ML21228A068

Request for Additional Information Related to the ISFSI-Only Emergency Plan

ML21228A068
Person / Time
Site:	La Crosse, 07200042  File:Dairyland Power Cooperative icon.png
Issue date:	09/02/2021
From:	Marlayna Vaaler Doell Reactor Decommissioning Branch
To:	Ridge B Dairyland Power Cooperative
Doell M
References
EPID L-2021-LLA-0063
Download: ML21228A068 (10)

Text

September 2, 2021 Mr. Brent Ridge President and Chief Executive Officer Dairyland Power Cooperative 3200 East Avenue South P.O. Box 817 La Crosse, WI 54602-0817

SUBJECT:

LA CROSSE BOILING WATER REACTOR - REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION RELATED TO A LICENSE AMENDMENT REQUEST TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE ISFSI EMERGENCY PLAN (EPID L-2021-LLA-0063)

Dear Mr. Ridge:

By letter dated March 8, 2021, Dairyland Power Cooperative (DPC, the licensee) submitted a license amendment pertaining to the La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor (LACBWR) Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) Emergency Plan (E-Plan). Specifically, DPC is requesting revision of the ISFSI E-Plan to adopt changes implemented by NAC Internationals Multi-Purpose Canister System (NAC-MPC) Amendment No. 7 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) 1025 for LACBWR, and the NAC-MPC Final Safety Analysis Report, Revision 12, which removes the requirement for Post Event ISFSI Surveillance.

The proposed revisions would also: (1) enhance the ISFSI Emergency Action Levels by providing the ability to classify an emergency in an effective and timely manner without entering the ISFSI protected area, and (2) make several other changes to the LACBWR ISFSI E-Plan that require prior U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approval, including the requirements for performance of a medical drill.

The NRC staff has reviewed the subject submittal and determined that additional information is needed to complete its review, as described in the enclosed Request for Additional Information (RAI). The requested information was discussed with DPC during a teleconference with NRC staff on September 2, 2021. In order to continue the review of the proposed changes to the LACBWR ISFSI E-Plan, please respond to this request for additional information within 60 days.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRCs Agency Rules of Practice and Procedure, a copy of this letter will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records component of Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.

B. Ridge If you have any questions regarding this request or the ongoing ISFSI E-Plan review, please contact me at (301) 415-3178 or via e-mail at marlayna.doell@nrc.gov.

Sincerely, Signed by Doell, Marlayna on 09/02/21 Marlayna V. Doell, Project Manager Reactor Decommissioning Branch Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste Programs Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Docket Nos.: 50-409 and 72-046 License No.: DPR-45

Enclosure:

Request for Additional Information cc w/enclosure: La Crosse Listserv

REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION RELATED TO A PROPOSED LICENSE AMENDMENT TO POSSESSION ONLY LICENSE NO. DPR-45 CHANGES TO THE EMERGENCY PLANNING REQUIREMENTS DAIRYLAND POWER COOPERATIVE LA CROSSE BOILING WATER REACTOR DOCKET NOS. 50-409 AND 72-046 By application dated March 8, 2021 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML21105A031), Dairyland Power Cooperative (DPC) requested approval by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) of a license amendment request (LAR) for proposed changes to the La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation Facility (LACBWR ISFSI) Emergency Plan (E-Plan).

Specifically, DPC requested revision of the ISFSI E-Plan to adopt changes implemented by NAC Internationals Multi-Purpose Canister System (NAC-MPC) Amendment No. 7 to the Part 72, Licensing Requirements for the Independent Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High-Level Radioactive Waste and Reactor-Related Greater than Class C Waste, of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Certificate of Compliance (CoC) 1025 for LACBWR, and the NAC-MPC Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR), Revision 12, which removes the requirement for Post Event ISFSI Surveillance. The proposed revisions would also: (1) enhance the ISFSI Emergency Action Levels by providing the ability to classify an emergency in an effective and timely manner without entering the ISFSI protected area, and (2) make several other changes to the LACBWR ISFSI E-Plan that require prior NRC approval, including the requirements for performance of a medical drill.

The following are requests for additional information (RAIs) to facilitate the technical review of the proposed LACBWR ISFSI E-Plan changes being conducted by the NRCs Division of Preparedness and Response, Reactor Licensing Branch staff. Timely and accurate response to these RAIs is requested in order to continue the staffs review of the DPC LAR.

RAI-1

Regulations The regulation at 10 CFR 50.47(b)(14) states, in part, that periodic drills are (will be) conducted to develop and maintain key skills, and deficiencies identified as a result of exercises or drills are (will be) corrected.

Enclosure

The regulations in 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix E, Emergency Planning and Preparedness for Production and Utilization Facilities,Section IV.F.1, Training, state, in part:

The program to provide for: (a) The training of employees and exercising, by periodic drills, of emergency plans to ensure that employees of the licensee are familiar with their specific emergency response duties, and (b) The participation in the training and drills by other persons whose assistance may be needed in the event of a radiological emergency shall be described. This shall include a description of specialized initial training and periodic retraining programs to be provided to each of the following categories of emergency personnel:

i. Directors and/or coordinators of the plant emergency organization; ii. Personnel responsible for accident assessment, including control room shift personnel; iii. Radiological monitoring teams; iv. Fire control teams (fire brigades);

v. Repair and damage control teams; vi. First aid and rescue teams; vii. Medical support personnel; viii. Licensees headquarters support personnel; ix. Security personnel.

[emphasis added]

Guidance In its application, DPC referenced guidance document NUREG-0654/FEMA-REP-1, Criteria for Preparation and Evaluation of Radiological Emergency Response Plans and Preparedness in Support of Nuclear Power Plants, Revision 1. Section N.2.c, Medical Emergency Drills, of NUREG-0654/FEMA-REP-1 states:

A medical emergency drill involving a simulated contaminated individual which contains provisions for participation by the local support services agencies (i.e.,

ambulance and offsite medical treatment facility) shall be conducted annually.

The offsite portions of the medical drill may be performed as part of the required annual exercise.

The NRC staff used guidance document NSIR/DPR-ISG-2, Emergency Planning Exemption Requests for Decommissioning Nuclear Power Plants, to evaluate the proposed changes to the LACBWR ISFSI E-Plan, which also requires the above criteria for decommissioned reactors.

Issue , Description and Evaluation of Changes, of the DPC LAR proposes to eliminate the annual frequency of the LACBWR ISFSI Contaminated Medical Emergency drill and use the Gundersen Health Systems drill program and schedule to determine the occurrence of this drill.

The licensee noted, in part:

Maintaining the Contaminated Medical Emergency annual frequency, especially in the LACBWR ISFSl-only/risk condition, places a false priority and circumvents the 42 CFR 482.15 community-based all-hazards regulations for the hospital.

The ambulance service is under different regulations (primarily state regulations) but serves the same demographic and has similar community-based risk and priority profile.

and The E-plan proposal will eliminate the annual frequency and base the drill frequency on Gundersen Health System's community-based risk assessment and the all-hazards approach. The proposed E-plan change was discussed with the Offsite Response Organization (ORO) (Gundersen Health System and Tri-State Ambulance) and their concurrence is documented in Enclosure #4.

and This proposed change removes only the annual frequency of the Contaminated Medical Emergency; the proposed E-plan revision retains all other previous ORO arrangements including training offered annually, participation in drills and prearrangements documented in Letters of Agreement.

The periodic occurrence of drills is required by NRC regulations for the LACBWR ISFSI, and the responsibility for implementation of these drills lies with the licensee. The proposal by DPC in the LAR appears to shift responsibility for this drill to the Gundersen Health System, in addition to eliminating the annual frequency. Further, the purpose of performing periodic drills is to ensure that the facility staff at the LACBWR ISFSI have an opportunity to enhance skills and knowledge of the practical implementation of the Emergency Plan and demonstrate the adequacy of emergency facilities, equipment, and implementing procedures.

Request

1) Please describe how the licensee will continue to meet the intent of the medical drill required by the regulations at 10 CFR 50.47(b)(14) and 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix E, Section IV.F.1.

Specifically:

a. How will the LACBWR ISFSI emergency response organization (ERO) practice and maintain key skills associated with a Contaminated Medical Emergency on an annual basis?

b. How will LACBWR ISFSI personnel identify and correct any deficiencies associated with the Contaminated Medical Emergency drill?

c. How will the LACBWR ISFSI continue to meet the above-mentioned regulations if Gundersen Health System is unable to fulfill completion of the Contaminated Medical Drill?

2) Please describe any outreach conducted with the State of Wisconsin to ensure their awareness of, and concurrence with, this change.

RAI-2

Regulation The regulation at 10 CFR 50.47(b)(2) states:

On-shift facility licensee responsibilities for emergency response are unambiguously defined, adequate staffing to provide initial facility accident response in key functional areas is maintained at all times, timely augmentation of response capabilities is available, and the interfaces among various onsite response activities and offsite support and response activities are specified.

Issue Section 2.1, NAC-MPC CoC / FSAR Proposed Change, of Enclosure 1 of the DPC LAR states, in part, that the LACBWR ISFSI has adopted NAC-MPC Amendment No. 7 to the CoC, as well as NAC-MPC FSAR Revision 12. By adopting the revised NAC-MPC documents, which have been previously approved by the NRC, the LACBWR ISFSI is no longer required per the ISFSI Technical Specifications to perform a Post Event ISFSI Surveillance within 4 hours4.62963e-5 days <br />0.00111 hours <br />6.613757e-6 weeks <br />1.522e-6 months <br />.

In addition, Section 2.4, Additional NRC Approval Proposed Changes, of Enclosure 1 of the DPC LAR states, in part:

50.54(q)(4) - The NAC-MPC Amendment No. 7 to the Certificate of Compliance (CoC) and NAC-MPC FSAR Revision 12 are approved and accepted for the LACBWR ISFSI under separate NRC processes. Monitoring ISFSI post event radiological conditions still remains a function of the E-plan in Section 5.4. Refer to the above for additional information.

However, Section 5.4.1, Radiological Monitoring, of Enclosure 2, LACBWR ISFSI Emergency Plan, Revision 40, of the DPC LAR states, in part:

With declaration of an ALERT due to increased ISFSI dose rates, comprehensive radiological surveys of the ISFSI pad area and VCCs [vertical concrete casks]

will be performed to determine the actual extent of the radiological concern.

Additional Information By letter dated March 26, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15085A562), the NRC issued LACBWR an inspection report containing several apparent violations of NRC regulations. One non-cited violation (NCV) was proposed related to the licensee needing to have an adequate program in place to ensure augmentation of emergency response capabilities was available to implement Emergency Plan actions required by 10 CFR 50.47(b)(2).

Specifically, the LACBWR NCV stated, in part:

Additionally, the revision eliminated the Alert classification, reduced the frequency of emergency exercises from annually to biennially, and eliminated 1 hour1.157407e-5 days <br />2.777778e-4 hours <br />1.653439e-6 weeks <br />3.805e-7 months <br /> staff augmentations requirements. [emphasis added]

In a response letter dated April 21, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15128A267), the licensee requested that this NCV be dismissed. In this request, the licensee noted, in part, that it had conducted a review of its event response call-out processes and would be making the following process improvements:

The process for developing and maintaining an RPT [Radiation Protection Technician]

crew to perform an ISFSI Event Response Surveillance is being incorporated into EPP-20.04 and includes the development of a separate Training Instruction.

Formally enlist, train, and qualify members for an ISFSI Event Response Surveillance crew. This entails a work contract, and an On-Call schedule.

Establish and maintain an On-Call Emergency list of eligible RPTs capable of responding to an emergency at the LACBWR ISFSI and completing an ISFSI Event Response Surveillance within 4 hours4.62963e-5 days <br />0.00111 hours <br />6.613757e-6 weeks <br />1.522e-6 months <br />.

By letter dated July 24, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15209A915), the NRC withdrew the related LACBWR NCV, noting:

Specifically, the inspection report cited the licensee against Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 50.54(q) which states, in part, a holder of a license under this part shall follow and maintain the effectiveness of an emergency plan that meets the requirements in appendix E of this part.... The inspection report referred to the portion of the La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor (LACBWR) Emergency Plan, Revision 34, Section 3.3, which states, A Response Surveillance is required following off-normal, accident or natural phenomena events. The NAC-MPC Systems in use at an independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) shall be inspected within 4 hours4.62963e-5 days <br />0.00111 hours <br />6.613757e-6 weeks <br />1.522e-6 months <br /> after the occurrence of an off-normal, accident or natural phenomena event in the area of the ISFSI.

Following a natural phenomenon event, the ISFSI shall be inspected to determine if movement or damage to the CONCRETE CASKS has resulted in unacceptable site boundary dose rates.

After further review, our decision to withdraw the violation was based on the following: site procedure EPP-20.03, ISFSI Communications System, Attachment 2, ISFSI Emergency Phone List, contains four radiation protection technicians designated to respond and to conduct the actions stated in the Emergency Plan; your staff conducts a monthly call-out test to ensure they can contact these individuals; and, recent call-out tests have been successful. This procedure was found to be an acceptable mechanism to ensure staff can respond in accordance with the licensees Emergency Plan. Your staff also entered this issue into your corrective action program as CAR 2014-025 to make improvements to your current process. [emphasis added]

The letter further states:

Notwithstanding this decision, the NRC places a high importance on emergency response to a facility in a timely manner. It is our understanding that this issue on staffing is in your corrective action program with actions assigned to make improvements to the facilitys call-out process in order to provide additional assurance that staff will respond to the site when called upon. [emphasis added]

Request Given that the NRC withdrawal of the 2015 LACBWR NCV for elimination of the 1 hour1.157407e-5 days <br />2.777778e-4 hours <br />1.653439e-6 weeks <br />3.805e-7 months <br /> augmentation requirements was based on the processes, procedures, and ability of the LACBWR ISFSI to augment its ERO to conduct Post Event ISFSI Surveillance within 4 hours4.62963e-5 days <br />0.00111 hours <br />6.613757e-6 weeks <br />1.522e-6 months <br />, please describe how the LACBWR ISFSI will continue to maintain the capability to adequately augment its ERO to perform post event radiological monitoring within 4 hours4.62963e-5 days <br />0.00111 hours <br />6.613757e-6 weeks <br />1.522e-6 months <br /> of an event that potentially affects the ISFSI confinement boundary.

RAI-3

Regulation The regulation at 10 CFR 50.47(b)(2) states:

On-shift facility licensee responsibilities for emergency response are unambiguously defined, adequate staffing to provide initial facility accident response in key functional areas is maintained at all times, timely augmentation of response capabilities is available and the interfaces among various onsite response activities and offsite support and response activities are specified.

Issue The table providing a description of changes in Enclosure 2 of the DPC LAR states, in part:

List La Crosse Hazmat Team - the Hazmat Team will be providing trained radiological individuals that will respond to assist with radiological surveys and assessment.

50.54(q)(3) - DPC will enter into and maintain a Letter of Agreement with the Hazmat Team to provide assistance in radiological monitoring.

However, Section 7.2.2, Augmented Organization, of Enclosure 2 states, in part:

On-shift ISFSI personnel can implement the Emergency Plan without assistance from others. Additional personnel may be called in at the discretion of the SSS/ERD [Security Shift Supervisor / Emergency Response Director] to augment the on-shift organization. They may provide support to the SSS/ERD to assess radiological conditions, support maintenance and repair activities, develop plans to implement corrective actions, and assist with recovery actions. [emphasis added]

Request Please explain if it is the intent of DPC to use the Hazmat Team to perform post event radiological monitoring for an event that potentially affects the ISFSI confinement boundary, recognizing there may be competing priorities assigned to the offsite response organizations for this type of event. If the intent is to use the Hazmat Team to perform post event radiological monitoring, what will be the timeframe in which this will be conducted?

Ltr ML21228A068

• via email NMSS/DUWP NMSS/DUWP OFFICE OEDO* NMSS/DUWP/RDB

/LLWPB /LLWPB NAME MDoell MD JQuichocho JQ BWatson BW MDoell MD DATE Sep 2, 2021 Sep 2, 2021 Sep 2, 2021 Sep 2, 2021