CNL-16-119, Brown Ferry Nuclear Plant, Unit 1, 2 and 3 - Proposed Technical Specifications Change TS-505 - Request for License Amendments - Extended Power Uprate - Supplemental Information Related to Replacement Steam Dryers

Brown Ferry Nuclear Plant, Unit 1, 2 and 3 - Proposed Technical Specifications Change TS-505 - Request for License Amendments - Extended Power Uprate - Supplemental Information Related to Replacement Steam Dryers

ML16204A089
Person / Time
Site:	Browns Ferry
Issue date:	07/13/2016
From:	James Shea Tennessee Valley Authority
To:	Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Shared Package
ML16204A093	List: CNL-16-119, Brown Ferry Nuclear Plant, Unit 1, 2 and 3 - Proposed Technical Specifications Change TS-505 - Request for License Amendments - Extended Power Uprate - Supplemental Information Related to Replacement Steam Dryers
References
CNL-16-119
Download: ML16204A089 (7)

Text

Proprietary Information Withhold from Public Disclosure Under 10 CFR 2.390 This letter is decontrolled when separated from Enclosure 1 Tennessee Valley Authority, 1101 Market Street, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37402 CNL-16-119 July 13, 2016 10 CFR 50.90 ATTN: Document Control Desk U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555-0001

Subject:

Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3 Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-33, DPR-52, and DPR-68 NRC Docket Nos. 50-259, 50-260, and 50-296 Proposed Technical Specifications Change TS-505 - Request for License Amendments - Extended Power Uprate - Supplemental Information related to Replacement Steam Dryers

References:

1. Letter from TVA to NRC, CNL-15-169, "Proposed Technical Specifications (TS) Change TS-505 - Request for License Amendments - Extended Power Uprate (EPU)," dated September 21, 2015(ML15282A152)

2. Letter from NRC to TVA, "Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3 - Request for Additional Information Related to License Amendment Request Regarding Extended Power Uprate (CAC Nos.

MF6741, MF6742, and MF6743)," dated June 3, 2016(ML16144A643)

By the Reference 1 letter, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) submitted a license amendment request (LAR) for the Extended Power Uprate (EPU) of Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant (BFN) Units 1, 2 and 3. The proposed LAR modifies the renewed operating licenses to increase the maximum authorized core thermal power level from the current licensed thermal power of 3458 megawatts to 3952 megawatts. The Reference 2 letter provided Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Requests for Additional Information (RAls) related to the replacement steam dryers. The due date, provided by the Reference 2 letter, for the response to NRC RAI EMCB-RAI 7 is July 29, 2016. Part of NRC RAI EMCB-RAI 7 requested time histories of the Boiling Water Reactor (BWR)/4 benchmark on-dryer strain gauges at EPU conditions be provided in MATLAB format. During the June 23, 2016, meeting with NRC, TVA was requested to provide this time history data in advance of the July 29, 2016, due date for the response to NRC RAI EMCB-RAI 7. Enclosure 1 to this letter provides a compact disk containing time histories of the Boiling Water Reactor (BWR)/4 benchmark on-dryer strain gauges at EPU conditions in MATLAB format.

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission CNL-16-119 Page 2 July 13, 2016 GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC (GEH) considers the information provided in of this letter to be proprietary and, therefore, exempt from public disclosure pursuant to 10 CFR 2.390, Public inspections, exemptions, requests for withholding. An affidavit for withholding information, executed by GEH, is provided in Enclosure 2.

Therefore, on behalf of GEH, TVA requests that Enclosure 1 be withheld from public disclosure in accordance with the GEH affidavit and the provisions of 10 CFR 2. 390.

TVA has reviewed the information supporting a finding of no significant hazards consideration and the environmental consideration provided to the NRG in the Reference 1 letter. The supplemental information provided in this submittal does not affect the bases for concluding that the proposed license amendment does not involve a significant hazards consideration. In addition, the supplemental information in this submittal does not affect the bases for concluding that neither an environmental impact statement nor an environmental assessment needs to be prepared in connection with the proposed license amendment.

Additionally, in accordance with 10 CFR 50.91 (b)(1 ), TVA is sending a copy of this letter to the Alabama State Department of Public Health.

There are no new regulatory commitments associated with this submittal. If there are any questions or if additional information is needed, please contact Mr. Edward D. Schrull at (423) 751-3850.

I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on the 13th day of July 2016.

J.

. Shea Vice President, Nuclear Licensing

Enclosures:

cc:

1.

Compact Disk Containing Time Histories of the BWR/4 Benchmark On-Dryer Strain Gauges at EPU Conditions (Proprietary Information)

2.

General Electric Hitachi Affidavit NRG Regional Administrator - Region II NRC Senior Resident Inspector - Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant State Health Officer, Alabama Department of Public Health (w/o Enclosure 1)

Withhold from Public Disclosure Under 10 CF,R 2.390 ENCLOSURE 1 Compact Disk Containing Time Histories of the BWR/4 Benchmark On-Dryer Strain Gauges at EPU Conditions (Proprietary Information)

ENCLOSURE 2 General Electric Hitachi Affidavit

GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC AFFIDAVIT I, Lisa K. Schichlein, state as follows:

(1)

I am a Senior Project Manager, Regulatory Affairs, GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC (GEH), and have been delegated the function of reviewing the information described in paragraph (2) which is sought to be withheld, and have been authorized to apply for its withholding.

(2) The information sought to be withheld is contained m

Enclosure of GEH letter 175528-0 l 8, "Matlab Data and Affidavit in Support of the GEH Response to the Browns Ferry Steam Dryer Replacement RAI EMCB-RAI 7," dated July 11, 2016. The content of Enclosure 1, which is a CD-ROM entitled "EMCB-RAI 7 Data", is proprietary in its entirety. The label on the CD-ROM carries the notation "GEH Proprietary Infonnation -

Class III (Confidential){3l." The superscript notation 131 refers to Paragraph (3) of the enclosed affidavit, which provides the basis for the proprietary dctcnnination.

(3) In making this application for withholding of proprietary information of which it is the owner or licensee, GET-I relies upon the exemption from disclosure set forth in the Freedom oflnformation Act ("FOIA"), 5 U.S.C. Sec. 552(b)(4), and the Trade Secrets Act, 18 U.S.C.

Sec. 1905, and NRC regulations 10 CFR 9.17(a)(4), and 2.390(a)(4) for trade secrets (Exemption 4). The material for which exemption from disclosure is here sought also qualifies under the narrower definition of trade secret, within the meanings assigned to those terms for purposes of FOIA Exemption 4 in, respectively, Critical Mass Energy Project v. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 975 F.2d 871 (D.C. Cir. 1992), and Public Citizen Health Research Group v. FDA, 704 F.2d 1280 (D.C. Cir. 1983).

( 4) The information sought to be withheld is considered to be proprietary for the reasons set forth in paragraphs (4)a. and (4)b. Some examples of categories of information that fit into the definition of proprietary infonnation arc:

a.

Jnformation that discloses a process, method, or apparatus, including supporting data and analyses, where prevention of its use by GEH's competitors without license from GEH constitutes a competitive economic advantage over other companies;

b.

Information that, if used by a competitor, would reduce their expenditure of resources or improve their competitive position in the design, manufacture, shipment, installation, assurance of quality, or licensing of a similar product;

c.

Information that reveals aspects of past, present, or future GEH customer-funded development plans and programs, resulting in potential products to GEH; Affidavit for GEH Letter No. l 75528-018 Page 1of3

GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC

d.

Information that discloses trade secret or potentially patentable subject matter for which it may be desirable to obtain patent protection.

(5) To address 10 CFR 2.390(b)(4), the information sought to be withheld is being submitted to NRC in confidence. The infonnation is of a sort customarily held in confidence by GEH, and is in fact so held. The information sought to be withheld has, to the best of my knowledge and belief, consistently been held in confidence by GEH, not been disclosed publicly, and not been made available in public sources. All disclosures to third parties, including any required transmittals to the RC, have been made, or must be made, pursuant to regulatory provisions or proprietary or confidentiality agreements that provide for maintaining the infonnation in confidence. The initial designation of this information as proprietary information, and the subsequent steps taken to prevent its unauthorized disclosure, are as set forth in the following paragraphs (6) and (7).

(6) lnitial approval of proprietary treatment of a document is made by the manager of the originating component, who is the person most likely to be acquainted with the value and sensitivity of the information in relation to industry knowledge, or who is the person most likely to be subject to the terms under which it was licensed to GEH.

(7) The procedure for approval of external release of such a document typically requires review by the staff manager, project manager, principal scientist, or other equivale,nt authority for technical content, competitive effect, and determination of the accuracy of the proprietary designation. Disclosures outside GEH are limited to regulatory bodies, customers, and potential customers, and their agents, upplicrs, and licensees, and others with a legitimate need for the information, and then only in accordance with appropriate regulatory provisions or proprietary or confidentiality agreements.

(8) The information identified in paragraph (2), above, is classified as proprietary because it contains detailed GEI-1 design information of the methodology used in the design and analysis of the steam dryers for the GEH Boiling Water Reactor (BWR). Development of these methods, techniques, and infonnation and their application for the design, modification, and analyses methodologies and processes was achieved at a significant cost to GEH.

The development of the evaluation processes along with the interpretation and application of the analytical results is derived from the extensive experience and information databases that constitute a major GEH asset.

(9) Public disclosure of the information sought to be withheld is likely to cause substantial harm to GEH's competitive position and foreclose or reduce the availability of profit-making opportunities. The information is part of GEH's comprehensive BWR safety and technology base, and its commercial value extends beyond the original development cost.

The value of the technology base goes beyond the extensive physical database and analytical methodology and includes development of the expertise to determine and apply Affidavit for GEH Letter No. l 75528-018 Page 2of3

GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC the appropriate evaluation process. [n addition, the technology base includes the value derived from providing analyses done with NRC-approved methods.

The research, development, engineering, analytical and NRC review costs comprise a substantial investment of time and money by GEH. The precise value of the expertise to devise an evaluation process and apply the correct analytical methodology is difficult to quantify, but it clearly is substantial. GEH's competitive advantage will be lost if its competitors are able to use the results of the GEH experience to nonnalize or verify their own process or if they are able to claim an equi valent understanding by demonstrating that they can arrive at the same or similar conclusions.

The value of this information to GEH would be lost if the information were disclosed to the public. Making such information available to competitors without their having been required to undertake a similar expenditure of resources would unfairly provide competitors with a windfall, and deprive GEH of the opportunity to exercise its competitive advantage to seek an adequate return on its large investment in developing and obtaining these very valuable analytical tools.

I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.

Executed on this 11th day of July 2016.

Lisa K. Schichlcin Senior Project Manager Regulatory Affairs GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC 3901 Castle Hayne Road Wilmington, NC 28401 Li a.Schichlcin@ge.com Affidavit for GEH Letter No. 175528-018 Page 3of3