IR 05000454/2022006

Annual Assessment Letter for Byron Station, Units 1 and 2 (Report 05000455/2022006 and 05000454/2022006)

ML23054A457
Person / Time
Site:	Byron
Issue date:	03/01/2023
From:	NRC/RGN-III/DORS/RPB3
To:	Rhoades D Constellation Energy Generation
Shared Package
ML23013A306	List: IR 05000454/2022006 ML23138A134 ML23138A189 ML23163A164 ML23164A211
References
IR 2022006
Download: ML23054A457 (1)

Text

March 1, 2023

SUBJECT:

ANNUAL ASSESSMENT LETTER FOR BYRON STATION, UNITS 1 AND 2 (REPORT 05000455/2022006 AND 05000454/2022006)

Dear David Rhoades:

The NRC has completed its end-of-cycle performance assessment of Byron Station, Units 1 and 2, reviewing performance indicators (PIs), inspection results, and enforcement actions from January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022. This letter informs you of the NRCs assessment of your facility during this period and its plans for future inspections at your facility. The NRC concluded that overall performance at your facility preserved public health and safety. The baseline inspection program was completed at your facility as defined in Inspection Manual Chapter 2515, Light-Water Reactor Inspection Program - Operations Phase.

The NRC determined the performance at Byron Station, Units 1 and 2, during the most recent quarter was within the Licensee Response Column, the highest performance category of the NRCs Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) Action Matrix, because all inspection findings had very low safety significance (i.e., Green), and all PIs were within the expected range (i.e., Green).

Therefore, the NRC plans to conduct ROP baseline inspections at your facility.

The enclosed inspection plan lists the inspections scheduled through December 31, 2024.

The NRC provides the inspection plan to allow for the resolution of any scheduling conflicts and personnel availability issues. Routine inspections performed by resident inspectors are not included in the inspection plan. The inspections listed during the last twelve months of the inspection plan are tentative and may be revised. The NRC will contact you as soon as possible to discuss changes to the inspection plan should circumstances warrant any changes. In response to the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), the NRC adjusted inspection plans and schedules to safeguard the health and safety of both NRC and licensee staff while still effectively implementing the ROP. While the PHE continues, overall conditions throughout the country support performance of our inspection and oversight activities returning to normal onsite presence by our resident and region-based inspectors and completion of nominal baseline inspection samples. We continue to monitor site-specific conditions and, as discussed in our November 2, 2021, memo, Implementation of Inspection Programs Following Re-Entry from the Public Health Emergency for the Reactor Safety Program (ML21295A302), it may be necessary to alter how and when we perform our inspection and oversight activities as we balance the importance of protecting the health and safety of our staff with the need to conduct effective oversight that supports the NRCs critical safety mission.

For inspections requiring extensive coordination with offsite organizations, such as evaluated emergency preparedness exercises, NRC guidance and frequently asked questions for security and emergency preparedness can be found here: https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/covid-19/security-ep/. Similarly, the NRC has developed guidance if force-on-force inspections cannot be completed as scheduled due to an emergency, such as the COVID-19 PHE. These changes help ensure the health and safety of both NRC and licensee staff while maintaining the NRCs important safety and security mission during the COVID-19 PHE. The attached inspection plan is accurate on the date of issuance but remains subject to change based on approval of potential exemption requests or other changes needed due to changing conditions in the COVID-19 PHE. NRC staff will contact your appropriate regulatory affairs staff in order to coordinate inspection planning and scheduling.

Beginning on January 1, 2023, the engineering inspection frequency will transition from a triennial (3-year) to a quadrennial (4-year) cycle. The new engineering inspection program will consist of a Comprehensive Engineering Team Inspection (CETI)1 and three Focused Engineering Inspections (FEIs) that will be performed in each quadrennial cycle. For the cycle beginning in 2023, the FEIs will be: Fire Protection Team Inspection, Commercial Grade Dedication and an engineering inspection that reviews age-related degradation and management2.

1 Aspects of the Design Basis Assurance Inspection (DBAI), Evaluations of Changes, Tests, & Experiments, and Heat Sink inspections will be included in the new CETI inspection. Previously scheduled Evaluation of Changes, Tests, & Experiments and Heat Sink inspections have been cancelled and removed from attached Report 22.

2 The Age-Related Degradation procedure is publicly available, and the NRC plans to implement the first inspection of this type beginning in July 2023. In accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 2.390 of the NRCs Rules of Practice, a copy of this letter will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRC's document system (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room).

Please contact me at 630-829-9707 with any questions you have regarding this letter.

Sincerely, Signed by Peterson, Hironori on 02/24/23 Hironori Peterson, Chief Reactor Projects Branch 3 Division of Operating Reactor Safety Docket Nos. 05000454, 05000455, and 07200068 License Nos. NPF-37 and NPF-66 Enclosure: Inspection Plan cc: Distribution via LISTSERV