ML18071A158

Acceptance of License Amendment Request Concerning Proposed Changes to Remove Boraflex Credit

ML18071A158
Person / Time
Site:	Nine Mile Point
Issue date:	03/12/2018
From:	Richard Guzman Plant Licensing Branch 1
To:	Reynolds R Exelon Generation Co
Guzman R
References
EPID L-2018-LLA-0039
Download: ML18071A158 (2)

Text

From: Guzman, Richard To: Ronnie.Reynolds@exeloncorp.com Cc: kenneth.kristensen@exeloncorp.com; Danna, James; Marshall, Michael; RidsNRRLIC109 Resource

Subject:

RESPONSE: Acceptance of License Amendment Request Concerning Proposed Changes to Remove Boraflex Credit from the Spent Fuel Racks - Nine Mile Point, Unit 1 (EPID: L-2018-LLA-0039)

Date: Monday, March 12, 2018 11:56:47 AM Good Morning Ron, By letter dated February 9, 2018, Exelon Generation Company, LLC submitted a license amendment for Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station (Nine Mile Point), Unit 1. The proposed amendment would revise Technical Specification Section 5.5, Storage of Unirradiated and Spent Fuel, to reflect the current spent fuel storage rack configuration and remove the credit of Boraflex as a neutron absorber in the two remaining Boraflex storage racks located in the spent fuel pool for Nine Mile Point, Unit 1. The purpose of this email is to provide the results of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staffs acceptance review of this amendment 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.

Consistent with Section 50.90 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), an amendment to the license (including the technical specifications) must fully describe the changes requested, and following as far as applicable, the form prescribed for original applications. Section 50.34 of 10 CFR addresses the content of technical information required. This section stipulates that the submittal addresses the design and operating characteristics, unusual or novel design features, and principal safety considerations. 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 amendment 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 staffs ability to complete the detailed technical review are identified despite completion of an adequate acceptance review. If additional information is needed, you will be advised by separate correspondence.

Based on the information provided in your submittal, the NRC staff has estimated that this licensing request will take approximately 270 hours11.25 days <br />1.607 weeks <br />0.37 months <br /> to complete. The NRC staff expects to complete this review by March 2019 (i.e., approximately 12 months). 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 staffs initial review of the application and they could change, due to several factors including requests for additional information, unanticipated addition of scope to the review, and review by NRC advisory committees or hearing-related activities. 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 the project manager, Michael Marshall at (301)

4152871 or Michael.Marshall@nrc.gov.

Thank you,

~~~~~~~~~

Rich Guzman Sr. PM, Division Operator Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office: O-9C7 l Phone: (301) 415-1030 Richard.Guzman@nrc.gov