ML052440295

Withdrawal of Request for License Amendments Core Flow Operating Range Expansion

ML052440295
Person / Time
Site:	Brunswick
Issue date:	08/25/2005
From:	O'Neil E Progress Energy Carolinas
To:	Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
References
TAC MB6692, TAC MB6693, TSC-2002-09
Download: ML052440295 (3)

Text

Progress Energy August 25, 2005 SERIAL: BSEP 05-0115 TSC-2002-09 U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ATrIN: Document Control Desk Washington, DC 20555-0001

Subject:

Brunswick Steam Electric Plant, Unit Nos. 1 and 2 Docket Nos. 50-325 and 50-324/License Nos. DPR-71 and DPR-62 Withdrawal of Request for License Amendments Core Flow Operating Range Expansion (NRC TAC No. MB6692 and MB6693)

References:

1. Letter from John S. Keenan to the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Serial: BSEP 02-0169), "Request for License Amendments - Core Flow Operating Range Expansion," dated November 12, 2002 (ML023240227)

2. Letter from Cornelius J. Gannon to the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Serial: BSEP 04-0015), "Supplement to Request for License Amendments - Core Flow Operating Range Expansion," dated March 5, 2004 (ML040770048)

Ladies and Gentlemen:

On November 12, 2002, Carolina Power & Light Company, now doing business as Progress Energy Carolinas, Inc. (PEC), requested a revision to the Technical Specifications (TSs) for the Brunswick Steam Electric Plant (BSEP), Units 1 and 2. The proposed license amendments revise TSs, as necessary, to support an expansion of the core flow operating range (i.e., Maximum Extended Load Line Limit Analysis Plus (MELLLA+)). The request was supplemented on March 5, 2004. The basis for the request was prepared following the guidelines contained in General Electric (GE) Nuclear Energy Report NEDC-33006P, "Maximum Extended Load Line Limit Analysis Plus Licensing Topical Report,"

Revision 1, dated August 2002.

As part of MELLLA+ implementation for BSEP, PEC also planned to implement the Detect and Suppress Solution - Confirmation Density (DSS-CD) approach to automatically detect and suppress neutronic/thermal-hydraulic instabilities. GE Nuclear Energy Report NEDC-33075P, "Detect and Suppress Solution - Confirmation Density Licensing Topical Progress Energy Carolinas, Inc.

Brunswick Nuclear Plant P.O. Box 10429 Southport, NC 28461 Jf D

Document Control Desk BSEP05-0115 /Page 2 Report," Revision 3, dated January 2004. The March 5, 2004, supplement updated the requested amendments to reflect changes made in NEDC-33075P, Revision 3.

Based upon conversations between the NRC, PEC, and GE, it is apparent that a significant amount of effort is required to resolve NRC questions associated with the methodologies used to support the MELLLA+ Licensing Topical Report (LTR) (i.e., NEDC-33006P).

Therefore, PEC is withdrawing the referenced license amendment request with plans to resubmit at a later date.

Carolina Power & Light Company, now doing business as Progress Energy Carolinas, Inc.,

requests that BSEP continue to be considered the lead plant for MELLLA+

implementation. To that end, the re-submittal of the MELLLA+/DSS-CD amendment request will be made as soon as practical, once NRC concerns are resolved. Once sufficient progress is made regarding the MELLLA+ LTR, PEC will contact the NRC Project Manager for BSEP to establish a re-submittal schedule, consistent with the new process for coordinating reviews of topical reports and related plant-specific licensing actions which was provided to the industry on May 26, 2005.

A significant amount of NRC review has been completed on the BSEP plant-specific amendment request. In an effort to facilitate review of the resubmitted request, PEC will identify areas of the re-submittal that are essentially unchanged as a result of resolution NRC comments regarding the MELLLA+ LTR.

Please refer any questions regarding this submittal to Mr. Leonard R. Beller, Supervisor -

Licensing/Regulatory Programs, at (910) 457-2073.

Sincerely, Edward T. ONeil Manager - Support Services Brunswick Steam Electric Plant MAT/mat

Document Control Desk BSEP 05-0115 / Page 3 cc:

U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region II ATTN: Dr. William D. Travers, Regional Administrator Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center 61 Forsyth Street, SW, Suite 23T85 Atlanta, GA 30303-8931 U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ATTN: Mr. Eugene M. DiPaolo, NRC Senior Resident Inspector 8470 River Road Southport, NC 28461-8869 U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Electronic Copy Only)

ATTN: Ms. Brenda L. Mozafari (Mail Stop OWEN 8G9) 11555 Rockville Pike Rockville, MD 20852-2738 Ms. Jo A. Sanford Chair - North Carolina Utilities Commission P.O. Box 29510 Raleigh, NC 27626-0510 Ms. Beverly 0. Hall, Section Chief Radiation Protection Section, Division of Environmental Health North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources 3825 Barrett Drive Raleigh, NC 27609-7221