ML22221A241
| ML22221A241 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 07/27/2022 |
| From: | Kenneth Kolaczyk NRC/NRR/DRO/IRAB |
| To: | |
| Kenneth Kolaczyk, NRR/DRO/IRAB, 58577389 | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML22221A240 | List: |
| References | |
| Download: ML22221A241 (22) | |
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VLSSIR Process Review and Revision to Clarify Consideration of Traditional Enforcement Issues Philip McKenna Chief, Reactor Assessment Branch Division of Reactor Oversight July 7, 2022 Rev. 1
VLSSIR Process Origin Objective: identify means to enhance or improve the NRC internal processes to mitigate situations where there is an inappropriate expenditure of resources and attention on very low safety significant issues (e.g. - avoid very long TIAs)
- HQ and Regional Working Group Formed in November 2018.
- Effort began as a task under ROP Enhancement
- Stemmed from NRC internal and industry feedback
- NRC should establish a process for resolving very low-risk licensing basis concerns
- IMC 0612 Appendix B was effective 01/01/2020
- Revised in Oct 2021 to align VLSSIR requirements with the new TAR process and to clarify that items that go to a DRE and screen to green can be closed by VLSSIR process
- Effectiveness Review Completed in March 2021 3
Very Low Safety Conducting Robust Risk-Informed, Safety Focused Reviews and Inspections High safety Clearly within the licensing basis Address issue with appropriate tools such as:
- Enforcement
- Order
- Inspect licensee corrective actions Clearly within the licensing basis but very low safety significance Address finding/violation with appropriate tools (i.e., either comes into compliance or change the licensing basis):
- Inspect licensee corrective actions (e.g., 50.59, PI&R)
- Change the licensing basis (LAR, relief, exemptions, etc.)
- Assess adequacy of the requirement (i.e., rulemaking)
Not or unclear whether within the licensing basis Evaluate issue to determine regulatory actions with tools such as:
- 50.54(f) or generic communications
- Backfitting
- Generic issue process
- LIC-504 and TAR Unclear whether within the licensing basis and clearly very low safety significance Consider exit:
- Document decision
- Make public record 4
2020 VLSSIR Issues
2021/22 VLSSIR Issues
VLSSIR Effectiveness Review
- The VLSSIR process is meeting the goals and objectives outlined in the February 5, 2020, memorandum from the task force to the Director, NRR.
- The VLSSIR process has helped reduce the number of open or unresolved items that the NRC is tracking with only 12 items appearing in the Reactor Program System (RPS) database as of February 10, 2021.
- Recommended that NRC IMC 0612 Appendix B be modified to provide inspectors the option of using the VLSSIR process to disposition an issue after a Detailed Risk Evaluation (DRE) has confirmed the very low risk significance of an item.
Risk-informed Process for Evaluations (RIPE)
RIPE establishes a more efficient process to review licensing actions that address low safety significance (LSS) issues within the licensing basis.
Adoption of RIPE was recommended in a memo to the NRR Office Director dated January 5, 2021 (ML20261H428).
- - Guidelines for Characterizing the Safety Impact of Issues (ML20261H462)
- - Temporary Staff Guidance TSG-DORL-2021-01 (ML20261H473)
The NRR Office Director approved RIPE by memo dated January 7, 2021 (ML21006A324).
Revision 1 to the RIPE Guidelines was issued in June 2021 (ML2118A014)
RIPE (Cont.)
RIPE can be used to address low risk significant licensing actions using existing regulations under 10 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 50.12 (Exemptions) or 50.90 (Amendments).
RIPE leverages current regulations and risk-informed initiatives to allow licensees to request plant-specific exemptions or license amendments for LSS issues using a streamlined NRC review process.
Consistent with our RG 1.174 (PRA in Risk-Informed Decisions on Plant-Specific Changes to the Licensing Basis) risk-informed integrated decision-making principles.
RIPE may be used by licensees that have a technically acceptable PRA model and a robust Integrated Decision Panel (IDP).
For the purposes of RIPE, a licensee may demonstrate that they have a technically acceptable PRA model by having implemented an approved TSTF-505 (Risk-Informed Extended Completion Times) or TSTF-425 (Risk-Informed Surveillance Frequencies) license amendment and having completed all of the license conditions and implementation items associated with the amendment.
The IDP will characterize the safety impact of the proposed change using both quantitative risk information from the PRA and qualitative risk insights consistent with RG 1.174.
The RIPE process has been used once so far (Palo Verde exemption request submitted in January 2022 and issued on March 23, 2022). (Partial exemption from the Anticipated Transient Without Scram (ATWS) rule (50.62) to remove the diverse auxiliary feedwater actuation system (DAFAS)).
What Licensees can use RIPE?
VLSSIR Today 12
Proposed Change 13
Key Elements of Existing VLSSIR 14 Unclear if meet CLB Significant Effort to Resolve Very Low Safety Significance Possible VLSSIR
+
+
=
Key Aspects of Existing VLSSIR
- NOT a regulatory decision that a violation does or does not exist
- Does not specifically preclude its use for issues that may involve traditional enforcement.
- However, the existing process has no consideration for the regulatory impact (i.e., only considers risk insights from SDP and not insights from Enforcement Policy Examples).
- Lack of clarity in some traditional enforcement cases
- NMSS VLSSIR uses Enforcement Policy examples 15
Preliminary Markup Language 16
What is NOT changing
- Must be Very Low Safety Significance
- Actual Consequences would not meet the very low significance ( Green) criteria.
- Willful issues would not be considered since there is a confirmation that an underly violation exists prior to launching into an investigation.
- Significant additional effort needed to confirm existence of a violation 17
Basis for Change The presence of a traditional enforcement attribute not yet determined to be a violation and associated with an unclear CLB question should not limit the ability of the agency to discontinue pursuing issues which have little to no safety or regulatory impact. Likewise, issues which have significant regulatory impact should not be screened out using the VLSSIR Process.
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Discussion Some issues involving traditional enforcement are ineligible for the VLSSIR consideration such as issues involving willfulness since an underlying non-compliance determination is made prior to starting an investigation and those issues involving actual consequences since they would be greater than very low safety significance.
The type of traditional enforcement issues that could be considered under the VLSSIR process are those that involve impeding the regulatory process. Possibly potential violations involving 50.59, 50.54p(2) (Security Plan Changes), and 50.54q(4) (EP Plan Changes).
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Hypothetical Example A licensee installed a concrete security barrier above the Train A Containment Spray Pump Room thereby raising a current licensing basis question regarding acceptability and compliance concerning a postulated roof collapse during a seismic event and equipment damage. It was unclear whether the changes created a possibility for an accident of a different type than any previously evaluated in the final safety analysis report and therefore would have required a licensee amendment. Inspectors were unable to conclude whether a violation of 50.59(c)(2)(v) occurred. Considering that this modification only affected one train and that the risk achievement worth of containment spray is very low the risk associated with this change was determined to be no greater than very low safety significance. After discussions with agency management and relevant technical experts, it was determined that a substantial amount of effort would be required to research and resolve this very low safety significance current licensing basis question. Based on this understanding the inspectors dispositioned the 50.59(c)(2)(v) aspect of the issue in accordance with the Very Low Safety Significance Issue Resolution (VLSSIR) process and documented the results in an inspection report.
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VLSSIR Process Questions?
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Next Week-Special Double Feature!
- Discussion of the recent ASLB reversal of significant enforcement actions (violations and CP) against TVA and 2 TVA managers involving discrimination cases by Melanie Checkle (RII) and Sandra Mendez (OE)
- Overview of the NRC / OSHA memorandum of understanding and interactions with OSHA by John Pelchat (RII).
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