ML20059N335

Notice of Consideration of Issuance of Amend to License DPR-54 & Proposed NSHC Determination & Opportunity for Hearing.Amend Modifies License to possess-but-not-operated Status

ML20059N335
Person / Time
Site:	Rancho Seco
Issue date:	10/02/1990
From:	Weiss S Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:
Shared Package
ML20059N334	List: ML20059N333 ML20059N335
References
NUDOCS 9010110280
Download: ML20059N335 (8)

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Y 7590-01 j

^i UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY. COMMISSION SACRAMENTO MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT

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DOCKET NO. 50-312 NOTICE OF CONSIDERATION'0F ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT TO

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FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE AND PROPOSED NO SIGNIFICANT HAZARDS CONSIDERATION DETERMINATION AND OPPORTUNITY FOR HEARING'

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The U.S. Nuclear, Regulatory Connission _(the Commission) is'considering issuance of an amendment t'o Facility Operating License. No. DPR-54 issued to SacramentoMunicipalUtility' District (thelicensee)(th'eDistrict).-foropera.

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tion of the Rancho Seco' Nuclear Generating Station located in Sacramento County,-

1 California. The request for amendment was submitted by letter dated April'26, q

1990.

' S A notice of the licensee's proposed amendment was previously published in the FEDERAL REGISTER on September 5, 1990 (55 FR 36349); however, the. notice contained inadvertent errors. This notice corrects the September 5,'1990 notice in its entirety.

The licensee has decided to permanently cease operations at'the Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station. The Rancho'Seco Reactor hes been defueled'and the reactor fuel is currently. stored in the on-site spent fuel pool.. ' The proposed:

amendment would modify the license to a possess-but-not-operated status

(" possession only license"). This proposed amendment would allow the licensee l

to possess special nuclear material, but not operate the nuclear reactor by-removing the authority to operate.

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2 Additionally, the licensee submitted a status report on the preliminary planning.for decommissioning the Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station.-

Before issuance of the proposed license amendment, the Cosaission will have made findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act) and the Commission's regulations.

i The Consnission has made a proposed determination that the request for amendment involves no significant hazards. consideration. Under the Corrnission's g

regulations in 10 CFR 50.92, this means that operation of the facility in accordance with the proposed amendment would not (1) involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated; or (2) create the possibility of a new or different kind of ~ accident from any accident previously evaluated; or (3) involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety.

The licensee provided an analysis that addressed the above three standards in the amendment application.

f This proposed amendment to the Facility Operating License prohibits operation of the Rancho Seco Reactor at any power level. 'The District has no intention of taking the reactor critical. again.. Existing analyses address potential accident scenarios from~a reactor shutdown condition through power operation. Maintaining the fuel subcritical results in an increase in margins of safety from an accident analysis standpoint.

No new accidents or failure modes are created by maintaining the reactor in the defueled mode.

The District has reviewed this proposed amendment against each of the criteria of 10 CFR 50.92~and concludes that this amendment would not:

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(1) involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences j

L of an accident previously evaluated since it imposes additional I

l operation restrictions while not modifying the present plant protection:

systems and controls necessary to preserve and protec't the integrity.

ofthespentfuelandspentfuelpool;or(2)createthepossibility-t of a new or different kind of accident from any accident previously.

evaluated since it does not modify the= facility or permit activities; ofadifferentkindthanthosethatarepresentlyallowed;.or(3)in' volve a significant reduction in a margin of' safety since it. allows.no-new activities, and adds additional conservative restrictions on' plant

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operations.

Therefore, the District concludes that proposed amendment;.. involves no.

significant hazards consideration.

The Comission has reviewed the licensee's no significant hazards con-sideration determination and agrees with tha licensee's analysis; Therefore, the Comission proposes to determine that the proposed amendment involves no l

significant hazards consideration.

4 The Comission is seeking public comments on this proposed determination; j

Any comments received within 30 days after the date. of publication of;this -

I notice will be considered in making any final determination. The Connission will not normally make a final determination unless it receives a request forJ a hearing.

Written connents may be submitted by mail to the Regulatory Publications-Branch, Division of Freedom of Information and Publications Services, Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission, Washington. -D.C. 20555, and should cite the publication date and page number of this FEDERAL REGISTER

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kiritten t ennwnant e mau m1en he. 4210ceacro om h e ON

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. Building, 7920 Norfolk Avenue, Bethesda, Maryland, from 7:30 a.m. tt 4:15 p.m.

i Copies of written comments received may be examined at the NRC Public Document Room, the Gelman Building 2120 L Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.

The filing of j

requests for hearing and petitions for leave to intervene is discussed below.-

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By November 08, 1990, the licensee may file a request for a hearing with respect to issuance of the amendment to the subject facility

- operating license and any person whose interest may be affected by this proceeding insofar as such interest may be affected by the corrertions made by.

this notice, and who wishes to participate as a party in the proceeding must t

file a written petition for leave to intervene. Requests for a hearing and petitions for leave to intervene shall be filed in accordance with the Commission's " Rules of Practice for Domestic Licensing Proceedings" in 10 CFR Part 2.

Interested persons should consult a current copy of 10.CFR 2.714 1

which is available at the Commission's Public Document Room.the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20555 ind at the local public document room located'at the Martin Luther King Regional Library, 7340 24th Street Bypass, Sacramento, California 95882.

If a request for a hearing or l

petition for leave to intervene is filed by the above date, the Commission or l

an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, designated by -the Comission or by the -

L Chairman of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel, will rule on the request and/or petition.and the Secretary or the designated Atomic Safety. and-Licensing-Board will issue a notice of hearing or an appropriate order.

As required by 10 CFR 2.7*.4, a petition for leave to intervene shal1~ set-forth with particularity the interest of the petitioner in the proceeding, and how that interest may be affected by the results of the proceeding. The petition should specifically explain the reasons why intervention should be permitted with particular reference to the following factors:

(1) the nature

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1 of the-petitioner's right under the Act to be made a party to the proceeding; (2) the nature and extent of the petitioner.'s property, financial, or other interest in the proceeding; and (3) the possible effect of any order which may i

be entered in the proceeding on the petitioner's interest.

The petition should also identify the specific aspect (s) of the subject matter of the proceeding as to which petitioner wishes to intervene. Any person who.has filed a petition for leave to intervene or who has been admitted as a party may amendthepetitionwithoutrequestingleaveoftheBoard~uptofifteen(15) days prior to the first prehearing conference scheduled in the proceeding, but i

such an amended petition must satisfy the specificity requirements described.

above.

Not later than fifteen (15) days prior to the first prehearing conference scheduled in the proceeding, a petitioner'shall file a supplement to the petitio6 to intervene which must include a list of the contentions which are

- 1 sought to be litigated in the matter. Each contention must consist of a specific statement of the issue of law or fact to' be raised or controverted, t

In addition, the petitioner shall provide a brief explanation of the bases of -

the contention and a concise statement of.the alleged facts or. expert opinion which support the contention and on which the petitioner intends to rely in proving the contention at the hearing. The petitioner.must also provide references to those specific sources and documents of which the petitioner is l

aware and on which the petitioner intends to rely to establish;those facts or expert opinion.

petitioner must provide sufficient information to show that a genuine dispute exists with the applicant on a material issue of law or fact.

Contentions shall be limited to matters within the scope of the amendment l

under consideration. The contention must be one which, if proven, would l

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entitle the petitioner to relief. A petitioner who fails to file such a.

supplement which satisfies these requirements with respect to at least one contention will not be permitted to participate as a party.

Those permitted to intervene become parties to the proceeding, subject to any limitations in the order granting leave to intervene, and have the i

opportunity to participate fully in the conduct of the hearing, including the g

opportunity to present evidence and cross-examine witnesses.

If a hearing is requested, the Comissi n will make a final determination ^

on the issue of no significant hazards consideration.

The final determination will serve to decide when the hearing is held.

If the final determination is that the amendment request involves no significant hazards consideration, the Comission may issue the amendment and

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make it effective, notwithstanding the request for a hearing. Any hearing

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held would take place after issuance of the amendment.

i If the final determination is that the amendment request involves a-significant hazards consideration, any hearing held would take place before the issuance of any amendment.

Normally, the Comission will not issue the amendment'until the expiration of the 30-day notice period. However, should circumstances change during the notice period such that failure to act in a timely way would' result, for example,.

in derating or shutdown of the facility, the Comission may issue the license -

amendment before the expiration of the 30-day notice period, provided that its final determination is that the amendment involves no significant hazards consideration. The final determination will consider all' public and State comments received. Should the Comission take this action, it will publish a

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i notice of issuance and provide for opportuiity for a hearing after issuance.

The Comission expects that the need to take this action will occur very infrequently.

A request for a hearing or a petition for leave to intervene must be i

filed with the Secretary of the Commission,' U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission, Washington, D.C. 20555, Attention: Docketing and Service Branch, or may be delivered to the Comission's Public Document Room, the Gelman Building, 2120 L-Street, N.W. Washington, D.C., by the above date.. Where petitions are filed during the last ten (10) days of the notice period, it is requesteo that the petitioner promptly so inform the Comission by a toll-free telephone call to Western Union at 1 (800) 325-6000 (in Missouri 1 (800) 342-6700). The. Western Union operator should be given Datagram Identification Number 3737 and the i

following message addressed to Seymour H. Weiss: petitioner's name~and telephone number; date petition was mailed; plant name; and publication date and page number of this FEDERAL REGISTER notice. A copy of the petition should also be sent to the Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555, and to Jan Schori, Sacramento Municipal Utility. District.

4 6201 S Street, P. O. Box 15870, Sacramento, California 95813, attorney for the licensee.

Nontimely filings of petitions for leave to intervene, amended petitions, supplemental petitions and/or requests for hearing will not be entertained:

absent a determination by the Comission, the presiding officer, or the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board that the petition and/or request, should be granted:

baseduponabalancingofthefactorsspecifiedin10CFR'2.714(a)(1)(1)-(v)'

and2.714(d).

-8 For further details with respect to this action, see the appitcation for i

amendment dated April 26, 1990, which is available for public inspection at-the Commission's Public Document Room, the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, N.W. Washington, D.C.

20555, and at the Martin Luther King Regional Library, 7340 24th Street Bypass, Sacramento, California 95882.

t Dated at Rockville, ' Maryland. -this 2 rd day of october 1990..

A FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION f=%

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Seymour H. Weiss, Director Non-Power Reactor, Decommissioning and

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Environmental Project Directorate Division of Reactor Projects

'III, IV, Y and Special Projects _

i Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation l

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