[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 4 (Wednesday, January 7, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 904-906]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-00027]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-305 and 72-64; NRC-2014-0280]
Dominion Energy Kewaunee, Inc.; Kewaunee Power Station
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Exemption; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an
exemption in response to a June 10, 2013, request from Dominion Energy
Kewaunee, Inc. (DEK or the licensee), from certain power reactor
security requirements. The exemption would remove the requirement that
continuous communication be maintained between the security alarm
stations and the control room at Kewaunee Power Station (KPS). The
licensee has committed to modify its Physical Security Plan to require
continuous communication between the security alarm stations and the
shift manager.
DATES: January 7, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2014-0280 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 Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0280. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3422; 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 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 [email protected]. The
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced in this document
(if that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time
that a document is referenced.
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: William Huffman, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington DC
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-2046; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The licensee, DEK, is the holder of Renewed Facility License No.
DPR-43. The license provides, among other things, that the facility is
subject to all rules, regulations, and orders of the NRC now or
hereafter in effect.
The facility consists of a permanently shutdown and defueled
pressurized water reactor and a general licensed independent spent fuel
storage installation (ISFSI) located in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin.
By letter dated February 25, 2013 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML13058A065), and in accordance with Sec. 50.82(a)(1)(i) of Title 10
of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), DEK submitted to the NRC a
certification indicating it would permanently cease power operations at
KPS on May 7, 2013. On May 7, 2013, DEK permanently ceased power
operation at KPS. By letter dated May 14, 2013 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML13135A209), and in accordance with 10 CFR 50.82(a)(1)(ii), DEK
submitted to the NRC a certification that the reactor vessel at KPS was
permanently defueled.
II. Request/Action
In accordance with 10 CFR 73.5, ``Specific exemptions,'' the
licensee has, by letter dated June 10, 2013 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML13165A343), requested an exemption from 10 CFR 73.55(j)(4)(ii), which
otherwise requires continuous communications between security alarm
stations and the control room. Portions of the letter dated June 10,
2013, contain safeguards information and, accordingly, have been
withheld from public disclosure. The licensee is requesting exemption
from the continuous communications requirements between the control
room and the security alarm stations.
The exemption request relates solely to removing the control room
from the requirements specified in the regulations that direct the
licensee to establish a system for continuous communications between
the control room and the security alarm stations. The licensee will
have a system for continuous communications between the shift manager
and the alarm stations.
As specified in its June 10, 2013, application, DEK will implement
changes to its Physical Security Plan that would require a system of
continuous communications between the alarm stations and the shift
manager/Certified Fuel Handler (CFH) instead of the control room.
III. Discussion
The intent of 10 CFR 73.55(j)(4)(ii) is to maintain continuous
effective communication capability between security alarm stations and
operations staff with shift command function responsibility to ensure
any necessary coordination during security events or other emergencies
can be accomplished at all times. The regulation requires maintaining a
system for continuous communications between the security alarm
stations and the control room for an operating reactor based on the
presumption that the shift command function resides in the control
room. The control room at an operating reactor contains the controls
and instrumentation necessary for complete supervision and response
needed to ensure safe operation of the reactor and support systems
during normal, off-normal, and accident conditions and, therefore, is
the location of the shift command function. Following certification of
permanent shutdown and removal of fuel from the reactor, operation of
the reactor is no longer permitted. The control room at a permanently
shutdown and defueled reactor does not perform the same function as
required for an operating reactor. There are no longer any safety
related systems or processes that are controlled from the control room.
The primary functions of the control room at a permanently shutdown
plant is to provide a central location from where the shift command
function can be conveniently performed due to existing communication
equipment, office computer equipment, and ready access to reference
material. The control room also provides a central location from which
emergency response activities are coordinated. However, the control
room does not always need to be the location of the shift command
function since most remaining system processes at a permanently
shutdown and defueled reactor are controlled locally. At KPS, the shift
manager/CFH has responsibility for the shift command function. The
shift manager/CFH is the senior on-shift licensee representative and
decision-maker and is responsible for the overall safety of the
permanently shutdown and defueled facility and for directing the
response to abnormal situations and emergencies. The requested
exemption would provide the KPS shift manager/CFH the flexibility to
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leave the control room to perform managerial and supervisory activities
throughout the plant while retaining the command function
responsibility. While the shift command function is normally
accomplished from the control room in accordance with applicable KPS
procedures, it can also be accomplished anywhere in the facility
provided an effective means of continuous communication with the shift
manager/CFH is maintained. Because KPS is permanently shutdown and
defueled, the ability to leave the control room may benefit the shift
manager/CFH's understanding of facility conditions as well as enhance
his assessment and response to any abnormal situation or emergency
conditions. Although the control room will remain the physical command
center, the exemption will allow the location of the KPS command
function to be wherever the shift manager/CFH is located. Being absent
from the control room will not relieve the shift manager/CFH of the
responsibility for the shift command function. The exemption will allow
DEK to establish and maintain continuous communication capability with
the shift manager/CFH, regardless of his location.
The NRC staff assessed the method proposed by the licensee to
maintain continuous communications with the shift manager/CFH in a
safety evaluation report dated April 14, 2014 (the NRC staff's safety
evaluation report contains safeguards information and is, therefore,
not publicly available). The NRC staff determined that the proposed
method of maintaining continuous communication with the shift manager/
CFH is consistent with the functional requirement of the regulation for
maintaining communication with the control room. The NRC staff has
concluded that upon implementing a system for continuous communications
between the alarm stations and the shift manager/CFH, as documented in
the licensee's Physical Security Plan, the requested exemption to 10
CFR 73.55(j)(4)(ii) will meet the intent of the regulation, regardless
of the location of the shift manager/CFH.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 73.5, the Commission may, upon application of
any interested person or upon its own initiative, grant such exemptions
from the requirements of 10 CFR part 73 as it determines are authorized
by law and will not endanger life or property or the common defense and
security, and are otherwise in the public interest.
A. Authorized by Law
In accordance with 10 CFR 73.5, the Commission may grant exemptions
from the regulations in 10 CFR part 73 as the Commission determines are
authorized by law. The NRC staff has determined that granting of the
licensee's proposed exemption will not result in a violation of the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, or other laws. Therefore, the
exemption is authorized by law.
B. Will Not Endanger Life or Property or the Common Defense and
Security
Removing the requirement to have a continuous communication system
between the security alarm stations and the control room will not
endanger life or property or the common defense and security for the
reasons discussed below.
The shift manager/CFH is the senior on-shift licensee
representative, is responsible for the shift command function, and
directs the action of the operations staff during both normal and
emergency conditions. Therefore, the shift manager/CFH is the
appropriate individual to have continuous communication capability with
the alarm stations. The exemption would not reduce the measures in
place to protect against radiological sabotage. In addition, the NRC
staff has determined that the exemption will not reduce the overall
effectiveness of the KPS Physical Security Plan, Training and
Qualification Plan, or Safeguards Contingency Plan. Maintaining a
system of continuous communication between the alarm stations and the
shift manager/CFH rather than the control room will provide the shift
manager with the flexibility to leave the control room and respond to
other locations onsite, as necessary, to conduct appropriate management
oversight. The NRC staff has determined that maintaining continuous
communication capability with the shift manager/CFH, whether in the
control room or elsewhere, does not significantly change the current
process that ensures that any necessary coordination during security
events or other emergencies can be accomplished at all times.
Continuous communication capability is essentially unchanged (other
than the location of the shift manager/CFH when the communications are
initiated).
Therefore, the underlying purpose of 10 CFR 73.55(j)(4)(ii) will
continue to be met. The exemption does not reduce the overall
effectiveness of the Physical Security Plan and has no adverse impact
on DEK's ability to physically secure the site or protect special
nuclear material at KPS, and therefore would not have an effect on the
common defense and security. The NRC staff has concluded that the
exemption would not reduce the effectiveness of security measures
currently in place to protect against radiological sabotage. Therefore,
removing the requirement to have continuous communication between the
security alarm stations and the control room will not endanger life or
property or the common defense and security.
C. Is Otherwise in the Public Interest
The licensee is implementing changes to its Physical Security Plan
to establish a system of continuous communication between the security
alarm stations and the shift manager/CFH that is not dependent on the
shift manager's location. By granting DEK's proposed exemption to
remove the requirement for a continuous communication system between
the security alarm stations and the control room, the shift manager/CFH
can roam around the facility in an oversight role and obtain first-hand
information of facility conditions and status while still maintaining
continuous communication with the alarm stations. The NRC staff has
concluded that there would be no decrease in the level of safety by
granting this exemption and that the capability to observe conditions
directly serves the public interest by assuring that the shift manager/
CFH has the best possible information needed to make decisions or to
communicate to the alarm stations or to offsite entities. Accordingly,
the NRC staff concludes that exempting DEK from the requirement for a
continuous communication system between the security alarm stations and
the control room is in the public interest, provided the licensee
maintains continuous communication capability between the alarm
stations and the shift manager/CFH.
D. Environmental Considerations
The NRC's approval of the exemption to security requirements
belongs to a category of actions that the Commission, by rule or
regulation, has declared to be a categorical exclusion, after first
finding that the category of actions does not individually or
cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment.
Specifically the exemption is categorically excluded from further
analysis under 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25).
Under 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25), granting of an exemption from the
requirements of any regulation of Chapter I to 10 CFR 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
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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 involve: safeguard plans, and
materials control and accounting inventory scheduling requirements; or
involve other requirements of an administrative, managerial, or
organizational nature.
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
removing the requirement for a continuous communications system between
the security alarm stations and the control room at KPS 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. The
exempted security regulation is unrelated to the operation of KPS.
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 of, a radiological accident. The requirement for a
continuous communication system between the security alarm stations and
the control room may be viewed as involving either safeguards or
managerial matters.
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
73.5, the exemption is authorized by law and will not endanger life or
property or the common defense and security, and is otherwise in the
public interest. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants DEK exemption
from the requirement of 10 CFR 73.55(j)(4)(ii) for a system of
continuous communication capability with the control room, provided
that DEK maintains a system for continuous communication capability
with the shift manager/CFH consistent with the method described in its
submittal dated June 10, 2013. This exemption is effective when the
system for continuous communication between the alarm stations and the
shift manager/CFH is documented in DEK's Physical Security Plan and
functionally implemented.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 29th day of December 2014.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
George A. Wilson Jr.,
Acting Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2015-00027 Filed 1-6-15; 8:45 am]
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