ML18065A484

Summary of 960131 Meeting W/Cpc in Rockville,Md to Discuss Status of Licensing at Plant.Primary Purpose of Meeting to Review Licensing Actions Required for 1996 Refueling Outage & Provide Feedback on Licensing Submittals

ML18065A484
Person / Time
Site:	Palisades
Issue date:	02/07/1996
From:	Gamberoni M NRC (Affiliation Not Assigned)
To:	NRC (Affiliation Not Assigned)
References
NUDOCS 9602130051
Download: ML18065A484 (7)

Text

{{#Wiki_filter:r -- UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 LICENSEE: Consumers Power Company FACILilY: Palisades Nuclear Plant February 7, 1996

SUMMARY

OF MEETING TO DISCUSS LICENSING ACTIONS A meeting was held at NRC Headquarters on January 31, 1996, be~ween Consumers Power Company (CPCo) and the NRC to discuss the status of licensing at the Palisades Plant. A list of attendees is provided as Enclosure 1. The primary purpose of the meeting was to review the licensing actions required for the 1996 refueling outage and to provide the licensing administrator feedback on the timeliness and quality of licensing submittals. Licensing Actions Required for 1996 Refueling Outage At the time of the meeting, the licensee had submitted 10 licensing action requests for the fall 1996 refueling outage, currently scheduled to begin on November 2, 1996. Based on CPCo's plans for the outage, one additional request will be submitted, the Third Interval Inservice Testing Program. ~ach of the requests was discussed briefly. A list of the titles and submittal dates is provided in Enclosure 2. One of the submittals discussed in detaii was the January 10, 1996, request for approval of changes in the reactor vessel surveillance coupon removal schedule. The project manager informed Palisades that a license amendment request was required for a change to the reactor vessel surveillance coupon removal schedule. This is based on a decision issued on October 4, 1995, by the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB). In a Perry Nuclear Power Plant license amendment proceeding the ASLB granted the motion for summary disposition filed by the intervenor Ohio Citizens for Responsible Energy (OCRE). OCRE's contention was that the removal of the reactor vessel material specimen capsule withdrawal schedule from the Perry Technical Specifications, in accordance with Generic Letter (GL) 91-01, "Removal of the Schedule for the Withdrawal of Reactor Vessel Material Specimens from Technical Specifications," violated Section 189a of the Atomic Energy Act by depriving the public of notice and opportunity for a hearing on future changes to the schedule. The ASLB left intact the Perry license amendment but held that any future changes to the withdrawal schedule must be treated as license amendments requiring public notice and opportunity for a hearing as long as 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix H, 11.B.3 requires NRC approval of proposed schedules prior to implementation. On the basis of the decision discussed above, any changes to licensees' 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix H, reactor vessel surveillance specimen withdrawal schedules will be treated as license amendments requiring public notice and opportunity for a hearing in accordance with Section 189a of the Atomic Energy Act unless the ASLB decision is overturned on appeal. Accordingly, any requests for NRC approval of proposed changes to specimen withdrawal schedules should be submitted as license amendments and include the information required by IO CFR 50.91.and 50.92. ft

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• Timeliness and Quality of Licensing Submittals There ap1J2ars to have been an improvement in the timeliness of licensing requests submitted for outage related activities. The licensee had done minimal 1lcensing preparation for the May 1995 outage which resulted in CPC.o submitting more than a dozen licensing requests within a few months before the start of the 1995 outage.

In contrast, to date 10 licensing action requests have beera submitted 9 months prior to the start of the November 1996 outage. Only one additional outage related request is expected. The final assessment regardins amprovement in this ~rea will be made closer to the 1996 outage and will factm>:r in the need for any last minute licensing requests due to poor planning. In contrast, the schedule for submittals on major engineering issues has slipped. *rhis includes the submittals made in response to a request for additional! :i.nfonnation on the dry cask storage unloading procedure as well as individual) *s*ections of the thermal annealing report. Add it i onallJy, there appears to be a lack of quality assurance on licensing submittals. A number of recent applications were submitted with missing pages. Fc.r ex.ample, the individual plant examination for external events submittal! amdl the response to a request for additional information on the dry

• cask storaige :unloading procedure both contained missing pages.

When a request was made fco.r the 1 i censee to resubmit the 1 atter document, pages were st i 11 missing firu!Jm the resubmittal. A number of submittals lacked appropriate information such as the request for exemption from Appendix J and technical specification change request regarding the *local leak rate *testing of the emergency.escape airlock. The licensee had previously incorrectly submitted a relief request on the same subject and made no mention of withdrawing the submittal in the exemption request. The licerns*~ng administrator was aware of the recent problems and discussed some of his ~ctions for improvement in these areas. Following the discussion of licensimg issues 9 recent plant operational performance and organizational changes llM!lne briefly discussed. If there are any questions regarding this meeting summary, please contact me at (301) 415-3024.

Enclosures:

As stated (2) cc w/encls:. See next page 11A~ ~w_~ ~:r~ha Gamberoni, Project Manager Project Directorate 111-1 Division of Reactor Projects - Ill/IV Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Consumers Power Company cc: Mr. Thomas J. Palmisano . Plant General Manager Palisades Plant 27780 Blue Star Memorial Highway Covert, Michigan 49043 Mr. Robert A. Fenech Vice President, Nuclear Operations Palisades Plant

• 27780 Blue Star Memorial Highway
• Covert, Michigan -49043 M. I. Miller, Esquire
• Sidley & Austin 54th Floor One First National Plaza Chicago, Illinois 60603 Hr. 'Thomas A. McNish.

Vice President & Secretary /Consumers Power Company 212 West Michigan Avenue Jackson, Michigan 49201 Judd L. Bacon, Esquire Consumers Power Company ~12 West Michigan Avenue Jackson, Michigan 49201 Regional Administrator, Region III U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 801 Warrenville Road

• Lisle, Illinois 60532-4351 Jerry Sarno Township Supervisor_

Covert Township 36197 M-140 Highway tovert, Michigan 49043 Office of the Governor Room 1 - Capitol *Building Lansing, Michigan 48913

• U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Resident Inspector's Office Palisades Plant 27782 Blue Star Memorial Highway Covert,.Michigan 49043 Palisades Plant Nuclear Facilities and Environmental Monitoring Section Office Division of Radiological Health Department of Public Health 3423 N. Logan Street P. 0. Box 30195 Lansing, Michigan 48909 Gerald Charnoff, Esquire_

Shaw, Pittman, Potts and Trowbridge 2300 N Street, N. W. Washington DC 20037 Michigan Department of Attorney General Special Litigation Division 630 Law Building P.O. Box 30212 Lansing, Michigan 4~909 Mr. Richard W. Smedley Manager, Licensing Palisades Plant 27780 Blue Star Memorial Highway Covert, MI 49043

MEETING ATTENDEES JANUARY 31, 1996 Marsha Gamberoni John Hannon Robert Vincent Jon Hopkins AFFILIATION NRC NRC CPCo NRC ENCLOSURE I

LICENSING ACTIONS REQUIRED FOR FALL 1996 OUTAGE Title (Date Request Submitted} Technical Specification Change Request - Miscellaneous Changes (10/17} Technical Specification Change Request - Crane Operation and Movement of Heavy Loads (12/6} Technical Specification Change Request - Revision of Administrative Controls (12/11) Technical Specification Change Request - Electrical Power Systems (12/27) Technical Specification Change Request - Shutdown Cooling (1/5) Request for Approval of Change in Reactor Surveillance Coupon Removal Schedule (1/10) Request for Approval of Alternate Snubber Test Program (1/17) Request for Approval of Code Case N-533 for Use of Alternate Requirements of VT-2 Visual Examination for Class 1 Insulated Pressure Retaining Bolted Connections (1/18) Technical Specification Change Request - Revision of Administrative Controls - Additional Changes (1/18) Technical Specification Change Request - Primary Coolant Pump Flywheel Inspections (1/18} ENCLOSURE 2

DISTRIBUTION w/encls. for Pali*sades Meeting Summar'( Dated: February 7, 1996 ~oocket~-J.;.1 e-.\\f50-255)' . PUBLIC PD3-l.R/F WRussell/FMiraglia RZimmerman JRoe EAdensam (EGA!) ACRS OGC EJordan BMcCabe WKropp, RII I JHopkins 'I /'..,_.:!,\\ ~-*,;* *h* ~ -~~~ ~ \\,J .w> -*~-.-i / . '-~......... ;;..

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• ~,,_.~*'mjnimal J'\\cens-ing;*prepar~ti.on for the May 1995 outage which* resulted i_n CPCo l. ">:* s-uf>mi tti;ng' m<ifEtthan _a1 d9~~n) i cens i ng requests withi ti a few months before the

,......,.,:( J,;_star(*ot: 1the -19,9~ out'age.. :: 'Tn contrast, to date 10 licensing action requests , * ~-{*"ll\\t h'~v*e**oee,n~ ~ub!llHted _9 inpnths' pri qr to the start of the November 1996 outage. *

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10h1.Y. orn~.a~giti_~mal 'out.age.rela,ted request is expected. The final assessment ""-!\\. '** *".""":,r~g~;r9i ng improvement iry th ts._area wi 11 be made closer to the 1996 outage and . -~'- -::1 w:il:l.. 'fac,tor.-in,.;the.need for.an/last minute licensing requests due to poor ~r . f.. . l _.,.

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i-.additional inforrilat.ion**on t_be dry cask storage unloading-procedure as well as ...t;: L* "I',.I'-' i nd*i vi dual sections" of the. therma 1 annea l_i ng report. \\. ¥. ;*

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• '.:;.Additionally;;_ there app~ars to be a lack of quality assurance on licensing

~ubmittals~' A number of recent applications*wefe submitted *with missing \\p,ges. _ For example,.the individual plant examination for exter~al events 'submittal,:and the *r~sponse to a request for additional* i nformat fon on the. dry cask storage;"unloading. proc~dure both contained missing pages. When a reql{est _ was ll)ade for the licensee to r~submit the latter document, pages were still missing.from the resubmi tta l. *A number of' submittal s lacked appropriate

• infor:mation such as the request for exemption from Appendix.*J *and technical specification *.change reque*s~ regarding the l_ocal.:le'ak rate testing _of the.

_. emergency e;scape airlock. The licensee had prev'iously i.n-c*orrectly submitted a

• . '. relief' request on 'the same su~ject' and made no men:t ion 'of withdrawing th~. _." '

~ubmittal in the exemption request.. '.The licensing administrator was aware of the *re!=ent problems and di.scussed* some of_his actions for improvement in* t~ese.&reas. Following the discussion

• .,.*: _o,fl.icensing i~sues, recent._ plant operational performance andorganizati.Qnal. *.

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• chang~s were briefly diScussed.
• If 'there are any questions regarding this meeting symmary, please contact nie

'at (301) 415-3024~ Enclosu~es:* As stated (2} cc w/enclS: See n*ext page. Original Signed By: .Marsha Gamberoni, *Project Manager* ~roject Directorate 111-1 Division of Reactor Project~ - Ill/IV Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation DOCUMENT ~AME:* G:\\WPDOCS\\PALISADE\\PAL0131.SUM To recelva*.a ci>py'ofthls d_ocument, Indicate In the*box: *c* = Copy without attachment/enclosur "E" = Copy with attachment/enclosure "N" =No.copy*** OFFICE :, tA:*PD3'1 PM:PD31 NAME *., CJ.amerson l., :i ~ '\\ :;._ '1}}