[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 108 (Tuesday, June 5, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Page 30236]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-14094]



[[Page 30236]]

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-269, 50-270, and 50-287]


Duke Energy Corporation; Oconee Nuclear Station, Units 1, 2, and 
3, Exemption

1.0  Background

    Duke Energy Corporation (the licensee) is the holder of Facility 
Operating License Nos. DPR-38, DPR-47, and DPR-55, which authorize 
operation of the Oconee Nuclear Station, Units 1, 2, and 3. 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/ the Commission) now or hereafter in effect.
    The facility consists of three pressurized water reactors located 
in Seneca County in South Carolina.

2.0  Request/Action

    Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 
Sec. 55.59(a)(1) requires that each licensed operator successfully 
complete a requalification program developed by the licensee that has 
been approved by the Commission. This program is to be conducted for a 
continuous period not to exceed 24 months in duration and upon its 
conclusion must be promptly followed by a successive requalification 
program. In addition, pursuant to 10 CFR 55.59(a)(2), each licensed 
operator must also pass a comprehensive requalification written 
examination and an annual operating test.
    By letter dated March 6, 2001, the licensee requested an exemption 
under 10 CFR 55.11 from the requirements of 10 CFR 55.59(a)(1) and 
(a)(2). The exemption requested will extend the current Oconee Nuclear 
Station requalification program from June 4, 2001, to July 13, 2001. 
The requested exemption would constitute a one-time extension of the 
requalification program duration.

3.0  Discussion

    Pursuant to 10 CFR 55.11, the Commission may, upon application by 
an interested person, or upon its own initiative, grant such exemptions 
from the requirements of the regulations in this part as it determines 
are authorized by law and will not endanger life or property and are 
otherwise in the public interest.
    The Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 55.11, 
granting an exemption to the licensee from the requirements in 10 CFR 
55.59(a)(1) and (a)(2) is authorized by law, will not endanger life or 
property, and is in the public interest. To require the licensee's 
operators and staff to support the comprehensive examination and 
operating tests schedule during the 24-month requalification cycle 
could have a detrimental effect on the public interest because it would 
remove qualified operators from refueling operations and place them 
into the training program, which could interfere with the current 
Oconee Unit 2 refueling outage schedule. Further, this one-time 
exemption will provide additional operator support during plant 
shutdown conditions, which would provide a safety enhancement during 
plant shutdown operations and post-maintenance testing. The affected 
licensed operators will continue to demonstrate and possess the 
required levels of knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to safely 
operate the plant throughout the transitional period via continuation 
of the current satisfactory licensed operator requalification program.

4.0  Conclusion

    Accordingly, the Commission hereby grants the licensee an exemption 
on a one-time only basis from the requirements of 10 CFR 55.59(a)(1) 
and (a)(2) to allow the current Oconee Nuclear Station requalification 
program to be extended beyond the 24 months, but not to exceed 26 
months and to expire on July 13, 2001. Upon completion of the 
examinations on July 13, 2001, the follow-on cycle will end on March 8, 
2003. Future annual requalification cycles will run from March to 
March.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that the 
granting of this exemption will not have a significant effect on the 
quality of the human environment (66 FR 29347).
    This exemption is effective upon issuance and expires on March 8, 
2003.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 30th day of May 2001.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Bruce A. Boger,
Director, Division of Inspection Program Management, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 01-14094 Filed 6-4-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P