ML042160570
| ML042160570 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Columbia  |
| Issue date: | 07/26/2004 |
| From: | Macon W NRC/NRR/DLPM/LPD4 |
| To: | Parrish J Energy Northwest |
| Macon W, NRR/DLPM,415-3965 | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML042160583 | List: |
| References | |
| TAC M92650 | |
| Download: ML042160570 (14) | |
Text
July 26, 2004 Mr. J. V. Parrish Chief Executive Officer Energy Northwest P.O. Box 968 (Mail Drop 1023)
Richland, WA 99352-0968
SUBJECT:
COLUMBIA GENERATING STATION, ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT RE: CONTROL ROOM EMERGENCY FILTRATION (CREF) SYSTEM (TAC NO. MC2650)
Dear Mr. Parrish:
The Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 188 to Facility Operating License No. NPF-21 for the Columbia Generating Station. The amendment consists of changes to the Technical Specifications (TSs) in response to your application dated April 19, 2004.
The amendment revises TS 3.7.3, "Control Room Emergency Filtration (CREF) System," to address a degraded main control room envelope pressure boundary. The change is consistent with the TS Task Force Traveler No. 287, Revision 5, "Ventilation System Envelope Allowed Outage Time," which was approved by the Commission on March 16, 2000.
A copy of the Safety Evaluation is also enclosed. The Notice of Issuance will be included in the Commission's next biweekly Federal Register notice.
Sincerely,
/RA/
William A. Macon, Jr., Project Manager, Section 2 Project Directorate IV Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-397
Enclosures:
- 1. Amendment No. 188 to NPF-21
- 2. Safety Evaluation cc w/encls: See next page
Columbia Generating Station cc:
Mr. Dale Atkinson (Mail Drop PE08)
Vice President, Technical Services Energy Northwest P.O. Box 968 Richland, WA 99352-0968 Mr. Albert E. Mouncer (Mail Drop PE01)
Vice President, Corporate Services/
General Counsel/CFO Energy Northwest P.O. Box 968 Richland, WA 99352-0968 Chairman Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council P.O. Box 43172 Olympia, WA 98504-3172 Mr. D. W. Coleman (Mail Drop PE20)
Manager, Performance Assessment and Regulatory Programs Energy Northwest P.O. Box 968 Richland, WA 99352-0968 Ms. Christina Perino (Mail Drop PE20)
Manager, Licensing Energy Northwest P.O. Box 968 Richland, WA 99352-0968 Regional Administrator, Region IV U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400 Arlington, TX 76011-4005 Chairman Benton County Board of Commissioners P.O. Box 190 Prosser, WA 99350-0190 Senior Resident Inspector U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission P.O. Box 69 Richland, WA 99352-0069 Mr. Rodney L. Webring (Mail Drop PE04)
Vice President, Nuclear Generation Energy Northwest P.O. Box 968 Richland, WA 99352-0968 Thomas C. Poindexter, Esq.
Winston & Strawn 1400 L Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20005-3502 Mr. Bob Nichols Executive Policy Division Office of the Governor P.O. Box 43113 Olympia, WA 98504-3113 Ms. Lynn Albin Washington State Department of Health P.O. Box 7827 Olympia, WA 98504-7827
July 26, 2004 Mr. J. V. Parrish Chief Executive Officer Energy Northwest P.O. Box 968 (Mail Drop 1023)
Richland, WA 99352-0968
SUBJECT:
COLUMBIA GENERATING STATION, ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT RE: CONTROL ROOM EMERGENCY FILTRATION (CREF) SYSTEM (TAC NO. MC2650)
Dear Mr. Parrish:
The Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 188 to Facility Operating License No. NPF-21 for the Columbia Generating Station. The amendment consists of changes to the Technical Specifications (TSs) in response to your application dated April 19, 2004.
The amendment revises TS 3.7.3, "Control Room Emergency Filtration (CREF) System," to address a degraded main control room envelope pressure boundary. The change is consistent with the TS Task Force Traveler No. 287, Revision 5, "Ventilation System Envelope Allowed Outage Time," which was approved by the Commission on March 16, 2000.
A copy of the Safety Evaluation is also enclosed. The Notice of Issuance will be included in the Commission's next biweekly Federal Register notice.
Sincerely,
/RA/
William A. Macon, Jr., Project Manager, Section 2 Project Directorate IV Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-397
Enclosures:
- 1. Amendment No. 188 to NPF-21
- 2. Safety Evaluation cc w/encls: See next page DISTRIBUTION:
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C:\\MyFiles\\Copies\\Columbia-iSSUANCE OF amd 188.wpd OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
ENERGY NORTHWEST DOCKET NO. 50-397 COLUMBIA GENERATING STATION AMENDMENT TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 188 License No. NPF-21 1.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has found that:
A.
The application for amendment by Energy Northwest (licensee) dated April 19, 2004, complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act) and the Commission's 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 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-21 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. 188 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.
The license amendment is effective as of its date of issuance and shall be implemented within 30 days from the date of issuance.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
/RA/
Stephen Dembek, Chief, Section 2 Project Directorate IV Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Attachment:
Changes to the Technical Specifications Date of Issuance: July 26, 2004
ATTACHMENT TO LICENSE AMENDMENT NO. 188 FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-21 DOCKET NO. 50-397 Replace the following pages of the 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. The corresponding overleaf pages are also provided to maintain document completeness.
REMOVE INSERT 3.7.3-1 3.7.3-1 3.7.3-2 3.7.3-2 3.7.3-3 3.7.3-3 3.7.3-4 3.7.3-4
SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION RELATED TO AMENDMENT NO. 188 TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-21 ENERGY NORTHWEST COLUMBIA GENERATING STATION DOCKET NO. 50-397
1.0 INTRODUCTION
By application dated April 19, 2004 (Accession No. ML041240148), Energy Northwest (the licensee) requested changes to the Technical Specifications (TS) for the Columbia Generating Station. The proposed changes would revise TS 3.7.3, "Control Room Emergency Filtration (CREF) System," to address a degraded main control room envelope pressure boundary.
Specifically, the proposed changes would allow up to 24 hours2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br /> to restore the control room boundary to operable status when two trains of the CREF system are inoperable due to an inoperable control room boundary in Modes 1, 2, and 3. In addition, a note would be included that would allow the pressure boundary to be opened intermittently under administrative controls. The licensee would revise the applicable TS Bases to make them consistent with the TS revision. The proposed revision is consistent with the TS Task Force (TSTF) Traveler No.
287, Revision 5, "Ventilation System Envelope Allowed Outage Time," which was approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on March 16, 2000.
2.0 REGULATORY EVALUATION
The proposed amendment would revise Limiting Condition for Operation (LCO) 3.7.3 and the associated TS Bases to provide specific conditions, required actions, and completion times that address a degraded control room boundary. The staff finds that the licensee in Section 5.0 of its submittal identified the applicable regulatory requirements. The regulatory requirements and guidance which provide the basis for the staffs review criteria are:
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 50 (10 CFR 50), Appendix A, General Design Criterion (GDC) 19; and 10 CFR Sections 50.36, 50.90, and 50.92 TSTF Traveler No. 287, Revision 5 (TSTF-287)
NUREG-1433, Revision 3, "Standard Technical Specifications General Electric Plants, BWR/4," dated June 2004; specifically Standard Technical Specification (STS) 3.7.4, and associated Bases Precedents associated with the licensee's amendment application include TSTF-287 and previously issued amendments approved by the NRC for a number of pressurized water reactors (PWRs) and several boiling water reactors (BWRs), including Hatch, Fermi, Susquehanna and most recently, Browns Ferry.
3.0 TECHNICAL EVALUATION
The staff has reviewed the licensee's regulatory and technical analyses in support of its proposed license amendment which are described in Sections 4.0 and 5.0 of the licensee's 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 CREF system provides a radiologically controlled environment from which the unit can be safely operated following a design basis accident (DBA). The safety-related function of the CREF system includes two independent and redundant high efficiency air filtration subsystems for emergency treatment of outside supply air. The current Surveillance Requirement (SR) 3.7.3.4 ensures that the control room boundary will meet its positive pressure limit with one CREF subsystem in operation. The current LCO 3.7.3 provides specific conditions, required actions, and completion times for CREF system inoperability due to degradation. However, it does not provide corresponding conditions, required actions, or completion times associated with the control room boundary degradation. Therefore, if the pressure boundary surveillance (i.e., SR 3.7.3.4) is not met while in Modes 1, 2, or 3, then LCO 3.0.3 must be entered.
Requiring the plant to enter LCO 3.0.3 when the control room boundary is not intact does not provide sufficient time to effect required repairs or corrective maintenance activities.
The staff has reviewed the licensees regulatory and technical analyses in support of its proposed license amendment. The proposed changes are similar in nature to the improved STS for BWR secondary containment and PWR shield building which allow 24 hours2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br /> to restore secondary containment or shield building envelope to operable status before requiring an orderly shutdown from operating conditions. The staffs evaluation is provided below.
The proposed changes to TS 3.7.3 are:
1.
A Note is added to LCO 3.7.3 for the CREF system to allow the main control room boundary to be opened intermittently under administrative controls. The licensee revised the associated TS Bases to make them consistent with the TS revision.
2.
A new Condition B is added to LCO 3.7.3 to specify that 24 hours2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br /> are allowed to restore an inoperable main control room boundary to operable status. The licensee revised the associated TS Bases to make them consistent with the TS revision. The revised Bases include a description of the preplanned compensatory measures to be taken during the time period that the main control room boundary is inoperable.
3.
Condition D of LCO 3.7.3 (which is modified and now becomes new Condition E) for two inoperable CREF subsystems in Modes 1, 2, or 3 is modified to enter LCO 3.0.3 immediately when the two CREF subsystems are inoperable for reasons other than the degraded main control room boundary, as stated in Condition B above. The associated TS Bases for this Condition are revised accordingly.
For entry and exit through doors, the administrative control of the doors is performed by the person(s) entering or exiting the area. For other openings, these controls consist of stationing a dedicated individual at the opening who is in continuous communication with the main control room. This individual will have a method to rapidly close the opening when a need for control room area isolation is indicated.
In summary, the proposed changes would allow 24 hours2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br /> (during operation in Modes 1, 2, and 3) to restore the leak tightness of the control room boundary before requiring the unit to perform an orderly shutdown, and also would allow intermittent openings of the control room boundary under administrative controls. The 24-hour completion time is consistent with the intent of GDC 19 and STS 3.7.4 for BWR secondary containment as discussed in NUREG-1433, and is reasonable based on the low probability of a DBA event occurring during this time period. Appropriate compensatory measures will be utilized to protect the control room operators from potential hazards such as radiation, radioactive contamination, toxic chemicals, smoke, temperature, relative humidity, and to ensure physical security. The preplanned compensatory measures will be available to address these concerns for intentional and unintentional entry into the proposed new Condition B of LCO 3.7.3.
Based on the low probability of a DBA occurring during the extended allowed outage time and the availability of the preplanned compensatory measures which meet the intent of GDC 19, the staff finds that the proposed changes are acceptable. The changes are in conformance with TSTF-287.
4.0 STATE CONSULTATION
In accordance with the Commission's regulations, the Washington State official was notified of the proposed issuance of the amendment. The State official had no comments.
5.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION
The amendment changes a requirement with respect to 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 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 (68 FR 29764). Accordingly, the amendment meets 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 amendment.
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 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.
Principal Contributor: W. Macon, NRR/DLPM Date: July 26, 2004