RA-05-032, Request for Exemption from 10 CFR 50.75(f)(1)

Request for Exemption from 10 CFR 50.75(f)(1)

ML051590293
Person / Time
Site:	Maine Yankee
Issue date:	05/31/2005
From:	Meisner M Maine Yankee Atomic Power Co
To:	Document Control Desk, NRC/FSME
References
MN-05-030, RA-05-032
Download: ML051590293 (4)

Text

MaineYankee 321 OLD FERRY RD.

• WISCASSET, ME 04578-4922 May 31, 2005 MN-05-030 RA-05-032 UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Attention: Document Control Desk Washington, DC 20555

Subject:

Request for Exemption from 10 CFR 50.75(f)(1)

Gentlemen:

Maine Yankee will shortly complete decommissioning of its reactor facility. From that point forward, Maine Yankee will be a spent fuel storage facility with a stand-alone ISFSI.

Until the Department of Energy meets its spent fuel disposal obligations, or an alternative solution can be found, Maine Yankee requests an exemption from the periodic decommissioning funding reporting requirements of 10CFR50.75(f)(1) to be consistent with the requirements of a I OCFR72 specific licensee. The other ISFSI decommissioning financial assurance provisions of 10CFR50.75 applicable to a IOCFR72 specific'licensee will remain in effect.

Background . . -

1. Regulatory In 1988, NRC amended its regulations by adding IOCFR50.75, in part, to provide assurance of the availability of funds for decommissioning. Similar provisions were added for ISFSI licensees in 10CFR72.18.

In the statements of considerationi associated with the rulemaking, NRC made several points relevant to Maine Yankee's exemption request:

• The amended regulations apply to ISFSIs

• Decommissioning activities do not include fuel storage/removal, and

• Reuse of a facility for other nuclear purposes is not considered decommissioning.

At that time, neither IOCFR50.75 nor I0CFR72.18 contained periodic decommissioning funding reporting requirements.

In 1998, NRC amended2 its financial assurance regulations, in part, to require power reactor licensees'to'report periodically on the status of their decommissioning funds. Specifically, this reporting requirement was added through 10CFR50.75(f)(l), requiring a yearly or bi-yearly report dependiiig'on the facility's proximity'to'decdnmMissioning.' The periodic reporting 1 58 FR 24018, June 27, 1988 2 63 FR 50480, September 22, 1998 -

, a

U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Attn: Document Control Desk Page 2 requirements were specific for reactor (i.e., 10CFR50) licensees similar requirements were not implemented for 10CFR72 specific licensees and do not exist today.

2. Maine Yankee Maine Yankee expects to terminate its 10CFR50 license for its reactor facility this summer. The remaining ISFSI facility will operate under IOCFR50 and 10CFR72 general licenses.

ISFSI operation is not decommissioning - rather it represents a different nuclear reuse (spent fuel dry cask storage) of the reduced IOCFR50 license. Spent fuel storage at the ISFSI is expected to continue for a number of years until the DOE meets its obligations to remove the fuel or alternative storage means are available to support fuel removal from the site.

Decommissioning of the ISFSI will commence upon fuel removal from the facility. Financial assurance of ISFSI decommissioning/site restoration funding is provided through use of an external sinking fund whose funding is derived from a 2005 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission settlement agreement. The agreement provides for collection of funds from ratepayers adequate to operate the ISFSI through 20233 and complete its decommissioning.

Overall funding set aside for ISFSI decommissioning/site restoration (in 2004 dollars) is

$7,300,000 consisting of $1,800,000 for work in 2022 and $5,500,000 to complete the effort in 2023. Of this amount, only approximately $1,500,000 is for decommissioning activities governed by NRC regulation (e.g., license termination plan update, final status surveys). The bulk of the funds are for site restoration (e.g., demolition of the operations building, fuel storage pads and berm surrounding the ISFSI, etc.).

Since IOCFR50.75(f)(1) went into effect, Maine Yankee has been providing yearly reactor decommissioning funding reports to the NRC, most recently in 20054.

Exemption Request As a I OCFR50, I OCFR72 general licensee, the provisions of 10CFR50.75(f)(1) will continue to apply to Maine Yankee upon completion of reactor decommissioning. For the reasons stated belowv, Maine Yankee requests exemption from these periodic decommissioning funding reporting requirements during the (about to commence) period of stand-alone ISFSI operation.

Based on regulatory history it is clear that the financial assurance provisions of 10CFR50.75 apply to stand-alone ISFSIs. It is equally as clear that the periodic decommissioning funding provisions of 10CFR50.75(f)(1) were not intended to apply to stand-alone ISFSIs since such a provision was not deemed necessary to include in 10CFR72 for specific licensees. Although the 3 The FERC settlement agreement includes provisions for an updated ratemaking case should ISFSI funding be necessary beyond 2023.

4 Maine Yankee letter to NRC, MN-05-014, dated March 30, 2005, 'Decommissioning Funding Status Report- 10 CFR 50.75(f)"

U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Attn: Document Control Desk Page 3 record is silent as to why ISFSI specific licensees were not required to implement periodic decommissioning funding reporting, the extremely large cost difference between reactor decommissioning and ISFSI decommissioning suggests an answer. The cost for that portion of ISFSI decommissioning controlled by NRC regulations is on the order of $1,000,000 compared to hundreds of millions of dollars for a reactor. Provided the other financial assurance requirements of I OCFR50.75 remain in place, periodic reporting for such small decommissioning amounts is unwarranted regulatory burden. Maine Yankee has complied and will continue to comply with the other financial assurance requirements of 10CFR50.75 until termination of the ISFSI IOCFR50 license.

Exemption Basis By IOCFR50.12, the Commission is authorized to grant exemptions to 10CFR50 regulations to any interested party provided such exemptions are "authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to the public health and safety, and are consistent with the common defense and security".

Elimination of periodic ISFSI decommissioning funding reporting requirements represents the status quo for 10CFR72 specific licensees. Consequently, exemption to the reporting requirements is authorized by law and constitutes no risk to public health and safety nor the common defense and security.

To grant exemptions in accord with IOCFR50.12, the Commission must also find that special circumstances exist. Special circumstances are present in support of the Maine Yankee exemption request. Specifically:

(i) Utilizing either a general or specific ISFSI license is an acceptable approach to operating a stand-alone ISFSI under NRC regulations. However, application of 10CFR50.75(f)(1) to stand-alone ISFSI general licensees is in conflict with its lack of application to ISFSI specific licensees.

(ii) Periodic decommissioning funding reporting for relatively small ISFSI _ ___

decommissioning costs achieves no additional guarantee of adequate decommissioning funding compared to compliance with the other funding assurance requirements of IOCFR50.75. Therefore, application of IOCFR50.75(f)(1) to stand-alone ISFSI general licensees is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of I OCFR50.75.

(iii) All reporting requirements carry an underlying cost burden particularly for stand-alone ISFSIs whose organization sizes are minimal and necessitate costly outside consultants to prepare the periodic decommissioning funding reports. Compared to similarly situated stand-alone ISFSI specific licensees who bear no such costs, application of I OCFR50.75(f)(1) to ISFSI general licensees results in reporting costs significantly in excess of ISFSI specific licensees.

U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Attn: Document Control Desk Page 4 (iv) ISFSI storage and decommissioning costs for Maine Yankee are not borne by Maine Yankee's owners, rather they are collected from individual ratepayers. Eliminating reporting requirements such as those associated with I0CFR50.75(f0(1) results in lower ratepayer costs in the public interest.

Based on the above, the Commission should grant Maine Yankee an exemption to IOCFR50.75(f)(1).

We wvould appreciate your timely review and approval by September 30, 2005.

Sincerly, Mich J. Meisner Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer cc: Dr. R. R. Bellamy, NRC Region I Mr. C. Pray, State of Maine, Nuclear Safety Advisor Mr. P. J. Dostie, State of Maine, Division of Health Engineering Mr. D. Gillen, NRC Acting Director, Division of Waste Management Mr. S. J. Collins, NRC Regional Administrator, Region I Mr. J. Buckley, NRC NMSS Project Manager, Decommissioning Mr. M. Roberts, NRC Region I Mr. R. Shadis, Friends of the Coast