[7590-01-P]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-456 and 50-457; NRC-2024-0112]
Constellation Energy Generation, LLC; Braidwood Station, Units 1 and 2; License
Amendment Request
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Opportunity to comment, request a hearing, and petition for leave to intervene.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering issuance of
an amendment to Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-72 and NPF-77, issued
to Constellation Energy Generation, LLC, for the operation of Braidwood Station, Units 1
and 2 (Docket Nos. 50-456 and 50-457, respectively). The proposed amendment would
change Technical Specification (TS) Surveillance Requirement (SR) 3.7.9.2 to allow an
Ultimate Heat Sink (UHS) temperature of less than or equal to 102.8°F until
September 30, 2024. The change is requested to support operation during the summer
months of 2024.
DATES: Submit comments by [INSERT DATE 30 DAYS AFTER DATE OF
PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER]. Comments received after this date will
be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC is able to ensure consideration only
for comments received on or before this date. Requests for a hearing or petition for
leave to intervene must be filed by [INSERT DATE 60 DAYS AFTER DATE OF
PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER].
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods; however,
the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the Federal rulemaking
website.
•

Federal rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search

for Docket ID NRC-2024-0112. Address questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov
to Stacy Schumann; telephone: 301-415-0624; email: Stacy.Schumann@nrc.gov. For

technical questions, contact the individual listed in the “For Further Information Contact”
section of this document.
•

Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop: TWFN-7-A60M, U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Program
Management, Announcements and Editing Staff.
For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting comments, see
“Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments” in the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joel S. Wiebe, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001,
telephone: 301-415-6606; email: Joel.Wiebe@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I.

Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0112 when contacting the NRC about the
availability of information for this action. You may obtain publicly available information
related to this action by any of the following methods:
•

Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and

search for Docket ID NRC-2024-0112.
•

NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System

(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the ADAMS Public
Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. 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 PDR.Resource@nrc.gov. The license amendment request
is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML24156A245.
•

NRC’s PDR: 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 PDR.Resource@nrc.gov or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-4154737, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
B. Submitting Comments
The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the Federal
rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please include Docket ID NRC2024-0112 in your comment submission.
The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact information that you
do not want to be publicly disclosed in your comment submission. The NRC will post all
comment submissions at https://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment
submissions into ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to
remove identifying or contact information.
If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons for
submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to include identifying
or contact information that they do not want to be publicly disclosed in their comment
submission. Your request should state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment
submissions to remove such information before making the comment submissions
available to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.
II.

Introduction

The NRC is considering issuance of an amendment to Renewed Facility
Operating License Nos. NPF-72 and NPF-77, issued to Constellation Energy
Generation, LLC, for the operation of Braidwood Station, Units 1 and 2 (Docket Nos. 50456 and 50-457, respectively), located in Will County, IL. The proposed amendment
would change TS SR 3.7.9.2 to allow a UHS temperature of less than or equal to
102.8°F until September 30, 2024.
Historical meteorological and atmospheric conditions have resulted in the UHS
temperature approaching the TS limit. These conditions include elevated air
temperatures, high humidity, and low wind speed. Specifically, the summer of 2020

brought hot weather and drought conditions to the northern Illinois area resulting in
sustained elevated UHS temperatures. In anticipation of these conditions occurring
during the summer months of 2024, this license amendment request would change the
UHS temperature TS limit until September 30, 2024.
Before issuance of the proposed license amendment, the NRC will need to make
the findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and
NRC's regulations.
The NRC has made a proposed determination that the license amendment
request involves no significant hazards consideration. Under the NRC's regulations in
section 50.92 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), “Issuance of
amendment,” this means that operation of the facility in accordance with the proposed
amendment would not (1) involve a significant increase in the probability or
consequences of an accident previously evaluated; or (2) create the possibility of a new
or different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated; or (3) involve a
significant reduction in a margin of safety. As required by 10 CFR 50.91(a), the licensee
has provided its analysis of the issue of no significant hazards consideration, which is
presented as follows:
1. Does the proposed amendment involve a significant increase in the probability
or consequences of an accident previously evaluated?
Response: No.
The likelihood of a malfunction of any systems, structures, or components
(SSCs) supported by the UHS is not significantly increased by increasing the allowable
UHS temperature from less than or equal to 102°F to less than or equal to 102.8°F. The
UHS provides a heat sink for process and operating heat from safety related
components during a transient or accident, as well as during normal operation. The
proposed change does not make any physical changes to any plant SSCs, nor does it
alter any of the assumptions or conditions upon which the UHS is designed. The UHS is
not an initiator of any analyzed accident. All equipment supported by the UHS has been

evaluated to demonstrate that their performance and operation remains as described in
the Updated Final Safety Analysis Report (UFSAR) with no increase in probability of
failure or malfunction.
The SSCs credited to mitigate the consequences of postulated design basis
accidents remain capable of performing their design basis function. The change in
maximum UHS temperature has been evaluated using the UFSAR described methods to
demonstrate that the UHS remains capable of removing normal operating and postaccident heat. The change in UHS temperature and resulting containment response
following a postulated design basis accident has been demonstrated to not be impacted.
Additionally, all the UHS supported equipment, credited in the accident analysis to
mitigate an accident, has been shown to continue to perform their design function as
described in the UFSAR.
Therefore, the proposed change does not involve a significant increase in the
probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated.
2. Does the proposed amendment create the possibility of a new or different kind
of accident from any accident previously evaluated?
Response: No.
The proposed change does not create the possibility of a new or different kind of
accident from any accident previously evaluated. The proposed change does not
introduce any new modes of plant operation, change the design function of any SSC, or
change the mode of operation of any SSC. There are no new equipment failure modes
or malfunctions created as affected SSCs continue to operate in the same manner as
previously evaluated and have been evaluated to perform as designed at the increased
UHS temperature and as assumed in the accident analysis. Additionally, accident
initiators remain as described in the UFSAR and no new accident initiators are
postulated as a result of the increase in UHS temperature.
Therefore, the proposed change does not create the possibility of a new or
different kind of accident from any previously evaluated.

3. Does the proposed amendment involve a significant reduction in a margin of
safety?
Response: No.
The proposed change continues to ensure that the maximum temperature of the
cooling water supplied to the plant SSCs during a UHS design basis event remains
within the evaluated equipment limits and capabilities assumed in the accident analysis.
The proposed change does not result in any changes to plant equipment function,
including setpoints and actuations. All equipment will function as designed in the plant
safety analysis without any physical modifications. The proposed change does not alter
a limiting condition for operation, limiting safety system setting, or safety limit specified in
the Technical Specifications.
The proposed change does not adversely impact the UHS inventory required to
be available for the UFSAR described design basis accident involving the worst case 30day period including losses for evaporation and seepage to support safe shutdown and
cooldown of both Braidwood Station units. Additionally, the structural integrity of the
UHS is not impacted and remains acceptable following the change, thereby ensuring
that the assumptions for both UHS temperature and inventory remain valid.
Therefore, since there is no adverse impact of this proposed change on the
Braidwood Station safety analysis, there is no reduction in the margin of safety of the
plant.
The NRC staff has reviewed the licensee’s analysis and, based on this review, it
appears that the three standards of 10 CFR 50.92(c) are satisfied. Therefore, the NRC
staff proposes to determine that the license amendment request involves no significant
hazards consideration.
The NRC is seeking public comments on this proposed determination that the
license amendment request involves no significant hazards consideration. Any
comments received within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice will be
considered in making any final determination.

Normally, the Commission will not issue the amendment until the expiration of 60
days after the date of publication of this notice. The Commission may issue the license
amendment before expiration of the 60-day notice period if the Commission concludes
the amendment involves no significant hazards consideration. In addition, the
Commission may issue the amendment prior to the expiration of the 30-day comment
period if circumstances change during the 30-day comment period such that failure to
act in a timely way would result, for example, in derating or shutdown of the facility. If the
Commission takes action prior to the expiration of either the comment period or the
notice period, it will publish in the Federal Register a notice of issuance. If the
Commission makes a final no significant hazards consideration determination, any
hearing will take place after issuance. The Commission expects that the need to take
this action will occur very infrequently.
III.

Opportunity to Request a Hearing and Petition for Leave to Intervene
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).
If a hearing is requested and the Commission has not made a final determination
on the issue of no significant hazards consideration, the Commission will make a final

determination on the issue of no significant hazards consideration, which will serve to
establish when the hearing is held. If the final determination is that the amendment
request involves no significant hazards consideration, the Commission may issue the
amendment and make it immediately effective, notwithstanding the request for a
hearing. Any hearing would take place after issuance of the amendment. If the final
determination is that the amendment request involves a significant hazards
consideration, then any hearing held would take place before the issuance of the
amendment unless the Commission finds an imminent danger to the health or safety of
the public, in which case it will issue an appropriate order or rule under 10 CFR part 2.
A State, local governmental body, Federally recognized Indian Tribe, or
designated agency thereof, may submit a petition to the Commission to participate as a
party under 10 CFR 2.309(h) no later than 60 days from the date of publication of this
notice. Alternatively, a State, local governmental body, Federally recognized Indian
Tribe, or designated agency thereof may participate as a non-party under
10 CFR 2.315(c).
For information about filing a petition and about participation by a person not a
party under 10 CFR 2.315, see ADAMS Accession No. ML20340A053.
(https://adamswebsearch2.nrc.gov/webSearch2/main.jsp?AccessionNumber=ML20340A
053) and on the NRC’s public website at
https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/adjudicatory/hearing.html#participate.
IV.

Electronic Submissions and E-Filing

All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including documents filed
by an interested State, local governmental body, Federally recognized Indian Tribe, or
designated agency thereof that requests to participate under 10 CFR 2.315(c), must be
filed in accordance with 10 CFR 2.302. The E-Filing process requires participants to
submit and serve all adjudicatory documents over the internet, or in some cases, to mail
copies on electronic storage media, unless an exemption permitting an alternative filing
method, as further discussed, is granted. Detailed guidance on electronic submissions is

located in the “Guidance for Electronic Submissions to the NRC” (ADAMS Accession
No. ML13031A056) and on the NRC’s public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/esubmittals.html.
To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 10 days prior to
the filing deadline, the participant should contact the Office of the Secretary by email at
Hearing.Docket@nrc.gov, or by telephone at 301-415-1677, to (1) request a digital
identification (ID) certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or
representative) to digitally sign submissions and access the E-Filing system for any
proceeding in which it is participating; and (2) advise the Secretary that the participant
will be submitting a petition or other adjudicatory document (even in instances in which
the participant, or its counsel or representative, already holds an NRC-issued digital ID
certificate). Based upon this information, the Secretary will establish an electronic docket
for the proceeding if the Secretary has not already established an electronic docket.
Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is available on the NRC’s
public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/getting-started.html. After a
digital ID certificate is obtained and a docket created, the participant must submit
adjudicatory documents in Portable Document Format. Guidance on submissions is
available on the NRC’s public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/electronic-sub-refmat.html. A filing is considered complete at the time the document is submitted through
the NRC’s E-Filing system. To be timely, an electronic filing must be submitted to the
E-Filing system no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on the due date. Upon receipt of a
transmission, the E-Filing system time-stamps the document and sends the submitter an
email confirming receipt of the document. The E-Filing system also distributes an email
that provides access to the document to the NRC’s Office of the General Counsel and
any others who have advised the Office of the Secretary that they wish to participate in
the proceeding, so that the filer need not serve the document on those participants
separately. Therefore, applicants and other participants (or their counsel or

representative) must apply for and receive a digital ID certificate before adjudicatory
documents are filed to obtain access to the documents via the E-Filing system.
A person filing electronically using the NRC’s adjudicatory E-Filing system may
seek assistance by contacting the NRC’s Electronic Filing Help Desk through the
“Contact Us” link located on the NRC’s public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/esubmittals.html, by email to MSHD.Resource@nrc.gov, or by a toll-free call at
1-866-672-7640. The NRC Electronic Filing Help Desk is available between 9 a.m. and
6 p.m., ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Participants who believe that they have good cause for not submitting documents
electronically must file an exemption request, in accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with
their initial paper filing stating why there is good cause for not filing electronically and
requesting authorization to continue to submit documents in paper format. Such filings
must be submitted in accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(b)-(d). Participants filing
adjudicatory documents in this manner are responsible for serving their documents on all
other participants. Participants granted an exemption under 10 CFR 2.302(g)(2) must
still meet the electronic formatting requirement in 10 CFR 2.302(g)(1), unless the
participant also seeks and is granted an exemption from 10 CFR 2.302(g)(1).
Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in the NRC’s
electronic hearing docket, which is publicly available at https://adams.nrc.gov/ehd,
unless excluded pursuant to an order of the presiding officer. If you do not have an
NRC-issued digital ID certificate as previously described, click “cancel” when the link
requests certificates and you will be automatically directed to the NRC’s electronic
hearing docket where you will be able to access any publicly available documents in a
particular hearing docket. Participants are requested not to include personal privacy
information such as social security numbers, home addresses, or personal phone
numbers in their filings unless an NRC regulation or other law requires submission of
such information. With respect to copyrighted works, except for limited excerpts that

serve the purpose of the adjudicatory filings and would constitute a Fair Use application,
participants should not include copyrighted materials in their submission.
For further details with respect to this action, see the application for license
amendment dated June 4, 2024 (ADAMS Accession No. ML24156A245).
Attorney for licensee: Jason Zorn, Associate General Counsel, Constellation
Energy Generation, LLC, 4300 Linfield Road, Warrenville, IL, 60555.
NRC Branch Chief: Jeff Whited.
Dated: June 25, 2024.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Joel S. Wiebe,
Senior Project Manager,
Licensing Projects Branch III,
Division of Operating Reactor Licensing,
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2024-14344 Filed: 6/27/2024 8:45 am; Publication Date: 6/28/2024]