ML23303A213
| ML23303A213 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Palisades  |
| Issue date: | 11/01/2023 |
| From: | Justin Poole NRC/NRR/DORL/LPL1 |
| To: | Holtec Decommissioning International |
| References | |
| Download: ML23303A213 (1) | |
Text
November 1, 2023 LICENSEE:
HOLTEC DECOMMISSIONING INTERNATIONAL, LLC FACILITIES: PALISADES NUCLEAR PLANT
SUBJECT:
SUMMARY
OF OCTOBER 3, 2023, MEETING WITH HOLTEC DECOMMISSIONING INTERNATIONAL, LLC REGARDING PLAN TO SUBMIT A LICENSE TRANSFER REQUEST AS PART OF A REGULATORY PATH FOR POTENTIALLY REQUESTING REAUTHORIZATION OF POWER OPERATIONS AT PALISADES NUCLEAR PLANT On October 3, 2023, an Observation meeting was held between the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and representatives of Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC (HDI, the licensee) at 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD. The purpose of the meeting was for the licensee to discuss with the NRC staff their plans to submit a license transfer request as part of their regulatory path to potentially reauthorize power operations at the Palisades Nuclear Plant.
The meeting notice and agenda, dated September 21, 2023, is available in the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) at Accession No. ML23275A181. A list of attendees is provided as an Enclosure. A portion of the meeting was closed to the public to discuss proprietary information.
The licensees slide presentation is available in ADAMS at Accession No. ML23271A120. The licensee began the presentation with background information related to the timeline of events to shutdown the plant in 2022 and then provided a current status of the plant. The licensee then started the discussion on their plan to submit a license transfer request. The licensee stated that the need for transfer was because when HDI acquired Palisades in 2022, its operational authority was limited to decommissioning activities. The request would transfer operating authority from HDI to a new Holtec-owned operator, tentatively called OPCO. This transfer would also provide the opportunity for the NRC to review the technical and financial qualifications of this new OPCO to operate Palisades at full power. The licensee clarified that HDI would continue to exist and be the licensed operator for its other decommissioning facilities, and only Palisades would fall under the new organizational structure shown in its slide presentation. Holtec stated that Holtec Palisades LLC, would remain the licensed owner and that both Holtec Palisades LLC, and OPCO would ultimately be owned by Holtec International.
The licensee then went into greater detail on the organizational structure of OPCO, providing names of senior leadership, site organization details, proposed staffing levels, and how corporate support will be provided to Palisades. The plan is for OPCO to have roughly 500 employees, with approximately 220 of those being staff that are still on site from when the plant was operational. The licensee stated that operator licensing training has already begun and training for technicians will begin in late 2023/early 2024. The licensee clarified that at this point they dont see a need for any exemptions related to operator licensing training requirements. The presentation also touched on some of the financial information that would be included in the transfer application. This included its recent power purchase agreement and that decommissioning funding levels will meet the requirements of 10 CFR 50.75 for an operational site, without the need to replenish the trust fund.
The licensee concluded the presentation by going over its schedule for the transfer. The licensee stated they planned to submit the request in October 2023 and request approval in November 2024. While approval would be requested in November 2024, the implementation date of the transfer would not be until August 2025. This aligns with the licensees overall plan for all of their reauthorization of power operation licensing requests.
Members of the public were in attendance and some of them had comments for the NRC staff.
There were comments in favor of the licensee moving forward with the project for reasons related to providing local jobs, tax revenue, and a clean energy source. Others were against the licensee moving forward with the project for reasons such as it being too risky and too old. Also there were questions regarding the use of the decommissioning funds, reactor vessel head and steam generator integrity, generation of high level waste and how it will be stored, environmental impacts, and overall project cost and how it will be funded.
No Public Meeting Feedback Forms were received.
Please direct any inquiries to me at 301-415-2048, or via email at Justin.Poole@nrc.gov.
/RA/
Justin C. Poole, Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch I Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-255
Enclosure:
List of Attendees cc: Listserv
Enclosure LIST OF ATTENDEES OCTOBER 3, 2023, MEETING WITH HOLTEC DECOMMISSIONING INTERNATIONAL LLC PLAN TO SUBMIT A LICENSE TRANSFER REQUEST AS PART OF A REGULATORY PATH FOR POTENTIALLY REQUESTING REAUTHORIZATION OF POWER OPERATIONS AT PALISADES NUCLEAR PLANT NRC
Participants:
Bo Pham, Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR)/Division of Operating Reactor Licensing (DORL)
Hipolito Gonzalez, Branch Chief, NRR/DORL/Plant Licensing Branch 1 (LPL1)
Justin Poole, Project Manager, NRR/DORL/LPL1 Gerond George, Branch Chief, NRR/DORL/Licensing Projects Branch James Delosreyes, Project Manager, NRR/DORL/Licensing Projects Branch Donald Palmrose, Branch Chief (Acting), Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS)/Division of Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial Support (REFS)/Environmental Review New Reactors Branch (ENRB)
Lauren Willingham, Environmental Project Manager, NMSS/REFS/ENRB Fred Miller, Branch Chief, NMSS/REFS/Financial Assessment Branch (FAB)
Shawn Harwell, Financial Analyst, NMSS/REFS/FAB Maurin Scheetz, Branch Chief, NRR/Division of Reactor Oversight (DRO)/Operator Licensing and Human Factors Branch (IOLB)
Brian Green, Team Lead, NRR/DRO/IOLB Bernard Litkett, Reactor Engineer, NRR/DRO/IOLB Tanya Hood, Project Manager, NMSS/Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery, and Waste Programs (DUWP)/Reactor Decommissioning Branch (RDB)
Marlayna Doell, Project Manager, NMSS/DUWP/RDB Jason Kozal, Deputy Director, Region 3 (RIII)/Division of Operating Reactor Safety (DORS)
Gehan Flanders, Senior Health Physicist, RIII/Division of Radiological Safety and Security (DRSS)/Decommissioning Reactor ISFSI Health Physics Branch (DRIHP)
Valerie Myers, Senior Health Physicist, RIII/DRSS/DRIHP Eric Magnuson, Reactor Inspector, RIII/DORS/Engineering and Reactor Projects Branch Michael Spencer, Office of General Counsel Kevin Roach, Office of General Counsel Carolyn Wolf, Congressional Affairs Officer Allan Barker, Regional Governmental Affairs Officer, RIII Ryan Alexander, Regional State Liaison Officer, RIII Jeffrey Herrera, Emergency Preparedness Specialist, Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR)/Division of Preparedness and Response (DPR)/Reactor Licensing Branch (RLB)
Jeannette Arce, Emergency Preparedness Specialist, NSIR/DPR/RLB Neil Sheehan, Public Affairs Officer, Region 1 Scott Burnell, Public Affairs Officer Todd Keene, Executive Technical Assistant, Office of the Executive Director for Operations Ed Miller, Senior Project Manager, NRR/DORL/LPL2-1 Zach Turner, Project Manager, NRR/DORL/LPL2-1 Robert Williams, Technical Assistant, Office of Commissioner Wright Robert Schaaf, Advisor, Pacific Northwest National Laboratories Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC:
Jean Fleming, Vice President of Licensing, Regulatory Affairs and PSA Michael Schultheis, Manager, Regulatory Affairs Palisades James Miksa, Licensing Engineer Alan Lovett, General Council Jason Day, General Council Troy Geauthreaux, Chief Financial Officer Bill Noval Nicholas Culp Michael Bailey Kevin Block Michael Mlynarek Jeff Borah Kimberly Mahurin Public:
Tom Pollog, Department of Energy Chin Cheung, Department of Energy Terrence Hulihan, Department of Energy Alicia Williamson, Department of Energy Jon Okafor, Department of Energy Colleen Coffey, Department of Energy Ryan Fuld, Department of Energy Meghan Hammond, Department of Energy Lichao Du, Department of Energy George Mack, Department of Energy Erica Diaz, Department of Energy Alvin Leong, Department of Energy Paul Gunter, Reactor Oversight, Beyond Nuclear Lisa Kindschy, LARA Cyler Conrad Greg Gothard, EGLE Jana Bergman Kathy Wagaman, South Haven Chamber Michael Keegan Jeffrey D. Quinn Kevin Kamps, Beyond Nuclear & Dont Waste Michigan David Asselin, EGLE Theodore R. Wentworth, EGLE Mike Callahan Tom Flynn Bette Pierman Zachary McFaul Sarah Snoeyink Ross Stein Kate Hosier Charlie Bowser Brian Dissette Mitch Hemesath, EGLE Madison Schroder Ryan Pickering Terry Wickland Stan Blanton Kalene Walker Kate Ekstrum William Stafford Ben Dodson James Juchau Larry Steckelberg David Manson John Ford Richard Godfrey Alan Medsker Andrea Jennetta Craig Wright William Maher Telene Edington Craig Smith Jamie Sloan Nick Maxwell David Krueger Mitchell Boatman Mary Judnich Sarah Looney John Regan Jacquelyn Drechsler Michal Skokan Jennifer Kanine Dianne Ebert Susan van Wambeck David Bogacz Randall Peat William Dan Leone Pam Zimmerman Sarah Clark Jay Paquette Tina Volz-Bongar Patricia Marida Michel Lee Joseph Kirk Sally Gellert Carolyn Ferry Gary Groce Amy Lou Reynolds Susan Kavanaugh Daisuke Nio Rosie Rogers Nic Luciani Kraig Schultz Traven Michaels Eartha Melzer Jaclyn Hulst Jan Boudart Bridget Frymire Cliff Chapin Carol Thompson Kary Love Ann Scott Douglas Stewart Joan Seeman Kalene Walker Diane DArrigo William Reed Jody Flynn Terry Lodge Bud Auvil Adam Jones Carlyn Greene Richard Mattson
Package: ML23303A214 Meeting Slides: ML23271A120 Meeting Notice: ML23275A181 Meeting Summary: ML23303A213 NRC-001 OFFICE NRR/DORL/LPL1/PM NRR/DORL/LPL1/LA NRR/DORL/LPL1/BC NRR/DORL/LPL1/PM NAME JPoole KZeleznock HGonzález JPoole DATE 10/27/2023 10/31/2023 11/01/2023 11/01/2023