ML060760501
| ML060760501 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | South Texas  |
| Issue date: | 03/31/2006 |
| From: | Thadani M NRC/NRR/ADRO/DORL/LPLG |
| To: | Sheppard J South Texas |
| THADANI MC | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML060760523 | List: |
| References | |
| TAC MC8224, TAC MC8225 | |
| Download: ML060760501 (12) | |
Text
March 31, 2006 Mr. James J. Sheppard President and Chief Executive Officer STP Nuclear Operating Company South Texas Project Electric Generating Station P. O. Box 289 Wadsworth, TX 77483
SUBJECT:
SOUTH TEXAS PROJECT, UNITS 1 AND 2 - ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENTS RE: PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO INCORPORATE BEST ESTIMATE ANALYZER FOR CORE OPERATIONS-NUCLEAR (TAC NOS. MC8224 AND MC8225)
Dear Mr. Sheppard:
The Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 175 to Facility Operating License No. NPF-76 and Amendment No. 163 to Facility Operating License No. NPF-80 for the South Texas Project, Units 1 and 2, respectively. The amendments consist of changes to the Technical Specifications (TSs) in response to your application dated August 30, 2005.
The amendments incorporate the Westinghouse Electric Company Best Estimate Analyzer for Core Operations-Nuclear power distribution monitoring system as described in Topical Report WCAP-124-P-A, "BEACON - Core Monitoring and Operations Support System."
A copy of our related Safety Evaluation is also enclosed. The Notice of Issuance will be included in the Commission's next biweekly Federal Register notice.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Mohan C. Thadani, Senior Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch IV Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos. 50-498 and 50-499
Enclosures:
- 1. Amendment No. 175 to NPF-76
- 2. Amendment No. 163 to NPF-80
- 3. Safety Evaluation cc w/encls: See next page
- No significant change to the SE input OFFICE NRR/LPL4/PM NRR/LPL4/LA SPWB/BC*
OGC NRR/LPL4/BC NAME MThadani DJohnson JNakoski MWoods (NLO)
DTerao DATE 3/22/06 3/22/06 12/15/2006 3/31/06 3/31/06
STP NUCLEAR OPERATING COMPANY DOCKET NO. 50-498 SOUTH TEXAS PROJECT, UNIT 1 AMENDMENT TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 175 License No. NPF-76 1.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has found that:
A.
The application for amendment by STP Nuclear Operating Company* acting on behalf of itself and for Texas Genco, LP, the City Public Service Board of San Antonio (CPS), AEP Texas Central Company, and the City of Austin, Texas (COA) (the licensees), dated August 30, 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, as amended, 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 license 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.
- STP Nuclear Operating Company is authorized to act for Texas Genco, LP, the City Public Service Board of San Antonio, AEP Texas Central Company, and the City of Austin, Texas, and has exclusive responsibility and control over the physical construction, operation, and maintenance of the facility.
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-76 is hereby amended to read as follows:
(2)
Technical Specifications The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A, as revised through Amendment No. 175, and the Environmental Protection Plan contained in Appendix B, are hereby incorporated in the license. The STP Nuclear Operating Company shall operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications and the Environmental Protection Plan.
3.
The license amendment is effective as of its date of issuance and shall be implemented within 90 days from the date of issuance.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
/RA/
David Terao, Chief Plant Licensing Branch IV Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Attachment:
Changes to the Technical Specifications Date of Issuance: March 31, 2006
STP NUCLEAR OPERATING COMPANY DOCKET NO. 50-499 SOUTH TEXAS PROJECT, UNIT 2 AMENDMENT TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 163 License No. NPF-80 1.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has found that:
A.
The application for amendment by STP Nuclear Operating Company* acting on behalf of itself and for Texas Genco, LP, the City Public Service Board of San Antonio (CPS), AEP Texas Central Company, and the City of Austin, Texas (COA) (the licensees), dated August 30, 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, as amended, 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 license 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.
- STP Nuclear Operating Company is authorized to act for Texas Genco, LP, the City Public Service Board of San Antonio, AEP Texas Central Company, and the City of Austin, Texas, and has exclusive responsibility and control over the physical construction, operation, and maintenance of the facility.
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-80 is hereby amended to read as follows:
(2)
Technical Specifications The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A, as revised through Amendment No. 163, and the Environmental Protection Plan contained in Appendix B, are hereby incorporated in the license. The STP Nuclear Operating Company shall operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications and the Environmental Protection Plan.
3.
The license amendment is effective as of its date of issuance and shall be implemented within 90 days from the date of issuance.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
/RA/
David Terao, Chief Plant Licensing Branch IV Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Attachment:
Changes to the Technical Specifications Date of Issuance: March 31, 2006
ATTACHMENT TO LICENSE AMENDMENT NOS. 175 AND 163 FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NOS. NPF-76 AND NPF-80 DOCKET NOS. 50-498 AND 50-499 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 INSERT 3/4 1-17 3/4 1-17 3/4 1-19 3/4 1-19 3/4 2-5 3/4 2-5 3/4 2-7 3/4 2-7 3/4 2-8 3/4 2-8 3/4 2-9 3/4 2-9 3/4 2-10 3/4 2-10 3/4 4-6 3/4 4-6 3/4 4-38 3/4 4-38 3/4 6-2 3/4 6-2 3/4 6-15 3/4 6-15 3/4 6-16 3/4 6-16
- Overleaf pages are provided to maintain document completeness. No changes are required on these pages.
SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION RELATED TO AMENDMENT NOS. 175 AND 163 TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NOS. NPF-76 AND NPF-80 STP NUCLEAR OPERATING COMPANY, ET AL.
SOUTH TEXAS PROJECT, UNITS 1 AND 2 DOCKET NOS. 50-498 AND 50-499
1.0 INTRODUCTION
By application dated August 30, 2005 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System Accession No. ML052490396), STP Nuclear Operating Company (the licensee) requested changes to the Technical Specifications (TSs) for South Texas Project (STP), Units 1 and 2.
The proposed changes incorporate the Westinghouse Electric Company (Westinghouse) Best Estimate Analyzer for Core Operations - Nuclear (BEACON) power distribution monitoring system (PDMS) as described in Topical Report (TR) WCAP-12472-P-A, "BEACON - Core Monitoring and Operations Support System."
The BEACON system was developed by Westinghouse to improve the monitoring support for Westinghouse-designed pressurized water reactors. It is a core monitoring and support package which uses Westinghouse standard instrumentation in conjunction with an analytical methodology for on-line generation of three-dimensional power distributions. The system provides core monitoring, core measurement reduction, core analysis, and core predictions.
The NRC staff reviewed TR WCAP-12472-P-A and approved it on February 16, 1994.
2.0 REGULATORY EVALUATION
The regulatory requirements related to the content of TSs are set forth in 10 CFR 50.36. Under 10 CFR 50.36(c)(2)(ii), a limit condition for operation must be included in TSs for any item meeting one of the following four criteria:
Criterion 1:
Installed instrumentation that is used to detect, and indicate in the control room, a significant abnormal degradation of the reactor pressure boundary.
Criterion 2:
A process variable, design feature, or operating restriction that is an initial condition of a design basis accident or transient analysis that either assumes the failure of or presents a challenge to the integrity of a fission product barrier.
Criterion 3:
A structure, system, or component that is part of the primary success path and which functions or actuates to mitigate a design basis accident or transient that either assumes the failure of or presents a challenge to the integrity of a fission product barrier.
Criterion 4:
A structure, system, or component which operating experience or probabilistic safety assessment has shown to be significant to public health and safety.
Those items that do not fall within or satisfy any of the above criteria do not need to be included in the TSs. The PDMS instrumentation does not meet any of the criteria of 10 CFR 50.36(c)(2)(ii) for inclusion in the TSs. Therefore, the licensee will include the PDMS instrumentation requirements in the STP Technical Requirements Manual (TRM). The TRM contains plant-specific administrative controls similar to those provided by the TSs over plant equipment not required to be in the TSs. Changes to the TRM are made in accordance with the provisions of 10 CFR 50.59. The NRC staff finds that the licensee-proposed changes meet the regulatory requirements stated above.
3.0 TECHNICAL EVALUATION
The staff evaluation of the licensee-proposed TS changes involved in adopting the BEACON system are discussed below.
TS 3.1.3.1, "Movable Control Assemblies - Group Height" - Action b.3.c will be modified to imply that a core power distribution measurement is obtained from either the moveable incore detectors (MIDS) or the PDMS that is consistent with TR WCAP-12472-P-A.
TS 3.1.3.2, "Position Indication Systems - Operating" - Action a.1 will be modified to allow use of either MIDS or PDMS to determine the position of nonindicating rod(s).
TS 3.2.2, "Heat Flux Hot Channel Factor - FQ(Z)" - Action b will be modified to imply that the power distribution information could be obtained using either MIDS or PDMS.
TS 4.2.2, "Power Distribution Limits - Surveillance Requirements" - Replace wording from power distribution maps to core power distribution measurements in a few areas since this is appropriate for the use of either the PDMS or MIDs. Also, in Section 4.2.2.2b and 4.2.2.3, replace instructions to refer corrections specified in the Core Operating Limits Report (COLR).
TS 3.2.3, "Nuclear Enthalpy Rise Hot Channel Factor" - Replace wording from "incore mapping" to "core power distribution measurement" since this is appropriate for the use of either the PDMS or MIDs.
TS 4.2.3, "Nuclear Enthalpy Rise Hot Channel Factor - Surveillance Requirements" - Replace directions to use the moveable incore detectors with directions to obtain a core power distribution measurement. Also, in Section 4.2.3.2b, change wording to refer measurement uncertainty as specified in the COLR.
TS 4.2.4.2, "Quadrant Power Tilt Ratio - Surveillance Requirements" - Revise wording to allow either PDMS or incore measurements for Quadrant Power Tilt Ratio surveillance.
In addition to the BEACON adoption changes, the licensee has proposed changes to TSs 3.4.1.4.2c, 4.4.9.3.4, and 6.2.2b that are administrative in nature.
TS 6.9, "Reporting Requirements" - Add heat flux hot channel factor measurement and manufacturing uncertainties, enthalpy rise hot channel factor measurement uncertainty and TR WCAP-12472-P-A to the COLR.
Based on the above, the staff finds that the licensees proposed TS changes and justifications are consistent with TR WCAP-12472-P-A or are administrative in nature, and, therefore, are acceptable. The staff, therefore, concludes that the licensee has adequately confirmed that its proposed TS changes will meet all relevant regulatory requirements, and the proposed TS changes are acceptable for STP.
4.0 STATE CONSULTATION
In accordance with the Commission's regulations, the Texas State official was notified of the proposed issuance of the amendment. The State official had no comments.
5.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION
The amendments change a requirement with respect to installation or use of a facility component located within the restricted area as defined in 10 CFR Part 20. 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 published October 11, 2005 (70 FR 59088). The amendments also relate to changes in recordkeeping, reporting, or administrative procedures or requirements. Accordingly, the amendments meet the eligibility criteria for categorical exclusion set forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(9) and 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 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: C. Liang Date: March 31, 2006
February 2006 South Texas Project, Units 1 & 2 cc Senior Resident Inspector U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission P. O. Box 910 Bay City, TX 77414 C. Kirksey/C. M. Canady City of Austin Electric Utility Department 721 Barton Springs Road Austin, TX 78704 Mr. J. J. Nesrsta Mr. R. K. Temple City Public Service Board P. O. Box 1771 San Antonio, TX 78296 INPO Records Center 700 Galleria Parkway Atlanta, GA 30339-3064 Regional Administrator, Region IV U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400 Arlington, TX 76011 Steve Winn Texas Genco, LP 12301 Kurland Drive Houston, TX 77034 Judge, Matagorda County Matagorda County Courthouse 1700 Seventh Street Bay City, TX 77414 A. H. Gutterman, Esq.
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20004 E. D. Halpin Vice President Oversight STP Nuclear Operating Company P. O. Box 289 Wadsworth, TX 77483 S. M. Head, Manager, Licensing STP Nuclear Operating Company P. O. Box 289, Mail Code: N5014 Wadsworth, TX 77483 Environmental and Natural Resources Policy Director P. O. Box 12428 Austin, TX 78711-3189 Jon C. Wood Cox, Smith, & Matthews 112 East Pecan, Suite 1800 San Antonio, TX 78205 Director Division of Compliance & Inspection Bureau of Radiation Control Texas Department of State Health Services 1100 West 49th Street Austin, TX 78756 Brian Almon Public Utility Commission William B. Travis Building P. O. Box 13326 1701 North Congress Avenue Austin, TX 78701-3326 Susan M. Jablonski Office of Permitting, Remediation and Registration Texas Commission on Environmental Quality MC-122 P.O. Box 13087 Austin, TX 78711-3087
South Texas Project, Units 1 & 2 cc Mr. Terry Parks, Chief Inspector Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation Boiler Division P. O. Box 12157 Austin, TX 78711 Mr. Ted Enos 4200 South Hulen Suite 630 Ft. Worth, Texas 76109