ML23248A346

NRR E-mail Capture - Request for Additional Information for Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant and Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant - Decommissioning Funding Status Reports

ML23248A346
Person / Time
Site:	Monticello, Prairie Island
Issue date:	09/05/2023
From:	Ballard B NRC/NRR/DORL/LPL3
To:	Jacobson R, Mark Miller, Scott S Northern States Power Co, Xcel Energy
Ballard B
References
Download: ML23248A346 (6)

Text

From: Brent Ballard Sent: Tuesday, September 5, 2023 10:43 AM To: Miller, Michael A Cc: Jacobson, Ronald G.; Scott, Sara L; Jeff Whited

Subject:

Request for Additional Information for Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant and Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant - Decommissioning Funding Status Reports Attachments: NSPM Decommissioning Funding Final RAI.docx Good morning Mike, By letter L-XE-23-005 dated March 29, 2023, (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML23089A076), Northern States Power Company, a Minnesota Corporation (NSPM), doing business as Xcel Energy, submitted its biennial decommissioning funding status report to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant and Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2.

The NRC staff has determined that additional information is needed to complete its review. Attached is the NRC staffs request for additional information (RAI).

A clarification call was held on September 31, 2023. Following the call, minor changes were made to the RAIs for clarity. As discussed during the call, the NRC staff is requesting a response to the RAI within 30 days of the date of this email, by October 5, 2023. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Brent Ballard Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch III Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 301-415-0680

Hearing Identifier: NRR_DRMA Email Number: 2224 Mail Envelope Properties (BY5PR09MB46276134189B64895151259AE0E8A)

Subject:

Request for Additional Information for Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant and Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant - Decommissioning Funding Status Reports Sent Date: 9/5/2023 10:42:48 AM Received Date: 9/5/2023 10:42:00 AM From: Brent Ballard Created By: Brent.Ballard@nrc.gov Recipients:

"Jacobson, Ronald G." <ronald.g.jacobson@xcelenergy.com>

Tracking Status: None "Scott, Sara L" <sara.scott@xcelenergy.com>

Tracking Status: None "Jeff Whited" <Jeffrey.Whited@nrc.gov>

Tracking Status: None "Miller, Michael A" <michael.a.miller@xcelenergy.com>

Tracking Status: None Post Office: BY5PR09MB4627.namprd09.prod.outlook.com Files Size Date & Time MESSAGE 1166 9/5/2023 10:42:00 AM NSPM Decommissioning Funding Final RAI.docx 38473 Options Priority: Normal Return Notification: No Reply Requested: No Sensitivity: Normal Expiration Date:

REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING 2023 DECOMMISSIONING FUNDING STATUS REPORT FOR MONTICELLO NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT AND PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT, UNITS 1 AND 2 DOCKET NOS. 50-263, 50-282, AND 50-306 By letter L-XE-23-005 dated March 29, 2023, (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML23089A076), Northern States Power Company, a Minnesota Corporation (NSPM, the licensee), doing business as Xcel Energy, submitted its biennial decommissioning funding status report to the U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant and Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2. The NRC staff has reviewed the submittal and determined additional information is needed.

Regulatory Basis for Request Regulatory Requirements Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 50.2 states that "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. Therefore, decommissioning, as used in the NRC regulations, refers to radiological decommissioning.

Regulation 10 CFR 50.75 (f)(1) states, in part, that each power reactor licensee shall report, on a calendar-year basis, to the NRC by March 31, 1999, and at least once every 2 years thereafter on the status of its decommissioning funding for each reactor or part of a reactor that it owns. The information in this report must include, at a minimum, the amount of decommissioning funds estimated to be required pursuant to 10 CFR 50.75(b) and (c); the amount of decommissioning funds accumulated to the end of the calendar year preceding the date of the report; a schedule of the annual amounts remaining to be collected; the assumptions used regarding rates of escalation in decommissioning costs, rates of earnings on decommissioning funds, and rates of other factors used in funding projections; any contracts upon which the licensee is relying pursuant to 10 CFR 50.75(e)(1)(v); any modifications occurring to a licensee's current method of providing financial assurance since the last submitted report; and any material changes to trust agreements.

Regulation 10 CFR 50.75(h)(2) states, in part, that disbursements or payments from the trust, escrow account, Government fund, or other account used to segregate and manage the funds, other than for payment of ordinary administrative costs (including 1

taxes) and other incidental expenses of the fund (including legal, accounting, actuarial, and trustee expenses) in connection with the operation of the fund, are restricted to decommissioning expenses or transfer to another financial assurance method acceptable under 10 CFR 50.75(e) until final decommissioning has been completed.

Regulation 10 CFR 50.75(h)(2) further states that licensees that are "electric utilities" under 10 CFR 50.2 that use prepayment or an external sinking fund to provide financial assurance shall include a provision in the terms of the trust, escrow account, Government fund, or other account used to segregate and manage funds that except for withdrawals being made under 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8) or for payments of ordinary administrative costs (including taxes) and other incidental expenses of the fund (including legal, accounting, actuarial, and trustee expenses) in connection with the operation of the fund, no disbursement or payment may be made from the trust, escrow account, Government fund, or other account used to segregate and manage the funds until written notice of the intention to make a disbursement or payment has been given the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, or Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, as applicable, at least 30 working days before the date of the intended disbursement or payment. After decommissioning has begun and withdrawals from the decommissioning fund are made under 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8), no further notification need be made to the NRC.

Regulation 10 CFR 50.54(bb) states, in part, that for nuclear power reactors licensed by the NRC, the licensee shall, within 2 years following permanent cessation of operation of the reactor or 5 years before expiration of the reactor operating license, whichever occurs first, submit written notification to the Commission for its review and preliminary approval of the program by which the licensee intends to manage and provide funding for the management of all irradiated fuel at the reactor following permanent cessation of operation of the reactor until title to the irradiated fuel and possession of the fuel is transferred to the Secretary of Energy for its ultimate disposal in a repository.

Regulatory Guidance Regulatory Guide 1.184, Revision 1, "Decommissioning of Nuclear Power Reactors" (ADAMS Accession No. ML13144A840), states on page 6:

Funding for spent fuel maintenance and storage required by 10 CFR 50.54(bb) may be commingled in the same trust fund that is used for decommissioning, but the licensee must be able to identify and track the amounts in the trust fund applicable for decommissioning activities and the amounts set aside for spent fuel management and other uses. This is because funds collected and set aside in the decommissioning trust for decommissioning are exclusively for radiological decommissioning as defined in 10 CFR 50.2. Therefore, the amount set aside for radiological decommissioning as required by 10 CFR 50.75 should not be used for:

(1) the maintenance and storage of spent fuel in the spent fuel pool, (2) the design, construction, or decommissioning of spent fuel dry storage facilities 2

directly related to permanent disposal, (3) other activities not directly related to radiological decontamination, or dismantlement of the facility or site.

Regulatory Issue Summary (RIS) 2001-07, Revision 1, "10 CFR 50.75 Reporting and Recordkeeping for Decommissioning Planning," January 8, 2009 (ADAMS Accession No. ML083440158), states:

Recently, the NRC staff has learned that some licensees also reporting under 10 CFR 50.75(f) have provided figures for the accumulation of decommissioning funds that included funds accumulated for purposes other than to meet the NRC's decommissioning requirements. Therefore, the staff is also issuing this RIS to clarify for licensees the need to preserve the distinction between funds accumulated for radiological decommissioning, which licensees are required to report, and funds accumulated for other purposes."

RIS 2001-07, Revision 1, also states:

The NRC has not precluded the commingling in a single account of funds accumulated to comply with NRC radiological decommissioning requirements and funds accumulated to address State site restoration costs (State costs) and spent fuel management costs, as long as the licensee is able to identify and account for the NRC radiological decommissioning funds that are contained within its single account. However, NRC staff has learned that some licensees, in response to the requirement that they report the amount of decommissioning funds accumulated to the end of the calendar year preceding the date of the report, have reported as part of that amount funds accumulated to address State costs and spent fuel management costs. Accordingly, NRC staff is clarifying for licensees the need to report radiological decommissioning fund balances that are distinct from amounts accumulated for other purposes, such as paying for State costs and spent fuel management.

RIS 2001-07, Revision 0, "10 CFR 50.75(f)(1) Reports on the Status of Decommissioning Funds (Due March 31, 2001)," February 23, 2001 (ADAMS Accession No. ML010300068), states:

In 1999, some licensees reporting under 10 CFR 50.75(f) indicated a combined total and did not distinguish between the radiological and non- radiological estimates. The staff is issuing this RIS to inform licensees of the need to preserve the distinction between NRC-defined cost estimates and all other decommissioning cost estimates in the reports they must submit by March 31, 2001.

RIS 2001-07, Revision 0, also states:

In reporting the financial status of decommissioning funds, licensees should either omit or list separately, the costs of non NRC-defined decommissioning activities, such as dismantling non-radiological systems and structures and the costs of managing and storing spent fuel on site. These non-radiological costs are not counted as part of NRC's required decommissioning funding assurance.

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Background===

In its decommissioning funding status report dated March 29, 2023, the licensee indicated in Enclosure 4, Xcel Energy Breakdown of Annual Contributions and Trust Fund Balance, Please note that since our last biennial funding status report, Xcel Energy has rebalanced the amount of funds allocated between the three cost components of decommissioning. The three cost components are radiological decommissioning, spend fuel management, and site restoration.

Requests for Additional Information

RAI 1

Confirm whether the rebalancing was the result of a withdrawal or disbursement from the radiological decommissioning trust fund (DTF). If withdrawals or disbursements were made from the DTF, provide the dates and amounts and indicate where these proceeds were disbursed.

RAI 2

If radiological decommissioning funds were reallocated as a result of rebalancing, resulting in withdrawal or disbursement from the DTF, to address spent fuel management or site restoration, provide the reason for the reallocation. In your response, provide the regulatory basis for reallocating funds (withdrawal or disbursement) from the DTFs, including an explanation of why this practice is consistent with NRC regulations and guidance. Indicate whether NSPM intends to request a regulatory exemption to use its DTFs for spent fuel management or site restoration.

RAl 3 Were funds allocated to radiological decommissioning reallocated (withdrawn or disbursed) for any other purpose? If so, explain why the funds were repurposed.

RAI 4

Assuming funds allocated to radiological decommissioning were repurposed (for any reason), provide the following information: (1) the percentage and dollar of the DTF allocated to radiological decommissioning before the rebalancing; (2) the percentage and dollar amount of the DTF allocated to radiological decommissioning after the rebalancing; and (3) the percentage and dollar amount of decommissioning funding that was repurposed.

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