ML15042A081
| ML15042A081 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Browns Ferry  |
| Issue date: | 02/12/2015 |
| From: | Farideh Saba Plant Licensing Branch II |
| To: | James Shea Tennessee Valley Authority |
| Saba F DORL/LPL2-2 301-415-1447 | |
| References | |
| TAC MF5725, TAC MF5726, TAC MF5727 | |
| Download: ML15042A081 (6) | |
Text
UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 Mr. Joseph W. Shea Vice President, Nuclear Licensing Tennessee Valley Authority 1101 Market Street, LP 3D-C Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801 February 12, 2015
SUBJECT:
BROWNS FERRY NUCLEAR PLANT, UNITS 1, 2, AND 3 - PUBLIC NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE (TAC NOS. MF5725, MF5726, AND MF5727)
Dear Mr. Shea:
By letter dated February 12, 2015, the Tennessee Valley Authority (the licensee) requested amendments to Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-33, DPR-52, and DPR-68 for the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3, respectively (Browns Ferry). The proposed amendments would revise the Browns Ferry Technical Specifications to add the date of a previously issued U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) safety evaluation that stated it was acceptable for the licensee to use new analytical methods supporting the use of ATRIUM-10 XM fuel. The licensee requested that the NRC process the amendment request under exigent circumstances in accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR)
Section 50.91 (a)(6).
The NRC staff determined that the provisions of 10 CFR 50.91 (a)(6) were applicable for processing the licensee's request under exigent circumstances. The NRC staff also determined that there is not enough time before action is needed on the amendment request to publish a notice in the Federal Register and meet the 14-day requirement of 10 CFR 50.91 (a)(6)(i)(A) for prior public comment. Therefore, the NRC staff has forwarded the enclosed announcement to the The Huntsville Times newspaper for publication in accordance with 10 CFR 50.91 (a)(6)(i)(B).
J.Shea If you have any questions, please contact me at 301-415-1447 or Farideh.Saba@nrc.gov.
Docket Nos. 50-259, 50-260, and 50-296
Enclosure:
Public Notice cc w/enclosure: Distribution via Listserv Sincerely, Farideh E. Saba, Senior Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch 11-2 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
PUBLIC NOTICE NRC STAFF PROPOSES TO AMEND RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSES AT THE BROWNS FERRY NUCLEAR PLANT, UNITS 1, 2, AND 3 The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, or the Commission) staff has received an application from Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA, or the licensee) for exigent amendments to the operating licenses for the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3 (Browns Ferry), located in Limestone County, Alabama. The application was dated February 12, 2015 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML15043A323). The application can be found by searching ADAMS using the instructions at the end of this notice.
The proposed amendments would revise the Browns Ferry Technical Specifications (TSs) to add the date of a previously issued NRC safety evaluation (SE) that stated it was acceptable for the licensee to use new analytical methods supporting the use of ATRIUM-10 XM fuel. In its letter dated February 12, 2015, the licensee stated Browns Ferry, Unit 2, is entering an outage on March 14, 2015, and is scheduled to commence loading ATRIUM-10 XM fuel on March 17, 2015.
Because the TSs do not reference the aforementioned NRC evaluation, the licensee would not be able to issue a Core Operating Limits Report for the Browns Ferry Unit 2 transition cycle unless the notation to the latest NRC SE is added. Therefore, the licensee requested that NRC process the license amendment request under exigent circumstances in accordance with Title 1 O of the Code of Federal Regulations (1 O CFR) Section 50.91 (a)(6). The NRC staff determined that the provisions of 10 CFR 50.91 (a)(6) were applicable for processing the licensee's request under exigent circumstances.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.91 (a)(6), for amendments to be granted under exigent circumstances, the NRC has made a proposed determination that the license amendment requests involve no significant hazards consideration. The Commission's regulation at 10 CFR 50.91 (a)(1) requires that at the time a licensee requests an amendment, the licensee must provide to the Commission the licensee's analysis about the issue of no significant hazards consideration using the standards in Section 50.92 that concern whether the proposed amendment (1) involves a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated, (2) creates the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated, or (3) involves a significant reduction in a margin of safety. Accordingly, the licensee provided the following information in its letter dated February 12, 2015.
- 1. Does the proposed amendment involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated?
Response: No.
The proposed amendment changes Technical Specification 5.6.5.b to reflect the NRC approval of an updated method of treating top down core spray in LOCA
[Loss-of-Coolant Accident] analysis. As such, it involves no changes to the operation of any system or component during normal, accident, or transient operating conditions. The change does not affect the initiators of any accident.
Therefore, the proposed change does not involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated.
Enclosure
- 2. Does the proposed amendment create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated?
Response: No.
The proposed amendment adds a recent NRC Safety Evaluation (SE) to existing annotation on the AREVA LOCA method listed in the TS 5.6.5.b. As such, the amendment does not involve physical changes to plant hardware or its operating characteristics. No new failure modes are introduced. Therefore, the change does not introduce a new or different kind of accident from those previously evaluated.
- 3. Does the proposed amendment involve a significant reduction in the margin of safety?
Response: No.
The amendment makes changes to the Technical Specifications, to reflect the NRC SE related to the ATRIUM-10 XM fuel transition. The margin of safety will not be altered by the amendment, as the NRC has reviewed the LOCA analysis associated with that amendment and determined the results to be acceptable. No plant system, structure, or component is affected, and the behavior of plant equipment is not affected.
The NRC staff reviewed the licensee's analysis and, based on this review, it appears that the three standards of 10 CFR 50.92(c) are satisfied. Therefore, the NRC staff proposes to determine that the amendment requests involve no significant hazards consideration.
The NRC is seeking public comments on this proposed determination that the license amendment requests involve no significant hazards consideration. The NRC will consider comments received through February 24, 2015. If the proposed determination that the requested license amendment involves no significant hazards consideration becomes final, the staff will issue the amendments without first offering an opportunity for a public hearing. An opportunity for a hearing will be published in the Federal Register at a later date, and any hearing request will not delay the effective date of the amendment.
The Commission may issue the amendments prior to the expiration of the comment period, should circumstances change such that failure to act in a timely way would result, for example, in derating or shutdown of the facility. Should the Commission take action prior to the expiration of the comment period, it will publish in the Federal Register a notice of issuance. Before any issuance of the proposed license amendments, the NRC staff will need to make the findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and NRC regulations. If the staff decides that the amendments do involve a significant hazards consideration, a notice of opportunity for a prior hearing will be published in the Federal Register and, if a hearing is granted, it will be held before the amendments are issued.
Comments on the proposed determination of no significant hazards consideration may be (1) telephoned to Ms. Farideh Saba, Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch 11-2, by collect call to 301-415-1447 or by facsimile to 301-415-2102, (2) e-mailed to Farideh.Saba@nrc.gov, or (3) submitted in writing to the Chief, Rules, Announcements and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration, Mail Stop:
OWFN-12-HOB, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. All comments received by close of business (i.e., 4:15 p.m.) on February 24, 2015, will be considered in reaching a final determination.
The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact information in comment submissions that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at http://www.regulations.gov, as well as enter the comment submissions into ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to remove identifying or contact information.
If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to remove such information before making the comment submissions available to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.
A copy of the application may be examined electronically through the NRC ADAMS in the NRC Library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html and at the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, Public File Area 01-F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. To begin the search, select "ADAMS Public Documents" and then select "Begin Web-based ADAMS Search." Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to pdr.resource@nrc.gov.
If you have any questions, please contact me at 301-415-1447 or Farideh.Saba@nrc.gov.
Sincerely, IRA/
Farideh E. Saba, Senior Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch 11-2 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos. 50-259, 50-260, and 50-296
Enclosure:
Public Notice cc w/enclosure: Distribution via Listserv DISTRIBUTION:
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