ML050240205

License Amendments 343, 345 and 344, Minimum Pressurizer Heater Capacity

ML050240205
Person / Time
Site:	Oconee
Issue date:	03/28/2005
From:	Olshan L NRC/NRR/DLPM/LPD2
To:	Rosalyn Jones Duke Energy Corp
Olshan L N, NRR/DLPM, 415-1419
References
TAC MC1105, TAC MC1106, TAC MC1107
Download: ML050240205 (11)

Text

March 28, 2005 Mr. Ronald A. Jones Vice President, Oconee Site Duke Energy Corporation 7800 Rochester Highway Seneca, SC 29672

SUBJECT:

OCONEE NUCLEAR STATION, UNITS 1, 2 AND 3 RE: ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENTS (TAC NOS. MC1105, MC1106, AND MC1107)

Dear Mr. Jones:

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment Nos. 343, 345, and 344 to Renewed Facility Operating Licenses DPR-38, DPR-47, and DPR-55, respectively, for the Oconee Nuclear Station, Units 1, 2, and 3. The amendments consist of changes to the Technical Specifications in response to your application dated October 16, 2003, as supplemented by letters dated May 11, 2004, and January 10, 2005.

The amendments revise Technical Specification (TS) 3.4.9 to change the minimum pressurizer heater capacity from 126 kW to 400 kW to correct a non-conservative TS associated with a pressurizer design basis deficiency.

A copy of the related Safety Evaluation is also enclosed. A Notice of Issuance will be included in the Commission's 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. 50-269, 50-270, and 50-287

Enclosures:

1. Amendment No. 343 to DPR-38

2. Amendment No. 345 to DPR-47

3. Amendment No. 344 to DPR-55

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

ML050240205 Tech Spec: ML050880413

• No Major Changes to SB

1. No Legal Objection NRR-058 OFFICE PDII-1/PM PDII-1/LA OGC#

BBIB/SC*

IROB/SC PDII-1/SC NAME LOlshan CHawes SLewis RJenkins TBoyce JNakoski DATE 01/26/05 01/25/05 03/11/05 04/16/04 03/22/05 03/28/05

DUKE ENERGY CORPORATION DOCKET NO. 50-269 OCONEE NUCLEAR STATION, UNIT 1 AMENDMENT TO RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 343 Renewed License No. DPR-38

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

A. The application for amendment to the Oconee Nuclear Station, Unit 1 (the facility)

Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-38 filed by the Duke Energy Corporation (the licensee) dated October 16, 2003, as supplemented by letters dated May 11, 2004, and January 10, 2005, complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's 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 Commission's 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 Commission's 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 3.B of Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-38 is hereby amended to read as follows:

B. Technical Specifications The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A, as revised through Amendment No. 343, are hereby incorporated in the license. The licensee shall operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications.

3. This license amendment is effective as of its date of issuance and shall be implemented within 90 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: March 28, 2005

DUKE ENERGY CORPORATION DOCKET NO. 50-270 OCONEE NUCLEAR STATION, UNIT 2 AMENDMENT TO RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 345 Renewed License No. DPR-47

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

A. The application for amendment to the Oconee Nuclear Station, Unit 2 (the facility)

Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-47 filed by the Duke Energy Corporation (the licensee) dated October 16, 2003, as supplemented by letter dated May 11, 2004, and January 10, 2005, complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's 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 Commission's 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 Commission's 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 3.B of Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-47 is hereby amended to read as follows:

B. Technical Specifications The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A, as revised through Amendment No. 345, are hereby incorporated in the license. The licensee shall operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications.

3. This license amendment is effective as of its date of issuance and shall be implemented within 90 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: March 28, 2005

DUKE ENERGY CORPORATION DOCKET NO. 50-287 OCONEE NUCLEAR STATION, UNIT 3 AMENDMENT TO RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 344 Renewed License No. DPR-55

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

A. The application for amendment to the Oconee Nuclear Station, Unit 3 (the facility)

Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-55 filed by the Duke Energy Corporation (the licensee) dated October 16, 2003, as supplemented by letter dated May 11, 2004, and January 10, 2005, complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's 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 Commission's 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 Commission's 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 3.B of Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-55 is hereby amended to read as follows:

B. Technical Specifications The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A, as revised through Amendment No. 344, are hereby incorporated in the license. The licensee shall operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications.

3. This license amendment is effective as of its date of issuance and shall be implemented within 90 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: March 28, 2005

ATTACHMENT TO LICENSE AMENDMENT NO. 343 RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. DPR-38 DOCKET NO. 50-269 AND TO LICENSE AMENDMENT NO. 345 RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. DPR-47 DOCKET NO. 50-270 AND TO LICENSE AMENDMENT NO. 344 RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. DPR-55 DOCKET NO. 50-287 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 3.4.9-1 3.4.9-1 3.4.9-2 3.4.9-2 B 3.4.9-2 B 3.4.9-2 B 3.4.9-3 B 3.4.9-3 B 3.4.9-4 B 3.4.9-4 B 3.4.9-5 B 3.4.9-5 B 3.4.9-6 B 3.4.9-6

SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION RELATED TO AMENDMENT NO. 343 TO RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE DPR-38 AMENDMENT NO. 345 TO RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE DPR-47 AND AMENDMENT NO. 344 TO RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE DPR-55 DUKE ENERGY CORPORATION OCONEE NUCLEAR STATION, UNITS 1, 2, AND 3 DOCKET NOS. 50-269, 50-270, AND 50-287

1.0 INTRODUCTION

By letter dated October 16, 2003, as supplemented May 11, 2004, and January 10, 2005, Duke Energy Corporation (the licensee) submitted a request for changes to the Oconee Nuclear Station, Units 1, 2, and 3, Technical Specifications (TS) and the associated Bases. The requested changes would increase the minimum pressurizer heater capacity from 126 kW to 400 kW in TS 3.4.9. The supplements dated May 11, 2004, and January 10, 2005, provided clarifying information that did not change the scope of the October 16, 2003, application and the initial proposed no significant hazards consideration determination.

2.0 REGULATORY EVALUATION

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff considers the requirements of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Section 50.36, in its review. Specifically, the NRC staff considered 10 CFR 50.36(c)(1) that specifies information that must be included in the TS. The NRC staff also considered 10 CFR 50, Appendix A, General Design Criteria (GDC) for Nuclear Power Plant, in particular GDC 17, which addresses requirements for electrical power systems, and GDC 18, which addresses inspection and testing requirements for electrical power systems.

GDC 17, Electric power systems, states:

An onsite electric power system and an offsite electric power system shall be provided to permit functioning of structures, systems, and components important to safety. The safety function for each system (assuming the other system is not functioning) shall be to provide sufficient capacity and capability to assure that (1) specified acceptable fuel design limits and design conditions of the reactor coolant pressure boundary are not exceeded as a result of anticipated operational occurrences and (2) the core is cooled and containment integrity and other vital functions are maintained in the event of postulated accidents.

GDC 18, Inspection and testing of electric power systems, states:

Electric power systems important to safety shall be designed to permit appropriate periodic inspection and testing of important areas and features, such as wiring, insulation, connections, and switchboards, to assess the continuity of the systems and the condition of their components.

3.0 TECHNICAL EVALUATION

The pressurizer heaters are provided to maintain a steam bubble in the pressurizer for reactor coolant system pressure control and to ensure adequate natural circulation cooling. The current TS Limiting Condition for Operation (LCO) 3.4.9(b) and Surveillance Requirement (SR) 3.4.9.2 specifies a minimum of 126 kW for pressurizer heaters.

In March 2002, the licensee identified that, for all three units, the 126 kW minimum pressurizer heater capacity specified in LCO 3.4.9(b) was not sufficient to overcome ambient heat losses.

The licensee discovered that the ambient heat losses were greater than originally anticipated and that the capacity estimates from a 1972 heat load calculation were not conservative. As an interim measure, in March 2003 the licensee implemented Selected Licensee Commitment (SLC) 16.5.8a to increase the minimum pressurizer heater capacity to 378 kW. SLC 16.5.8a will remain in effect until the revised value of 400 kW for minimum pressurizer heater capacity is incorporated in TS LCO 3.4.9(b) and SR 3.4.9.2. To determine the minimum required pressurizer heater capacity, the licensee conducted tests that showed that the amount of ambient heat lost was approximately 140 kW for Unit 1, 179 kW for Unit 2, and 190 kW for Unit 3. For conservatism, the licensee proposed 400 kW as the minimum pressurizer heater capacity for TS LCO 3.4.9(b). Based on the testing conducted by the licensee, and the added conservatism in the proposed TS, the NRC staff concludes that the pressurizer heater capacity of 400 kW is acceptable.

The AC power system consists of the offsite power sources (preferred power) and the onsite standby power sources, the Keowee Hydro Units (KHUs). On loss of normal power, the existing pressurizer heaters affected by the proposed TS changes can be powered from one of the two 87.5 MVA KHUs or the Lee Steam Station. The current Oconee Updated Final Safety Analysis Report indicates that the maximum combined emergency load demand with a loss-of-coolant accident on one unit, and the other two units in hot shutdown, is 20,628 KVA. The smallest of the emergency power sources is the connection to the 100 kV transmission system through the CT5 transformer, which has a continous rating of 22,400 KVA. Normally, the 87.5 MVA KHUs provide the emergency power. If power is not available from the KHU, the emergency power is provided from the Lee Steam Station through the CT5 transformer. The licensee has stated that it has completed a coordination study for the power supply to the pressurizer heaters and has concluded that there is not a coordination problem.

In summary, the NRC staff concludes that (1) 400 kW pressurizer heater capacity is adequate to maintain a steam bubble in the pressurizer, (2) the requirements of GDC 17 are satisfied since the 400 kW pressurizer heater capacity is sufficient to assure that the safety function of the pressurizer is maintained, and (3) the requirements of GDC 18 are satisfied since SR 3.4.9.2, which will incorporate the 400 kW pressurizer heater capacity, will assure that the pressurizer heater capacity is adequately tested.

4.0 STATE CONSULTATION

In accordance with the Commission's regulations, the South Carolina State official was notified of the proposed issuance of the amendments. The State official had no comments. Therefore, the NRC staff concludes that the proposed changes to the TS are acceptable.

5.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION

The amendments change requirements with respect to installation or use of a facility component located within the restricted area as defined in 10 CFR Part 20 and change SRs.

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 (69 FR 2740). 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 Commission's 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: S. Mazumdar Date: March 28, 2005

Oconee Nuclear Station, Units 1, 2, and 3 cc:

Ms. Lisa F. Vaughn Duke Energy Corporation Mail Code - PB05E 422 S. Church St.

P.O. Box 1244 Charlotte, NC 28201-1244 Ms. Anne W. Cottingham, Esq.

Winston and Strawn 1400 L St, NW Washington, DC 20005 Manager, LIS NUS Corporation 2650 McCormick Dr., 3rd Floor Clearwater, FL 34619-1035 Senior Resident Inspector U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 7812B Rochester Highway Seneca, SC 29672 Mr. Henry Porter, Director Division of Radioactive Waste Management Bureau of Land and Waste Management Dept. of Health and Env. Control 2600 Bull St.

Columbia, SC 29201-1708 Mr. Michael A. Schoppman Framatome ANP 1911 North Ft. Myer Dr.

Suite 705 Rosslyn, VA 22209 Mr. B. G. Davenport Regulatory Compliance Manager Oconee Nuclear Site Duke Energy Corporation ON03RC 7800 Rochester Highway Seneca, SC 29672 Ms. Karen E. Long Assistant Attorney General NC Department of Justice P.O. Box 629 Raleigh, NC 27602 Mr. R. L. Gill, Jr.

Manager - Nuclear Regulatory Issues and Industry Affairs Duke Energy Corporation 526 S. Church St.

Mail Stop EC05P Charlotte, NC 28202 Mr. Richard M. Fry, Director Division of Radiation Protection NC Dept of Environment, Health, & Natural Resources 3825 Barrett Dr.

Raleigh, NC 27609-7721 Mr. Peter R. Harden, IV VP-Customer Relations and Sales Westinghouse Electric Company 6000 Fairview Road 12th Floor Charlotte, NC 28210 Mr. Henry Barron Group Vice President, Nuclear Generation and Chief Nuclear Officer P.O. Box 1006-EC07H Charlotte, NC 28201-1006