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52COMPARATIVE STUDY OF LICENCING ACTIVITIES IN THE FIELD OF NUCLEAR ENERGY USE IN THE RF AND THE USA
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14420/en.2013.5.9
Olga Nikolayevna Doronina, Candidate of Legal Sciences, Assistant Professor, Deputy Head of Division of State Administration and Law, Assistant Professor of the Department of State and Municipal Service Legal Groundwork of Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, e-mail: [email protected].
Shamil Vladimirovich Tarba, Master of Jurisprudence, Chief Specialist of Division of Project and Survey Work of the Department of Project and Survey Work, R&D Organization and Permitting Activities of OJSC «Rosenergoatom Concern», e-mail: [email protected].
Abstract. The paper considers and analyses Russian and foreign practices
of organization of licensing activities in the field of nuclear energy use. On the basis of the analysis, recommendations are made on reduction of term of NPP licensing. The problem of reduction of NPP construction time limits is an actual one for the State Atomic Energy Corporation «Rosatom», because on 20.09.2008 the Government of the Russian Federation approved the Program of activities of the State Atomic Energy Corporation «Rosatom» for a long-term period (2009-2015), according to which it is planned to construct, at least, 10 nuclear power plant units. In order to fulfil that program, it is necessary to optimize current time limits and schedules of NPP construction taking into account international practices. Licensing of the activities in the area of nuclear energy use plays a critical role in that process.
Keywords: atomic power engineering, State Atomic Energy Corporation
Rosatom, Rosenergoatom, effectiveness of nuclear power engineering, licensing in nuclear power engineering, environmental impact, ecology, electric power generation, nuclear power engineering, public hearings in atomic power engineering, state policy in the field of nuclear energy use, atomic legislation.
Nuclear power is an alternative to using organic fuel for generating electric power. Fossil fuel reserves are depreciating, while using it as an energy source harms the environment. Requirements of the Kyoto Protocol signed by most countries of the world have been enacted. In compliance with these requirements, thirty nine industrial States undertake to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and
five other substances, which, when released in the atmosphere, pose a threat of rising temperatures on Earth.
Emissions into the Earth's atmosphere are mostly caused by burning fossil fuel. Due to coal-fired power plant operations, 24 billion tons of carbon dioxide are emitted annually into the Earth's atmosphere. More and more environmentalists are coming to the conclusion that nuclear (atomic) energy use constitutes the best way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.
Key advantages of nuclear (atomic) energy compared against other means of electric power generation include:
- low and sustainable prices for electric power (as opposed to fuel costs);
and
- minimum environmental impact.
Over the last years, oil prices have dramatically increased, bringing about an increase in price for electric energy produced by thermal power plants using fossil fuel.
According to estimates of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), nuclear energy is remarkably lower in cost than electric energy generated using oil, coal and gas, due to its high mining and transporting costs.
When comparing nuclear fuel against coal and gas, electric energy prices are roughly the same, provided that the costs of mining and transporting are low. A comparison of production costs of electric energy generated using various kinds of fuel is shown in Chart 11.
s
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r 6
111 I-
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Нефть Нефть Паз Газ Уголь Уголь Атомная
по по по по по по энергия
высокой низкой высокой низкой высокой низкой
цене цене цене цене цене цене
Chart 1. Comparison of production costs of electric energy produced using various kinds of fuel
Electric energy price stability in the long run is the key advantage of nuclear power. As illustrated in Chart 1, the structure of electric energy production costs is fundamentally different from the pricing structures of other energy industries. This
1 Центы США/квт час / US Cent per kilowatt-hour; Топливо / Fuel; Эксплуатация / Operation; Инвестиции / Investments; Нефть по высокой цене / High-priced oil; Нефть по низкой цене / Low-priced oil; Газ по высокой цене / High-priced gas; Газ по низкой цене / Low-priced gas; Уголь по высокой цене / High-priced coal; Уголь по низкой цене / Low-priced coal; Атомная энергия / Nuclear energy.
is because the production cost for nuclear energy is mainly determined by capital investments to nuclear power plant construction rather than fuel costs, unlike oil, gas and coal. This fuel component in the total cost of electric energy generated by a nuclear power plant does not exceed 25 per cent, while in the case of thermal power plants using fossil fuel, it equals to 50 to 80 per cent. This results in highly sustainable prices for nuclear energy against fuel price fluctuations, which is demonstrated in Chart 2.
Chart 2 illustrates the effect of fuel (gas, coal, uranium) price duplication on the production costs of electric energy generated through these energy sources. Such enhancement of fuel component results in the growth of electric energy production costs for nuclear power plants by 9 per cent, for coal-fired power plants by 31 per cent, and for gas-fired ones by 66 per cent1.
Chart 22. Effect of fuel (gas, coal, uranium) prices duplication on electric energy production cost
Atomic (nuclear) energy is one of the red-hot sectors of the global economy. Atomic (nuclear) energy development is boosting the growth of a wide variety of new disciplines in research and innovation, engineering and physical science etc., and is intended to meet the growing needs of mankind for fuel and energy when non-renewable resources are limited.
According to the Power Reactor Information System (PRIS) database of the International Atomic Energy Agency, 435 power units are currently operating worldwide generating about 17 per cent of the global energy production, while 69 power units are under construction. According to Yukiya Amano, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the capacity of nuclear power plants operating worldwide is equivalent to 372 Gw and is expected to increase by 8090 GW3.
Activities related to nuclear energy use exhibit specific features, one of them being increased hazard when compared against other global industries, bringing about a cross-border radiation effect. Licensing activities in the sphere of nuclear energy use should be regarded as one of the fundamental factors ensuring proper
1 JSC Atomstroyexport. URL: http://www.atomstroyexport.ru.
2 Стоимость вырабатываемой электроэнергии, евро/МВт час / Electric energy production cost, Euro per megawatt-hour; Газ / Gas; Уголь / Coal; Атомная энергия / Nuclear energy; Базовая цена / Basic price; Изменение стоимости топлива в % / Percentage of fuel prices change.
3 Nuclear News Agency. URL: http://atominfo.ru.
security, both nationally and globally. This is why the activities of nuclear (atomic) energy operators are subject to licensing and tight governmental control.
Pursuant to the Federal Law as of November 21, 1995, No.170 «On nuclear energy use», «a permit (license) authorizing to perform works in the field of nuclear energy use is understood to be a properly executed document, confirming the right to exercise certain kinds of activities, provided that the safe use of atomic energy objects and works is secured. Any activity in the field of atomic energy use subject to licensing by safety government control agencies is not allowed without permit (license) for exercising thereof».1
The safety issues that were entrenched in the Federal Law «On State Atomic Energy Corporation «Rosatom»2 not only retained continuity with the Federal Law «On nuclear energy use»3, but were considerably enhanced by defining in Federal Law the status, mission, authorities, functions, activities, rights and obligations of State Corporation «Rosatom»4.
The term «licensing activity» was first seen in the Law of the RSFSR «On entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial activities»5, which provided State regulation for businesses by licensing certain types of nuclear energy use activity. The specific list of entrepreneurial activities was supposed to be defined by the Government of the Russian Federation.
Over 50 federal laws were adopted over the next three to four years with respect to licensing to one extent or another, while the Government of the Russian Federation approved several dozens of statutes and regulations on licensing procedures. This created substantial difficulties for both the licensing authorities and for the applicants.
The Federal Law «On licensing of certain kinds of activities»6 constituted a new step of statutory regulation of licensing business activities. This law determined the scope of licensing authorities, extended the powers of federal executive agencies in this area, implemented the court procedure for license revocation, defined the list of licensed activities and reduced the number of these activities to 208.
In order to eliminate the faults contained in the Federal Law «On licensing of certain kinds of activities»7, the laws were subsequently improved through the enactment of Federal Law «On licensing of kinds of activities»8 which reduced the number of licensed activities to 50.
The groundwork for licensing activities in the field of atomic energy use was set out in the Federal Law «On atomic energy use». It established that the licenses for exercising certain kind of activities were to be issued to operators performing works and providing services in the sphere of atomic energy use.
1 Federal Law of 21 November 1995 No. 170-FZ “On nuclear energy use”.
2 Federal Law of 01 December 2007 No. 317-FZ “On State Atomic Energy Corporation “Rosatom”.
3 Federal Law of 21 November 1995 No. 170-FZ «On nuclear energy use».
4 Federal Law of 01 December 2007 No. 317-FZ «On State Atomic Energy Corporation «Rosatom».
5 Law of the RSFSR of 25 December 1990 No. 445-I «On entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial activities» (repealed).
6 Federal Law of 25 September 1998 No. 158-FZ «On licensing of certain kinds of activities» (repealed).
7 Federal Law of 25 September 1998 No. 158-FZ «On licensing of certain kinds of activities» (repealed).
8 Federal Law of 04 May 2011 No. 99-FZ «On licensing kinds of activities».
The introduction of Regulation No. 865 «Concerning approval of the Statute on licensing activities in the sphere of atomic energy use»1 set out the procedures for granting new and renewed licences, as well as listing the types of licences in the sphere of atomic energy use and listing the licenced activities.
Regulation No. 280 «On licensing activities in the sphere of atomic energy use»2 was also approved, enabling businesses to obtain one combined licence for several kinds of activities, for instance, placing and constructing a facility for atomic energy use, rather than requiring a separate license for each of these activities.
Under Russian law, licensing both in the sphere of atomic energy use and with respect to separate kinds of activities is comprised of the following steps and actions:
- obtaining licenses, re-issuing the documents to confirm the possession of the license;
- revoking licences;
- making amendments as to the terms of license validity being the integral part thereof; and
- control and supervision of licensees' compliance with the licensing requirements effected by the licensing authorities.
Pursuant to Regulation No. 401 «On Federal Service for Environmental, Technological and Nuclear Supervision»3, the licensing authority in the sphere of atomic energy use is the Federal Service for Environmental, Technological and Nuclear Supervision (Rostechnadzor)4.
Rostechnadzor grants licenses for activities related to nuclear materials and radioactive substance use, as well as for many other activities established by Regulation No. 280 «On licensing activities in the sphere of atomic energy use»5. Most organizations of the Rosatom State Corporation and their partners are licensed by RostechnadzoK. The procedure for granting and terminating licenses is established by the Regulation on Rostechnadzor.
The licensing procedure can be shown by an example of Rosenergoatom Concern OJSC. Licenses for these kinds of activities are granted pursuant to Chart 3.
1 Regulation of the Government of the RF of 14 July 1997 No. 865 «Concerning approval of the Statute on licensing activities in the sphere of atomic energy use» (repealed).
2 Regulation of the Government of the RF of 29 March 2013 No. 280 «On licensing activities in the sphere of atomic energy use».
3 Regulation of the Government of the RF of 30 July 2004 No. 401 «On Federal Service for Environmental, Technological and Nuclear Supervision».
4 Regulation of the Government of the RF of 30 July 2004 No. 401 «On Federal Service for Environmental, Technological and Nuclear Supervision».
5 Regulation of the Government of the RF of 29 March 2013 No. 280 «On licensing activities in the sphere of atomic energy use».
Chart 31. Demonstration of the licensing procedure by an example of Rosenergoatom Concern OJSC
One of the first steps towards obtaining a Rostechnadzor license is to arrange and conduct public hearings. The procedure for conducting public hearings is governed by the Regulations for Scheduled Business and Other Activities Environment Impact Assessment in the Russian Federation approved by the Decree of Goscomecologiya RF «On approval of Regulations for Scheduled Business and Other Activities Environment Impact Assessment in the Russian Federation»2, implemented for the purpose of Federal Law «Concerning environmental expert evaluation»3.
The Federal Law «On nuclear energy use»4 also provides for general public participation in discussing state policy in the sphere of nuclear energy use and establishing the procedure and arrangement for discussing matters related to nuclear energy use.
The terms of the public hearings exist in the laws of the Russian Federation within Environment Impact Assessments (EIA) of planned commercial and other activities and within the Supporting Materials for Licenses (SML).
In compliance with clause 1.1 of the EIA Regulations and within the scope of EIA, «...public hearings constitute complex measures conducted within scheduled business and other activities environment impact assessment aimed at awareness of the public in order to reveal and consider social preferences in the context of impact assessment procedure».
1 Лицензия / license; РТН / Rostechnadzor; Комплекс документов / Case of documents; ОВОС / EIA; Обсуждение ОВОС / EIA discussion; МОЛ / SML; Обсуждение МОЛ / SML discussion; ГЭЭ / State environmental expert evaluation; Положительное заключение ГЭЭ / Positive state environmental expert evaluation; Протоколы общественных обсуждений / Public discussions.
2 Decree of Goscomecologiya RF of 16 May 2000 No. 372 «On approval of Regulations for Scheduled Business and Other Activities Environment Impact Assessment in the Russian Federation».
3 Federal Law of 23 November 1995 No. 174-FZ «Concerning environmental expert evaluation».
4 Federal Law of 21 November 1995 No. 170-FZ «On nuclear energy use».
Within the SML and in accordance with clause 1 article 14 of the Federal Law «Concerning environmental expert evaluation»1, State environmental expert evaluation shall be conducted upon availability of the following materials subject to expert evaluation:
- documents containing the materials of the EIA; and
- public discussions of the SML as subject of the state environmental expert evaluation arranged by local authorities.
According to Rostechnadzor guidelines, the advised structure of supporting materials for licenses should comprise the following:
- environment impact evaluation due to carrying out licensed activities in the sphere of nuclear energy use; and
- details relating to the involvement of public decision-making with respect to licensed items in the sphere of nuclear energy use.
Further, in accordance with Chart 3, the minutes of the EIA public hearings are included into the EIA materials constituting a part of the SML.
The SML is also subject to public hearings and is submitted to the State Environmental Expert Evaluation in order to obtain expert testimony. State Environmental Expert Testimony is to be enclosed with the license granting materials according to clauses 10 and 11 of Regulation on licensing and forwarded to Rostechnadzor for the purposes of obtaining a license.
It is stated by the Regulations on Rostechnadzor that a license is granted for a minimum term of three years. As a matter of practice, the licenses issued by Rostechnadzor are valid on average for a period of five years, which is far less than the nuclear energy facilities useful lifetime.
Applications for renewing a current license due to expire are subject to the same procedure as applying for a new license, including the expert evaluation, as no simplified procedure is provided by the Regulations for extending existing license term. This results in multiple licensing of the same activities and nonproductive expenses of operating and other companies for preparation and expert evaluation of the documents of application.
The licensing practices in the sphere of nuclear energy use were imported to Russia from foreign countries. In foreign practice, license law is detailed and calls for serious attention and study by Russian specialists. The experience of the United States of America (USA) to improving laws in the sphere of nuclear energy use will be discussed for illustrative purposes.
In the USA, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 is responsible for the legal regulation and licensing of all aspects of nuclear energy industry, and conducting inspections in order to ensure compliance with the nuclear industry regulation principles. The NRC is an independent regulating conventional commission headed by five members who are appointed for a term of five years by the President of the USA following Senate approval. Each member of the Commission has equal powers to resolve issues within the NRC's authority.
The NRC works out policies and rules for regulating nuclear reactors and the safety of the materials, and constitutes a licensing authority. Powers of the
1 Federal Law of 23 November 1995 No. 174-FZ «Concerning environmental expert evaluation».
NRC are provided by Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)1.
Up until 2006, the licensing procedure in the USA was regulated under similar rules as in the Russian Federation by Federal Regulations 10 CFR 50. Just as in Russia, in order to get a nuclear power plant unit licensed in the USA, it was necessary to satisfy a three stage process, namely: obtaining a license for site preparatory works (or placement as referred to in Russia), construction and operation. Unlike Russia, where each power unit on the site had to be licensed, the license was granted for the site as a whole. The licensing process would take from four to ten years. In the late 1980s some power units licensed for construction in the USA could have been put into operation. However, after a longstanding struggle for obtaining an operation license that proved unsuccessful, investors gave up further attempts to put these power units into operation and withdrew their funds from nuclear industry financing. This resulted in the USA nuclear industry being stagnate for more than twenty years.
In Spring 2001, following the energy crisis in the USA, a nuclear energy development program was adopted, however investors were not eager to invest in nuclear industry. In order to attract investors to nuclear power plant construction projects, the USA Government, along with supervising authorities, reviewed the legislative framework related to licensing. In 2006 a new Federal Law 10 CFR 52 was enacted, enabling investors to obtain combined licenses for a term of forty years that comprised all of the licensing stages. Under the new law, the entire process of obtaining a combined license was likely to take two to three years. As soon as this law was enacted, investors gained guarantees that power units would be put into operation and generate expected profits. The scheme of obtaining a license in the USA is illustrated by Chart 4.
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1 United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. URL: www.nrc.gov.
Chart 41. Obtaining a license in USA
Amendments to the USA nuclear laws stimulated considerable inflow of investments to the nuclear industry and lifted some other sectors of national industry providing tens of thousands of citizens with employment for years to come.
At the beginning of 2012, the Executive Office of the current President of the USA, President Barack Obama, extended credit to Southern company for the sum of $8,3 billion for construction of Units 3 and 4 of the Vogtle Nuclear Power Plant, which will become the first new power units in the USA for the last 30 years. They are expected to be operational in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
The issue of constructing two more reactors at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station by 2016 and 2019 is currently under consideration. It is estimated that the construction of new nuclear station units will generate about 5000 jobs at the facility during the peak construction phase, as well as 800 high-paying jobs within the stations life span. Additionally, the US government has agreed to allocate $170 million of research grants to over seventy institutes engaged in research and development in all types of technology, future reactor concepts through security technologies.2
Having compared the Russian and the American experience in nuclear power plant construction, it is important to note that improving laws in the sphere
1 Нынешний процесс согласно закону 10 CFR Part 52 / Actual process under 10 CFR Part 52; Получение разрешительной документации на размещение / Obtaining permits and authorizations for placement; Комбинированная лицензия / Combined license; Сооружение / Construction; Пусконаладочные работы (подтверждение соответствия проектным решениям) / Commissioning (confirmation of compliance with design solutions); Эксплуатация / Operation; Сертификация проектной документации / Certification of design documents; Временные рамки: от 2 до 3 лет / Time frame: 2-3 years.
Прежний процесс согласно закону 10 CFR Part 50 / Former process under 10 CFR Part 50; Получение разрешительной документации на сооружение / Obtaining permits and authorizations for construction; Получение лицензии на сооружение / Obtaining license for construction; Строительство / Construction; Получение разрешительной документации на эксплуатацию / Obtaining permits and authorizations for operation; Получение лицензии на эксплуатацию / Obtaining license for operation; Эксплуатация / Operation; Временные рамки: от 4 до 10 лет / Time frame: 4-10 years.
2 Russian nuclear society. URL: http://www.atomic-energy.ru.
of nuclear energy use is a priority in order to enhance the efficiency of nuclear power plant construction in the Russian Federation, and to optimize the entire work cycle related to the pre-design stage, designing, constructing and putting nuclear power plant units into operation.
These improvements will considerably reduce construction time frames, financial and labor expenditures and provide a competitive advantage to the Rosatom State Corporation on the global nuclear energy market.
References
1 Nuclear News Agency. URL: http://atominfo.ru.
2 Law of the RSFSR of 25 December 1990 No. 445-I «On entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial activities» (repealed).
3 JSC Atomstroyexport. URL: http://www.atomstroyexport.ru.
4 Regulation of the Government of the RF of 14 July 1997 No. 865 «Concerning approval of the Statute on licensing activities in the sphere of atomic energy use» (repealed).
5 Regulation of the Government of the RF of 29 March 2013 No. 280 «On licensing activities in the sphere of atomic energy use».
6 Regulation of the Government of the Rf of 30 July 2004 No. 401 «On Federal Service for Environmental, Technological and Nuclear Supervision».
7 Regulation of the Government of the RF of 20 September 2008 No. 705 «Concerning long-term program of State Atomic Energy Corporation «Rosatom» for the period of 2009 - 2015» (as amended and supplemented of 23.11.2009).
8 Decree of Goscomecologiya RF of 16 May 2000 No. 372 «On approval of Regulations for Scheduled Business and Other Activities Environment Impact Assessment in the Russian Federation».
9 Russian nuclear society. URL: http://www.atomic-energy.ru.
10 Federal Law of 01 December 2007 No. 317-FZ “On State Atomic Energy Corporation «Rosatom».
11 Federal Law of 04 May 2011 No. 99-FZ «On licensing kinds of activities».
12 Federal Law of 21 November 1995 No. 170-FZ «On nuclear energy
use».
13 Federal Law of 23 November 1995 No. 174-FZ «Concerning environmental expert evaluation».
14 Federal Law of 25 September 1998 No. 158-FZ «On licensing of certain kinds of activities» (repealed).
15 United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. URL: www.nrc.gov.
