ML23222A153

Solutions Restore Enclosure RAI 1 - Final

ML23222A153
Person / Time
Site:	Kewaunee
Issue date:	08/29/2023
From:	Sturzebecher K Reactor Decommissioning Branch
To:	EnergySolutions
Sturzebecher, Karl, NMSS/DDUWP/RDB
Shared Package
ML23222A151	List: ML23222A152 ML23222A153
References
EPID L-2023-LLE-0008
Download: ML23222A153 (3)

Text

REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (RAI)

APPLICATION FOR KEWAUNEE SOLUTIONS SITE RESTORATION ACTIVITIES

Background

By letter dated May 10, 2021 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML21131A141), Dominion Energy Kewaunee, Inc. (DEK) and EnergySolutions, LLC (EnergySolutions) requested that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approve of the transfer of control of Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-43 for Kewaunee Power Station (KPS) and the general license for the Kewaunee independent spent fuel storage installation from Dominion Nuclear Projects, Inc. (Dominion), the parent entity of DEK, to EnergySolutions (whose name will change upon closing to Kewaunee Solutions, Inc. (Kewaunee Solutions)) in accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Sections 50.80, Transfer of licenses, and 72.50, Transfer of license.

EnergySolutions submitted on May 13, 2021 (ADAMS Accession No. ML21145A083), the Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR) for the KPS site, which reflects decommissioning activities planned for its subsidiary, Kewaunee Solutions. The NRC staff notes that on March 31, 2022, the NRC approved the transfer of KPS licenses from Dominion, the parent entity of DEK, to EnergySolutions, for purposes of decommissioning.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, Kewaunee Solutions submitted a March 29, 2023 (ADAMS Accession No. ML23093A031) request for exemption from 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A), to allow Kewaunee Solutions to use funds from the KPS decommissioning trust fund (DTF) for site restoration activities. The request for exemption was to rely on data from the KPS PSDAR. The facility is currently exempt from the requirements of 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 10 CFR 50.75(h)(1)(iv) to allow withdrawals from the KPS DTF for irradiated fuel management, without prior notice to the NRC, as that exemption had been requested by a previous owner/operator licensee and approved by the NRC (ADAMS Accession No. ML13337A287).

Site Restoration Activities Requirements 10 CFR 50.12, an exemption from 10 CFR 50.75(h)(1)(iv), to allow DTF disbursements for site restoration activities to be made without prior notice, similar to withdrawals in accordance with 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8).

Request for Additional Information-1 (RAI-1). Site Restoration Activities Basis The site restoration activities for the exemption by the holder of the KPS license depends, in part, on the acceptability of the following:

Regulations at 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) state:

Decommissioning trust funds may be used by licensees if The withdrawals are for expenses for legitimate decommissioning activities consistent with the definition of decommissioning in § 50.2.

Enclosure

Regulations at 10 CFR 50.2, Definitions, state:

Decommission means to remove a facility or site safely from service and reduce residual radioactivity to a level that permits (1) Release of the property for unrestricted use and termination of the license; or (2) Release of the property under restricted conditions and termination of the license.

Regulations at 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(ii) state:

Initially, 3 percent of the generic amount specified in § 50.75 may be used for decommissioning planning. For licensees that have submitted the certifications required under § 50.82(a)(1) and commencing 90 days after the NRC has received the PSDAR, an additional 20 percent may be used. A site-specific decommissioning cost estimate must be submitted to the NRC prior to the licensee using any funding in excess of these amounts.

For purposes of evaluating the exemption request, NRC considered the expenditure and cash flow data provided in Table 1B-1, Kewaunee Power Station, Estimated Annual Spending, of the May 13, 2021, PSDAR. In that table, license termination, spent fuel management (SFM), and site restoration expenses are presented in forecasted, year-by-year spending, reflecting total anticipated costs of $668,993,000, $231,321,000, and

$54,776,000, for license termination, SFM, and site restoration costs, respectively. Total expenditures of $955,090,000, include a radiological decommissioning (license termination) period of ten years (2021 through 2030), a SFM period of 33 years (2022 through 5054),

and a site restoration period of seven years (2024 through 2030). Although the licensee did not have an exemption for use of the DTF for site restoration activities at the time of PSDAR submittal, the PSDAR reflects such expenditures.

In the March 30, 2023, annually required submittal per 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(v),

Decommissioning Fund Status Report - Kewaunee Power Station, (ML23089A304), (DTF Status Report), Kewaunee Solutions provided forecasted, year-by-year cash flow data consisting of license termination and SFM expenditures, only, as authority for site restoration withdrawals had yet to be requested by the licensee or approved by the NRC, for future DTF expenditures.

In assessing the adequacy and validity of cash flow data provided in the PSDAR for purposes of evaluating the request for exemption for use of the Kewaunee Solutions DTF for site restoration activities, the NRC staff observed significant differences in total, annual expenditures, or withdrawals, between the PSDAR submittal (Table 1B-1) and the DTF Status Report submittal. In its analysis, the staff omitted site restoration expenditures from PSDAR cash flows for like comparison with cash flows reflected in the DTF Status Report, and note the following as examples of such differences:

In early forecasted years 2023 and 2024, total year 2023 anticipated PSDAR expenditures (absent site restoration expenses) as compared to anticipated DTF Status Report expenditures, equate to $89,045,000 vs $78,900,000, respectively, or

$10,145,000 less in spending as anticipated in the March 2023 DTF Status Report; and total year 2024 anticipated PSDAR expenditures (absent site restoration expenses) as compared to anticipated DTF Status Report expenditures, equate to 2

$92,633,000 vs $107,400,000, respectively, or $14,767,000 more in spending as anticipated in the March 2023 DTF Status Report.

In later forecasted years 2029 and 2030, as final license termination expenses are realized based on information in the PSDAR, total year 2029 anticipated PSDAR expenditures (absent site restoration expenses) as compared to anticipated DTF Status Report expenditures, equate to $41,206,000 vs $98,800,000, respectively, or

$57,594,000 more in spending as anticipated in the March 2023 DTF Status Report; and total year 2030 anticipated PSDAR expenditures (absent site restoration expenses) as compared to anticipated DTF Status Report expenditures, equate to

$13,125,000 vs $35,300,000, respectively, or $22,175,000 more in spending as anticipated in the March 2023 DTF Status Report.

These two sets of examples illustrate significant differences in expenditure and cash flow data as reported in the May 13, 2021, PSDAR, compared to the more recent March 30, 2023, DTF Status Report, and thus reflect the NRC staffs concern that the PSDAR data on which the NRC is to base its analysis on Kewaunee Solutions request for exemption from 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A), to allow use of funds from the KPS DTF for site restoration activities, is dated, and thus does not provide timely information necessary for its analysis.

RAI-1. Site Restoration Activities To perform an exemption analysis for use of excess DTF funds for site restoration activities, NRC staff requests Kewaunee Solutions provide a revised license termination, SFM, and site restoration plans, including forecasted cash flow expenditure data, that reflect Kewaunee Solutions current assumptions about the decommissioning method, decommissioning activities, and the schedule of such activities for KPS. Based on information provided in Kewaunee Solutions March 30, 2023, DTF Status Report, such revisions should result in modifications to year-by-year forecasted expenditure data as presented in the current PSDAR for KPS (see Table 1B-1 of the PSDAR), and will allow the NRC to perform its exemption request analysis using current forecasts of future license termination, SFM, and site restoration activities, and anticipated withdrawals from the KPS DTF.

3