ML072480022

License Amendment, Issuance of Amendment Removal of Turbine First Stage Pressure Values from Technical Specifications

ML072480022
Person / Time
Site:	Hope Creek
Issue date:	10/16/2007
From:	Richard Ennis NRC/NRR/ADRO/DORL/LPLI-2
To:	Levis W Public Service Enterprise Group
Ennis R, NRR/DORL, 415-1420
Shared Package
ML072480010	List: ML072480022 ML072850037
References
TAC MD6165
Download: ML072480022 (11)

Text

October 16, 2007 Mr. William Levis President & Chief Nuclear Officer PSEG Nuclear LLC - N09 Post Office Box 236 Hancocks Bridge, NJ 08038

SUBJECT:

HOPE CREEK GENERATING STATION - ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT RE:

REMOVAL OF TURBINE FIRST STAGE PRESSURE VALUES FROM TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS (TAC NO. MD6165)

Dear Mr. Levis:

The Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 172 to Facility Operating License No. NPF-57 for the Hope Creek Generating Station. This amendment consists of changes to

the Technical Specifications (TSs) in response to your application dated July 26, 2007. The

amendment removes values for turbine first stage pressure associated with Pbypass from the TSs.

Pbypass is the reactor power level below which the turbine stop valve closure and the turbine control valve fast closure reactor protection system trip functions and the end-of-cycle

recirculation pump trip are bypassed automatically.

A copy of our safety evaluation is also enclosed. Notice of Issuance will be included in the

Commission's biweekly Federal Register notice. Sincerely, /ra/ Richard B. Ennis, Senior Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch I-2 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-354

Enclosures:

1. Amendment No. 172 to License No. NPF-57

2. Safety Evaluation cc w/encls: See next page October 16, 2007 Mr. William Levis President & Chief Nuclear Officer PSEG Nuclear LLC - N09 Post Office Box 236 Hancocks Bridge, NJ 08038

SUBJECT:

HOPE CREEK GENERATING STATION - ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT RE:

REMOVAL OF TURBINE FIRST STAGE PRESSURE VALUES FROM TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS (TAC NO. MD6165)

Dear Mr. Levis:

The Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 172 to Facility Operating License No. NPF-57 for the Hope Creek Generating Station. This amendment consists of changes to

the Technical Specifications (TSs) in response to your application dated July 26, 2007. The

amendment removes values for turbine first stage pressure associated with Pbypass from the TSs.

Pbypass is the reactor power level below which the turbine stop valve closure and the turbine control valve fast closure reactor protection system trip functions and the end-of-cycle

recirculation pump trip are bypassed automatically.

A copy of our safety evaluation is also enclosed. Notice of Issuance will be included in the

Commission's biweekly Federal Register notice. Sincerely, /ra/ Richard B. Ennis, Senior Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch I-2 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-354

Enclosures:

1. Amendment No. 172 to License No. NPF-57

2. Safety Evaluation cc w/encls: See next page DISTRIBUTION

PUBLIC RidsOgcRp LPL1-2 R/F RidsAcrsAcnwMailCenter RidsNrrDorlLpl1-2 RidsNrrDirsltsb RidsNrrLASLittle RidsRgn1MailCenter RidsNrrPMREnnis GHill (2), OIS RidsNrrDorlDPR RidsNrrLAABaxter Package Accession No.: ML072480010 Amendment Accession No: ML072480022 TS Accession No.: ML072850037 O FFICE L PL1-2/PM L PL1-2/LA L PL1-1/LA E ICB/BC O GC L PL1-2/BC N AME R Ennis A Baxter S Little W Kemper E Williamson H Chernoff DATE 9/5/07 9/6/07 9/17/07 9/24/07 10/3/07 10/16/07 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY Hope Creek Generating Station cc: Mr. Thomas Joyce Senior Vice President - Operations PSEG Nuclear P.O. Box 236 Hancocks Bridge, NJ 08038 Mr. Dennis Winchester Vice President - Nuclear Assessment PSEG Nuclear P.O. Box 236 Hancocks Bridge, NJ 08038 Mr. George Barnes Site Vice President - Hope Creek PSEG Nuclear P.O. Box 236 Hancocks Bridge, NJ 08038 Mr. Carl Fricker Vice President - Operations Support PSEG Nuclear P.O. Box 236 Hancocks Bridge, NJ 08038 Mr. John Perry Plant Manager - Hope Creek PSEG Nuclear P.O. Box 236 Hancocks Bridge, NJ 08038 Mr. James Mallon Manager - Licensing PSEG Nuclear P.O. Box 236 Hancocks Bridge, NJ 08038 Mr. Jeffrie J. Keenan, Esquire PSEG Nuclear - N21 P.O. Box 236 Hancocks Bridge, NJ 08038 Mr. Michael Gaffney Manager - Hope Creek Regulatory Assurance PSEG Nuclear P.O. Box 236 Hancocks Bridge, NJ 08038 Township Clerk Lower Alloways Creek Township Municipal Building, P.O. Box 157 Hancocks Bridge, NJ 08038 Mr. Paul Bauldauf, P.E., Asst. Director Radiation Protection Programs NJ Department of Environmental Protection and Energy CN 415 Trenton, NJ 08625-0415 Mr. Brian Beam Board of Public Utilities 2 Gateway Center, Tenth Floor Newark, NJ 07102 Regional Administrator, Region I U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 475 Allendale Road King of Prussia, PA 19406 Senior Resident Inspector Hope Creek Generating Station U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Drawer 0509 Hancocks Bridge, NJ 08038

PSEG NUCLEAR LLC DOCKET NO. 50-354 HOPE CREEK GENERATING STATION AMENDMENT TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amend ment No. 172 License No. NPF-57

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

A. The application for amendment filed by PSEG Nuclear LLC dated July 26, 2007, 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 set forth in 10 CFR Chapter I; 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 Facility

Operating License No. NPF-57 is hereby amended to read as follows:

(2) Technical Specifications and Environmental Protection Plan The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A, as revised through Amendment No. 172, and the Environmental Protection Plan contained in

Appendix B, are hereby incorporated into the license. PSEG Nuclear LLC shall

operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications and the

Environmental Protection Plan.

3. The license amendment is effective as of its date of issuance and shall be implemented within 60 days.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

/ra/ Harold K. Chernoff, Chief Plant Licensing Branch I-2 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Attachment:

Changes to the Facility Operating License and the Technical Specifications Date of Issuance: October 16, 2007 ATTACHMENT TO LICENSE AMENDMENT NO. 172 FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-57 DOCKET NO. 50-354 Replace the following page of Facility Operating License No. NPF-57 with the attached revised page as indicated. The revised page is identified by amendment number and contains marginal

lines indicating the areas of change.

Remove InsertPage 3 Page 3 Replace the following pages of the Appendix A, Technical Specifications, with the attached

revised pages as indicated. The revised pages are identified by amendment number and

contain marginal lines indicating the areas of change.

Remove Insert3/4 3-5 3/4 3-5 3/4 3-47 3/4 3-47 SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION RELATED TO AMENDMENT NO. 172 TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-57 PSEG NUCLEAR LLC HOPE CREEK GENERATING STATION DOCKET NO. 50-354

1.0 INTRODUCTION

By letter dated July 26, 2007 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML072150248), PSEG Nuclear LLC (the licensee) requested changes to the Hope Creek Generating Station (HCGS) Technical Specification (TSs). The proposed

amendment would remove values for turbine first stage pressure associated with Pbypass from the TSs. Pbypass is the reactor power level below which the turbine stop valve (TSV) closure and the turbine control valve (TCV) fast closure reactor protection system (RPS) trip functions and the

end-of-cycle recirculation pump trip (EOC-RPT) are bypassed automatically.

2.0 REGULATORY EVALUATION

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission

=s (NRC=s or the Commission

=s) regulatory requirements related to the content of the TSs are set forth in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Section 50.36, A Technical specifications.

@ This regulation requires that the TSs include items in five specific categories. These categories include (1) safety limits, limiting

safety system settings and limiting control setti ngs, (2) limiting conditions for operation (LCOs), (3) surveillance requirements (SRs), (4) design features, and (5) administrative controls.

However, the regulation does not specify the particular TSs to be included in a plant

=s TSs. Additionally, 10 CFR 50.36(c)(2)(ii) sets forth four criteria to be used in determining whether an

LCO is required to be included in TSs. These criteria are:

Criterion 1: Installed instrumentation that is used to detect, and indicate in the control room, a significant abnormal degradation of the reactor coolant pressure boundary.

Criterion 2: A process variable, design feature, or operating restriction that is an initial condition of a design-basis accident or transient analysis that either assumes the

failure of or presents a challenge to the integrity of a fission product barrier.

Criterion 3: A structure, system or component that is part of the primary success path and which functions or actuates to mitigate a design-basis accident or transient that

either assumes the failure of or presents a challenge to the integrity of a fission

product barrier.

Criterion 4: A structure, system or component which operating experience or probabilistic risk assessment has shown to be significant to public health and safety.

Existing LCOs and related SRs included as TS requirements which satisfy any of the criteria stated above must be retained in the TSs. Those TS requirements which do not satisfy these

criteria may be relocated to other licensee-controlled documents.

3.0 TECHNICAL EVALUATION

The RPS is designed to cause rapid insertion of control rods (i.e., scram) to shutdown the

reactor when specific parameters exceed predet ermined limits. For HCGS, the parameters providing input to the RPS scram logic are shown in TS Table 3.3.1-1, A Reactor Protection System Instrumentation.

@ Two of the monitored parameters include TSV closure and TCV fast closure.

The TSV closure RPS trip function is discussed in Section 7.2.1.1.4 of the HCGS Updated Final

Safety Analysis Report (UFSAR). A turbine trip initiates closure of the TSVs, which can result in

a significant addition of positive reactivity to the core as the reactor pressure rise causes steam

voids to collapse. The TSV closure RPS trip initiates a reactor scram earlier than either the neutron monitoring system trip or reactor vessel high pressure trip to provide the required safety

margin below core thermal-hydraulic limits for this abnormal operational transient.

The TCV fast closure RPS trip function is discussed in Section 7.2.1.1.5 of the HCGS UFSAR.

A generator load rejection, with reactor power above 30% of RTP, or a turbine trip automatically

initiates a fast closure of the TCVs. Fast closure of the TCVs results in a situation similar to

closure of the TSVs and, as such, the TCV fast closure RPS trip is provided for the same

reasons as those discussed above for the TSV closure RPS trip.

The instrumentation associated with the EOC-RPT is discussed in Section 7.6.1.5 of the HCGS

UFSAR. The EOC-RPT instrumentation initiates tripping of both recirculation pumps based on

inputs from the RPS logic associated with closure of the TSVs or fast closure of the TSVs. The

reason for tripping the recirculation pumps is to reduce the impact on the fuel of thermal

transients caused by a turbine trip, generator trip, or load rejection. The rapid core flow

reduction increases void content and thereby introduces negative reactivity in conjunction with

control rod insertion.

The TSV closure and TCV fast closure RPS trip functions and the EOC-RPT function are

bypassed automatically if turbine first stage pressure is less than a pressure corresponding to

30% of rated thermal power (RTP). The intent of this automatic bypass (which is designated as

Pbypass) is to reduce scrams and recirculation pump trips at low power levels where the turbine steam bypass system is effective for turb ine trips and generator load rejections.

TS LCO 3.3.1 requires the RPS instrumentation channels to be operable as specified by TS

Table 3.3.1-1. TS Table 3.3.1-1 requires that the TSV closure and TCV fast closure RPS trip

functions be operable in operational condition 1 (i.e., power operation). The applicable

operational condition for these functions is modified by note A j@ which currently reads as follows:

This function shall be automatically bypassed when turbine first stage pressure is 159.7 psig [pounds per square inch gauge] equivalent to THERMAL POWER less than 30% of RATED THERMAL POWER. To allow for instrument accuracy, calibration, and

drift, a setpoint of 135.7 psig is used.

TS LCO 3.3.4.2 requires the EOC-RPT syst em instrumentation channels shown in TS Table 3.3.4.2-1 to be operable in operational condition 1 when thermal power is greater than or

equal to 30% of RTP. TS Table 3.3.4.2-1, note A b@ currently states that:

This function shall be automatically bypassed when turbine first stage pressure is 159.7 psig equivalent to THERMAL POWER less than 30% of RATED THERMAL POWER. To allow for instrument accuracy, calibration and drift, a setpoint of 135.7 psig is used.

The licensee's application dated July 26, 2007, states that modifications to the high-pressure

turbine, planned to be performed during the fall 2007 refueling outage, will change the

relationship between turbine first stage pressure and RTP. To support this planned

modification, the proposed amendment would revise note A j@ in TS Table 3.3.1-1 and note A b@ in TS Table 3.3.4.2-1 to remove the values for turbine first stage pressure. Specifically, the notes

would read as follows:

This function shall be automatically bypassed when turbine first stage pressure is

equivalent to THERMAL POWER less than 30% of RATED THERMAL POWER.

The licensee

=s application dated July 26, 2007, states that the turbine first stage pressure values in TS Tables 3.3.1-1 and 3.3.4.2-1 are details of system design that are not required by

10 CFR 50.36(c)(2)(ii) to be included in the TSs because:

1. Turbine first stage pressure instrumentation is not used to detect, and indicate in the control room, a significant abnormal degradation of the reactor coolant

pressure boundary.

2. Turbine first stage pressure is not a process variable, design feature, or operating restriction that is an initial condition of a design basis accident or

transient analysis that either assumes the failure of or presents a challenge to the

integrity of a fission product barrier. Pbypass is an initial condition for some transient analyses and is retained in TS Tables 3.3.1-1 and 3.3.4.2-1.

3. Turbine first stage pressure instrumentation is not a structure, system, or component that is part of the primary success path and which functions or

actuates to mitigate a design basis accident or transient that either assumes the

failure of or presents a challenge to the integrity of a fission product barrier.

4. Turbine first stage pressure instrumentation is not a structure, system, or component which operating experience or probabilistic risk assessment has

shown to be significant to public health and safety.

The application dated July 26, 2007, also states that a turbine first stage pressure setpoint will be established in accordance with plant procedures before plant startup to ensure compliance

with the TS requirements. Testing will be performed to confirm the turbine first stage pressure

at Pbypass during the plant startup after the fall 2007 outage.

In addition to the sections in Chapter 7 of the HCGS UFSAR referenced above, the NRC staff

reviewed the following portions of Chapter 15 of the HCGS UFSAR which describe the

applicable transient analyses:

1) Section 15.2.2, A Generator Load Rejection

@ 2) Section 15.2.3, A Turbine Trip

@ 3) Section 15.9.6.3, A Anticipated Operational Transients

@ 4) Section 15.9.6.4, A Abnormal Operational Transients

@ 5) Figure 15.9-32, A Protection Sequences for Main Turbine Trip with Bypass

@ 6) Figure 15.9-34, A Protection Sequences for Main Generator Trip with Bypass System Operation@ 7) Figure 15.9-36, A Protection Sequences for Main Generator Trip with Bypass System Failure

@ 8) Figure 15.9-37, A Protection Sequences for Main Turbine Trip with Bypass System Failure

@ The UFSAR transient analyses noted above are based, in part, on the assumption that the TSV

closure and TCV fast closure RPS trip functions and the EOC-RPT function are operable at or

above 30% of RTP. The transient analyses do not discuss the turbine first stage pressure

values in terms of psig.

Based on review of the HCGS UFSAR, the NRC staff agrees with the licensee

=s determination that the turbine first stage pressure values in TS Tables 3.3.1-1 and 3.3.4.2-1 are details of

system design that are not required by 10 CFR 50.36(c)(2)(ii) to be included in the TSs. The

NRC staff also finds that the provisions of 10 CFR 50.59 provide adequate control to establish

the turbine first stage pressure setpoint in the associated plant procedures. Based on these

considerations, the NRC staff concludes that the proposed amendment is acceptable.

The NRC staff notes that removal of the turbine first stage pressure values from the TSs is

consistent with NUREG-1433, Revision 3, A Standard Technical Specifications, General Electric Plants BWR/4.

@

4.0 STATE CONSULTATION

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

5.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION

The amendment changes a requirement with respect to installation or use of a facility component located within the restricted area as defined in 10 CFR Part 20. The NRC staff has

determined that the amendment involves no significant increase in the amounts, and no

significant change in the types, of any effluents that may be released offsite, and that there is no

significant increase in individual or cumulative occupational radiation exposure. The

Commission has previously issued a proposed finding that the amendment involves no

significant hazards consideration, and there has been no public comment on such finding (72 FR 45460). Accordingly, the amendment meets the eligibility criteria for categorical

exclusion set forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(9). Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b) no environmental

impact statement or environmental assessm ent need be prepared in connection with the issuance of the amendment.

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 amendment will not be inimical to the

common defense and security or to the health and safety of the public.

Principal Contributor: R. Ennis Date: October 16, 2007