ML021610389
| ML021610389 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Limerick  |
| Issue date: | 07/10/2002 |
| From: | Richards S NRC/NRR/DLPM/LPD1 |
| To: | Dibello T Limerick Township, PA |
| Gratton C, NRR/DSSA, 301-415-1055 | |
| Shared Package | |
| ml021610409 | List: |
| References | |
| G020020271, LTR-02-0324 | |
| Download: ML021610389 (6) | |
Text
July 10, 2002 Mr. Thomas DiBello Chairman, Board of Supervisors Limerick Township 646 West Ridge Pike Limerick, PA 19468
Dear Mr. DiBello:
I am responding to you at the request of the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regarding the concerns you expressed in a letter to Senator Arlen Specter dated April 30, 2002. Your concerns focused on the Linfield Energy Center project (hereafter, the project), a 550-megawatt gas-fired power plant planned to be built in close proximity to Limerick Generating Station (LGS) Units 1 and 2. On May 22, 2002, I provided an interim response to you addressing your concerns on the security and safeguards issues related to the project. In addition, the interim response clarified that the NRC does not have regulatory authority over certain other concerns you expressed, for example, alleged violations of Limerick Township ordinances.
From the information currently available about the project, construction of the facility will not begin for approximately 1 year, and will take approximately 2 years to complete. As a result, details necessary to perform a comprehensive review of the impact of the project on LGS Units 1 and 2 are not available at this time. Nevertheless, in a letter dated May 24, 2002, the NRC requested that Exelon Generation Company, LLC, the licensee for LGS (the licensee),
perform an assessment of the impact of the project on the safe operation of LGS.
The licensee completed their assessment of the project and reported the results in a letter to the NRC dated June 24, 2002. The licensee noted that a detailed review of the impact of the project on the safe operation of LGS is necessary, but that information necessary to perform such a review, including construction drawings with materials, components and dimensions, are not available at this time. In the interim, the licensee performed a preliminary assessment using currently available information. The licensee considered the requirements in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Section 100.10, Factors to be considered when evaluating sites, Regulatory Guide 1.70.8, Nearby Industrial, Transportation, and Military Facilties, and NUREG-0800, Standard Review Plan for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants, during this preliminary assessment. The licensees assessment results did not identify any hazards associated with construction or operation of the project that would impact the safe operation of LGS. The licensee plans to perform a more detailed assessment of the project in accordance with 10 CFR 100.10 after construction drawings are available, and prior to pre-operational testing of the project.
The NRC staff independently evaluated the licensees assessment of the hazards posed by the project. The staff concluded that, based on currently available information, the Linfield Energy Center does not pose a hazard to the safe operation of LGS, and that the construction activities and pre-operation testing performed in the vicinity of the gas pipeline will be bounded by the
T. DiBello pipeline breech analysis currently documented in the Limerick Units 1 and 2 Updated Final Safety Analysis Report (UFSAR). The NRC staff concurs with the licensees plan to reassess the impact of the project on LGS as additional information becomes available.
In your letter to Senator Arlen Specter dated April 30, 2002, you identified three issues that were not addressed in my letter to you dated May 22, 2002, that I will address herein. The first issue concerns the location of the proposed project relative to the LGS exclusion zone of 2500 feet from the reactor. The exclusion area for a nuclear power plant is defined as the area surrounding the reactor, in which the licensee has the authority to determine all activities including exclusion or removal of personnel and property from the area. The exclusion area for LGS Units 1 and 2 is 2500 feet from the reactor units. The property within LGSs exclusion area is either owned or controlled by the licensee. The licensee has determined that the property proposed for the project is beyond the LGS exclusion area.
You were also concerned that the project would be located within 75 feet of the communitys primary water source, the Perkiomen pipeline, which you state is used to cool the Exelon nuclear reactor. The Perkiomen pipeline only supplies water to LGS and is not a source of water for the community. With respect to LGS, the pipeline serves no safety-related function.
The purpose of the pipeline is to replenish water in the cooling tower due to evaporation. No reliance on this water source is assumed in any safety analysis approved by the NRC. As a result, loss of this water source will have no impact on the safe operation of the LGS nuclear reactors.
Finally, you were concerned that the project would be constructed adjacent to two major natural gas pipelines, the Perkiomen pipeline, and LGSs nuclear reactors, and that the proximity of these four entities will constitute a potentially devastating terrorist target. The NRC staff evaluated the interrelationship of these facilities and pipelines as they relate to NRC-regulated activities for LGS and came to the following conclusions. As stated in the previous paragraph, the loss of the Perkiomen pipeline results in no impact on the safe operation of LGS. In addition, the hazard analysis completed by the licensee determined that the project does not have an impact on the safe operation of LGS. The natural gas pipelines adjacent to LGS and the proposed project have existed since the initial construction of LGS and were previously evaluated by the licensee for explosion, missile generation, and flammable gas clouds. The results of the evaluation were found to be within the requirements of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix A, General Design Criteria for Nuclear Power Plants, and are documented in the LGS Units 1 and 2 UFSAR. The NRC staff has no basis to determine whether the location of the proposed project will enhance the site as a potential terrorist target. However, based on the information currently available, the NRC staff has concluded that the proximity of the Linfield Energy Center, the natural gas pipelines, and the Perkiomen pipeline to LGS will not have an adverse affect on the safe operation of the LGS nuclear reactors.
T. DiBello The NRC staff will continue to monitor the progress of the Linfield Energy Center project and ensure appropriate actions are taken should a future hazard analysis determine that the project has an adverse impact on the safe operation of LGS Units 1 and 2. I trust that this information is useful to you in addressing your concerns about the proposed construction and operation of the Linfield Energy Center.
Sincerely,
/RA by JZimmerman for SRichards/
Stuart A. Richards, Director Project Directorate I Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation cc: The Honorable Mary Ann Dailey Pennsylvania House of Representatives House Box 202020 South Office Building Room 408 Harrisburg, PA 17120-2020
ML021610389 INCOMING NUMBER: ML021260429
- See previous concurrence OFFICE PDI-2:PM PDI-2:LA NSIR DIPM/IEHB*
DE/EMEB*
PDI-2:SC PDI:D NAME CGratton MOBrien JDavis KGibson EImbro JZimmerman for JClifford JZimmerman for SRichards DATE 7-2-02 7/2/02 7/9/02 7/1/02 7/2/02 7/10/02 7/10/02
Limerick Generating Station, Units 1 & 2 cc:
Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary Exelon Generation Company, LLC 300 Exelon Way Kennett Square, PA 19348 Manager Licensing-Limerick and Peach Bottom Exelon Generation Company, LLC Nuclear Group Headquarters Correspondence Control P.O. Box 160 Kennett Square, PA 19348 Site Vice President Limerick Generating Station Exelon Generation Company, LLC P.O. Box 2300 Sanatoga, PA 19464 Plant Manager Limerick Generating Station Exelon Generation Company, LLC P.O. Box 2300 Sanatoga, PA 19464 Regional Administrator, Region I U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 475 Allendale Road King of Prussia, PA 19406 Senior Resident Inspector U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Limerick Generating Station P.O. Box 596 Pottstown, PA 19464 Chairman Board of Supervisors of Limerick Township 646 West Ridge Pike Linfield, PA 19468 Chief-Division of Nuclear Safety PA Dept. of Environmental Resources P.O. Box 8469 Harrisburg, PA 17105-8469 Library U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region I 475 Allendale Road King of Prussia, PA 19406 Dr. Judith Johnsrud National Energy Committee Sierra Club 433 Orlando Avenue State College, PA 16803 Vice President, Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Exelon Generation Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555 Director-Licensing Mid-Atlantic Regional Operating Group Exelon Generation Company, LLC Nuclear Group Headquarters Correspondence Control P. O. Box 160 Kennett Square, PA 19348 Correspondence Control Desk Exelon Generation Company, LLC 200 Exelon Way, KSA 1-N-1 Kennett Square, PA 19348 Chief Operating Officer Exelon Generation Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555 Senior Vice President, Nuclear Services Exelon Generation Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555
Limerick Generating Station, Units 1 & 2 cc:
Vice President, Mid-Atlantic Operations Support Exelon Generation Company, LLC 200 Exelon Way, KSA 3-N Kennett Square, PA 19348 Senior Vice President Mid-Atlantic Regional Operating Group Exelon Generation Company, LLC 200 Exelon Way, KSA 3-N Kennett Square, PA 19348 Regulatory Assurance Manager Limerick Generating Station Exelon Generation Company, LLC P.O. Box 2300 Sanatoga, PA 19464