ML11285A251

Issuance of Amendment Regarding the Elimination of License Condition 2.G

ML11285A251
Person / Time
Site:	Watts Bar
Issue date:	01/06/2012
From:	John Lamb Watts Bar Special Projects Branch
To:	James Shea Tennessee Valley Authority
Lamb J
References
TAC ME7322
Download: ML11285A251 (11)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 January 6, 2012 Mr. Joseph W. Shea Corporate Manager, Nuclear Licensing Tennessee Valley Authority 3R Lookout Place 1101 Market Street Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801

SUBJECT:

WAITS BAR NUCLEAR PLANT, UNIT 1 - ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT REGARDING THE ELIMINATION OF LICENSE CONDITION 2.G (TAC NO ME7322)

Dear Mr. Shea:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 90 to Facility Operating License No. NPF-90 for Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, Unit 1. This amendment consists of changes to the license in response to your application dated October 5, 2011 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System Accession No. ML11285A049).

The amendment eliminates License Condition 2.G that requires reporting of violations of other requirements (e.g., conditions listed in Section 2.C) in the operating license. The change is consistent with the NRC approved change notice published in the Federal Register (70 FR 67202) on November 4, 2005, announcing the availability of this improvement through the consolidated line item improvement process.

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

SinCerelY~ f/~~

n G. Lamb, Senior Project Manager atts Bar Special Projects Branch ivision of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-390

Enclosures:

1. Amendment No. 90 to NPF-90

2. Safety Evaluation cc w/encls: Distribution via Listserv

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY DOCKET NO. 50-390 WATTS BAR NUCLEAR PLANT. UNIT 1 AMENDMENT TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment NO.90 License No. NPF-90

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

A. The application for amendment by the Tennessee Valley Authority (the licensee) dated October 5, 2011, 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 Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations (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.

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2. Accordingly, the Operating License NPF-90is amended as indicated in the attachment to this license amendment, and paragraphs 2.C.(2) and 2.G of Facility Operating License No. NPF-90 is hereby amended to read as follows:

(2) Technical Specifications and Environmental Protection Plan The Technical Specifications contained in Appendices A and B, as revised through Amendment No. 90, and the Environmental Protection Plan contained in Appendix B, both of which are attached hereto, are hereby incorporated into this license. TVA shall operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications and the Environmental Protection Plan.

G. Deleted.

3. This license amendment is effective as of the date of its issuance, and shall be implemented no later than 32 days from the date of its issuance.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

~~.~

Stephen J. Campbell, Chief Watts Bar Special Projects Branch Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Attachment:

90 Changes to the Operating License Date of Issuance: January 6,2012

ATTACHMENT TO LICENSE AMENDMENT NO. 90 FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-90 DOCKET NO. 50-390 Replace the following pages of Operating License No. NPF-90 with the attached pages.

REMOVE INSERT 3 3 5a 5a

- 3 (4) TVA, pursuant to the Act and 10 CFR Parts 30, 40 and 70, to receive, possess, and use in amounts as required, any byproduct, source or special nuclear material without restriction to chemical or physical form, for sample analysis, instrument calibration, or other activity associated with radioactive apparatus or components; and (5) TVA, pursuant to the Act and 10 CFR Parts 30, 40 and 70, to possess, but not separate, such byproduct and special nuclear materials as may be produced by the operation of the facility.

C. This license shall be deemed to contain and is subject to the conditions specified in the Commission's regulations set forth in 10 CFR Chapter I and is subject to all applicable provisions of the Act and to the rules, regulations, and orders of the Commission now or hereafter in effect, and is subject to the additional conditions specified or incorporated below.

(1) Maximum Power Level TVA is authorized to operate the facility at reactor core power levels not in excess of 3459 megawatts thermal.

(2) Technical Specifications and Environmental Protection Plan The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A as revised through Amendment No. 90 and the Environmental Protection Plan contained in Appendix B, both of which are attached hereto, are hereby incorporated into this license. TVA shall operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications and the Environmental Protection Plan.

(3) Safety Parameter Display System (SPDS) (Section 18.2 of SER Supplements 5 and 15)

Prior to startup following the first refueling outage, TVA shall accomplish the necessary activities, provide acceptable responses, and implement all proposed corrective actions related to having the Watts Bar Unit 1 SPDS operational.

(4) Vehicle Bomb Control Program (Section 13.6.9 of SSER 20)

During the period of the exemption granted in paragraph 2.0.(3) of this license, in implementing the power ascension phase of the approved initial test program, TVA shall not exceed 50% power until the requirements of 10 CFR 73.55(c)(7) and (8) are fully implemented. TVA shall submit a letter under oath or affirmation when the requirements of 73.55(c)(7) and (8) have been fully implemented.

Amendment NO.90

5a F. TVA shall implement and maintain in effect all provisions of the approved fire protection program as described in the Fire Protection Report for the facility, as approved in Supplement 18 (except page 80 of Appendix FF), revised page 80 of Appendix FF of Supplement 18 (as revised by Amendment No. 88, and Supplement 19 of the SER (NUREG-0847) subject to the following provision:

TVA may make changes to the approved fire protection program without prior approval of the Commission only if those changes would not adversely affect the ability to achieve and maintain safe shutdown in the event of a fire.

G. Deleted H. The licensee shall have and maintain financial protection of such types and in such amounts as the Commission shall require in accordance with Section 170 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, to cover public liability claims.

Amendment No. 37 38 90

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555*0001 SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION RELATED TO AMENDMENT NO. 90 TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-90 TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY WATIS BAR NUCLEAR PLANT, UNIT 1 DOCKET NO. 50-390

1.0 INTRODUCTION

By application dated October 5, 2011 (Agencywide Documents Management Systems Accession No. ML11285A049), Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) requested an amendment to Facility Operating License No. NPF-90 for Watts Bar Nuclear Plant (WBN), Unit 1. The proposed amendment would delete License Condition 2.G, which requires reporting violations of the requirements in Section 2.C of the Facility Operating License.

A notice announcing the availability of this proposed change using the consolidated line item improvement process was published in the Federal Register on November 4, 2005 (70 FR 67202).

2.0 REGULATORY EVALUATION

A section or condition was included in the facility operating licenses issued to some nuclear power plants requiring the licensee to make reports to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regarding violations of other sections of the operating license (typically Section 2.C).

WBN Unit 1 license condition 2.G reads as follows:

Except as otherwise provided in the Technical Specifications (Appendix A to this license) or Environmental Protection Plan (Appendix B to this license), TVA shall report any violations of the requirements contained in Section 2. C of this license in the following manner: initial notification shall be made within twenty-four (24) hours to the NRC Operations Center via the Emergency Notification System with written follow-up within 30 days in accordance with the procedures described in 10 CFR 50.73(b), (c), and (e) [Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 50, Section 73(b), (c), and (e).]

In addition to the information provided to support licensing decisions, the NRC obtains information about plant operation, licensee programs, and other matters using a combination of inspections and reporting requirements. Routine or scheduled reports that are required to be submitted to the NRC are defined in the related regulations, specific license condition, technical

- 2 specification, or an NRC-approved program document. The reporting of emergencies, unplanned events or conditions, and other special cases may also be addressed within such documents by the inclusion of reporting thresholds and are also the focus of the reporting requirements in 10 CFR 50.72, "Immediate notification requirements for operating nuclear power reactors," and 10 CFR 50.73, "Licensee event report system." Changes to the reporting regulations in 10 CFR 50.72 and 50.73 became effective in January 2001 (see Federal Register notice dated October 25, 2000 (65 FR 63769) and included extending the allowable reporting times for licensee event reports (LERs) from 30 days to 60 days.

3.0 TECHNICAL EVALUATION

Section 2.G of the Facility Operating License NPF-90 requires TVA to report any violations of the requirements of Section 2.C of the Facility Operating License and defines the method and allowable time periods for such reports. The reporting threshold (Le., a violation) for some of the conditions included in Section 2.C of the Facility Operating License duplicates those defined in 10 CFR 50.72 and 10 CFR 50.73. However, the requirements in the Facility Operating License may have different deadlines than those defined in the regulations (following a rule change in 2001). This difference in reporting requirements has led to variations in reporting since many facility operating licenses do not contain the subject condition. For those licensees with a 30-day reporting requirement in the Facility Operating License, the condition has decreased the benefits of the rulemaking. For those cases where the current Facility Operating License requirement to report violations is also reportable in accordance with the regulations defined in 10 CFR 50.72 and 10 CFR 50.73, the NRC staff finds that the regulations adequately address this issue and the elimination of the duplicative requirement in the Facility Operating License is acceptable. Some of the conditions addressed in Section 2.C of the Facility Operating License may address the maintenance of particular programs, administrative requirements, or other matters where a violation of the requirement would not result in a report to the NRC in accordance with 10 CFR 50.72 or 10 CFR 50.73. In most cases, there are requirements for reports to the NRC related to these conditions in other regulations, the specific license condition or technical specification, or an NRC-approved program document. In other cases, there are reports to other agencies or news releases that would prompt a report to the NRC (in accordance with 10 CFR 50.72(b)(2)(xi)). The NRC staff also assessed violations of administrative requirements that could be reportable under the current License Condition but that may not have a duplicative requirement in a regulation or other regulatory requirement.

The NRC staff finds that the requirements to report such problems within 24 hours2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br /> with written reports to follow using the LER process is not needed. The NRC staff is confident that the information related to such violations that is actually important to the NRC's regulatory functions would come to light in a time frame comparable to the 60-day LER requirements. The information would become available to the appropriate NRC staff through the inspection program. updates to program documents, resultant licensing actions, public announcements, or some other reliable mechanism.

The NRC staff finds that the elimination of Section 2. G of the Facility Operating License will not result in a loss of information to the NRC that would adversely affect either its goal to protect public health and safety or its ability to carry out its various other regulatory responsibilities.

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4.0 STATE CONSULTATION

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

5.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION

The NRC staff has determined that the amendment involves 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 amendment involves no significant hazards consideration, and there has been no public comment on such finding (76 FR 67490). Accordingly, the amendment meets the eligibility criteria for categorical exclusion set forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(10). Pursuantto 10 CFR 51.22(b) no environmental impact statement or environmental assessment need be prepared in connection with the issuance of the amendment.

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: John G. Lamb Date: January 6, 2012

January 6, 2012 Mr. Joseph W. Shea Corporate Manager, Nuclear Licensing Tennessee Valley Authority 3R Lookout Place 1101 Market Street Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801

SUBJECT:

WATTS BAR NUCLEAR PLANT, UNIT 1 -ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT REGARDING THE ELIMINATION OF LICENSE CONDITION 2.G (TAC NO. ME7322)

Dear Mr. Shea:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 90 to Facility Operating License No. NPF-90 for Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, Unit 1. This amendment consists of changes to the license in response to your application dated October 5, 2011 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System Accession No. ML11285A049).

The amendment eliminates License Condition 2.G that requires reporting of violations of other requirements (e.g., conditions listed in Section 2.C) in the operating license. The change is consistent with the NRC approved change notice published in the Federal Register (70 FR 67202) on November 4, 2005, announcing the availability of this improvement through the consolidated line item improvement process.

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

Sincerely, IRA!

John G. Lamb, Senior Project Manager Watts Bar Special Projects Branch Division of Operating Reactor licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-390

Enclosures:

1. Amendment No. 90 to NPF-90

2. Safety Evaluation cc w/encls: Distribution via Listserv NRC Distribution: See next page ADAMS Accession No ML11285A251 OFFICE NRRlLPWB/PM NRRlLPWB/LA OGC NRRlLPWB/BC NAME JLamb BClayton Not Required SCamp bell DATE 12/6/12 11/2/11 ML072980209 01/6/12 OFFICIAL AGENCY RECORD

Letter to Joseph W. Shea from John G. Lamb dated January 6, 2012.

SUBJECT:

WATTS BAR NUCLEAR PLANT, UNIT 1 - ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT REGARDING THE ELIMINATION OF LICENSE CONDITION 2.G (TAC NO. ME7322)

NRC DISTRIBUTION:

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