ML051650234
| ML051650234 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Perry  (NPF-058) |
| Issue date: | 06/22/2005 |
| From: | Macon W NRC/NRR/DLPM/LPD3 |
| To: | Richard Anderson FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co |
| Macon W, NRR/DLPM,415-3965 | |
| References | |
| TAC MC6941 | |
| Download: ML051650234 (10) | |
Text
June 22, 2005 Richard Anderson Vice President FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company Perry Nuclear Power Plant P.O. Box 97, A290 10 Center Road Perry, Ohio 44081 SUBJECT PERRY NUCLEAR POWER PLANT, UNIT 1 (PNPP) - AUDIT OF THE MANAGEMENT OF REGULATORY COMMITMENTS (TAC NO. MC6941)
Dear Mr. Anderson:
On May 27, 2003, the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Office Instruction LIC-105, "Managing Regulatory Commitments Made by Licensees to the NRC [Nuclear Regulatory Commission]," was published. LIC-105, which is publicly available electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management Systems (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC web site (Accession No. ML022750041), provides the NRC staff and its stakeholders with a common reference for handling regulatory commitments made by licensees for commercial nuclear reactors to the NRC staff. The guidance is consistent with the industry guidance prepared by the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), NEI 99-04, "Guidance for Managing NRC Commitment Changes." LIC-105 specifies that once every 3 years, the NRC staff will audit a licensees commitment management program.
An audit of the PNPP commitment tracking program was performed on site on May 24-25, 2005. The NRC staff concludes that: (1) the licensee had implemented or is tracking for future implementation regulatory commitments, and (2) the licensee had implemented an effective program to manage regulatory commitment changes. Details of the audit are set forth in the enclosed audit report.
Sincerely,
/RA/
William A. Macon, Jr., Project Manager, Section 2 Project Directorate III Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-440
Enclosure:
Audit Report cc w/encl: See next page
June 22, 2005 Richard Anderson Vice President FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company Perry Nuclear Power Plant P.O. Box 97, A290 10 Center Road Perry, Ohio 44081 SUBJECT PERRY NUCLEAR POWER PLANT, UNIT 1 (PNPP) - AUDIT OF THE MANAGEMENT OF REGULATORY COMMITMENTS (TAC NO. MC6941)
Dear Mr. Anderson:
On May 27, 2003, the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Office Instruction LIC-105, "Managing Regulatory Commitments Made by Licensees to the NRC [Nuclear Regulatory Commission]," was published. LIC-105, which is publicly available electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management Systems (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC web site (Accession No. ML022750041), provides the NRC staff and its stakeholders with a common reference for handling regulatory commitments made by licensees for commercial nuclear reactors to the NRC staff. The guidance is consistent with the industry guidance prepared by the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), NEI 99-04, "Guidance for Managing NRC Commitment Changes." LIC-105 specifies that once every 3 years, the NRC staff will audit a licensees commitment management program.
An audit of the PNPP commitment tracking program was performed on site on May 24-25, 2005. The NRC staff concludes that: (1) the licensee had implemented or is tracking for future implementation regulatory commitments, and (2) the licensee had implemented an effective program to manage regulatory commitment changes. Details of the audit are set forth in the enclosed audit report.
Sincerely,
/RA/
William A. Macon, Jr., Project Manager, Section 2 Project Directorate III Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-440 DISTRIBUTION:
PUBLIC RidsCLipa, RIII
Enclosure:
Audit Report PDIII-2 Reading RidsRPowell, RIII RidsNrrDlpmPdiii (A)(HNieh) RidsMFranke, RIII cc w/encl: See next page RidsNrrPMWMacon RidsNrrPMJHopkins RidsNrrLADClarke RidsOgcRp RidsAcrsAcnwMailCenter ACCESSION NO.: ML051650234 Nrr-106 OFFICE PDIII-2/PM PDIII-2/LA PDIII-2/SC NAME WMacon DClarke GSuh DATE 6/21/05 6/21/05 6/22/05 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
Perry Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1 cc:
David W. Jenkins FirstEnergy Corporation 76 South Main St.
Akron, OH 44308 Resident Inspector's Office U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission P.O. Box 331 Perry, OH 44081-0331 Regional Administrator, Region III U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 2443 Warrenville Road Lisle, IL 60532-4531 Sue Hiatt OCRE Interim Representative 8275 Munson Mentor, OH 44060 Manager - Regulatory Compliance FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company Perry Nuclear Power Plant P.O. Box 97, A210 10 Center Road Perry, OH 44081 Director, Site Operations FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company Perry Nuclear Power Plant P.O. Box 97, SB306 Perry, OH 44081 Mayor, Village of North Perry North Perry Village Hall 4449 Lockwood Road North Perry Village, OH 44081 Donna Owens, Director Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Industrial Compliance Bureau of Operations & Maintenance 6606 Tussing Road P.O. Box 4009 Reynoldsburg, OH 43068-9009 Carol OClaire, Chief, Radiological Branch Ohio Emergency Management Agency 2855 West Dublin Granville Road Columbus, OH 43235-7150 Mayor, Village of Perry P.O. Box 100 Perry, OH 44081-0100 Dennis Clum Radiological Assistance Section Supervisor Bureau of Radiation Protection Ohio Department of Health P.O. Box 118 Columbus, OH 43266-0118 Zack A. Clayton DERR Ohio Environmental Protection Agency ATTN: Mr. Zack A. Clayton P.O. Box 1049 Columbus, OH 43266-0149 Chairman Perry Township Board of Trustees 3750 Center Road, Box 65 Perry, OH 44081 Daniel Z. Fisher Transportation Department Public Utilities Commission 180 East Broad Street Columbus, OH 43215-3793 Joseph J. Hagan Senior Vice President, Engineering and Services First Energy Nuclear Operating Company 76 South Main Street Akron, OH 44308 Mr. Lew W. Myers Chief Operating Officer FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company 76 South Main Street Akron, OH 44308
Perry Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1 cc:
Director, Regulatory Affairs FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company 395 Ghent Road Akron, OH 44333
AUDIT REPORT BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION REGULATORY COMMITMENTS MADE BY FIRSTENERGY NUCLEAR OPERATING COMPANY TO THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION PERRY NUCLEAR POWER PLANT, UNIT 1 DOCKET NO. 50-440
1.0 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
On May 27, 2003, the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) Office Instruction LIC-105, "Managing Regulatory Commitments Made by Licensees to the NRC," was published. LIC-105, which is publicly available electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management Systems (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC web site (Accession No. ML022750041), provides the NRC staff and its stakeholders with a common reference for handling regulatory commitments made by licensees for commercial nuclear reactors to the NRC staff. The guidance is consistent with the industry guidance prepared by the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), NEI 99-04, "Guidance for Managing NRC Commitment Changes."
According to LIC-105, which cites the definition from NEI-99-04, a "regulatory commitment" is an explicit statement to take a specific action agreed to, or volunteered by, a licensee and submitted in writing on the docket to the NRC. LIC-105 further directs the NRR Project Manager to "audit the licensees commitment management program by assessing the adequacy of the licensees implementation of a sample of commitments made to the NRC in past licensing actions (amendments, reliefs, exemptions, etc.) and activities (bulletins, generic letters, etc.)." The audit is to be performed every three years.
2.0 AUDIT PROCEDURE AND RESULTS An audit of the Perry Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1 (PNPP) commitment tracking program was performed on site on May 24-25, 2005. Copies of plant records were subsequently reviewed at NRC Headquarters to complete the audit. The audit consisted of two major parts:
(1) verification of the licensees implementation of NRC commitments, and (2) verification of the licensees program for managing NRC commitment changes.
2.1 Verification of PNPP's Implementation of NRC Commitments 2.1.1 Audit Scope The primary focus of this part of the audit is to confirm that the licensee has implemented those commitments made to the NRC as part of past licensing actions/activities. The audit should, therefore, ensure that the sample of completed commitments was implemented in a manner that satisfied both the action committed to and the overall intent of the commitment.
1 The NRC staff notes that PNPP has made very few regulatory commitments over the past several years in lieu of other obligations and regulatory requirements; therefore, the audit sample is limited. The inclusion of actions or programs into the licensee's operating license, including Technical Specifications (TSs) and license conditions, creates an obligation or regulatory requirement upon the licensee which do not require tracking as regulatory commitments.
The NRC staff reviewed samples of PNPP's commitments that were approved by the NRC to justify a licensing action (amendment, exemption, etc.) or resolve a licensing activity (bulletin, generic letter, etc.) to evaluate whether the commitments were implemented in a manner that satisfied both the action committed to and the overall intent of the commitment. For commitments that had not yet been implemented, the NRC staff evaluated whether these commitments were being effectively tracked for future implementation by the committed schedule. The NRC staff searched ADAMS for past licensing actions/activities and evaluated whether the licensee entered associated commitments into their tracking database. The NRC staff evaluated the licensee's implementation of specific regulatory commitments by reviewing licensee commitment management records and other documentation that could demonstrate that the specific actions were completed in accordance with the stated commitment and schedule. Each commitment was also evaluated to determine whether the commitment was captured, as appropriate, in an update to the PNPP Updated Safety Analysis Report (USAR).
2.1.2 Audit Results PNPP plant administrative procedure number PAP-0610, "Commitment Tracking Program,"
describes the licensee's regulatory commitment management process. This procedure defines how written commitments to regulatory agencies are to be made only by those individuals with signature authority for correspondence addressed to regulatory agencies. Specifically:
6.1.1.6 For regulatory commitments, obtain the signature of the applicable RAS
[Regulatory Affairs Section] Supervisor.
6.1.1.8 Forward the CCF [Commitment Creation Form] to... the RAS Manager if it's a regulatory commitment for approval signature.
Once commitments are identified, items are assigned a commitment type and entered into the Commitment Tracking System (CTS). CTS is a centralized computerized database where all commitments, both regulatory and non-regulatory, are tracked and maintained. PNPP Regulatory Affairs section business practice number PYBP-SITE-0011, "Commitment Tracking Guide," provides reference assistance to end users for using the CTS database.
The NRC staff reviewed reports generated by the CTS for the commitments listed below and evaluated the status of their completion.1 The NRC staff found that the licensees commitment tracking programs had captured all the regulatory commitments that were identified by the NRC staff before and during the audit.
The specific regulatory commitments that were audited are as follows (as described in PNPP plant records):
Docketed Correspondence Regulatory Commitment as Stated in Licensee Submittal and Licensees Tracking Number Audit Results - Verification of Implementation PNPP Submittal CEI/NRR-2627L June 4, 2002 NRC Issuance Amendment 127 April 29, 2003 Upon approval of the proposed license amendment request (LAR), PNPP will submit within 90 days a revision to the Reactor Vessel Integrity Database (RVID) (Reference Generic Letter (GL) 92-01, "Reactor Vessel Structural Integrity," Revision 1, Supplement 1) to incorporate the data used in the development of the LAR. CTS #L02487 Complete, but late. Closed out by letter dated 3/16/04. It was determined that a PNPP RVID update was not required.
PNPP Submittal CEI/NRR-2656L October 30, 2002 NRC Issuance Amendment 124 March 7, 2003 Deletion of Post Accident Sampling System (PASS) from the TSs. Verify capability for classifying fuel damage events at the Alert level threshold (typically this is 300 µCi/ml dose equivalent iodine). CTS #L02482 Complete. Commitment was incorporated into applicable records documents 7/25/03 and emergency plan documents 7/31/03.
PNPP Submittal CEI/NRR-2614L March 14. 2002 NRC Issuance Amendment 123 March 7, 2003 Restrictions on removing the Inclined Fuel Transfer System (IFTS) blind flange during operational modes 1, 2, and 3. CTS #L02476 Complete. All implementation items identified and completed by 3/21/03.
PNPP Submittal CEI/NRR-2528L February 12, 2001 NRC Issuance IR-049 October 17, 2001 Relief Request IR-049. Implement a monitoring program that is consistent with the guidelines contained in Electric Power Research Institute Topical Report 112657. CTS #L02473 Complete. Procedures 1B13 File 004 approved on 6/12/02 and PAP-1001 revised on 9/26/02. Closed on 1/10/03.
NRC Issuance GL 94-02 July 11, 1994 PNPP Submittal CEI/NRR-2344L Dec 14, 1998 Plant trips (scrams) from the OPRM [Oscillation Power Range Monitor] stability monitor will be made active prior to startup following refueling outage (RFO) 8. CTS #L02461 Complete. Closed on 3/11/01. RFO8 ended on 3/21/01.
Docketed Correspondence Regulatory Commitment as Stated in Licensee Submittal and Licensees Tracking Number Audit Results - Verification of Implementation PNPP Submittal CEI/NRR-2418L August 4, 1999 NRC Issuance Amendment 116 Sept 12, 2000 Refueling equipment interlocks revised by introducing an optional operator action when one or more required interlocks are inoperable. CTS
- L02458 Complete. All actions and revisions to documents closed by 2/15/01.
PNPP Submittal CEI/NRR-2398L June 17, 1999 NRC Issuance Amendment 115 August 29, 2000 Degraded voltage time delay allowable value changes will be implemented during RFO8. CTS
- L02456 Complete. AV changes implemented during RFO8 as scheduled. Closed 3/15/01.
As described in Section 2.1.1 above, the NRC staff found that all of the above commitments were adequately captured in the licensees database and that each commitment was implemented as specified.
2.2 Verification of PNPP's Program for Managing NRC Commitment Changes 2.2.1 Audit Scope The primary focus of this part of the audit is the licensee's performance related to implementing controls for modifying or deleting commitments made to the NRC. The audit should ensure that changes to commitments (modifications or deletions) are evaluated in accordance with the licensee's programs and procedures, that the licensee's technical evaluations adequately justify the change, and that the NRC is informed of commitment changes that have safety or regulatory significance.
The NRC staff reviewed the licensee's commitment change process to: (1) evaluate the licensee's methodology for proposed changes to regulatory commitments with particular consideration given to the intent of the original commitment and the safety and regulatory significance of the proposed change; and, (2) evaluate the licensee's method of communicating commitment changes to the NRC when reports are warranted due to either safety or regulatory considerations. The NRC staff also evaluated the licensee's administrative controls for maintaining commitment "traceability" (e.g., markings or notations within procedures) to ensure that licensee personnel are able to recognize that future changes to the affected design features or operating practices require evaluation of the proposed change in accordance with the commitment change control process.
2.2.2 Audit Results PNPP plant administrative procedure PAP-0610 includes a consistent process to change NRC regulatory commitments of low safety significance without adversely affecting the level of safety at PNPP. This process is based on NEI 99-04 guidance and provides a logical method for evaluating commitments for possible revision or deletion. Appropriate NRC notification in response to regulatory commitment changes is also defined.
PAP-0610 provides instructions for modification, revision or deletion of a regulatory commitment. A Regulatory Commitment Change Evaluation form is used to perform an applicability determination for any proposed commitment change. This evaluation process will determine if the proposed commitment change is covered by another codified process (e.g., 10 CFR 50.59, Changes, tests, and experiments, 10 CFR 50.92, Issuance of amendment, or 10 CFR 50.54, Conditions of licenses). This process is also used to evaluate individual changes to regulatory commitments embodied in the plant's USAR or to justify reductions in scope of the USAR.
Once commitment changes are identified, a Regulatory Commitment Change Evaluation form is completed and reviewed. NRC notification is provided as necessary, as determined by the commitment change evaluation process. Screening Step Five states that if the revised commitment is necessary to minimize recurrence of the adverse condition, then NRC notification of the change is to be provided in the next Regulatory Commitment Change Summary report. The report summarizing regulatory commitment changes is normally included in the licensee's biannual submittal of revisions to the USAR. CTS items tracking the commitment are then updated as appropriate to document the regulatory commitment change.
The NRC staff determined that PAP-0610 closely follows NEI 99-04 guidance in that it sets forth the need for identifying, tracking, and reporting commitments, and it provides an acceptable mechanism for changing commitments. Additionally, the effectiveness of the procedure is demonstrated by the products that are produced and maintained. One weakness in the PNPP change control procedure is that although the latest revision 6 to PAP-0610 does require a preparer's signature and date on the Regulatory Commitment Change Evaluation form, it does not provide for management approval of a change. Another weakness in the PNPP program is that CTS does not track individual changes to regulatory commitments, thus requiring manual identification of changes contained in paper records for an audit sample or other reviews. Both weaknesses were discussed with the licensee during the audit and were entered into the plant's corrective action program under condition report no. 05-04795 to be addressed in the next commitment tracking program update.
The specific commitment changes that were audited are as follows (as described in PNPP plant records):
Docketed Correspondence Original Regulatory Commitment and Licensees Tracking Number Audit Results -
Verification of Change PNPP Submittal CEI/NRR-2469L March 3, 2000 A modification will be completed to extend the elevation of the affected fuel pool cooling and cleanup system siphon breaker lines that discharge to the upper IFTS containment pool to above the minimum required SPMU level. CTS #L02470 Deleted 7/18/02. The siphon breaker modification was cancelled in lieu of additional administrative controls.
Docketed Correspondence Original Regulatory Commitment and Licensees Tracking Number Audit Results -
Verification of Change PNPP Submittal CEI/NRR-2673L December 5, 2002 Amendment 102 (March 1999) contained a commitment to a draft version of NUMARC 93-01, "Industry Guideline for Monitoring the Effectiveness of Maintenance at Nuclear Power Plants." CTS #L02468 Deleted 1/22/03. The source document for this commitment was withdrawn. Similar commitment was already being tracked as #L02391. Original commitment was updated to the wording of NUMARC 93-01, Revision 3.
PNPP Submittal CEI/NRR-2673L December 5, 2002 In the interim period until the revision to NUMARC 93-01 is endorsed as a formal industry position, the above referenced NUMARC 93-01 words will be utilized at PNPP for controlling the removal from service of systems, structures and components (SSC's) that are currently required by Technical Specifications during core alteration fuel handling periods. CTS #L02391 Updated 1/22/03.
Original commitment was updated to the wording of NUMARC 93-01, Revision 3.
As described in Section 2.2.1 above, the NRC staff found that all of the above commitment changes were adequately identified, evaluated, and reported. It is not clear why the licensee tracked both #L02391 and #L02468 as essentially the same commitment, but the update made on January 22, 2003, adequately voided one and updated the other to the revised wording of NUMARC 93-01.
3.0 CONCLUSION
The NRC staff concludes that, based on the above audit: (1) the licensee had implemented or is tracking for future implementation, regulatory commitments, and (2) the licensee had implemented an effective program to manage regulatory commitment changes. Two weaknesses were identified in the licensee's program for managing NRC commitment changes, which were entered into the plant's corrective action program to be addressed in the next commitment tracking program update.
4.0 LICENSEE PERSONNEL CONTACTED FOR THIS AUDIT B. Spiesman B. Ferrell