GNRO-2012/00046, Supplemental Information – Power Ascension Test Plan Extended Power Uprate

Supplemental Information – Power Ascension Test Plan Extended Power Uprate

ML12131A535
Person / Time
Site:	Grand Gulf
Issue date:	05/09/2012
From:	Krupa M Entergy Operations
To:	Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Shared Package
ML121310627	List: GNRO-2012/00046, Supplemental Information – Power Ascension Test Plan Extended Power Uprate
References
GNRO-2012/00046
Download: ML12131A535 (7)

Text

When Attachment 1 is removed from this letter, the entire document is NON-PROPRIETARY.

contains PROPRIETARY information.

GNRO-2012/00046 May 9, 2012 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Attn: Document Control Desk Washington, DC 20555

SUBJECT:

Supplemental Information - Power Ascension Test Plan Extended Power Uprate Grand Gulf Nuclear Station, Unit 1 Docket No. 50-416 License No. NPF-29

REFERENCES:

1.

Entergy Operations, Inc. letter to the NRC (GNRO-2010/00056),

License Amendment Request - Extended Power Uprate, September 8, 2010 (ADAMS Accession No. ML102660403)

2.

Entergy Operations, Inc. letter to the NRC (GNRO-2012/00031),

Supplemental Information - License Conditions, April 26, 2012 (ADAMS Accession No. ML12118A145)

Dear Sir or Madam:

Entergy submitted a license amendment request (LAR) for an extended power uprate (EPU) for Grand Gulf Nuclear Station, Unit 1 (GGNS) in Reference 1. In support of that LAR, a letter was issued (Reference 2) compiling the applicable license conditions for the EPU, including a new condition with requirements for the steam dryer testing during power ascension. One of the requirements of the new license condition (i.e., (46)(a)1) is the submittal of a power ascension test plan (PATP). The PATP is attached for your information and use. This transmittal follows up on the informal submittal of the document on May 3, 2012.

GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas, LLC (GEH) considers Attachment 1 to be proprietary in its entirety and, therefore, exempt from public disclosure pursuant to 10 CFR 2.390. An affidavit for withholding information, executed by GEH, is provided in Attachment 2. The PATP was provided to Entergy as a GEH report that is referenced in the affidavit. Therefore, on behalf of GEH, Entergy requests Attachment 1 be withheld from public disclosure in accordance with 10 CFR 2.390(b)(1).

Entergy Operations, Inc.

P. O. Box 756 Port Gibson, MS 39150 Michael A. Krupa Director, Extended Power Uprate Grand Gulf Nuclear Station Tel. (601) 437-6684

GNRO-2012/00046 Page 2 of 2 No change is needed to the no significant hazards consideration included in the initial LAR (Reference 1) as a result of the administrative revision to certain pages of the TS mark-up.

There are no new commitments in this letter.

If you have any questions or require additional information, please contact Jerry Burford at 601-368-5755.

I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on May 9, 2012.

Sincerely, MAK/FGB Attachments: 1. GGNS Power Ascension Test Plan (Proprietary)

2. GEH Affidavit Supporting Proprietary Information provided in Attachment 1 cc:

Mr. Elmo E. Collins, Jr.

Regional Administrator, Region IV U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 612 East Lamar Blvd., Suite 400 Arlington, TX 76011-4125 NRC Senior Resident Inspector Grand Gulf Nuclear Station Port Gibson, MS 39150 U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ATTN: Mr. A. B. Wang, NRR/DORL (w/2)

ATTN: ADDRESSEE ONLY ATTN: Courier Delivery Only Mail Stop OWFN/8 B1 11555 Rockville Pike Rockville, MD 20852-2378 State Health Officer Mississippi Department of Health P. O. Box 1700 Jackson, MS 39215-1700

GNRO-2012/00046 Grand Gulf Nuclear Station Extended Power Uprate Power Ascension Test Plan (PROPRIETARY)

GNRO-2012/00046 Grand Gulf Nuclear Station Extended Power Uprate GEH Affidavit Supporting Proprietary Information provided in the Power Ascension Test Plan

GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC Affidavit for 0000-0114-1855-R0 Affidavit Page 1 of 3 AFFIDAVIT I, Edward D. Schrull, PE state as follows:

(1) I am the Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, Services Licensing, GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC (GEH), and have been delegated the function of reviewing the information described in paragraph (2) which is sought to be withheld, and have been authorized to apply for its withholding.

(2) The information sought to be withheld is contained in GEH proprietary document, 0000-0140-1855-R0, Grand Gulf Nuclear Station - Replacement Steam Dryer Power Ascension Test Plan, Revision 0, dated May 2012. GEH document 0000-0140-1855-R0 is completely proprietary and the header of each page in this document carries the notation GEH Proprietary Information-Class III (Confidential){3}. The superscript notation {3}

refers to Paragraph (3) of this affidavit, which provides the basis for the proprietary determination.

(3) In making this application for withholding of proprietary information of which it is the owner or licensee, GEH relies upon the exemption from disclosure set forth in the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 USC Sec. 552(b)(4), and the Trade Secrets Act, 18 USC Sec. 1905, and NRC regulations 10 CFR 9.17(a)(4), and 2.390(a)(4) for trade secrets (Exemption 4). The material for which exemption from disclosure is here sought also qualifies under the narrower definition of trade secret, within the meanings assigned to those terms for purposes of FOIA Exemption 4 in, respectively, Critical Mass Energy Project v. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 975 F2d 871 (DC Cir. 1992), and Public Citizen Health Research Group v. FDA, 704 F2d 1280 (DC Cir. 1983).

(4) The information sought to be withheld is considered to be proprietary for the reasons set forth in paragraphs (4)a. and (4)b. Some examples of categories of information that fit into the definition of proprietary information are:

a.

Information that discloses a process, method, or apparatus, including supporting data and analyses, where prevention of its use by GEH's competitors without license from GEH constitutes a competitive economic advantage over other companies;

b.

Information that, if used by a competitor, would reduce their expenditure of resources or improve their competitive position in the design, manufacture, shipment, installation, assurance of quality, or licensing of a similar product;

c.

Information that reveals aspects of past, present, or future GEH customer-funded development plans and programs, resulting in potential products to GEH;

d.

Information that discloses trade secret and/or potentially patentable subject matter for which it may be desirable to obtain patent protection.

GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC Affidavit for 0000-0114-1855-R0 Affidavit Page 2 of 3 (5) To address 10 CFR 2.390(b)(4), the information sought to be withheld is being submitted to NRC in confidence. The information is of a sort customarily held in confidence by GEH, and is in fact so held. The information sought to be withheld has, to the best of my knowledge and belief, consistently been held in confidence by GEH, not been disclosed publicly, and not been made available in public sources. All disclosures to third parties, including any required transmittals to the NRC, have been made, or must be made, pursuant to regulatory provisions or proprietary and/or confidentiality agreements that provide for maintaining the information in confidence. The initial designation of this information as proprietary information, and the subsequent steps taken to prevent its unauthorized disclosure, are as set forth in the following paragraphs (6) and (7).

(6) Initial approval of proprietary treatment of a document is made by the manager of the originating component, who is the person most likely to be acquainted with the value and sensitivity of the information in relation to industry knowledge, or who is the person most likely to be subject to the terms under which it was licensed to GEH. Access to such documents within GEH is limited to a need to know basis.

(7) The procedure for approval of external release of such a document typically requires review by the staff manager, project manager, principal scientist, or other equivalent authority for technical content, competitive effect, and determination of the accuracy of the proprietary designation. Disclosures outside GEH are limited to regulatory bodies, customers, and potential customers, and their agents, suppliers, and licensees, and others with a legitimate need for the information, and then only in accordance with appropriate regulatory provisions or proprietary and/or confidentiality agreements.

(8) The information identified in paragraph (2), above, is classified as proprietary because it contains detailed GEH design information of the methodology used in the design and analysis of the steam dryers for the GEH Boiling Water Reactor (BWR). Development of these methods, techniques, and information and their application for the design, modification, testing, and analyses methodologies and processes was achieved at a significant cost to GEH.

The development of the evaluation processes along with the interpretation and application of the analytical results is derived from the extensive experience databases that constitute major GEH asset.

GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC Affidavit for 0000-0114-1855-R0 Affidavit Page 3 of 3 (9) Public disclosure of the information sought to be withheld is likely to cause substantial harm to GEH's competitive position and foreclose or reduce the availability of profit-making opportunities. The information is part of GEH's comprehensive BWR safety and technology base, and its commercial value extends beyond the original development cost.

The value of the technology base goes beyond the extensive physical database and analytical methodology and includes development of the expertise to determine and apply the appropriate evaluation process. In addition, the technology base includes the value derived from providing analyses done with NRC-approved methods.

The research, development, engineering, analytical and NRC review costs comprise a substantial investment of time and money by GEH. The precise value of the expertise to devise an evaluation process and apply the correct analytical methodology is difficult to quantify, but it clearly is substantial. GEH's competitive advantage will be lost if its competitors are able to use the results of the GEH experience to normalize or verify their own process or if they are able to claim an equivalent understanding by demonstrating that they can arrive at the same or similar conclusions.

The value of this information to GEH would be lost if the information were disclosed to the public. Making such information available to competitors without their having been required to undertake a similar expenditure of resources would unfairly provide competitors with a windfall, and deprive GEH of the opportunity to exercise its competitive advantage to seek an adequate return on its large investment in developing and obtaining these very valuable analytical tools.

I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing affidavit and the matters stated therein are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief.

Executed on this 3rd day of May 2012.

Edward D. Schrull, PE Vice President, Regulatory Affairs Services Licensing GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC 3901 Castle Hayne Rd.

Wilmington, NC 28401 Edward.Schrull@ge.com