[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 213 (Friday, November 4, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66757-66762]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-23975]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-320; NRC-2022-0193]
TMI-2 Solutions, LLC; Three Mile Island Station, Unit No. 2
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Exemption; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing
partial exemptions, with a conforming amendment, from several of the
record keeping requirements in its regulations in response to a request
from TMI-2 Solutions, LLC. Specifically, the licensee requested partial
exemptions for certain NRC regulations which require certain records to
be retained for the period specified by the appropriate regulation,
license condition, or technical specifications (TS), or until
termination of the license if not otherwise specified. In response to
the licensee's requests, the NRC also issued a conforming amendment
that revised the license to reflect the specific exemptions and
associated changes in the TS.
DATES: The exemption was issued on and was effective on September 16,
2022.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2022-0193 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 https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2022-0193. Address
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann;
telephone: 301-415-0624; 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 https://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].
NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's PDR, Room P1 B35, One White
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make
an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between
8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy M. Snyder, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-6822, email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the exemption is attached.
Dated: October 31, 2022.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Shaun M. Anderson,
Chief, Reactor Decommissioning Branch, Division of Decommissioning,
Uranium Recovery, and Waste Programs, Office of Nuclear Material Safety
and Safeguards.
Attachment--Exemption
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Docket No. 50-320
TMI-2 Solutions, LLC
Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit No. 2
Partial Exemptions and Conforming Amendment
I. Background
TMl-2 Solutions, LLC, (TMI-2 Solutions or the licensee) is the
holder of Possession Only License (POL) No. DPR-73 for Three Mile
Island Nuclear Station, Unit No. 2 (TMI-2). The license
[[Page 66758]]
provides, among other things, that the facility is subject to all
rules, regulations, and orders of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC or the Commission) now or hereafter in effect.
On March 28, 1979, the unit experienced an accident initiated by
interruption of secondary feedwater flow. This led to a core heat up
that caused fuel damage. Most of the fuel material travelled down
through the region of the southeastern assemblies and into the core
bypass region. A portion of the fuel material passed around the bypass
region and migrated down into the lower internals and lower head
region, but overall reactor vessel integrity was maintained throughout
the accident. As a result of this accident, small quantities of spent
nuclear fuel, damaged core material, and high-level waste (collectively
referred to as ``Debris Material'') were transported through the
reactor coolant system and the Reactor Building. In addition, a small
quantity of Debris Material was transported to the auxiliary and fuel
handling buildings (AFHB). Further spread of the Debris also occurred
as part of the post-accident water processing cleanup activities.
The quantity of fuel remaining at TMI-2 is a small fraction of the
initial fuel load; approximately 99 percent was successfully removed in
the defueling. Additionally, large quantities of radioactive fission
products that were released into various systems and structures were
removed as part of the waste processing activities during the TMI-2
Cleanup Program. The cleanup to meet the NRC post-accident safe storage
criteria was completed and accepted by the NRC with TMI-2 entering into
Postdefueling Monitored Storage (PDMS) in 1993.
In a letter dated February 13, 2013, (Agencywide Documents and
Access Management System Accession No. ML12349A291), the NRC stated
that September 14, 1993, is considered the date of TMI-2's cessation of
operations. The September 14, 1993, date coincides with the issuance of
License Amendment No. 45, which converted the TMI-2 operating license
into a POL (ML20029E532).
Approximately 99 percent of the fuel was removed and shipped to the
Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) under
the responsibility of the U.S. Department of Energy. The reactor
coolant system was decontaminated to the extent practical to reduce
radiation levels to as low as is reasonably achievable. As part of the
decontamination effort, water was removed to the extent practical from
the reactor coolant system and the fuel transfer canal, and the fuel
transfer tubes were isolated. Radioactive wastes from the major cleanup
activities have been shipped off-site or have been packaged and staged
for shipment off-site. Following the decontamination activities, only
the Reactor Building and a few areas in the AFHB continued to have
general area radiation levels higher than those of an undamaged reactor
facility nearing the end of its operating life.
With the accident cleanup completed and the spent fuel moved to
INEEL, there is no facility function related to the safe storage and
management of irradiated fuel.
II. Request/Action
By letter dated October 5, 2021 (ML21279A278), as supplemented on
December 15, 2021 (ML21354A027), TMI-2 Solutions submitted an exemption
request asking for permanent partial exemptions from: (1) Title 10 of
the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50, Appendix B, Criterion
XVII, ``Quality Assurance Criteria for Nuclear Power Plants and Fuel
Reprocessing Plants,'' which requires certain records to be retained
consistent with applicable regulatory requirements for a duration
established by the licensee; (2) 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3), ``Changes, tests,
and experiments,'' which requires certain records to be maintained
until ``termination of an operating license issued under this part;''
and (3) 10 CFR 50.71(c), ``Maintenance of records, making of reports,''
which requires certain records to be retained for the period specified
by the appropriate regulation, license condition, or Technical
Specifications (TS), or until termination of the license if not
otherwise specified.
The licensee also submitted a license amendment request, which
would revise the license to reflect the specific exemptions and
associated changes in the TS, should the NRC approve the partial
exemption request.
The licensee requests these exemptions to eliminate the requirement
to maintain records that are no longer necessary or applicable due to
the permanently defueled condition and decommissioning status of the
station. Specifically, TMI-2 Solutions states that the following
records would no longer be retained: Records associated with
structures, systems, and components (SSCs), and activities that were
applicable to the nuclear unit, which are no longer required by the
Part 50 licensing basis (e.g., removed from the Decommissioning Final
Safety Analysis Report and/or Technical Specifications by appropriate
change mechanisms). Such partial exemptions would eliminate the
associated, unnecessary regulatory and economic burdens of retaining
records for SSCs and activities that are no longer part of the TMI-2
licensing basis.
TMI-2 Solutions, in its December 15, 2021, supplement, committed to
preserve all records pertaining to the 1979 Records Preservation Order,
published in the Federal Register (FR) on May 29, 1979, ((44 FR 30788,
and Attachment 1 of December 15, 2021 submittal (ML21354A027)). TMI-2
Solutions notes that an inventory of such records for the period from
March 27, 1979, through May 1, 1979, was submitted to the NRC on
November 18, 2021, to assist the NRC Historian in determining if the
NRC document collection for the TMI-2 accident was missing any needed
documents.
In the exemption request, TMI-2 Solutions cites record retention
partial exemptions granted consistent with similar exemption requests
that have been approved recently by the NRC for other nuclear power
reactor facilities beginning decommissioning. Specifically, TMI-2
Solutions notes that the NRC granted similar partial exemptions to
Three Mile Island, Unit No. 1 (ML20107J648), Oyster Creek Nuclear
Generating Station (ML18122A306), Millstone Power Station, Unit No. 1,
(ML070110567); Zion Nuclear Power Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2
(ML111260277); Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (ML15344A243), San
Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, Unit Nos. 1, 2, and 3 (ML15355A055);
Kewaunee Power Station (ML17069A394); and Fort Calhoun Station
(ML17172A730).
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, as
required by 10 CFR part 50, ``Domestic Licensing of Production and
Utilization Facilities,'' until the termination of the TMI-2 license.
No exemption was requested from the decommissioning records retention
requirements of 10 CFR 50.75, ``Reporting and recordkeeping for
decommissioning planning,'' or any other requirements of 10 CFR part 50
applicable to decommissioning and dismantlement.
III. Discussion
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, ``Specific exemptions,'' the Commission
may,
[[Page 66759]]
upon application by any interested person or upon its own initiative,
grant exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR part 50 when 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. However, the Commission will not consider granting an
exemption unless special circumstances are present. Special
circumstances are described in 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2).
TMI-2 Solutions states in its application that decommissioning of
the TMl-2 and the nuclear reactor and essentially all associated SSCs
in the nuclear steam supply system and balance of plant that supported
the generation of power have been retired in place and are being
prepared for removal. SSCs that remain operable are associated with the
Reactor Building and effluent monitoring, are needed to meet other
regulatory requirements, or are needed to support other site facilities
(e.g., radwaste handling, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning).
There are no SSCs classified as safety-related. SSCs related to safe
storage of the remaining Debris Material are designated as Important to
Safety by the current licensing basis. The licensee also states in its
application that TMI-2 Solutions is progressively removing these SSCs
related to safe storage of the remaining Debris Material from the
licensing basis where necessary through appropriate change mechanisms
(e.g., 10 CFR 50.59 or NRC approved TS changes, as applicable);
revising the Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR) for PDMS, as
necessary; and, then proceeding with an orderly dismantlement.
In its October 5, 2021, exemption request, the TMI-2 Solutions
indicates that the basis for eliminating records associated with
reactor facility SSCs and activities is that these SSCs have been (or
will be) removed from service per regulatory change processes,
dismantled or demolished, and no longer have any function regulated by
the NRC.
The licensee recognizes that some records related to the nuclear
unit will continue to be under NRC regulation primarily due to residual
radioactivity. The radiological and other necessary programmatic
controls (such as security, quality assurance, etc.) for the facility
and the implementation of controls for the defueled condition and the
decommissioning activities are and will continue to be appropriately
addressed through the license and current plant documents such as the
FSAR for PDMS and the TS. Through a license application request dated
February 19, 2021 (ML21057A046), TMI-2 Solutions requested that certain
Technical Specification records requirements be relocated to the
Decommissioning Quality Assurance Plan. This action is currently under
review. TMI-2 Solutions indicated in its exemption request that future
changes to the Technical Specifications will be made through the
applicable change processes defined in the regulations (e.g., 10 CFR
50.48(f), ``Fire protection,'' 10 CFR 50.59, 10 CFR 50.54(a),
``Conditions of licenses,'' 10 CFR 50.54(p), 10 CFR 50.54(q)). The NRC
staff notes that except for future changes made through the applicable
change process defined in the regulations (e.g., 10 CFR 50.48(f), 10
CFR 50.59, 10 CFR 50.90, ``Application for amendment of license,
construction permit, or early site permit,'' 10 CFR 50.54(a), 10 CFR
50.54(p), 10 CFR 50.54(q)), these programmatic elements and their
associated records are unaffected by the requested exemptions.
TMI-2 Solutions justifies the elimination of records associated
with TMI-2 SSCs for retired equipment that have been removed from
service and have been or will be physically removed, dismantled, or
demolished, because it believes these SSCs now and will not in the
future serve any TMI-2 functions regulated by the NRC. For example, the
primarily coolant system is currently not in service and will never be
in service again nor are there any vital areas that will be used for
their intended purposes. Maintaining decommissioning records on the SSC
associated with the primarily coolant system will not serve any TMI-2
function regulated by the NRC. TMI-2 Solutions decommissioning plans
for TMI-2 are described in the Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities
Report dated March 17, 2021 (ML21084A229). The licensee's
decommissioning process involves evaluating SSCs with respect to the
current facility safety analysis; progressively removing them from the
licensing basis where necessary through appropriate change mechanisms
(e.g., 10 CFR 50.59 or by NRC approved TS changes, as applicable);
revising the FSAR, as necessary; and then proceeding with an orderly
dismantlement.
TMI-2 Solutions intends to retain the records required by its
license as the state of the facility transitions through
decommissioning. However, equipment abandonment will obviate the
regulatory and business needs for maintenance of most records. As the
SSCs are removed from the licensing basis, TMI-2 Solutions asserts that
the need for its records is, on a practical basis, eliminated.
Therefore, TMI-2 Solutions is requesting partial exemptions from the
associated records retention requirements for SSCs for retired
equipment that have been removed from service and have been or will be
physically removed and historical activities that are no longer
relevant, except it has committed to preserve all records pertaining to
the 1979 Records Preservation Order ((44 FR 30788, dated May 29, 1979
and Attachment 1 of December 15, 2021 submittal (ML21354A027)).
A. The Exemption Is Authorized by Law
As stated above, 10 CFR 50.12 allows the NRC to grant exemptions
from 10 CFR part 50 requirements if it makes certain findings. As
described here and in the sections below, the NRC staff has determined
that special circumstances exist to grant the partial exemptions. In
addition, granting the licensee's proposed exemptions will not result
in a violation of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended; other
laws; or the Commission's regulations. Therefore, the granting of the
exemption request from the recordkeeping requirements of 10 CFR
50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, Appendix B, Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR
50.59(d)(3) is authorized by law.
B. The Exemption Presents No Undue Risk to Public Health and Safety
As SSCs are prepared for safe storage and eventual decommissioning
and dismantlement, they will be removed from NRC licensing basis
documents through appropriate change mechanisms, such as through the 10
CFR 50.59 process or through a license amendment request approved by
the NRC. These change processes involve either a determination by the
licensee or an approval from the NRC that the affected SSCs no longer
serve any safety purpose regulated by the NRC. Therefore, the removal
of the SSCs would not present an undue risk to public health and
safety. In turn, elimination of records associated with these removed
SSCs would not cause any additional impact to public health and safety.
The granting of the exemption request from the recordkeeping
requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, Appendix B, Criterion
XVII; and 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3) for the records described is
administrative in nature and will have no impact on any remaining
decommissioning activities or on radiological effluents. The granting
of the exemption request will only advance the schedule for disposition
of the specified records. Because these
[[Page 66760]]
records contain information about SSCs associated with reactor
operation and contain no information needed to maintain the facility in
a safe condition when the facility is eventually decommissioned through
approved NRC licensing proceedings and the SSCs are dismantled, the
elimination of these records on an advanced timetable will have no
reasonable possibility of presenting any undue risk to the public
health and safety. TMI-2 Solutions is not requesting any exemption
associated with retention of spent fuel debris related records required
by 10 CFR part 50 and 10 CFR part 72, ``Licensing Requirements for the
Independent Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High-Level Radioactive
Waste, and Reactor-Related Greater Than Class C Waste.''
C. The Exemption is Consistent With the Common Defense and Security
The elimination of the recordkeeping requirements does not involve
information or activities that could potentially impact the common
defense and security of the United States. Upon dismantlement of the
affected SSCs, the records have no functional purpose relative to
maintaining the safe operation of the SSCs, maintaining conditions that
would affect the ongoing health and safety of workers or the public, or
informing decisions related to nuclear security.
Rather, the exemptions requested are administrative in nature and
would only advance the current schedule for disposition of the
specified records. Therefore, the exemption request from the
recordkeeping requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, Appendix
B, Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3) for the types of records
described is consistent with the common defense and security.
D. Special Circumstances
Paragraph 50.12(a)(2) of 10 CFR states, in part:
The Commission will not consider granting an exemption unless
special circumstances are present. Special circumstances 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; or
(iii) Compliance would result in undue hardship or other costs
that are significantly in excess of those contemplated when the
regulation was adopted . . .
Criterion XVII of Appendix B to 10 CFR part 50 states, in part:
``Sufficient records shall be maintained to furnish evidence of
activities affecting quality.''
Paragraph 50.59(d)(3) of 10 CFR states, in part: ``The records of
changes in the facility must be maintained until the termination of an
operating license issued under this part . . .''
Paragraph 50.71(c) of 10 CFR, states, in part:
Records that are required by the regulations in this part or
part 52 of this chapter, by license condition, or by Technical
Specifications must be retained for the period specified by the
appropriate regulation, license condition, or Technical
Specification. If a retention period is not otherwise specified,
these records must be retained until the Commission terminates the
facility license. . . .
In the statement of considerations for the final rulemaking,
``Retention Periods for Records'' (53 FR 19240, dated May 27, 1988), in
response to public comments received during the rulemaking process, the
NRC stated that records must be retained ``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.'' In the statement of considerations, the Commission also
explained that requiring licensees to maintain adequate records assists
the NRC ``in judging compliance and noncompliance, to act on possible
noncompliance, and to examine facts as necessary following any
incident.''
These regulations apply to licensees in decommissioning. During the
decommissioning process, safety-related SSCs are retired or disabled
and subsequently removed from NRC licensing basis documents by
appropriate change mechanisms. Appropriate removal of an SSC from the
licensing basis requires either a determination by the licensee or an
approval from the NRC that the SSC no longer has the potential to cause
an accident, event, or other problem that would adversely impact public
health and safety.
The records subject to removal under this exemption request are
associated with SSCs that had been important to safety during power
operation or operation of the spent fuel pool, but are no longer
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 action on possible noncompliance,
or examining facts following an incident. Therefore, their retention
would not serve the underlying purpose of the rule.
In addition, once removed from the licensing basis documents (e.g.,
FSAR or TS), 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. As such, retention of records
associated with SSCs that are or will no longer be part of the facility
serves no safety or regulatory purpose, nor does it serve the
underlying purpose of the rule of maintaining compliance with the
safety and health aspects of the nuclear environment in order to
accomplish the NRC's mission. Therefore, special circumstances are
present that the NRC may consider, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii),
to grant the exemption request.
Records that continue to serve the underlying purpose of the rule,
that is, to maintain compliance and to protect public health and safety
in support of the NRC's mission, will continue to be retained pursuant
to other regulations in 10 CFR part 50 and 10 CFR part 72. Retained
records that are not subject to the proposed exemption include those
associated with programmatic controls, such as those pertaining to
residual radioactivity, security, and quality assurance, as well as
records associated with the ISFSI and spent fuel debris.
The retention of records required by 10 CFR 50.71(c); 10 CFR part
50, Appendix B, Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3) 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 rule results in a considerable cost to the
licensee. Retention of the volume of records associated with the SSCs
during the operational phase is appropriate to serve the underlying
purpose of determining compliance and noncompliance, taking action on
possible noncompliance, and examining facts following an incident, as
discussed.
However, the cost effect of retaining operational phase records
beyond the operations phase until the termination of the license was
not fully considered or understood when the records retention rule was
put in place. For example, existing records storage facilities are
eliminated as decommissioning progresses. Retaining records associated
with SSCs and activities that no longer serve a safety or regulatory
purpose would, therefore, result in an unnecessary financial and
administrative burden. As such,
[[Page 66761]]
compliance with the rule would result in an undue cost in excess of
that contemplated when the rule was adopted. Therefore, special
circumstances are present that the NRC may consider, pursuant to 10 CFR
50.12(a)(2)(iii), to grant the exemption request. The licensee has
committed to preserve all records pertaining to the 1979 Records
Preservation Order ((44 FR 30788, dated May 29, 1979 and Attachment 1
of December 15, 2021 submittal (ML21354A027)). TMI-2 Solutions is not
requesting any exemption associated with retention of spent fuel debris
related records required by 10 CFR part 50 and 10 CFR part 72.
E. Environmental Considerations
Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b) and (c)(25), ``Criterion for
categorical exclusion; identification of licensing and regulatory
actions eligible for categorical exclusion or otherwise not requiring
environmental review,'' the granting of an exemption from the
requirements of any regulation in Chapter I of 10 CFR part 50 meets the
eligibility criteria for categorical exclusion provided that: (1) there
is no significant hazards consideration; (2) there is no significant
change in the types or significant increase in the amounts of any
effluents that may be released off-site; (3) there is no significant
increase in individual or cumulative public or occupational radiation
exposure; (4) there is no significant construction impact; (5) there is
no significant increase in the potential for or consequences from
radiological accidents; and (6) the requirements from which an
exemption is sought are among those identified in 10 CFR
51.22(c)(25)(vi).
The exemption request is administrative in nature. The exemption
request has no effect on SSCs and no effect on the capability of any
plant SSC to perform its design function. The exemption request would
not increase the likelihood of the malfunction of any plant SSC.
The probability of occurrence of previously evaluated accidents is
not increased since most previously analyzed accidents will no longer
be able to occur, and the probability and consequences of the remaining
fuel handling accident are unaffected by the exemption request.
Therefore, the exemption request does not involve a significant
increase in the probability or consequences of an accident previously
evaluated.
The exemption request does not involve a physical alteration of the
plant. No new or different types of equipment will be installed, and
there are no physical modifications to existing equipment associated
with the exemption request. Similarly, the exemption request will not
physically change any SSCs involved in the mitigation of any accidents.
Thus, no new initiators or precursors of a new or different kind of
accident are created. Furthermore, the exemption request does not
create the possibility of a new accident as a result of new failure
modes associated with any equipment or personnel failures. No changes
are being made to parameters within which the plant is normally
operated or in the setpoints that initiate protective or mitigative
actions, and no new failure modes are being introduced. Therefore, the
exemption request does not create the possibility of a new or different
kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated.
The exemption request does not alter the design basis or any safety
limits for the plant. The exemption request does not impact station
operation or any plant SSC that is relied upon for accident mitigation.
Therefore, the exemption request does not involve a significant
reduction in a margin of safety.
For these reasons, the NRC staff has determined that approval of
the exemption request involves no significant hazards consideration
because granting the licensee's exemption request from the
recordkeeping requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, Appendix
B, Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3) at TMI-2 does not: (1)
involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an
accident previously evaluated, (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 (10 CFR
50.92(c), ``Issuance of Amendment.'') Likewise, there is no significant
change in the types or significant increase in the amounts of any
effluents that may be released off-site and no significant increase in
individual or cumulative public or occupational radiation exposure.
The exempted regulations are not associated with construction, so
there is no significant construction impact. The exempted regulations
do not concern the source term (i.e., potential amount of radiation
involved for an accident) or accident mitigation; therefore, there is
no significant increase in the potential for, or consequences from,
radiological accidents. Allowing the licensee exemption from the record
retention requirements for which the partial exemption is sought
involves recordkeeping requirements, as well as reporting requirements
of an administrative, managerial, or organizational nature.
Therefore, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b), 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25), and 10
CFR 51.22(c)(ii), no environmental impact statement or environmental
assessment need be prepared in connection with the approval of this
exemption request or conforming amendment.
IV. Conclusions
The NRC staff has determined that the granting of the exemption
request from the recordkeeping requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(c); 10 CFR
part 50, Appendix B, Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3) will not
present an undue risk to the public health and safety. The destruction
of the identified records related to SSCs that have been removed from
service and have been or will be physically removed will not impact
remaining decommissioning activities; plant operations, configuration,
and/or radiological effluents; operational and/or installed SSCs that
are quality-related or important to safety; or nuclear security. The
NRC staff has determined that the destruction of the identified records
at that time is administrative in nature and does not involve
information or activities that could potentially impact the common
defense and security of the United States.
The purpose for the recordkeeping regulations is to assist the NRC
in carrying out its mission to protect the public health and safety by
ensuring that the licensing and design basis of the facility are
understood, documented, preserved, and retrievable in such a way that
will aid the NRC in determining compliance and noncompliance, taking
action on possible noncompliance, and examining facts following an
incident. Since the TMI-2 SSCs for retired equipment have been removed
from service and have been or will be physically removed, the NRC staff
has determined that the records identified in the exemption request
will no longer be required to achieve the underlying purpose of the
records retention rule. TMI-2 Solutions has committed to preserve all
records pertaining to the 1979 Records Preservation Order ((44 FR
30788, dated May 29, 1979 and Attachment 1 of December 15, 2021
submittal (ML21354A027)).
Accordingly, the Commission has determined that pursuant to 10 CFR
50.12, the partial exemptions are authorized by law, will not present
an undue risk to the public health and safety, and are consistent with
the
[[Page 66762]]
common defense and security. Also, special circumstances are present.
Therefore, the Commission hereby grants TMI-2 Solutions partial
exemptions from the recordkeeping requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(c); 10
CFR part 50, Appendix B, Criterion XVII; and 10 CFR 50.59(d)(3) for
TMI-2 only to the extent necessary to allow the licensee to advance the
schedule to remove records associated with retired SSCs that have been
removed from service and have been or will be physically removed by
appropriate change mechanisms (e.g., 10 CFR 50.59 or by NRC approved
license amendment request, as applicable). Again, the licensee has
committed to preserve all records pertaining to the 1979 Records
Preservation Order ((44 FR 30788, dated May 29, 1979 and Attachment 1
of December 15, 2021 submittal (ML21354A027)).TMI-2 Solutions is not
requesting any exemption associated with retention of spent fuel debris
related records required by 10 CFR part 50 and 10 CFR part 72.
These exemptions are effective upon issuance.
Dated: September 16, 2022.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
/RA September 16, 2022/
Jane E. Marshall,
Director, Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery, and Waste
Programs Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2022-23975 Filed 11-3-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P