ML20035G232
| ML20035G232 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 03/12/1993 |
| From: | Beckjord E NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REGULATORY RESEARCH (RES) |
| To: | Taylor J NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO) |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20034D458 | List: |
| References | |
| FRN-58FR15303, RULE-PR-50 AE55-1-011, AE55-1-11, NUDOCS 9304270029 | |
| Download: ML20035G232 (40) | |
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UNITED STATES 8
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WASHINGTON, D. C. 20555 o.....P MEMORANDUM FOR:
James M. Tay1or 12 ppy 7
Executive Director for Operations
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FROM:
Eric S. Beckjord, Director Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research
SUBJECT:
REVISION OF THE MAINTENANCE RULE (10 CFR 50.65) l A Staff Requirement Memorandum (SRM) dated February 17, 1993, Enclosure 1, directed the staff to publish a proposed rule modifying the period for the performance of evaluations required of power plant licensees under paragraph (a)(3) of 10 CFR 50.65 (Maintenance Rule), from annually to once per refueling l
cycle but not to exceed 2 years. The SRM stated that the proposed rule should be published in the Federal Reaister on March 15, 1993, for a 45-day period., contains a proposed rulemaking package consisting of a Federal Register Notice, a public announcement, and the Congressional letters developed by RES on this subject.
The Offices of Administration, Enforcement, Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data, Nuclear Reactor Regulation, and Information Resources Management have reviewed and concurred on this proposed rulemaking. The Office of the General Counsel has no legal objection.
If you have any questions please call Joseph J. Mate at 492-3795.
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Eric S. Beckford, Di T ctor Office of Nuclear Re(gulatory Research i
Enclosures:
1.
SRM dated 2/17/93 2.
Proposed P.ulemaking Package l
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i fiEMORANDUM FOR:
James M. Taylor 4*Jg/
Executive Director for Operations FROM:
Eric S. Beckjord, Director Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research
SUBJECT:
REVISION OF THE MAINTENANCE RULE (10 CFR 50.65) i A Staff Requirement Memorandum (SRM) dated February 17, 1993 Enclosure 1, directed the staff to publish a proposed rule modifying the period for the performance of evaluations required of power plant licensees under paragraph (a)(3) of 10 CFR 50.65 (Maintenance Rule), from annually to once per refueling cycle but not to exceed 2 years. The SRM stated that the proposed rule should be published in the Federal Reaister on March 15, 1993, for a 45-day period., contains a proposed rulemaking package consisting of a Federal Register Notice, a public announcement, and the Congressional letters developed by RES on this subject.
The Offices of Administration, Enforcement, Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data, Nuclear Reactor Regulation, and Information Resources Management have reviewed and concurred on this proposed rulemaking. The Office of the General Counsel has no legal objection.
If you have any questions please call Joseph J. Mate at 492-3795.
Eric S. Beckjord, Director Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research
Enclosures:
1.
SRM dated 2/17/93 2.
Proposed Rulemaking Package See next page for Distribution RECORD NOTE: A copy of the proposed rule was sent to the OIG for information on hwh 3, plu.
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February 17, 1993 REFER TO:
M930129A OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY MEMORANDUM FOR:
James M. Taylor Executive Director for o rations FROM:
Samuel J. Chilk, Secre
SUBJECT:
STAFF REQUIREMENTS - BRIS NG ON IMPLEMENTING GUIDANCE FOR THE MAINTENAN E RULE AND INDUSTRY VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION EFFORT, 10:00 A.M., FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 1993, COMMISSIONERS' CONFERENCE ROOM, ONE WHITE FLINT NORTH, ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND (OPEN TO l
PUBLIC ATTENDANCE)
The Commission was briefed by the NUMARC and.the NRC staff on the implementing guidance for the maintenance rule and the industry verification and validation effort.
NUMARC was represented by:
Corbin McNeill, President and Chief Operating Officer Philadelphia Electric Company Tom Tipton, Vice President, NUMARC The Commission requested further information from NUM7dtC concerning the participants in their workshop on implementing the maintenance guidance.
'5he Commission requested that the maintenance inspection guidance for the maintenance rule be published for public comment and be the subject of a public workshop.
(EOG) (NRR)
(SECY Suspense:
6/1/94) 9300026 4
Consistent with the authority delegated to the EDO by the Commission for rulemaking of a minor nature, the staff should:
1 publish a proposed rule modifying the periodicity of the evaluations -- of monitoring actl preventive maintenance activities'yities and associated goals and 4
-- required of licensees under paragraph (a)(3) of the Maintenance Rule (10 CFR 50.65) from I
annually to once per refueling interval (not to exceed 2 years);
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i 0 obtain and address public comments on the proposed rule; and, provided significant concerns are not identified through the comment process,' implement the final rule change.
(SECY Suspense:
publication of proposed f(BBe) rule change in Federal NRR)
Register for 45-day 9300027 comment period - 3/15/93)
(SECY Suspense:
Incorporate public comments and publish final rule - 6/1/93) i cc:
The Chairman Commissioner Rogers Commissioner Curtiss Commissioner Remick l
Commissioner de Planque OGC OIG i
~ Office Directors, Regions, ACRS, ACNW (via E-Mail)
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 10 CFR Part 50 i
RIN 3150 - AE55 Monitoring the Effectiveness of Maintenance at Nuclear Power Plants AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
SUMMARY
- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its regulations for monitoring the effectiveness of maintenance programs at j
commercial nuclear power plants. The current regulations require that nuclear power plant licensees evaluate performance and condition monitoring activities and associated goals and preventive maintenance activities at least annually.
The proposed amendment would change the time interval for conducting
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evaluations from once every year to at least once every refueling cycle, but not to exceed 24 months.
DATES: The comment period (expires 45 days from the date of publication in the Federal Register). Comment received after this date will be considered if
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it is practical to do so, but the Commission is able, to ensure consideration only for comments submitted and received on or before this date.
ADDRESSES: Mail written comments to the Secretary, U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Conmiission Washington, DC 20555, Attention: Docketing and Service Branch.
Deliver comments to: One White Flint North,11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, between 7:45 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. on Federal Workdays. Copies of comments received may be examined at the NRC Public Document Room, 2120 L Street NW. (Lower Level), Washington, DC.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joseph J. Mate, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, telephone (301) 492-3795.
i SUPPLEMENTARY INFORIMTION:
Background
j On July 10,1991, (56 FR 31324) the Nuclear Regulatory Commission published the final rule, " Requirements for Monitoring the Effectiveness of Maintenance at Nuclear Power Plants," (150.65). The final rule, which will become effective July 10, 1996, requires commercial nuclear power plant licensees to monitor the effectiveness of maintenance activities for safety-ll significant plant equipment in order to minimize the likelihood of failures and events caused by the lack of effective maintenance. Section 50.65 (a)(3) requires nuclear power plant licensees to evaluate the overall effectiveness l
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4 of their maintenance activities on an annual basis. An industry consensus guidance document and a regulatory guide to provide an acceptable methodology for implementing the final rule are expected to be published by June 30, 1993.
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Discussion i
Since the Maintenance Rule was published in July 1991, two events have occurred that lead the Commission to reconsider the annual evaluation requirements in 150.65(a)(3).
First, in the Summer of 1991, the Nuclear Management Resources Council
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l (NUMARC) Steering Group was formed to develop an industry guide for implementing the Maintenance Rule. While developing the guide, the Steering Group suggested to the NRC in a public meeting held on February 26, 1992, that instead of annual assessment requirements, the NRC should consider assessments based on a refueling cycle interval. The NUMARC Steering Group stated that:
(1) Significantly more data would be available during refueling cycles than is available on an annual basis.
(2) Key data from some surveillance tests can only be obtained during refueling outages and is not available on an annual basis; and (3) Adjustments to maintenance activities that may be made after such an evaluation would be typically performed after a refueling outage.
The NUMARC Steering Group further added that the evaluation process is a time consuming activity and that with limited data available, the annual evaluation would not provide for meanindhul results. With only limited data, changes to maintenance programs will likely not be made because there would 3
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not be sufficient information available for spotting trends or doing trend analysis.
Second, the NRC conducted a regulatory review to eliminate or revise unnecessarily burdensome regulations and published a final rule on August 31,1992 (57 FR 39353) that amended several regulations identified by its Committee to Review Generic Requirements (CRGR). One of those amended regulations was 10 CFR 50.71 (e) (Final Safety Analysis Report Updates) where the frequency of licensee reporting to the NRC was changed from annually to once per refueling cycle. The change was made because the use of a refueling cycle interval provided a more coordinated and cohesive update since, a majority of design changes and major modifications were performed during refueling outages.
In addition, it had no adverse impact on the public health i
and safety and reduced the regulatory burden on the licensees.
The Commission is now proposing to change the required frequency of maintenance activity evaluations from annually to once per refueling outage.
Evaluation of data collected over the period of a refueling cycle will provide a substantially better basis for detecting problems in degraded performance of structures, systems, and components (SSC's) and weakness in maintenance practices.
Evaluations conducted on a refueling cycle basis would also consider and integrate data available only during refueling outages with the data available during operations; under the existing requirements this may not occur depending on whether the annual assessment coincides with the refueling outage.
Furthermore, evaluations of data accumulated over the period of a ll refueling cycle, as opposed to the shorter annual period required by the rule, will provide a more meaningful basis for the recognition and interpretation of trends. The Commission understands that a normal frequency of refueling 4
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outage ranges from 15 to 18 months; however, the conditions may vary from I
plant to plant.
In order to ensure that an indefinite period of time does not J
occur between maintenance evaluations, the Commission is proposing the establishment of an upper limit of 24 months between the maintenance evaluations. This would address those licensees that have extended their refueling cvel' >>eyond 24 months for any reason including numerous short outages or extended shutdown periods. Although the Commission believes that~
it is generally the case that maintenance evaluations will be more effective if conducted in conjunction with refueling outages, licensees would still have j
the option of conducting them more frequently.
In light of the above discussion, the NRC is proposing to change the requirement for evaluation of the overall effectiveness of maintenance activities to be performed once per refueling cycle provided the interval between evaluations does not exceed 24 months.
Finding of No Significant Environmental Impact:
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The Commission has determined that, under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, and the Commission's regulations in Subpart A 1
i of 10 CFR Part 51, that this rule, if adopted, would not be a major Federal action that significantly affects the quality of the human environment and therefore an environmental impact statement is not required.
The proposed amendment does not require any change to nuclear power plant design ~ or require any modificatiodh to a plant. Nor does the rule change the scope of the maintenance rule or affect the nature of the activities to be performed, e.g., monitoring, corrective action, and 5
f assessments of compliance. The proposed rule change would only extend the t.ime period for performing evaluations of the effectiveness of licensees' maintenance program from at least once a year to at least once every refueling cycle, not to exceed 24 months. The proposed extension should not result in any significant or discernible reduction in the effectiveness of a licensee's maintenance program; rather the change would increase the meaningfulness and quality of the maintenance evaluations. For these reasons, the Commission finds that the proposed amendment will not result in any significant increase in either the probability of occurrence of an accident or the consequences of an accident and therefore concludes that there will be no significant effect on the environment as a result of the proposed amendment.
The environmental assessment is available for inspection at the NRC Public Document Room, 2120 L Street NW. (Lower Level), Washington, DC.
Single copies of the environmental assessment are available from Joseph J. Mate, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, telephone: (301) 492-3795.
Paperwork Reduction Act Statement This proposed rule amends the information collection requirements that are subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
This rule has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for review and approval of the paperwork requirements.
Because the rule will relax existfdg requirements related to the assessment of maintenance activities, the burden for this activity of information is expected to be reduced by 150 hours0.00174 days <br />0.0417 hours <br />2.480159e-4 weeks <br />5.7075e-5 months <br /> per licensee. This 6
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reduction includes the time required for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding the estimated burden reduction or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the Information and Records Management Branch (MNBB-7714), U. S. Nuclear
.I Regulatory Comission, Washington, DC, 20555; and to the Desk Officer, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, NE08-3019, (3150-0011), Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC, 20503.
l Regulatory Analysis The Nuclear Regulatory Comission has considered the costs and benefits l
of the proposed rule. With respect to benefits, the proposed amendment would allow those licensees who choose to exercise the option to perform evaluations of their maintenance program in conjunction with refueling outages t,ut no less frequently than every 24 months. The Commission believes that this additional flexibility will not result in any increase in risk to the public health and safety, and may result in a more effective maintenance and improved plant safety.
Under the proposed rule, the frequency of periodic assessments would change from annually to at least once per refueling cycle but not to exceed 24 months. Since most refueling outages normally occur in the 15-to 18-month
- i range, the time between periodic assessments assuming a 16-month average would be increased by about 33 percent. Therefore, the licensee staff hours to accomplish a periodic assessment under the proposed rule would be reduced from 7
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t approximately 460 staff hours te about 310 staff hours per plant. This would save the licensee approximately 150 staff hours per plant. There are no additional changes in costs to be incurred by the NRC. The foregoing constitutes the regulatory analysis for this proposed rule.
Regulatory Flexibility Certification In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, (5 U.S.C.
605(b)), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission certifies that, if promulgated, this rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. This proposed rule affects only the operation of nuclear power plants. The companies that own these plants do not fall within the scope of the definition of "small entities" as set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility Act or the Small Business Size Standards set out in the regulations issued by the Small Business Administration at 13 CFR Part 121.
Backfit Analysis The NRC has determined that the backfit rule,10 CFR 50.109, does not apply to this proposed rule and, therefore, that a backfit analysis is not i
required. The proposed amendment to the interval for evaluating the t
effectiveness of maintenance activities by licensees is considered a l
relaxation from the existing requirement and does not involve any provisions ll which would impose backfits as determined in 10 CFR 50.109. Further, the i
option of conducting an annual review as provided by the current rule would be l
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l retained. Because there are no new requirements or procedures imposed on iicensees by this proposed rule, it does not impose a backfit.
l List of Subjects 10 CFR Part 50 - Antitrust, Classified information, Criminal penalty, Fire protection, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, l
Nuclear power plants and reactors, Radiation protection, Reactor siting criteria, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
For reasons set out in the preamble and under the authority of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended, and 5 U.S.C. 553, the NRC is proposing to adopt the following i
amendment to 10 CFR Part 50.
l PART 50 - DOMESTIC LICENSING OF PRODUCTION AND UTILIZATION FACILITIES 1.
The authority citation for part 50 continues to read as follows:
AUTHORITY: Secs. 102, 103, 104, 105, 161, 182, 183, 186, 189, 68 Stat.
936, 937, 938, 948, 953, 954, 955, 956, as amended, sec. 234, 83 Stat. 1244, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2132, 2133, 2134, 2135, 2201, 2232, 2233, 2236, 2239, 2282); secs. 201, as amendsd, 202, 206, 88 Stat. 1242, as amended, 1244, 1246, (42 U.S.C. 5841, 5842, 5846).
ii Section 50.7 also issued under Pub. L.95-601, sec.10, 92 Stat. 2951 (42 U.S.C. 5851). Section 50.10 also issued under secs. 101, 185, 68 Stat.
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955, as amended, (42 U.S.C. 2131, 2235); sec. 102, Pub L.91-190, 83 Stat. 853 (42 U.S.C. 4332). Sections 50.13, 50.54(dd), and 50.103 also issued under sec. 108, 68 Stat. 939, as amended, (42 U.S.C. 2138). Sections 50.23, 50.35, 50.55, and 50.56 also issued under sec.185, 68 Stat, 955 (42 U.S.C. 2235).
Sections 50.33a, 50.55a' and Appendix Q 2130 issued under sec.102, Pub. L.91-190, 83 Stat. 853 (42 U.S.C. 4332). Sections 50.34 and 50.54 also issued under sec. 204, 88 Stat.1245 (42 U.S.C. 5844). Sections 50.58, 50.91, and 50.92 also issued under Pub. L.97-415, 96 Stat. 2073 (42 U.S.C. 2239).
Section 50.78 also issued under sec.122, 68 Stat. 939 (42 U.S.C. 2152).
Sections 50.80 - 50.81 also issued under sec.184, 68 Stat. 954, as amended, I
(42 U.S.C. 2234). Appendix F also issued under sec.187, 68 Stat. 955 (42 U.S.C. 2237).
l 2.
In 5 50.65, paragraph (a)(3) is revised to read as follows:
150.65 Requirements for monitoring the effectiveness of maintenance at nuclear power plants.
(a)
(3) Performance and condition monitoring activities and associated goals and preventive maintenance activities shall be evaluated at least every refueling cycle provided the interval between evaluations does not exceed 24 months. The evaluations shall be conducted taking into account, where practical, industry-wide operating expekence. Adjustments shall be made where necessary to ensure that the objective of preventative failures of structures, systems, and components through maintenance is appropriately 10
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balanced against the objective of minimizing unavailability of structures,
' stems, and components due to monitoring or preventative maintenance.
In sy performing monitoring and preventative maintenance activities, an assessment of the total plant equipment that is out of service should be taken into
~ account to determine the overall effect on performance of safety functions.
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Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this day of March 1993.
for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
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James M. Taylor, Executive Director for Operations.
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i equipment that is out of service should be taken into account to determine the
'overall effect on performance of safety functions.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this day of March 1993.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James M. Taylor, Executive Director for Operations.
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ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT h
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n Narch II, 1993 ENVIR00 MENTAL ASSESSNENT FOR ANENDNENT OF 10 CFR 50.65 FOR MONITORING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MAINTENANCE FOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS 4
Identification of the Action:
^
In July of 1991, the Nuclear Regulatory Commiission (NRC) published a new i
regulation (10 CFR 50.65) to require commercial nuclear power plant licensees to develop and implement a comprehensive program for monitoring the effectiveness of maintenance activities for safety significant plant equipment. The rule requires licensees to evaluate the overall effectiveness of their maintenance programs on at least an annual basis and adjust their i
programs as necessary. The NRC is now proposing to amend 10 CFR 50.65 (a)(3)
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to change the time interval for evaluating the effectiveness of the maintenance program from annually to once every refueling cycle, but not to exceed 24 months.
Need for the Action:
Since the rule was published in July of 1991, two events have occurred to cause the NRC to reconsider the annual evaluation. First, in the spring of 1992, the Nuclear Nanagement Resources Council (NUNARC) suggested that the annual assessment be changed from an annual basis to a refueling cycle basis.
The rationale for the change was threefold: (i) significantly more data would be available during refueling cycles than is available on an annual basis, (ii) key data from some surveillance tests can only be obtained during refueling outages and is not available on an annual basis, and (iii) adjustments to maintenance activities that may be made after performing an j
evaluation are typically performed after the refueling outage. NUNARC went on to add that the evaluation process is a time consuming activity and that with limited data available, the annual evaluations would not provide for meaningful results. With only limited data, changes to maintenance programs i
will likely not be made because there would not be sufficient infonnation available for spotting trends or doing trend analysis.
Second, in the summer of 1992, the NRC amended several regulations to reduce the regulatory burden on licensees. One of the regulations that was amended was 10 CFR 50.71, (Frequency of Final Safety Analysis Reports), where the frequency of reporting data to the NRC was changed from annually to once per public health and safety and because it'9cause it had no adverse impact on the refueling cycle. This change was made b reduced the regulatory burden on l
nuclear power plant licensees.
j The Commission is now proposing to change the required frequency of maintenance performance evaluations to once per refueling cycle (not to exceed 24 months). Evaluation of data collected over the period of a refueling cycle will provide a substantially better basis for detecting problems in degraded performance of structures, systems, and components (SSC's) and weaknesses in 3
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maintenance practices. Evaluations conducted on a refueling cycle basis would
,also consider and integrate data available only during refueling outages with the data available during operations; under the existing requirements this may not occur depending on whether the annual assessment coincides with the refueling outage. Furthermore, evaluations of data accumulated over the period of a refueling cycle, as opposed to the shorter annual period required by the rule, will provide a more meaningful basis for the recognition and interpretatiori of trends.
The Comission also believes that the proposed change would be less disruptive of the licensee's activities and more conducive to effective maintenance, since any adjustments to the maintenance program required by the results of the evaluations under 50.65(a)(3) could be implemented at the beginning of a j
refueling cycle. Under the existing rule, adjustments steming from the 50.65(a)(3) annual evaluations could be implemented at any time throughout the refueling cycle, depending on when the annual evaluation is required.
It is simpler and easier to implement a maintenance program where the changes are coordinated with the refueling cycle outages, so that in any given cycle there is only one maintenance regime. The Comission believes that its regulatory requirements should be adjusted to minimize unnecessary burdens on the licensee, where there is no significant adverse impact on the level of public safety. The recent amendment to 10 CFR 50.71(e), which lengthens the time for submitting Final Safety Analysis Report updates to once every refueling cycle not to exceed 24 months, is an example of where the Comission found that regulatory requirements can be relaxed to integrate them with licensee activities without any significant impact on safety.
It also reflects the Comission's view that refueling cycles are an appropriate period for accumulating and integrating data, which NRC requirements should be integrated with.
Alternatives Considered:
The Comission determined that there are two reasonable alternatives to the proposed amendment: (1) retain the existing requirement for annual assessments (the "no action" alternative), and (2) amend the period for performing maintenance assessments to some period other than once every refueling cycle.
As discussed above, the first alternative (keeping the existing requirement) is viewed as being undesirable because the quality and meaningfulness of annual evaluations would not be as high as evaluations which are coordinated with the refueling outage. Second, corrective action to maintenance would not be coordinated with the refueling cycle, which is thought to have benefits in administrative efficiency and quality of maintenance implementation.
Moreover, there is no environmental advantage to the existing requirement as compared with the proposed change.
The second alternative is viewed as undddirable because adopting a specific time period, e.g., every 18 months, or every two years, would have the same objections as the existing requirement for an annual evaluation. There would be no environmental advantage with the second alternative as compared with the proposed change.
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Accordingly, the Commission finds that there are no other alternatives which
, address the problems with the annual assessment which are obviously superior from an environmental standpoint.
Environmental Impacts of the Action:
The proposed amendment changes the period for performing the evaluations of licensee maintenance activities required by 10 CFR 50.65(a)(3) from annually to once every refueling cycle, not to exceed 24 months. The proposed change does not require any change to nuclear power plant design or require any modifications to a plant's SSCs. Nor does the proposed rule change the scope of the maintenance rule or affect the nature of the activities 'to be performed, e.g., monitoring, corrective action, and assessments of compliance.
The proposed rule change would only extend the time period for performing evaluations of the effectiveness of licensees' maintenance program from at least once a year to at least once every refueling cycle, not to exceed 24 months. The staff believes that the proposed extension of the allowable time in which to perform maintenance program evaluations will allow the licensee to consider information gathered during refueling outages and allow the licensee to efficiently integrate this activity with refueling. The requirement for an annual evaluation was adopted to assure periodic evaluations by the licensee, but the exact interval of twelve months was never deemed by the Commission to be required by safety considerations. The proposed extension should not result in any significant or discernable reduction in the effectiveness of a licensee's maintenance program; rather, the change would increase the meaningfulness and quality of the maintenance evaluations. For these reasons, the Commission finds that the proposed amendment will not result in any significant increase in either the probability of occurrence of an accident or the consequences of an accident, and therefore concludes that there will be no significant effect on the environment as a result of the proposed amendment.
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PUBLIC ANN 0UNCEMENT l
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(-f g y NRC PROPOSES TO CHANGE TIME LIMITS FOR MONITORING EFFECTIVENESS OF MAINTENANCE PROGRAMS a rned l
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is proposing to cheng its 1
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' regulations governing monitoring programs to evaluate the effectiveness of maintenance programs at licensed nuclear power j
plants.
The proposed amendment would change the time interval j
for conducting evaluations from once every year to at least once every refueling cycle with the maximum amount of time between evaluations not to exceed 24 months.
hM h DhyNT The proposed ehenge would be consistent with an earlier change to the NRC's requirements where the frequency of required a
power-reactor licensee reports updating Final Safety Analysis 1
Reports was changed from annually to once per refueling cycle.
In that case, the Commission found that the use of a fuel-cycle interval provided a more coordinated and cohesive update since a j
i majority of design changes and major modifications were performed j
I during refueling outages.
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In addition, officials of the Nuclear Management Resources 3
Council (NUMARC) suggested, in a public meeting with the NRC 1
staff in February 1992, that the NRC should consider assessments of maintenance program effectiveness based on a refueling cycle I
rather than annual interval.
The NUMARC officials pointed out that:
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-- adjustments to maintenance activities that may be made after such an evaluation would typically be performed after a
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refueling outage; and
-- the evaluation is a time-consuming process; that the j
insufficient data available on an annual basis would not provide for meaningful evaluations by licensees;-and that annual I
evaluations would be difficult for utilities which own multi-unit sites having common or shared equipment.
I Written comments on the proposed amendments to Part 50 of the commission's regulations should be received by (date).
They should be addressed to the Secretary of the Commission, Nuclear l
Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C.
20555, Attention:
Docketing and Service Branch.
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APPROVAL FOR PUBLICATION L
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Approved for Publication The Commission delegated to the EDO (10 CFR 1.31(a)(3)) the authority to develop and promulgate rules as defined in the APA (5 U.S.C. 551 (4)) subject to the limitation in the NRC Manual Chapter 0103, Organization and Functions, Office of the Executive Director for Operations, paragraphs 0213, 038, 039, and 0310.
l The enclosed rule, entitled " Monitoring the Effectiveness of Maintenance at Nuclear Power Plants", will amend Part 50 by changing the time interval for conducting evaluations from once every year to at least once every refueling
-cycle, but not to exceed 24 months.
The proposed rule does not constitute a significant question of policy, nor does it amend regulations contained in 10 CFR Parts 7, 8, or 9 Subpart C 1
concerning matters of policy.
I, therefore, find that this proposed rule is j
within the scope of my rulemaking authority and am proceeding to issue it.
Date James M. Taylor Executive Director for Operations 4
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WEEKLY REPORT TO THE COMMISSION
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1 WEEKLY REPORT TO THE COMMISSION OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REGULATORY RESEARCH Proposed Rule to be Sioned by EDO 1
On
, 1993, the Executive Director for Operations approved a proposed rule that would amend 10 CFR Part 50, " Monitoring the Effectiveness of Maintenance at Nuclear Power Plants, by amending the time interval for conducting evaluations from once every year to at least once every refueling cycle, but not to exceed 24 months.
This constitutes notice to the Commission that, in accordance with the rulemaking authority delegated to the EDO, the EDO has signed this proposed
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rule for publication in the Federal Register.
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p WASHINGTON, D. C. 20555 The Honorable Philip R. Sharp, Chairman Subconealttee on Energy and Power Committee on Energy and Commerce j
United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515
Dear Mr. Chairman:
Enclosed for the information of the subcommittee is a copy of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to be published in the Federal Reoister. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is proposing to amend its regulations to change the time interval that nuclear power plant licensees have for reviewing the performance of maintenance programs from annually to at least every refueling cycle i
provided the time between evaluations does not exceed 24 months. The Commission believes that the quantity and quality of data obtained during j
refueling outages will be substantially greater than that available on an
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annual basis and would provide a more meaningful basis for the recognition and i
interpretation of trends. This action should result in greater licensee flexibility and greater assurance that nuclear power plants will operate safely.
I This proposed rule should reduce the regulatory burden on power plant
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licensees while at the same time maintaining the health and safety of the public and the couron defense and security.
Sincerely, J
Dennis K. Rathbun, Director Office of Congressional Affairs d
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Enclosure:
Federal Register Notice cc: Representative Michael Bilirakis j
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The Honorable Philip R. Sharp, Chairman Subcommittee on Energy and Power Committee on Energy and Commerce United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 i
Dear Mr. Chairman-Enclosed for the information of the subcommittee is a copy of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to be published in the Federal Reaister. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is proposing to amend its regulations to change the time interval that nuclear power plant licensees have for reviewing the perfomance i
of maintenance programs from annually to at least every refueling cycle provided the time between evaluations does not exceed 24 months. The I
Commission believes that the quantity and quality of data obtained during refueling outages will be substantially greater than that available on an annual basis and would provide a more meaningful basis for the recognition and interpretation of trends. This action should result in greater licensee i
flexibility and greater assurance that nuclear power plants will operate safely.
This proposed rule should reduce the regulatory burden on power plant licensees while at the same time maintaining the health and safety of the public and the common defense and security.
Sincerely, Dennis K. Rathbun, Director Office of Congressional Affairs
Enclosure:
Federal Register Notice i
cc: Representative Michael Biltrakis ii o
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The Honorable Philip R. Sharp, Chairman
, Subcommittee on Energy and Power Committee on Energy and Commerce United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515
Dear Mr. Chairman:
Enclosed for the information of the subcommittee is a copy of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to be published in the Federal Reaister. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is proposing to amend its regulations to change the time interval that nuclear power plant licensees have for reviewing the performance of maintenance programs from annually to at least every refueling cycle provided the time between evaluations does not exceed 24 months. The Commission believes that the quantity and quality of data obtained during refueling outages will be substantially greater than that available on an annual basis and would provide a more meaningful basis for the recognition and interpretation of trends. This action should result in greater licensee flexibility and greater assurance that nuclear power plants will operate safely.
This proposed rule should reduce the regulatory burden on power plant licensees while at the same time maintaining the health and safety of the public and the common defense and security.
l Sincerely, Dennis K. Rathbun, Director Office of Congressional Affairs
Enclosure:
Federal Register Notice cc:
Representative Michael Bilirakis Distribution:
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The Honorable Joseph Lieberman, Chairman Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Regulation Committee on Environment and Public Works United States Senate Washington, DC 20510
Dear Mr. Chairman:
Enclosed for the information of the subcommittee is a copy of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to be published in the Federal Reaister. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is proposing to amend its regulations to change the time interval that nuclear power plant licensees have for reviewing the performance of maintenance programs from annually to at least every refueling cycle provided the time between evaluations does not exceed 24 months. The Commission believes that the quantity and quality of data obtained during refueling outages will be substantially greater than that available on an annual basis and would provide a more meaningful basis for the recognition and interpretation of trends. This action should result in greater licensee flexibility and greater assurance that nuclear power plants will operate i
safely.
I This proposed rule should reduce the regulatory burden on power plant licensees while at the same time maintaining the health and safety of the public and the common defense and security.
i Sincerely, Dennis K. Rathbun, Director Office of Congressional Affairs i
Enclosure:
Federal Register Notice i
cc:
Senator Alan K. Simpson i
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The Honorable Joseph Lieberman, Chairman
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Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Regulation l
Committee on Environment and Public Works United States Senate Washington, DC 20510
Dear Mr. Chairman:
Enclosed for the information of the subcommittee is a copy of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to be published in the Federal Reoister. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is proposing to amend its regulations to change the time interval that nuclear power plant licensees have for reviewing the performance of maintenance programs from annually to at least every refueling cycle provided the time between evaluations does not exceed 24 months. The Commission believes that the quantity and quality of data obtained during refueling outages will be substantially greater than that available on an annual basis and would provide a more meaningful basis for the recognition and interpretation of trends. This action should result in greater licensee flexibility and greater assurance that nuclear power plants will operate safely.
This proposed rule should reduce the regulatory burden on power plant licensees while at the same time maintaining the health and safety of the public and the common defense and security.
4 Sincerely, Dennis K. Rathbun, Director Office of Congressional Affairs
Enclosure:
Federal Register Notice cc: Senator Alan K. Simpson 4
ii j
The Honorable Joseph Lieberman, Chairman subcomittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Regulation Comittee on Environment and Public Works United States Senate Washington, DC 20510
Dear Mr. Chairman:
Enclosed for the information of the subcomittee is a copy of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to be published in the Federal Reaister. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is proposing to amend its regulations to change the time interval that nuclear power plant licensees have for reviewing the performance of maintenance programs from annually to at least every refueling cycle provided the time between evaluations does not exceed 24 months. The Commission believes that the quantity and quality of data obtained during refueling outages will be substantially greater than that available on an annual basis and would provide a more meaningful basis for the recognition and interpretation of trends. This action should result in greater licensee flexibility and greater assurance that nuclear power plants will operate safely.
This proposed rule should reduce the regulatory burden on power plant licensees while at the same time maintaining the health and safety of the public and the comon defense and security.
Sincerely, Dennis K. Rathbun, Director Office of Congressional Affairs
Enclosure:
Federal Register Notice cc: Senator Alan K. Simpson Distribution:
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The Honorable Richard H. Lehman, Chairman Subconnittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Committee on Natural Resources j
United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 i
Dear Mr. Chairman:
3 Enclosed for the information of the subcommittee is a copy of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to be published in the Federal Reoister. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is proposing to amend its regulations to change the time interval that nuclear power plant licensees have for reviewing the performance of maintenance programs from annually to at least every refueling cycle provided the time between evaluations does not exceed 24 months. The Commission believes that the quantity and quality of data obtained during l
refueling outages will be substantially greater than that available on an annual basis and would provide a more meaningful basis for the recognition and interpretation of trends. This action should result in greater licensee flexibility and greater assurance that nuclear power plants will operate i
j safely.
This proposed rule should reduce the regulatory burden on power plant licensees while at the same time maintaining the health and safety of the public and the common defense and security.
l Sincerely, d
Dennis K. Rathbun, Director Office of Congressional Affairs
Enclosure:
Federal Register Notice 4
cc:
Representative Barbara Vucanovich ii a
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UNITED STATES E
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The Honorable Richard H. Lehman, Chairman Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Committee on Natural Resources United Stctes House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515
Dear Mr. Chairman:
Enclosed for the infomation of the subcommittee is a copy of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to be published in the Federal Reoister. The Nuclear Regulatory Comission is proposing to amend its regulations to change the time interval that nuclear power plant licensees have for reviewing the performance of maintenance programs from annually to at least every refueling cycle provided the time between evaluations does not exceed 24 months. The 4
Comission believes that the quantity and quality of data obtained during refueling outages will be substantially greater than that available on an i
annual basis and would provide a more meaningful basis for the recognition and interpretation of trends. This action should result in greater licensee flexibility and greater assurance that nuclear power plants will operate safely. -
This proposed rule should reduce the regulatory burden on power plant 1
licensees while at the same time maintaining the health and safety of the
]
public and the common defense and security.
Sincerely, Dennis K. Rathbun, Director Office of Congressional Affairs
Enclosure:
Federal Register Notice cc: Representative Barbara Vucanovich 2
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The Honorable Richard H. Lehman, Chairman l
S,ubcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Committee on Natural Resources United States House of Representatives j
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Mr. Chairman:
Enclosed for the information of the subcommittee is a copy of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to be published in the Federal Reaister. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is proposing to amend its regulations to change the time interval that nuclear power plant licensees have for reviewing the performance of maintenance programs from annually to at least every refueling cycle provided the time between evaluations does not exceed 24 months. The Commission believes that the quantity and quality of data obtained during refueling outages will be substantially greater than that available on an annual basis and would provide a more meaningful basis for the recognition and 1
interpretation of trends. This action should result in greater licensee flexibility and greater assurance that nuclear power plants will operate l
safely.
This proposed rule should reduce the regulatory burden on power plant licensees while at the same time maintaining the health and safety of the public and the common defense and security.
Sincerely, J
l Dennis K. Rathbun, Director Office of Congressional Affairs
Enclosure:
Federal Register Notice cc: Representative Barbara Vucanovich Distribution:
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