ML17165A196
| ML17165A196 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Kewaunee  |
| Issue date: | 06/12/2017 |
| From: | Yuen S Dominion Energy Kewaunee |
| To: | NRC/SECY/RAS |
| SECY/RAS | |
| References | |
| 82FR13778 00010, GL17-011, NRC-2015-0070 | |
| Download: ML17165A196 (4) | |
Text
PUBLIC SUBMISSION As of: 6/14/17 8:00 AM Received: June 13, 2017 Status: Pending_Post Tracking No. 1k1-8wxo-w79d Comments Due: June 13, 2017 Submission Type: Web Docket: NRC-2015-0070 Regulatory Improvements for Power Reactors Transitioning to Decommissioning Comment On: NRC-2015-0070-0178 Regulatory Improvements for Power Reactors Transitioning to Decommissioning; Request for Comment on Draft Regulatory Basis Document: NRC-2015-0070-DRAFT-0201 Comment on FR Doc # 2017-05141 Submitter Information Name: Jack Gadzala Submitter's Representative: Stewart Yuen Organization: Dominion Energy Kewaunee, Inc.
General Comment Please see attached letter Attachments Docket NRC-2015-0070 - ANPR Dominion Endorsement (6-12-2017)
Page 1 of 1 06/14/2017 https://www.fdms.gov/fdms/getcontent?objectId=09000064826cb993&format=xml&showorig=false 10 10 CFR Parts 26, 50, 52, 73, and 140 82 FR 13778
Dominion Energy Kewaunee, Inc.
N490 Hwy 42, Kewaunee, WI 54216-9511 June 12, 2017 ATTN: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff Serial No.
GL17-011 U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission LIC/JG/R0 Washington, DC 20555-0001 DOMINION ENERGY KEWAUNEE, INC.
KEWAUNEE POWER STATION COMMENTS ON THE NRC DRAFT REGULATORY BASIS DOCUMENT REGULATORY IMPROVEMENTS FOR POWER REACTORS TRANSITIONING TO DECOMMISSIONING (DOCKET ID NRC-2015-0070)
Dominion Energy Kewaunee (DEK) is providing this letter on behalf of Dominion Energy (Dominion) in response to the NRC request for comment on the agencys draft Regulatory Basis Document (RBD) for a rulemaking proposing changes to the Commissions decommissioning regulations1 and on a preliminary draft regulatory analysis that supports the RBD.2 Dominion has been an active participant in the NRC and industry meetings regarding this topic and endorses the comments provided by the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI).
Dominion currently has two sites, Kewaunee Power Station and Millstone Power Station Unit 1, which are in SAFSTOR. Therefore, Dominion emphasizes the following key points that are consistent with the NEI comments:
- NRC should include improvements to 10 CFR 37 along with this rulemaking, as documented in the NEI response to the Federal Register Notice1 questions 6-9 in the section titled, Potential Changes to 10 CFR Part 37.
- Regarding Financial Protection and Indemnity Agreements, we recommend a more complete description of the levels at which the requirements for financial protection and indemnity can be adjusted. More fully delineating levels of financial protection appropriate at given points in the decommissioning process tracks more closely with the agencys basis for adjusting financial protection requirements for plants that are transitioning through the decommissioning process.
- We note that NRC is now recommending rulemaking in two areas not previously addressed in the NRCs Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR)3:
(1) contents of the Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR),
and (2) requiring license amendments before commencing decommissioning.
On the first recommendation, we do not agree with the proposed new 1 82 Fed. Reg. 13,778 (March 15, 2017) 2 82 Fed. Reg. 21,481 (May 9, 2017) 3 80 Fed. Reg. 72,358 (November 19, 2015)
Serial No. GL17-011 Comment on Rulemaking Page 2 of 3 requirement for the PSDAR to contain a description of how spent fuel managed pursuant to a general independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) license will be removed from the reactor site. On the second recommendation, we believe that the proposed clarification that the requirement for a license amendment before decommissioning activities may commence applies only to non-power reactors, is useful and should be addressed in the rulemaking.
- Licensees who are in the process of decommissioning (including those at an advanced stage of decommissioning in a "standalone" ISFSI configuration) should be permitted to choose between either continue complying with their current licensing basis, or transition to the new generic requirements. It is imperative that this rulemaking not impose additional regulatory burdens on plants that have already completed the transition to decommissioning or the decommissioning process itself. There is simply no safety or security basis to impose (i.e., backfit) any new or different requirements on such licensees as a result of this rulemaking.
- The draft RBD reveals that the NRC staff is considering imposing additional substantive requirements (beyond those necessary to achieve NRCs stated objective of improving the efficiency of the transition through the decommissioning process) in areas such as cyber security (i.e., extending applicability of cyber security requirements) and decommissioning funding (i.e.,
requiring licensees to develop and maintain site-specific decommissioning cost estimates in lieu of using the minimum formula amount). We wish to emphasize that any amendments to the NRCs regulations that would require existing licensees to modify or add to systems, structures, components, or design of a facility, or the procedures or organization required to design, construct or operate a facility must comply with the agencys backfitting and issue finality provisions.
From a timing perspective, the backfitting implications associated with imposing such additional requirements should be addressed before they are included in a proposed rule.
We strongly urge the NRC to continue on a path of completing a rulemaking to improve the efficiency of the transition from operations to decommissioning as expeditiously as possible. We continue to encourage NRC to utilize the proposal that NEI submitted in response to the ANPR in developing the final rule language. In the meantime, it continues to be important that NRC staff remain committed to the timely review of exemptions and license amendments that are necessary until this rulemaking can be completed.
Serial No. GL17-011 Comment on Rulemaking Page 3 of 3 Please contact Mr. William Zipp at 920-388-8842 if you have any questions or require additional information.
'/)1 Stewart J. Yuen V I V<
Plant Manager, Kewaunee Power Station Commitments made by this letter: None
References:
- 1. Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Regulatory Improvements for Decommissioning Power Reactors (Docket 10 NRC-2015-0070) cc:
Regional Administrator, Region III U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 2443 Warrenville Road, Suite 210 Lisle, IL 60532-4352 Ted H. Carter, Senior Project Manager U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Two White Flint North, Mail Stop T-8F5 11555 Rockville Pike Rockville, MD 20852-2738