ML080990709

Issuance of Amendments Regarding Inservice Testing Program

ML080990709
Person / Time
Site:	Brunswick
Issue date:	04/23/2008
From:	Farideh Saba NRC/NRR/ADRO/DORL/LPLII-2
To:	Waldrep B Carolina Power & Light Co
Saba F 301-465-1447
Shared Package
ML080990828	List: ML080990709 ML080990830
References
TAC MD6916, TAC MD6917
Download: ML080990709 (15)

Text

April 23, 2008 Mr. Benjamin Waldrep, Vice President Brunswick Steam Electric Plant Carolina Power & Light Company Post Office Box 10429 Southport, North Carolina 28461

SUBJECT:

BRUNSWICK STEAM ELECTRIC PLANT, UNITS 1 AND 2 - ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENTS REGARDING INSERVICE TESTING PROGRAM (TAC NOS. MD6916 AND MD6917)

Dear Mr. Waldrep:

The Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 247 to Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-71 and Amendment No. 275 to Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-62 for Brunswick Steam Electric Plant, Units 1 and 2, in response to the application dated September 26, 2007, as supplemented by letter dated December 7, 2007. The amendments revise Technical Specification 5.5.6, Inservice Testing Program, to reflect changes to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code requirements for inservice testing of pumps and valves, and corresponding changes to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Section 50.55a, Codes and standards. The changes are based on Technical Specification Task Force (TSTF) Traveler TSTF-479, Changes to Reflect Revision of 10 CFR 50.55a, as modified by TSTF-497, Limit Inservice Testing Program SR [Surveillance Requirement] 3.0.2 Application to Frequencies of 2 Years or Less.

A copy of the related Safety Evaluation is also enclosed. A Notice of Issuance will be included in the Commission's biweekly Federal Register Notice.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Farideh E. Saba, Senior Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch II-2 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos. 50-325 and 50-324

Enclosures:

1. Amendment No. 247 to License No. DPR-71

2. Amendment No. 275 to License No. DPR-62 201 Safety Evaluation cc w/enclosures: See next page

Carolina Power & Light Company Brunswick Steam Electric Plant Units 1 and 2 cc:

David T. Conley Associate General Counsel II -

Legal Department Progress Energy Service Company, LLC Post Office Box 1551 Raleigh, North Carolina 27602-1551 Mr. David R. Sandifer, Chairperson Brunswick County Board of Commissioners Post Office Box 249 Bolivia, North Carolina 28422 Resident Inspector U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 8470 River Road Southport, North Carolina 28461 Mr. John H. ONeill, Jr.

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP 2300 N Street NW.

Washington, DC 20037-1128 Ms. Beverly Hall, Section Chief Division of Radiation Protection N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources 3825 Barrett Dr.

Raleigh, North Carolina 27609-7721 Mr. Edward L. Wills, Jr.

Plant General Manager Brunswick Steam Electric Plant Carolina Power & Light Company Post Office Box 10429 Southport, North Carolina 28461-0429 Public Service Commission State of South Carolina Post Office Drawer 11649 Columbia, South Carolina 29211 Ms. Margaret A. Force Assistant Attorney General State of North Carolina Post Office Box 629 Raleigh, North Carolina 27602 Mr. Robert P. Gruber Executive Director Public Staff - NCUC 4326 Mail Service Center Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-4326 Director, Site Operations Brunswick Steam Electric Plant Carolina Power & Light Company Post Office Box 10429 Southport, North Carolina 28461-0429 Mr. Norman R. Holden, Mayor City of Southport 201 East Moore Street Southport, North Carolina 28461 Mr. Warren Lee Emergency Management Director New Hanover County Department of Emergency Management Post Office Box 1525 Wilmington, North Carolina 28402-1525 Mr. J. Paul Fulford Manager, Performance Evaluation and Regulatory Affairs PEB5 Carolina Power & Light Company Post Office Box 1551 Raleigh, North Carolina 27602-1551

April 23, 2008 Mr. Benjamin Waldrep, Vice President Brunswick Steam Electric Plant Carolina Power & Light Company Post Office Box 10429 Southport, North Carolina 28461

SUBJECT:

BRUNSWICK STEAM ELECTRIC PLANT, UNITS 1 AND 2 - ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENTS REGARDING INSERVICE TESTING PROGRAM (TAC NOS. MD6916 AND MD6917)

Dear Mr. Waldrep:

The Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 247 to Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-71 and Amendment No. 275 to Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-62 for Brunswick Steam Electric Plant, Units 1 and 2, in response to the application dated September 26, 2007, as supplemented by letter dated December 7, 2007. The amendments revise Technical Specification 5.5.6, Inservice Testing Program, to reflect changes to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code requirements for inservice testing of pumps and valves, and corresponding changes to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Section 50.55a, Codes and standards. The changes are based on Technical Specification Task Force (TSTF) Traveler TSTF-479, Changes to Reflect Revision of 10 CFR 50.55a, as modified by TSTF-497, Limit Inservice Testing Program SR [Surveillance Requirement] 3.0.2 Application to Frequencies of 2 Years or Less.

A copy of the related Safety Evaluation is also enclosed. A Notice of Issuance will be included in the Commission's biweekly Federal Register Notice.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Farideh E. Saba, Senior Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch II-2 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos. 50-325 and 50-324

Enclosures:

1. Amendment No. 247 to License No. DPR-71

2. Amendment No. 275 to License No. DPR-62

3. Safety Evaluation cc w/enclosures: See next page Distribution: See next page Accession Number: ML080990709 TS Pages: ML080990830 Package No.: ML080990828 OFFICE LPL2-2/PM LPL2-2/LA CPTB/BC ISTB/BC OGC LPL-2/BC NAME FSaba BClayton for RSola JMcHale RElliott BMizuno EBrown for TBoyce DATE 04/23/08 04/11/08 4/15/08*

4/17/08*

04/18/08 04/23/08

• See previous concurrence OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

Letter to Benjamin Waldrep from Farideh E. Saba, dated April 23, 2008

SUBJECT:

BRUNSWICK STEAM ELECTRIC PLANT, UNITS 1 AND 2 - ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENTS REGARDING INSERVICE TESTING PROGRAM (TAC NOS. MD6916 AND MD6917)

DISTRIBUTION:

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RidsOgcRp RidsAcrsAcnw&mMailCenter GHill, OIS (4 Hard Copies)

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RidsNrrDorlDpr RidsNrrDirsItsb RidsNrrDciCptb RWolfgang JMcHale

CAROLINA POWER & LIGHT COMPANY DOCKET NO. 50-325 BRUNSWICK STEAM ELECTRIC PLANT, UNIT 1 AMENDMENT TO RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 247 Renewed License No. DPR-71

1.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has found that:

A.

The application for amendment filed by Carolina Power & Light Company (the licensee), dated September 26, 2007, as supplemented by letter dated December 7, 2007, 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 Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-71 is hereby amended to read as follows:

(2)

Technical Specifications The Technical Specifications contained in Appendices A and B, as revised through Amendment No. 247, are hereby incorporated in the license. Carolina Power & Light Company shall operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications.

3.

This license amendment is effective as of the date of its issuance and shall be implemented within 60 days of issuance.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

/RA by EBrown Acting for/

Thomas H. Boyce, Chief Plant Licensing Branch II-2 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Attachment:

Changes to the Operating License and Technical Specifications Date of Issuance: April 23, 2008

ATTACHMENT TO LICENSE AMENDMENT NO. 247 RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. DPR-71 DOCKET NO. 50-325 Replace Page 4 of Renewed Operating License DPR-71 with the attached Page 4.

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 5.0-9 5.0-9 5.0-10 5.0-10

CAROLINA POWER & LIGHT COMPANY DOCKET NO. 50-324 BRUNSWICK STEAM ELECTRIC PLANT, UNIT 2 AMENDMENT TO RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 275 Renewed License No. DPR-62

1.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has found that:

A.

The application for amendment filed by Carolina Power & Light Company (the licensee), dated September 26, 2007, as supplemented by letter dated December 7, 2007, 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 Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-62 is hereby amended to read as follows:

(2)

Technical Specifications The Technical Specifications contained in Appendices A and B, as revised through Amendment No. 275, are hereby incorporated in the license. Carolina Power & Light Company shall operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications.

3.

This license amendment is effective as of the date of its issuance and shall be implemented within 60 days of issuance.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

/RA by EBrown Acting for/

Thomas H. Boyce, Chief Plant Licensing Branch II-2 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Attachment:

Changes to the Operating License and Technical Specifications Date of Issuance: April 23, 2008

ATTACHMENT TO LICENSE AMENDMENT NO. 275 FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. DPR-62 DOCKET NO. 50-324 Replace Page 3 of Renewed Operating License DPR-62 with the attached Page 3.

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 5.0-9 5.0-9 5.0-10 5.0-10

SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION RELATED TO AMENDMENT NOS. 247 AND 275 TO RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NOS. DPR-71 AND DPR-62 CAROLINA POWER & LIGHT COMPANY BRUNSWICK STEAM ELECTRIC PLANT, UNITS 1 AND 2 DOCKET NOS. 50-325 AND 50-324

1.0 INTRODUCTION

By letter dated September 26, 2007, as supplemented by letter dated December 7, 2007, the Carolina Power & Light Company (the licensee) requested amendments to Renewed Operating Licenses DPR-71 and DPR-62 for the Brunswick Steam Electric Plant (BSEP), Units 1 and 2, respectively. The amendment revise BSEP, Units 1 and 2, Technical Specification (TS) 5.5.6, Inservice Testing Program, to replace references to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (Code),Section XI with the references to the ASME Code for Operation and Maintenance of Nuclear Power Plants for inservice testing (IST) activities. This change eliminates the ASME Code inconsistency between the IST program and the TS 5.5.6 as required by Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Section 50.55a(f)(5)(ii). Additionally, the amendments limit the applicability of Surveillance Requirement (SR) 3.0.2 provisions to other normal and accelerated frequencies specified as two years or less in the IST program. In addition, the licensee will make changes to the affected TS Bases pages for Unit 1.

The changes are based on Technical Specification Task Force (TSTF) Traveler TSTF-479, Revision 0, Changes to Reflect Revision of 10 CFR 50.55a, as modified by TSTF-497, Limit Inservice Testing Program SR 3.0.2 Application to Frequencies of 2 Years or Less.

The December 7, 2007, letter superseded the September 26, 2007, application in its entirety.

The staff's proposed no significant hazards consideration determination, as published in the Federal Register on January 29, 2008 (73 FR 5217), was based on the letter dated December 7, 2007.

2.0 REGULATORY EVALUATION

In accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR 50.55a(f), Inservice testing requirements, a boiling-water reactor whose construction permit was issued prior to January 1, 1971, pumps and valves must meet test requirement of 10 CFR 50.55a(f)(4) and (5). In 1990, the ASME published the initial edition of the ASME OM Code, which provides requirements for IST of pumps and valves. The OM Code was developed and is maintained by the ASME Committee on Operation and Maintenance of Nuclear Power Plants. The ASME OM Code was developed in response to the ASME Board on Nuclear Codes and Standards directive that transferred responsibility for development and maintenance of requirements for the IST of pumps and valves from the ASME,Section XI, Subcommittee on Nuclear Inservice Inspection to the ASME OM Committee. Consequently, the 1995 edition of ASME OM Code was incorporated into 10 CFR 50.55a on September 22, 1999, and the ASME Code Section XI for IST of pumps and valves was deleted from the ASME Code Section XI in the 2000 Addenda.

Section 50.55a(f)(4)(ii) of 10 CFR states that IST of pumps and valves conducted during successive 120-month intervals must comply with the requirements of the latest edition and addenda of the Code incorporated by reference in 10 CFR 50.55a(b) 12 months before the start of the interval.

The Code of record for the BSEP third 10-year Inservice testing interval, which concludes on May 10, 2008, is the 1989 Edition of ASME Code,Section XI, with no addenda. The BSEP fourth 10-year IST interval will begin on May 1, 2008, and the IST program for the interval will be in accordance with the 2001 Edition through 2003 Addenda of the ASME OM Code, as required by 10 CFR 50.55a(f)(4)(ii).

Section 50.55a(f)(5)(ii) of 10 CFR requires that, if a revised IST program for a facility conflicts with the TSs for that facility, the licensee shall apply to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for amendment of the TSs to conform the TSs to the revised program. The licensee is required to submit the application, as specified in 10 CFR 50.4, at least 6 months before the start of the period during which the provisions become applicable, as determined by 10 CFR 50.55a(f)(4). The changes to TS 5.5.6 delete references to Section XI of the ASME Code for IST and add references to ASME OM Code that will be Code of record for the fourth 10-year IST interval, beginning on May 11, 2008. The amendments eliminate the ASME Code inconsistency between the IST program and the TSs, as required by 10 CFR 50.55a(f)(5)(ii)

NUREG-1433, Standard Technical Specifications General Electric Plants, BWR/4; Revision 3.0 incorporated TSTF traveler TSTF-479 in December 2005. This traveler addressed changes to Section 5.5.7, IST Program, to reflect revisions of 10 CFR 50.55a referencing the ASME OM Code and the application of SR 3.0.2 to test frequencies specified in the IST program. NUREG-1433 was again modified to reflect TSTF traveler TSTF-497 in October 2006.

This traveler updated Section 5.5.7.b of NUREG-1433 to specify that the 25 percent extension applies only to IST frequencies of 2 years or less.

3.0 TECHNICAL EVALUATION

Section 5.5.6 of BSEP Unit 1 and Unit 2 TSs defines terminology for IST activities in accordance with the applicable ASME Code. TS Section 5.5.6 currently referencesSection XI of the ASME Code as the source of requirements for the IST of ASME Code Class 1, 2, and 3 pumps and valves.

The regulations in 10 CFR 50.55a(f)(4) establish the effective Code edition and addenda to be used by licensees for performing IST of pumps and valves. The regulations in 10 CFR 50.55a(f)(4)(ii) require licensees to update their IST program to the latest approved edition and addenda of the ASME OM Code incorporated by reference into 10 CFR 50.55a(b).

The licensee states that the IST Program for the BSEP fourth interval, beginning on May 11, 2008, will comply with the appropriate revisions of the ASME OM Code and will include the 2001 Edition through 2003 Addenda as the new Code of Record for performing IST at BSEP. As a consequence, the TS 5.5.6 reference to Section XI of the ASME Code results in a reference to a deleted portion of the Code.

According to 10 CFR 50.55a(f)(5)(ii), if a revised IST program for a facility conflicts with the TSs for the facility, the licensee is required to apply to the Commission for amendment of the TSs to conform the TSs to the revised program. TS 5.5.6 references ASME Section XI for the IST requirements for pumps and valves, while IST program for the fourth interval will perform IST for BSEP pumps and valves in accordance with the requirements of the ASME OM Code. The TS 5.5.6 changes will eliminate the ASME Code inconsistency between the IST program and the TSs as required by 10 CFR 50.55a(f)(5)(ii). The TS changes do not eliminate any tests and do not relinquish the licensee of its responsibility to seek relief from Code test requirements when they are impractical. The change of the ASME Code from ASME Section XI to ASME OM Code will maintain consistency with the Code requirements; therefore, the NRC staff finds these changes to be acceptable. Additionally, these changes are consistent with the comparable Section 5.5.7 of the standard TS, contained in NUREG-1433, Revision 3.1.

Additionally, TSTF-479 incorporated into NUREG-1433 in December 2005 addressed changes to Section 5.5.7, IST Program of the standard TSs to reflect revisions of 10 CFR 50.55a referencing the ASME OM Code and the application of SR 3.0.2 to test frequencies specified in the IST program. The NRC staff expressed concern that applying the 25 percent extension permitted by SR 3.0.2 to frequencies in excess of 2 years (such as 5 or 10 years as permitted by the ASME OM Code in certain cases) would be inappropriate and has requested a change to TSTF-479 to revise the provision for applying SR 3.0.2 to IST frequencies. Consequently, the standard TSs contained in NUREG-1433 Revision 3.0 was updated to reflect TSTF-497. This change that extends the applicability of SR 3.0.2 to other normal and accelerated frequencies specified as 2 years or less is incorporated in Revision 3.1 of NUREG-1433.

The licensees proposed change to TS 5.5.6.b limits SR 3.0.2 to the frequencies specified in TS 5.5.6.a and other normal and accelerated frequencies specified as 2 years or less in the IST program. This change recognizes that the IST program may direct additional tests be performed in accordance with the ASME OM Code that are not at the standard intervals listed in TS 5.5.6.a.

This is consistent with the intent of the 25 percent extension as described in the Bases for SR 3.0.2, in that the extension would provide operational flexibility, but would not significantly degrade the reliability that results from performing the surveillance at the specified frequency.

Further, the licensees proposal to limit application of SR 3.0.2 to frequencies specified as two years or less limits the maximum incremental time period between tests that could be added by the 25 percent extension. Without this limitation, some components, such as safety and relief valves which may be tested at surveillance intervals significantly greater than 2 years, could have extensions applied which would be much greater than needed for operational flexibility.

These aspects of the proposed change support Code provisions which provide the basis for the IST program and are consistent with guidance contained in NUREG-1482 Revision 1 regarding maximum allowable extensions of test intervals. Therefore, the NRC staff finds this proposed change to be acceptable.

4.0 STATE CONSULTATION

In accordance with the Commission's regulations, the State of North Carolina official was notified of the proposed issuance of the amendments. The State official had no comments.

5.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION

The amendments change a requirement with respect to administrative procedures or requirements. 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 (73 FR 5217). Accordingly, the amendments meet 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 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.

5.0 REFERENCES

1.

Code of Federal Regulations, Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities, Part 50, Chapter I, Title 10, Energy, Section 50.55a, Codes and standards.

2.

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Guidance for Inservice Testing at Nuclear Power Plants, NUREG-1482, Revision 1, January 2005.

3.

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Standard Technical Specifications General Electric Plants BWR/4, NUREG-1433, Volume 1, Revision 3.1, December 1, 2005.

Principal Contributor: Robert Wolfgang Date: April 23, 2008