[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 8 (Thursday, January 12, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2136-2140]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-00428]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-205, 50-361, and 50-362; NRC-2022-0219]
Southern California Edison; San Onofre Nuclear Generating
Station, Unit Nos. 1, 2 and 3
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Exemption; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued an
exemption in response to a December 16, 2021, request from Southern
California Edison, as supplemented on February 28 and September 29,
2022, that would allow the licensee to establish the Controlled Area
Boundary (CAB) for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS)
independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) at a distance less
than 100 meters from the ISFSI as required by NRC regulation.
DATES: The exemption was issued on January 5, 2023, and was effective
upon issuance.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2022-0219 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-2022-0219. 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]. 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.
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: January 6, 2023.
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 Nos. 50-205, 50-361, and 50-362
Southern California Edison
San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, Unit Nos. 1, 2 and 3
Exemption From a Specific 10 CFR 72.106(b) Independent Spent Fuel
Storage Installation Requirement
I. Background
San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), Units 1, 2, and 3,
are licensed to Southern California Edison (SCE) \1\ under part 50,
``Domestic
[[Page 2137]]
Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities,'' of title 10 of
the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) (U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) license nos. DPR-13, NPF-10, and NPF-15, respectively,
and docket nos. 50-206, 50-361, and 50-362, respectively). SONGS Units
1, 2, and 3 are decommissioning nuclear power reactor units located 4
miles southeast of San Clemente, California, in San Diego County,
California, approximately 62 miles southeast of Los Angeles, and
approximately 51 miles northwest of San Diego, on an 84-acre site
located entirely within the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base.
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\1\ SONGS is jointly owned by SCE (78.21 percent), San Diego Gas
& Electric (20 percent), and the city of Riverside (1.79 percent).
SCE is authorized to act as agent for the other co-owners and has
exclusive responsibility and control over the physical construction,
operation, and maintenance of the facility.
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II. Request/Action
On December 16, 2021 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management
System (ADAMS) Package Accession No. ML21355A245), SCE submitted a
request, as supplemented on February 28, 2022 (ML22062B028), and
September 29, 2022 (ML22277A016), for an exemption from a requirement
of paragraph (b) of Section 72.106, ``Controlled area of an
[independent spent fuel storage installation] ISFSI or [monitored
retrievable storage installation] MRS,'' for the SONGS ISFSI. In the
request, SCE states that it wishes to establish the ISFSI Controlled
Area Boundary (CAB) at or within the site boundary, which coincides
with physical boundaries that in some places are less than the 100
meters from the ISFSI required by 10 CFR 72.106(b). Specifically, SCE
indicated that the areas that would be less than 100 meters from the
ISFSI would be the North Industrial Area seawall to the west of the
ISFSI and the Owner Controlled Area fence line to the east of the
ISFSI.
SCE is requesting the exemption in response to a lease condition
granted by the California State Lands Commission (CSLC) in 2019 in
relation to the land upon which the ISFSI is situated. Specifically,
Lease Condition 32 states:
At the conclusion of the transfer of the SONGS spent nuclear fuel
to the Approved Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (Approved
ISFSI), the Lessee shall seek approval from the NRC to decrease the
size of the Exclusion Area Boundary (EAB) to the minimum required by
law. Lessee and Lessor shall jointly consult with the California
Coastal Commission (CCC) to ensure that such an approval, if granted,
will not interfere with the Lessee's compliance with the CCC permit
conditions.
To meet the lease condition, SCE would pursue the disestablishment
of the EAB in accordance with 10 CFR 50.59, ``Changes, tests, and
experiments,'' which allows reactor licensees to make certain changes
without prior NRC approval. Since SONGS has permanently ceased reactor
operations in Unit 2 and 3, an EAB is no longer required to be
maintained. If this change meets the requirements of 10 CFR 50.59, SCE
would reflect removal of the EAB in the SONGS final safety analysis
report. While compliance with this lease condition only requires an
attempt to decrease the size of the EAB, SCE states that an exemption
to 10 CFR 72.106(b) to decrease the size of the SONGS ISFSI CAB will
also serve the public's interest related to beach access. However, the
public already has full access to the beach area, the bluff overlooking
the ISFSI, and the Pacific Ocean on the seaward side of SONGS. These
public thoroughfares are allowed in accordance with 10 CFR 72.106(c).
However, SCE has an agreement with Camp Pendleton, the State of
California, and local agencies to restrict public access to these areas
and thoroughfares during an emergency such as a hostile action, natural
disaster, or fire.
If the exemption is approved, SCE would modify their agreements
with the Camp Pendleton, State of California, or local agencies to
respond and perform duties within the ISFSI CAB under emergency
conditions because SCE would no longer control areas beyond their site
boundary. However, in any emergency, first responders would likely
secure access to the beach area based upon the circumstances, to
protect the public in the event of an emergency.
Paragraph (b) of 10 CFR 72.106 requires that any individual located
on or beyond the nearest boundary of the controlled area may not
receive from any design basis accident the more limiting of a total
effective dose equivalent of 0.05 Sieverts (Sv) (5 roentgen equivalent
man (rem)), or the sum of the deep-dose equivalent and the committed
dose equivalent to any individual organ or tissue (other than the lens
of the eye) of 0.5 Sv (50 rem). The lens dose equivalent may not exceed
0.15 Sv (15 rem) and the shallow dose equivalent to skin or any
extremity may not exceed 0.5 Sv (50 rem). The minimum distance from the
spent fuel, high-level radioactive waste, or reactor-related Greater
Than Class C (GTCC) waste handling and storage facilities to the
nearest boundary of the controlled area must be at least 100 meters.
Under the provisions of 10 CFR 72.7, ``Specific exemptions,'' the
Commission may, upon application by any interested person or upon its
own initiative, grant such exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR
72.106(b) 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.
III. Discussion
A. The Exemption Is Authorized by Law
The NRC regulations in 10 CFR 72.7 allow the Commission to grant
exemptions from the requirements of the regulations in 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,'' if it determines, among other things that the
exemption would be authorized by law. There are no provisions in the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (or in any other Federal statute)
that impose a requirement to maintain the ISFSI controlled area
boundary at a specific distance. Therefore, the NRC concludes that
there is no statutory prohibition on the issuance of the requested
exemption and the NRC is authorized to grant the exemption by law.
B. The Exemption Will Not Endanger Life or Property or the Common
Defense and Security
The regulation at 10 CFR 72.106(b) establishes specific dose
constraints for the ISFSI CAB to protect the public, and requires that
the CAB be located at a minimum distance of 100 meters. To support its
request for an exemption from this minimum distance, SCE provided
calculations and direct radiation measurements to demonstrate that the
dose limits during normal operations and anticipated occurrences under
paragraph (a) of 10 CFR 72.104, ``Criteria for radioactive materials in
effluents and direct radiation from an ISFSI or MRS,'' and during
design basis accidents under 10 CFR 72.106(b), are still met at a
reduced ISFSI CAB distance.
In order to estimate the radiation dose at the modified SONGS ISFSI
CAB, the licensee performed analyses for the SONGS ISFSI to calculate
the dose from possible releases at multiple locations along the
modified CAB. These shielding analyses included dose contributions from
SONGS Units 1, 2, and 3 fuel stored in Transnuclear (TN) 24PT1 and
24PT4 fuel storage canisters in TN Advanced Horizontal Storage Modules
(AHSMs), SONGS Units 1, 2,
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and 3 GTCC waste stored in GTCC waste containers in TN AHSMs, and SONGS
Units 2 and 3 fuel stored in Holtec multi-purpose fuel storage
canisters inside the vertical ventilated modules (VVMs) of the Holtec
UMAX storage system. The licensee also included estimated doses from
future canister transfer operations that will occur when canisters are
moved from their stored location into certified transportation
packages.
The licensee modeled spent fuel in the TN and Holtec storage
systems with design basis characteristics for the Westinghouse 14x14
(SONGS Unit 1) and Combustion Engineering 16x16 (SONGS Units 2 and 3)
pressurized-water reactor fuel configurations. These design basis
characteristics include an initial enrichment of 3.8 percent, burnup of
45 GigaWatt-days per metric ton uranium (GWd/MTU), a cooling time of 10
years for Unit 1 fuel, and a cooling time of 5 years for Units 2 and 3
fuel. The NRC staff finds that these design basis parameters are
appropriate for determining doses at the modified SONGS ISFSI CAB. In
particular, the cooling times assumed are conservative relative to the
actual shut down dates for the three SONGS units (1992 for Unit 1, 2012
for Units 2 and 3), such that the dose at the modified ISFSI CAB is
significantly overestimated.
The licensee used the three-dimensional Monte Carlo N-Particle
(MCNP) transport code to estimate doses around the SONGS ISFSI due to
stored Units 1, 2, and 3 fuel, GTCC, and future canister transfer
operations, as discussed in SCE Calculation SO1-207-1-C116, Revision 2,
``Modified Control Area Boundary ISFSI Dose Calculation''
(ML22062B039). The dose points considered in the licensee's analysis
are shown in Figure 1.2 of SO1-207-1-C116 and are either at or beyond
the modified SONGS ISFSI CAB. The dose points of primary interest for
this exemption request are dose points 29, 30, 31, and 40, which are
all on the seawall closest to the fuel stored in Holtec UMAX storage
systems. The closest of these dose points is 38 meters from the nearest
UMAX storage system.
The licensee assumed occupancy factors that estimate the amount of
time a member of the public may be present in modeled dose locations.
The occupancy factors assumed by the licensee for this analysis are
summarized in Table 2.2.1 of SO1-207-1-C116 and are based on Enclosure
1 to the SCE letter dated September 29, 2022, ``Occupancy Factors at
San Onofre Owner Controlled Area Boundaries.'' This document states
that areas near the facility to the north, east, and south of the
facility are inhospitable, and unlikely to be accessed by any member of
the public for any significant amount of time. The beach area to the
west of the facility is unlikely to be accessed by any member of the
public for any significant amount of time due to the terrain and
vegetation, and the licensee assumes a member of the public may be
present there for 300 hours out of a year.
The licensee also notes that due to beach erosion and the placement
of additional riprap to protect the facility seawall, this area is
likely less attractive to members of the public than more accessible
beaches nearby, meaning that the estimate of 300 hours of yearly
occupancy is likely conservative. The NRC staff finds that the assumed
occupancy factors are acceptable for the calculation of modified SONGS
ISFSI CAB dose during normal operations and anticipated occurrences,
since most locations around the modified ISFSI CAB are unlikely to be
occupied for a significant amount of time and the applicant has recent
direct radiation measurements demonstrating that actual radiation doses
at the modified ISFSI CAB under normal operations and anticipated
occurrences are less than the 10 CFR 72.104(a) limits for full year
occupancy.
The licensee's results for the modified ISFSI CAB annual doses are
summarized in Table 3.6.1 of SO1-207-1-C116. The results include dose
contributions from stored fuel in both the TN AHSMs and Holtec VVMs,
GTCC waste stored in TN AHSMs, and from canister transfer operations
for up to 20 transfers per year. The maximum estimated annual dose from
these dose contributions at the nearest point on the modified SONGS
ISFSI CAB is 22.63 millirem (mrem) (0.2263 millisievert (mSv)) per
year. This is less than the 10 CFR 72.104(a) whole body radiation limit
of 25 mrem (0.25 mSv) per year.
The licensee also provided recent Annual Radiological Effluent
Release Report results from 2020, which included fixed thermo-
luminescent dosimeter (TLD) measurements of dose at the limiting
location along the proposed modified SONGS ISFSI CAB. The TLD measured
doses include contributions from the majority of fuel currently stored,
as well as multiple canister transfer operations that occurred in 2020
to move fuel canisters into stored locations. The TLD doses reported by
the licensee correspond to a full occupancy (8,760 hours per year) dose
of 17.52 mrem (0.1752 mSv), which is less than the 10 CFR 72.104(a)
whole body radiation limit of 25 mrem (0.25 mSv) per year. These
measured results demonstrate that the licensee's calculations
significantly overestimate the modified SONGS ISFSI CAB dose, due to
the many conservatisms incorporated into the analysis.
The NRC staff performed independent confirmatory analyses of the
modified SONGS ISFSI CAB dose under normal operations and anticipated
occurrences. The staff modeled the fuel and GTCC waste using
assumptions similar to the licensee's, in terms of initial fuel
enrichment, fuel burnup, cooling time, and storage system arrangement.
The NRC staff performed confirmatory calculations using the MAVRIC/
Monaco sequence of the SCALE 6.2.4 code system. The staff's results are
within the calculation uncertainty of the licensee's results,
confirming that the licensee's radiation shielding model is
appropriate, and that the facility will continue to meet the dose
limits for normal operations and anticipated occurrences established
under 10 CFR 72.104(a) with a modified ISFSI CAB.
The licensee also evaluated the facility with the modified ISFSI
CAB under design basis accidents to ensure that the facility continues
to meet the dose limits of 10 CFR 72.106(b). There are no design basis
accidents that significantly affect the shielding capabilities of the
TN AHSMs or Holtec VVMs or result in a canister release of radioactive
material. However, the licensee determined that a loss of water jacket
for the Holtec HI-TRAC VW transfer cask could have dose consequences at
the modified ISFSI CAB. The licensee provided an analysis of dose
versus distance from a loaded HI-TRAC VW transfer cask with the outer
water jacket removed. The details of this analysis are contained in
Holtec Calculation Hl-2210810, ``SONGS HI-TRAC VW Accident Conditions
Dose versus Distance.'' The licensee assumed an accident duration of 30
days, with full time occupancy at the nearest dose location on the
modified ISFSI CAB, 38 meters from the transfer cask. The resulting
accident dose is 3.87 rem (38.7 mSv), which is less than the 10 CFR
72.106(b) design basis accident dose limit of 5.0 rem (50 mSv).
Based on the results of the licensee's modified SONGS ISFSI CAB
dose analysis, and the NRC staff's confirmatory analysis, the staff
finds that the doses at the modified ISFSI CAB are below the limits
specified during normal operations and anticipated occurrences in 10
CFR 72.104(a), as well as the limits specified during design basis
accident conditions in 10 CFR 72.106(b). The evaluation includes
appropriate dose analyses for the configurations of SONGS ISFSI
features that exist during the different
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stages of storage operations, including the impacts of normal, off
normal, and accident conditions. The NRC staff reached this finding on
the basis of a review that considered the regulation itself,
appropriate regulatory guides, applicable codes and standards, accepted
engineering practices, the statements and representations in the
licensee's amendment request and supporting calculations, and the
staff's confirmatory analyses.
The NRC staff has determined that the thermal, structural,
criticality, retrievability, and radiation protection requirements of
10 CFR part 72 and the offsite dose limits of 10 CFR part 20,
``Standards for Protection Against Radiation,'' will be maintained.
There are no changes proposed in the licensee's exemption request that
affect the thermal, structural, criticality, or retrievability
functions of the SONGS ISFSI. Due to the potential for the modified
ISFSI CAB to affect radiation protection outside of the CAB, the
licensee provided an analysis to demonstrate that the dose limits
during normal operations and anticipated occurrences under 10 CFR
72.104(a), as well as during postulated design basis accidents under 10
CFR 72.106(b), will not be exceeded. The NRC staff reviewed the
licensee's dose analysis and finds that the licensee has shown with
reasonable assurance that these regulatory dose limits will not be
exceeded for the modified SONGS ISFSI CAB.
Further, the modified SONGS ISFSI CAB does not have any effect on
the measures for physical protection at the site, or otherwise require
changes to the approved physical security plan. The licensee will
continue to maintain its security program in accordance with the
security plan, NRC regulations, and applicable security orders.
Accordingly, the NRC staff finds the risk to the public from
operation of the SONGS ISFSI with the proposed modified CAB boundaries
continues to ensure that public health and safety are not reduced under
normal operations, anticipated occurrences, and accident conditions
(transfer cask water jacket failure). The same level of safety and
security will be maintained for the ISFSI CAB modification proposed by
the licensee. Therefore, for these reasons the NRC staff concludes that
the exemption presents no undue risk to public health and safety and
will not endanger life or property or the common defense and security.
C. The Exemption Is Otherwise in the Interest of the Public
SCE is requesting this exemption in response to a condition of a
lease that was granted by the CSLC \2\ with the aim of furthering the
public interest related to coastal access, including access to the
beach and to the walkway that runs alongside the seawall on the seaward
side of the SONGS site boundary.
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\2\ California State Lands Commission Lease No. PRC 6785.1
``SONGS Unit 2 and 3 Offshore Properties,'' Condition 32.
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While compliance with the lease condition only requires an attempt
to decrease the size of the EAB, the licensee believes that also
shrinking the ISFSI CAB to or within the SONGS site boundary will
similarly serve the public's interest related to beach access that
underlies the lease condition. The proposed SONGS ISFSI CAB would allow
the licensee to relinquish all explicit control of areas beyond the
site boundary during both normal operations and post-accident
conditions. The proposed exemption would also bring the part of the
ISFSI CAB that now extends past the beach front into or within the
SONGS site boundary, which would allow the licensee to modify an
associated land agreement with Camp Pendleton because the licensee will
no longer have control of areas beyond the site boundary.
The licensee in its application commits to continue to monitor
onsite conditions at the SONGS ISFSI and will maintain procedural
requirements to inform Camp Pendleton and other agencies of any
emergency declaration so that they may take appropriate action in
accordance with their all-hazards emergency plans. Upon NRC approval of
this exemption request, the licensee will establish the SONGS ISFSI CAB
at or within the site boundary in order to take advantage of physical
barriers and associated access controls. Access is currently allowed to
the public on the beach walkway and seaward of the walkway, which are
the areas that would no longer be within the SONGS ISFSI CAB as a
result of this proposed exemption.
The licensee in its application explains that the proposed
exemption supports the public interest of increased access to
California's natural resources--in this case, the beach, shoreline, and
ocean adjacent to the SONGS ISFSI--which was the impetus for CSLC Lease
Condition 32. With this approval the licensee can relinquish control of
areas that are otherwise subject to control via agreements with various
outside entities during off normal and emergency conditions. The
licensee states in its application that ``these agreements have been
interpreted by some as imposing potential constraints on public access
to the beach.'' Furthermore, the licensee states that it has briefed
and will continue to brief and consult with the CSLC and CCC regarding
the proposed exemption to ensure that its being granted will not
interfere with the licensee's compliance with CCC permit conditions.
The NRC staff evaluated the information above and concludes that
the exemption is in the interest of the public because it would allow
unfettered access to the beachfront during operations at the SONGS
ISFSI, to include normal and accident conditions, while still meeting
all NRC safety and security regulatory requirements, including the dose
limits established in 10 CFR 72.106(b) and 10 CFR 72.104(a).
D. The Environmental Assessment for This Exemption Resulted in a
Finding of No Significant Impact
With respect to compliance with section 102(2) of the National
Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. 4332(2) (NEPA), the NRC staff
performed an Environmental Assessment.
Based on its review of the exemption request, in accordance with
the requirements of 10 CFR part 51, ``Environmental Protection
Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions,''
the NRC staff has determined that moving the SONGS ISFSI CAB will not
significantly affect the quality of the human environment. Approval of
the exemption request would not result in any new construction. The
SONGS ISFSI is a passive facility that produces no liquid or gaseous
effluents. This exemption will have no effect on the consequences of a
hypothetical terrorist attack.
No significant radiological or non-radiological impacts are
expected from continued normal operations. Occupational dose estimates
associated with the proposed action and continued normal operation and
maintenance of the SONGS ISFSI are expected to be at levels that are as
low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) and within the limits of 10 CFR
20.1201, ``Occupational dose limits for adults.''
Therefore, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.31, ``Determinations based on
environmental assessment,'' the NRC staff has determined that
preparation of an environmental impact statement is not required for
the proposed action and no further analysis is required under NEPA.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32,
[[Page 2140]]
``Finding of no significant impact,'' a Finding of No Significant
Impact (FONSI) is appropriate. The Environmental Assessment and FONSI
was finalized on December 8, 2022 (ML22341A195) and published in the
Federal Register on December 28, 2022 (87 FR 79910).
IV. Conclusions
Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR
72.7, the exemption is authorized by law, will not endanger life or
property or the common defense and security and is otherwise in the
public interest. Therefore, effective immediately, the Commission
hereby grants SCE an exemption from 10 CFR 72.106(b) to reduce the
SONGS ISFSI CAB in areas as identified in its application to less than
100 meters.
Dated this 5th day of January 2023.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jane E. Marshall,
Director, Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery, and Waste
Programs Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2023-00428 Filed 1-11-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P