ML20149D727

Requests Establishment of Two Hold Points During Heatup & Approach to Criticality & That All Prerequisites for Proceeding Beyond Each Hold Point Completed.Nrc Endorsement of Restart Depends on Listed Items

ML20149D727
Person / Time
Site:	Rancho Seco
Issue date:	01/20/1988
From:	Martin J NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION V)
To:	Andognini G SACRAMENTO MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT
References
NUDOCS 8802090612
Download: ML20149D727 (3)

Text

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• - ,4 JAN 2 01988 Docket No. 50-312 Mr. G. Carl Andognini Chief Executive Officer, Nuclear Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station 14440 Twin Cities Road Herald, California 95638-9799

SUBJECT:

RANCHO SEC0 RESTART In your presentation to the Comission on November 11, 1987 and in subsequent comunications with the NRC staff, you projected that prerequisites for restarting the Rancho Seco reactor would be completed in early 1988 and assuming Commission approval, you intended to resume commercial operation at the Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station. In preparation for the projected restart, this letter outlines the expected interaction between SMUD and the NRC during the restart process. Additionallys completion of the steps outlined in this letter, together with resolution of inspection findings and your response to issues addressed in the restart safety evaluation report (SER), will serve to satisfy the confirmatory actions listed in the December 26, 1985 Confirmatory ,

Action Letters from the NRC Region Y Administrator to Mr. R. S. Rodriguez of SHUD.

To ensure an appropriate degree of senior management involvement in all activities leading to reactor criticality, we request that you establish two hold points during heatup and approach to criticality to enable senior SHUD management to review plant status, and to c:refully evaluate whether the startup process should continue past the hold point. We request the Rancho Seco Chief Executive Officer, Nuclear (CEON) to certify in lettors addressed to the NRC Region V Administrator that all prerequisites for proceeding beyond each hold point have been completed.

The first hold point should occur prior to continuing the heatup beyond 200'F (exitingcoldshutdown). The second hold point should be identified as the -

point prior to increasing reactivity to bring the reactor critical. At each of these hold points, we request that the CEON certify the following:

Technical Specification (TS) and procedural prerequisites for continuing the startup beyond the hold point have been complet<;d. -

Procedures needed for continuing the startup beyond the hold point are available and operators are trained in their use.  ;

Plant staffing meets TS and procedural requirements.

There has been management comittee (PRC and MSRC) review and approval to continue the startup beyond the hold point.

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G. C. Andognini The Technical Specifications required to proceed beyond the first hold point include those new or revised Technical Specifications associated with emergency diesel generators (EDG), electrical distribution system (EDS), emergency feed-water initiation control (EFIC) system and essential heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) for control room and technical support center.

The date for the restart Comission meeting will be established when there is reasonable assurance that all restart prerequisites will be completed prior to that date. The meeting will provide the Comissioners the opportunity to hear -

the restart readiness assessments from SMUD and from the NRC staff. The decision whether or not to permit restart of Rancho Seco will be made by the Comission. ,

The NRC staff's assessment of whether Rancho Seco is ready to restart will be based, in a large part, on the results of the operational readiness inspection t and on the outcome of regional inspections aimed at closing out restart issues i identified in previously issued inspection reports. Additionally, a staff '

restart endorsement would depend upon the specific ite a, listed below.

1. All open issues identified in the restart SER, NUREG-1286, must have been resolved.

2. The TS upgrade package (your proposed amendment 164) must have been issued.

3. The TS related to the hydrogen recombiners (your proposed amendment  ;

158) must have been issued.

4. The new administrative / organization TS (your proposed amendment 138) must have been issued.

5. Procedures will be established and implemented to assure the provisions of PA 155, the revised Offsite Dose Calculation Manual ,

and the Radiological Environmental Monitoring Program will be carried out upon restart of the facility.

6. SMUD must have submitted a proposed TS related to the safety parameter display system. t

7. SMUD must have submitted the Rancho Seco Power Ascension Program for NRC review.

Assuming a favorable restart decision by the Comission and a favorable finding by the NRC Region V Administrator after review of the letter from the SMUD CEON certifying that the plant has completed all prerequisites for criticality l (the second hold point) with confirmation of restart readiness by onsite NRC inspectors, the Directcr of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation will issue a restart authorization letter to SMUD. Before restart, the NRC regional i office will establish an onsite power ascension monitoring program which may  ;

include additional hold points during the power ascension phase of the restart. l Sincerely,  !

l John B. Martir., Regional Administrator i

Region Y

! **Previously concurred .

l PDV:PM** D:PDV:DRSP** AD:DRSP** D:DRSP**(GH) ADP** D:0hRR**

GKALMAN:mk GKNIGHTON GHOLAHAN DCRUTCHFIELD FMIRAGLIA TMURLEY 12/15/87 12/15/87 12/23/87 12/23/87 12/30/87 01/11/88 l

• CONCURRED BY TELEFAX 12/14/87 to REGION Y  !

LMiller* RZimerman* DKirsch* DFaulkenberry* RScarano JMartin JTaylor***  !

l ***Previously reviewed i DRSP/PDV  :

RBevan

, 1/ /88

• e .

DISTRIBUTION CEhTRAL FILE PD V READ. FILE GKALMAN GKNIGHTON LMILLER,RV RZIVJ4ERMAN,RY DKIRSCH,RV DFAULKENBERRY,RV GhtLAHAN DCRUTCHFIELD, Hi!RAGLIA TMURLEY

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