ML122840333

Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station - Request for Additional Information - E-mail from R. Guzman to P. Couture License Amendment Request to Revise License Condition 3.P and 3.Q

ML122840333
Person / Time
Site:	Vermont Yankee File:NorthStar Vermont Yankee icon.png
Issue date:	10/10/2012
From:	Guzman R V Division of Operating Reactor Licensing
To:	Couture P Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee
Guzman R V, NRR/DORL 415-1030
References
TAC ME7733
Download: ML122840333 (3)

Text

From:Guzman, RichardTo:Couture III, PhilipCc:Wanczyk, Robert J

Subject:

Request for Additional Information - LAR to Revise License Conditions 3.P and 3.QDate:Wednesday, October 10, 2012 12:29:59 PMPhil,As we discussed, the NRC staff has reviewed the information provided in the subjectlicense amendment request dated March 5, 2012, (Agencywide Documents Accessand Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML12068A110), and hasdetermined that additional information is needed to support the NRC staff's review of the proposed license amendment. Below is the NRC staff's request for additionalinformation. To support the timely review of this application, we request that youprovide a formal response within 30 days of the date of this request. Please contactme if you have any questions.REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATIONREGARDING LICENSE AMENDMENT REQUEST TO REVISELICENSE CONDITIONS 3.P AND 3.QENTERGY NUCLEAR OPERATIONS. INC.VERMONT YANKEE NUCLEAR POWER STATIONDOCKET NO. 50-271LICENSE NO. DPR-28The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff is reviewing the information provided by Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (the licensee) for Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station in its in its license amendment request (LAR) dated March 5, 2012, (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS)

Accession No. ML12068A110), and has determined that additional information is necessary to complete its review. Please provide a response which addresses thefollowing request for additional information (RAI):BackgroundBy letter dated March 5, 2012, the licensee proposed to modify the VY RenewedFacility Operating License Condition (RFOLC) 3.P to clarify that the programs and activities described in the Updated Final Safety Analysis Report (UFSAR) supplement submitted pursuant to 10 CFR 54.21(d), as revised during the license renewal application process, may be changed without prior NRC approval provided the requirements of 10 CFR 50.59 have been previously satisfied. Additionally, thelicensee proposed to revise the RFOLC 3.Q to clarify that the programs and activities, identified in Appendix A of Supplement 2 to NUREG-1907 and the UFSAR supplement, to be completed before the period of extended operation are completedon schedule, and the NRC is to be notified upon completion of implementation ofthese activities. Also, a new regulatory commitment is included in this letter toincorporate the Appendix A list of commitments for license renewal from Supplement 2 to NUREG-1907 into the UFSAR supplement.IssueAt the time the renewed operating license for Vermont Yankee was issued, thecommitments listed in Appendix A of the license renewal safety evaluation report for Vermont Yankee were not incorporated as part of the UFSAR supplement. Also, theconditions that were added as part of the renewed operating license for Vermont Yankee did not require the commitments for license renewal be incorporated as part of the UFSAR. The specific wording of RFOLC 3.Q states, in part:[The licensee] shall complete these activities in accordance with Appendix A of Supplement 2 to NUREG-1907, "Safety Evaluation Report Related to the License Renewal of Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station," issued March 2011 (excluding Commitment No. 37, which is superseded by the steam dryer license condition).This wording escalates each regulatory commitment in the Appendix A list of commitments from the safety evaluation report to obligations, i.e. license conditions. Regulatory commitments that are referenced in the license condition for license renewal, but not incorporated as part of the UFSAR, are treated as license conditions. License conditions require NRC approval and are processed inaccordance with the requirements in 10 CFR 50.90, "Application for amendment of license, construction permit, or early site permit." License conditions require a licenseamendment request which includes a technical evaluation that justifies the modification of the license condition.The NRC staff recognizes that the licensee has submitted a license amendmentrequest which provides a technical evaluation to revise RFOLC 3.P and 3.Q. However, the submittal of a regulatory commitment is not sufficient for incorporatingthe Appendix A list of commitments from the license renewal safety evaluation reportwhich were escalated to license conditions into the UFSAR to be managed using 10CFR 50.59. Additionally, the license amendment request does not provide atechnical evaluation or sufficient information for the NRC staff to evaluate the proposal to incorporate the Appendix A list of commitments from the license renewal safety evaluation report into the UFSAR Supplement. Specifically, the licensee doesnot provide technical justifications for why the commitments in Appendix A of the license renewal safety evaluation (which are license conditions) can be managed using the 10 CFR 50.59 process. RAIPlease provide a technical evaluation that justifies why the Appendix A list of commitments from the license renewal safety evaluation report, which were elevated to license conditions, can be incorporated as part of the UFSAR and managed using the 10 CFR 50.59 process.Thanks,Rich GuzmanSr. Project Manager NRR/DORL US NRC301-415-1030Richard.Guzman@nrc.gov