83 FR 40092 - Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 156 (August 13, 2018)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering issuance of exemptions in response to a request from Exelon Generation Company, LLC (Exelon or the licensee) that would permit the licensee to reduce its emergency planning (EP) activities at the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station (Oyster Creek). The licensee is seeking exemptions that would eliminate the requirements for the licensee to maintain offsite radiological emergency plans and reduce some of the onsite EP activities based on the reduced risks at Oyster Creek, which will be permanently shut down and defueled. However, requirements for certain onsite capabilities to communicate and coordinate with offsite response authorities would be retained. In addition, offsite EP provisions would still exist through State and local government use of a comprehensive emergency management plan process, in accordance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 101, ``Developing and Maintaining Emergency Operations Plans.'' The NRC staff is issuing a final Environmental Assessment (EA) and final Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) associated with the proposed exemptions.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 156 (Monday, August 13, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40092-40095]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-17327]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-219; NRC-2018-0167]


Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating 
Station

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact; 
issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering 
issuance of exemptions in response to a request from Exelon Generation 
Company, LLC (Exelon or the licensee) that would permit the licensee to 
reduce its emergency planning (EP) activities at the Oyster Creek 
Nuclear Generating Station (Oyster Creek). The licensee is seeking 
exemptions that would eliminate the requirements for the licensee to 
maintain offsite radiological emergency plans and reduce some of the 
onsite EP activities based on the reduced risks at Oyster Creek, which 
will be permanently shut down and defueled. However, requirements for 
certain onsite capabilities to communicate and coordinate with offsite 
response authorities would be retained. In addition, offsite EP 
provisions would still exist through State and local government use of 
a comprehensive emergency management plan process, in accordance with 
the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) Comprehensive 
Preparedness Guide (CPG) 101, ``Developing and Maintaining Emergency 
Operations Plans.'' The NRC staff is issuing a final Environmental 
Assessment (EA) and final Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) 
associated with the proposed exemptions.

DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in this document are available on 
August 13, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2018-0167 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 http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2018-0167. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Jennifer Borges; telephone: 301-287-
9127; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER

[[Page 40093]]

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 http://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 [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. In addition, for the 
convenience of the reader, the ADAMS accession numbers are provided in 
a table in the ``Availability of Documents'' section of this document.
     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: John G. Lamb, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-3100; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction

    By letter dated January 7, 2011 (ADAMS Accession No. ML110070507), 
Exelon notified the NRC that Oyster Creek will be permanently shut down 
no later than December 31, 2019, and subsequently the nuclear power 
plant will be in the process of decommissioning. By letter dated 
February 14, 2018 (ADAMS Accession No. ML18045A084), Exelon updated its 
notification and informed the NRC that Oyster Creek will be permanently 
shut down no later than October 31, 2018.
    Oyster Creek is located in Ocean County, New Jersey, approximately 
2 miles south of Forked River, New Jersey. Exelon is the holder of the 
Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-16 for Oyster Creek. Once 
Exelon submits a certification of permanent removal of fuel from the 
reactor vessel, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.82(a)(2) of title 10 of the Code 
of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Oyster Creek will no longer be 
authorized to operate or to have fuel placed into its reactor vessel, 
but the licensee is still authorized to possess and store irradiated 
nuclear fuel. Irradiated nuclear fuel is currently stored onsite at 
Oyster Creek in a spent fuel pool (SFP) and in an independent spent 
fuel storage installation (ISFSI).
    The licensee has requested exemptions for Oyster Creek from certain 
EP requirements in 10 CFR part 50, ``Domestic Licensing of Production 
and Utilization Facilities,'' once Exelon submits its certification of 
permanent removal of fuel from the reactor vessel. The NRC regulations 
concerning EP do not recognize the reduced risks after a reactor is 
permanently shut down and defueled. As such, a permanently shut down 
and defueled reactor, must continue to maintain the same EP 
requirements as an operating power reactor under the existing 
regulatory requirements. To establish a level of EP commensurate with 
the reduced risks of a permanently shut down and defueled reactor, 
Exelon requires exemptions from certain EP regulatory requirements 
before it can change its emergency plans.
    The NRC is considering issuing to Exelon exemptions from portions 
of 10 CFR 50.47, ``Emergency plans,'' and appendix E to 10 CFR part 50, 
``Emergency Planning and Preparedness for Production and Utilization 
Facilities,'' which would eliminate the requirements for Exelon to 
maintain offsite radiological emergency plans in accordance with part 
350, ``Review and Approval of State and Local Radiological Emergency 
Plans and Preparedness,'' of 44 CFR, ``Emergency Management and 
Assistance,'' and reduce some of the onsite EP activities based on the 
reduced risks at Oyster Creek, once the reactor has been permanently 
shut down and defueled for a period of 12 months.
    Consistent with 10 CFR 51.21, the NRC has determined that an EA is 
the appropriate form of environmental review for the requested action. 
Based on the results of the EA, which is provided in Section II of this 
document, the NRC has determined not to prepare an environmental impact 
statement for the proposed action, and is issuing a FONSI.

II. Environmental Assessment

Description of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action would exempt Exelon from (1) certain standards 
as set forth in 10 CFR 50.47(b) regarding onsite and offsite emergency 
response plans for nuclear power reactors; (2) requirements in 10 CFR 
50.47(c)(2) to establish plume exposure and ingestion pathway emergency 
planning zones (EPZs) for nuclear power reactors; and (3) certain 
requirements in 10 CFR part 50, appendix E, section IV, which 
establishes the elements that make up the content of emergency plans. 
The proposed action of granting these exemptions would eliminate the 
requirements for Exelon to maintain offsite radiological emergency 
plans in accordance with 44 CFR 350 and reduce some of the onsite EP 
activities at Oyster Creek, based on the reduced risks once the reactor 
has been permanently shut down and defueled for a period of 12 months. 
However, requirements for certain onsite capabilities to communicate 
and coordinate with offsite response authorities would be retained to 
an extent consistent with the approved exemptions. Additionally, if 
necessary, offsite protective actions could still be implemented using 
a comprehensive emergency management plan (CEMP) process. A CEMP in 
this context, also referred to as an emergency operations plan (EOP), 
is addressed in FEMA's CPG 101, ``Developing and Maintaining Emergency 
Operations Plans.'' The CPG 101 is the foundation for State, 
territorial, tribal, and local EP in the United States under the 
National Preparedness System. It promotes a common understanding of the 
fundamentals of risk-informed planning and decision making, and helps 
planners at all levels of government in their efforts to develop and 
maintain viable, all-hazards, all-threats emergency plans. An EOP is 
flexible enough for use in all emergencies. It describes how people and 
property will be protected; details who is responsible for carrying out 
specific actions; identifies the personnel, equipment, facilities, 
supplies, and other resources available; and outlines how all actions 
will be coordinated. A CEMP is often referred to as a synonym for 
``all-hazards'' planning. The proposed action is in accordance with the 
licensee's application dated August 22, 2017 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML17234A082), as supplemented December 6, 2017 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML17340A708) and March 8 and 19, 2018 (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML18067A087 
and ML18078A146, respectively).

Need for the Proposed Action

    The proposed action is needed for Exelon to revise the Oyster Creek 
Emergency Plan once the reactor has been permanently shutdown and 
defueled for a period of 12 months. The EP requirements currently 
applicable to Exelon are for an operating power reactor. Once Oyster 
Creek reaches permanently shutdown and defueled status, as specified in 
10 CFR 50.82(a)(2), Oyster Creek will no longer be authorized operation 
of the reactor or emplacement or retention of fuel into the reactor 
vessel therefore, the occurrence of postulated accidents associated 
with reactor operation is no

[[Page 40094]]

longer credible. However, there are no explicit regulatory provisions 
distinguishing EP requirements for a power reactor that has been 
permanently shut down and defueled from those for an operating power 
reactor.
    In its exemption request, the licensee identified four possible 
radiological accidents at Oyster Creek in its permanently shutdown and 
defueled condition. These are: (1) A fuel-handling accident; (2) a 
radioactive waste-handling accident; (3) a loss of SFP normal cooling 
(i.e., boil off); and (4) an adiabatic heat up of the hottest fuel 
assembly. The NRC staff evaluated these possible radiological accidents 
in the Commission Paper (SECY) 18-0062, ``Request by the Exelon 
Generation Company, LLC for Exemptions from Certain Emergency Planning 
Requirements for the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station,'' dated 
May 31, 2018 (ADAMS Package Accession No. ML18030B340). In SECY-18-
0062, the NRC staff verified that Exelon's analyses and calculations 
provided reasonable assurance that if the requested exemptions were 
granted, then: (1) For a design-basis accident (DBA), an offsite 
radiological release will not exceed the early phase protective action 
guides (PAGs) at the site boundary, as detailed in Table 1-1 to the 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's), ``PAG Manual: 
Protective Action Guides and Planning Guidance for Radiological 
Incidents,'' EPA-400/R-17/001, dated January 2017, and (2) in the 
unlikely event of a beyond DBA resulting in a loss of all SFP cooling, 
there is sufficient time to initiate appropriate mitigating actions, 
and in the event a radiological release has or is projected to occur, 
there would be sufficient time for offsite agencies to take protective 
actions using a CEMP to protect the health and safety of the public if 
offsite governmental officials determine that such action is warranted. 
The Commission approved the NRC staff's recommendation to grant the 
exemptions based on this evaluation in its Staff Requirements 
Memorandum (SRM) to SECY-18-0062, dated July 17, 2018 (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML18198A449).
    Based on these analyses, Exelon states that complete application of 
the EP rule to Oyster Creek, when it is permanently shutdown and 
defueled would not serve the underlying purpose of the rule or is not 
necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule. Exelon also 
states that it would incur undue costs in the application of operating 
plant EP requirements for the maintenance of an emergency response 
organization in excess of that actually needed to respond to the 
diminished scope of credible accidents for a permanently shutdown and 
defueled reactor.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC staff has completed its evaluation of the environmental 
impacts of the proposed action.
    The proposed action consists mainly of changes related to the 
elimination of requirements for the licensee to maintain offsite 
radiological emergency plans in accordance with 44 CFR 350 and reduce 
some of the onsite EP activities at Oyster Creek, based on the reduced 
risks once the reactor has been permanently shutdown and defueled for a 
period of 12 months. However, requirements for certain onsite 
capabilities to communicate and coordinate with offsite response 
authorities will be retained and offsite EP provisions to protect 
public health and safety will still exist through State and local 
government use of a CEMP.
    With regard to potential nonradiological environmental impacts, the 
proposed action would have no direct impacts on land use or water 
resources, including terrestrial and aquatic biota, as it involves no 
new construction or modification of plant operational systems. There 
would be no changes to the quality or quantity of nonradiological 
effluents and no changes to the plants' National Pollutant Discharge 
Elimination System permits would be needed. In addition, there would be 
no noticeable effect on socioeconomic conditions in the region, no 
environment justice impacts, no air quality impacts, and no impacts to 
historic and cultural resources from the proposed action. Therefore, 
there are no significant nonradiological environmental impacts 
associated with the proposed action.
    With regard to potential radiological environmental impacts, as 
stated above, the proposed action would not increase the probability or 
consequences of radiological accidents. Additionally, the NRC staff has 
concluded that the proposed action would have no direct radiological 
environmental impacts. There would be no change to the types or amounts 
of radioactive effluents that may be released and, therefore, no change 
in occupational or public radiation exposure from the proposed action. 
Moreover, no changes would be made to plant buildings or the site 
property from the proposed action. Therefore, there are no significant 
radiological environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.

Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    As an alternative to the proposed action, the NRC staff considered 
the denial of the proposed action (i.e., the ``no-action'' 
alternative). The denial of the application would result in no change 
in current environmental impacts. Therefore, the environmental impacts 
of the proposed action and the alternative action are similar.

Alternative Use of Resources

    There are no unresolved conflicts concerning alternative uses of 
available resources under the proposed action.

Agencies or Persons Consulted

    No additional agencies or persons were consulted regarding the 
environmental impact of the proposed action. On July 27, 2018, the New 
Jersey state representative was notified of this EA and FONSI.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    The licensee has proposed exemptions from: (1) Certain standards in 
10 CFR 50.47(b) regarding onsite and offsite emergency response plans 
for nuclear power reactors; (2) requirement in 10 CFR 50.47(c)(2) to 
establish plume exposure and ingestion pathway EPZs for nuclear power 
reactors; and (3) certain requirements in 10 CFR part 50, appendix E, 
section IV, which establishes the elements that make up the content of 
emergency plans. The proposed action of granting these exemptions would 
eliminate the requirements for the licensee to maintain offsite 
radiological emergency plans in accordance with 44 CFR 350 and reduce 
some of the onsite EP activities at Oyster Creek, based on the reduced 
risks once the reactor has been permanently shutdown and defueled for a 
period of 12 months. However, requirements for certain onsite 
capabilities to communicate and coordinate with offsite response 
authorities will be retained and offsite EP provisions to protect 
public health and safety will still exist through State and local 
government use of a CEMP.
    The NRC is considering issuing the exemptions. The proposed action 
would not significantly affect plant safety, would not have a 
significant adverse effect on the probability of an accident occurring, 
and would not have any significant radiological or nonradiological 
impacts. This FONSI incorporates by reference the EA in Section II of 
this document. Therefore, the NRC concludes that the proposed action 
will not have a significant effect on the quality of the human 
environment. Accordingly, the NRC has

[[Page 40095]]

determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the 
proposed action.
    The related environmental document is the ``Generic Environmental 
Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants: Regarding 
Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Final Report,'' NUREG-1437, 
Supplement 28, Volumes 1 and 2, which provides the latest environmental 
review of current operations and description of environmental 
conditions at Oyster Creek.
    The finding and other related environmental documents may be 
examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public Document Room 
(PDR), located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, 
Rockville, Maryland 20852. Publicly-available records are accessible 
electronically from ADAMS Public Electronic Reading Room on the 
internet at the NRC's website: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter 
problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS should contact the 
NRC's PDR Reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-
4737, or by email to [email protected].

IV. Availability of Documents

    The documents identified in the following table are available to 
interested persons through one or more of the following methods, as 
indicated.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             ADAMS accession No.[hairsp]/
                  Document                         [hairsp]web link
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Developing and Maintaining Emergency         http://www.fema.gov.
 Operations Plans, Comprehensive
 Preparedness Guide (CPG) 101, Version 2.0,
 November 2010.
Docket No. 50-219, Request for Exemptions    ML17234A082.
 from Portions of 10 CFR 50.47 and 10 CFR
 part 50, Appendix E, Oyster Creek Nuclear
 Generating Station, August 22, 2017.
Docket No. 50-219, Response to Request for   ML17340A708.
 Additional Information (RAI) Regarding
 Request for Exemption from Portions of 10
 CFR 50.47 and 10 CFR part 50, Appendix E,
 Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station,
 December 6, 2017.
Docket No. 50-219, Supplement to Request     ML18067A087.
 for Exemption from Portions of 10 CFR
 50.47 and 10 CFR part 50, Appendix E,
 Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station,
 March 8, 2018.
Docket No. 50-219, Response to Request for   ML18078A146.
 Additional Information (RAI) Related to
 Exemption Request from Portions of 10 CFR
 50.47 and 10 CFR part 50, Appendix E,
 Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station,
 March 19, 2018.
Docket No. 50-219, Certification of          ML110070507.
 Permanent Cessation of Operations at
 Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station,
 January 7, 2011.
Docket No. 50-219, Certification of          ML18045A084.
 Permanent Cessation of Power Operations
 for Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating
 Station, February 14, 2018..
PAG Manual: Protective Action Guides and     http://www.epa.gov.
 Planning Guidance for Radiological
 Incidents, U.S. Environmental Protection
 Agency, January 2017.
SECY-18-0062, ``Request by the Exelon        ML18030B340.
 Generation Company, LLC for Exemptions
 from Certain Emergency Planning
 Requirements for the Oyster Creek Nuclear
 Generating Station,'' May 31, 2018.
Staff Requirements Memorandum to SECY-18-    ML18198A449.
 0062, ``Request by the Exelon Generation
 Company, LLC for Exemptions from Certain
 Emergency Planning Requirements for the
 Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station,''
 July 17, 2018.
Docket No. 50-219, ``Final Environmental     ML072200150.
 Statement--related to operation of Oyster
 Creek Nuclear Generating Station,''
 December 1974.
NUREG-1437, Supplement 28, ``Generic         ML070100234.
 Environmental Impact Statement for License
 Renewal of Nuclear Plants Regarding Oyster
 Creek Nuclear Generating Station,''
 January 2007.
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    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day of August, 2018.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Kathryn M. Brock,
Deputy Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2018-17327 Filed 8-10-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P