), 
which are applicable during the first 60 days of a unit outage, in lieu 
of the work hour requirements in 10 CFR 26.205(d)(7), for a period of 
no more than 21 days for individuals specified in 10 CFR 26.4(a)(1), 
(a)(2), and (a)(4).
    Licensees are required to control the work hours of any individual 
who performs the duties identified in 10 CFR 26.4(a). One way of doing 
this is by complying with the 10 CFR 26.205(d)(7) requirements for 
maximum average work hours wherein the individuals may not work more 
than a weekly average of 54 hours, calculated using an averaging period 
of up to 6 weeks, which advances by 7 consecutive calendar days at the 
finish of every averaging period. However, according to 10 CFR 
26.205(d)(4), licensees need not meet these requirements during the 
first 60 days of a unit outage for individuals specified in 10 CFR 
26.4(a)(1) through

[[Page 3262]]

(a)(4), while those individuals are working on outage activities. 
Instead, licensees shall ensure that the individuals specified in 10 
CFR 26.4(a)(1) through (a)(3) have at least 3 days off in each 
successive (i.e., non-rolling) 15-day period and that the individuals 
specified in 10 CFR 26.4(a)(4) have at least 1 day off in any 7-day 
period. This alternative work hour requirement is known as the outage 
minimum days off (MDO) requirement.
    Sequoyah, Unit 2, entered an unplanned shutdown on July 30, 2024. 
During this unplanned outage, the licensee commenced an extended 
turbine generator outage. This allowed the licensee to administer 
outage work hour controls in accordance with 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4). 
Although these outage work hour controls ended after the first 60 days 
of the outage on September 29, 2024, the outage remains in progress and 
is scheduled to be completed in April 2025. Due to the unplanned nature 
of the shutdown, TVA was unable to complete the testing of the main 
steam safety valves. In its exemption request, TVA stated that the 
operating experience with past refueling outages establishes the need 
to use outage work hour controls to provide the necessary conditions to 
complete the testing of the main steam safety valves and the associated 
activities to identify and resolve any issues. Since the outage work 
hour controls have already ended for this outage, TVA requested a one-
time exemption from the non-outage work hour controls in 10 CFR 
26.205(d)(7) for personnel in the categories described in 10 CFR 
26.4(a)(1), (a)(2), and (a)(4) so that they may work the less 
restrictive outage work hours as described in 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4) to 
support a main steam safety valve maintenance window from January 6, 
2025, to January 31, 2025, for a period not to exceed 21 days. 
Additionally, the licensee stated that the emergency diesel generator 
(EDG) outages are scheduled to immediately follow the proposed 3-week 
maintenance window. Several individuals in operations and maintenance 
roles included in the proposed exemption request would also work on EDG 
outage activities. The licensee plans to perform that work in 
compliance with the non-outage work hour controls in 10 CFR 
26.205(d)(7) with the averaging period beginning immediately after the 
exemption period. Therefore, this exemption would also relieve the 
licensee from the 10 CFR 26.205(d)(7) requirements of including the 
preceding 21-day period in the rolling 6-week average of 54 hours, and 
instead the licensee would be able to treat the proposed maintenance 
window as an outage as described in 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4).

III. Discussion

    Pursuant to 10 CFR 26.9, the Commission may, upon application of 
any interested person or on its own initiative, grant exemptions from 
the requirements of 10 CFR part 26 as it determines (1) are authorized 
by law; (2) will not endanger life or property; (3) will not endanger 
the common defense and security; and (4) are otherwise in the public 
interest.

A. The Exemption Is Authorized by Law

    The proposed exemption would authorize a one-time exemption from 
the requirements of 10 CFR 26.205(d)(7) to allow the use of the less 
restrictive work hour controls in 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4) for up to an 
additional 21 days. As stated, 10 CFR 26.9 allows the Commission to 
grant exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR part 26, including 10 
CFR 26.205(d)(7), when, in part, the exemptions are authorized by law. 
Exemptions are authorized by law where they are not expressly 
prohibited by statute or regulation. A proposed exemption is implicitly 
authorized by law if it will not endanger life or property or the 
common defense and security and is otherwise in the public interest and 
no other provisions in law prohibit, or otherwise restrict, its 
application. The NRC staff has determined that no provisions in law 
expressly prohibit or otherwise restrict the application of the 
requested exemption. The NRC staff has also determined, as explained in 
subsequent sections of this document, that the requested exemption will 
not endanger life or property or the common defense and security and is 
otherwise in the public interest. Therefore, the exemption is 
authorized by law.

B. The Exemption Will Not Endanger Life or Property

    The purpose of 10 CFR part 26, subpart I, ``Managing Fatigue,'' is 
to ensure that fatigue does not compromise the abilities of specified 
individuals to perform their duties safely and competently. The purpose 
of 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4) is to provide licensees flexibility in 
scheduling required days off while accommodating more intense work 
schedules associated with a unit outage for a limited period of time.
    Under the proposed exemption, personnel in the categories described 
in 10 CFR 26.4(a)(1), (a)(2), and (a)(4) would be permitted to work in 
accordance with the less restrictive outage MDO requirements in 10 CFR 
26.205(d)(4) for up to an additional 21 days. TVA cited regulatory 
position C.10 of NRC Regulatory Guide 5.73, ``Fatigue Management for 
Nuclear Power Plant Personnel'' (ML083450028), which discusses the 
expectation that licensees should confirm that an individual 
transitioning from an outage at one plant to another ``has had a 34-
hour break period within the 9 days that precede the day on which the 
individual begins working for the receiving licensee.'' TVA stated that 
the workers affected by the proposed exemption will have received a 
rest and reset period prior to starting the 72-hour work weeks during 
the maintenance window. In addition, TVA stated that from September 30, 
2024, through November 17, 2024, personnel in the categories described 
in 10 CFR 26.4(a)(1), (a)(2), and (a)(4) have worked under the non-
outage work hour controls in 10 CFR 26.205(d)(7) and will continue to 
do so until the proposed period of the exemption, and have been granted 
annual leave and other personal time-off as requested.
    The NRC staff determined that the added mitigating actions of 
providing a rest and reset period prior to the proposed exemption 
period, maintaining the non-outage work hour controls in 10 CFR 
26.205(d)(7) during the 14-week period from the end of the 60-day 
initial outage period until the proposed exemption period while 
allowing the affected workers to use annual leave or other personal 
time-off as requested, and the use of an outage oversight plan for 
fatigue assessments during the proposed work period will allow TVA to 
adequately manage cumulative fatigue during the proposed exemption 
period of up to 21 days. Acute fatigue will be managed using the outage 
MDO requirements combined with fatigue assessments by supervisors, 
which is consistent with common practice during unit outages. Based on 
this, the NRC staff finds that the proposed mitigating actions will 
adequately manage cumulative and acute fatigue. Therefore, the 
exemption will not endanger life or property.

C. The Exemption Will Not Endanger the Common Defense and Security

    The proposed exemption would authorize a one-time exemption from 
the requirements of 10 CFR 26.205(d)(7) to allow the use of the less 
restrictive work hour controls in 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4) for up to an 
additional 21 days. The proposed exemption is not applicable to 
security personnel, nor does it have any relation to or impact on 
security issues. Therefore, the

[[Page 3263]]

exemption will not endanger the common defense and security.

D. The Exemption Is Otherwise in the Public Interest

    The proposed exemption would authorize a one-time exemption from 
the requirements of 10 CFR 26.205(d)(7) to allow the use of the less 
restrictive work hour controls in 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4) for up to an 
additional 21 days. In considering whether this exemption would be in 
the public interest, the NRC staff considered several factors, 
including:
     the unplanned nature of the shutdown and extended outage;
     the public health and safety interests of the communities 
impacted by the safe operation of the plant; and
     the potential adverse impacts on communities resulting 
from any further extension of the shutdown of the unit, which could 
challenge the reliability of the service territory and result in not 
meeting reserve capacity for the warmer months.
    The NRC staff considered that the current outage was not planned 
and has extended beyond the initial 60 days of the less restrictive 
outage work hour controls in 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4) and that the required 
work needed to complete testing, discovery, and resolution of issues 
has not been completed. The NRC staff also considered TVA's reasonable 
efforts to develop a proposed maintenance window schedule that 
accommodates the completion of items needed for testing and to make 
potential repairs that may require a long-lead time. The NRC staff 
noted that TVA also plans to complete maintenance on the EDGs while 
additional resources are onsite immediately following the proposed 
exemption period. These maintenance activities are important to 
assuring the safe operation of the unit.
    In its exemption request, TVA discussed the potential impacts of 
the Commission not granting the proposed exemption. TVA stated that 
without this exemption, TVA would be challenged from a reliability 
perspective, as the area supplied by the unit transitions further into 
a period of the year characterized by warmer weather and higher loads. 
TVA discussed the likelihood that without the exemption, TVA may need 
to commit other generating assets or purchase replacement power from 
the market, which could introduce reliability risk.
    The NRC staff considered the balance of public interest 
considerations. The NRC staff considered the importance of the 
maintenance activities and the potential impacts of not granting the 
exemption, including the potential need for TVA to extend the Sequoyah, 
Unit 2, outage if non-outage work hour controls were to reduce the 
availability of personnel. The NRC staff also considered the potential 
impacts of granting the exemption, including impacts that could result 
from an increase in overall cumulative fatigue due to personnel working 
longer hours for an extended period beyond that of a typical outage 
under the established regulatory limits. However, as explained, TVA 
currently has mitigating actions in place for managing cumulative and 
acute fatigue that include adequate rest intervals and assessments for 
fatigue. Also, TVA will have adequately managed fatigue for personnel 
in the categories described in 10 CFR 26.4(a)(1), (a)(2), and (a)(4) 
leading up to the exemption period through compliance with the 
requirements in 10 CFR 26.205(d)(7). Based on these considerations, the 
NRC staff finds that there are no expectations for an impact on the 
public health and safety as a result of an increase in fatigue for the 
proposed period of up to 21 days. The NRC staff also finds that an 
earlier conclusion of the Sequoyah, Unit 2, extended outage may allow 
TVA to meet elevated electrical demands without relying on purchasing 
replacement power. Finally, the NRC staff finds that TVA took 
reasonable measures in its project planning to ensure that all testing, 
maintenance, and resolution of discovery items will be completed within 
the proposed exemption period. Therefore, the exemption is otherwise in 
the public interest.

E. Environmental Considerations

    The Commission has determined that granting the proposed one-time 
exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 26.205(d)(7) to allow the use 
of the less restrictive work hour controls in 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4) for 
up to an additional 21 days involves (1) no significant hazards 
consideration, (2) no significant change in the types or significant 
increase in the amounts of any effluents that may be released offsite, 
(3) no significant increase in individual or cumulative public or 
occupational radiation exposure, (4) no significant construction 
impact, and (5) no significant increase in the potential for or 
consequences from radiological accidents.
    (1) Under 10 CFR 50.92(c), there is no significant hazards 
consideration if the action does not (1) involve a significant increase 
in the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated; 
(2) create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from 
any accident previously evaluated; or (3) involve a significant 
reduction in a margin of safety.
    The proposed exemption is administrative in nature because it 
provides an additional period when less restrictive outage work hour 
controls can apply for personnel in the categories described in 10 CFR 
26.4(a)(1), (a)(2), and (a)(4). The proposed exemption has no effect on 
structures, systems, and components (SSCs) and no effect on the 
capability of the SSCs to perform their design function. The proposed 
exemption does not make any changes to the facility or operating 
procedures and does not alter the design, function, or operation of any 
plant equipment. Therefore, the exemption does not increase the 
probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated.
    Similarly, the proposed exemption does not authorize any physical 
changes to any SSCs involved in the mitigation of any accidents. 
Therefore, the exemption does not create the possibility of a new or 
different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated.
    The proposed exemption does not authorize alteration of the design 
basis or any safety limits for the plant. The exemption would not 
impact station operation or any SSC that is relied upon for accident 
mitigation. Therefore, the exemption does not involve a significant 
reduction in a margin of safety.
    For these reasons, the NRC staff has determined that approval of 
the proposed exemption involves no significant hazards consideration.
    (2) The proposed exemption does not authorize any changes to the 
design basis requirements for the SSCs at Sequoyah, Unit 2, that 
function to limit the release of non-radiological effluents, 
radiological liquid effluents, or radiological gaseous effluents during 
and following postulated accidents. Additionally, the exemption does 
not change any requirements with respect to the conduct of radiation 
surveys and monitoring. Therefore, there is no significant change in 
the types or significant increase in the amounts of any effluents that 
may be released offsite.
    (3) The proposed exemption does not affect the limits on the 
release of any radioactive material or the limits provided in 10 CFR 
part 20 for radiation exposure to workers or members of the public. 
Additionally, the exemption will not increase or decrease the amount of 
work activities that must be completed in order to connect the reactor 
unit to the electrical grid. Therefore, there is no significant 
increase in individual or

[[Page 3264]]

cumulative public or occupational radiation exposure.
    (4) The proposed exemption does not involve any construction. 
Therefore, there is no significant construction impact.
    (5) The proposed exemption does not alter any of the assumptions or 
limits in the licensee's accident analyses. Therefore, there is no 
significant increase in the potential for or consequences from 
radiological accidents.
    Based on the foregoing and because the requirements from which the 
exemption is sought involve other requirements of an administrative, 
managerial, or organizational nature, the exemption meets the 
eligibility criteria for categorical exclusion set forth in 10 CFR 
51.22(c)(25)(vi)(I). Therefore, in accordance with 10 CFR 51.22(b), no 
environmental impact statement or environmental assessment need be 
prepared in connection with granting the proposed exemption.

IV. Conclusion

    Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 
26.9, the exemption is authorized by law, will not endanger life or 
property or the common defense and security, and is otherwise in the 
public interest. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants TVA a one-time 
exemption from 10 CFR 26.205(d)(7) for personnel in the categories 
described in 10 CFR 26.4(a)(1), (a)(2), and (a)(4) to allow the use of 
the outage MDO requirements in 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4) for a 21-day period 
starting no earlier than January 6, 2025, and no later than January 31, 
2025. While the exemption is in effect, TVA will ensure that 
individuals specified in 10 CFR 26.4(a)(1) and (a)(2) have at least 3 
days off in each successive (i.e., non-rolling) 15-day period and that 
individuals specified in 10 CFR 26.4(a)(4) have at least 1 day off in 
any 7-day period. The use of the outage MDO requirements and an outage 
plan will adequately manage cumulative and acute fatigue for covered 
personnel. The exemption ends either at the end of the approved 21-day 
period or at the time when Sequoyah, Unit 2, is connected to the 
electrical grid, whichever occurs first.

    Dated: December 23, 2024.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Aida Rivera-Varona,

Deputy Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

[FR Doc. 2025-00598 Filed 1-13-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
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