ML14056A124

Request for Withholding Proprietary Information from Public Disclosure Related to Operability Assessment

ML14056A124
Person / Time
Site:	Brunswick
Issue date:	03/12/2014
From:	Siva Lingam Plant Licensing Branch II
To:	Hamrick G Duke Energy Progress
Lingam S
References
Download: ML14056A124 (4)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 March 12, 2014 Mr. George T. Hamrick, Vice President Brunswick Steam Electric Plant Duke Energy Progress, Inc.

Post Office Box 10429 Southport, North Carolina 28461

SUBJECT:

BRUNSWICK STEAM ELECTRIC PLANT, UNIT 1- REQUEST FOR WITHHOLDING PROPRIETARY INFORMATION FROM PUBLIC DISCLOSURE RELATED TO OPERABILITY ASSESSMENT

Dear Mr. Hamrick:

On March 1, 2013, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued Amendment Nos. 262 and 290 to the Renewed Facility Operating Licenses for the Brunswick Steam Electric Plant (BSEP), Units 1 and 2, respectively. These amendments included a license condition in Appendix B, "Additional Conditions," to require Safety Limit Minimum Critical Power Ratio, setpoint, and core operating limit values be evaluated with methods described in an AREVA NP Incorporated (AREVA NP) Operability Assessment to verify the values determined using the NRC-approved method remain applicable and the core operating limits include margin sufficient to bound the effects of a K-factor calculation issue described in AREVA NP "Operability Assessment CR #2011-2274, Revision 1."

The results of the evaluation are required to be submitted to the NRC, for review, at least 60 days prior to startup of each operating cycle. Based on planned return-to-service date of March 30, 2014, for the upcoming BSEP Unit 1 Cycle 20 refueling outage, submittal of these Unit 1 evaluation results is required by January 29, 2014.

By letter dated January 27, 2014, Duke Energy Progress, Inc. submitted a letter documenting the evaluation results in an AREVA NP report titled "Operability Assessment (CR #2013-8241 )."

This Operability Assessment report contains information that AREVA considers proprietary, as defined by Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 2, Section 2.390 (1 0 CFR 2.390).

You requested that the AREVA NP proprietary information included in Enclosure 1 of your letter dated January 27, 2014, be withheld from public disclosure pursuant to 10 CFR 2.390. An affidavit dated December 13, 2013, executed by Alan B. Meginnis of AREVA NP, and included as Enclosure 2 to your letter dated January 27, 2014, was provided requesting that information contained in the following document be withheld from public disclosure pursuant to 10 CFR 2.390:

• Enclosure 1 of a letter dated January 27, 2014- "Operability Assessment (CR #2013-8241 )" (Proprietary).

A nonproprietary summary of the information provided in the above proprietary document was provided in Enclosure 3 of your letter dated January 27, 2014, which has been placed in the NRC's Public Document Room and added to the NRC Library in the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System.

G. Hamrick The affidavit stated that the submitted information should be considered exempt from mandatory public disclosure for the reasons specified in the following paragraphs:

6 (b) Use of the information by a competitor would permit the competitor to significantly reduce its expenditures, in time or resources, to design, produce, or market a similar product or service.

6 (d) The information reveals certain distinguishing aspects of a process, methodology, or component, the exclusive use of which provides a competitive advantage for AREVA NP in product optimization or marketability.

6 (e) The information is vital to a competitive advantage held by AREVA NP, would be helpful to competitors to AREVA NP, and would likely cause substantial harm to the competitive position of AREVA NP.

We have reviewed your application and material in accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR 2.390 and, on the basis of your statements, have determined that the submitted information sought to be withheld contains proprietary commercial information and should be withheld from public disclosure.

Therefore, the version of the information marked as proprietary will be withheld from public disclosure pursuant to 10 CFR 2.390(b)(5) and Section 103(b) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.

Withholding from public inspection shan not affect the right, if any, of persons properly and directly concerned to inspect the documents. If the need arises, we may send copies of this information to our consultants working in this area. We will, of course, ensure that the consultants have signed the appropriate agreements for handling proprietary information.

If the basis for withholding this information from public inspection should change in the future such that the information could then be made available for public inspection, you should promptly notify the NRC. You also should understand that the NRC may have cause to review this determination in the future, for example, if the scope of a Freedom of Information Act request includes your information. In all review situations, if the NRC makes a determination adverse to the above, you will be notified in advance of any public disclosure.

G. Hamrick If you have any questions regarding this matter, I may be reached at 301-415-1564.

Sincerely,

~~*~

Siva P. Lingam, Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch 11-2 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-325 cc: Mr. Alan B. Meginnis, Manager Product Licensing AREVA NP Inc.

3315 Old Forest Road Lynchburg, VA 24501 Additional Distribution via Listserv

ML14056A124 OFFICE LPL2-2/PM LPL2-2/LA SRXB/BC SNPB/BC LPL2-2/BC LPL2-2/PM NAME Slingam BCiayton CJackson JDean JQuichocho Slingam DATE 2/26/14 2/26/14 3/4/14 3/11/14 3/12/14 3/12/14