ML091900763

Amendment No. 163 Regarding Deletion of Working Hour Limitations Per TSTF-511

ML091900763
Person / Time
Site:	Monticello
Issue date:	08/19/2009
From:	Tam P Plant Licensing Branch III
To:	O'Connor T Northern States Power Co
Tam P
References
TAC ME1088
Download: ML091900763 (10)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 August 19, 2009 Mr. Timothy J. O'Connor Site Vice President Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant Northern States Power Company - Minnesota (NSPM) 2807 West County Road 75 Monticello, MN 55362-9637

SUBJECT:

MONTICELLO NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT (MNGP) - ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT REGARDING ADOPTION OF TSTF-511, ELIMINATION OF WORKING HOUR RESTRICTIONS (TAC NO. ME1088)

Dear Mr. O'Connor:

The Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 163 to Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-22 for the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant. The amendment consists of changes to the Technical Specifications (TSs) in response to your application dated April 15, 2009.

The amendment revises the MNGP TSs, deleting paragraph d (regarding limitation of working hours of personnel who perform safety-related functions) of TS 5.2.2, "Unit Staff." This change is consistent with the Technical Specification Task Force (TSTF) Improved Standard Technical Specification Change Traveler, TSTF-511, "Eliminate Working Hour Restrictions from TS 5.2.2 to Support Compliance with 10 CFR Part 26."

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

(PAY ..,

Peter S. Tam, Senior Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch 111-1 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-263

Enclosures:

1. Amendment No. 163 to DPR-22

2. Safety Evaluation cc w/encls: Distribution via ListServ

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 NORTHERN STATES POWER COMPANY*

DOCKET NO. 50-263 MONTICELLO NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT AMENDMENT TO RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 163 License No. DPR-22

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

A. The application for amendment by Nuclear Management Company, LLC*

(the licensee), dated April 15, 2009, 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, 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 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.

2. Accordingly, the license is amended by changes to the Technical Specifications as indicated in the attachment to this license amendment, and paragraph 2.C.2 of Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-22 is hereby amended to read as follows:

Technical Specifications The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A, as revised through Amendment No. 163, are hereby incorporated in the license. NSPM shall operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications.

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3. This license amendment is effective as of its date of issuance and shall be implemented by October 1, 2009.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Lois M. James, Chief Plant Licensing Branch 111-1 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Attachment:

Changes to Renewed Facility Operating License and Technical Specifications Date of Issuance: August 19, 2009

ATTACHMENT TO LICENSE AMENDMENT NO. 163 RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. DPR-22 DOCKET NO. 50-263 Replace the following page of Renewed Facility Operating License DPR-22 with the revised page attached. The revised page is identified by amendment number and contains a marginal line indicating the area of change.

REMOVE INSERT 3 3 Replace the following page of Appendix A, Technical Specifications, with the revised page attached. The revised page is identified by amendment number and contains a marginal line indicating the areas of change.

REMOVE INSERT 5.2-2 5.2-2

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2. Pursuant to the Act and 10 CFR Part 70, NSPM to receive, possess, and use at any time special nuclear material as reactor fuel, in accordance with the limitations for storage and amounts required for reactor operations, as described in the Final Safety Analysis Report, as supplemented and amended, and the licensee's filings dated August 16, 1974 (those portions dealing with handling of reactor fuel) and August 17, 1977 (those portions dealing with fuel assembly storage capacity);

3. Pursuant to the Act and 10 CFR Parts 30, 40 and 70, NSPM to receive, possess, and use at any time any byproduct, source and special nuclear material as sealed neutron sources for reactor startup, sealed sources for reactor instrumentation and radiation monitoring equipment calibration, and as fission detectors in amounts as required;

4. Pursuant to the Act and 10 CFR Parts 30, 40 and 70, NSPM to receive, possess, and use in amounts as required any byproduct, source or special nuclear material without restriction to chemical or physical form, for sample analysis or instrument calibration or associated with radioactive apparatus or components; and

5. Pursuant to the Act and 10 CFR Parts 30 and 70, NSPM to possess, but not separate, such byproduct and special nuclear material as may be produced by operation of the facility.

C. This renewed operating license shall be deemed to contain and is subject to the conditions specified in the Commission's regulations in 10 CFR Chapter I and is subject to all applicable provisions of the Act and to the rules, regulations, and orders of the Commission, now or hereafter in effect; and is subject to the additional conditions specified or incorporated below:

1. Maximum Power Level NSPM is authorized to operate the facility at steady state reactor core power levels not in excess of 1775 megawatts (thermal).

2. Technical Specifications The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A, as revised through Amendment No. 163, are hereby incorporated in the license. NSPM shall operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications.

3. Physical Protection NSPM shall implement and maintain in effect all provisions of the Commission-approved physical security, guard training and qualification, and safeguards contingency plans including amendments made pursuant to provisions of the Miscellaneous Amendments and Search Renewed License No. DPR-22 Amendment No. ~ 163

Organization 5.2 5.2 Organization 5.2.2 Unit Staff (continued)

c. A radiation protection technician shall be on site when fuel is in the reactor.

The position may be vacant for not more than 2 hours2.314815e-5 days <br />5.555556e-4 hours <br />3.306878e-6 weeks <br />7.61e-7 months <br />, in order to provide for unexpected absence, provided immediate action is taken to fill the required position.

d. Not Usee!.

e. The operations manager shall hold a Senior Operator license or shall formerly have held a Senior Operator license. If the operations manager does not hold a Senior Operator license, another member of plant management shall hold a Senior Operator license and shall be assigned to the plant operations group on a long term basis (approximately 2 years).

This individual shall not be assigned to a rotating shift.

f. An individual shall provide advisory technical support to the unit operations shift crew in the areas of thermal hydraulics, reactor engineering, and plant analysis with regard to the safe operation of the unit. This individual shall meet the qualifications specified by the Commission Policy Statement on Engineering Expertise on Shift.

Monticello 5.2-2 Amendment No. .t4e 163

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555*0001 SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION RELATED TO AMENDMENT NO. 163 TO RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. DPR-22 NORTHERN STATES POWER COMPANY - MINNESOTA MONTICELLO NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT DOCKET NO. 50-263

1.0 INTRODUCTION

By application dated April 15, 2009 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML091050619), Northern States Power Company - Minnesota (NSPM, the licensee) proposed changes to the Technical Specifications (TS) for Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant (MNGP) to delete paragraph d (regarding limitation of working hours of personnel who perform safety-related functions) of TS 5.2.2, "Unit Staff."

The licensee stated that the application is consistent with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)-approved Revision 0 to Technical Specification Task Force (TSTF) Improved Standard Technical Specification Change Traveler, TSTF-511, "Eliminate Working Hour Restrictions from TS 5.2.2 to Support Compliance with 10 CFR Part 26."

2.0 REGULATORY EVALUATION

The history of NRC regulations pertaining to prevention of worker impairment is summarized in the Federal Register notice containing the final rule that amended Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 26 (73 FR 16966, March 31, 2008). The regulation at 10 CFR Part 26, Subpart I, provides the regulatory requirements for managing worker fatigue at nuclear power plants.

The NRC's regulatory requirements relating to the contents of the TS are contained in 10 CFR 50.36. This regulation requires that the TS include items in the followinq categories: (1) safety limits, limiting safety systems settings, and limiting control settings; (2) limiting conditions for operation; (3) surveillance requirements; (4) design features; and (5) administrative controls.

The administrative controls are the provisions relating to organization and management, procedures, recordkeeping, review and audit, and reporting necessary to assure operation of the facility in a safe manner.

The NRC's guidance for the format and content of licensee TSs, which can be found in NUREG 1430, Revision 3.0, "Standard Technical Specifications Babcock and Wilcox Plants," NUREG 1431, Revision 3.0, "Standard Technical Specifications Westinghouse Plants," NUREG-1432, Revision 3.0, "Standard Technical Specifications Combustion Engineering Plants," NUREG 1433, Revision 3.0, "Standard Technical Specifications General Electric Plants, BWR/4," and NUREG-1434, Revision 3.0, "Standard Technical Specifications General Electric Plants, BWR/6," are referred to as Standard Technical Specifications (STS). Section 5 of STS

-2 contains administrative controls. Paragraph d of Section 5.2.2 of STS contains requirements for administrative procedures to limit the working hours of personnel who perform safety-related functions. This paragraph represents NRC's guidance on how licensee TS requirements should address work hour controls. Licensees adhere to the guidance to varying degrees due to minor administrative differences and differences in each licensee's current licensing basis. The inconsistent level of adherence to NRC guidance has lead to inconsistent TS interpretation and implementation. This has also made it difficult for NRC to enforce the requirements.

The new requirements of 10 CFR Part 26, Subpart I, supersede TS requirements for limiting the working hours of personnel as described in Paragraph d of Section 5.2.2 of all STS. Subpart I distinguishes between work hour controls and fatigue management and strengthens the requirements for both. Subpart I requires nuclear power plant licensees to ensure against worker fatigue, which could adversely affect public health and safety and common defense and security, by establishing clear and enforceable requirements for the management of worker fatigue. Licensees are required to implement Subpart I by October 1, 2009, as announced in the Final rule that revised 10 CFR Part 26 (73 FR 16966, March 31, 2008). TSTF-511 proposed a change to STS that would delete paragraph d of STS 5.2.2. This change was approved in a Federal Register notice on December 30, 2008 (73 FR 79923).

2.1 Adoption of TSTF-511 Revision 0, by IVINGP J

Proper adoption of TSTF-511 and implementation of 10 CFR Part 26, Subpart I, by IVINGP will provide reasonable assurance that MNGP will maintain limits on the working hours of personnel who perform safety-related functions. MNGP has committed to remove the plant-specific TS requirements concurrently with the implementation of the 10 CFR Part 26, Subpart I, requirements.

3.0 TECHNICAL EVALUATION

Controls on work hours for personnel at nuclear power plants are necessary to prevent worker fatigue from adversely affecting public health and safety and common defense and security.

Work hour controls for Monticello are currently located in paragraph d of TS 5.2.2. When implemented, the regulatory requirements of 10 CFR 26, Subpart I, would replace the plant specific TS requirements found in paragraph d of Monticello's TS.

The licensee proposed deleting paragraph d of TS 5.2.2. The licensee committed to implement the new requirements of 10 CFR Part 26, Subpart I, concurrently with the deletion of the TS requirements on work hour controls. The NRC staff finds that reasonable controls for the implementation and for subsequent evaluation of proposed changes pertaining to the above regulatory commitment(s) are best provided by the licensee's administrative processes, including its commitment management program (see Regulatory Issue Summary 2000-017, "Managing Regulatory Commitments Made by Power Reactor Licensees to the NRC Staff'). The above regulatory commitments do not warrant the creation of regulatory requirements (items requiring prior NRC approval of subsequent changes).

The NRC staff evaluated the licensee's proposed change against the applicable regulatory requirements set forth in Section 2.0 above. The NRC staff also compared the proposed change to the change made to STS by TSTF-511. The NRC staff considered the licensee's commitment to implement 10 CFR Part 26, Subpart I, concurrently with the deletion of TS work

-3 hour control requirements in its evaluation of the proposed change. Given the licensee's commitment, there is reasonable assurance that the licensee will comply with the regulations for work hour controls, either through TS requirements or through the requirements of 10 CFR Part 26, SUbpart I, at all times at Monticello. Therefore, the licensee will continue to prevent worker fatigue from adversely affecting public health and safety and common defense and security. Therefore, the staff finds the proposed change acceptable.

4.0 STATE CONSULTATION

In accordance with the Commission's regulations, the Minnesota State official was notified of the proposed issuance of the amendment. The State official had no comments.

5.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION

This amendment changes recordkeeping, reporting, or administrative procedures. Accordingly, this amendment meets the eligibility criteria for categorical exclusion set forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(10). Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b), no environmental impact statement or environmental assessment need be prepared in connection with the issuance of this amendment.

6.0 CONCLUSION

The NRC staff has concluded, on the basis of 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 Contributors: Victor Cusumano, NRR Aron Lewin, NRR Date: August 19, 2009

August 19, 2009 Mr. Timothy J. O'Connor Site Vice President Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant Northern States Power Company - Minnesota (NSPM) 2807 West County Road 75 Monticello, MN 55362-9637 SUB..IECT: MONTICELLO NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT (MNGP) - ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT REGARDING ADOPTION OF TSTF-511, ELIMINATION OF WORKING HOUR RESTRICTIONS (TAC NO. ME1088)

Dear Mr. O'Connor:

The Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 163 to Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-22 for the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant. The amendment consists of changes to the Technical Specifications in response to your application dated April 15, 2009.

The amendment revises the MNGP Technical Specifications (TS), deleting paragraph d (regarding limitation of working hours of personnel who perform safety-related functions) of TS 5.2.2, "Unit Staff." This change is consistent with the Technical Specification Task Force (TSTF)

Improved Standard Technical Specification Change Traveler, TSTF-511, "Eliminate Working Hour Restrictions from TS 5.2.2 to Support Compliance with 10 CFR Part 26."

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

Sincerely, IRA!

Peter S. Tam, Senior Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch 111-1 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-263

Enclosures:

1. Amendment No. 163 to DPR-22

2. Safety Evaluation cc w/encls: Distribution via ListServ DISTRIBUTION:

PUBLIC LPL3-1 rtf RidsNrrDorlLpl3-1 Resource RidsNrrPMMonticello Resource RidsNrrLATHarris Resource RidsOGCRp Resource RidsAcrsAcnw_MailCTR Resource RidsNrrDirsSbpb RidsRgn3MailCenter Resource J. Miller, NRR G. Hill, OIS RidsNrrDorlDpr Accession No.: Ml091900763 OFFICE LPL3-1/PM LPL3-1/LA ITSB/BC OGC *NLO LPL3-1/BC NAME PTam BTuily ITHarris for RElliott MSmith LJames DATE 07/31/09 07/23/09 OS/29/09 08/04/09 08/19/09

• Safety evaluation Input transmitted by memo on date shown.

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY