ML033030345

Amendments 163 & 148 to Licenses NPF-11 & NPF-18, Respectively. Amendments Revise Apendix a Turbine Bypass Valve Testing

ML033030345
Person / Time
Site:	LaSalle
Issue date:	11/13/2003
From:	Macon W NRC/NRR/DLPM/LPD3
To:	Skolds J Exelon Generation Co
Macon W, NRR/DLPM,415-3965
Shared Package
ML033300313	List: ML033030345 ML033300283
References
TAC MB9004, TAC MB9005
Download: ML033030345 (13)

Text

November 13, 2003 Mr. John L. Skolds, President Exelon Nuclear Exelon Generation Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555

SUBJECT:

LASALLE COUNTY STATION, UNITS 1 AND 2, ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENTS RE: TURBINE BYPASS VALVE TESTING (TAC NOS. MB9004 AND MB9005)

Dear Mr. Skolds:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Commission) has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 163 to Facility Operating License No. NPF-11 and Amendment No. 148 to Facility Operating License No. NPF-18 for the LaSalle County Station, Units 1 and 2, respectively. The amendments are in response to your application dated May 19, 2003.

The amendments revise Appendix A, Technical Specifications (TS), of the Facility Operating Licenses. Specifically, the change will decrease the frequency associated with TS Surveillance Requirement (SR) 3.7.7.1 for Turbine Bypass Valve (BPV) testing from 7 to 31 days. The change is consistent with the testing frequency contained in NUREG-1434, "Standard Technical Specifications General Electric Plants, BWR/6," Revision 2, dated June 2001, for BPV testing.

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

Sincerely,

/RA/

William A. Macon, Jr., Project Manager, Section 2 Project Directorate III Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos.: 50-373 and 50-374

Enclosures:

1. Amendment No. 163 to NPF-11

2. Amendment No. 148 to NPF-18

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

LaSalle County Station Units 1 and 2 cc:

Site Vice President - LaSalle County Station Regional Administrator Exelon Generation Company, LLC U.S. NRC, Region III 2601 North 21st Road 801 Warrenville Road Marseilles, IL 61341-9757 Lisle, IL 60532-4351 LaSalle County Station Plant Manager Illinois Emergency Management Exelon Generation Company, LLC Agency 2601 North 21st Road Division of Disaster Assistance &

Marseilles, IL 61341-9757 Preparedness 110 East Adams Street Regulatory Assurance Manager - LaSalle Springfield, IL 62701-1109 Exelon Generation Company, LLC 2601 North 21st Road Document Control Desk - Licensing Marseilles, IL 61341-9757 Exelon Generation Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Warrenville, IL 60555 LaSalle Resident Inspectors Office 2605 North 21st Road Senior Vice President - Nuclear Services Marseilles, IL 61341-9756 Exelon Generation Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Phillip P. Steptoe, Esquire Warrenville, IL 60555 Sidley and Austin One First National Plaza Vice President - Operations Support Chicago, IL 60603 Exelon Generation Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Assistant Attorney General Warrenville, IL 60555 100 W. Randolph St. Suite 12 Chicago, IL 60601 Chief Operating Officer Exelon Generation Company, LLC Chairman 4300 Winfield Road LaSalle County Board Warrenville, IL 60555 707 Etna Road Ottawa, IL 61350 Vice President - Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Attorney General Exelon Generation Company, LLC 500 S. Second Street 4300 Winfield Road Springfield, IL 62701 Warrenville, IL 60555 Chairman Illinois Commerce Commission 527 E. Capitol Avenue, Leland Building Springfield, IL 62706 Robert Cushing, Chief, Public Utilities Division Illinois Attorney Generals Office 100 W. Randolph Street Chicago, IL 60601

LaSalle County Station Units 1 and 2 Director Licensing Exelon Generation Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555 Senior Counsel, Nuclear Exelon Generation Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555 Manager Licensing - Clinton and LaSalle Exelon Generation Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555

November 13, 2003 Mr. John L. Skolds, President Exelon Nuclear Exelon Generation Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555

SUBJECT:

LASALLE COUNTY STATION, UNITS 1 AND 2, ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENTS RE: TURBINE BYPASS VALVE TESTING (TAC NOS. MB9004 AND MB9005)

Dear Mr. Skolds:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Commission) has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 163 to Facility Operating License No. NPF-11 and Amendment No. 148 to Facility Operating License No. NPF-18 for the LaSalle County Station, Units 1 and 2, respectively. The amendments are in response to your application dated May 19, 2003.

The amendments revise Appendix A, Technical Specifications (TS), of the Facility Operating Licenses. Specifically, the change will decrease the frequency associated with TS Surveillance Requirement (SR) 3.7.7.1 for Turbine Bypass Valve (BPV) testing from 7 to 31 days. The change is consistent with the testing frequency contained in NUREG-1434, "Standard Technical Specifications General Electric Plants, BWR/6," Revision 2, dated June 2001, for BPV testing.

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

Sincerely,

/RA/

William A. Macon, Jr., Project Manager, Section 2 Project Directorate III Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos.: 50-373 and 50-374

Enclosures:

1. Amendment No. 163 to NPF-11

2. Amendment No. 148 to NPF-18

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

PUBLIC PD3-2 r/f WRuland AMendiola DPickett WMacon PCoates TBoyce OGC ACRS GHill (4) WBeckner DHills, RIII PHearn Package Number: ML033300313 ADAMS Accession Number: ML033030345 TS Number: ML033300283 *SE dated 10/23/03 *See previous concurrences OFFICE PM:LPD3-2 LA:LPD3-2 SC:IROB OGC SC:LPD3-2 NAME WMacon PCoates TBoyce* RHoefling AMendiola DATE 11/03/03 10/31/03 10/23/03 11/07/03 11/13/03 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

EXELON GENERATION COMPANY, LLC DOCKET NO. 50-373 LASALLE COUNTY STATION, UNIT 1 AMENDMENT TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 163 License No. NPF-11

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

A. The application for amendment filed by the Exelon Generation Company, LLC (the licensee), dated May 19, 2003, complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commissions regulations set forth in 10 CFR Chapter I; B. The facility will operate in conformity with the application, the provisions of the Act, and the 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 amended by changes to the Technical Specifications as indicated in the enclosure to this license amendment and paragraph 2.C.(2) of the Facility Operating License No. NPF-11 is hereby amended to read as follows:

(2) Technical Specifications and Environmental Protection Plan The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A, as revised through Amendment No. 163, and the Environmental Protection Plan contained in Appendix B, are hereby incorporated in the license. The licensee 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 within 60 days of the date of issuance.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

/RA by DPickett for/

Anthony J. Mendiola, Chief, Section 2 Project Directorate III Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Attachment:

Changes to the Technical Specifications Date of Issuance: November 13, 2003

EXELON GENERATION COMPANY, LLC DOCKET NO. 50-374 LASALLE COUNTY STATION, UNIT 2 AMENDMENT TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 148 License No. NPF-18

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

A. The application for amendment filed by the Exelon Generation Company, LLC (the licensee), dated May 19, 2003, complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commissions regulations set forth in 10 CFR Chapter I; B. The facility will operate in conformity with the application, the provisions of the Act, and the 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 amended by changes to the Technical Specifications as indicated in the enclosure to this license amendment and paragraph 2.C.(2) of the Facility Operating License No. NPF-18 is hereby amended to read as follows:

(2) Technical Specifications and Environmental Protection Plan The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A, as revised through Amendment No. 148, and the Environmental Protection Plan contained in Appendix B, are hereby incorporated in the license. The licensee 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 within 60 days of the date of issuance.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

/RA by DPickett for/

Anthony J. Mendiola, Chief, Section 2 Project Directorate III Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Attachment:

Changes to the Technical Specifications Date of Issuance: November 13, 2003

ATTACHMENT TO LICENSE AMENDMENT NOS. 163 AND 148 FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NOS. NPF-11 AND NPF-18 DOCKET NOS. 50-373 AND 50-374 Replace the following page of the Appendix "A" Technical Specifications with the enclosed page. The revised page is identified by amendment number and contain marginal lines indicating the area of change.

Remove Page Insert Page 3.7.7-1 3.7.7-1

SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION RELATED TO AMENDMENT NO. 163 TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-11 AND AMENDMENT NO. 148 TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-18 EXELON GENERATION COMPANY, LLC LASALLE COUNTY STATION, UNITS 1 AND 2 DOCKET NOS. 50-373 AND 50-374

1.0 INTRODUCTION

By application dated May 19, 2003, Exelon Generation Company (EGC, the licensee) requested changes to the Technical Specifications (TS) for the LaSalle County Station, Units 1 and 2. The proposed changes would revise Appendix A, Technical Specifications (TS), of Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-11 and NPF-18, respectively. Specifically, the proposed change will decrease the frequency associated with TS Surveillance Requirement (SR) 3.7.7.1 for Turbine Bypass Valve (BPV) testing from 7 to 31 days. The proposed change is consistent with the testing frequency contained in NUREG-1434, "Standard Technical Specifications General Electric Plants, BWR/6," Revision 2, dated June 2001, for BPV testing.

The 7-day frequency associated with SR 3.7.7.1 was established in the LaSalle County Station (LSCS) TS during conversion to improved Standard Technical Specifications (STS) format due to the testing frequency contained in the LSCS custom TS and the difficulties experienced with other Electro-Hydraulic Control (EHC) system valves to consistently pass their surveillance tests. LSCS has recently re-evaluated the performance of these valves and has determined that the current performance of these valves supports decreasing the testing frequency of the BPVs from 7 to 31 days.

2.0 REGULATORY EVALUATION

The staff finds that the licensee in Section 4.0 of Attachment 2 to its submittal identified the applicable regulatory requirements. The regulatory requirements for which the staff based its acceptance are described below.

The staff reviewed the proposed changes for compliance with Section 50.36 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), and agreement with the precedent as established in NUREG-1434. In general, licensees cannot justify technical specification changes solely on the basis of adopting the model Standard Technical Specifications (STS). To ensure this, the staff makes a determination that proposed changes maintain adequate safety. Changes that result in relaxation (less restrictive condition) of current TS requirements require detailed justification.

In general, there are two classes of changes to technical specifications: (1) changes needed to reflect contents of the design basis (TS that are derived from the design basis), and (2) voluntary changes to take advantage of the evolution in policy and guidance as to the required content and preferred format of technical specifications over time. This amendment deals with

the second class of change; namely, the licensee is adopting the wording of NUREG-1434 and is implementing the surveillance test interval supported by generic analysis applicable to its facility.

Licensees may revise the TS to adopt improved STS format and content provided that plant-specific review supports a finding of continued adequate safety because: (1) the change is editorial, administrative or provides clarification (i.e., no requirements are materially altered), (2) the change is more restrictive than the licensees current requirement, or (3) the change is less restrictive than the licensees current requirement, but nonetheless still affords adequate assurance of safety when judged against current regulatory standards.

3.0 TECHNICAL EVALUATION

The staff has reviewed the licensees regulatory and technical analyses in support of its proposed license amendment which are described in Sections 5.0 and 6.0 of Attachment 2 of its submittal. The detailed evaluation below will support the conclusion 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.

The proposed change extends the turbine bypass valve test interval in SR 3.7.7.1. from 7 to 31 days. The 7-day interval was established in the custom TS due to the difficulties experienced with the other plant EHC system valves consistently passing their surveillance test. These other plant EHC system valves consist of turbine control valves, stop valves, and combined intermediate valves. These surveillance test failures were primarily due to solenoid valve sticking caused by degraded EHC fluid in the hydraulic lines to the solenoids. The licensee performed a root cause investigation into the EHC system valve testing failures. This investigation identified heat degradation of the EHC fluid as the root cause of the fluid degradation and the poor turbine valve solenoid performance.

Corrective actions were taken by the licensee as a result of the root cause investigation. The corrective actions consisted of the following: a chemical flush of the EHC system hydraulic piping and components; insulation of all identified heat sources near EHC piping and components; replacement of standard EHC fluid with an all synthetic EHC fluid that is less susceptible to heat degradation; and, replacement of all solenoids with new solenoids.

Additionally, in the middle of 2002 an electrostatic fluid purification system was placed into service on both units to remove degradation products from the EHC fluid. The corrective actions resulted in significant improvements in hydraulic system performance. Since the system upgrades were made, no failures have occurred in the EHC system valves.

The staff reviewed the licensees proposal to extend the BPV test interval from 7 to 31 days and concluded this extension is acceptable because the licensee has successfully addressed and resolved the EHC system valve problem. The 31-day interval for testing the turbine bypass valves is consistent with industry practice and with the testing frequency contained in NUREG-1434.

4.0 STATE CONSULTATION

In accordance with the Commissions regulations, the Illinois 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 a facility component located within the restricted area as defined in 10 CFR Part 20. 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 37577). 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.

Principal Contributor: P. Hearn, NRR/DIPM/IROB Date: November 13, 2003