ML14196A328

Issuance of Amendment to Change the Site Emergency Plan to Remove the Radwaste Operator as One of the 60-Minute Responders Specified in the Site Emergency Plan

ML14196A328
Person / Time
Site:	Monticello
Issue date:	10/31/2014
From:	Beltz T Plant Licensing Branch III
To:	Fili K Northern States Power Co, Xcel Energy
Beltz T
References
TAC MF2898
Download: ML14196A328 (8)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 October 31, 2014 Karen D. Fili Site Vice President Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant Northern States Power Company - Minnesota 2807 West County Road 75 Monticello, MN 55362-9637

SUBJECT:

MONTICELLO NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT- ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT TO CHANGE THE SITE EMERGENCY PLAN TO REMOVE THE RADWASTE OPERATOR AS ONE OF THE 60-MINUTE RESPONDERS SPECIFIED IN THE SITE EMERGENCY PLAN (TAC NO. MF2898)

Dear Ms. Fili:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 183 to Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-22 for the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant (MNGP). The amendment consists of changes to the MNGP Site Emergency Plan in response to your application dated October 4, 2013, as supplemented on April 29, 2014. The amendment revises the MNGP Site Emergency Plan by eliminating the Radwaste Operator position as one of the 60-minute responders.

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

Sincerely, Terry A Beltz, Senior Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch 111-1 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-263

Enclosures:

1. Amendment No. 183 to DPR-22

2. Safety Evaluation cc: ListServ

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 NORTHERN STATES POWER COMPANY- MINNESOTA DOCKET NO. 50-263 MONTICELLO NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT AMENDMENT TO RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 183 License No. DPR-22

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

A. The application for amendment by Northern States Power Company - Minnesota (NSPM, the licensee), dated October 4, 2013, as supplemented on April 29, 2014, 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, by Amendment No. 183, Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-22 is hereby amended to authorize revision to the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant Site Emergency Plan as set forth in NSPM's application dated October 4, 2013, as supplemented by letter dated April 29, 2014, and evaluated in the NRC staff's safety evaluation dated October 31, 2014.

Enclosure 1

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

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Attachment:

Changes to Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-22 Date of Issuance: October 31, 2014

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION RELATED TO AMENDMENT NO. 183 TO RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. DPR-22 NORTHERN STATES POWER COMPANY- MINNESOTA MONTICELLO NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT DOCKET NO. 50-263

1.0 INTRODUCTION

By application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) dated October 4, 2013 (Reference 1), as supplemented on April29, 2014 (Reference 2), Northern States Power Company- Minnesota (NSPM, the licensee), doing business as Xcel Energy, Inc., submitted changes to the Site Emergency Plan (SEP) for the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant (MNGP) for Commission review and approval pursuant to Section 50.54(q) to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (1 0 CFR). Specifically, NSPM requested NRC review and approval of a revision to the MNGP SEP to eliminate the Radwaste Operator (RWO) position as one of the 60-minute responders identified in the MNGP SEP.

2.0 REGULATORY EVALUATION

The NRC staff based its evaluation on the regulatory requirements and guidance discussed below.

2.1 Regulatory Requirements Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Section 50.47, "Emergency plans," sets forth emergency plan requirements for nuclear power plant facilities.

Section 10 CFR 50.47(b)(1) states, in part, that:

... each principal response organization has staff to respond and to augment its initial response on a continuous basis.

Section 10 CFR 50.47(b)(2) states, in part, that:

... adequate staffing to provide initial facility accident response in key functional areas is maintained at all times, and that timely augmentation of response Enclosure 2

capabilities is available.

Section IV.A of Appendix E, "Emergency Planning and Preparedness for Production and Utilization Facilities," to 10 CFR Part 50, states, in part, that:

The organization for coping with radiological emergencies shall be described, including definition of authorities, responsibilities, and duties of individuals assigned to the licensee's emergency organization.

Section 50.54(q)(4) states, in part, that:

The changes to a licensee's emergency plan that reduce the effectiveness of the plan as defined in paragraph (q)(1)(iv) of this section may not be implemented without prior approval by the NRC.

The proposed change to the MNGP SEP was submitted to the NRC for approval prior to implementation pursuant to 10 CFR 50.54(q)(4).

2.2 Guidance Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.101, "Emergency Response Planning and Preparedness for Nuclear Power Reactors" (Reference 4), provides guidance on methods acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific parts of the NRC's regulations, specifically 10 CFR 50.47(b) and Appendix E to Part 50. Revision 2 of RG 1.101 endorses Revision 1 to NUREG-0654/FEMA-REP-1 (NUREG-0654), "Criteria for Preparation and Evaluation of Radiological Emergency Response Plans and Preparedness in Support of Nuclear Power Plants," (Reference 3) which provides specific acceptance criteria for complying with the standards set forth in 10 CFR 50.47.

These criteria provide a basis for NRC licensees, and State and local governments to develop acceptable radiological emergency plans, and improve emergency preparedness.

In NUREG-0654,Section II, "Planning Standards and Evaluation Criteria," Evaluation Criteria 11.8.1 and 11.8.5 address the 10 CFR 50.47(b)(2) planning standard. Evaluation Criteria 11.8.1 specifies the onsite emergency organization of plant staff personnel for all shifts, and its relation to the responsibilities and duties of the normal shift complement.

Evaluation Criteria 11.8.5, states, in part, that:

Each licensee shall specify the positions or title and major tasks to be performed by the persons to be assigned to the functional areas of emergency activity. For emergency situations, specific assignments shall be made for all shifts and for plant staff members, both onsite and away from the site. These assignments shall cover the emergency functions in Table 8-1 entitled, "Minimum Staffing Requirements for Nuclear Power Plant Emergencies." The minimum on-shift staffing levels shall be as indicated in Table 8-1. The licensee must be able to augment on-shift capabilities within a short period after declaration of an emergency. This capability shall be as indicated in Table 8-1.

Regulatory Issue Summary (RIS) 2005-02, "Clarifying the Process for Making Emergency Plan Changes" (Reference 5), was issued by the NRC to clarify the meaning of "decrease in effectiveness" and the process for making changes to emergency plans, and to provide some examples of changes that are considered to be a decrease in effectiveness.

3.0 TECHNICAL EVALUATION

3.1 Background In its letters dated October 4, 2013, and April29, 2014, NSPM submitted an On-shift Staffing Analysis (OSA) to support the removal of the RWO from the current MNGP SEP Table 1, "Minimum Shift Staffing and Capability for Additions for Nuclear Power Plant Emergencies."

The OSA considered performance of Abnormal Operating Procedures (AOPs), Emergency Operating Procedures (EOPs), Severe Accident Mitigation Guidelines (SAMGs), and the SEP.

No RWO tasks were identified in these analyses. Since no RWO tasks are necessary to address Design Basis Accidents events analyzed for MNGP, the licensee proposed removal of the RWO from Table 1 of the MNGP SEP.

In the April 29, 2014, supplemental letter, the licensee performed a review of the MNGP SAMGs and procedures referenced in the SAMGs. The licensee determined that there were no specific RWO requirements in these procedures. Based on this review, the licensee proposed to remove the last sentence in the first paragraph of the MNGP SEP Section 5.3.1.1. Additionally, the licensee states that radwaste processing after an event is a long-term recovery operation and no RWO support would be required to support repair or corrective actions within 60 minutes of an event.

The NRC staff reviewed the licensee's analyses in support of its proposed changes to the MNGP SEP. The staff's technical evaluation is detailed below.

3.2 Technical Evaluation The RWO is currently described in Section 5.3.1.1 of the MNGP SEP as augmenting the duty Operations staff. However, based on the NRC staff's review of the licensee-provided OSA, the RWO position is not required to support any analyzed scenario. The OSA considers both operational and emergency preparedness response to the events analyzed. The RWO does not support any SEP Major Task in any Major Functional Area. There is no accident or event scenario in which the RWO is designated as performing an emergency response organization repair or corrective action function within the first 60 minutes.

Additionally, in its April 29, 2014, supplemental letter, the licensee indicates that the duty Operations crew implements the EOPs. Any radiological waste processing would be performed by an auxiliary operator as part of their normal duties during the recovery phase of the event.

The RWO is not required to operate, or support the maintenance of, radwaste equipment in the MNGP EOPs or MNGP SAMGs.

Based on the information provided above, the NRC staff finds that MNGP will continue to maintain its ability to perform all the necessary emergency response actions specified in the EOPs and SAMGs following removal of the RWO from Section 5.3.1.1 of the MNGP SEP.

MNGP will continue to maintain the ability to perform repair and corrective actions within the Emergency Response Organization (ERO) without augmenting the RWO position.

3.3 Conclusion The NRC staff reviewed the proposed changes to the MNGP SEP. The staff finds that removal of the RWO position as one of the 60-minute responders identified in the MNGP SEP does not impact the site's ability to effectively implement emergency response activities, and that the proposed changes continue to meet the guidance in NUREG-0654/FEMA REP-1, the regulations specified in 10 CFR 50.47(b)(1) and 10 CFR 50.47(b)(2), and the standards in Appendix E to 10 CFR Part 50. Therefore, the NRC staff concludes that the proposed staffing change provides reasonable assurance that the MNGP ERO will continue to perform its intended function of coping with a radiological emergency and mitigating the consequences of an accident or event.

4.0 STATE CONSULTATION

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

5.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION

The amendment changes requirements with respect to the use of facility components located within the restricted area as defined in 10 CFR Part 20 or changes surveillance requirements.

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 as published in the Federal Register on July 8, 2014 (79 FR 38591 ). Accordingly, the amendment meets the eligibility criteria for categorical exclusion set forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(9).

Pursuant to 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) there is reasonable assurance that such activities will be conducted in compliance with the Commission's regulations; and (3) the issuance of the amendment will not be inimical to the common defense and security or to the health and safety of the public.

7.0 REFERENCES

1. Letter from NSPM to the U.S. NRC Document Control Desk, "License Amendment Request: Change to the MNGP Emergency Plan to Remove the Radwaste Operator as a 60 Minute Responder," dated October 4, 2013 (ADAMS Accession No. ML13281A826).

2. Letter from NSPM to the U.S. NRC Document Control Desk, "Response to a Request for Additional Information for License Amendment Request: Change to the MNGP Emergency Plan to Remove the Radwaste Operator as a 60 Minute Responder," dated April29, 2014 (ADAMS Accession No. ML14122A044).

3. NUREG-0654/FEMA REP-1, Revision 1, Supplement 1, "Criteria for Preparation and Evaluation of Radiological Emergency Response Plans and Preparedness in Support of Nuclear Power Plants," dated November, 1980 (ADAMS Accession No. ML040420012).

4. Regulatory Guide 1.101, Revision 2, "Emergency Planning and Preparedness for Nuclear Power Reactors," dated October 1981 (ADAMS Accession No. ML090440294).

5. NRC Regulatory Issue Summary 2005-02, "Clarifying the Process for Making Emergency Plan Changes," dated February 14, 2005 (ADAMS Accession No. ML042580404).

Principal Contributor: Raymond Hoffman, NSIR Date of issuance: October 31 , 2014

ML14196A328 .s afety evaluation transmitted by memo dated May 30, 2014 OFFICE LPL3-1/PM LPL3-1/LA NSIRIDPRIORLOB/BC

• OGC (NLO)

NAME TBeltz MHenderson JAnderson MYoung DATE 08/11/2014 08/11/2014 05/30/2014 10/23/2014 OFFICE LPL3-1/BC DORLID NRRID LPL3-1/PM NAME DPelton MEvans WDean TBeltz DATE 10/24/2014 10/27/2014 10/31/2014 10/31/2014