ML25254A210
| ML25254A210 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Browns Ferry  |
| Issue date: | 09/16/2025 |
| From: | Kimberly Green Plant Licensing Branch II |
| To: | Tennessee Valley Authority |
| Green K | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML25254A211 | List: |
| References | |
| EPID L-2025-LRM-0116 | |
| Download: ML25254A210 (1) | |
Text
September 16, 2025 LICENSEE:
Tennessee Valley Authority FACILITY:
Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Unit 3
SUBJECT:
SUMMARY
OF SEPTEMBER 4, 2025, PUBLIC TELECONFERENCE WITH TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY TO DISCUSS A PLANNED ALTERNATIVE REQUEST REGARDING STANDBY LIQUID CONTROL PUMP TESTING AT BROWNS FERRY NUCLEAR PLANT, UNIT 3 (EPID L-2025-LRM-0116)
On September 4, 2025, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff held a public meeting via teleconference with representatives of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to discuss a planned alternative request for Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant (BFN), Unit 3. The meeting notice and agenda for this meeting, dated August 22, 2025, are available at Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML25234A043, and TVAs slides for the meeting are available at ADAMS Accession No. ML25246A618. A list of the meeting attendees is enclosed.
TVA stated that it plans to submit an alternative request for BFN, Unit 3, from the requirements of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Operation and Maintenance of Nuclear Power Plants, Division 1, OM Code: Section IST (OM Code), Subsection ISTB, paragraph ISTB-3400, Frequency of Inservice Tests, to delay the quarterly Group B testing of the BFN, Unit 3, standby liquid control (SLC) pumps until the next refueling outage in early 2026.
=
Background===
On August 12-13, 2025, abnormal pressure readings during Group B testing led to the discovery of a stem-disk separation in the manual 518 throttle valve used to discharge the pump flow during the testing. The valve is now locked closed in the safety position and cannot be used for testing. This issue prevented completion of Group B testing for the 3B SLC pump; the 3A SLC pump test was completed successfully.
Request for Alternative TVA plans to request to defer the quarterly Group B testing for both 3A and 3B SLC pumps until the end of the BFN, Unit 3, Cycle 22 refueling outage, currently scheduled to be completed in March 2026.
The alternative request will be made under Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) paragraph 50.55a(z)(2) due to hardship or unusual difficulty without a compensating increase in the level of quality and safety.
Technical Justification The manual 518 valve is common to both pumps; repair requires both pumps to be tagged out, which might result in a plant shutdown if not completed within 8 hours9.259259e-5 days <br />0.00222 hours <br />1.322751e-5 weeks <br />3.044e-6 months <br />.
Alternate test paths (vent and drain valves) are not viable due to:
o Use of gate valves are not ideal for throttling o Piping pressure limitations o Possible compromising of the safety function of the SLC system Historical data shows no degradation in pump performance:
o 4 years of Group B test data o 10 years of comprehensive test data o All results were within the ASME OM Code criteria and design limits NRC Feedback NRC staff requested that the alternative request include a discussion of the maintenance history for the SLC pumps, and inclusion of specific test data tables, to support the licensees assessment of no performance degradation in the SLC pumps.
TVA confirmed that references to precedents (such as Vogtle Electric Generating Plant and Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant) will be included in the submittal.
NRC staff requested that TVA address actions regarding the valve repair in the event of an unplanned outage.
Schedule TVA plans to submit the request by September 12, 2025.
NRC approval (verbal or written) is requested by October 17, 2025, prior to the next scheduled test on October 21, 2025.
Repairs will be completed during the February 2026 refueling outage.
No regulatory decisions were made at this meeting.
No comments or public meeting feedback forms were received.
Please direct any inquiries to me at 301-415-1627 or Kimberly.Green@nrc.gov.
/RA/
Kimberly J. Green, Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch II-2 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-296
Enclosure:
List of Attendees cc: Listserv
Enclosure LIST OF ATTENDEES SEPTEMBER 4, 2025, TELECONFERENCE WITH TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY PLANNED ALTERNATIVE REQUEST REGARDING STANDBY LIQUID CONTROL PUMP TESTING BROWNS FERRY NUCLEAR PLANT, UNIT 3 Name Organization Kim Green U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
Thomas Scarbrough NRC Tim Steadham NRC Shamica Billups NRC Beau Eckermann Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
Amber Aboulfaida TVA David Renn TVA Mike Oliver TVA Rob Smith TVA Mark Gowin TVA Channing Mitchell TVA Beth Ann Etzkorn TVA Robert Shaler TVA Jason Whitlock TVA Robert Welchans TVA Brandon Starnes TVA
ML25254A211 (Package)
ML25246A618 (Slides)
ML25234A043 (Meeting Notice)
ML25254A210 (Meeting Summary)
NRC-001 OFFICE NRR/DORL/LPL2-2/PM NRR/DORL/LPL2-2/LA NRR/DORL/LPL2-2/BC NRR/DORL/LPL2-2/PM NAME KGreen ABaxter DWrona KGreen DATE 09/11/2025 09/15/2025 09/16/2025 09/16/2025