ML21330A043
| ML21330A043 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Ginna  |
| Issue date: | 12/15/2021 |
| From: | Bo Pham NRC/NRR/DORL/LPL1 |
| To: | Rhoades D Exelon Generation Co |
| Ballard, B., NRR/DORL/LPL1 | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML21330A062 | List: |
| References | |
| 86 FR 72285, EPID L-2021-LLE-0044, NRC-2021-0223 | |
| Download: ML21330A043 (12) | |
Text
[7590-01-P]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-244; NRC-2021-0223]
Exelon Generation Company, LLC
R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Exemption; issuance.
SUMMARY
- The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued an exem ption
in response to an October 6, 2021, request from Exelon Generati on Company, LLC, as
supplemented by letter dated November 15, 2021, which requested a one-time
exemption from the NRC regulations, to postpone the conduct of the offsite portions of
the R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant biennial emergency preparedn ess (EP) exercise
until a date prior to July 20, 2022.
DATES: The exemption was issued on December 15, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2021-0223 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-2021-0223. Address questions about Docket IDs in
Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; telephone: 301-415-0624; em ail:
Stacy.Schumann@nrc.gov. For technical questions, contact the i ndividual listed in the
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.
- NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the ADA MS Public
Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.ht ml. To begin the search, select Begin Web-based ADAMS Search. For problems wi th ADAMS, please
contact the NRCs Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209,
301-415-4737, or by email to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov. The ADAMS a ccession number
for each document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is p rovided the first time that it
is mentioned in this document.
- NRCs PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public documents,
by appointment, at the NRCs PDR, Room P1 B35, One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make an appointm ent to visit the PDR,
please send an email to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-
4737, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (ET), Monday through Frid ay, except Federal
holidays
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: V. Sreenivas, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington DC 20555-0001;
telephone: 301-415-2597, email: V.Sreenivas@nrc.gov
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the exemption is attached.
Dated: December 16, 2021.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
/RA/
V. Sreenivas, Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch 1, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
2 ATTACHMENT -
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Docket No. 50-244
Exelon Generation Company, LLC
R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant
Exemption
I. Background.
Exelon Generation Company, LLC (Exelon or the licensee) is the holder of
Facility Operating License No. DPR-18, which authorizes operati on of the R.E. Ginna
Nuclear Power Plant (Ginna). The license provides, among other things, that the facility
is subject to all rules, regulations, and orders of the U.S. Nu clear Regulatory
Commission (NRC, the Commission) now or hereafter in effect.
The facility consists of a pressurized water reactor located in Wayne County,
II. Request/Action.
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Part 50, Appendix E,
Section IV.F.2.c requires that Offsite plans for each site sha ll be exercised biennially
with full participation by each offsite authority having a role under the radiological
response plan. By letter dated October 6, 2021 (Agencywide Do cuments Access and
Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML21279A112), as supple mented by
letter dated November 15, 2021 (ADAMS Accession No. ML21320A054 ), the licensee 3
requested an exemption from this requirement that would allow t he licensee to delay
conduct of certain offsite portions of a biennial emergency pre paredness (EP) exercise
required to be completed by December 31, 2021 to be completed p rior to July 20, 2022.1
The licensees request states that because of a series of Hurri canes/Tropical Storms
(Henri and Ida) that struck the State of New York during the pe riod of August 21-23,
2021 and September 1-3, 2021, causing significant widespread da mage throughout the
State and leading to Presidential Disaster Declarations, as wel l as the impact on State
and local resources from Henri and Ida and the continued Corona virus Disease 2019
(COVID-19) public health emergency, the licensee was unable to find a suitable time
agreeable with Offsite Response Organizations (OROs) to complet e the necessary
offsite exercise objective by the end of Calendar Year (CY) 202 1, and an exemption is
being pursued.
By letter dated August 24, 2021 (ADAMS Accession No. ML21236A11 4), the
NRC was notified by Exelon that the State of New York Office of Emergency
Management (OEM), Wayne and Monroe Counties, and other affected OROs would not
be available to participate in the scheduled August 24, 2021 bi ennial EP exercise due to
the aftermath of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Henri, which occurred during the period of
August 21-23, 2021. Exelon still conducted its biennial EP exe rcise for the Ginna facility
as scheduled; however, only the onsite portions of the exercise were performed. The
August 24, 2021 letter to the NRC also stated that Exelon would pursue regulatory relief
1 The licensees application requests deferral of offsite portions of the EP exercise until a date no later than July 20, 2022. However, also stated in the initial application and supplement, FEMA and the State of New York state the exercise must be completed prior to July 20, 2022. The licensee states in its supplement that it agrees to the timeframe of FEMA and the State of New York. Therefore, the staff interprets the request as supplemented to be completion of the exercise prior to July 20, 2022.
4 if arrangements with OROs and Federal stakeholders could not be made prior to the end
of CY 2021 so that necessary offsite exercise criteria/objectiv es could be demonstrated.
Based on recent discussions between Exelon, supporting OROs, an d Federal
stakeholders, it was determined that rescheduling participation to complete the
applicable offsite exercise objectives would not be feasible pr ior to the end of CY 2021
due to the impacts on the availability of the OROs and Federal stakeholders caused by
the significant devastation from Hurricane/Tropical Storm Henri and later Ida and the
continued COVID-19 public health emergency. On September 1, 20 21, a teleconference
was held with representatives from the State of New York OEM, E xelon, Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and other supporting OROs r elated to
deferring/postponing the completion of ORO exercise criteria/ob jectives until sometime
in 2022. Subsequently, in a telephone conversation between Exe lon and FEMA
representatives on October 1, 2021, FEMA indicated that they we re not opposed to
postponing FEMA-evaluated exercise criteria/objectives until CY 2022. FEMA noted that
completion of the remaining exercise criteria/objectives must o ccur prior to
July 20, 2022.
III. Discussion.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, the Commission may, upon application by any
interested person or upon its own initiative, grant exemptions from the requirements of
10 CFR Part 50, Appendix E, when: (1) the exemptions are author ized by law, will not
present an undue risk to public health or safety, and are consi stent with the common
defense and security; and (2) when special circumstances are pr esent.
5 A. The Exemption is Authorized by Law.
This exemption would accommodate the impacts on the licensees offsite
response organizations from Hurricanes Henri and Ida and the co ntinued COVID-19
public health emergency by postponing the select functions of t he offsite portion of the
exercise from the previously scheduled date of August 24, 2021 until a date prior to July
20, 2022.
As stated above, 10 CFR 50.12 allows the NRC to grant exemption s from the
requirements of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix E. The NRC staff has determined that
granting of the licensee's proposed exemption will not result i n a violation of the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954, as amended, or the Commission's regulations. Therefore, the
exemption is authorized by law.
B. The Exemption Presents no Undue Risk to Public Health and Sa fety.
The underlying purpose of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix E, Section I V.F.2.c is to
ensure that the emergency organization personnel are familiar w ith their duties, to
identify and correct any weaknesses that may exist in the licen sees EP Program, and to
test and maintain interfaces among affected State and local aut horities and the licensee.
In order to accommodate the scheduling of full participation ex ercises, the NRC has
allowed licensees to schedule the exercises at any time during the calendar biennium.
The last Ginna full participation biennial EP exercise was cond ucted on August 20, 2019.
Conducting the remaining offsite portions of the Ginna biennial EP exercise after CY
2021 places the exercise outside of the required biennium. Sin ce the last biennial EP
exercise on August 20, 2019, the licensee has conducted nine (9 ) full-scale, integrated
performance indicator drills as well as numerous training sessi ons with the State and
local response organizations. These drills and training sessio ns exercised all the
6 proposed rescheduled offsite functions and support the licensee s assertion that it has a
continuing level of engagement to ensure that the emergency org anization personnel are
familiar with their duties, to identify and correct any weaknes ses that may exist in the
licensees EP Program, and to test and maintain interfaces amon g affected State and
local authorities and the licensee. The NRC staff has determin ed the licensee has met
the purposes underlying the 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix E, Section IV.F.2.c requirement
by having conducted these series of drills and training session s.
In addition, no new accident precursors are created by allowing the licensee to
postpone the selected offsite portions of the exercise from CY 2021 until a date prior to
July 20, 2022. Thus, the probability and consequences of postu lated accidents are not
increased. Therefore, there is no undue risk to public health and safety.
C. The Exemption is Consistent with the Common Defense and Secu rity.
The proposed exemption would allow rescheduling of the specific offsite portions
of the biennial EP exercise from the previously scheduled date of August 24, 2021 until a
date prior to July 20, 2022. This change to the biennial EP ex ercise schedule has no
relation to security issues. Therefore, the common defense and security is not impacted
by this exemption.
D. Special Circumstances.
In order to grant exemptions in accordance with 10 CFR 50.12, s pecial
circumstances must be present. Special circumstances per 10 CF R 50.12 that apply to
this exemption request are 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii) and (v). Spe cial circumstances, per
10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii), are present when: Application of the r egulation in the particular
circumstances would not serve the underlying purpose of the rul e or is not necessary to
7 achieve the underlying purpose of the rule.Section IV.F.2.c of 10 CFR Part 50,
Appendix E requires licensees to exercise offsite plans biennia lly with full or partial
participation by each offsite authority having a role under the plan. The underlying
purposes of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix E, Section IV.F.2.c requir ing licensees to
exercise offsite plans with offsite authority participation is to ensure that the emergency
organization personnel are familiar with their duties, to ident ify and correct any
weaknesses that may exist in the licensees EP Program, and to test and maintain
interfaces among affected State and local authorities, and the licensee. Although the
affected OROs and FEMA were unable to participate in the schedu led exercise for
August 24, 2021, no NRC findings (ADAMS Accession No. ML 19263A 647) nor FEMA
deficiencies (ADAMS Accession No. ML21307A042) were identified at the previous
biennial EP exercise conducted on August 20, 2019. As previous ly discussed, the
licensee has conducted nine (9) full-scale, integrated performa nce indicator drills as well
as numerous training sessions with the State and local response organizations in 2019
through 2021. The NRC staff has determined that the licensees drill performances and
training sessions have been adequate to ensure that the emergen cy organization
personnel are familiar with their duties, to identify and corre ct any weaknesses that may
exist in the licensees EP Program, and to test and maintain in terfaces among affected
State and local authorities and the licensee during this period, satisfying the underlying
purpose of the rule.
To accommodate the scheduling of exercises, the NRC has allowe d licensees
the flexibility to schedule their exercises at any time during the biennial calendar year.
This provides a 13-to 35-month window to schedule exercises wh ile still meeting the
biennial requirement. This one-time change in the exercise sch edule increases the
interval between biennial exercises, however conducting the pos tponed exercise on a 8
date prior to July 20, 2022, falls within the 35-month window, thus meeting the intent of
the regulation.
Under 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(v), special circumstances are present whenever the
exemption would provide only temporary relief from the applicab le regulation and the
licensee or applicant has made good faith efforts to comply wit h the regulation. Exelon
requests a temporary, one-time exemption for the evaluation of certain offsite
elements/objectives from the CY 2021 biennial EP exercise at Gi nna. Based on
discussions between Exelon, supporting OROs, and Federal stakeh olders, it was
determined that rescheduling participation to complete the appl icable offsite exercise
objectives would not be feasible prior to the end of CY 2021 du e to the impacts on the
availability of the OROs and Federal stakeholders caused by the significant devastation
from Hurricane/Tropical Storm Henri and later Ida and the conti nued COVID-19 public
health emergency. On September 1, 2021, a teleconference was h eld with
representatives from the State of New York OEM, Exelon, FEMA, a nd other supporting
OROs related to deferring/postponing the completion of ORO exer cise criteria/objectives
until sometime in CY 2022. Subsequently, in a telephone conver sation between Exelon
and FEMA representatives on October 1, 2021, FEMA indicated tha t they were not
opposed to postponing FEMA-evaluated exercise criteria/objectiv es until CY 2022.
FEMA noted that completion of the remaining exercise criteria/o bjectives must occur
prior to July 20, 2022. Attachment two to the licensees appli cation documents that the
State of New York OEM was unable to find a suitable window of a vailable dates in
CY 2021 to accommodate the offsite portions of the Ginna bienni al EP exercise.
Attachment four to the licensees application documents the sch eduling conflicts
identified by the State of New York OEM preventing the exercise from occurring in
CY 2021. Therefore, the licensee has made good faith efforts t o comply with the 9
regulations. Granting the requested exemption from the 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix E,
Section IV.F.2.c requirement to conduct the specific offsite po rtions of the biennial EP
exercise in CY 2022, instead of CY 2021, would provide only tem porary relief from the
applicable regulations. Additionally, the licensee has acknowl edged returning to the
previous biennial EP exercise schedule of every odd year and co nducting the next
follow-on biennial EP exercise in CY 2023, which will include b oth onsite and offsite
participation.
Granting the exemption would still achieve the underlying purp ose of 10 CFR
Part 50, Appendix E,Section IV.F.2.c, the licensee has made a good faith effort to
comply with the regulation, and the exemption would grant only temporary relief from the
applicable regulation. Therefore, the special circumstances re quired by 10 CFR
50.12(a)(2)(ii) and (v) exist for the granting of an exemption.
E. Environmental Considerations.
NRC approval of the requested exemption is categorically excluded under 10
CFR 51.22(c)(25), and there are no extraordinary circumstances present that would
preclude reliance on this exclusion. The NRC staff determined, per 10 CFR
51.22(c)(25)(vi)(E), that the requi rements from which the exemption is sought involve
education, training, experience, qualification, requalification, or other employment
suitability requirements.
The NRC staff also determined that approval of this exemption i nvolves no
significant hazards consideration because it does not authorize any physical
changes to the facility or any of its safety systems, change an y of the assumptions
or limits used in the licensees safety analyses, or introduce any new failure modes.
There is no significant change in the types or significant incr ease in the amounts of 10 any effluents that may be released offsite because this exempti on does not affect
any effluent release limits as provided in the licensees techn ical specifications or by
the regulations in 10 CFR Part 20, Standards for Protection Ag ainst Radiation.
There is no significant increase in individual or cumulative pu blic or occupational
radiation exposure because this exemption does not affect limit s on the release of
any radioactive material, or the limits provided in 10 CFR Part 20 for radiation
exposure to workers or members of the public.
There is no significant construction impact because this exempt ion does not
involve any changes to a construction permit. There is no sign ificant increase in the
potential for or consequences from radiological accidents becau se the exemption
does not alter any of the assumptions or limits in the licensee s safety analysis. In
addition, the NRC staff determined that there would be no signi ficant impacts to
biota, water resources, historic properties, cultural resources, or socioeconomic
conditions in the region. Therefore, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22( b), no environmental
impact statement or environmental assessment need be prepared i n connection with
the approval of the requested exemption.
IV. Conclusions.
Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12,
the exemption is authorized by law, will not present an undue r isk to the public health
and safety, and is consistent with the common defense and secur ity. Also, special
circumstances are present. Therefore, the Commission hereby gr ants Exelon
Generation Company, LLC an exemption from the requirements of 1 0 CFR Part 50,
Appendix E,Section IV.F.2.c. to conduct the specific offsite p ortion of the Ginna biennial 11 EP exercise required for CY 2021, permitting that part of the e xercise to be conducted in
coordination with FEMA, NRC Region I and Ginna by a date prior to July 20, 2022. This
exemption expires on July 20, 2022, or when the offsite biennia l EP exercise is
performed in CY 2022, whichever occurs first.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of December
2021
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
/RA/
Bo M. Pham, Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
12