L-24-186, Response to RAI for Exemption Request from 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4) Final Safety Analysis Update Schedule
| ML24228A213 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Beaver Valley, Davis Besse, Perry |
| Issue date: | 08/15/2024 |
| From: | Hicks J Vistra Operations Company |
| To: | Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, Document Control Desk |
| References | |
| L-24-186 | |
| Download: ML24228A213 (1) | |
Text
6555 SIERRA DRIVE IRVING, TEXAS 75039 o 214-812-4600 VISTRACORP.COM Jack C. Hicks Senior Manager, Fleet Licensing P.O. Box 1002 6322 North FM 56 Glen Rose, TX 76043 L-24-186 August 15, 2024 ATTN: Document Control Desk 10 CFR 50.12(a)
U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 10 CFR 50.71(e)
Washington, DC 20555-0001 Beaver Valley Power Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2 Docket No. 50-334, License No. DPR-66 Docket No. 50-412, License No. NPF-73 Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, Unit No. 1 Docket No. 50-346, License No. NPF-3 Perry Nuclear Power Plant, Unit No. 1 Docket No. 50-440, License No. NPF-58 Response to RAI for Exemption Request from 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4) Final Safety Analysis Update Schedule By letter dated February 23/2024 (Accession NO. ML24054A101), Vistra Operations Company LLC (Vistra OpCo)
(formerly Energy Harbor Nuclear Corp.) requested an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4) regarding submission of revisions to the Updated Final Safety Analysis Report (UFSAR) for Beaver Valley Power Station (BVPS), Units 1 and 2, Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station (DBNPS), and Perry Nuclear Power Plant (PNPP). In email dated July 17, 2024, the NRC requested Vistra OpCo to provide additional information required to complete its review of the exemption request. This letter provides a response in the attached Response to Request for Additional Information There are no regulatory commitments contained in this submittal. If there are any questions, or if additional information is required, please contact Mr. Jack Hicks, Senior Manager, Licensing, at (254) 897-6725 or Jack.Hicks@luminant.com.
Sincerely, Jack C. Hicks
Beaver Valley Davis-Besse Perry Nuclear Power Plant L-24-186 Page 2 of 2
Attachment:
Response to Request for Additional Information cc:
NRC Region I Administrator NRC Region III Administrator NRC Resident Inspector - BVPS NRC Resident Inspector - DBNPS NRC Resident Inspector - PNPP NRR Project Manager - BVPS NRR Project Manager - DBNPS NRR Project Manager - PNPP NRR Project Manager - Fleet Director BRP/DEP Site BRP/DEP Representative Utility Radiological Safety Board Executive Director, Ohio Emergency Management Agency, State of Ohio (NRC Liaison)
Attachment L-24-186 Page 1 of 2 Response to Request for Information INTRODUCTION By letter dated February 23, 2024, (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML24054A101), Energy Harbor Nuclear Corp. submitted an exemption request pursuant to the requirements in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 50.12(a) for Beaver Valley Power Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2 (Beaver Valley), Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, Unit No. 1 (Davis-Besse), and Perry Nuclear Power Plant, Unit No. 1 (Perry). Effective March 1, 2024, the facility operating licenses for Beaver Valley, Davis-Besse, and Perry were transferred from Energy Harbor Nuclear Generation LLC (owner) and Energy Harbor Nuclear Corp. (operator) to Energy Harbor Nuclear Generation LLC (owner) and Vistra Operations Company LLC (operator) (ML24057A092).
Upon completion of this license transfer, Vistra Operations Company, LLC (Vistra OpCo) assumed the responsibility for all licensing actions under NRC review at the time of the transfer and requested that the NRC continue its review of these actions (ML24054A498). The letter requested an exemption to the requirements in 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4) regarding submission of revisions to the Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR) to allow periodic updates of the FSAR on specified schedules that do not exceed 24 months between successive updates.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Staff has determined that additional information is required for the staff to complete its review. The NRC staffs request for additional information (RAI) is included. During a clarification conducted on July 17, 2024, Vistra OpCo stated that a response should be provided within 30 days therefore the NRC staff anticipates a response by August 16, 2024.
REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (RAI)
RAI-01
Regulatory Requirements:
The requirements in 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2) state that: "(2) The Commission will not consider granting an exemption unless special circumstances are present. Special circumstances are present whenever--...
(ii) Application of the regulation in the particular circumstances would not serve the underlying purpose of the rule or is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule... "
The requirements in 10 CFR 50.71(e) state: Each person licensed to operate a nuclear power reactor under the provisions of § 50.21 or § 50.22, and each applicant for a combined license under part 52 of this chapter, shall update periodically, as provided in paragraphs (e) (3) and (4) of this section, the final safety analysis report (FSAR) originally submitted as part of the application for the license, to assure that the information included in the report contains the latest information developed. The requirements in 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4) state, in pertinent part:
Subsequent revisions must be filed annually or 6 months after each refueling outage provided the interval between successive updates does not exceed 24 months. The revisions must reflect all changes up to a maximum of 6 months prior to the date of filling.
Issue:
The exemption request dated February 23, 2024, states: The underlying purpose of the 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4) is to ensure that licensees periodically submit their UFSARs [Updated Final Safety Analysis Reports] to assure that the UFSAR remains up-to-date while reflecting the plant design and operation. The request further states: As required by 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4) a maximum time of 24 months between successive updates and the requirement to reflect changes to the UFSAR up to a maximum of 6 months prior to the date of filing is allowed. The processing and submittal of more frequent revisions to the UFSAR, including all documents incorporated by reference, is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule.
Attachment L-24-186 Page 2 of 2 The NRC staff notes that in the statements of consideration for the final rule establishing the initial requirement to provide an UFSAR update (May 9, 1980; 45 FR 30614), the Commission explained that it was establishing the requirement to provide an updated reference document to be used in recurring safety analyses performed by the licensee, the Commission, and other interested parties. That rule required updating on an annual basis. In the statements of consideration for the 1992 final rule amending § 50.71(e) (August 31, 1992; 57 FR 39353), the Commission provided an alternative to the annual updating requirement, in which licensees could provide updates 6 months after each refueling outage provided the interval between successive updates to the FSAR does not exceed 24 months. In a response to a comment suggesting that the FSAR update be decoupled from the refueling cycle the Commission explained in the final rule (57 FR 39354), The majority of facility design changes reflected in an updated FSAR are effected during the refueling outage. The use of the refueling cycle interval provides for a current plant status document that is coordinated with plant changes.
Request:
Discuss how the application of the regulation in the particular circumstances would not serve the underlying purpose of the rule or is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule as discussed in the statements of consideration for the initial and revised 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4) rule.
Docket Nos. 50-334, 50-412, 50-346, and 50-440
RESPONSE
With respect to decoupling the reporting frequency from refueling cycles as discussed in the statements of consideration for the 1992 final rule amending § 50.71(e), the majority of facility design changes reflected in the UFSAR at Beaver Valley Power Station (BVPS), Units 1 and 2, Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station (DBNPS), and Perry Nuclear Power Plant (PNPP) are no longer effected during refueling outages. As a result, there is little coordination between plant changes and refueling cycle intervals. Therefore, the application of the regulation, with respect to coupling reporting frequency to refueling cycle intervals, is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule for BVPS, DBNPS, and PNPP. The routine UFSAR submittals will not exceed 24 months between submissions and will continue to reflect all changes up to a maximum of 6 months prior to the date of filling.