ML25056A149
| ML25056A149 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Duane Arnold  |
| Issue date: | 02/27/2025 |
| From: | Luke Haeg NRC/NRR/DORL/LPL2-2 |
| To: | Coffey R Florida Power & Light Co, NextEra Energy |
| Haeg L, NRR/DORL/LPL2-2 | |
| References | |
| EPID L-2025-LLE-0004 | |
| Download: ML25056A149 (1) | |
Text
February 27, 2025 Robert Coffey Executive Vice President, Nuclear Division and Chief Nuclear Officer Florida Power & Light Company Mail Stop: EX/JB 700 Universe Blvd Juno Beach, FL 33408
SUBJECT:
DUANE ARNOLD ENERGY CENTER - ACCEPTANCE OF REQUESTED LICENSING ACTION RE: REQUEST FOR EXEMPTION FROM 10 CFR 50.82(a)(2) TO SUPPORT REAUTHORIZATION OF POWER OPERATIONS (EPID L-2025-LLE-0004)
Dear Robert Coffey:
By letter dated January 23, 2025, (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML25023A270), NextEra Energy Duane Arnold, LLC (NextEra, the licensee) submitted a request for an exemption from portions of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Section 50.82, Termination of license, paragraph (a)(2) for Duane Arnold Energy Center (DAEC). Specifically, NextEra requested an exemption from the requirement in 10 CFR 50.82(a)(2) providing that the 10 CFR Part 50 license no longer authorizes operation of the reactor or emplacement or retention of fuel into the reactor vessel upon docketing of the certifications for permanent cessation of operations and permanent removal of fuel from the reactor vessel that were submitted in accordance with 10 CFR 50.82(a)(1). NextEra stated that the exemption request, in combination with future license amendment requests (LARs), are necessary to reauthorize emplacement of fuel into the reactor vessel and reauthorize power operations at DAEC. By letter dated January 23, 2025 (ML25023A265), NextEra provided its Duane Arnold Energy Center Regulatory Path to Potential Reauthorization of Power Operations in which it stated that the LARs related to reauthorizing power operations are anticipated to be submitted to the NRC in 2025.
The purpose of this letter is to provide the results of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) staffs acceptance review of the exemption request. In accordance with 10 CFR 50.12, Specific exemptions, the Commission may, upon application by any interested person or upon its own initiative, grant an exemption from the requirements of the regulations in Part 50 (1) if the exemption is authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to the public health and safety, and is consistent with the common defense and security, and (2) if special circumstances are present. The acceptance review was performed to determine if there was sufficient technical information in scope and depth to allow the NRC staff to complete its detailed technical safety review. The acceptance review also intended to identify whether the exemption request application had any readily apparent information insufficiencies in its characterization of the regulatory requirements or the licensing basis of the plant.
The NRC staff has reviewed your request and concluded that it provides technical safety information in sufficient detail to enable the NRC staff to complete its detailed technical safety review. Given the lesser scope and depth of the acceptance review, as compared to the detailed technical safety review, there may be instances in which issues that impact the NRC staffs ability to complete the detailed technical safety review are identified despite completion of an adequate acceptance review. You will be advised of any further information needed to support the NRC staffs detailed technical safety review by separate correspondence.
In the environmental section of your application, you stated that you understood that the NRC would conduct an Environmental Assessment (EA) pursuant to its obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, as part of its review of the exemption request and the planned future LARs related to reauthorizing power operations at DAEC. To support this NRC obligation, you anticipated submitting an Environmental Report to the NRC in the fourth quarter of 2025. Please note, an EA is a decisional document that would either lead to a finding of no significant impact or a determination that preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement is necessary. Because the NRC does not yet know the significance of potential impacts from the proposed actions, the NRC will evaluate the level of environmental review necessary upon review of the Environmental Report.
Based on the information provided in your submittal, the NRC staff has estimated that this exemption request will require approximately 300 hours0.00347 days <br />0.0833 hours <br />4.960317e-4 weeks <br />1.1415e-4 months <br /> to complete the technical safety review.
The NRC staff believes that it will complete the safety review within 12 months of the date of this letter. If the NRC staff determines that the exemption meets applicable requirements, the issuance and effective dates would be further communicated to you and would depend on the prerequisite conditions for restart, such as receipt and review of the other aspects of the DAEC reauthorization of power operations effort, including the Environmental Report and the LARs identified in your January 23, 2025, letter. If there are emergent complexities or challenges in our review that would cause changes to the initial forecasted completion date or significant changes in the forecasted hours, the reasons for the changes, along with the new estimates, will be provided to you via separate correspondence.
If you have any questions, please contact me at (301) 415-0272 or via email at lucas.haeg@nrc.gov.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Luke Haeg, Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch II-2 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-331 cc: Listserv
ML25056A149 NRR-004 OFFICE NRR/DORL/LPL2-2/PM NRR/DORL/LPL3/LA NRR/DORL/LPL3/PM NAME LHaeg SRohrer JPoole DATE 2/25/2025 2/26/2025 2/26/2025 OFFICE NRR/DORL/LPL3/BC NRR/DORL/LPL3/PM NAME IBerrios LHaeg DATE 2/27/2025 2/27/2025