ML061650423

Amendment, Completion of Review of Pending License Amendment Request

ML061650423
Person / Time
Site:	Browns Ferry
Issue date:	07/07/2006
From:	Holden C F Plant Licensing Branch III-2
To:	Singer K W Tennessee Valley Authority
Chernoff M H, NRR/DORL, 415-4041
References
TAC MC4797, TS-432
Download: ML061650423 (5)

Text

July 7, 2006Mr. Karl W. SingerChief Nuclear Officer and Executive Vice President Tennessee Valley Authority 6A Lookout Place 1101 Market Street Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801

SUBJECT:

BROWNS FERRY NUCLEAR PLANT, UNIT 1 - REVIEW OF PENDINGLICENSE AMENDMENT REQUEST (TAC NO. MC4797) (TS-432)

Dear Mr. Singer:

This letter provides status of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff's review ofthe Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA's) request to remove License Condition 2.C(4) from Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Unit 1 (BFN1) license. In a letter dated September 6, 1996, TVA submitted Technical Specification Change TS-362, arequest for conversion to the improved standard technical specifications (ISTS). At that time, TVA had not announced any plans to restart Unit 1. In a letter dated December 29, 1997, TVA stated:...Unit 1 is currently defueled and will require extensive analyses andmodifications to be completed prior to restart. TVA plans to perform the required analyses and modifications on Unit 1 such that on restart, the Unit 1 plant configuration and analysis basis will be the same or similar to Units 2 and 3. Hence, in TS-362, the proposed Unit 1 ITS [improved technical specifications]

were the same as those proposed for Units 2 and 3 except for minor intrinsic unit differences. In that letter, TVA also proposed a License Condition for Unit 1 to ensure the appropriatemodifications and analyses are in place prior to entering modes of operation for which the TS applies. The proposed license condition stated:TVA shall review the Technical Specification (TS) changes made by TS-362 andsubsequent TS changes for Unit 1, and verify that the required analyses and modifications needed to support the changes are complete prior to entering the mode for which the TS applies.

K. Singer July 7, 2006-2-In the safety evaluation dated July 14, 1998, issuing Amendment No. 234, which approves theconversion to ISTS for Unit 1, the NRC staff included License Condition 2.C(4). The LicenseCondition states that:The licensee shall review the technical specification changes made by LicenseAmendment number 234 and any subsequent TS changes, verify that the required analyses and modifications needed to support the changes are complete, and submit them for NRC review and approval prior to entering themode for which the TS applies. This amendment is effective immediately and shall be implemented prior to entering the mode for which the TS applies.The TVA submitted a plan for completion of License Condition 2.C(4) in a letter datedOctober 12, 2004 [ADAMS Accession No. ML042890152]. After review of this submittal, the NRC staff concluded that it does not provide sufficient information to approve removal of thelicense condition. For example, in a letter dated July 14, 1997, the NRC staff noted that the proposed Unit 1 ITSincluded a main steam safety/relief valve setpoint tolerance of plus or minus 3 percent. A TVA letter dated December 11, 1996, states that analyses required to support this tolerance will becompleted prior to Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Unit 1 restart. TVA did not list and discuss this change in its submittal.In order to avoid impact on planned BFN1 recovery activities (e.g, Fuel load or startup), thesubmittal needs to be supplemented by September 1, 2006, with the following:List and discuss the justifications for all changes to the TS made by LicenseAmendment 234 and subsequent license amendments. The discussion should include whether new analyses and/or modifications were required and whether the analyses were provided to the NRC staff for review and approval. The discussion should alsoinclude the confirmation that the analyses were approved by the NRC staff at the timethe applicable amendment was issued and the modifications were completed, if required. Based on discussions with TVA and the Unit 1 status update dated February 21, 2006[ADAMS Accession No. ML060520652], the NRC staff understands that TVA is updatingthe Unit 1 design basis analyses and calculations to support the requested extended power uprate, in lieu of updating the analyses and calculations to support operation atthe current licensed thermal power limit. TVA should address how the analyses and calculations to support the uprated condition satisfy the requirements of the license condition, when it is applicable.

K. Singer July 7, 2006 This information is needed by September 1, 2006, in order to support planned BFN1 recoveryactivities. If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Margaret Chernoff at 301-415-4041 or Mr. Chandu Patel at 301-415-3025. Sincerely,/RA/Cornelius F. Holden, Deputy DirectorDivision of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor RegulationDocket No. 50-259 cc: See next page

ML061650423 NRR-058OFFICELPL2-2/PMLPL2-2/PMLPL2-2/LALPL2-2/BCDIRS/ITSBDORL/DDNAMECPatelMChernoffRSola forBClaytonMMarshallTKobetzCHoldenDATE7/3/067/3/06 7/3/067/3/067/5/067/7/06 Mr. Karl W. SingerBROWNS FERRY NUCLEAR PLANTTennessee Valley Authority cc:

Mr. Ashok S. Bhatnagar, Senior Vice President Nuclear Operations Tennessee Valley Authority 6A Lookout Place 1101 Market Street Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801 Mr. Larry S. Bryant, Vice PresidentNuclear Engineering & Technical Services Tennessee Valley Authority 6A Lookout Place 1101 Market Street Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801Brian O'Grady, Site Vice PresidentBrowns Ferry Nuclear Plant Tennessee Valley Authority P.O. Box 2000 Decatur, AL 35609Mr. Robert J. Beecken, Vice PresidentNuclear Support Tennessee Valley Authority 6A Lookout Place 1101 Market Street Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801 General CounselTennessee Valley Authority ET 11A 400 West Summit Hill DriveKnoxville, TN 37902Mr. John C. Fornicola, ManagerNuclear Assurance and Licensing Tennessee Valley Authority 6A Lookout Place 1101 Market Street Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801Mr. Bruce Aukland, Plant ManagerBrowns Ferry Nuclear Plant Tennessee Valley Authority P.O. Box 2000 Decatur, AL 35609Mr. Masoud Bajestani, Vice PresidentBrowns Ferry Unit 1 Restart Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Tennessee Valley Authority P.O. Box 2000 Decatur, AL 35609Mr. Robert G. Jones, General ManagerBrowns Ferry Site Operations Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Tennessee Valley Authority P.O. Box 2000 Decatur, AL 35609Mr. Larry S. MellenBrowns Ferry Unit 1 Project Engineer Division of Reactor Projects, Branch 6 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 61 Forsyth Street, SW.

Suite 23T85 Atlanta, GA 30303-8931 Mr. Glenn W. Morris, Manager Corporate Nuclear Licensing and Industry Affairs Tennessee Valley Authority 4X Blue Ridge 1101 Market Street Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801Mr. William D. Crouch, M anagerLicensing and Industry Affairs Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Tennessee Valley Authority P.O. Box 2000 Decatur, AL 35609Senior Resident InspectorU.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant 10833 Shaw Road Athens, AL 35611-6970State Health OfficerAlabama Dept. of Public Health RSA Tower - Administration Suite 1552 P.O. Box 303017 Montgomery, AL 36130-3017ChairmanLimestone County Commission 310 West Washington Street Athens, AL 35611