ML15054A334

Relaxation of the Scheduler Requirements for Order EA-12-049 Issuance of Order to Modify Licenses with Regard to Requirements for Mitigation Strategies for Beyond Design Basis External Events.

ML15054A334
Person / Time
Site:	Calvert Cliffs
Issue date:	03/04/2015
From:	Bill Dean Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:	George Gellrich Exelon Generation Co
Paige J, NRR/JLD, 415-5888
References
EA-12-049, TAC MF1143
Download: ML15054A334 (3)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 March 4, 2015 Mr. George H. Gellrich Site Vice President Exelon Generation Company, LLC Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant 1650 Calvert Cliffs Parkway Lusby, MD 20657-4702

SUBJECT:

CALVERT CLIFFS NUCLEAR POWER PLANT, UNIT 2 - RELAXATION OF THE SCHEDULE REQUIREMENTS FOR ORDER EA-12-049 "ISSUANCE OF ORDER TO MODIFY LICENSES WITH REGARD TO REQUIREMENTS FOR MITIGATION STRATEGIES FOR BEYOND-DESIGN-BASIS EXTERNAL EVENTS" (TAC NO. MF1143)

Dear Mr. Gellrich:

By letter dated March 12, 2012 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML12054A735), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) ordered Exelon Generation, LLC (Exelon, the licensee), to take certain actions at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 and 2 (Calvert Cliffs), associated with the Fukushima Near-Term Task Force Recommendations. Order EA-12-049 directed that actions be taken by licensees to develop and implement strategies to maintain or restore core cooling, containment, and spent fuel pool cooling capabilities during beyond-design-basis external events.

Section IV of the order states that licensees proposing to deviate from requirements contained in NRC Order EA-12-049 may request that the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, relax or rescind certain conditions. By letter dated February 20, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15056A695), Exelon informed the NRC of their request for an extension to no later than 60 days following the restart from the spring 2015 refueling outage to carry out the order requirement that licensees must provide reasonable protection from external events for the associated mitigation equipment. The licensee stated that they are constructing a FLEX Storage Robust Building (FSRB), which will store the FLEX equipment. However, following the first concrete wall pour, the licensee discovered that there were readily visible voids in the concrete. Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity testing verified that there were internal flaws in the poured concrete. Since flaws were discovered in the poured concrete, completion of the FSRB has been delayed.

To allow the licensee to complete repair activities and construction of the FSRB, the licensee requests to move the Calvert Cliffs, Unit 2 order implementation date from the completion of the spring 2015 refueling outage (i.e., restart from the CC2R21 refueling outage, which is scheduled in March 2015) to no later than 60 days following the restart from the spring 2015 refueling outage.

G. Gellrich In light of the facts presented in the licensee's February 20, 2015, letter, the NRC staff has determined that the licensee has presented good cause for relaxation of the order implementation date. The construction of the FSRB, which is designed to provide protection from seismic, wind, tornado and tornado missiles, flooding, and extreme temperature external events, is a significant endeavor and is necessary at Calvert Cliffs to meet the requirement of the order to protect equipment that is needed to implement mitigating strategies. Due to the unforeseen flaws, additional time is needed to correctly repair the walls, retest the affected areas of the concrete, and complete construction of the FSRB. The NRC staff also considered that, following the accident at Fukushima Dai-ichi, the NRC concluded that a sequence of events such as the Fukushima Dai-ichi accident is unlikely to occur in the United States based on the current regulatory requirements and existing plant capabilities. Given the plant-specific circumstances at Calvert Cliffs, and that completion by the proposed date is before December 2016, the implementation date established by the order, the NRC staff approves the requested relaxation.

Accordingly, based upon the authority granted to the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, the requirement of the order for full order implementation for Calvert Cliffs, Unit 2 is relaxed until no later than 60 days following the restart from the spring 2015 refueling outage (i.e., May 2015) to allow the licensee sufficient time to complete construction of the FSRB.

If you have any questions, please contact Jason Paige, at 301-415-5888.

William M. Dean, Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-318 cc: Listserv

ML15054A334 *via email OFFICE NRR/JLD/JOMB/PM NRR/JLD /LA NRR/DORL/LPL 1-1/PM NRR/JLD/JOMB/BC (A)

NAME JPaige Slent NMorgan MHalter DATE 02/24/15 02/24/15 02/24/15 02/26/15 OFFICE OE* OGG NRR/JLD/D NRR/D NAME RFretz CHair JDavis BDean DATE 02/26/15 02/25/15 02/25/15 03/04/15