View source for CNRO-2020-00015, Request to Update ASME Code Relief Request Safety Evaluations with NRC-Approved Revision of BWRVIP Guidelines (GG-ISI-020, and RBS-ISI-019)

{{Adams
| number = ML20160A032
| issue date = 06/08/2020
| title = Request to Update ASME Code Relief Request Safety Evaluations with NRC-Approved Revision of BWRVIP Guidelines (GG-ISI-020, and RBS-ISI-019)
| author name = Gaston R
| author affiliation = Entergy Operations, Inc
| addressee name = 
| addressee affiliation = NRC/Document Control Desk, NRC/NRR
| docket = 05000416, 05000458
| license number = NPF-029, NPF-047
| contact person = 
| case reference number = CNRO-2020-00015, GG-ISI-020, RBS-ISI-019
| document type = Letter type:CNRO
| page count = 7
| project = 
| stage = Request
}}

=Text=
{{#Wiki_filter:Entergy Operations, Inc.
1340 Echelon Parkway Jackson, MS 39213 Tel 601-368-5138 Ron Gaston Director, Nuclear Licensing 10 CFR 50.55a(z)(1)
CNRO-2020-00015 June 8, 2020 ATTN: Document Control Desk U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001

==Subject:==
Request to Update ASME Code Relief Request Safety Evaluations with NRC-Approved Revision of BWRVIP Guidelines (GG-ISI-020, and RBS-ISI-019)
Grand Gulf Nuclear Station, Unit 1 NRC Docket No. 50-416 Renewed Facility Operating License No. NPF-29 River Bend Station, Unit 1 NRC Docket No. 50-458 Renewed Facility Operating License No. NPF-47 In accordance with 10 CFR 50.55a(z)(1), Entergy Operations, Inc. (Entergy) is requesting a revision to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Safety Evaluations (SEs) for Grand Gulf Nuclear Station, Unit 1 (GGNS) Relief Request GG-ISI-020 (Reference 1) and River Bend Station, Unit 1 (RBS) Relief Request RBS-ISI-019 (Reference 2) concerning the use of the Boiling Water Reactor Vessel and Internals Project (BWRVIP) Guidelines in lieu of specific ASME Code requirements on Reactor Pressure Vessel internals and components inspection.
Since the issuance of the Reference 1 and 2 NRC SEs, the BWRVIP has issued revisions to various BWRVIP Guidelines. Specifically, BWRVIP-18, Revision 2-A, "BWR Vessel and Internals Project BWR Core Spray Internals Inspection and Flaw Evaluation Guidelines,"
BWRVIP-41, Revision 4-A, "BWR Vessel and Internals Project BWR Jet Pump Assembly Inspection and Flaw Evaluation Guidelines," and BWRVIP-48, Revision 1, "BWR Vessel and Internals Project BWR Vessel ID Attachment Weld Inspection and Flaw Evaluation Guidelines,"
have been issued and approved. These revisions have been either approved by the NRC or evaluated in accordance with NEI 03-08, "Guideline for the Management of Materials Issues,"
Revision 3, Appendix C, "Document Screening."

CNRO-2020-00015 Page 2 of 3 Entergy is requesting the previously approved NRC SEs for GGNS relief request GG-ISI-020 and RBS relief request RBS-ISI-019 be revised to include these updated BWRVIP Guideline revisions. This request is described in the Enclosure to this letter.
In Reference 3, the NRC approved a similar request to revise NRC SEs issued to the Exelon Generation Company, LLC boiling water reactors concerning the use of the BWRVIP Guidelines in lieu of specific ASME Code requirements on Reactor Pressure Vessel internals and components inspection.
There are no regulatory commitments contained in this letter. Entergy requests NRC review and approval of this fleet request by July 9, 2021.
Should you have any questions or require additional information, please contact Ron Gaston, Director, Licensing at (601) 368-5138.
Respectfully, Ron Gaston RWG/jls

==Enclosure:==
Revision to NRC Safety Evaluations for Relief Requests GG-ISI-020 and RBS-ISI-019 Associated with the Use of the BWRVIP Guidelines in Lieu of Specific ASME Code Requirements in Accordance with 10 CFR 50.55a(z)(1)

CNRO-2020-00015 Page 3 of 3

==References:==
: 1) Letter from U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to Entergy Operations, Inc. (Entergy), "Grand Gulf Nuclear Station, Unit 1 - Relief Request GG-ISI-020 Proposing an Alternative for the Fourth 10-year Inservice Inspection Program by Using Boiling Water Reactor Vessel and Internals Project Guidelines in Lieu of Specific American Society of Mechanical Engineers Code Requirements (CAC No. MF9460; EPID L-2017-LLR-0017)" (ADAMS Accession No. ML18003B126), dated January 23, 2018
: 2) Letter from NRC to Entergy, "River Bend Station, Unit 1 - Relief from the Requirements of American Society of Mechanical Engineers Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code to Use Boiling Water Reactor Vessel and Internals Project Guidelines as an Alternative (EPID L-2018-LLR-0008)"
(ADAMS Accession No. ML18310A013), dated November 16, 2018
: 3) Letter from NRC to Exelon Generation Company, LLC, "Clinton Power Station, Unit No. 1; Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Units 2 and 3; James A. Fitzpatrick Nuclear Power Plant; LaSalle County Station, Units 1 and 2; Limerick Generating Station, Units 1 and 2; Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and 3; and Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2 - Revision to Approved Alternatives to use Boiling Water Reactor Vessel and Internals Project Guidelines (EPID L-2019-LLR-0012)" (ADAMS Accession No. ML19098034), dated April 30, 2019 cc:   NRC Region IV Regional Administrator NRC Senior Resident Inspector - Grand Gulf Nuclear Station, Unit 1 NRC Senior Resident Inspector - River Bend Station, Unit 1 NRC Project Manager - Grand Gulf Nuclear Station, Unit 1 NRC Project Manager - River Bend Station, Unit 1

ENCLOSURE CNRO-2020-00015 Grand Gulf Nuclear Station, Unit 1 River Bend Station Unit 1 Revision to NRC Safety Evaluations for Relief Requests GG-ISI-020, and RBS-ISI-019 Associated with the Use of the BWRVIP Guidelines in Lieu of Specific ASME Code Requirements in Accordance with 10 CFR 50.55a(z)(1)

CNRO-2020-00015 Enclosure Page 1 of 3 1.0     Reason for Request In accordance with 10 CFR 50.55a(z)(1), Entergy Operations, Inc. (Entergy) is requesting a revision to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Safety Evaluations (SEs) for Grand Gulf Nuclear Station, Unit 1 (GGNS) Relief Request GG-ISI-020 (Reference 1) and River Bend Station, Unit 1 (RBS) Relief Request RBS-ISI-019 (Reference 2), concerning the use of Boiling Water Reactor Vessel and Internals Project (BWRVIP) Guidelines in lieu of specific ASME Code requirements on Reactor Pressure Vessel internals and components inspection. Since the issuance of these SEs, revisions to BWRVIP Guideline documents have been issued and either approved by the NRC, or evaluated in accordance with NEI 03-08, "Guideline for the Management of Materials Issues," Revision 3, Appendix C, "Document Screening." The applicable NRC SEs, the currently listed BWRVIP Guideline revisions, and the requested BWRVIP Guideline revisions for GGNS Relief Request GG-ISI-020 and RBS relief request RBS-ISI-019 are listed in Table 1.
Specifically, the following BWRVIP Guideline document revisions have been reviewed and approved by the NRC:
    -   BWRVIP-18, Revision 2-A, "BWR Vessel and Internals Project BWR Core Spray Internals Inspection and Flaw Evaluation Guidelines" (Reference 3)
    -   BWRVIP-41, Revision 4-A, "BWR Vessel and Internals Project BWR Jet Pump Assembly Inspection and Flaw Evaluation Guidelines" (Reference 4)
In addition, the following BWRVIP Guideline document revision has been evaluated in accordance with NEI 03-08, Appendix C. The results of that screening evaluation indicate that the revised document may be generically released for implementation by BWRVIP members, without NRC review and approval:
    -   BWRVIP-48, Revision 1, "BWR Vessel and Internals Project BWR Vessel ID Attachment Weld Inspection and Flaw Evaluation Guidelines," (Reference 5).
Entergy is requesting approval to use these latest BWRVIP Guideline revisions for the specified GGNS and RBS relief requests, in place of the document revisions cited in the listed NRC SEs on the basis that these revised and approved BWRVIP documents provide an acceptable level of quality and safety.
The BWRVIP Guidelines recommend aggressive specific inspection by BWR operators to identify material condition issues with BWR components. A wealth of inspection data has been gathered during these inspections across the BWR industry. These guidelines focus on specific and susceptible components, specify appropriate inspection methods capable of identifying anticipated degradation mechanisms, and require re-examination at conservative intervals. In contrast, the code inspection requirements were prepared before the BWRVIP initiative and have not evolved with BWR inspection experience.

CNRO-2020-00015 Enclosure Page 2 of 3 2.0      Proposed Revision In References 6 and 7, Entergy submitted relief requests for GGNS and RBS that proposed the use of BWRVIP guidelines as an alternative to the requirements of Section XI of the ASME Code for the ISI of the Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) interior surfaces, attachments, and core support structures. In the SEs that approved these relief requests, the NRC cited specific revisions of the applicable BWRVIP documents. In the time since the NRC approval of Entergy's proposed alternatives, the three BWRVIP documents listed in Table 1 have been revised by the BWRVIP, and either approved by the NRC or evaluated in accordance with NEI 03-08, Appendix C. Entergy requests that the latest revisions of BWRVIP-18, BWRVIP-41, and BWRVIP-48 be used as an alternative to the revisions currently listed in the respective SEs.
In Reference 8, the NRC approved a similar request to revise NRC SEs issued to the Exelon Generation Company, LLC boiling water reactors concerning the use of the BWRVIP Guidelines in lieu of specific ASME Code requirements on Reactor Pressure Vessel internals and components inspection.
3.0      References
: 1.       Letter from U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to Entergy Operations, Inc.
(Entergy), "Grand Gulf Nuclear Station, Unit 1 - Relief Request GG-ISI-020 Proposing an Alternative for the Fourth 10-year Inservice Inspection Program by Using Boiling Water Reactor Vessel and Internals Project Guidelines in Lieu of Specific American Society of Mechanical Engineers Code Requirements (CAC No. MF9460; EPID L-2017-LLR-0017)"
(ADAMS Accession No. ML18003B126), dated January 23, 2018
: 2.       Letter from NRC to Entergy, "River Bend Station, Unit 1 - Relief from the Requirements of American Society of Mechanical Engineers Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code to Use Boiling Water Reactor Vessel and Internals Project Guidelines as an Alternative (EPID L-2018-LLR-0008)" (ADAMS Accession No. ML18310A013), dated November 16, 2018
: 3.       NRC BWRVIP-18, Revision 2-A, "BWR Vessel and Internals Project BWR Core Spray Internals Inspection and Flaw Evaluation Guidelines," (NRC approval letter and Safety Evaluation dated February 22, 2016, ADAMS Accession No. ML16011A190).
: 4.       BWRVIP-41, Revision 4-A, "BWR Vessel and Internals Project BWR Jet Pump Assembly Inspection and Flaw Evaluation Guidelines," (NRC approval letter and Safety Evaluation dated July 2, 2018, ADAMS Accession No. ML18130A024)
: 5.       BWRVIP-48, Revision 1, "BWR Vessel and Internals Project BWR Vessel ID Attachment Weld Inspection and Flaw Evaluation Guidelines"
: 6.       Letter from Entergy to NRC, "Grand Gulf Nuclear Station, Unit 1 - Request for Relief GG-ISI-020, " Proposed Alternative with 10 CFR 50.55a (z) (1), Use of Boiling Water Reactor Vessel and Internals Project (BWRVIP) Guidelines at Grand Gulf Nuclear Station," (ADAMS Accession No. ML17074A625), dated March 15, 2017

CNRO-2020-00015 Enclosure Page 3 of 3
: 7. Letter from Entergy to NRC, "Request for Alternative in Accordance with 10 CFR 50.55a(z)(1) Use of Boiling Water Reactor Vessel and Internals Project (BWRVIP)
Guidelines in Lieu of Specific ASME Code Requirements (RR- RBS-ISI-019)," (ADAMS Accession No. ML18045A151), dated February 13, 2018
: 8. Letter from NRC to Exelon Generation Company, LLC, Clinton Power Station, Unit No. 1; Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Units 2 and 3; James A. Fitzpatrick Nuclear Power Plant; LaSalle County Station, Units 1 and 2; Limerick Generating Station, Units 1 and 2; Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and 3; and Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2 - Revision to Approved Alternatives to use Boiling Water Reactor Vessel and Internals Project Guidelines (EPID L-2019-LLR-0012)
(ADAMS Accession No. ML19098034), dated April 30, 2019 Table 1 Plants with Updated BWRVIP Document Revisions Unit (Original Relief Request No.)
GGNS                      RBS (GG-ISI-020)             (RBS-ISl-019)
Original Relief Request Safety Evaluation       ML18003B126              ML18310A013 ADAMS Accession No.
Listed BWRVIP-18 1-A                      2-A Revision Requested BWRVIP-18 2-A              No Change Requested Revision Listed BWRVIP-41 3                       4-A Revision Requested BWRVIP-41 4-A              No Change Requested Revision Listed BWRVIP-48 A                        A Revision Requested BWRVIP-48 1                        1 Revision}}