ML21160A148

Acceptance of Requested Licensing Actions License Amendment and Regulatory Exemptions for a Risk Informed Approach to Address Generic Safety Issue 191 and Respond to Generic Letter 2004-02

ML21160A148
Person / Time
Site:	Callaway
Issue date:	06/10/2021
From:	Mahesh Chawla Plant Licensing Branch IV
To:	Diya F Union Electric Co
Chawla M
References
EPID L-2021-LLA-0059, EPID L-2021-LLE-0021
Download: ML21160A148 (3)

Text

June 10, 2021 Mr. Fadi Diya Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer Ameren Missouri Callaway Energy Center 8315 County Road 459 Steedman, MO 65077

SUBJECT:

CALLAWAY PLANT, UNIT NO. 1 - ACCEPTANCE OF REQUESTED LICENSING ACTIONS RE: LICENSE AMENDMENT AND REGULATORY EXEMPTIONS FOR A RISK-INFORMED APPROACH TO ADDRESS GENERIC SAFETY ISSUE-191 AND RESPOND TO GENERIC LETTER 2004-02 (EPID L-2021-LLA-0059 AND EPID L-2021-LLE-0021)

Dear Mr. Diya:

By letter dated March 31, 2021 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML21090A184), Union Electric Company, dba Ameren Missouri (the licensee), pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Section 50.90, Application for amendment of license, construction permit, or early site permit, requested an amendment for the licensees final resolution to addressing the concerns of Generic Safety Issue (GSI)-191, Assessment of Debris Accumulation on PWR [Pressurized-Water Reactor]

Sump Performance, and for responding to Generic Letter 2004-02, Potential Impact of Debris Blockage on Emergency Recirculation During Design Basis Accidents at Pressurized-Water Reactors. Additionally, in accordance with the provisions of 10 CFR 50.12, Specific exemptions, the licensee requested exemptions from certain requirements of 10 CFR 50.46(a)(1), and Appendix A, General Design Criteria for Nuclear Power Plants, to 10 CFR Part 50, specifically General Design Criterion (GDC) 35, Emergency core cooling, GDC 38, Containment heat removal, and GDC 41, Containment atmosphere cleanup.

By letter dated May 11, 2021 (ADAMS Accession No. ML21130A588), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff provided the results of the acceptance review as Unacceptable with Opportunity to Supplement, and included the request for supplemental information. In order to make the license amendment and regulatory exemptions application complete, the NRC staff requested that the licensee supplement the application to address the information requested in the enclosure of the letter by May 27, 2021, to enable the NRC staff to begin its detailed technical review. By letter dated May 27, 2021 (ADAMS Accession No. ML21147A222), the licensee submitted the requested supplemental information.

The purpose of this letter is to provide the results of the NRC staffs acceptance review of this amendment request and regulatory exemptions. The acceptance review was performed to determine if there is sufficient technical information in scope and depth to allow the NRC staff to complete its detailed technical review. The acceptance review is also intended to identify whether the application has any readily apparent information insufficiencies in its characterization of the regulatory requirements or the licensing basis of the plant.

Consistent with 10 CFR 50.90, an application for an amendment to a license (including the technical specifications) must fully describe the changes requested, and following, as applicable, the form prescribed for original applications. Section 50.34 of 10 CFR addresses the content of technical information required. This section stipulates that the submittal address the design and operating characteristics, unusual or novel design features, and principal safety considerations.

Consistent with 10 CFR 50.12, the Commission may, upon application by any interested person or upon its own initiative, grant exemptions from the requirements of the regulations of this part, which are authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to the public health and safety, and are consistent with the common defense, and security. The Commission will not consider granting an exemption unless special circumstances are present, as specified in Section 50.12(a)(2).

The NRC staff has reviewed your application and the supplemental information, and concluded that it does provide technical information in sufficient detail to enable the NRC staff to complete its detailed technical review and make an independent assessment regarding the acceptability of the proposed amendment in terms of regulatory requirements and the protection of public health and safety and the environment. Given the lesser scope and depth of the acceptance review as compared to the detailed technical review, there may be instances in which issues that impact the NRC staffs ability to complete the detailed technical review are identified despite completion of an adequate acceptance review. You will be advised of any further information needed to support the NRC staffs detailed technical review by separate correspondence.

Based on the information provided in your submittal and discussions during the pre-licensing meeting on September 12, 2019 (meeting summary dated October 16, 2019 (ADAMS Accession No. ML19268A977)), the NRC staff has estimated that this licensing request will take approximately 1320 hours0.0153 days <br />0.367 hours <br />0.00218 weeks <br />5.0226e-4 months <br /> for the license amendment request and 300 hours0.00347 days <br />0.0833 hours <br />4.960317e-4 weeks <br />1.1415e-4 months <br /> for the exemptions to complete. The NRC staff expects to complete this review in approximately 15 months, which is September 30, 2022. These estimates are based on the NRC staffs initial review of the application, and they could change due to several factors including requests for additional information, unanticipated addition of scope to the review, and review by NRC advisory committees or hearing-related activities. Any significant changes in the forecasted hours and/or the forecasted completion date, the reasons for the changes, along with the new estimates, will be communicated during the routine interactions with the assigned project manager.

If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact me at 301-415-8371 or via e-mail at Mahesh.Chawla@nrc.gov.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Mahesh L. Chawla, Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch IV Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-483 cc: Listserv

ML21160A148

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