ML17047A035
| ML17047A035 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Pilgrim |
| Issue date: | 02/27/2017 |
| From: | John Lamb Special Projects and Process Branch |
| To: | Dent J Entergy Nuclear Operations |
| Lamb J, NRR/DORL/LSPB, 301-414-3100 | |
| References | |
| CAC MF9275 | |
| Download: ML17047A035 (3) | |
Text
UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 Mr. John A. Dent, Jr.
Site Vice President Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.
Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station 600 Rocky Hill Road Plymouth, MA 02360-5508 February 27, 2017
SUBJECT:
PILGRIM NUCLEAR POWER STATION -ACCEPTANCE OF REQUESTED LICENSING ACTION REGARDING CERTIFIED FUEL HANDLER TRAINING AND RETRAINING PROGRAM (CAC NO. MF9275)
Dear Mr. Dent:
By letter dated November 10, 2015 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML15328A053), the licensee submitted a Notification of Permanent Cessation of Power Operations for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (PNPS). In this letter, Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Entergy or the licensee), provided notification to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) of its intent to permanently cease power operations no later than June 1, 2019. After certifications of permanent cessation of power operations and permanent removal of fuel from the reactor vessel for PNPS are submitted in accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Part 50, Section 82(a)(1 )(i) and (ii), the 10 CFR Part 50 license will no longer authorize reactor operation or placement or retention of fuel in the reactor vessel. As a result, licensed reactor operators will no longer be required to support plant operating activities.
By letter dated February 2, 2017 (ADAMS Accession No. ML17045A467), Entergy submitted its Certified Fuel Handler (CFH) Training and Retraining Program for PNPS to the NRC for approval. Approval of a CFH Training and Retraining Program is needed to facilitate activities associated with decommissioning and irradiated fuel handling and management.
The purpose of this letter is to provide the results of the NRC staff's acceptance review of this licensing action request. The acceptance review was performed to determine if there is sufficient technical information in scope and depth to allow the NRC staff to complete its detailed technical review. The acceptance review is also intended to identify whether the application has any readily apparent information insufficiencies in its characterization of the regulatory requirements or the licensing basis of the plant.
The licensee requested NRC approval of the PNPS CFH Training and Retraining Program to ensure that the monitoring, handling, storage, and cooling of irradiated fuel is performed in a safe manner. As defined in 10 CFR Section 50.2, the CFH is a non-licensed operator who is qualified in accordance with a fuel handler training program approved by the NRC.
The NRC staff has reviewed your application and concluded that it does provide technical information in sufficient detail to enable the NRC staff to complete its detailed technical review and make an independent assessment regarding the acceptability of the proposed licensing action in terms of regulatory requirements and the protection of public health and safety and the
environment. Given the lesser scope and depth of the acceptance review as compared to the detailed technical review, there may be instances in which issues that impact the NRC staff's ability to complete the detailed technical review are identified despite completion of an adequate acceptance review. You will be advised of any further information needed to support the NRC staff's detailed technical review by separate correspondence.
Based on the information provided in your submittal, the NRC staff has estimated that this licensing request will take approximately 120 hours0.00139 days <br />0.0333 hours <br />1.984127e-4 weeks <br />4.566e-5 months <br /> to complete. The NRC staff expects to complete this review in approximately 12 months, which is February 2018. If there are emergent complexities or challenges in our review that would cause changes to the initial forecasted completion date or significant changes in the forecasted hours, the reasons for the changes, along with the new estimates, will be communicated during the routine interactions with the assigned project manager.
These estimates are based on the NRC staff's initial review of the application and they could change, due to several factors including requests for additional information, and unanticipated addition of scope to the review. Additional delay may occur if the submittal is provided to the NRC in advance or in parallel with industry program initiatives or pilot applications.
If you have any questions, please contact me at (301) 415-3100 or John.Lamb@nrc.gov.
Docket No. 50-293 cc: Listserv n G. Lamb, Senior Project Manager ecial Projects and Process Branch ivision of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
ML17047A035 OFFICE NRR/DORL/LSPB/PM NRR/DORL/LSPB/LA NAME Jlamb JBurkhardt DATE 2/24/17 2/23/17 NRR/DORL/LSPB/BC DBroaddus 2/27/17