ML19318C087
| ML19318C087 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 06/06/1980 |
| From: | Ahearne J NRC COMMISSION (OCM) |
| To: | Gilinsky V, Hendrie J, Kennedy R NRC COMMISSION (OCM) |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8006300531 | |
| Download: ML19318C087 (10) | |
Text
fg UNITED STATES f
g NUCLEAR REGULATORY C MMISSION j
WASHINGTON, D. C. 20555
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June 6, 1980 MEMORANDUM FOR: Comissioner Gilinsky Comissioner Kennedy Comissioner Hendrie Comissioner Bradford FROM:
John F. Ahearne
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Chaiman
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SUBJECT:
POLICY STATEME 20R OPERATING LICENSE REQUIREMENTS
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i Attached-is the latest draft of the policy statement.
It is iny understanding that at least three of the Comissioners are inclined to agree with this approach.
At the meeting this afternoon I would like to assess the current s
status of this effort, address the coments provided by the
- e Licensing and Appeal Panels, pursue any further discussions which seem appropriate and then see if at least those in the majority can agree on a specific version in light of.the prior discussion.
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Attachment Draft Poli fatement CC:
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8006300
~JUN 6 1980~
1 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION FURTHER COMMISSION GUIDANCE FOR OPERATING LICENSES STATEMENT OF POLICY I.
BACKGROUND After the March,1979 accident at Three Mile Island, Unit 2, the Comission directed.its technical review resources to assuring the safetyofoperatinfreactorsratherthantotheissuanceofnew licenses.
Furthermore, the Commission decided that reactor licenIing
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should not continue until the assessment of the TMI accident had been substantially completed and comprehensive improvements in both w
the operation and regulation of nuclear power plants had been set in motion.
At a meeting on May 30, 1979, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission decided to issue policy guidance addressing general principles for reaching licensing decisions and to provide specific guidance for near term operating license cases.E In November 1979, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued the policy guidance in the form of an amendment to 10 CFR Part 2 of its regulationsE, describing the approach to be taken by the Commission regarding licensing of power reactors.
In particular, the Comission noted that it would "be providing case-by-case guidance on changes in regulatory policies."
The Commission has now acted on three operating licenses, has given extensive consideration to issues arising as a result of the Three i
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Mile Island accident, and is able to provide general guidance.
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Following the accident at Three Mile Island 2, the President established a Commission to m'ake recommendations regarding changes necessary to improve nuclear safety.f. In May 1979, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
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establishedaLessons'L5arnedTaskForceE,todeterminewhat actionswererequ[ifedfor ew operating licenses and chartered a
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Special Inqu'iry Group Y eNamine all facets of the acccident and its causes. These groups have published their reports.N The Lessons Learned Task Force led to NUREG-0578 "TMI-2 Lessons s
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Learned Task Force Statui. Report and Short-Term Recommendations" and NUREG-0585 "TMI-2 Lessons Learned Task Force Final Report."
The Commission addressed these reports in meetings on September 6, September 14, October 14, and October 16, 1979.
Following release of the report of the Presidential Commission, the Commission provided a preliminary set of responses to the recommendations in that report.N This response provided broad policy directions for development of an NRC Action Plan, work on which was begun in November,1979.
During the development of the Action Plan, the Special Inquiry Group Report was received, which had the benefit of review by panels of outside consultants representing a cross section of technical and public views.
This report provided additional recommendations.
The Action PlanN was developed to provide a comprehensive and integrated plan for the actions judged appropriate by the Nuclear 2
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3 Regulatory Commission toTorrect or improve the regulation an'd operation of nuclear facilities based on the experience from the accident at TMI-2i Sd the official studies and investigations of a
s the accident.
la; developing the Action Plan, the various recom-mendations' and possible actions of all-the principal investigations wereassessedand[eithebeject'ed,adoptedormodified..Aldetailed.
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summary of the~ development and review process for the Action Plan
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is provided in "TMY-lelated kequirements For New Operating Licenses."U
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Actions to improve the safety of nuc'l ear power plants-now operating were judged to be necessary imediately after the accident and
, e could not be delaied until'the-Action l Plan was'~ developed, alt' hough
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they were subsequently included in the Action Plan.
Such actions cam from the Bulletins and Orders issued imediately after the j
accident, the first report of the Lesson-Learned Task Force issued in July,1979, the recommendations of the Emergency Preparedness Task Force, and the NRC staff and Commission.
Before these immediate actions were applied to operating plants, they were approved by the Commission. Many of the required immediate actions have already been taken by licensees and most are scheduled to be complete by the end of 1980.
On February 7,1980 based on its review of initial. drafts of the Action Plan, the Comission approved a listing of near-term operating I
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l license (NT0L) requirements, as being necessary but not necessarily sufficient TMI-related requirements, for granting new operating licenses. Since then, the fuel load requirements on the NTOL list have b'een used by the Commission in granting operating licenses, with limited authorizations for fuel loading and low power testing, for Sequoyah, Salem, and North Anna.
-3 On May 15,1980 after review of the last version of the Action.._
Plan, the Commission approved a list of " Requirements For New Operating Licenses"8/ which the staff recommended for imposition on current operating license applicants.
That list was recast from the previous NT0L list and sets forth four types of TMI-related requirements and actions for new operating licenses:
(1) those required to be completed by a license applicant prior to receiving a fuel-loading and low-power testing license, (2) those required to be completed by a license applicant to operate at appreciable power levels up to full power, (3) those the NRC will take prior to issuing a fuel-loading and low-power testing or full-power operating license, and (4) those required to be completed by a licensee prior to a specified date.
The Commission also approved the staff's recomendation that the remaining items from the TMI reviews should be implemented or considered over time to further enhance safety.
In approving the schedules for developing and implementing changes in requirements, the Commiss' ion's primary considerations were tha e
5-safety significance of the issues and the immediacy of the need for corrective actions. As discussed above, many actions were taken to improve safety _immediately or soon after the accident. These actions were generally considered to be interim improvements.
In scheduling the remaining improvements, the availability of both NRC and industry resources was considered, as well as the safety significance
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y of the actions. Thus, the Action Plan approved by the Commission
, resents a sequence'of actions that will result in;a gradually -
p increasing improvement in safety as individual actions are completed and the initial immediate actions are replaced or supplemented by longer term improvements.
's II.
COMMISSION DECISION Based upon its extensive review and consideration of the issues arising as a result of the Three Mile Island accident, the Commission has concluded that the above-mentioned list of " Requirements For New Operating Licenses" i necessary and sufficient for responding to the TMI-2 accident.
The Commission has decided that current operating license applications should be measured against the regulations, as augmented by these requirements.El In general, the remaining items should be addressed through the normal process for development and adoption of new requirements rather than through immediate imposition on pending applications.
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III.LITIGATIONOFTMI{ISSUESINOPERATINGLICENSEPROCEEDINGS In the November;1979; policy statement, the Commission provided the n
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following guidanceifor the conduct of adjudicatory proceedings:
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"In reaching their" decisions,xthe Boards should interpret existing n"
regulations and reg'ulatory policies ~with due consideration'to-the.
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e-e-ij=4 ~ implications for:those regulations and policies of rthe Three' Miles.
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Island Ac~cidentE 'In.this regard,'it should be understood that as-
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'present regulatio_ses,still underway, the Commission may change 1ts.
ns and regulatory.pblicies in important aspects and thus compliancezwith existing regulations may turn out to no longer warrant. approval of a license application.",
The Comission is now able to give the Boards more guidance.
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The Commission believes the TMI-related operating license requirements list as derived from the process described above must be the principal
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basis for consideration'of TMI-related issues in the adjudicatory
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process. There are several reasons for this.
First, this represents a major effort by the staff and Commissioners to address an almost overwhelming number of issues in a coherent and coordinated fashion.
It is extremely doubtful this process can be reproduced in individual proceedings.
Second, the NRC does not have the resources to litigate the entire Action Plan in each proceeding, nor does it believe it would be a responsible decision to Jo so. Third, many of the decisionsinvolvepolicyratherthanfactualor{egaldecisions.
Most of these are more appropriately addressed by the Commission i
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7 itself on a generic basis than by an individual licensing board in a particular case.
Consequently, the Commission has chosen to adopt the following policy regarding litigation of TMI-related issues in operating license proceedings.
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Parties may litigate TMI-related issues at hearings to the extent that they are properly. framed as issues of compliance with the present regulations. litigation as to the need for requirements in addition to those required by the regulations will be allowed to the extent that the requirements for new operating licenses go beyond the current regulations.
Issues which raise the necessity for or compliance with these requirements will be properly before s.
the Boards.
s Past adjudicatory. decisions of the Commission have been clear that, generally a finding of compliance with the regulations entitles one to the requested permit or license insofar as the requirements of the Atomic Energy Act are concerned. E Accordingly, absent some special showing,E no party has been entitled to litigate matters going beyone NRC regulations before NRC adjudicatory officers or tribunals. This policy shall continue except that limited additional litigation will be allowed in the areas identified above.
In order to focus litigation of TMI-related issues, the Commission instructs its staff to move for summary disposition where practicable, based on the contents of the Action Plan, at the appropriate time in each case where a TMI-related contention is filed.
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'8 The Connission believesiha't where the time for filing contentions
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has expired in a given case, no new TMI-related contentions should be accepted absent a shoWir@hf. good cause and balancing of 'th'e factors
.in.10 CFR 2.714(a)(1)f..[QQ _: ' ~
1 The Commission: expects strict adherence to its
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regulations iii-this regardm -
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Also, present: standards governing the' reopening of hearing: records to'
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~. :. ider new evidence.o;n TMI-related issues should be strictly adhered cons
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to. Thus, for.. example, where initial decisions have been issued, the record should not be reopened to take evidence on some TMI-related issue unless the party seeking reopening shows that there is significant ~ "
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-new evidence, not included in the record, that materially affects the decision..
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I FOOTNOTES y
" Staff Requirements - Discussion of Options Regarding Deferral of Licenses," memorandum from Samuel J. Chilk, Secretary to Lee V.
Gossick, Executive Director for Operations, May 31, 1979.
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" Suspension of 10 CFR 2.764 and Statement of Policy on Conduct of Adjudicatory Proceedings," 44 FR 65050 (November 9,1979).
3]
" Lessons Learned from TMI-2 Accident," Roger Mattson to NRR staff, May 31, 1979.
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4f Repdrt of the ire 55 Nnt N bission on The Accident at Three Mile Island, "The Need for Change: The Legacy of TMI," October 1979;
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U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission, "TMI-2 Lessons Learned Task Force Status Report and Short-Term Recomendations," NUREG-0578, July 1979; U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission, "TMI-2 Lessons Learned Task Force Status Report," NUREG-0585, August 1979; e
U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission Special Inquiry Group, "Three Mile Island: A Report to.the Commissioners and to the Public,"
January 1980.
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U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission, "NRC Views and Analysis of the Recomendations of the President's Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island," NUREG-0632, November 1979.
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U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission, "NRC Action Plans Developed as a Result of the TMI-2 Accident," NUREG-0660.
7f U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission, "TMI-Related Requirements for New Operating Licenses," NUREG-0694, June 1980.
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See NUREG-0694, "TMI-Related Requirements For New Operating Licenses" for a list of these requirements.
9f Consideration of applications for an operating license should include the entire list of requirements unless an appli. cant specifi-cally requests an operating license with limited authorization
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(e.g.,fuelloadingandlow-powertesting).
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l_0] Maine Yankee Atcmic Power Company (Maine Yankee Nuclear Power l
Plant, Unit 2), ALAB-161, 6 AEC 1003 (1973), affirmed, CLI-74-2, 7 AEC 2 (1974), affirmed, Citizens for Safe Power v. NRC, 524 F.2d 1291 (D.C. Cir.1975).
ly See 10 CFR 52.758.
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