ML020560168

Issuance of Amendment Safety Limit Minimum Critical Power Ratio

ML020560168
Person / Time
Site:	Nine Mile Point
Issue date:	03/13/2002
From:	Tam P NRC/NRR/DLPM/LPD1
To:	Conway J Niagara Mohawk Power Corp
Tam P
Shared Package
ML020770158	List: ML020560168 ML020730599
References
TAC MB3327
Download: ML020560168 (10)

Text

March 13, 2002 Mr. John T. Conway Site Vice President Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, LLC P.O. Box 63 Lycoming, NY 13093

SUBJECT:

NINE MILE POINT NUCLEAR STATION, UNIT NO. 2 - ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT RE: SAFETY LIMIT MINIMUM CRITICAL POWER RATIO (TAC NO. MB3327)

Dear Mr. Conway:

The Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 105 to Facility Operating License No. NPF-69 for Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, Unit No. 2 (NMP-2). The amendment consists of changes to the Technical Specifications (TSs) in response to an application submitted by Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, LLC, on November 20, 2001, as supplemented on January 28, 2002, and February 21, 2002.

The amendment revises the TS, Section 2.1.1.2, to reflect the results of cycle-specific calculations performed for the upcoming Operating Cycle 9, and Section 5.6.5.b, to delete two redundant references.

A copy of the related Safety Evaluation is enclosed. A Notice of Issuance will be included in the Commission's next regular biweekly Federal Register notice.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Peter S. Tam, Senior Project Manager,Section I Project Directorate I Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-410

Enclosures:

1. Amendment No. 105 to NPF-69

2. Safety Evaluation cc w/encls: See next page

ML020560168 OFFICE PDI-1\PM PDI-1\LA OGC SRXB\SC PDI-1\SC(A)

NAME PTam SLittle RWeisman RCaruso* JMunday DATE 2/25/02 2/25/02 03/10/02 2/27/02 3/12/02

• Input provided by safety evaluation dated February 27, 2002 incorporated with no significant changes DATED: March 13, 2002 AMENDMENT NO. 105 TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-69, NINE MILE POINT, UNIT NO. 2 Distribution PUBLIC PDI R/F SLittle PTam JMunday OGC GHill (2)

WBeckner ACRS PD plant-specific file THuang cc: Plant Service list

NINE MILE POINT NUCLEAR STATION, LLC (NMPNS)

DOCKET NO. 50-410 NINE MILE POINT NUCLEAR STATION, UNIT NO. 2 AMENDMENT TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 105 License No. NPF-69

1. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has found that:

A. The application for amendment by Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, LLC (the licensee) dated November 20, 2001, as supplemented on January 28 and February 21, 2002, complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act) and the Commission's rules and regulations set forth in 10 CFR Chapter 1; B. The facility will operate in conformity with the application, the provisions of the Act, and the rules and regulations of the Commission; C. There is reasonable assurance (i) that the activities authorized by this amendment can be conducted without endangering the health and safety of the public, and (ii) that such activities will be conducted in compliance with the Commission's regulations; D. The issuance of this amendment will not be inimical to the common defense and security or to the health and safety of the public; and E. The issuance of this amendment is in accordance with 10 CFR Part 51 of the Commission's regulations and all applicable requirements have been satisfied.

2. Accordingly, the license is amended by changes to the Technical Specifications as indicated in the attachment to this license amendment, and paragraph 2.C.(2) of Facility Operating License No. NPF-69 is hereby amended to read as follows:

(2) Technical Specifications and Environmental Protection Plan The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A and the Environmental Protection Plan contained in Appendix B, both of which are attached hereto, as revised through Amendment No. 105 are hereby incorporated into this license.

Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, LLC shall operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications and the Environmental Protection Plan.

3. This license amendment is effective as of the date of its issuance and shall be implemented prior to restart after Refueling Outage 8.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

/RA/

Joel Munday, Acting Chief,Section I Project Directorate I Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Attachment:

Changes to the Technical Specifications Date of Issuance: March 13, 2002

ATTACHMENT TO LICENSE AMENDMENT NO. 105 TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-69 DOCKET NO. 50-410 Replace the following pages of Appendix A, Technical Specifications, with the attached revised pages. The revised pages are identified by amendment number and contain marginal lines indicating the areas of change.

Remove Pages Insert Pages 2.0-1 2.0-1 5.6-3 5.6-3

SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION AMENDMENT NO. 105 TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NPF-69 NINE MILE POINT NUCLEAR STATION LLC (NMPNS)

NINE MILE POINT NUCLEAR STATION, UNIT NO. 2 DOCKET N0. 50-410

1.0 INTRODUCTION

By letter dated November 20, 2001, as supplemented on January 28 and February 21, 2002, Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, LLC (NMPNS) submitted a request for changes to the Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, Unit No. 2, Technical Specifications (TSs). The requested amendment would change the safety limit minimum critical power ratio (SLMCPR) in Section 2.1.1.2 from 1.09 to 1.06 for two-recirculation-loop operation, and 1.10 to 1.07 for single-recirculation-loop operation. In addition, administrative changes would be made to Section 5.6.5, Core Operating Limits Report (COLR). The supplemental letters provided clarifying information that was within the scope of the amendment request and did not change the initial proposed no significant hazards consideration determination.

2.0 EVALUATION NMPNS requested a change to the Technical Specifications in accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Section 50.90. The NRC staffs review follows.

2.1 TSs Section 2.1.1, Reactor Core Safety Limits NMPNS proposed revision of the SLMCPR value from 1.09 to 1.06 for two-recirculation-loop operation, and 1.10 to 1.07 for single-recirculation-loop operation, with the reactor steam dome pressure  785 psig and core flow  10 percent of rated core flow.

NMPNS described the methodologies used to calculate the SLMCPR values for the proposed changes in its application. The Cycle 9 SLMCPR analysis was performed by Global Nuclear Fuel - Americas (GNF-A) using plant- and cycle-specific fuel and core parameters, and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)-approved methodologies including NEDC-32505P, Revision 1 (R-Factor Calculation Method for GE11, GE12 and GE13 Fuel), NEDO-10958-A (GETAB),

NEDC-32601P-A (Methodology and Uncertainties for Safety Limit MCPR Evaluations), NEDC-32694P-A (Power Distribution Uncertainties for Safety Limit MCPR Evaluation), and Amendment 25 to NEDE-24011P-A (GESTAR II).

The NRC staff has reviewed the justification for the changes on the SLMCPR value from 1.09 to 1.06 for two-recirculation-loop operation, and from 1.10 to 1.07 for single-recirculation-loop operation using the approach delineated in Amendment 25 to GESTAR II and the validity of GEXL07 correlation for GE11 fuel. Based on this review of the licensees application (Reference 1), including the detailed summary results of the analysis for NMP2 Cycle 9 operation in Tables 1 and 2 of Attachment E, and the responses to the NRC staffs requests for additional information (References 2 and 3), the NRC staff finds that the SLMCPR analysis for NMP2 Cycle 9 operation used values of the appropriate plant- and cycle-specific parameters as inputs to the approved method. The proposed Cycle 9 SLMCPR values will ensure that 99.9 percent of the fuel rods in the core will not experience boiling transition, which satisfies the requirements of Generic Design Criterion 10 of Appendix A to 10 CFR Part 50 regarding acceptable fuel design limits. Accordingly, the NRC staff concludes that the justification for analyzing and determining the SLMCPR value of 1.06 for two-recirculation-loop operation and 1.07 for single-recirculation-loop operation for NMP2 Cycle 9 is acceptable.

2.2 TSs Section 5.6.5, Core Operating Limits Report (COLR)

NMPNS proposed to delete two documents referenced in this section: NEDE-23785-1-PA, The GESTAR-LOCA and SAFER Models for the Evaluation of the Loss-of-Coolant Accident, Volume III, SAFER/GESTAR Application Methodology, and NEDO-32465-A, Reactor Stability Detect and Suppress Solutions Licensing Basis Methodology for Reload Applications. The basis for the deletions is that these documents are already referenced by the first document (NEDE-24011-P-A-US, General Electric Standard Application for Reactor Fuel) listed in this section. Thus, their deletion is purely editorial and has no technical impact.

3.0 STATE CONSULTATION

In accordance with the Commission's regulations, the New York State official was notified of the proposed issuance of the amendment. The State official had no comments.

4.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION

The amendment changes a requirement with respect to use of facility components located within the restricted area as defined in 10 CFR Part 20. The NRC staff has determined that the amendment involves no significant increase in the amounts, and no significant change in the types of any effluents that may be released offsite, and that there is no significant increase in individual or cumulative occupational radiation exposure. The Commission has previously issued a proposed finding that the amendment involves no significant hazards consideration, and there has been no public comment on such finding (66 FR 66468). The licensees January 28 and February 21, 2002, letters provided additional clarifying information and did not change the amendment application. Accordingly, the amendment meets the eligibility criteria for categorical exclusion set forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(9). In addition, the portion of the amendment modifying TS 5.6.5 changes an administrative requirement. Therefore, this portion of the amendment meets the eligibility criteria for categorical exclusion set forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(10). Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b) no environmental impact statement or environmental assessment need be prepared in connection with the issuance of the amendment.

5.0 CONCLUSION

The NRC staff has concluded, based on the considerations discussed above, that: (1) there is reasonable assurance that the health and safety of the public will not be endangered by operation in the proposed manner, (2) such activities will be conducted in compliance with the Commission's regulations, and (3) the issuance of the amendment will not be inimical to the common defense and security or to the health and safety of the public.

6.0 REFERENCES

1. Letter (NMP2L 2038), from R. L. Wenderlich to NRC, Application for Amendment to the Technical Specifications Concerning the Safety Limit Minimum Critical Power Ratio, November 20, 2001.

2. Letter (NMP2L 2046), from J. T. Conway to NRC, Application for Amendment to the Technical Specifications Concerning the Safety Limit Minimum Critical Power Ratio -

Response to Request for Additional Information, January 28, 2002.

3. Letter (NMP2L-2050), from M. F. Pekham to NRC, Application for Amendment to Technical Specifications Concerning the Safety Limit Minimum Critical Power Ratio -

Response to Request for Additional Information, February 21, 2002.

Principal Contributor: T. Huang Date: March 13, 2002

Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station Unit No. 2 Regional Administrator, Region I Mr. Robert E. Denton U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission President 475 Allendale Road Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, LLC King of Prussia, PA 19406 1997 Annapolis Exchange Parkway Suite 500 Resident Inspector Annapolis, MD 21401 Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station P.O. Box 126 Mr. Raymond L. Wenderlich Lycoming, NY 13093 Senior Constellation Nuclear Officer Responsible for Nine Mile Point Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, LLC Mr. John V. Vinquist, MATS Inc. P.O. Box 63 P.O. Box 63 Lycoming, NY 13093 Lycoming, NY 13093 James M. Petro, Jr., Esquire Supervisor Counsel Town of Scriba Constellation Power Source, Inc.

Route 8, Box 382 111 Market Place Oswego, NY 13126 Suite 500 Baltimore, MD 21202 Mr. Paul D. Eddy Electric Division Mr. William M. Flynn, President NYS Department of Public Service New York State Energy, Research, Agency Building 3 and Development Authority Empire State Plaza Corporate Plaza West Albany, NY 12223 286 Washington Avenue Extension Albany, NY 12203-6399 Charles Donaldson, Esquire Assistant Attorney General New York Department of Law 120 Broadway New York, NY 10271 C. Adrienne Rhodes Chairman and Executive Director State Consumer Protection Board 5 Empire State Plaza, Suite 2101 Albany, NY 12223-1556 Mark J. Wetterhahn, Esquire Winston & Strawn 1400 L Street, NW.

Washington, DC 20005-3502