ML050970046
| ML050970046 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Clinton  |
| Issue date: | 05/20/2005 |
| From: | Jabbour K NRC/NRR/DLPM/LPD3 |
| To: | Crane C AmerGen Energy Co |
| Jabbour K, NRR/DLPM, 415-1496 | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML050970051 | List: |
| References | |
| TAC MC4939 | |
| Download: ML050970046 (13) | |
Text
May 20, 2005 Mr. Christopher M. Crane, President and Chief Executive Officer AmerGen Energy Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, Illinois 60555
SUBJECT:
CLINTON POWER STATION, UNIT 1 - ISSUANCE OF AN AMENDMENT RE: MONTHLY OPERATING REPORTS AND ANNUAL OCCUPATIONAL RADIATION EXPOSURE REPORTS (TAC NO. MC4939)
Dear Mr. Crane:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Commission) has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 164 to Facility Operating License No. NPF-62 for the Clinton Power Station, Unit 1. The amendment consists of changes to the Technical Specifications (TSs) in response to your application dated October 21, 2004, as supplemented January 4, 2005.
This amendment deletes the TS requirements to submit monthly operating reports and annual occupational radiation exposure reports. The change is consistent with Revision 1 of the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commissions approved Technical Specifications Task Force (TSTF)
Change Traveler, TSTF-369, "Elimination of Requirements for Monthly Operating Reports and Occupational Radiation Exposure Reports." This TS improvement was announced in the Federal Register (69 FR 35067) on June 23, 2004, as part of the Consolidated Line Item Improvement Process.
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/
Kahtan N. Jabbour, Senior Project Manager, Section 2 Project Directorate III Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-461
Enclosures:
- 1. Amendment No. 164 to NPF-62
- 2. Safety Evaluation cc w/encls: See next page
May 20, 2005 Mr. Christopher M. Crane, President and Chief Executive Officer AmerGen Energy Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, Illinois 60555
SUBJECT:
CLINTON POWER STATION, UNIT 1 - ISSUANCE OF AN AMENDMENT RE: MONTHLY OPERATING REPORTS AND ANNUAL OCCUPATIONAL RADIATION EXPOSURE REPORTS (TAC NO. MC4939)
Dear Mr. Crane:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Commission) has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 164 to Facility Operating License No. NPF-62 for the Clinton Power Station, Unit 1. The amendment consists of changes to the Technical Specifications (TSs) in response to your application dated October 21, 2004, as supplemented January 4, 2005.
This amendment deletes the TS requirements to submit monthly operating reports and annual occupational radiation exposure reports. The change is consistent with Revision 1 of the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commissions approved Technical Specifications Task Force (TSTF)
Change Traveler, TSTF-369, "Elimination of Requirements for Monthly Operating Reports and Occupational Radiation Exposure Reports." This TS improvement was announced in the Federal Register (69 FR 35067) on June 23, 2004, as part of the Consolidated Line Item Improvement Process.
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/
Kahtan N. Jabbour, Senior Project Manager, Section 2 Project Directorate III Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-461
Enclosures:
- 1. Amendment No. 164 to NPF-62
- 2. Safety Evaluation cc w/encls: See next page DISTRIBUTION:
PUBLIC PDIII-2 GHill (2) ACRS OGC PCoates KJabbour GGrant, RIII TBoyce O-12H2 Package: ML050970051 Amendment: ML050970046 TS Pages: ML051460202 OFFICE PM:PD3-2 LA:PD3-2 DLPM:LPM SC:PD3-2 NAME KJabbour PCoates WReckley GSuh DATE 5/18/05 5/19/05 5/20/05 5/20/05 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
Clinton Power Station, Unit 1 cc:
Senior Vice President - Nuclear Services Clinton Power Station Plant Manager AmerGen Energy Company, LLC AmerGen Energy Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Clinton Power Station Warrenville, IL 60555 RR 3, Box 228 Clinton, IL 61727-9351 Vice President Operations Support AmerGen Energy Company, LLC Resident Inspector 4300 Winfield Road U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Warrenville, IL 60555 RR #3, Box 229A Clinton, IL 61727 Vice President - Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Chief Operating Officer AmerGen Energy Company, LLC AmerGen Energy Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555 Warrenville, IL 60555 Manager Licensing - Clinton and LaSalle Regional Administrator, Region III AmerGen Energy Company, LLC U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 4300 Winfield Road 801 Warrenville Road Warrenville, IL 60555 Lisle, IL 60532-4351 Regulatory Assurance Manager - Clinton Senior Counsel, Nuclear AmerGen Energy Company, LLC AmerGen Energy Company, LLC Clinton Power Station 4300 Winfield Road RR3, Box 228 Warrenville, IL 60555 Clinton, IL 61727-9351 R. T. Hill Director Licensing Licensing Services Manager AmerGen Energy Company, LLC General Electric Company 4300 Winfield Road 175 Curtner Avenue, M/C 481 Warrenville, IL 60555 San Jose, CA 95125 Document Control Desk-Licensing Chairman of DeWitt County AmerGen Energy Company, LLC c/o County Clerks Office 4300 Winfield Road DeWitt County Courthouse Warrenville, IL 60555 Clinton, IL 61727 Site Vice President - Clinton Power Station AmerGen Energy Company, LLC Clinton Power Station RR 3, Box 228 Clinton, IL 61727-9351
Clinton Power Station, Unit 1 J. W. Blattner Project Manager Sargent & Lundy Engineers 55 East Monroe Street Chicago, IL 60603 Illinois Emergency Management Agency Division of Disaster Assistance &
Preparedness 110 East Adams Street Springfield, IL 62701-1109
AMERGEN ENERGY COMPANY, LLC DOCKET NO. 50-461 CLINTON POWER STATION, UNIT 1 AMENDMENT TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 164 License No. NPF-62
- 1. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has found that:
A. The application for amendment by AmerGen Energy Company, LLC (the licensee), dated October 21, 2004, as supplemented January 4, 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 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-62 is hereby amended to read as follows:
(2) Technical Specifications and Environmental Protection Plan The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A and the Environmental Protection Plan contained in Appendix B, as revised through Amendment No. 164 are hereby incorporated into this license. AmerGen Energy Company, LLC 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 60 days of the date of issuance.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
/RA/
Gene Y. Suh, 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: May 20, 2005
ATTACHMENT TO LICENSE AMENDMENT NO. 164 FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-62 DOCKET NO. 50-461 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.
Remove Pages Insert Pages 5.0-17 5.0-17 5.0-18 5.0-18 5.0-19 5.0-19
SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION RELATED TO AMENDMENT NO. 164 TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-62 AMERGEN ENERGY COMPANY, LLC CLINTON POWER STATION, UNIT 1 DOCKET NO. 50-461
1.0 INTRODUCTION
By application dated October 21, 2004, as supplemented January 4, 2005, Amergen Energy Company, LLC (the licensee) requested changes to the Technical Specifications (TSs) for Clinton Power Station, Unit 1 (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML42990134 and ML050940465). The NRC staffs proposed no significant hazards consideration determination was published in the Federal Register on April 12, 2005 (70 FR 19114).
The amendment deletes the TS requirements to submit monthly operating reports and annual occupational radiation exposure reports. The change is consistent with Revision 1 of NRC-approved Technical Specifications Task Force (TSTF) Change Traveler, TSTF-369, "Elimination of Requirements for Monthly Operating Reports and Occupational Radiation Exposure Reports." This TS improvement was announced in the Federal Register (69 FR 35067) on June 23, 2004, as part of the Consolidated Line Item Improvement Process (CLIIP).
2.0 REGULATORY EVALUATION
Section 182a. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, (the Act) requires applicants for nuclear power plant operating licenses to state such TSs as the Commission may deem necessary. Such TSs shall be a part of the license issued. The Commission's regulatory requirements related to the content of TSs are set forth in 10 CFR 50.36, ?Technical specifications. The regulation requires that TSs include items in five specific categories, including (1) safety limits, limiting safety system settings, and limiting control settings; (2) limiting conditions for operation (LCO); (3) surveillance requirements; (4) design features; and (5) administrative controls. However, the regulation does not specify the particular requirements to be included in a plant's TSs.
The Commission has provided guidance for the content of TSs in its "Final Policy Statement on Technical Specification Improvements for Nuclear Power Reactors" (58 FR 39132, published July 22, 1993), in which the Commission indicated that compliance with the Final Policy Statement satisfies Section 182a. of the Act. The Final Policy Statement identified four criteria to be used in determining whether a particular item should be addressed in the TSs as an LCO.
The criteria were subsequently incorporated into Section 50.36 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) (60 FR 36593, published July 19, 1995). While the criteria
specifically apply to LCO, the Commission indicated that the intent of these criteria may be used to identify the optimum set of administrative controls in TSs. Addressing administrative controls, 10 CFR 50.36 states that they are ?the provisions relating to organization and management, procedures, record keeping, review and audit, and reporting necessary to assure operation of the facility in a safe manner. The specific content of the administrative controls section of the TSs is, therefore, related to those programs and reports that the Commission deems essential for the safe operation of the facility, which are not adequately covered by regulations or other regulatory requirements. Accordingly, the NRC staff may determine that specific requirements, such as those associated with this change, may be removed from the administrative controls in the TSs if they are not explicitly required by 10 CFR 50.36(c)(5) and are not otherwise necessary to obviate the possibility of an abnormal situation or event giving rise to an immediate threat to the public health and safety.
The impetus for the monthly operating reports (MOR) came from the 1973-1974 oil embargo.
Regulatory Guide 1.16, Revision 4, "Reporting of Operating Information--Appendix A Technical Specifications," published for comment in August 1975, identifies operating statistics and shutdown experience information that was desired in the operating report at that time. In the mid-1990s, the NRC staff assessed the information that is submitted in the MOR and determined that while some of the information was no longer used by the NRC staff, the MOR was the only source of some data used in the NRC Performance Indicator (PI) Program of that time period (see NRC Generic Letter (GL) 97-02, "Revised Contents of the Monthly Operating Report"). Beginning in the late 1990s, the NRC developed and implemented a major revision to its assessment, inspection, and enforcement processes through its Reactor Oversight Process (ROP). The ROP uses both plant-level PI and inspections performed by NRC personnel. In conjunction with the development of the ROP, the NRC developed the Industry Trends Program (ITP). The ITP provides the NRC a means to assess overall industry performance using industry level indicators and to report on industry trends to various stakeholders (e.g., Congress). Information from the ITP is used to assess the NRC's performance related to its goal of having ?no statistically significant adverse industry trends in safety performance.
The ITP uses some of the same PI as the PI Program from the mid-1990s and, therefore, the NRC has a continuing use for the data provided in MOR. The NRC also uses some data from the MOR to support the evaluation of operating experience, licensee event reports, and other assessments performed by the NRC staff and its contractors.
The reporting requirements for the MOR include challenges to the safety/relief valves. The reporting of challenges to the safety/relief valves was included in TSs based on the guidance in NUREG-0694, "[Three Mile Island] TMI-Related Requirements for New Operating Licensees."
The industry proposed and the NRC accepted the elimination of the reporting requirements in TSs for challenges to safety/relief valves in Revision 4 to TSTF-258, "Changes to Section 5.0, Administrative Controls." The NRC staff's acceptance of TSTF-258 and subsequent approval of plant-specific adoptions of TSTF-258 is based on the fact that the information on challenges to relief and safety valves is not used in the evaluation of the MOR data, and that the information needed by the NRC is adequately addressed by the reporting requirements in 10 CFR 50.73, "Licensee event reports."
Licensees are required by TSs to submit annual occupational radiation exposure reports (ORER) to the NRC. These reports, developed in the mid-1970s, supplement the reporting requirements currently defined in 10 CFR 20.2206, "Reports of individual monitoring," by
providing a tabulation of data by work areas and job functions. The NRC included data from the ORER in its annual publication of NUREG-0713, "Occupational Radiation Exposure at Commercial Nuclear Power Reactors and Other Facilities," through the year 1997, but no longer includes the data in that or other reports.
3.0 TECHNICAL EVALUATION
3.1 Monthly Operating Reports (Section 5.6.4 for Clinton Power Station)
As previously mentioned, the administrative requirements in the TSs are reserved for "the provisions relating to organization and management, procedures, record keeping, review and audit, and reporting necessary to assure operation of the facility in a safe manner." The current use of the information from the MOR is not related to reporting on or confirming the safe operation of specific nuclear power plants. Instead, the data is used by the NRC to assess and communicate with stakeholders regarding the overall performance of the nuclear industry. Data related to PI for specific plants are reported to the NRC as part of the ROP. The NRC staff has determined that the MOR do not meet the criteria defined for requirements to be included in the administrative section of TSs and the reporting requirement may, therefore, be removed.
Although the MOR do not satisfy the criteria for inclusion in TSs, the NRC staff nevertheless has a continuing need to receive the data in order to compile its reports on industry trends and to support other evaluations of operating experience. In addition, information such as plant capacity factors that are reported in the MOR are useful to the NRC staff and are frequently asked for by agency stakeholders.
The NRC staff interacted with licensees, industry organizations, and other stakeholders during the development of the Consolidated Data Entry (CDE) program (currently being developed and maintained by the Institute of Nuclear Power Operation (INPO)), regarding the use of an industry database like CDE to provide data currently obtained from MOR. These discussions also involved the related Revision 1 to TS Task Force No. 369 (TSTF-369), ?Elimination of Requirements for Monthly Operating Reports and Occupational Radiation Exposure Reports.
As described in Section 4 of this safety evaluation, the licensee is making a regulatory commitment to continue to provide the data identified in GL 97-02, following the removal of the TS requirement to submit MOR, and will, therefore, continue to meet the needs of the NRC staff for the ITP and other evaluations. The use of an industry database such as CDE is more efficient and cost-effective for both the NRC and licensees than would be having the NRC staff obtain the needed information from other means currently available. Should a licensee fail to satisfy the regulatory commitment to voluntarily provide the information, the NRC could obtain the information through its inspection program (similar to the process described in NRC Inspection Procedure 71150, "Discrepant or Unreported Performance Indicator Data") with the licensee being charged for the time spent by the NRC staff.
The only significant changes resulting from the adoption of TSTF-369 are that the information will be provided quarterly instead of monthly (although the operating data will still be divided by month) and the form of the reporting will be from a consolidated database such as CDE instead of in correspondence from individual licensees. The change of reporting frequency to quarterly has some advantages for both the NRC staff and licensees, since it will coincide with the collection and submission of the ROP PI data. In terms of the specific method used to transmit the data to the NRC, the licensee has committed (see Section 4.0 below) to provide data
identified in GL 97-02 on a quarterly basis. The NRC staff believes that the most efficient process for licensees and the NRC will be for all licensees to use a system such as CDE. Such systems have advantages in terms of improved data entry, data checking, and data verification and validation. The NRC will recognize efficiency gains by having the data from all plants reported using the same computer software and format. Although the data may be transmitted to the NRC from an industry organization maintaining a database such as CDE, the licensee provides the data for the system and remains responsible for the accuracy of the data submitted to the NRC for its plant(s). The public will continue to have access to the data through official agency records accessible on the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System.
The content requirements for the Clinton Power Station MOR currently include information on challenges to the safety/relief valves. As discussed in the previous section, the NRC staff has documented in its approval of TSTF-258 and related plant-specific amendments that the reporting of challenges to safety/relief valves may be removed from TSs since the information needed by the NRC is adequately addressed by the reporting requirements in 10 CFR 50.73, "Licensee event report." The NRC staff finds it acceptable to remove the requirement to report challenges to safety/relief valves along with the other reporting requirements associated with the MOR.
3.2 Occupational Radiation Exposure Reports (Section 5.6.1 for Clinton Power Station)
The information that the NRC staff needs regarding occupational doses is provided by licensees in the reports required under 10 CFR Part 20. The data from the Part 20 reports are sufficient to support the NRC trending programs, radiation related studies, and preparation of reports such as NUREG-0713. Accordingly, the NRC's limited use of the ORER submitted pursuant to the existing TS requirements no longer warrants the regulatory burden imposed on licensees. Therefore, the NRC staff finds it acceptable that Section 5.6.1 for the Clinton Power Station, is being deleted and the ORER will no longer be submitted by the licensee.
4.0 VERIFICATIONS AND COMMITMENTS In order to efficiently process incoming license amendment applications, the NRC staff requested each licensee requesting the changes addressed by TSTF-369 using the CLIIP to address the following plant-specific regulatory commitment.
Each licensee should make a regulatory commitment to provide to the NRC using an industry database the operating data (for each calender month) that is described in GL 97-02 ?Revised Contents of the Monthly Operating Report, by the last day of the month following the end of each calendar quarter. The regulatory commitment will be based on use of an industry database (e.g., the industry's CDE program, currently being developed and maintained by the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations).
The licensee has made a regulatory commitment to provide to the NRC using an industry database the operating data (for each calendar month) that is described in GL 97-02 "Revised Contents of the Monthly Operating Report," by the last day of the month following the end of each calendar quarter. The regulatory commitment will be based on use of an industry database (e.g., the industry's CDE program, currently being developed and maintained by
INPO). This regulatory commitment will be implemented to prevent any gaps in the monthly operating statistics and shutdown experience provided to the NRC (i.e., data for all months will be provided using one or both systems (MOR and CDE)).
The NRC staff finds that reasonable controls for the implementation and for subsequent evaluation of proposed changes pertaining to the above regulatory commitments can be provided by the licensee's administrative processes, including its commitment management program. The NRC staff has agreed that Nuclear Energy Institute 99-04, Revision 0, "Guidelines for Managing NRC Commitment Changes," provides reasonable guidance for the control of regulatory commitments made to the NRC staff (see Regulatory Issue Summary 2000-17, "Managing Regulatory Commitments Made by Power Reactor Licensees to the NRC Staff," dated September 21, 2000). The NRC staff notes that this amendment establishes a voluntary reporting system for the operating data that is similar to the system established for the ROP Pl Program. Should the licensee choose to incorporate a regulatory commitment into the final safety analysis report or other document with established regulatory controls, the associated regulations would define the appropriate change-control and reporting requirements.
4.0 FINAL NO SIGNIFICANT HAZARDS CONSIDERATION
DETERMINATION The Commissions regulations in 10 CFR 50.92 state that the Commission may make a final determination that a license amendment involves no significant hazards consideration if operation of the facility in accordance with the amendment would not: (1) involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of any accident previously evaluated; or (2) create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated; or (3) involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety.
The amendment has been evaluated against the three standards in 10 CFR 50.92(c). In its analysis of the issue of no significant hazards consideration, as required by 10 CFR 50.91(a),
the licensee has provided the following:
Criterion 1 - The proposed change does not involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated.
The proposed change eliminates the Technical Specifications (TSs) reporting requirements to provide a monthly operating report of shutdown experience and operating statistics if the equivalent data is submitted using an industry electronic database. It also eliminates the TS reporting requirement for an annual occupational radiation exposure report, which provides information beyond that specified in NRC regulations. The proposed change involves no changes to plant systems or accident analyses. As such, the change is administrative in nature and does not affect initiators of analyzed events or assumed mitigation of accidents or transients. Therefore, the proposed change does not involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated.
Criterion 2 - Does the proposed change create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated?
The proposed change does not involve a physical alteration of the plant, add any new equipment, or require any existing equipment to be operated in a manner different from the present design. Therefore, the proposed change does not create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated.
Criterion 3 - Does the proposed change involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety?
This is an administrative change to reporting requirements of plant operating information and occupational radiation exposure data, and has no effect on plant equipment, operating practices or safety analyses assumptions. For these reasons, the proposed change does not involve a significant reduction in the margin of safety.
Based on this review, the Commission has made a final determination that this amendment does not involve a significant hazards consideration.
5.0 STATE CONSULTATION
In accordance with the Commission's regulations, the Illinois State official was notified of the proposed issuance of the amendment. The State official had no comments.
6.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION
The amendment relates to changes in record keeping, reporting, or administrative procedures or requirements. Accordingly, the amendment meets the eligibility criteria for categorical exclusion set forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(10). 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.
7.0 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: W. Reckley, NRR Date: May 20, 2005