ML20246N152

Responds to Re Amended Indemnity Agreement W/ Utils to Permit Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel.Fr Notice Encl

ML20246N152
Person / Time
Site:	Harris, Brunswick, Robinson, 05000000
Issue date:	02/22/1989
From:	Ingram F NRC OFFICE OF GOVERNMENTAL & PUBLIC AFFAIRS (GPA)
To:	James Smith AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED
Shared Package
ML20246N146	List: ML20246N141 ML20246N152 ML20247C752
References
FOIA-89-95 NUDOCS 8903270312
Download: ML20246N152 (2)

Text

. _ - - _ _ - _ - _

J. .- . ~,.w , '

. % meg, eg.,.., . ,

w 1

February 22, 1989

)

Ms. Jane J.' Smith

.1502 Gormly Circle Sanford, NC. 27330 I

Dear 1ts. Snith:

, l This replies to your February 18 letter. The NRC, in February 1987, amended ttiboidemnity agreenent with Carolina Power and Light Cogany to permit storage of spent nuclear fuel generated at its Brunswick and ,

Robinson nuclear power plants at the utility's Shearon Harris nuclear

. power plant. A copy of the Federal Register notice of the action'is enclosed for ynur information.-

Sincoroly, ..,

i Frank Ingram-Aseistant to the Director-Public Affairs li

Enclosure:

.As stated cc: Dick Becker, w/cpy incoming i

i l

l B 90323 I t 1

PDRk e[go32g3g2 tIAMSO9' p i r i

micc > ..... .. . ...... .. .. .............. .............. ..

..G..P.A....'....\..................................... .... .... ...... ...

mauch . . .F.1. ,g  : . .s....... ............ . ..... ..... ... ... ..... .. .... . . . ... ..... . .... .... ..... . ...... .

l ooTc ) . . 2. . . . . . 8 9. .. .... . . ..... . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...............j

.a - --- .... ..

I

,i .; 4 .- .-  :,

i

'i .

f klg e .. 3180 Federal Register / Vol. 52, No. 21 / Monday, February 2,1987 / Notices .

I ;"L --  ;

, te - .

'm. .

. A NUCLEAR REGULATORY i Under the Price. Anderson Act reactor at a different sitew' ould beyWe  !

9

. COYMISSION (section 170 of the Alomic Energy Act of uaindemnified while the spent fuelnih.', (

'n, 1954, as amended (the Act)). financial produced by the second reactor and4.4 1 9 Financial Protection Requirements and protection and government indemnity " stored at the same site would bn #:.% .I j;L , indemnity Agreements; Indemnification of Spent Reactor Fuel are mandatory for production and utilization facilities, such as reactors, indemnified. lf Indemnity coverage we'rel l p',. *. .

• not extended tr+ the spent fuel generated,C 1p Stored at a Reactor Site Different Than licensed under section 103 and section at the first reac ir but stored at the site X I

. the One Where it Was Generated 104 of the Act.This financial protection of a second reactor and if an accident @  !

{ ir , AcENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

[t i hich enc m as not nly inv Iving the fuel st'orage pool at thef',{

second reactor were to occur,it wo d, ,

l g:7'. I

.- possession and operation of the reactor be virtually impossible to determtr':

p ACTION: Exercise of discretionary facility itself but also certain ancillary ]

i'D. statutory authority. activities including (1) possession of the whether indemnified or unindemnifiedy J

.b . new fuel (containing special nuclear spent M l 0

SUMMARY

The Commission has decided material) being stored on-site for use in in viewfuel of thecaused foregoing, the the- accident. .11 j,7 ;e to exercise its discretionary statutory the reactor and (2) on-site storage of Commission has decided to exerefse its%

j ;' authority under the Price Anderson Act spent fuel following its irradiation at- discretionary authority un'dcr sectionfP .

gg and again extend Government that reactor. Mandatory indemnification - 170 of the Atomic Energy Act of1954,'as'$' l

, {-Q indemnity to spent reactor fuel stored at a particular reactor site different than '

does not extend to the fuel when it is L amended, and will modify the indemnity agreement for the Shearon lia i

, stored another reactor site.

the one,where it was generated. Absent Possession of spent fuel away from facility to permit storage at Shearonf.D this action by the Commission, this the facility where it was generated,i.e., liarris of fuelirradiated either at the P  !

,,2 spent reactor fuel will not be covered by at a location where it is not used in Brunswick facility or at the Robinson -

p' ; Government indemnity m the event of a. connection with the operation of the facility. As required in 10 CFR 140.9, thE

+

nuclear incident at the site where this facility,is not a part of the ancillary

{ spent fuel will be stored and where the activity of possession and operation of Commission is publishing an 'l'*

amendment, which would redefineihe g;; reactors involved have the same the facility where this spent fuelis to be term "the radioactive material" in g licensee. stored. As a result, after being Article 1, paragraph 9 in the She  !

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: transferred from the reactor sit 5 ". +; Mr. Ira Dinitz. Office of State Programs, was generated to someitother e, s,e where ll liarris Indemnity Agreemen l read as foIIows-.

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, possession of this spent fuel must be 9 _ ,; ., i 1

Washington, DC 20555, telephone (301) licensed under other provisions of the The radioactive matertal means sourcee -

492-98R Act which authorize licenses for special nuclear and byproduct insterial which i

+

possession and use of the special (1)is used. was used or will be used in, or is i SUPPLEMENTARY IN FORM ATIOH:Most b ;I' nuclear and byproduct material and irradiated, was irradiated or wit! be .: r, wy..,

oPeratin8 reactor licensees base would not be subject to the mandatory . irracated by the nuclear reactor licensed i., ,

,. increased, or are planning to increase, under NPF-63, or (2) was used in, or was , '

indemnity requirement of the Act the capacity of their onsite spent fuel irradiated in the nuclear reactors licensedbri providing that the Commission require storage pools. In some instances where'* f noncial orotection of and indemnify under DPR-23, DPR-62, and DPR-71'and th? -  !

L ,i the capacity of the storage pools at the 1 reactor (and other production and subsequently is transported to the site of tbd  ;

reactor site cannot be increased utilization facility) licensees. nuclear reactor heensed under NPF-63 for the sufficiently to meet the hcensee's needs' Accordingly, no indemnity protection purpose of storage, or (3) which is produced

'

, fuel storage may be sought at another automatically would be afforded spent as the result of the operation of the nuclear -

location.One method of storing spent reactor licensed under NPF-63, , % 'M;

, fuel stored away from the facility where

/

fuel away from the reactor from which it it is produced or used.To indemnify this .this amendment relates to ch' anges'in p., , is discharged is to store it in the spent spent fuel, the Commission must require j f fuel pool of another of the same the licensee at whose facility the spent on indemnity agreement incorporated,g ,

. j

,- licensee's reactors but at a different site. fuel will be stored to maintain financial into a 10 CFR Part 50 license. ..,c j

, The Commission has received a protection and to be indemnified by Accordingly, this amendment meets thej

, request from Carolina Power and Light exercising its discretionary authority eligibility criteria for categoncat.g., ,

./. Corr.ps ny to authorize and indemnify under section 170 of the Act.For the exclusion set forth in 10 CFR. -

f..; 51.22(c)(10)(i). Pursuant to 10 CFRg g this type of activity.The Carolina Power purpcacs of Price Anderson coverage, request is for Commission authorization this exercise of discretionary authority $1.22(b), no environmental impact g

h *M'

'c pp';>-

h permitting Cerolina and its co-licensees at the Sheuron llarris Station to store would result in treating spent fuel produced at one reactor site but stored statement not environmental 4g3.:

assessmeni need be prepared in,4 2M' spent fuel discharged from the at a different site the same as spent fuel stored at the site of the reactor where it- cor'nection with the 'issuance 5 of t

~ " -

, vf Drunswick and Robinson reactors at the amadment.

b dp ' a, Shearon flatris reactor. Carolina Power is seekmg Pnce-Anderson indemnity was produced. Thus, irradiated fuel generated by a reactor at one site Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552: Pub. L 81-703, Stat. 919, as amended by Pub. L 85-258,71

'@ protection for all such storage of spent whether stored by itselfin the spent fuel Stat. 578, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2210).'1 N fuel at the distant reactor location. pool of a reactor at a different site or D.;ted at Bethesda, Maryland. this 15th day

'N-

'd j The Commission considered and commingled with the second reactor's of January 1987. ,

, . . e ow.y approved similar requests by Carolina irradiated fuel in that reactor's spent '

'D Power and Light Company in August fuel pool would be covered by financial. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.Vj

'J,N 1977, and Duke Power Company in protection and indem tity, Victor Stello,Jr ic ." . M.s N. ; November 1982, July 1985 and April The NRC believes that it would not be 'ExecutiveDirecto$forOperorions. ND

'Mf 1986. [See Federal Register Notices 42 desirable to have a situation where 'I g W. FR 44615,46 FR 55024,50 FR 30415 and spent fuel generated at one reactor but [FR Doc. 87-1874 Filed 1-30 sumo coot neo-ei-u gQ -a 51 FR 12604). stored in the spent fuel pool of a second (.[?N . Q -

1* #

e.V . .y

< i