ML20043F979
| ML20043F979 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 04/27/1990 |
| From: | Chilk S NRC OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY (SECY) |
| To: | |
| References | |
| FRN-55FR18608, RULE-PRM-50-55 NUDOCS 9006180380 | |
| Download: ML20043F979 (4) | |
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cETITION RULE PRM 80-55[55#f/8447 t
LOCKE1ED USNRC
'90 APR 30 P12:48 a ncE of 3Er.RLit.P UUCK[I:NG A ';! Nd raucH NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION-10 CFR PART 50
[0ccket No. PRM-50-55)
Yankee Atomic Electric Company; Receipt of Petition for Rulemaking AGENCY:
Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION:
Petition for rulemaking:
Notice of receipt.
SUMMARY
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is publishing for public comment a notice _ of receipt of a petition for rulemaking dated February 9, 1990, which was' filed with the Commission by the Yankee Atomic Electric Company.
The petition was docketed by the Commission on February 16, 1990, and has been assigned Docket No. PRM-50-55.
The petitioner requests that the NRC change the.reouirement that nuclear power plant licensees file revisions to the final safety analysis report no less frequently than annually..The petitioner also' requests that the regulatior.s require that revisions be filed no later than six months after completion of each planned refueling outage for a licensee's facility.
The petitioner believes this change would permit more effective use of licensee and NRC resources and allow more meaningful scheduling for final safety analysis report updates.
DATE:
Submit comments by July 2,1990.
Comments received i
after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so but the Commission is able to assure consideration only for comments received on or before this date.
ADDRESSES: ' Submit written comments to the Secretary of the Commission, U.S.
' Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, Attention:
Docketing p
i q0 and Service Branch.
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9006180300 900427 d
h 50-55 PDRs g(O 1
For a copy of the petition, write the Regulatory Publications Branch, Division of Freedom of Information and Publications Services, Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555.
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- The petition and copies of comments received may be inspected and copied for a fee at the NRC Public Document Room, 2120 L Street NW (Lower Level),
Washington,-DC.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Michael T. Lesar, Chief, Rules Review Section, Regulatory Publications Branch, Division of Freedom of Information and Publications Services. Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
. Commission, Washington, DC 20555, Telephone:
301-492-7758 or Toll Free:
800-368-5642, SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The Petitioner On February-9,1990, the Yankee Atomic Electric Company (YAEC) filed a request.for action under 10 CFR 2.802 with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
The petitioner owns and operates a nuclear power plant in Rowe, Massachusetts and provides engineering and licensing services 'to other nuclear power plants in the Northeast.
Background
l The NRC requires each nuclear power plant licensee to maintain records and to submit reports in connection with its activities under 10 CFR 50.71.
Paragraph (e)(4) of ?50.71 requires licensees-to file revisions to the FSAR no less frequently than annually.
This paragraph also stipulates that the revised FSAR reflects all changes up to a maximum of six months prior to the date of filing.
The FSAR, as required under 650.34(b), describes the facility, presents the design bases and limits on its operation, and presents a safety analysis of the structures, systems, and components and of the facility as a whole.
The Suggested Amendment l~
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The petitioner requests that the NRC amend 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4) to change the requirement that nuclear power plant licensees file revisions to
.the' final safety analysis report (FSAR) no less frequently than annually.
To accomplish the desired amendment, the petitioner suggests that 650.71(e)(4) be revised to read as follows:
"Unless directed otherwise by the Executive Director for Operations, subsequent revisions shall be filed no later than six months after completion I
of each planned refueling outage for a licensee's facility.
If two or more -
facilities share a common FSAR, the licensee shall designate the refueling outage schedule of one of the multiple facilities to establish the schedule for revisions of the common FSAR.
The FSAR revisions shall reflect all changes up to a maximum of six months-prior to the date of filing."
Supporting Information The petitioner recogni:es the value of periodically updating a facility's FSAR.
The purpose of this suggested amendment is to permit more effective utilization of both licensee and NRC resources and to allow more meaningful scheduling for FSAR updates consistent with the current operational practices of nuclear power generation facilities.
The petitioner believes that practically every operating facility schedules the implementation of major physical changes to coincide with planned refueling outages.
As a result, the changes that are made during a refueling outage are typically those which give rise to the most extensive and meaningful changes to the facility's FSAR.
The petitioner believes that the coord nation of the revisions of a facility's FSAR with its refteling schedule would offer the multiple benefits of. reducing the total number of submittals required during the licensed life of the facility, increasing the flexibility of the licensee in planning and scheduling its work, and providing a more logical and generally more timely basis for incorporating facility changes in the FSAR.
The: petitioner recognizes that the benefits of the suggested amendment cannot be realized fully in those instances where two or more facilities share a common FSAR.
However, the petitioner believes that the licensees of these-multiple units will still derive significant benefits by being permitted to coordinate their FSAR revision schedule with the planned refueling outage schedule of at least one of their units.
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4 Potential Benefits l
According to the petitioner's calculations,- there are approximately 70 i
FSARs which must be revised annually to satisfy the current provisions of 10 CFP. 50.71(e)(4).. These 70 FSARs include 28 FSARs which describe two unit facilities and 3 FSARs which describe three unit facilities.
Based on the cumulative number of years remaining until the expiration of existing licenses,
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2,243 submittals'will be required to satisfy the existing rule.
If an average j
operating cycle of eighteen months is assumed, the petitioner's suggested amend-ment would reduce the total number of required submittals by approximately 650.
The projected savings do not include those which would be anticipated for facilities which will have their licenses renewed after expiration of their 4
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original 40-year licenses. Many of the costs associated with the production i
of a FSAR revision are completely independent of the size or content of a specific revision.
Therefore, the petitioner believes that this simple calculation indicates the potential for significant cost savings with the implementation of the suggested amendment.
=The petitioner also believes that the increased flexibility which would be afforded licensees in planning and scheduling their work will be the major benefit of the. suggested amendment and that this can be accomplished with no decrease in the present quality or timeliness of FSAR. updates.
According to j
the petitioner, there';re obv Mus benefits and savings for the NRC in reducing the administrative burden imposed by the present rule.
The reduction in administrative burden would include significantly fewer instances in which the NRC would have to deal with licensee requests for exemptions due to.
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schedule conflicts and other problems.
^u f 1990.
Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this dae of or the
'qear Regulatory Commission.
. f amuel J. Ch 'TT, Secretary of the Commission.
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