ML25045A085
| ML25045A085 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Palo Verde  |
| Issue date: | 02/13/2025 |
| From: | William Orders Plant Licensing Branch IV |
| To: | Dilorenzo M Arizona Public Service Co |
| Orders, William | |
| References | |
| Download: ML25045A085 (1) | |
Text
From:
William Orders To:
Michael.Dilorenzo@aps.com Bcc:
Subject:
Acceptance Review Date:
Thursday, February 13, 2025 4:44:00 PM From: William Orders Sent: Thursday, February 13, 2025 To: Michael Dilorenzo Cc: Tony Nakanishi
Subject:
Mr. Dilorenzo,
By letter dated January 17, 2025, Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML25017A380, Arizona Public Service Company (APS) submitted a License Amendment Request for a revision to the Technical Specifications (TS) for Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station (PVNGS) Units 1, 2, and 3 to, adopt Westinghouse Thermal Design Procedure Topical Report WCAP-18240-P-A.
The proposed change would revise TS Section 5.6.5.b, Core Operating Limits Report (COLR), to add Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved Topical Report WCAP-18240-P-A, Westinghouse Thermal Design Procedure (WTDP), to the list of referenced analytical methods for the determination of reactor core operating limits. WCAP-18240-P-A describes a new methodology for determining a Departure from Nucleate Boiling Ratio (DNBR), Specified Acceptable Fuel Design Limit (SAFDL) for normal operation and Anticipated Acceptable Operational Occurrences (AOOs), and for using this limit in core design analyses such as calculating the number of fuel rods that may experience Departure from Nucleate Boiling (DNB) during postulated accidents.
Consistent with WCAP-18240-P-A, the proposed change would also authorize the option for discretionary use of a single NRC-approved thermal-hydraulic subchannel code in the Core Protection Calculator System (CPCS) and Core Operating Limit Supervisory System (COLSS) setpoint analyses, in lieu of the two NRC-approved thermal-hydraulic codes that are currently used.
The purpose of this e-mail is to provide the results of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff s acceptance review of this amendment request. 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 Section 50.90 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), an application for an amendment to a license (including the TS) must fully describe the changes requested, and following as far 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.
The NRC staff has reviewed your application 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. If additional information is needed, you will be advised by separate correspondence.
Based on the information provided in your submittal, the NRC staff has estimated that this licensing request will take approximately 200 hours0.00231 days <br />0.0556 hours <br />3.306878e-4 weeks <br />7.61e-5 months <br /> to complete. The NRC staff expects to complete this review in approximately 8 months, which is October 10, 2025. If there are emergent complexities or challenges in our review that would cause changes to the initial forecasted completion date or significant changes in the forecasted hours, the reasons for the changes, along with the new estimates, will be communicated during the routine interactions with the assigned project manager.
These estimates are based on the NRC staff s 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. Additional delay may occur if the submittal is provided to the NRC in advance or in parallel with industry program initiatives or pilot applications.
If you have any questions, please let me know.
Thank you,
William Orders Senior Project Manager, LPL4 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Desk: (301)-415-3329 Mobile: (240)-888-9816 Email: William.Orders@nrc.gov