Constellation Energy Generation, LLC; Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Units 2 and 3; Subsequent License Renewal Application

<NOTICE> NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION <DEPDOC>[Docket Nos. 50-237 and 50-249; NRC-2024-0080]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>Constellation Energy Generation, LLC; Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Units 2 and 3; Subsequent License Renewal Application</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Nuclear Regulatory Commission. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Opportunity to request a hearing and to petition for leave to intervene. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering an application for the subsequent license renewal of Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-19 and DPR-25, which authorize Constellation Energy Generation, LLC (CEG, the applicant) to operate Dresden Nuclear Power Station (Dresden), Units 2 and 3. The subsequent renewed licenses would authorize CEG to operate Dresden for an additional 20 years beyond the period specified in each of the current licenses. The current operating license for Dresden, Unit 2, expires December 22, 2029. The current operating license for Dresden, Unit 3, expires January 12, 2031. </SUM> <DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> A request for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene must be filed by August 23, 2024. </DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0080 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You may obtain publicly available information related to this document using any of the following methods: • <E T="03">Federal Rulemaking website:</E> Go to <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov</E> and search for Docket ID NRC-2024-0080. Address questions about Docket IDs in <E T="03">Regulations.gov</E> to Stacy Schumann; telephone: 301-415-0624; email: <E T="03">Stacy.Schumann@nrc.gov</E> . For technical questions, contact the individual listed in the “For Further Information Contact” section of this document. • <E T="03"> NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): </E> You may obtain publicly available documents online in the ADAMS Public Documents collection at <E T="03">https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html</E> . To begin the search, select “Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.” For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, at 301-415-4737, or by email to <E T="03">PDR.Resource@nrc.gov</E> . The ADAMS accession number for each document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in this document. • <E T="03">Public Library:</E> A copy of the subsequent license renewal application for Dresden, Units 2 and 3, can be accessed at the following public libraries: Morris Area Public Library, 604 Liberty St, Morris, IL 60450, and Coal City Public Library District, 85 N Garfield St, Coal City, IL 60416. • <E T="03">NRC's PDR:</E> The PDR, where you may examine and order copies of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. To make an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to <E T="03">PDR.Resource@nrc.gov</E> or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Mark Yoo, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-8583; email: <E T="03">Mark.Yoo@nrc.gov</E> . </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. Introduction</HD> The NRC received a subsequent license renewal application (SLRA) from CEG, dated April 17, 2024 (ADAMS Package Accession No. ML24108A007), filed pursuant to section 103 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and part 54 of title 10 of the <E T="03">Code of Federal Regulations</E> (10 CFR), “Requirements for Renewal of Operating Licenses for Nuclear Power Plants,” requesting the renewal of the operating licenses for Dresden, Units 2 and 3, at 2,957 megawatts thermal for each unit. The Dresden units are boiling-water reactors located in Morris, Illinois. A notice of receipt of the SLRA was published in the <E T="04">Federal Register</E> on May 7, 2024, (89 FR 38197). The NRC staff has determined that CEG has submitted sufficient information in accordance with 10 CFR 54.19, 54.21, 54.22, 54.23, 51.45, and 51.53(c), to enable the staff to undertake a review of the application, and that the application is, therefore, acceptable for docketing. The current docket nos. 50-237 and 50-249 for the Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-19 and DPR-25 will be retained. The determination to accept the SLRA for docketing does not constitute a determination that a subsequent renewed license should be issued and does not preclude the NRC staff from requesting additional information as the review proceeds. Before issuance of the requested subsequent renewed licenses, the NRC will have made the findings required by the Act and the Commission's rules and regulations. In accordance with 10 CFR 54.29, the NRC may issue a subsequent renewed license on the basis of its review if it finds that actions have been identified and have been or will be taken with respect to: (1) managing the effects of aging during the period of extended operation on the functionality of structures and components that have been identified as requiring aging management review; and (2) time-limited aging analyses that have been identified as requiring review, such that there is reasonable assurance that the activities authorized by the renewed license will continue to be conducted in accordance with the current licensing basis and that any changes made to the plant's current licensing basis will comply with the Act and the Commission's regulations. In <E T="03">Florida Power & Light Co.</E> (Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Units 3 and 4), CLI-22-2 (ADAMS Accession No. ML22055A496), the Commission found that 10 CFR 51.53(c)(3), which at the time allowed applicants for “initial” license renewal to rely on the 2013 Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal (GEIS) in their environmental reports for “Category 1” issues, does not apply to applications for subsequent license renewal. The Commission further found that the GEIS itself does not describe the environmental impacts of operation during the period of subsequent license renewal. In CLI-22-2 the Commission found that because the 2013 GEIS did not consider the impacts from operations during the subsequent license renewal period, applicants for subsequent license renewal must evaluate on a site-specific basis “Category 1” impacts. Separately, in Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM)—SECY—21—0066—Rulemaking Plan for Renewing Nuclear Power Plant Operating Licenses—Environmental Review (RIN 3150-AK32; NRC-2018-0296), dated February 24, 2022, (ADAMS Accession No. ML22053A308), the Commission directed the staff to review and update the 2013 GEIS so that it covers operation during the subsequent license renewal period. In SRM-M240516A: Affirmation Session—SECY-24-0017: Final Rule—Renewing Nuclear Power Plant Operating Licenses—Environmental Review (RIN 3150-AK32; NRC-2018-0296), dated May 16, 2024, (ADAMS Package Accession No. ML24137A213), the Commission approved a final rule that will amend 10 CFR part 51, “Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions” by, among other things, updating Table B-1, “Summary of Findings on NEPA [National Environmental Policy Act] Issues for License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants,” in appendix B, “Environmental Effect of Renewing the Operating License of a Nuclear Power Plant,” to 10 CFR part 51, subpart A, “National Environmental Policy Act-Regulations Implementing Section 102(2).” The updates to Table B-1 are supported by the revised NUREG-1437, Revision 2, “Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants” (LR GEIS). The updates fully account for one term of subsequent license renewal (SLR) by reflecting a thorough evaluation of the environmental impacts of SLR in the LR GEIS; the staff has also updated associated guidance. Additionally, the final rule will remove the word “initial” from 10 CFR 51.53(c)(3) and make conforming changes in 10 CFR 51.53(c)(3)(ii) and 10 CFR 51.95(c). The final <E T="04">Federal Register</E> notice for the updated rule has not yet been published. The licensee's environmental report evaluated “Category 1” impacts via site-specific analyses because the GEIS rulemaking was not complete when the licensee submitted its SLR application. <HD SOURCE="HD1">II. Opportunity To Request a Hearing and Petition for Leave To Intervene</HD> Within 60 days after the date of publication of this notice, any person (petitioner) whose interest may be affected by this action may file a request for a hearing and petition for leave to intervene (petition) with respect to the action. Petitions shall be filed in accordance with the Commission's “Agency Rules of Practice and Procedure” in 10 CFR part 2. Interested persons should consult 10 CFR 2.309. If a petition is filed, the presiding officer will rule on the petition and, if appropriate, a notice of a hearing will be issued. Petitions must be filed no later than 60 days from the date of publication of this notice in accordance with the filing instructions in the “Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)” section of this document. Petitions and motions for leave to file new or amended contentions that are filed after the deadline will not be entertained absent a determination by the presiding officer that the filing demonstrates good cause by satisfying the three factors in 10 CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i) through (iii). A State, local governmental body, Federally recognized Indian Tribe, or designated agency t ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 18k characters. 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