ML030620168

Issuance of Amendment Nos. 236 & 178, Respectively, Revising the Technical Specification Surveillance Requirement SR 3.6.4.12

ML030620168
Person / Time
Site:	Hatch
Issue date:	02/28/2003
From:	Olshan L NRC/NRR/DLPM/LPD2
To:	Sumner H Southern Nuclear Operating Co
Olshan L N, NRR/DLPM, 415-1419
References
TAC MB6936, TAC MB6937
Download: ML030620168 (12)

Text

February 28, 2003 Mr. H. L. Sumner, Jr.

Vice President - Nuclear Hatch Project Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc.

Post Office Box 1295 Birmingham, Alabama 35201-1295

SUBJECT:

EDWIN I. HATCH NUCLEAR PLANT, UNITS 1 AND 2 RE: ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENTS (TAC NOS. MB6936 AND MB6937)

Dear Mr. Sumner:

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 236 to Renewed Facility Operating License DPR-57 and Amendment No. 178 to Renewed Facility Operating License NPF-5 for the Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2. The amendments consist of changes to the Technical Specifications in response to your application dated December 2, 2002.

The amendments revise Technical Specification Surveillance Requirement SR 3.6.4.1.2 to require that only one access door in each opening of the secondary containment be closed.

A copy of the related Safety Evaluation is also enclosed. A Notice of Issuance will be included in the Commissions biweekly Federal Register notice.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Leonard N. Olshan, Senior Project Manager, Section 1 Project Directorate II Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos. 50-321 and 50-366

Enclosures:

1. Amendment No. 236 to DPR-57

2. Amendment No. 178 to NPF-5

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

ML030620168 *NLO w/comments OFFICE PDII-1/PM PDII-1/LA OGC PDII-1/SC NAME LOlshan CHawes CBray* JNakoski DATE 2/24/03 2/21/03 02/25/03 2/28/03 SOUTHERN NUCLEAR OPERATING COMPANY, INC.

GEORGIA POWER COMPANY OGLETHORPE POWER CORPORATION MUNICIPAL ELECTRIC AUTHORITY OF GEORGIA CITY OF DALTON, GEORGIA DOCKET NO. 50-321 EDWIN I. HATCH NUCLEAR PLANT, UNIT 1 AMENDMENT TO RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 236 Renewed License No. DPR-57

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

A. The application for amendment to the Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, Unit 1 (the facility)

Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-57 filed by Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc. (the licensee), acting for itself, Georgia Power Company, Oglethorpe Power Corporation, Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, and City of Dalton, Georgia (the owners), dated December 2, 2002, complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commissions rules and regulations as set forth in 10 CFR Chapter I; 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 Commissions regulations set forth in 10 CFR Chapter I; 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 Commissions regulations and all applicable requirements have been satisfied.

2. Accordingly, the license is hereby amended by page changes to the Technical Specifications as indicated in the attachment to this license amendment, and paragraph 2.C.(2) of Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-57 is hereby amended to read as follows:

(2) Technical Specifications The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A and the Environmental Protection Plan contained in Appendix B, as revised through Amendment No. 236, are hereby incorporated in the license. Southern Nuclear shall operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications and the Environmental Protection Plan.

3. This license amendment is effective as of its date of issuance and shall be implemented within 30 days of issuance.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

/RA/

John A. Nakoski, Chief, Section 1 Project Directorate II Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Attachment:

Technical Specification Changes Date of Issuance: February 28, 2003

ATTACHMENT TO LICENSE AMENDMENT NO. 236 RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. DPR-57 DOCKET NO. 50-321 Replace the following pages of the Appendix A Technical Specifications and associated Bases with the attached revised pages. The revised pages are identified by amendment number and contain marginal lines indicating the areas of change.

Remove Insert 3.6-33 3.6-33 B 3.6-75 B 3.6-75 B 3.6-76 B 3.6-76

SOUTHERN NUCLEAR OPERATING COMPANY, INC.

GEORGIA POWER COMPANY OGLETHORPE POWER CORPORATION MUNICIPAL ELECTRIC AUTHORITY OF GEORGIA CITY OF DALTON, GEORGIA DOCKET NO. 50-366 EDWIN I. HATCH NUCLEAR PLANT, UNIT 2 AMENDMENT TO RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 178 Renewed License No. NPF-5

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

A. The application for amendment to the Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, Unit 2 (the facility)

Renewed Facility Operating License No. NPF-5 filed by Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc. (the licensee), acting for itself, Georgia Power Company, Oglethorpe Power Corporation, Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, and City of Dalton, Georgia (the owners), dated December 2, 2002, complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commissions rules and regulations as set forth in 10 CFR Chapter I; 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 Commissions regulations set forth in 10 CFR Chapter I; 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 Commissions regulations and all applicable requirements have been satisfied.

2. Accordingly, the license is hereby amended by page changes to the Technical Specifications as indicated in the attachment to this license amendment, and paragraph 2.C.(2) of Renewed Facility Operating License No. NPF-5 is hereby amended to read as follows:

(2) Technical Specifications The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A and the Environmental Protection Plan contained in Appendix B, as revised through Amendment No. 178 are hereby incorporated in the license. Southern Nuclear shall operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications and the Environmental Protection Plan.

3. This license amendment is effective as of its date of issuance and shall be implemented within 30 days of issuance.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

/RA/

John A. Nakoski, Chief, Section 1 Project Directorate II Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Attachment:

Technical Specification Changes Date of Issuance: February 28, 2003

ATTACHMENT TO LICENSE AMENDMENT NO. 178 RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-5 DOCKET NO. 50-366 Replace the following pages of the Appendix A Technical Specifications and associated Bases with the attached revised pages. The revised pages are identified by amendment number and contain marginal lines indicating the areas of change.

Remove Insert 3.6-34 3.6-34 B 3.6-81 B 3.6-81 B 3.6-82 B 3.6-82

SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION RELATED TO AMENDMENT NO. 236 TO RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE DPR-57 AND AMENDMENT NO. 178 TO RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NPF-5 SOUTHERN NUCLEAR OPERATING COMPANY, INC., ET AL.

EDWIN I. HATCH NUCLEAR PLANT, UNITS 1 AND 2 DOCKET NOS. 50-321 AND 50-366

1.0 INTRODUCTION

By letter dated December 2, 2002, Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc. (Southern Nuclear, the licensee), et al., proposed license amendments to change the Technical Specifications (TS) for the Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant (Hatch), Units 1 and 2. The proposed changes would revise TS Surveillance Requirement (SR) 3.6.4.1.2 to require that only one access door in each opening of the secondary containment be closed.

2.0 REGULATORY EVALUATION

Amendment No. 195 to Facility Operating License DPR-57 and Amendment 135 to Facility Operating License NPF-5 were issued by the NRC on March 3, 1995, to replace the Hatch TS and associated Bases with a set of TS and associated Bases based on the Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Owners Group Standard Technical Specifications, NUREG-1433, Revision 0, Standard Technical Specifications General Electric Plants, BWR/4. Section 2.3.6.3.p (1) of the NRC safety evaluation (page 216) for the above referenced amendments states the following:

...improved TS SRs 3.6.4.1.1 (verifying secondary containment equipment hatches are closed and sealed every 31 days) and SR 3.6.4.1.2 (verifying secondary containment access doors are closed every 31 days) are new SRs for Zones I and III for both units...These new requirements are additional restrictions on plant operation.

Independent of the issuance of the Hatch amendments referenced above, industry representatives, in conjunction with the activities of the Technical Specification Task Force (TSTF), proposed to change the SRs for the secondary containment access doors in NUREG-1433, Revision 2. Instead of requiring verification of each secondary containment access door closed (unless the access opening was being used for entry and exit whereby at least one access door is required to be closed), the industry proposed verifying one secondary containment access door in each access opening is closed. The change was proposed to be

consistent with the intent of NUREG-1434, Revision 2, (BWR/6 Standard TS) because the design of the BWR/6 secondary containment only includes one door per access opening vs. the normal two door access opening for the secondary containment design in BWR/2 through BWR/5 designs. The proposed change was endorsed in TSTF-18, Revision 1. Revision 2 to NUREG-1433 incorporated the change in TSTF-18, Revision 1, to the secondary containment access door SRs which are now included in Standard TS SR 3.6.4.1.3.

The basis for the secondary containment design requirements is discussed in the Standard Review Plan, Section 6.2.3, Secondary Containment Function and Design, which references the requirements of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50, Appendix A, General Design Criteria for Nuclear Power Plants (Criterion 4, Environmental and Dynamic Effects Design Basis, Criterion 16, Containment Design, and Criterion 43, Testing of Containment Atmosphere Cleanup Systems).

3.0 TECHNICAL EVALUATION

Currently, the Hatch, Units 1 and 2, TS require that both doors in each secondary containment access opening be verified closed every 31 days unless they are being used for either entry or exit. The licensee states that this requirement is unnecessary and unreasonably restrictive because secondary containment must be declared inoperable when one of the two doors in an access opening cannot be closed. The current TS for Hatch, Units 1 and 2, would require that if the secondary containment was not restored to operable status in 4 hours4.62963e-5 days <br />0.00111 hours <br />6.613757e-6 weeks <br />1.522e-6 months <br />, the plant shall be in Mode 3 in 12 hours1.388889e-4 days <br />0.00333 hours <br />1.984127e-5 weeks <br />4.566e-6 months <br /> and Mode 4 in 36 hours4.166667e-4 days <br />0.01 hours <br />5.952381e-5 weeks <br />1.3698e-5 months <br />.

The licensee has proposed to revise the Hatch, Units 1 and 2, TS SR 3.6.4.1.2 to allow the verification of only one of the two access doors in each access opening to satisfy the SR. The proposed TS changes are identical to the changes included in NUREG-1433, Revision 2.

There are no features specific to this facility that would preclude implementation of the changes endorsed in NUREG-1433, Revision 2, related to secondary containment access doors.

Therefore, the proposed change is acceptable.

4.0 STATE CONSULTATION

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

5.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION

The amendments change a requirement with respect to the installation or use of facility components located within the restricted area as defined in 10 CFR Part 20 and change surveillance requirements. The NRC staff has determined that the amendments involve 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 amendments involve no significant hazards consideration, and there has been no public comment on such finding (68 FR 812). Accordingly, the amendments meet the eligibility criteria for categorical exclusion set forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(9). Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b) no environmental impact statement or environmental assessment need be prepared in connection with the issuance of the amendments.

6.0 CONCLUSION

The Commission 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 Commissions regulations, and (3) the issuance of the amendments will not be inimical to the common defense and security or to the health and safety of the public.

7.0 REFERENCES

Principal Contributor: J. Colaccino Date: February 28, 2003

Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant cc:

Mr. Ernest L. Blake, Jr. Charles A. Patrizia, Esquire Shaw, Pittman, Potts Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker and Trowbridge 10th Floor 2300 N Street, NW. 1299 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, DC 20037 Washington, DC 20004-9500 Mr. R. D. Baker Chairman Manager - Licensing Appling County Commissioners Southern Nuclear Operating County Courthouse Company, Inc. Baxley, Georgia 31513 P. O. Box 1295 Birmingham, Alabama 35201-1295 Mr. J. D. Woodard Executive Vice President Resident Inspector Southern Nuclear Operating Plant Hatch Company, Inc.

11030 Hatch Parkway N. P. O. Box 1295 Baxley, Georgia 31531 Birmingham, Alabama 35201-1295 Mr. Charles H. Badger Mr. P. W. Wells Office of Planning and Budget General Manager, Edwin I. Hatch Room 610 Nuclear Plant 270 Washington Street, SW. Southern Nuclear Operating Atlanta, Georgia 30334 Company, Inc.

U.S. Highway 1 North Harold Reheis, Director P. O. Box 2010 Department of Natural Resources Baxley, Georgia 31515 205 Butler Street, SE., Suite 1252 Atlanta, Georgia 30334 Mr. L. M. Bergen Resident Manager Steven M. Jackson Oglethorpe Power Corporation Senior Engineer - Power Supply Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant Municipal Electric Authority P. O. Box 2010 of Georgia Baxley, Georgia 31515 1470 Riveredge Parkway, NW Atlanta, Georgia 30328-4684