ML082060190

Audit of the Licensee'S Management of Regulatory Commitments (Tac No. MD8759)

ML082060190
Person / Time
Site:	Harris
Issue date:	07/29/2008
From:	Vaaler M NRC/NRR/ADRO/DORL/LPLII-2
To:	Burton C Carolina Power & Light Co
Vaaler, Marlayna, NRR/DORL 415-1998
References
TAC MD8759
Download: ML082060190 (12)

Text

July 29, 2008 Chris L. Burton, Vice President Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant Carolina Power & Light Company Post Office Box 165, Mail Code: Zone 1 New Hill, North Carolina 27562-0165

SUBJECT:

SHEARON HARRIS NUCLEAR POWER PLANT, UNIT 1 AUDIT OF THE LICENSEES MANAGEMENT OF REGULATORY COMMITMENTS (TAC NO. MD8759)

Dear Mr. Burton:

In Regulatory Issue Summary 2000-17, AManaging Regulatory Commitments Made by Power Reactor Licensees to the NRC Staff,@ dated September 21, 2000, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) informed licensees that the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) document NEI 99-04, AGuidelines for Managing NRC Commitment Changes,@ contains acceptable guidance for controlling regulatory commitments, and encouraged licensees to use the NEI guidance or similar administrative controls to ensure that regulatory commitments are implemented and that changes to the regulatory commitments are evaluated and, when appropriate, reported to the NRC.

The NRC Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation has instructed its staff to perform an audit of licensees commitment management programs once every 3 years to determine whether the programs are consistent with the industry guidance in NEI 99-04, and to ensure that the regulatory commitments are being effectively implemented.

An audit of the Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1 (HNP), commitment management program was performed at the plant site in New Hill, North Carolina, between June 9, 2008, and June 11, 2008. The NRC staff concludes, based on the audit, that HNP (1) has implemented NRC commitments on a timely basis, and (2) has implemented an effective program for managing NRC commitment changes. Details of the audit are set forth in the enclosed audit report. Please contact me at (301) 415-3178 if you have questions.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Marlayna Vaaler, Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch II-2 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-400

Enclosure:

Audit Report cc w/enclosure: See next page

Chris L. Burton, Vice President Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant Carolina Power & Light Company Post Office Box 165, Mail Code: Zone 1 New Hill, North Carolina 27562-0165

SUBJECT:

SHEARON HARRIS NUCLEAR POWER PLANT, UNIT 1 AUDIT OF THE LICENSEES MANAGEMENT OF REGULATORY COMMITMENTS (TAC NO. MD8759)

Dear Mr. Burton:

In Regulatory Issue Summary 2000-17, AManaging Regulatory Commitments Made by Power Reactor Licensees to the NRC Staff,@ dated September 21, 2000, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) informed licensees that the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) document NEI 99-04, AGuidelines for Managing NRC Commitment Changes,@ contains acceptable guidance for controlling regulatory commitments, and encouraged licensees to use the NEI guidance or similar administrative controls to ensure that regulatory commitments are implemented and that changes to the regulatory commitments are evaluated and, when appropriate, reported to the NRC.

The NRC Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation has instructed its staff to perform an audit of licensees commitment management programs once every 3 years to determine whether the programs are consistent with the industry guidance in NEI 99-04, and to ensure that the regulatory commitments are being effectively implemented.

An audit of the Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1 (HNP), commitment management program was performed at the plant site in New Hill, North Carolina, between June 9, 2008, and June 11, 2008. The NRC staff concludes, based on the audit, that HNP (1) has implemented NRC commitments on a timely basis, and (2) has implemented an effective program for managing NRC commitment changes. Details of the audit are set forth in the enclosed audit report. Please contact me at (301) 415-3178 if you have questions.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Marlayna Vaaler, Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch II-2 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-400

Enclosure:

Audit Report cc w/enclosure: See next page DISTRIBUTION:

PUBLIC LPL2-2 R/F RidsNrrPMMVaaler RidsNrrLACSola RidsNrrDorlLpl2-2 RidsOgcRp RidsAcrsAcnw&mMailCenter RidsRgn2MailCenter RidsNrrPMBMoroney LRegner, NRR ADAMS Accession Number: ML082060190 NRR-106 OFFICE LPL2-2/PM LPL2-2/LA LPL2-2/BC NAME MVaaler CSola TBoyce EB for DATE 7/29/08 7/29/08 7/29/08 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

Mr. Chris L. Burton Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant, Carolina Power & Light Company Unit No. 1 cc:

Mr. Kelvin Henderson Mr. Robert P. Gruber Plant General Manager Executive Director Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant Public Staff NCUC Progress Energy Carolinas, Inc. 4326 Mail Service Center Post Office Box 165, Mail Zone 3 Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-4326 New Hill, North Carolina 27562-0165 Ms. Margaret A. Force Director of Site Operations Assistant Attorney General Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant State of North Carolina Progress Energy Carolinas, Inc. Post Office Box 629 Post Office Box 165, Mail Zone 1 Raleigh, North Carolina 27602 New Hill, North Carolina 27562-0165 Mr. Tony Gurley, Chair Mr. David H. Corlett, Supervisor Board of County Commissioners Licensing/Regulatory Programs of Wake County Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant Post Office Box 550 Progress Energy Carolinas, Inc. Raleigh, North Carolina 27602 Post Office Box 165, Mail Zone 1 New Hill, North Carolina 27562-0165 Mr. Carl Thompson, Chair Board of County Commissioners Ms. Kimberly A. Harshaw, Manager of Chatham County Support Services Post Office Box 87 Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant Pittsboro, North Carolina 27312 Progress Energy Carolinas, Inc.

Post Office Box 165, Mail Zone 1 Mr. John H. ONeill, Jr.

New Hill, North Carolina 27562-0165 Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP 2300 N Street NW.

Resident Inspector / Harris NPS Washington, DC 20037-1128 c/o U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 5421 Shearon Harris Road Mr. John D. Runkle New Hill, North Carolina 27562-9998 Attorney at Law Post Office Box 3793 Mr. J. Paul Fulford Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27515-3793 Manager, Performance Evaluation and Regulatory Affairs PEB 5 Mr. Jim Warren Progress Energy Carolinas, Inc. NC Waste Awareness & Reduction Network Post Office Box 1551 Post Office Box 61051 Raleigh, North Carolina 27602-1551 Durham, North Carolina 27715-1051 Mr. David T. Conley Chairman of the North Carolina Associate General Counsel II - Utilities Commission Legal Department Post Office Box 29510 Progress Energy Service Company, LLC Raleigh, North Carolina 27626-0510 Post Office Box 1551 Raleigh, North Carolina 27602-1551 Public Service Commission State of South Carolina Ms. Beverly Hall, Section Chief Post Office Drawer 11649 Division of Radiation Protection Columbia, South Carolina 29211 N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources 3825 Barrett Drive Raleigh, North Carolina 27609-7721

AUDIT REPORT BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION LICENSEE MANAGEMENT OF REGULATORY COMMITMENTS SHEARON HARRIS NUCLEAR POWER PLANT, UNIT 1 DOCKET NO. 50-400

1.0 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

In Regulatory Issue Summary 2000-17, AManaging Regulatory Commitments Made by Power Reactor Licensees to the NRC Staff,@ dated September 21, 2000, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) informed licensees that the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) document NEI 99-04, AGuidelines for Managing NRC Commitment Changes,@ contains acceptable guidance for controlling regulatory commitments, and encouraged licensees to use the NEI guidance, or similar administrative controls, to ensure that regulatory commitments are implemented and that changes to the regulatory commitments are evaluated and, when appropriate, reported to the NRC.

The NRC Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) has instructed its staff to perform an audit of licensees commitment management programs once every 3 years to determine whether the programs are consistent with the industry guidance in NEI 99-04, and to ensure that the regulatory commitments are being effectively implemented.

NEI 99-04 defines a Aregulatory commitment@ as an explicit statement to take a specific action agreed to, or volunteered by, a licensee and submitted in writing on the docket to the NRC.

NRR guidelines direct the NRR Project Manager to audit the licensee=s commitment management program by assessing the adequacy of the licensee=s implementation of a sample of commitments made to the NRC in past licensing actions (amendments, relief requests, exemptions, etc.) and activities (bulletins, generic letters, etc.). The audit is to be performed every 3 years.

2.0 AUDIT PROCEDURE AND RESULTS An audit of the Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1 (HNP), commitment management program was performed at the plant site in New Hill, North Carolina, between June 9, 2008, and June 11, 2008. The audit reviewed commitments made since the last regulatory commitment audit, which took place in Spring 2004. The audit consisted of two major parts: (1) verification of the licensee=s implementation of NRC commitments that have been completed and (2) verification of the licensee=s program for managing changes to NRC commitments.

Enclosure

2.1 Verification of Licensee=s Implementation of NRC Commitments The primary focus of this part of the audit is to confirm that the licensee has implemented commitments made to the NRC as part of past licensing actions/activities. For commitments not yet implemented, the NRC staff determines whether they have been captured in an effective program for future implementation.

2.1.1 Audit Scope The audit addressed a sample of commitments made during the review period. The audit focused on regulatory commitments (as defined above) made in writing to the NRC as a result of past licensing actions (amendments, exemptions, etc.) or licensing activities (bulletins, generic letters, etc.). Commitments made in Licensee Event Reports or in response to Notices of Violation may be included in the sample, but the review will be limited to verification of restoration of compliance, not the specific methods used. Before the audit, the NRC staff searched the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) for the licensee=s submittals during in the last several years and selected a representative sample for verification. The selection of the sample list covered a variety of systems, disciplines and licensing actions important to the NRC staffs decision-making process. This list also included commitment changes.

The licensee was asked to provide a list of regulatory commitments related to licensing actions from its commitment management system. The NRC staff again ensured that the selected sample related to the licensees licensing action and licensing activity submittals, and asked the licensee to provide documentation to support the audit. The licensee provided the list and the documentation to support the NRC staffs audit in each of the sample areas discussed above.

The licensees documentation included summary sheets providing the status of the commitment and appropriate backup documentation, as needed (i.e., plant procedures, engineering changes, or other plant documents). The Audit Summary table lists the commitments selected for this audit.

The audit excluded the following types of commitments that are internal to licensee processes:

(1) Commitments made on the licensee=s own initiative among internal organizational components.

(2) Commitments that pertain to milestones of licensing actions/activities (e.g., respond to an NRC request for additional information by a certain date). Fulfillment of these commitments was indicated by the fact that the subject licensing action/activity was completed.

(3) Commitments made as an internal reminder to take actions to comply with existing regulatory requirements such as regulations, technical specifications (TSs), and updated final safety analysis reports (UFSARs). Fulfillment of these commitments was indicated by the licensee having taken timely action in accordance with the subject requirements.

2.1.2 Audit Results The NRC staff reviewed documentation generated by the licensee related to the sample items listed in the attached table that are categorized as commitments in response to different categories of documents, in order to assess the implementation of the regulatory commitment, including the completion status. For the sample of commitments selected for the audit, the NRC staff found that the licensee had adequately captured all of the regulatory commitments in their PassPort© system, which is a data management and tracking tool. The review of the sample commitments in the PassPort© database reflected their status consistent with the commitment program. The attached Audit Summary table provides details of the audit and its results.

2.2 Verification of the Licensee=s Program for Managing NRC Commitment Changes The primary focus of this part of the audit is to verify that the licensee has established administrative controls for modifying or deleting commitments made to the NRC. The NRC staff compared the licensee=s process for controlling regulatory commitments to the guidelines in NEI 99-04, which the NRC has found to be an acceptable guide for licensees to follow for managing and changing commitments. The process used at HNP is contained in REG-NGGC-0110, Regulatory Commitments.

The audit reviewed a sample of commitment changes that included changes that were or will be reported to the NRC, and changes that were not or will not be reported to the NRC. The audit also verified that HNP=s commitment management system includes a mechanism to ensure traceability of commitments following initial implementation. This ensures that licensee staff personnel are able to recognize that future proposed changes to the affected design features or operating practices require evaluation in accordance with the commitment change control process.

2.2.1 Audit Results REG-NGGC-0110 includes the following statements, which provide guidance to the licensee that is consistent with the intent of NEI 99-04, and ensure that HNP is appropriately implementing regulatory commitments, as well as tracking changes to the commitments:

In the case where a third party (e.g., NEI, an owners group, or another organization) has been authorized to make Regulatory Commitments on behalf of the Licensee, the affected Licensee shall ensure that statements represented as Regulatory Commitments are appropriately documented and are subsequently managed in accordance with REG-NGGC-0110.

Docketed correspondence containing action items shall also contain an explicit statement concerning the existence of any Regulatory Commitment.

Once made, Regulatory Commitments shall be considered non-discretionary and shall be changed only as described in REG-NGGC-0110.

Each Regulatory Commitment shall be captured in a PassPort© Action Request (AR).

Appropriate actions to implement Regulatory Commitments shall be captured in a PassPort© Action Tracking Assignment.

Once accepted, any action inherent to the successful implementation of a Regulatory Commitment shall be considered non-discretionary and shall only be changed as described in REG-NGGC-0110.

The Responsible Licensing Supervisor, or designee, shall ensure the accuracy of any implicit or explicit re-statement of a Regulatory Commitment in docketed correspondence received from the NRC to ensure that written or oral communication has not been misconstrued.

Except for discretionary enforcement situations, advise the NRC that an oral statement to take a certain action represents an intent to make a Regulatory Commitment but does not constitute a Regulatory Commitment until submitted by the Licensee in writing on the docket.

An Assignment associated with a Regulatory Commitment must include appropriate reference to implementing documentation to provide traceability for the Regulatory Commitment.

The Responsible Licensing Supervisor, or designee, shall consider the need to incorporate the Regulatory Commitment into an NRC mandated licensing basis document such as the UFSAR, Quality Assurance Program, Emergency Plan, Security Plan, Fire Protection Program, etc.

If it becomes apparent that an Assignment cannot be implemented as described by the due date, the responsible individual/group shall promptly contact the Responsible Licensing Supervisor, or designee, with a proposed revision.

If a Regulatory Commitment is not implemented as described by the due date or if non-compliance with Regulatory Commitment occurs, the Responsible Licensing Supervisor, or designee, shall initiate a Nuclear Condition Report, and, if necessary, notify the NRC.

When notified of the need to change a Regulatory Commitment, the Responsible Licensing Supervisor, or designee, shall ensure an Assignment is initiated to the individual/group that includes a Regulatory Commitment Change Evaluation, The Responsible Licensing Supervisor, or designee, shall review the Regulatory Commitment Change Evaluation, including any necessary supporting documents, and verify the actions that need to be taken based on the results.

As appropriate, the Responsible Licensing Supervisor, or designee, shall record the basis for authorizing or not authorizing the change, as well as submit docketed correspondence and capture the revised Regulatory Commitment.

The Responsible Licensing Supervisor, or designee, may also authorize revision of the scope or committed date for a Regulatory Commitment based on related correspondence submitted to the NRC.

It may be appropriate to track the reporting of the Regulatory Commitment change(s) consistent with the frequency of the next UFSAR update or biennially.

The Responsible Licensing Supervisor, or designee, shall ensure that any revised Regulatory Commitment, that satisfies the criteria for reportability to the NRC in the Regulatory Commitment Change Evaluation, is included on a summary report of Regulatory Commitment changes which is submitted on a frequency consistent with 10 CFR 50.71(e) UFSAR updates or biennially.

When making changes to procedures or other documents used to implement a Regulatory Commitment, the responsible organization ensures that the changes do not invalidate compliance with the applicable Regulatory Commitment.

When canceling procedures or other documents used to implement a Regulatory Commitment, the responsible organization ensures that the Regulatory Commitment is still being met and is properly referenced in another appropriate document to ensure continued implementation of the Regulatory Commitment.

If the Regulatory Commitment is no longer needed and a change is warranted, the responsible organization may request a change per the guidance in REG-NGGC-0110 In addition, the NRC staff reviewed documentation from the licensee related to the sample items listed in the attached table that involved changes to commitments. The NRC staff found that the licensee properly addressed each regulatory commitment change selected for this audit and has implemented an effective program to manage commitment changes.

The NRC staff found that REG-NGGC-0110 adequately conforms to the guidance and intent of NEI 99-04 for commitment tracking, the commitment change process, traceability of commitments, and reporting requirements. Discussions with HNP staff confirmed that REG-NGGC-0110 is being implemented in its entirely at the plant, which further supports the NRC staffs conclusion that regulatory commitments are being handled in accordance with the guidance contained in NEI 99-04.

3.0 CONCLUSION

The NRC staff concludes, based on the above audit, that HBRSEP (1) has implemented NRC commitments on a timely basis, and (2) has implemented an effective program for managing NRC commitment changes.

4.0 LICENSEE PERSONNEL CONTACTED FOR THIS AUDIT Dave Corlett Supervisor - Licensing and Regulatory Programs Kara Stacy Licensing Engineer Tony Zimmerman Licensing Engineer Mike Wallace Licensing Engineer Principal Contributor: Marlayna Vaaler

Attachment:

Summary of Audit Results

AUDIT OF CAROLINA POWER AND LIGHT COMPANY MANAGEMENT OF REGULATORY COMMITMENTS AT THE SHEARON HARRIS NUCLEAR POWER PLANT, UNIT 1 PERFORMED JUNE 9 - 11, 2008 LIST OF COMMITMENTS INCLUDED IN THE AUDIT Action Letter Date &

No. Category Letter No. Commitment Completion Notes Request No. Completion Date Regulatory HNP will resolve the degraded EC 56215 was implemented to 10/29/2004 condition [related to control room correct the condition and fulfill the Correspondence HNP 1 112605 habitability] in accordance with commitment; subsequently on Generic 04-148 GL 1991-18, Revision 1 by cancelled due to being superseded 12/31/2004 Letter 2003-01 December 31, 2004 by preparations for TSTF-448 HNP will submit a LAR that will The original commitment was include a new TS SR to made in the original GL 2003-01 Regulatory determine inleakage in 7/26/2007 response; committed date was accordance with an CRE Integrity Correspondence HNP changed using the appropriate 2 112605 Program; a new section will be on Generic 07-103 added to TS Section 6.8 that will procedure and screening method; 1/16/2008 LAR for TST-448 was submitted by Letter 2003-01 specify the scope of the program, the revised committed date and is which will rely on the use of tracer under NRC review gas inleakage testing Procedure OP-172, Revision 31 Implement an engineering was changed to correct the single 3/28/2005 change to eliminate the single failure vulnerability; HNP also Licensee Event HNP 3 149472 failure vulnerability [in the completed a Significant Adverse Report 2005-01 05-037 RABEES] by the end of Refueling Condition Investigation Report and 5/15/2006 Outage 13 a Reportability / Past Operability Determination Attachment

Action Letter Date &

No. Category Letter No. Commitment Completion Notes Request No. Completion Date Complete a validation of the HNP The committed actions were safe shutdown analysis by completed within the agreed upon 6/30/2006 timeframe N/A - LER discusses Restore the conditions identified The actions identified in Matrix 2 unanalyzed in Matrix 1 to compliance by are still underway and are being Multiple revisions Licensee Event conditions design changes or other NRC tracked accordingly 4-6 80340 of LER and Report 2002-04 due to approved methods by 5/13/2006 committed dates HNP has also completed a inadequate separation Restore the conditions identified Significant Adverse Condition of circuits in Matrix 2 to compliance by Investigation Report and a design changes or other NRC Reportability / Past Operability approved methods by the end of Determination for the majority of Refueling Outage 16 conditions Procedure OPT-9002T, Enhanced Mitigate Alloy 82/182 welds with Leakage Monitoring, was put in overlays place to address two of these Regulatory commitments Correspondence 2/27/2007 Monitor RCS leakage on an HNP enhanced basis in the interim The remaining commitments were 7-10 on Mitigating 204826 07-026 addressed by a subsequent relief Alloy 82/182 Various Commitment to take various request that allowed an alternative Issues actions if RCS leakage increases to ASME requirements for weld overlay repairs, verification by Report any actions taken to NRC inspection that the weld overlays were successful, and CAL closure

Action Letter Date &

No. Category Letter No. Commitment Completion Notes Request No. Completion Date HNP will submit the following information to the NRC within 14 days of completing the final ultrasonic examinations of the completed weld overlays: 1)

Relief Request exam results, 2) disposition of all Both sets of information were 11 for Alternative 5/14/2007 indications, and 3) a discussion of completed and submitted to the HNP

& Requirements N/A any repairs to the weld overlay NRC within the committed 07-041 timeframe, successfully closing the 12 for Weld Overlay Various Repairs HNP will submit to the NRC a commitment stress analysis summary demonstrating that the pressurizer nozzles will perform their intended design function prior to startup from RFO-14 The card replacement schedule was established and followed -

Establish a structured program of 8/13/2007 repairs completed by 8/23/2007; card replacements and ensure tracking of PM implementation is in Licensee Event HNP the appropriate equivalency 13 225187 progress and will be completed by Report 2007-02 07-110 8/23/2007 & evaluations are completed; Refueling Outage 16 Ongoing Tracking ensure PM is implemented on NOTE - it was discovered that this appropriate cards was an internal commitment, marked incorrectly in the LER HNP will complete walkdowns and ultrasonic examinations of Both actions have been entered inaccessible piping at locations Regulatory 5/9/2008 and are being tracked in the 14 potentially susceptible to gas PassPort system under the AR Correspondence HNP accumulation for systems within

& 270886 270886 series of assignments and on Generic 08-047 Pending the scope of GL 2008-01 have been given appropriate due 15 Letter 2008-01 Completion dates consistent with the HNP will submit a supplemental intent/scope of GL 2008-01 response within 90 days following completion of RFO-15