[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 215 (Friday, November 6, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68882-68884]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-28361]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-338 and 50-339; NRC-2012-0258; License Nos.: NPF-4 and
NPF-7]
North Anna Power Station, Units 1 and 2, Virginia Electric and
Power Company
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Revised director's decision under 10 CFR 2.206; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is giving notice
that the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation has
issued a revised final Director's Decision (DD) with regard to a
petition dated October 20, 2011, filed by Paul Gunter et al., herein
referred to as ``the petitioners.''
DATES: November 6, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2012-0258 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-2012-0258. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol
[[Page 68883]]
Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-3463; 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 (if it 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: V. Sreenivas, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-2597; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is hereby given that the Director of
the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, has issued a revision to a
Director's Decision (DD) dated August 21, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No.
15175A465), with regard to a petition dated October 20, 2011 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML11293A116), filed by the petitioners. The petition was
supplemented on November 2, 2011 (ADAMS Accession No. ML11308A027) and
December 15, 2011 (ADAMS Accession No. ML12060A197). The petition
concerns the operation of the North Anna Power Station, Units 1 and 2
(North Anna 1 and 2), by the Virginia Electric and Power Company (VEPCO
or the licensee). The petition requested that the NRC suspend the
operating licenses for North Anna 1 and 2, until the completion of a
set of activities described in the petition. The petitioner also
requested that a public meeting be held to discuss this matter in the
Washington, DC area.
As the basis for the October 20, 2011, request, the petitioner
raised several concerns, of which 12 were accepted for review by the
NRC staff by letter dated March 16, 2012 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML12060A090). These are summarized as follows:
(1) Prior to the approval of restart for North Anna 1 and 2, after
the earthquake of August 23, 2011, VEPCO should be required to obtain a
license amendment from the NRC that reanalyzes and reevaluates the
plant's design basis for earthquakes and for associated necessary
retrofits.
(2) Prior to the approval of restart for North Anna 1 and 2, after
the earthquake of August 23, 2011, the licensee should be required to
ensure that North Anna 1 and 2, are subjected to thorough inspections
of the same level and rigor.
(3) The licensee should be required to reanalyze and reevaluate the
North Anna Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (lSFSI) due to
damage caused by the earthquake of August 23, 2011, and ensure that no
threat is posed to public health and safety by its operation.
(4) The licensee should ensure the reliability and accuracy of the
seismic instrumentation at North Anna 1 and 2.
(5) The NRC staff made hasty decisions about the restart of North
Anna 1 and 2, and gave priority to economic considerations. The long-
term action plan was not even complete before the NRC staff gave
authorization to restart.
(6) Regulatory commitments are an inadequate regulatory tool for
ensuring that the critical long-term tasks identified in the NRC
staff's confirmatory action letter dated November 11, 2011, are
completed.
(7) The licensee needs to address the possibility of both boildown
and rapid draindown events at the North Anna 1 and 2, spent fuel pool
(SFP).
(8) The long-term storage of spent fuel in the SFP at North Anna 1
and 2, and at the North Anna ISFSI poses challenges to the public
health and safety.
(9) ``Hardened on-site storage'' strategies for spent fuel should
be used at North Anna 1 and 2.
(10) Concerns exist about the response of North Anna 1 and 2, to a
prolonged station blackout.
(11) The current emergency evacuation plans for North Anna 1 and 2,
need to be revised to reflect the possible need to evacuate a larger
area than that identified in the current emergency planning zone.
(12) Concerns exist about damage to the structural integrity of the
spent fuel pool structure at North Anna 1 and 2, as represented on
pages 41 and 42 of the NRC staff's technical evaluation for the restart
of North Anna 1 and 2, dated November 11, 2011.
On December 12, 2012 and February 2, 2012, the petitioners and the
licensee met with the NRC staff's petition review board (meeting
transcripts under ADAMS Accession Nos. ML12033A025 and ML12047A240),
regarding the petition. These meetings gave the petitioner and the
licensee an opportunity to provide additional information and to
clarify issues raised in the petition.
The NRC staff issued a partial DD on October 19, 2012 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML12262A156). Twelve of the concerns were accepted for
review by the NRC staff. As detailed in the partial DD, eight of these
concerns were closed. The remaining four concerns accepted for review
were identified as those that may take longer than the target timeframe
for reaching a decision on a petition based on the fact they were
undergoing NRC review as part of the agency's response to the Fukushima
event in Japan.
Regarding the four remaining concerns, the NRC staff sent a copy of
the proposed DD to the Petitioners and to the licensee for comment on
April 17, 2015 (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML14311A616 and ML15061A133,
respectively). The Petitioners provided comments in a response dated
May 18, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15138A277) and the licensee
provided comments in a response dated May 20, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML15147A517). The comments and the NRC staff's response to them are
included with this director's decision.
On August 21, 2015, the NRC issued a director's decision (ADAMS
Accession No. ML15175A465). Subsequently, the NRC identified portions
of the director's decision on the long-term storage of spent fuel in
the SFP and ISFSI that required clarification. Accordingly, the
decision's response to Concern 8 is revised to clarify the NRC's
resolution of the concern.
The Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation has
determined that the request to suspend the operating licenses for North
Anna 1 and 2, until the completion of a set of activities described in
the petition, be partially granted and partially denied. The reasons
for this decision are explained in the revised director's decision DD-
15-09 pursuant to section 2.206 of title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR) of the Commission's regulations.
The NRC will file a copy of the revised director's decision with
the Secretary of the Commission for the Commission's review in
accordance with 10 CFR 2.206. As provided for by this regulation, the
director's decision will constitute the final action of the Commission
25 days after the date of the
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decision, unless the Commission, on its own motion, institutes a review
of the director's decision in that time.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 30th day of October, 2015.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
William M. Dean,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2015-28361 Filed 11-5-15; 8:45 am]
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