IR 05000259/2015005

Mid-Cycle Assessment Letter for the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Units 1, 2 and 3, NRC Inspection Report 005000259/2015005, 005000260/2015005, and 005000296/2015005

ML15244B010
Person / Time
Site:	Browns Ferry
Issue date:	09/01/2015
From:	Blamey A J Division Reactor Projects II
To:	Shea J W Tennessee Valley Authority
References
IR 2015005
Download: ML15244B010 (6)

Text

September 1, 2015

Mr. Joseph Vice President, Nuclear Licensing Tennessee Valley Authority 1101 Market Street, LP 3D-C Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801

SUBJECT: MID-CYCLE ASSESSMENT LETTER FOR THE BROWNS FERRY NUCLEAR PLANT UNITS 1, 2 and 3, NRC INSPECTION REPORT 005000259/2015005, 005000260/2015005, and 005000296/2015005

Dear Mr. Shea:

On August 13, 2015, the NRC completed its mid-cycle performance review of Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant. The NRC reviewed the most recent quarterly performance indicators (PIs) in addition to inspection results and enforcement actions from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015. This letter informs you of the NRC's assessment of your facility during this period and its plans for future inspections at your facility. The NRC determined that overall, Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant operated in a manner that preserved public health and safety and met all cornerstone objectives. The NRC determined the performance at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant during the most recent quarter was within the Licensee Response Column of the NRC's Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) Action Matrix because all inspection findings had very low (i.e., green) safety significance, and all PIs indicated that your performance was within the nominal, expected range (i.e., green). Therefore, the NRC plans to conduct ROP baseline inspections at your facility. The enclosed inspection plan lists the inspections scheduled through June 30, 2017. Routine inspections performed by resident inspectors are not included in the inspection plan. The inspections listed during the second half of the inspection plan are tentative and may be revised at the end-of-cycle performance review. The NRC provides the inspection plan to allow for the resolution of any scheduling conflicts and personnel availability issues. The NRC will contact you as soon as possible to discuss changes to the inspection plan should circumstances warrant any changes. This inspection plan does not include security related inspections, which will be sent via separate, non-publicly available correspondence.

In addition to the routine ROP baseline inspections at your facility, we also plan on conducting infrequently performed inspections which include Inspection Procedure (IP) 43004, "Inspection of Commercial-Grade Dedication Programs," and an initial operator license examination. In response to the accident at Fukushima, the Commission issued Order EA-12-049, "Order Modifying Licenses with Regard to Requirements for Mitigation Strategies for Beyond-Design-Basis External Events." This Order requires licensees to develop, implement, and maintain guidance and strategies to maintain or restore core cooling, containment, and spent fuel pool cooling capabilities following a beyond-design-basis external event. Additionally, the Commission issued Order EA-12-051, "Order Modifying Licenses with Regard to Reliable Spent Fuel Pool Instrumentation." This Order requires licensees to have a reliable means of remotely monitoring wide-range Spent Fuel Pool levels to support effective prioritization of event mitigation and recovery actions in the event of a beyond-design-basis external event. The NRC is conducting audits of licensee efforts towards compliance with these Orders. The audit was completed for Browns Ferry in January of 2015, and the information gathered will aid staff in development of the Safety Evaluation for the site. After the NRC staff receives the Final Compliance letter for the site, the Final Safety Evaluation will be issued. Then, the NRC staff will confirm through inspections the full implementation of the orders mentioned above performing TI 191: "Inspection of the Implementation of Mitigation Strategies and Spent Fuel Pool Instrumentation Orders and Emergency Preparedness Communication/Staffing/Multi-Unit Dose Assessment Plans." In accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 2.390 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRC's document system (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room). Please contact me at 404-997-4415 with any questions you have regarding this letter.

Sincerely,/RA/

Alan Blamey, Chief Reactor Projects Branch 6 Division of Reactor Projects Docket Nos.: 50-259, 50-260, 50-296 License Nos. DPR-33, DPR-52, DPR-68

Enclosure:

Browns Ferry Inspection/Activity Plan (07/01/2015 - 06/30/2017) cc distribution via ListServ