ML050240435

Summary of Meeting Palo Verde 'S Dry Cask Storage and Fuel Issues

ML050240435
Person / Time
Site:	Palo Verde
Issue date:	02/01/2005
From:	Fields M NRC/NRR/DLPM/LPD4
To:	Gramm R NRC/NRR/DLPM/LPD4
Fields M B ,NRR/DLPM,415-3062
Shared Package
ML050240440	List: ML050240096 ML050240435
References
Download: ML050240435 (4)

Text

February 1, 2005 MEMORANDUM TO: Robert A. Gramm, Chief, Section 2 Project Directorate IV Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation FROM: Mel Fields, Senior Project Manager, Section 2/RA/

Project Directorate IV Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

SUMMARY

OF MEETING HELD ON DECEMBER 9, 2004, WITH THE PALO VERDE NUCLEAR GENERATING STATION LICENSEE RE: DRY CASK STORAGE AND FUEL ISSUES On December 9, 2004, Arizona Public Service Company (APS), the licensee for the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1, 2, and 3, met with the staff at the NRC offices in Rockville, Maryland. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss issues related to dry cask storage of spent fuel and fuel issues such as fuel performance, lead test assembly programs, and future control element assembly modifications.

The morning session was dedicated to dry cask storage issues. The licensee has loaded 22 casks and placed them on the storage pad located on site property and there has been a steady decline in dose received to personnel during the loading operations. APS stated that approval of Amendment 4 to the Certificate of Compliance for the NAC International Universal Storage System (NAC-UMS) storage cask would lower the risks associated with cask loading and would simplify other aspects of this operation. However, the schedule for staff approval of Amendment 4 will not occur early enough in 2005 to support the licensee's planned cask loading in 2005. The morning session ended with a discussion of future dry cask storage needs by the licensee. There will be a need to load high burnup fuel by 2007 and a control element assembly disposal option will also be needed. Since there is no licensed cask that can meet all the conditions established by the licensee, a contract award is anticipated to be awarded in mid-2005.

During the afternoon session, APS updated the staff on recent fuel performance, their long term fuel design strategies, the replacement program for control element assemblies, and planned licensing submittals. Details of these agenda items are explained in the meeting slides. The slides are available in ADAMS under accession numbers ML050240096 and ML050240124.

A list of attendees is attached. There were no members of the public represented at the meeting.

Attachment:

Meeting Attendees cc w/att: See next page

ML050240435 NRC-001 OFFICE PDIV-2/PM PDIV-1/LA PDIV-2/SC NAME MFields:sp DBaxley RGramm DATE 1/25/05 1/25/05 2/1/05 Palo Verde Generating Station, Units 1, 2, and 3 cc:

Mr. Steve Olea Mr. John Taylor Arizona Corporation Commission Public Service Company of New Mexico 1200 W. Washington Street 2401 Aztec NE, MS Z110 Phoenix, AZ 85007 Albuquerque, NM 87107-4224 Douglas Kent Porter Ms. Cheryl Adams Senior Counsel Southern California Edison Company Southern California Edison Company 5000 Pacific Coast Hwy Bldg DIN Law Department, Generation Resources San Clemente, CA 92672 P.O. Box 800 Rosemead, CA 91770 Mr. Robert Henry Salt River Project Senior Resident Inspector 6504 East Thomas Road U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Scottsdale, AZ 85251 P. O. Box 40 Buckeye, AZ 85326 Mr. Jeffrey T. Weikert Assistant General Counsel Regional Administrator, Region IV El Paso Electric Company U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Mail Location 167 Harris Tower & Pavillion 123 W. Mills 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400 El Paso, TX 79901 Arlington, TX 76011-8064 Mr. John Schumann Chairman Los Angeles Department of Water & Power Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Southern California Public Power Authority 301 W. Jefferson, 10th Floor P.O. Box 51111, Room 1255-C Phoenix, AZ 85003 Los Angeles, CA 90051-0100 Mr. Aubrey V. Godwin, Director Brian Almon Arizona Radiation Regulatory Agency Public Utility Commission 4814 South 40 Street William B. Travis Building Phoenix, AZ 85040 P. O. Box 13326 1701 North Congress Avenue Mr. M. Dwayne Carnes, Director Austin, TX 78701-3326 Regulatory Affairs/Nuclear Assurance Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station Mr. Gregg R. Overbeck P.O. Box 52034 Senior Vice President, Nuclear Phoenix, AZ 85072-2034 Arizona Public Service Company P. O. Box 52034 Mr. Hector R. Puente Phoenix, AZ 85072-2034 Vice President, Power Generation El Paso Electric Company 310 E. Palm Lane, Suite 310 Phoenix, AZ 85004 November 2003

MEETING WITH PALO VERDE LICENSEE LIST OF ATTENDEES DECEMBER 9, 2004 Arizona Public Service Company Glenn Michael Bob Bandera Craig Seaman Brian Hansen NAL International Tom Dannier NRC Wayne Hodges Larry Campbell John Monninger Ray Wharton Amy Snyder Shih-Liang Wu Undine Shoop Heremy Tapp Zena Abdullahi Francis Akstulewicz Mel Fields