[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 194 (Tuesday, October 10, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47029-47032]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-21762]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-285; NRC-2017-0202]


Omaha Public Power District; Fort Calhoun Station, Unit No. 1

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Exemption; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing 
exemptions in response to a May 4, 2017, request, as supplemented by 
letter dated June 5, 2017, from Omaha Public Power District (OPPD or 
the licensee). The licensee requested that Fort Calhoun Station (FCS), 
Unit No. 1, be granted a permanent partial exemption from regulations 
that require retention of records for certain systems, structures, and 
components (SSCs) until the termination of the operating license.

DATES: The exemption was issued on October 4, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2017-0202 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:
    <bullet> Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2017-0202. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#66250714090a4821070a0a07010e03142608140548010910"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="581b392a3734761f393434393f303d2a18362a3b763f372e">[email protected]</span></a>. For technical questions, contact 
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this document.
    <bullet> NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and 
then 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#cdbda9bfe3bfa8bea2b8bfaea88da3bfaee3aaa2bb"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c7b7a3b5e9b5a2b4a8b2b5a4a287a9b5a4e9a0a8b1">[email protected]</span></a>. 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.

[[Page 47030]]

    <bullet> NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Kim, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, telephone: 301-415-4125; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#074d666a6274294c6e6a4769756429606871"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0f456e626a7c214466624f617d6c21686079">[email protected]</span></a>; U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The FCS is a single unit Combustion Engineering pressurized-water 
reactor located in Fort Calhoun, Nebraska. The FCS was granted Renewed 
Facility Operating License No. DPR-40 under part 54 of title 10 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), on November 4, 2003. The 
operating license for FCS is held by OPPD.
    On November 13, 2016, OPPD submitted the certifications, pursuant 
to 10 CFR 50.82(a)(1), of permanent cessation of operations and 
permanent removal of fuel from the reactor (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML16319A254). Decommissioning activities will be carried out by OPPD, 
and are described in the Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities 
Report submitted to the NRC on March 30, 2017 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML17089A759). The SSCs that supported the generation of electric power 
are being prepared to enter the SAFSTOR phase. SAFSTOR, often 
considered ``delayed DECON,'' involves initially removing all fuel and 
radioactive wastes and liquids, maintaining the facility in a condition 
that allows the decay of radioactivity to reduce radiation levels at 
the facility, and then decontaminating and dismantling the facility.
    Completion of fuel transfer from the spent fuel pool (SFP) to an 
independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) is scheduled for 
2023. Preparation for dismantlement and license termination are 
scheduled to begin in 2059.

II. Request/Action

    By letter dated May 4, 2017 (ADAMS Accession No. ML17125A073), as 
supplemented by letter dated June 5, 2017 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML17186A327), OPPD filed a request for NRC approval of a permanent 
exemption from the following recordkeeping requirements: 10 CFR part 
50, appendix B, Criterion XVII; 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3); and 10 CFR 
50.71(c). The request was made pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, ``Specific 
exemptions.''
    The licensee is requesting NRC approval of an exemption from 10 CFR 
part 50, appendix B, Criterion XVII, which requires certain records be 
retained consistent with regulatory requirements for a duration 
established by the licensee; 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3), which requires records 
to be maintained ``until the termination of an operating license''; and 
10 CFR 50.71(c) where records required by license condition or 
technical specifications (TSs) are to be retained until termination of 
the license.
    The licensee is proposing to eliminate: (1) The records when the 
licensing basis requirements previously applicable to the nuclear power 
unit and associated structures, and components (SSCs) are no longer 
effective (e.g., removed from the Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR), 
as updated, and/or TSs by appropriate change mechanisms); and (2) the 
records for SSCs associated with safe storage of the fuel in the SFP, 
when spent nuclear fuel has been completely transferred from the SFP to 
dry storage, and the SFP is ready for demolition and the associated 
licensing bases are no longer effective.
    The licensee cites precedents for records retention exemptions 
granted to Zion Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2 (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML111260277); Millstone Power Station, Unit 1 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML070110567); Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML043310155); Haddam Neck Plant (ADAMS Accession No. ML052160088); 
Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (ADAMS Accession No. ML15344A243); 
and San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1, 2, and 3 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML15355A055).
    Records associated with residual radiological activity and with 
programmatic controls necessary to support decommissioning, such as 
security and quality assurance, are not affected by the exemption 
request because they will be retained as decommissioning records until 
the termination of the FCS license. Also, the licensee did not request 
an exemption associated with any other record keeping requirements for 
the storage of spent fuel at its ISFSI under 10 CFR part 50 or the 
general license requirements of 10 CFR part 72. No exemption was 
requested from the decommissioning records retention requirements of 10 
CFR 50.75, or any other requirements of 10 CFR part 50 applicable to 
decommissioning and dismantlement.

III. Discussion

    Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, the Commission may, upon application by 
any interested person or upon its own initiative, grant exemptions from 
the requirements of 10 CFR part 50 when (1) the exemptions are 
authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to public health or 
safety, and are consistent with the common defense and security, and 
(2) when special circumstances are present.
    The FCS permanently ceased power operations on October 24, 2016, 
and subsequently removed the spent fuel from the reactor to the SFP. 
The nuclear reactor and SSCs associated with the nuclear steam supply 
system and balance of plant that had supported power generation have 
been drained as necessary and retired in place. The licensee's general 
justification for eliminating records associated with FCS SSCs that 
have been or will be removed from service under the NRC license, 
dismantled, or demolished, is that these SSCs will not, in the future, 
serve any FCS functions regulated by the NRC. Subsequently, these SSCs 
can be removed from NRC licensing basis documents, such as TSs or the 
FSAR, as updated, by appropriate change mechanisms (e.g., 10 CFR 50.59 
or via NRC-approved TS changes, as applicable).
    While OPPD intends to retain the records required by FCS license, 
as the project transitions from current plant conditions to fully 
dismantled with the fuel in dry storage, the regulatory and business 
needs for maintenance of most of the records will be obviated. As the 
SSCs are removed from the licensing basis and the need for the 
associated records is, on a practical basis, eliminated, the licensee 
proposes that they be exempted from the records retention requirements 
for SSCs and historical activities that are no longer relevant, thereby 
eliminating the associated regulatory and economic burdens of creating 
alternative storage locations, relocating records, and retaining 
irrelevant records.
    The SSCs supporting the continued operation of the SFP must remain 
operable at FCS and will be configured for operational efficiency until 
the fuel is removed to permanent dry storage. The records associated 
with the SFP SSCs must be retained through the SFP's functional life. 
Similar to other plant records, when the SFP is emptied of fuel, 
drained, and prepared for demolition, there will be no safety-
significant function or other regulatory need for retaining SFP SSCs 
related records. The SSCs that support the SFP will be removed from 
licensing basis documents by appropriate change mechanisms.
    In addition, the FCS site will continue to be under NRC regulation 
until license termination, primarily due to residual

[[Page 47031]]

radioactivity. The operational, radiological, and other necessary 
programmatic controls (such as security and quality assurance) for the 
facility, as well as the implementation of controls for the defueled 
condition and decommissioning activities, will continue to be 
appropriately addressed through the 10 CFR part 50 licenses and current 
decommissioning plan documents such as the FSAR, as updated, and plant 
TSs.

The Exemption Is Authorized by Law

    Paragraph 50.71(d)(2) allows for the granting of specific 
exemptions to the retention of records required by regulations. 
Paragraph 50.71(d)(2) states, in part, ``. . . the retention period 
specified in the regulations in this part for such records shall apply 
unless the Commission, pursuant to Sec.  50.12 of this part, has 
granted a specific exemption from the record retention requirements 
specified in the regulations in this part.''
    Based on 10 CFR 50.71(d)(2), if the requirements of 10 CFR 50.12 
are satisfied, an exemption from the recordkeeping requirements in 10 
CFR part 50, appendix B, Criterion XVII; 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3); and 10 CFR 
50.71(c), as requested by the licensee, is authorized by law.

Specific Exemption Presents No Undue Risk to Public Health and Safety

    As SSCs are prepared for SAFSTOR and eventual decommission and 
dismantlement, they may be removed from NRC licensing basis documents 
through appropriate change mechanisms, such as through the process 
stipulated by 10 CFR 50.59 or through a license amendment request 
approved by the NRC. These change processes involve either a 
determination by the licensee or an approval by the NRC that the 
affected SSC no longer serves any safety purpose regulated by the NRC. 
Therefore, the removal of the SSC would not present an undue risk to 
the public health and safety. In turn, removal of the records 
associated with the affected SSC would not cause any additional impact 
to public health and safety.
    The exemptions from the requested requirements of 10 CFR part 50, 
appendix B, Criterion XVII; 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3); and 10 CFR 50.71(c) are 
administrative in nature and will have no impact on future 
decommissioning activities or radiological effluents. The partial 
exemptions will only advance the schedule for the removal of the 
records. Because the content of the records pertains to SSCs that have 
already been removed from licensing basis documents, elimination of the 
records on an advanced timetable will have no reasonable potential to 
present any undue risk to the public health and safety.

The Exemption Is Consistent With the Common Defense and Security

    The elimination of records associated with SSCs, which have already 
been removed from the NRC's licensing basis documents, is 
administrative in nature, and does not involve information or involve 
activities that could potentially impact the common defense or 
security. After the SSCs are removed from the NRC's licensing basis 
documents by appropriate change mechanisms, they are determined to no 
longer serve the purpose of safe operation or maintain conditions that 
would affect the ongoing health and safety of workers or the public. 
Therefore, removal of the associated records will also present no 
potential for impacting the safe operation of the plant or the defense 
or security of the workers or the public.
    The exemptions requested are administrative in nature and will 
merely advance the current schedule for removal of the specified 
records. Therefore, the partial exemptions from the recordkeeping 
requirements of 10 CFR part 50, appendix B, Criterion XVII; 10 CFR 
50.59(d)(3); and 10 CFR 50.71(c), and for the types of records as 
specified above, are consistent with the common defense and security.

Special Circumstances

    Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, the Commission will consider granting an 
exemption if special circumstances are present. Paragraph 50.12(a)(2) 
states, in part, ``special circumstance are present whenever-- . . . 
(ii) Application of the regulation in the particular circumstances 
would not serve the underlying purpose of the rule or is not necessary 
to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule.''
    Appendix B of 10 CFR part 50, Criterion XVII, states, in part, 
``sufficient records shall be maintained to furnish evidence of 
activities affecting quality. . . . Records shall be identifiable and 
retrievable.''
    Paragraph 50.59(d)(3) states, in part, ``The records of changes in 
the facility must be maintained until the termination of an operating 
license under this part . . . .''
    Paragraph 50.71(c), states, in part, ``Records that are required by 
the regulations in this part or 10 CFR part 52 of this chapter, by 
license condition, or by TSs must be retained for the period specified 
by the appropriate regulation, license condition, or TS. If a retention 
period is not otherwise specified, these records must be retained until 
the Commission terminates the facility license . . . .''
    In the statements of consideration for the final rulemaking, 
``Retention Periods for Records,'' effective July 26, 1988 (53 FR 
19240; May 27, 1988), as a response to public comments during the 
rulemaking process, the NRC states that records must be retained ``. . 
. so they will be available for examination by the Commission in any 
analysis following an accident, incident, or other problem involving 
public health and safety . . . [and] for NRC to ensure compliance with 
the safety and health aspects of the nuclear environment and for the 
NRC to accomplish its mission to protect the public health and 
safety.''
    The statements of consideration express that the underlying purpose 
of the recordkeeping rule is to ensure that, in the event of an 
accident, incident, or condition that could impact public health and 
safety, the NRC has access to information in the records that would 
assist in the recovery from the event and prevent similar events or 
conditions, which would impact health and safety. These regulations do 
not consider the nature of the decommissioning process, in which 
safety-related SSCs are retired or disabled, and subsequently removed 
from the NRC's licensing basis documents by appropriate change 
mechanisms prior to the termination of the license.
    Appropriate removal of an SSC from the licensing basis requires 
either a determination by the licensee or an approval by the NRC of 
whether the SSC has the potential to cause an accident, event, or other 
problem, which would adversely impact the public health and safety. It 
follows that at a nuclear power generation plant in the decommissioning 
stage, SSCs that have been retired from service and removed from 
licensing basis documents have already been determined, through that 
evaluation, to no longer have an adverse impact on public health and 
safety.
    The records subject to removal under this exemption are associated 
with SSCs that are important to safety during power operation and 
operation of the SFP, but after permanent cessation of operations are 
not capable of causing an event, incident, or condition that would 
adversely impact public health and safety, as evidenced by their 
appropriate removal from the licensing basis documents. If the SSCs no 
longer have the potential to cause these scenarios, then it is 
reasonable to conclude that the records associated with these SSCs 
would not reasonably be necessary to assist the NRC in determining 
compliance and noncompliance, taking

[[Page 47032]]

action on possible noncompliance, and examining facts following an 
incident. Therefore, their retention would not serve the underlying 
purpose of the rule. Once removed from licensing basis documents, SSCs 
are no longer governed by the NRC's regulations, and therefore, are not 
subject to compliance with the safety and health aspects of the nuclear 
environment. Therefore, retention of these records does not serve the 
underlying purpose of the rule of maintaining compliance with the 
safety and health aspects of the nuclear environment or to accomplish 
the NRC's mission.
    Records, which continue to serve the underlying purpose of the 
rule, that is, to maintain compliance and to protect public health and 
safety, will continue to be retained under regulations in 10 CFR part 
50 and 10 CFR part 72. These retained records not subject to the 
exemption include those associated with programmatic controls, such as 
those pertaining to residual radioactivity, security, quality 
assurance, etc., and records associated with the ISFSI and spent fuel 
assemblies.
    Paragraph 50.12(a)(2) states, in part, ``Special circumstance are 
present whenever--. . . (iii) Compliance would result in undue hardship 
or other costs that are significantly in excess of those contemplated 
when the regulation was adopted . . . .''
    The retention of records required by 10 CFR part 50, appendix B, 
Criterion XVII, 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3), and 10 CFR 50.71(c) provides 
assurance that records associated with SSCs will be captured, indexed, 
and stored in an environmentally suitable and retrievable condition. 
Given the volume of records associated with the SSCs, compliance with 
the records retention rules results in a considerable cost to the 
licensee. Retention of the volume of records associated with these SSCs 
during the operations phase is appropriate to serve the underlying 
purpose of providing information to the Commission for examination in 
the case of an event, incident, or other problem involving the public 
health and safety, as discussed above. However, the cost effect of 
retaining operations phase records beyond the operations phase until 
the termination of the license was not fully considered or understood. 
Therefore, compliance with the rule would result in an undue cost in 
excess of that contemplated when the rule was adopted.
    The granted exemptions apply to records that are associated with 
SSCs that had supported the operations phase of electricity generation 
and wet storage of spent fuel assemblies, and that have been, or will 
be, retired in place, prepared for dismantlement, and removed from 
licensing basis documents. Records that continue to apply to retired 
SSCs during the SAFSTOR and decommissioning phase, such as records 
associated with programmatic controls pertaining to residual 
radioactivity, security, quality assurance, etc., and records 
associated with the ISFSI and spent fuel assemblies, will continue to 
be maintained in an environmentally suitable and retrievable condition.

Environmental Considerations

    Under 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25), granting of an exemption from the 
requirements of any regulation in 10 CFR Chapter I is a categorical 
exclusion provided that (i) there is no significant hazards 
consideration; (ii) there is no significant change in the types or 
significant increase in the amounts of any effluents that may be 
released offsite; (iii) there is no significant increase in individual 
or cumulative public or occupational radiation exposure; (iv) there is 
no significant construction impact; (v) there is no significant 
increase in the potential for or consequences from radiological 
accidents; and (vi) the requirements from which an exemption is sought 
are among those identified in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(vi).
    The Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation, has determined that approval of the 
exemption request involves no significant hazards consideration because 
allowing the licensee exemption from the recordkeeping requirements of 
10 CFR part 50, appendix B, Criterion XVII; 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3); and 10 
CFR 50.71(c), at the permanently shutdown and defueled FCS does 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. 
Accordingly, there is no significant change in the types or significant 
increase in the amounts of any effluents that may be released offsite, 
and no significant increase in individual or cumulative public or 
occupational radiation exposure. The exempted regulation is not 
associated with construction, so there is no significant construction 
impact. The exempted regulation does not concern the source term (i.e., 
potential amount of radiation in an accident), nor mitigation. 
Therefore, there is no significant increase in the potential for, or 
consequences from radiological accidents.
    Allowing the licensee partial exemption from record retention 
requirements from which the exemption is sought involve recordkeeping 
requirements, reporting requirements of an administrative, managerial, 
or organizational nature.
    Therefore, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b) and 51.22(c)(25), no 
environmental impact statement or environmental assessment need be 
prepared in connection with the approval of this exemption request.

IV. Conclusions

    Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 
50.12, part 50, appendix B, Criterion XVII; 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3); and 10 
CFR 50.71(c) are authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to 
the public health and safety, and are consistent with the common 
defense and security. Also, special circumstances are present. 
Therefore, the Commission hereby grants OPPD's partial exemptions from 
10 CFR part 50, appendix B, Criterion XVII; 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3); and 10 
CFR 50.71(c) to advance the schedule to remove records associated with 
SSCs that have been removed from the NRC's licensing basis documents by 
appropriate change mechanisms.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 4th day of October 2017.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Anne T. Boland,
Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2017-21762 Filed 10-6-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P


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