ML19183A343
| ML19183A343 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Oyster Creek |
| Issue date: | 08/08/2019 |
| From: | Ho Nieh Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | Cowan P, Oneid P Holtec Decommissioning International, Holtec |
| Snyder A | |
| References | |
| EA-19-078, EPID-219-LLA-0047 | |
| Download: ML19183A343 (5) | |
Text
August 8, 2019 EA-19-078 Pierre Paul Oneid Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer Holtec International Krishna P. Singh Technology Campus 1 Holtec Blvd.
Camden NJ 08104 Pamela B. Cowan Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC Krishna P. Singh Technology Campus 1 Holtec Blvd.
Camden NJ 08104
SUBJECT:
OYSTER CREEK NUCLEAR GENERATING STATION - RESCISSION OF INTERIM COMPENSATORY MEASURE B.1.A FROM ORDER EA-02-026 and ORDER EA-06-137 FOR THE DECOMMISSIONING OF OYSTER CREEK NUCLEAR GENERATING STATION (EPID:L-2019-LLA-0047)
Dear Mr. Oneid and Ms. Cowan:
By letter dated February 25, 2002 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
[ADAMS] Accession No. ML19210C516), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued Order EA-02-026 to all operating nuclear power reactor licensees. Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the NRC supplemented the security measures required for protection against the design-basis threat at nuclear power reactor facilities through a series of security orders. These orders, including Order EA-02-026, established new requirements for specific training; access authorization enhancements; and enhancements to defensive strategies, mitigative measures, and integrated response.
The NRC amended Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Parts 50, 52, 72, and 73, including Appendices B and C to Part 73, through a final rule (Power Reactor Security Requirements) published in the Federal Register on March 27, 2009 (74 FR 13,925). The rulemaking codified generically applicable security requirements previously issued by orders and updated the existing power reactor security requirements. The rule became effective on May 26, 2009.
By letter dated June 20, 2006 (ADAMS Accession No. ML061600023), the NRC issued Order EA-06-137 to various operating nuclear power reactor licensees, including Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station (Oyster Creek). It required those licensees to implement certain key
P. Oneid and P Cowan 2 radiological protection mitigation strategies for the purpose of mitigating the effects of a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) for the reactor vessel.
On September 25, 2018 (ADAMS Accession No. ML18268A258), pursuant to 10 CFR 50.82(a)(1)(ii), Exelon Generation Company, LLC (Exelon) certified to the NRC that it had permanently ceased operations at Oyster Creek on September 17, 2018, and that all fuel had been permanently removed from the reactor vessel and placed in the spent fuel pool.
Section III of Order EA-02-026 and Section III of Order EA-06-137 provide the NRCs Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation the authority to relax or rescind any or all of the conditions of the Order upon demonstration by the licensee of good cause.
In a March 6, 2019 letter, Request for Rescission of Security Orders Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station (ADAMS Accession No. ML19065A183), Exelon requested that Interim Compensatory Measure (ICM) B.1.a of Order EA-02-026 and the entirety of Order EA-06-137 be rescinded for Oyster Creek, due to Oyster Creeks new status as a permanently shut down and defueled reactor. ICM B.1.a of Order EA-02-026 requires training, including simulator training, to ensure operational readiness for a specific security initiated event that could have severe and immediate consequences for an operating reactor. The training was required to reduce the consequences to an operating reactor. The use of the simulator during this training provided operators with experience in protecting the reactor core.
EA-06-137 requires certain licensees to take specific actions prior to or shortly after a security initiated event that could have severe and immediate consequences for an operating reactor.
The specific actions are required to reduce the consequences to an operating reactor.
However, since Oyster Creek is permanently shut down, there no longer is a need to mitigate the reactor consequences from a security initiated event.
Exelon cited the following reason to demonstrate good cause for rescinding ICM B.1.a: the specific security-initiated event addressed in ICM B.1.a of the Order EA-02-026 does not have any immediate effect on the storage or cooling of spent fuel; therefore, there is no longer a need to address the specific security-initiated event in ICM B.1.a since Oyster Creek has permanently shut down and there will no longer be a need to mitigate reactor consequences. Exelon also cited that since fuel is not allowed to be in the reactor, a LOCA is no longer possible and the primary containment has no design function. Therefore, Order EA-06-137 is not applicable because core damage is no longer a concern.
The NRC staff has reviewed the request and determined that the rescission of ICM B.1.a from Order EA-02-026 and the entirety of EA-06-137 will not reduce Oyster Creeks ability to mitigate the consequences from the security initiated event described in Orders EA-02-026 and EA 137 because the reactor is shutdown and defueled. The actions described in EA-026, B.1.a and EA-06-137 are associated with the protection of an operating reactor and do not have any immediate effect on the protection, storage or cooling of spent fuel. The NRC staff concluded that Oyster Creek will continue to be subject to license condition 2.C.(8). License condition 2.C.(8) requires Oyster Creek to develop and maintain strategies for addressing large fires and explosions, including operations to mitigate fuel damage in its spent fuel pool mitigation measures. Oyster Creek will be able to continue to provide spent fuel cooling for the security initiated events.
For the reasons discussed above, the NRC staff concludes that the licensee has demonstrated good cause to rescind ICM B.1.a in Order EA-02-026 and to rescind Order EA-06-137 in its
P. Oneid and P Cowan 3 entirety. All other regulatory requirements for which rescission was not specifically requested remain applicable and are not impacted by rescission of this Order. Accordingly, based upon the authority granted to the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, ICM B.1.a of the Order EA-02-026 and the entirety of Order EA-06-137 are rescinded for Oyster Creek.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRCs Agency Rules of Practice and Procedure, a copy of this letter will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records component of NRCs ADAMS. ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
Sincerely,
/RA/ MGAVRILAS FOR Ho Nieh, Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos. 50-219 and 72-15 cc: Oyster Creek Listserv Andrea L. Sterdis Vice President Regulatory and Environmental Affairs Holtec Decommissioning International Krishna P. Singh Campus 1 Holtec Blvd.
Camden, NJ 08104
P. Oneid and P Cowan 4
SUBJECT:
OYSTER CREEK NUCLEAR GENERATING STATION - RESCISSION OF INTERIM COMPENSATORY MEASURE B.1.A FROM ORDER EA02-026 and ORDER EA-06-137 FOR THE DECOMMISSIONING OF OYSTER CREEK NUCLEAR GENERATING STATION (EPID:L-2019-LLA-0047)
DATE: August 8, 2019 DISTRIBUTION:
RidsRgn1MailCenter RidsOpaMailCenter RidsOcaMailCenter RidsOeMailCtr VWilliams, NSIR JLamb, NRR ZCruz, NMSS MBurgess,NMSS ADAMS Package Accession No.: ML19183A343 *via e-mail OFFICE DUWP/RDB/PM DUWP/LA NSIR/DPCP/MWSB DUWP/RBD/BC OE NAME ASnyder SAchten TMossman BWatson GWilson*
DATE 7/02/19 7/3/19 6/28/19 7/9/19 7/10/19 OFFICE OGC NLO DUWP/D NRR/D NAME EHouseman* JTappert* HNieh 7/31/19 8/8/19 BPham MGavrilas DATE 7/31/19 for for OFFICIAL RECORD COPY