ML20235E212

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Advises That AEC Issued Licenses Authorizing Operation of Each Unit Up to 20% Rated Power on 720331,following Us District Court Vacation of Injunction
ML20235E212
Person / Time
Site: Quad Cities, 05000000
Issue date: 04/12/1972
From: Brian Lee
COMMONWEALTH EDISON CO.
To: Morris P
US ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION (AEC)
Shared Package
ML20235B311 List: ... further results
References
FOIA-87-111 NUDOCS 8709280022
Download: ML20235E212 (4)
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Commonwealth Edison Company

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Dr. Peter A. Morris, Director

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Dear Dr. Morris:

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On October 12, 1971 Commonwea son company and l t lowa-Illinois Gas and Electric Company requested (a) Authorization -

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..' to load fuel in Quad-Cities Unit 2, and (b) authorization to conduct all necessary testing for Quad-cities Units 1 and 2 and authority to operate the units until March 15, 1972 up to an aggregate level )

( of 809 MW pursuant to Paragraph D(3) of Appendix D. This authorization was never granted because of an injunction issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in the case of People of the State of Illinois, et al v. Schlesinger, et al (Civil Action #2208-71) prohibiting the AEC from granting any interim operating license to the station. That injunction has now been vacated and on March 31, 1972 the AEC issued licenses authorizing operation of each unit up to 20% of rated power.

The memorandum accompanying our October 12, 1971 request

. and the Environmental Report including Supplements outline in detail the reasons why operation in excess of that authorized is
necessary to avoid a most serious power shortage for the entire l State of Iowa and much of northern Illinois during the summer of I 1972. Since October, both Commonwealth Edison and Iowa-Illinois n have arranged to purchase emergency power to improve their reserves for the summer of 1972 as outlined in the attached letter to

." ; i Mr. Schlesinger of February 18, 1972. However, even with these

, purchases, the reserves available are still inadequate.

N Previous submittals were based on completion of a diffuser l system for discharge of condenser cooling water prior to the summer 3 of 1972. Denial of the necessary permits by various Iowa agencies has caused a delay in its installation. Commonwealth Edison Company

- and Iowa-Illinois Gas and Electric Campany have now agreed to the 4 installation of a closed cycle cooling system for both units at Quad-cities Station. The last permit needed from the Iowa agencies

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Was 8709200022 870921 PDR FOIA

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'Dr. Peter A'. Morris April 12, 1972-for' construction of the diffuser system and its-use during emergencies 1thereafter was granted.by the Iowa' Conservation

' Commission on April 4, 1972. A construction permit from the

[L U.S. Corps' of. Engineers is expected ' shortly and construction should begin.within-the month. If construction _.can begin in April 1972, completion of the diffuser _ system is expected in ,

' August'1972.. Completion of the closed cycle system is expected Lby May 1975.

These delays in testing the unit and in construction of the diffuser now require, if. the units are to be made operable to meet critical needs during the 1972 summer pricr to the. completion of the diffuser system, that the_ units be tested even though_the u cooling-water discharge will result in temperature in excess of-5 F"over. ambient for distances beyond1600 feet of the discharge and.hence will not meet the mixing zone limitation of the

- Mississippi Thermal Sta'ndards of the State of Illinois. A variance _ for operation outside these standards had been granted -

by;the Illinois Pollution Control' Board through April l', 1972. A request-for a further variance was submitted to the Illinoic-Pollution Control Board on March 1,1972 for operation similar to l that outlined below, authorization R> r which is requested herein.

An1 Illinois. Pollution Control Board hearing on this matter was held on April 6, 1972. Possible short-term but reversible adverse environ-mental effects may occur from operation this summer while the diffuser is being installed. Exhibit 3, attached, is an 'e valuation f of'these effects prepared by our biological consultants.

Pursuant to Paragraph D(3) of Appendix D, Commonwealth Edison Company and Iowa-Illinois Gas and Electric Company request authority to complete all necessary testing of each unit up to its full power rating, but to do so without at any time operating the two units at an aggregate power level in excess of one-half of their combined capacity. Applicants also request authorization to operate the station after testing is completed until September 15, 1972 (the anticipated end of.the summer peak electrical load period) in the following manner:

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a. Upon conpletion of the power test program, to operate at power i levels up to 200 MWe for each unit. .This minimum level is required to avoid damage to the turbine - from operation for extended periods at levels below 200 MWer l

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' Commonwealth Edison Compa..y i

'Dr. Peter A. Morris April 12, 1972 b.. To operate above 200 MWe, but not more than 500 MWe for each unit, only on those days in which, in the judgment of the system load dispatchers, total demand is likely to exceed available capacity unless the Quad-cities Station capacity is j greater than 400 MWe even if all available emergency power  ;

were, purchased. Such operation can be expected on days when I the air temperature exceeds 900F or unusual outages are experienced; and

c. To operate at power levels above 500 MWe only when in the judgment of the system load dispatchers, capacity in excess of that amount will be required to meet demands. Operation above 500 MWe is not expected to occur for more than eight hours in any 24-hour period.

Unless Quad-cities Station is in operation, neither of the applicants will have capacity available to it sufficient to meet the projected 1972 summor peak load. In the case of Iowa-Illinois, the deficiency will exist even if every unit it owns is in service during.the peak period. In-the case of Commonwealth Edison Company, the deficiency will exist because it is likely that equipment outages during the summer will approach the aggregate outages which occurred during the summer of 1971 and significantly exceed the reserve capacity available to cover such outages.

1 Various exhibits are attached as supplemental information to assist in evaluating the impact of this request. The harm which l will resul,t from involuntary interruption of electrical supply so far outweighs the potential of injury to the biota, that it is arbitrary and unreasonable not to allow operation of the station in accordance with the proposal outlined above. .

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Commonwealth Edison Compai.,

f' Dr. Peter A. Morris April 12, 1972 In addition to three signed originals and 19 copies of this letter, 40 copies of the~ attachments are also submitted.

Very truly yours, 0 '

AcT\ T Byron Lee, Jr. b-Assistant to the President

'i SUBSCRIBED and SW to ff'*P42F'

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Notary Public 1

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