ML17354B049
| ML17354B049 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Turkey Point  |
| Issue date: | 07/16/1998 |
| From: | Collins S NRC (Affiliation Not Assigned) |
| To: | FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT CO. |
| Shared Package | |
| ML17354B050 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9807240182 | |
| Download: ML17354B049 (4) | |
Text
7%0-01-P UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORYCOMMISSION fn the Matter of FLORIDAPOWER AND LIGHTCOMPANY (Turkey Point Plant, Units 3 and 4)
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Docket Nos. '0-250 and 50-251
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Florida Power and Light (the licensee) is the holder of Facility Operating License Nos.
DPR-31 and DPR-41, for the Turkey Point Plant (TPP), Units 3 and 4. The licenses provide, among other things, that the licensee is subject to all rules, regulations, and orders of the Commission now or hereafter in effect.
This facility consists of two pressurized water reactors located in Dade County, Florida.
Title 10 of the I '10 CFR), Section 50.71 "Maintenance of records, making of reports," paragraph (e)(4) states, in part, that "Subsequent revisions [to the updated Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR)] must be filed annually or 6 months after each refueling outage provided the interval between successive updates [to the FSAR] does not exceed 24 months." The two units at the TPP site share a common FSAR; therefore, this rule, requires the licensee to update the same document annually or within 6 months after each unit's refueling outage (approximately every 9 months).
9807240482 9807kb PDR ADQCK 05000250 P
Section 50.12(a) of 10 CFR, "Specific exemptions," states that The Commission may, upon application by any interested person or upon its own initiative, grant exemptions from the requirements of the regulations of this part, which are - (1) Authorized by law, willnot present an undue risk to the public health and safety, and are consistent with the common defense and security.
(2) The Commission willnot consider granting an exemption unless special circumstances are present.
Section 50.12(a)(2)(ii) of 10 CFR states that special circumstances are present when "Application of the regulation in the particular circumstances would not serve the underlying purpose of the rule or is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule...." The licensee has proposed updating the unified TPP FSAR 6 months after each Unit 4 refueling outage.
With the current length of fuel cycles, FSAR updates would be submitted approximately every 24 months.
The underlying purpose of the rule was to relieve licensees of the burden of filingannual FSAR revisions while assuring that such revisions are made at least every 24 months.
The Commission reduced the burden, in part, by permitting a licensee to submit its FSAR revisions 6 months after refueling outages for its facility, but did not provide in the rule for multiple unit facilities sharing a common FSAR. Rather, the Commission stated that "With respect to... multiple facilities sharing a common FSAR, licensees willhave maximum flexibilityfor scheduling updates on a case-by-case basis" 57 FR 39355 (1992).
The TPP units are on an 18-month fuel cycle. As noted in the staffs Safety Evaluation, the licensee's proposed schedule for TPP FSAR updates willensure that the FSAR willbe maintained current for both units within 24 months of the last revision. The proposed schedule satisfies the maximum 24-month interval between FSAR revisions specified by 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4).
Revising the FSAR 6 months after refueling outages for each unit, therefore, is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule. Accordingly, the
Commission has determined that special circumstances are present as defined in 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii). The Commission has further determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, the exemption is authorized by law, willnot present an undue risk to the public health and safety and is consistent with the common defense and security, and is otherwise in the public interest The Commission hereby grants the licensee an exemption from the requirement of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4) to submit updates to the TPP FSAR within 6 months of each unit's refueling outage.
The licensee will be required to submit updates to the TPP FSAR within 6 months after each Unit 4 refueling outage, not to exceed 24 months between subsequent revisions.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that granting of this exemption willhave no significant effect on the quality of the human environment (63 FR 36276).
This exemption is effective upon issuance.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORYCOMMISSION e
i s, irector Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day of Ouly,998