ML22080A274
| ML22080A274 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Peach Bottom  |
| Issue date: | 03/21/2022 |
| From: | Roth D NRC/OGC |
| To: | NRC/OCM |
| SECY RAS | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML22080A273 | List: |
| References | |
| 50-277-SLR, 50-278-SLR, ASLBP 19-960-01-SLR-BD01, RAS 56370 | |
| Download: ML22080A274 (12) | |
Text
March,
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
BEFORE THE COMMISSION
In the Matter of
CONSTELLATION ENERGY GENERATION, Docket Nos. - -SLR LLC - -SLR (F/K/A EXELON GENERATION CO, LLC)
(Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and 3)
NRC STAFF VIEWS ON THE PRACTICAL EFFECTS OF (1) THE SUBSEQUENT RENEWED LICENSES CONTINUING IN PLACE AND (2) THE PREVIOUS LICENSES BEING REINSTATED
INTRODUCTION
Pursuant to the Commissions direction in Exelon Generation Co., LLC, the NRC Staff
(Staff) hereby provides its views on the practical effects of ( ) the subsequent renewed licenses
continuing in place and ( ) the previous licenses being reinstated. 1
BACKGROUND
On March,, the NRC issued Subsequent Renewed Facility Operating Licenses
(SLR licenses) Nos. DPR-and DPR-for Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units and
, respectively.2 As issued,3 the SLR licenses expire at midnight on August,, and
1 Exelon Generation Co., LLC (Peach Bottom Units and ), CLI- -, NRC __ (Feb., ) (slip op.) (ADAMS Accession No. ML A ).
2 Exelon Generation Company, LLC and PSEG Nuclear, LLC Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units and ; Subsequent renewed licenses and record of decision; issuance, Fed. Reg.,
(Mar., ).
3 In CLI- -, the Commission directed the Staff to modify the expiration dates to midnight August,
, and midnight July,, respectively, to match the end dates of the superseded licenses. Peach Bottom, CLI- -, NRC __, __ (slip op. at - ).
midnight on July 2, 2054. 4 The SLR licenses superseded5 Renewed License (LR licenses)
Nos. DPR-and DPR-that would have expired at midnight August,, and midnight
July,.6
Since issuance on March,, the Peach Bottom SLR licenses have been amended 7
as shown in the table below:
Amendment Nos. Title and Description Date Accession No.
(U )/ (U ) Issuance of Amendments to Delete / / ML A License Conditions for Decommissioning Trusts (EPID L-
-LLA- ): Deletes certain license conditions that specify requirements for decommissioning trust agreements and deletes some obsolete license conditions associated with completed license transfers.
(U )/ (U ) Issuance of Amendments to Revise // ML A Reactor Coolant Leakage Requirements (EPID L- -LLA-
): Revises the reactor coolant leakage requirements in the technical specifications.
4 After issuance, licenses can be amended. The latest versions of the licenses are available at static (i.e.,
unchanging) ADAMS accession numbers. See Peach Bottom Unit Subsequent Renewed Facility Operating License, DPR- (ML ) (Peach Bottom Unit SLR); Peach Bottom Unit Subsequent Renewed Facility Operating License, DPR- (ML ) (Peach Bottom Unit SLR).
These files are updated in a reasonable period after amendments to the licenses are issued.
5 C.F.R. §.(c) (stating A renewed license will become effective immediately upon its issuance, thereby superseding the operating license... previously in effect. If a renewed license is subsequently set aside upon further administrative or judicial appeal, the operating license... previously in effect will be reinstated[.]).
6 See attached LR licenses.
7 The NRC elected not to re-start the amendment numbers at upon issuance of a renewed license to a power reactor. Cf., NRR, NRC, License Amendment Review Procedures, NRR Office Instruction LIC-,
App. C Guide for Processing License Amendments For Non-Power Production and Utilization Facilities, Revision, at (July ) (ML C ):
Reissuance is in the form of a new license, not an amendment to the license (although the license number is retained). Because it is a new license, reissuance of the license replaced all past amendments to the license. However, a decision was made to continue to number amendments to the reissued license in order and not restart numbering at Amendment No..
Amendment Nos. Title and Description Date Accession No.
(U )/ (U ) Issuance of Amendments Revising // ML G Instrument Testing and Calibration Definitions (EPID L-2019-LLA-0131): Revises the instrument testing and calibration definitions in the technical specifications for the facility to incorporate the surveillance frequency control program.
(U )/ (U ) Issuance of Amendments Related //
to Order Approving Transfer of ML B Licenses (EPID L- -LLM- ):
License Transfer (U )/ (U ) Issuance of Amendments Revising / / ML H the High Radiation Area Administrative Controls (EPID L-2019-LLA-0133 and L-2019-LLA-0134): Revises the technical specification to establish standard language across the fleet for high radiation area administrative controls (U )/ (U ) Issuance of Amendments Based on // MLL Technical Specifications Task Force Traveler TSTF-427, Allowance for Non-Technical Specification Barrier Degradation on Supported System Operability, Revision 2 (EPID L-2019-LLA-0132): Revises the requirements related to the unavailability of barriers in the technical specifications for each facility.
(U )/ (U ) Issuance of Amendments to Adopt / / MLA Technical Specifications Task Force Traveler TSTF- (EPID L- -
LLA- ): Clarifies the Applicability statements and removes the undefined term scheduled plant shutdown and provide adequate terminal actions.
(U )/ (U ) Change To Technical Specification // ML A 5.5.7, Ventilation Filter Testing Program (EPID L-2021-LLA-0078):
Revises the frequency of the ventilation filter testing program for certain testing requirements from months to months.
Amendment Nos. Title and Description Date Accession No.
(U )/(U ) Adoption of TSTF-505, Revision 2, // ML A Provide Risk-Informed Extended Completion Times - RITSTF Initiative 4B (EPID L-2020-LLA-0120): Revises technical specification requirements to permit the use of risk-informed completion times for actions to be taken when limiting conditions for operation are not met.
The exemption shown in the table below has been granted for Peach Bottom Units and
after the issuance of the SLR licenses on March,.8
Title Date Accession Number
Exemption from Specific Requirements of // ML A CFR Part (EPID L- -LLE-
[Covid-])
DISCUSSION
To determine the practical effects of the two options, the NRC Staff considered the set of
NRC requirements and written commitments for ensuring compliance with and operation within
applicable NRC requirements and the plant-specific design basis, i.e., the Current Licensing
Basis (CLB), how the CLB changed upon issuance of the SLR licenses, and how the CLB has
changed since that time. 9 The CLB changed when the SLR licenses superseded the LR
8 COVID-Related Request for Exemption from Part Work Hours Requirements, was submitted on September, (ML A). This exemption was granted on October,. Exemption from Specific Requirements of CFR Part (EPID L- -LLE- [Covid-]) (ML A ). Issuance of Exemption in Response to COVID-Public Health Emergency, Exemption; issuance, Fed.
Reg., (Dec., ).
9 As used in C.F.R. Part and defined in C.F.R. §. (a), the CLB is:
[T]he set of NRC requirements applicable to a specific plant and a licensees written commitments for ensuring compliance with and operation within applicable NRC requirements and the plant-specific design basis (including all modifications and additions to such commitments over the life of the license) that are docketed and in effect. The CLB includes the NRC regulations contained in CFR parts,
licenses, and the CLB changed each time an amendment was issued or an exemption granted.
The CLB also changed each time the licensee made a change under §. even if those
changes did not require pre-approval by the NRC. In determining the practical effects of
retaining the SLR licenses with modified end dates or vacating the SLR licenses and reinstating
the initial LR licenses, the NRC Staff refrained fr om speculating about issues outside of NRCs
direct authority and knowledge (e.g., the practical effects on how a licensee is allowed to
depreciate equipment).
I. Practical Effects of the SLR Licenses Remaining in Place
A. The Implementation Schedule for New and Enhanced Programs is Maintained
Maintaining the SLR licenses would require the licensee to continue to meet the
implementation schedule for new programs and enhancements in the current licensing basis.
As reflected in the Subsequent Renewed License Conditions section of each SLR license, the
subsequent renewed license conditions require licensees to implement new programs and
enhancements to existing programs and complete certain other activities by the six-month date
prior to the Subsequent Period of Extended Operation (SPEO) or by the end of the last refueling
outage before the SPEO, whichever occurs later. 10
Aging Management Programs (AMPs) credited by the licensee are tabulated in Table
. - PBAPS Aging Management Programs of the NRC safety evaluation report related to the
subsequent license renewal of Peach Bottom Units and ; the table shows if the AMPs are an
,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and appendices thereto; orders; license conditions; exemptions; and technical specifications. It also includes the plant-specific design-basis information defined in CFR. as documented in the most recent final safety analysis report (FSAR) as required by CFR. and the licensees commitments remaining in effect that were made in docketed licensing correspondence such as licensee responses to NRC bulletins, generic letters, and enforcement actions, as well as licensee commitments documented in NRC safety evaluations or licensee event reports.
10 See License Condition.C.()(b), Peach Bottom Unit SLR, at ; License Condition.C.()(b),
Peach Bottom Unit SLR, at.
existing or new program. 11 The topics addressed by the new AMPs in Table. - include:
Thermal Aging Embrittlement of Cast Austenitic Stainless Steel; Selective Leaching; and
Internal Coatings/Linings for In-Scope Piping, Piping Components, Heat Exchangers, and
Tanks.12 These are examples of the new program s and activities that would continue to be
required if the SLR licenses are maintained, but the superseded LR licenses did not require
these new programs and activities and would not require them even if reinstated.
B. The Updated Final Safety Analysis Report Continues to Include the Subsequent License Renewal New and Enhanced Programs
Maintaining the SLR licenses in place while the Staff completes additional National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis and updates NUREG-, Revision, "Generic
Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants" (June ) (GEIS)
would have the practical effect of maintaining the current, Updated Final Safety Analysis
Reports (UFSAR), whereas reinstating t he superseded LRs would render these reports
obsolete. The FSAR describes the facility, presents the design bases and the limits on its
operation, and presents a safety analysis of the structures, systems, and components and of the
facility as a whole. 13 A licensee must periodically update its FSAR (resulting in an UFSAR) to
assure that the information included in the report contains the latest information developed. 14
The update must include an identification of changes made under the provisions of C.F.R.
§., but not previously submitted to the Commission. 15
As part of a license renewal application, an applicant must submit a supplement to the
FSAR pursuant to C.F.R. §.(d), in which the applicant describes programs to be
11 Safety Evaluation Report Related to the Subsequent License Renewal of Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units and, Final Report, at Table. - (February ) (ML D ).
12 Id.
13 See C.F.R. §. (b).
14 See C.F.R. §.(e).
15 See C.F.R. §.(e).
implemented and activities to be completed prior to the period of extended operation or
subsequent period of extended operation, as applicable. By operation of the SLR license
conditions, the license renewal FSAR supplement is integrated into the UFSAR. 16 If the SLR
licenses continue, then the current UFSARs will not be changed and information within them is
not rendered obsolete.
C. It Is Not Clear if the SLR Licensees are Subject to Requirements That Only Bind Applicants
Keeping the SLR licenses in place while the NEPA review is underway by the Staff
introduces some uncertainty about whether regulations normally only applicable to applicants
are nonetheless applicable to these SLR licensees. Vacating the SLR licenses and reinstating
the initial LR licenses would not vacate the SLR application, which would remain pending.
Regulations applicable to applicants for SLRs would arguably apply, creating new requirements
for these licensees to update the SLR applications while the Staffs NEPA review is ongoing.
For example, C.F.R. §.(b) requires an applicant to inform the NRC of CLB changes that
materially affect the contents of the license renewal application, including the FSAR
supplement. But C.F.R. §.(b) is inapplicable to a non-applicant licensee. As the Staffs
review of the environmental impacts of subsequ ent license renewal is active, one might argue
that the SLR licensee is also an SLR license applicant that must follow C.F.R. §.(b).
D. License Amendments and Changes to the CLB Issued or Made After Issuance of the SLR Licenses Continue
Continuing the SLR licenses does not simply continue the SLR licenses as issued, but
rather continues the SLR licenses as amended since issuance. As shown in the table of
amendments above, the NRC issued several amendments to the SLR licenses; the
amendments did not apply to or affect the superseded LR licenses. The CLB includes orders;
16 See License Condition.C.()(a), Peach Bottom Unit SLR, at -; License Condition.C.()(a),
Peach Bottom Unit SLR, at -.
license conditions; exemptions; and technical specifications. 17 Leaving the SLR licenses in
place does not alter the CLB and, as a result, does not alter the effectiveness of orders, license
conditions, exemptions, and changes to technical spec ifications included in those licenses or
issued between their issuance and the present. Also significant, continuing the SLR licenses
does not disturb decisions made by the SLR licensee under C.F.R. §. concerning
changes to the facility and the facility described in the UFSAR. 18 Vacating the SLR licenses
would have the practical effect of also vacating each of the amendments, orders, license
conditions, exemptions, and changes to technical specifications included in the SLR licenses or
approved after their issuance.
II. Practical Effects of Reinstating the LR Licenses
A. The New and Enhanced Programs Would Not Be Required
If the superseded LR licenses were reinstated, then the licensees aging management
programs would be those the NRC found acceptable when issuing the LR licenses in, as
modified by the licensee via §., or by the NRC via §., prior to the issuance of the SLR
licenses on March,. The reinstated LR licenses simply do not require the new and
improved programs SLR licenses are currently r equired to implement. For example, Peach
Bottom would not be required to implement its new selective leaching program. The licensee
can, of course screen the new and improved programs and procedures reflected subsequent
license renewal application via §., and assuming the programs do not require pre-approval
via a license amendment, implement those programs. But the practical effect of reinstating the
LR licensees would be that the licensee would no longer be required to do so.
17 C.F.R. §. (a).
18 One factor a licensee uses in a §. evaluation is whether a change to the technical specifications incorporated in the license is not required[.] C.F.R. §. (c)()(i). During the period of effectiveness of the subsequent license, the license against which the licensee performed §. evaluations was the subsequent license, as amended. Continuing the superseding SLR licenses as amended does not impugn those previous evaluations.
B. The Updated Final Safety Analysis Report Would Be Obsolete
By operation of the SLR license conditions, the subsequent license renewal FSAR
supplements were integrated in to the UFSARs. 19 Per C.F.R. §.(d), the FSAR
supplement is submitted as part of the renewal application, and per C.F.R. §. (c)( ), for
purposes of C.F.R. §. evaluations, the UFSAR is considered to include changes
resulting from evaluations performed pursuant to C.F.R. §., and analyses performed
pursuant to C.F.R. §., since submittal of the last update of the UFSAR pursuant to
C.F.R. §.. If the LR licenses were reinstated, then the UFSARs would still have
information concerning the changes made to the UFSAR that occurred as a result of, and
subsequent to, the issuance of the SLR license. The practical effect would be that the licensee
would have to determine how best to modify the UFSAR to assure that the current UFSAR
reflects the new CLB (i.e., the CLB for the reinstated LR licenses). Further, where the licensee's
determination under C.F.R. §. is that preapproval is required, then the licensee would
have to submit an appropriate license amendment request.
C. Updates to the Application Would Likely Resume
Pursuant to C.F.R. §.(b), an SLR applicant must periodically update the
application. If the LR licenses were reinstated, the SLR application would remain pending and
the SLR licensee would no longer be a SLR licensee. Instead, the former SLR licensees would
once again be SLR applicants. Accordingly, the SLR applicants would need to resume the
duties of applicants by, for example, providing the updates required by C.F.R. §.(b).
D. Reinstating the Previous Licenses Eliminates All Requirements and Authorizations Set Forth in Amendments to the SLR Licenses and Impacts the CLB
The LR licenses previously in effect lack the amendments that were issued to the
superseding SLR licenses during the time the superseding licenses were effective. The
19 See License Condition.C.()(b), Peach Bottom Unit SLR, at ; License Condition.C.()(b),
Peach Bottom Unit SLR, at.
previous LR licenses do not contain the associated license conditions, amended technical
specifications, and other approvals made to the superseding SLR licenses. As shown in the
table of amendments above, the licensee requested and received several amendments
addressing a variety of matters including amendments to reflect license transfers (Peach Bottom
Amendment Nos. (Unit )/ (Unit )). The practical effect of reinstating the previous LR
licenses is removal of all requirements imposed by, and permissions granted by, the
amendments made to the SLR licenses. 20
Under the reinstated licenses, the CLB, which includes orders; license conditions;
exemptions; and technical specifications, [and] th e plant-specific design-basis information... as
documented in the most recent final safety analysis report (FSAR) 21 would not necessarily be
the exact same CLB that existed when the reinstated license was superseded. The licensee
could have changed the facility or FSAR under C.F.R. §.. As C.F.R. §. (c)()(i)
considers whether a change to the technical specifications is required, restoring the previous
licenses results in the plant and its UFSAR being incongruent with restored license.
CONCLUSION
The current licensing basis for Peach Bottom Units and would be maintained if the
SLR licenses continue, and requirements for new aging management programs and
enhancements to existing programs, that exist in the SLR licenses, would continue to be
required. By contrast, the practical effect of reinstating the previous, superseded LR licenses is
removal of the requirements to implement new or enhanced programs and eliminating each of
the amendments, orders, license conditions, exemptions, and changes to technical
specifications included in the SLR licenses or approved after their issuance. Also significant,
reinstating the superseded LR licenses has the practical effect of reinstating the SLR license
20 See C.F.R. §.(c).
21 C.F.R. §. (a).
applications, which would remain pending. Current SLR licensees would be required to meet all
requirements for applicants, including but not limited to updating the SLR application, while the
Staff completes its work under NEPA and updates the GEIS.
/Signed (electronically) by/
David E. Roth Counsel for NRC Staff Mail Stop: O--A U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC -
Telephone: () -
E-mail: David.Roth@nrc.gov
Dated this st day of March
Attachments: Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station Unit No. Renewed License Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station Unit No. Renewed License UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
BEFORE THE COMMISSION
In the Matter of
CONSTELLATION ENERGY GENERATION, Docket Nos. - -SLR LLC - -SLR (F/K/A EXELON GENERATION CO, LLC)
(Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units and )
Certificate of Service
Pursuant to C.F.R §., I hereby certify that copies of the foregoing: ( ) NRC STAFF
VIEWS ON THE PRACTICAL EFFECTS OF () THE SUBSEQUENT RENEWED LICENSES
CONTINUING IN PLACE AND ( ) THE PREVIOUS LICENSES BEING REINSTATED, ( )
Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station Unit No. Renewed License, and ( ) Peach Bottom
Atomic Power Station Unit No. Renewed License, dated March,, have been served
upon the Electronic Information Exchange (the NRCs E-Filing System), in the captioned
proceeding, this st day of March.
/Signed (electronically) by/
David E. Roth Counsel for NRC Staff Mail Stop: O--A U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC -
Telephone: () -
E-mail: David.Roth@nrc.gov Dated this st day of March