ML20127J153

Applicant Motion for Interim License Authorizing Initial Fuel Loading & Low Power Startup Testing

ML20127J153
Person / Time
Site:	Monticello
Issue date:	04/12/1970
From:	Charnoff G NORTHERN STATES POWER CO., SHAW, PITTMAN, POTTS & TROWBRIDGE
To:	US ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION (AEC)
Shared Package
ML20127J157	List: ML20127J153 ML20127J163 ML20127J180 ML20127J204
References
NUDOCS 9211190215
Download: ML20127J153 (10)

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Y lS y j UNITED STATES OF AMERICA i

ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION -

In the Matter of

/$0/23t NORTHERN STATES POWER COMPANY Docket No. 50-263 ./

Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant -

Unit 1 APPLICANT'S MOTION FOR AN INTERIM LICENSE AUTHORIZING INITIAL FUEL LOADING AND LOW POWER STARTUP TESTING

1. Pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the regulations in Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 50, " Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilitiesi " and Part 2, " Rules of Practice," the Atomic Energy Commission

("AEC") provided, by Notice of Hearing in the Federal Register on March 11, 1970 (35 Fed. Reg. 4344), for a public hearing to be held on April 28, 1970. The purpose of the hearing is to consider the application by Northern States Power Company

(" Applicant") for a provisional operating license which would authorize operation of the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant Unit 1, at steady state power levels not in excess of 1670 megawatts (thermal).

2. p Notices of Appearances in the. instant proceeding have been entered by counsel for the AEC Regulatory Staff and counsel for the Applicant. Applicant has filed an answer, dated March 19, 1970, to the Notice of Hearing. Petitions for leave to inter-vene were granted to:

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a. Minnesota Environmental Control Citizens Association,

b. Mr. Mike Donahue, and

c. Messrs. Kenneth Dzugan, Theodore Pepin, and George B. Burnett III. ~1/

3. The AEC Regulatory Staff's Safety Evaluation, dated March 18, 1970, on the application under consideration in the instant proceeding concluded that:

a. The applicant has submitted to the Com-mission all technical information required by Provisional Construction Permit No.

CPPR-31, the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as i

amended (Act), and the rules and regulations of the Commission to complete the applica-I tion for the provisional operating license; l

b. The construction of Unit 1 has proceeded, and there is reasonable

• assurance that it will be completed in conformity with Pro- ,

visional Construction Permit No. CPPR-31, the application, as amended, the provisions

, of the Act, and the rules and regulations of the Commission; 1/ The amended petition for leave to intervene, dated April 8, 1970, filed by John Pegors on behalf of Clear Air-Clear Water Un-limited does not comply with the requirements of 10 CFR 62.714, j in that it fails to specify any contentions in reasonably specific '

detail. As of the date of this motion, the board has not ruled on this request for intervention.

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_4-y A, There ic reanonable accurance that Unit 1 will be completed in conformance with Pro-visional Construction Permit No. CPPR-31, the application, as amended, the provisions of the Act, and the rules and regulations of the Commission; and B. There is reasonable assurance that Unit I will be ready for initial loading with nuclear fuel within ninety days from April 28, 1970, the date on which the public hear-ing in this proceeding is scheduled to begin, S. Applicant's Summary of the Application for the Provisional Operating License for the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant No. 1, dated March 19, 1970, and Applicant's summary of its fi-nancial qualifications, dated March 26, 1970 present evidence in support of affirmative findings on Issues 1 through 6, and in support of a negative finding on Issue 7, specified in the Notice

< of Hearing. 'dithin a few' days Applicant will file appropriate affidavits introducing the foregoing documents inte evidence,

6. The Monticello Duclear Generating Flant is expected to be complete and available for initiation of fuel loading on or about May 9, 1970. Appendix A hereto describes those items or portions of the Monticello Plant which may not be complete as of May 9, 1970. As concluded in Appendix A, the initial fuel loading and the lon power startup testing program can be safely conducted in the absence of completion of such items and portions of the plant. As used herein the term " low power startup testing"

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means that portion of the startup program which is to be per-formed at power levels not exceeding five megawatts (thermal) and without the reactor vessel head in place. Tnis phase of the startup program includes: control rod drives and control rod withdrawal sequence tests, initial critical and shutdown margin verifications, radiation measurements, source range monitor performance checks, and installation of neutron seurces.

Initial fuel loading and the conduct of the low power startup testing program are scheduled to be completed over a five to six week period. Allowing a reasonable period of time for satisfactory performance of the startup, test, and power as-cension programs, it is expected that 460 MW(e) will be avail-able from the Monticello Plant in mid-summer if fuel loading is commenced on or about May 9, 1970

7. If power production from the Monticello Plant is not avail-able during the summer of 1970, Applicant and the public it serves will have a generating capacity deficit of approximately 10% of the system maximum demand in normal weather. If unus-ually hot weather occurs during the summer of 1970, the in-creased maximum demand would create a deficit of about 15%.

These deficits could require a curtailment of service to Applicant's cuatomers and would not be in the public interest.

Appendix B hereto sets forth in detail the public interest in having the availability of power production from the Monticello Plant during the summer of 1970

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8. Normal post-hearing procedures, including the filing of propoced findings and conclucions by the parties, the prepara-tion and iscuance of en initial decision by the Board, and the minimum period of time following such initial decision issuance before an order granting the licence could be effective, pre-clude the availability of a license, assuming it is so ordered by the Board, pr'ior to about 50 days following the close of the hearing. If the initiation of fuel loading and low power start-up testing is not permitted until after the conclusion of the hearing and the post-hearing procedures, the availability of power production from the Monticello Plant during the summer of 1970 could be precluded by the hearing process notwithstanding the timely completion of the Monticello Plant.

9 Under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, the AEC ic not required by law to hold a public hearing pricr to the issuance of a facility operating license. In this proceeding.

the AEC, in ite discretion, elected to hold a public hearing "in view of the substantial public interest expressed. " Such public interect, as it is manifested in the intervenors ' state-monts of their contentions, is not directed at conditions per-taining to initial fuel loading and low pc'. er startup tortir. :.

All ef. the cententions of the interver.orr a re oor. ora i.<:<J *ii t %

radioactive or thermal releases or accidents which, in their view, might conceivably occur during power operation.

10. During initial fuel loading and low power startup testing,

! the liquid wacte generated is entirely lou level and will not 1

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be released to the environs pendlug complet.lon of' the Atom.le Safety Licenuing Board's review of intervenors' contentions.

During this same period no radioactive gas will be released through the air-ejector and gland seal off-gas systems since The only po-the main condenser will not be in operation.

tential sources for generation of radioa9tive gases are from minute quantities of " tramp" uranium on the fuel surfaces and possibi, leakage of minute quantities of f1selon products pro-duced in the reactor fuel rods during this phaeo. While fission

" tramp" uranium products may be theoretically released from the and fuel rod leakage, experience during fuel loading of other power reactors indicates that such releases are below the threshold of detection relative to background and are incig-nificant. dimilarly, as described in detail in Appendix A, during the low power startup testing phase following initial fuc1 loading using " clean," i.e. , unused, fuel assemblies in which there is no previoue bui' dup of fission products, there is no risk of any incident causing radiological exposures Based offsite which could require offsite emergency procedures.

on the AEC Regulatory Staff 's Safety Evaluation and tne con-tentions of the intervenors, there are no matters in controversy with respect to the initial fuel loading and low power startup testing program.

11. There is precedent for issuance of an initial fuel loading and low power license as the first part of a two-part issuance l

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• of a provisional operating licence.

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, 12. In view of the fore 6oing, i.e., that there is no matter in controversy with respect to the initial fuel loading and the low power startup testing program; that the public interest would be served if power production from the Monticello Plant could be mnde avaliable for the summer of 1970; and that it is necessary to start tne initial fuel loading and perform the low power etartup testing program early in May if power production from the Monticello Plant is to be available for the summer of 1970, and purauant to Section 2.730 of the Com-mission's " Rules of Practice," Applicant moves the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board without necessarily waiting for the con-clusion of the public hearing which is to begin on' April 28, 1970 to:

(a) Accept as Applicant's evidence in this proceeding:

(1) Applicant's Summary of the Appli-cation for tae Provisional Operat-ing License for the Monticello 2/ Licence 140. DPn-16 authorized operation of the Oyster Creek Huc1 car Power Plant Unit No.1 "at steady state power levels up to a muinum of five megawatts 3hermal and without the reactor vessel head in place. " Docket a. 50-219 Also AEC's Notice of Proposed Issuance of Provisional Operating License for the Dresden 2 facility provided that, "In the event that construction j

has not been completed to permit full power operation, the Com-mission may issue a provisional operating license consistent i

with the level of construction completed to permit initial fuel loading and 1cw power testing prior to the iceuance of the full power license. " 34 Fed. Reg. 17212, Docket No. 50-237.

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s Huclear Generrting Plant No. 1, dated March 19, 1970, (copies of which have been previously trans-mitted to the Board, the Regulatory Staff and the intervenors) under the affidavits of the sponsoring witnesses to be filed by the Applicant within a few days; (ii) Testimony of Mr. G. F. Johnson bear-ing the title " Financial Qualifica-tions of Northern States-Power Com-pany" (copies of which were previous-ly transmitted to the Board and the parties hereto) under the affidavit of Mr. Johnson attached thereto; J

(iii) Appendix A hereto under the affidavits of the sponsoring witnesses to be filed by the Applicant within a few days; (iv) Appendix B hereto under the affidavit of Mr. Glass attached thereto.

(b) Order the Regulatory Staff to promptly introduce f

i into evidence, under appropriate affidavit, the /

Safety Evaluation by the E1 vision of Reactor.

Licensing, doted March 18, 1970, and trancaitted to the Board on March 20, 1970, and the Supple-4

' ment No. 1 thereto dated March 30, 1970 relating to the status of construction completion, or w

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3 such modifications thereof as deemed up-propriate by the Regulatory Staff.

(c) Accept, as evidence in this proceeding, the " Record For Hearing-Correspondence" and the documents referenced therein, as transmitted to the Board by Counsel for the Regulatory Staff on March 27, 1970.

(d) Accept Applicant's Proposed Findings and e

Conclusions relating to an interim initial fuel loading and low power license set forth in Appendix C hereto, and order the other parties to file their proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law, if they so wish, on or before April 24, 1970.

(e) Without prejudice to the Board's considera-tion of the issues in the Motice of Hearing as they relate to a full power provisional operating license, issue an Initial Decision making appropriate findings on the issues specified in the Motice of Hearing and or-dering the issuance of an interim provi-sional operating licenae authorizing initial fuel loading and low power startup testing at power levels up to a maximum of five megawatts thermal and without the reactor vessel head in place, and in all other re-spects, except for Technical Specification 3.7.C., subject to the technical specif-ications contained in Appendix A to the proposed license, upon verification by the Division of Compliance that the l ,

Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, i Unit 1, is complete and ready for initial fuel loading but for the items or portions of the Plant described in Appendix A as l

items which may not be-complete as of May 4 9, 1970.

(f) Provide that the Initial Decision, pursuant to Section 50.57(e) of Title 10 Code of Fed-eral Regulations Part 50, shall become effec-l tive ten (10) days after its issuance subject to (1) the review thereof and further decision by the Atomic Safety and Licensing Appeal Board, upon exceptions filed by any party, and (ii) such order as.the Atomic Safety and Licensing Appeal Board may enter upon such ex-4

' ceptions or upon its own motion within forty-five (45) days after the issuance of such initia'l decision.

4 Respectfully ,';ubmitted,

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SHAW, PITTMAll, POTTS, TROWBRIDGE - & MADDEli ,

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Gerald Charnoff Attorney for Applicant i Northern States Power Company April 12, ,1970 .

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