ML071280118

License Amendment Nos. 178 and 165, Change the Name of One Licensee from Texas Genco, LP, to Nrg South Texas LP (TAC Nos. MD5268 and MD5269)

ML071280118
Person / Time
Site:	South Texas
Issue date:	06/29/2007
From:	Thadani M NRC/NRR/ADRO/DORL/LPLIV
To:	Sheppard J South Texas
Thadani, M C, NRR/DORL/LP4, 415-1476
Shared Package
ML071280020	List: ML071280118 ML071280688
References
TAC MD5268, TAC MD5269
Download: ML071280118 (13)

Text

June 29, 2007 Mr. James J. Sheppard President and Chief Executive Officer STP Nuclear Operating Company South Texas Project Electric Generating Station P.O. Box 289 Wadsworth, TX 77483

SUBJECT:

SOUTH TEXAS PROJECT, UNITS 1 AND 2 - ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENTS RE: PROPOSED LICENSEE NAME CHANGE (TAC NOS. MD5268 AND MD5269)

Dear Mr. Sheppard:

The Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 178 to Facility Operating License No. NPF-76 and Amendment No. 165 to Facility Operating License No. NPF-80 for the South Texas Project, Units 1 and 2, respectively. The amendments consist of changes to the Facility Operating Licenses in response to your application dated April 4, 2006.

The amendments revise South Texas Project Operating Licenses numbered NPF-76 and NPF-80 by changing the name of one licensee, Texas Genco, LP, to NRG South Texas LP.

A copy of our related Safety Evaluation is also enclosed. The Notice of Issuance will be included in the Commission's next biweekly Federal Register notice.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Mohan C. Thadani, Senior Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch IV Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos. 50-498 and 50-499

Enclosures:

1. Amendment No. 178 to NPF-76

2. Amendment No. 165 to NPF-80

3. Safety Evaluation cc w/encls: See next page

Pkg ML071280020 (LTR/AMD: ML071280118, License pgs 1-3: ML071280688)

OFFICE NRR/LPL4/PM NRR/LPL4/PM NRR/LPL4/LA OGC - NLO OGC - NLO re FNSHC NRR/LPL4/BC NAME JEargle MThadani:BVaidya for MCT JBurkhardt SUttal AHodgdon THiltz DATE 5/14/07 6/29/07 6/29/07 6/29/07 6/29/07 6/29/07 STP NUCLEAR OPERATING COMPANY DOCKET NO. 50-498 SOUTH TEXAS PROJECT, UNIT 1 AMENDMENT TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 178 License No. NPF-76

1. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has found that:

A. The application for amendment by STP Nuclear Operating Company* acting on behalf of itself and for Texas Genco, LP, the City Public Service Board of San Antonio (CPS), AEP Texas Central Company, and the City of Austin, Texas (COA) (the licensees), dated April 4, 2006, complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's rules and regulations set forth in 10 CFR Chapter I; B. The facility will operate in conformity with the application, as amended, the provisions of the Act, and the rules and regulations of the Commission; C. There is reasonable assurance (i) that the activities authorized by this amendment can be conducted without endangering the health and safety of the public, and (ii) that such activities will be conducted in compliance with the Commission's regulations; D. The issuance of this license amendment will not be inimical to the common defense and security or to the health and safety of the public; and E. The issuance of this amendment is in accordance with 10 CFR Part 51 of the Commission's regulations and all applicable requirements have been satisfied.

• STP Nuclear Operating Company is authorized to act for Texas Genco, LP, the City Public Service Board of San Antonio, AEP Texas Central Company, and the City of Austin, Texas, and has exclusive responsibility and control over the physical construction, operation, and maintenance of the facility.

2. Accordingly, the license is amended by changes to the Facility Operating License No. NPF-76 as indicated in the attachment to this license amendment.

3. The license amendment is effective as of its date of issuance and shall be implemented within 30 days from the date of issuance.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

/RA/

Thomas G. Hiltz, Chief Plant Licensing Branch IV Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Attachment:

Changes to the Facility Operating License No. NPF-76 Date of Issuance: June 29, 2007

STP NUCLEAR OPERATING COMPANY DOCKET NO. 50-499 SOUTH TEXAS PROJECT, UNIT 2 AMENDMENT TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 165 License No. NPF-80

1. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has found that:

A. The application for amendment by STP Nuclear Operating Company* acting on behalf of itself and for Texas Genco, LP, the City Public Service Board of San Antonio (CPS), AEP Texas Central Company, and the City of Austin, Texas (COA) (the licensees), dated April 4, 2006, complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's rules and regulations set forth in 10 CFR Chapter I; B. The facility will operate in conformity with the application, as amended, the provisions of the Act, and the rules and regulations of the Commission; C. There is reasonable assurance (i) that the activities authorized by this amendment can be conducted without endangering the health and safety of the public, and (ii) that such activities will be conducted in compliance with the Commission's regulations; D. The issuance of this license amendment will not be inimical to the common defense and security or to the health and safety of the public; and E. The issuance of this amendment is in accordance with 10 CFR Part 51 of the Commission's regulations and all applicable requirements have been satisfied.

• STP Nuclear Operating Company is authorized to act for Texas Genco, LP, the City Public Service Board of San Antonio, AEP Texas Central Company, and the City of Austin, Texas, and has exclusive responsibility and control over the physical construction, operation, and maintenance of the facility.

2. Accordingly, the license is amended by changes to Facility Operating License No. NPF-80 as indicated in the attachment to this license amendment.

3. The license amendment is effective as of its date of issuance and shall be implemented within 30 days from the date of issuance.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

/RA/

Thomas G. Hiltz, Chief Plant Licensing Branch IV Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Attachment:

Changes to the Facility Operating License No. NPF-80 Date of Issuance: June 29, 2007

ATTACHMENT TO LICENSE AMENDMENT NOS. 178 AND 165 FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NOS. NPF-76 AND NPF-80 DOCKET NOS. 50-498 AND 50-499 Replace the following pages of the Facility Operating Licenses, Nos. NPF-76 and NPF-80 with the attached revised pages. The revised pages are identified by amendment number and contain marginal lines indicating the areas of change.

Facility Operating License No. NPF-76 REMOVE INSERT Facility Operating License No. NPF-80 REMOVE INSERT SOUTH TEXAS LICENSE (2) Technical Specifications The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A, as revised through Amendment No. 178, and the Environmental Protection Plan contained in l Appendix B, are hereby incorporated in the license. STPNOC shall operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications and the Environmental Protection Plan.

(3) Not Used (4) Initial Startup Test Program (Section 14, SER)*

Any changes to the Initial Test Program described in Section 14 of the Final Safety Analysis Report made in accordance with the provisions of 10 CFR 50.59 shall be reported in accordance with 50.59(b) within one month of such change.

(5) Safety Parameter Display System (Section 18, SSER No. 4)*

Before startup after the first refueling outage, HL&P[**] shall perform the necessary activities, provide acceptable responses, and implement all proposed corrective actions related to issues as described in Section 18.2 of SER Supplement 4.

(6) Supplementary Containment Purge Isolation (Section 11.5, SSER No. 4)

HL&P shall provide, prior to startup from the first refueling outage, control room indication of the normal and supplemental containment purge sample line isolation valve position.

• The parenthetical notation following the title of many license conditions denotes the section of the Safety Evaluation Report and/or its supplements wherein the license condition is discussed.

• • The original licensee authorized to possess, use and operate the facility was HL&P.

Consequently, historical references to certain obligations of HL&P remain in the license conditions.

Amendment No. 178

(2) Technical Specifications The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A, as revised through Amendment No. 165, and the Environmental Protection Plan contained in l Appendix B, are hereby incorporated in the license. STPNOC shall operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications and the Environmental Protection Plan.

(3) Not Used (4) Initial Startup Test Program (Section 14, SR)*

Any changes to the Initial Test Program described in Section 14 of the Final Safety Analysis Report made in accordance with the provisions of 10 CFR 50.59 shall be reported in accordance with 50.59(b) within one month of such change.

(5) License Transfer Texas Genco, LP shall provide decommissioning funding assurance, to be held in decommissioning trusts for the South Texas Project, Unit 2 (Unit 2) upon the direct transfer of the Unit 2 license to Texas Genco, LP, in an amount equal to or greater than the balance in the Unit 2 decommissioning trust immediately prior to the transfer. In addition, Texas Genco, LP shall ensure that all contractual arrangements referred to in the application for approval of the transfer of the Unit 2 license to Texas Genco, LP to obtain necessary decommissioning funds for Unit 2 through a non-bypassable charge are executed and will be maintained until the decommissioning trusts are fully funded, or shall ensure that other mechanisms that provide equivalent assurance of decommissioning funding in accordance with the Commissions regulations are maintained.

(6) License Transfer The master decommissioning trust agreement for Unit 2, at the time the direct transfer of Unit 2 to Texas Genco, LP is effected and thereafter, is subject to the following:

• The parenthetical notation following the title of many license conditions denotes the section of the Safety Evaluation Report and/or its supplements wherein the license condition is discussed.

Amendment No. 165

SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION RELATED TO AMENDMENT NOS. 178 AND 165 TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NOS. NPF-76 AND NPF-80 STP NUCLEAR OPERATING COMPANY, ET AL.

SOUTH TEXAS PROJECT, UNITS 1 AND 2 DOCKET NOS. 50-498 AND 50-499

1.0 INTRODUCTION

By application dated April 4, 2006 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System Accession No. ML061010771), STP Nuclear Operating Company (STPNOC, the licensee) requested changes to the Facility Operating Licenses (FOLs) for South Texas Project (STP),

Units 1 and 2.

The proposed changes would amend South Texas Project FOLs, NPF-76 and NPF-80, by changing the name of one licensee Texas Genco, LP (Texas Genco), to NRG South Texas LP.

The proposed change relates to the purchase of Texas Gencos parent company by NRG Energy, Incorporated, as approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in January 2006 for the indirect transfer of licenses for STP as held by Texas Genco.

2.0 EVALUATION The NRC staff has reviewed the licensees request for a name change and finds that the proposed amendments would change the name of one of the licensees. There is no change in design, operation, surveillance, or maintenance of the plant. The NRC staff finds that the amendments are administrative in nature, and are, therefore, acceptable.

3.0 STATE CONSULTATION

In accordance with the Commission's regulations, the Texas State official was contacted on June 18, 19, and 29, 2007, for notification of the proposed issuance of the amendment. The State official could not be reached due to a Texas Department of Health building emergency.

4.0 FINAL NO SIGNIFICANT HAZARDS CONSIDERATION

DETERMINATION (NSHCD)

The Commission has previously issued a proposed finding that this amendment involves no significant hazards consideration, and published for public comments, such finding on May 9, 2007 (72 FR 26428). Because this amendment is being issued after the 30-day comment

period and before the expiration of the 60-day period providing opportunity to request a hearing, a final NSHCD is included in this safety evaluation.

As required by 10 CFR 50.91(a), the licensee, in its submission, provided its analysis of the issue of no significant hazards consideration. The NRC staff has reviewed the licensee's analysis against the standards of 10 CFR 50.92(c). The NRC staff's review is presented below:

The proposed amendment[s] would only change the name of a licensee. The proposed name change does not involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated. The proposed name change does not create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated. The proposed name change does not involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety.

The NRC staff has determined, based on this review, that the three standards of 10 CFR 50.92(c) are satisfied. Therefore, the NRC staff has determined that the amendment request involves no significant hazards consideration.

5.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION

Pursuant to 10 CFR Sections 51.21, 51.32, and 51.35, an environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact has been published in the Federal Register on June 14, 2007 (72 FR 32924). Accordingly, based upon the environmental assessment, the NRC staff has determined that the issuance of these amendments will not have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment.

6.0 CONCLUSION

The Commission has concluded, based on the considerations discussed above, that: (1) there is reasonable assurance that the health and safety of the public will not be endangered by operation in the proposed manner, (2) such activities will be conducted in compliance with the Commission's regulations, and (3) the issuance of the amendments will not be inimical to the common defense and security or to the health and safety of the public.

Principal Contributor: Jason Eargle Date: June 29, 2007

South Texas Project, Units 1 & 2 cc:

Senior Resident Inspector E. D. Halpin U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Site Vice President P.O. Box 289 STP Nuclear Operating Company Wadsworth, TX 77483 South Texas Project Electric Generating Station C. M. Canady P.O. Box 289 City of Austin Wadsworth, TX 77483 Electric Utility Department 721 Barton Springs Road S. M. Head, Manager, Licensing Austin, TX 78704 STP Nuclear Operating Company P.O. Box 289, Mail Code: N5014 J. J. Nesrsta/R. K. Temple Wadsworth, TX 77483 E. Alercon/Kevin Pollo City Public Service Board C. T. Bowman P.O. Box 1771 General Manager, Oversight San Antonio, TX 78296 STP Nuclear Operating Company P.O Box 389 INPO Wadsworth, TX 77483 Records Center 700 Galleria Parkway Marilyn Kistler Atlanta, GA 30339-3064 Sr. Staff Specialist, Licensing STP Nuclear Operating Company Regional Administrator, Region IV P.O. Box 289, Mail Code 5014 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Wadsworth, TX 77483 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400 Arlington, TX 76011 Environmental and Natural Resources Policy Director Steve Winn/Christie Jacobs P.O. Box 12428 Eddy Daniels/Marty Ryan Austin, TX 78711-3189 NRC Energy, Inc.

211 Carnegie Center Jon C. Wood Princeton, NJ 08540 Cox, Smith, & Matthews 112 East Pecan, Suite 1800 Judge, Matagorda County San Antonio, TX 78205 Matagorda County Courthouse 1700 Seventh Street Director Bay City, TX 77414 Division of Compliance & Inspection Bureau of Radiation Control A. H. Gutterman, Esq. Texas Department of State Health Services Morgan, Lewis & Bockius 1100 West 49th Street 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Austin, TX 78756 Washington, DC 20004 March 2007

South Texas Project, Units 1 & 2 cc:

Mr. Ted Enos Ken Coates 4200 South Hulen Plant General Manager Suite 422 STP Nuclear Operating Company Ft. Worth, TX 76109 South Texas Project Electric Generating Station Brian Almon P.O. Box 289 Public Utility Commission Wadsworth, TX 77483 William B. Travis Building P.O. Box 13326 Mr. Terry Parks, Chief Inspector 1701 North Congress Avenue Texas Department of Licensing Austin, TX 78701-3326 and Regulation Boiler Division Susan M. Jablonski P.O. Box 12157 Office of Permitting, Remediation Austin, TX 78711 and Registration Texas Commission on Environmental Quality MC-122 P.O. Box 13087 Austin, TX 78711-3087 March 2007