NRC Generic Letter 1992-03
+4 ^°t UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D. C. 20555 March 19, 1992 TO: ALL NUCLEAR POWER PLANT APPLICANTS
AND LICENSEES SUBJECT: COMPILATION
OF THE CURRENT LICENSING
BASIS: REQUEST FOR VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION
IN PILOT PROGRAM (GENERIC LETTER 92-03)The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing this letter to solicit the industry's participation in a voluntary pilot program to assess the advantages and disadvantages of compiling the current licensing basis (CLB).We request that only interested applicants and licensees respond to this letter. In issuing this letter, the NRC is imposing no new requirements or staff positions.
BACKGROUND
The concept of the CLB was first introduced in the regulations, 10 CFR 50.54(f), as a result of considerations in the development of the NRC's backfit rule. The CLB again became an issue in the Commission's deliberations on extending the licenses for plants beyond the original contemplated design life. In 1991, the Commission adopted the plant life extension rule, 10 CFR Part 54, which became effective on January 13, 1992. A definition of CLB was set forth in Section 54.3. Although set out in Part. 54, that definition represents the staff's understanding of the scope of the CLB and should be applicable to all reactor licensees.
To further understand the advantages and disadvantages of compiling the CLB, the Commission has directed the NRC staff to solicit the industry's participation in a pilot program in which a small number of representative'
licensees would voluntarily compile their CLB and advise the NRC on the effort. As part of the pilot program, the staff would assess the usefulness of the compilation with respect to the NRC's regulatory activities.
The proposed effort also relates to the industry's effort to implement design basis reconstitution.
Although these programs should include reconstituting that portion of the CLB relating to the design, they do not address a significant portion of the CLB, including programmatic areas such as quality assurance, training, and maintenance.
Although compiling the CLB may require a significant amount of resources, the staff expects that the licensee will thereby reduce the resources it will need to devote in the future to (1) conducting document searches needed to support regulatory oversight, (2) filing license amendment requests, (3) making changes pursuant to Section 50.59, and (4) evaluating backfits pursuant to Section 50.109.1 A representative sample might include (1) a facility that was licensed in the early 1970s, (2) several facilities that were licensed between 1975 and 1985, and (3) a facility licensed within the last 5 years.9203190187
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GL 92-03-2 -March 19, 1992 Pilot Program Participation Participation in the pilot program is voluntary.
Licensees wishing to participate should respond within 60 days of the date of this letter.Although the licensees volunteering need not provide details and schedules at this time, the staff desires to complete the pilot program compilation within a reasonable time. The licensee may choose to compile the CLB as a single set of documents in one location or by a system which provides a reference to documents that can be retrieved easily from several locations.
Volunteers should select an approach, scope, and format that will be most useful to them.If the staff finds sufficient interest among licensees on these or other matters, it will conduct a workshop with those considering participating.
The staff anticipates that licensees will use the CLB during their participation in the pilot program. During this time, the NRC staff will conduct audits with the participants to determine the usefulness of the compiled CLB. The fees for this audit will not be collected from participants under 10 CFR Part 170, but will be included in the general base fee under 10 CFR Part 171. In addition, where the licensee identifies a non-willful failure to meet a licensing commitment which could subject the licensee to enforcement action, it is our intent to exercise enforcement discretion, provided the licensee has taken prompt corrective action consistent with the provisions in the enforcement policy for non-cited violations.
More significant violations will be handled on a case-by-case basis.If there are any questions on this matter or you have an interest in attending or participating in a workshop, please contact the Technical Contact or your NRR licensing project manager. Licensees who wish to participate in the pilot program should address their responses to the attention of the NRC Document Control Desk.This request is covered by Office of Management and Budget Clearance Number 3150-0011, which expires May 31, 1994. The estimated average number of burden hours is 10 person hours for each licensee's response, including those needed to assess the request and to respond to the generic letter. This estimate of the average number of burden hours pertains only to the identified response-related matters and does not include the time needed to develop the CLB.Comments on the accuracy of this estimate and suggestions to reduce the burden may be directed to Ronald Minsk, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (3150-0011), NEOB-3019, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC 20503, and to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Information and Records Management Branch (MNBB-7714), Division of Information Support Services, Office of Information and Resources Management, Washington, DC 20555.
GL 92-03-3 -March 19, 1992 Since the generic letter does not contain any new or revised regulatory requirements, the Backfit Rule, 10 CFR 50.109, does not apply.-Sincerely, Jimes G. Partlow, Associate Director for Projects Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Technical Contact:
D. Wigginton, NRR (301) 504-1301 Enclosure:
List of Recently Issued Generic Letters LIST OF RECENTLY ISSUED GENERIC LETTERS Date of Generic Letter No.92-01 REVISION I Subject Issuance REACTOR VESSEL STRUCTURAL
03/06/92 INTEGRITY, 1OCFR50.54(f)
atiueid Ta____ _-Z ALL HOLDERS OF OP LICENSES OR CONST.PERHITS FOR NUCLEAR PWR PLANTS (EXCEPT YANKEE ATOMIC FOR YANKEE NUC PWR STA.)ALL HOLDERS OF OP LICENSES OF CONST.PERMITS FOR PWRs 92-02 92-01 RESOLUTION
OF GENERIC 03/06/92 ISSUE 79, 'UNANALYZED
REACTOR VESSEL (PWR) THERMAL STRESS DURING NATURAL CONVECTION
COOLDOWN REACTOR VESSEL STRUCTURAL
INTEGRITY, lOCFR50.54(f)
NOT ISSUED 02/14/92*89-10 CONSIDERATION
OF VALVE SUPPLEMENT
4 NISPOSITIONING
IN BWRs ALL HOLDERS OF OP LICENSES OR CONST.PERMITS FOR NUCLEAR PWR PLANTS (EXCEPT YANKEE ATOMIC FOR YANKEE NIUC PWR STA.)ALL LICENSEES
OF OP NUC PWR PLANTS AND HOLDERS OF CONSTRUCTION
PERMITS OR PWR PLANTS changed to 9202250311.
ALL LICENSEES
OF OP BWRs A HOLDERS OF CONST. PERMITS FOR BWRs*NOTE: 89-10 Supp. 4, Accession No. 9202070037 has been$801 NRC POSITION ON INTER- 02/04/92 SUPPLEMENT
1 GRANULAR STRESS CORROSION CRACKING (165CC) IN tWR AUSTENITIC
STAINLESS STEEL PIPING 91-19 INFO TO LICENSEES
RE: NEW 12/19/91 TELEPHONE
NOS. AT NRC WHITE FLINT NORTH BLDG.91-18 INFO TO LICENSEES
RE TWO 11/07/91 NRC INSP MANUAL SECTIONS ON RESOLUTION
OF DEGRADED AND NONCONFORMING
CONDITIONS
AliD ON OPERABILITY
91-17 GENERIC SAFETY ISSUE 29, 10/17/91*BOLTING DEGRADATION
OR FAILURE IN NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS'91-16 LICENSED OPERATORS'
AND 10/03/91 OTHER NUCLEAR FACILITY PERSONNEL
FITNESS FOR DUTY ALL HOLDERS OF OP LICENSES OR CONST.PERMITS FOR NPRs ALL NUCLEAR PWR REACTOR LICENSEES AND APPLICANTS
ALL HOLDERS OF OP LICENSES OR CONST PERMITS FOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS HOLDERS OP LIC OR CONSTR. PERMITS FOR NUC PWR/IPRs AND ALL LICENSED OPERATORS& SENIOR OPERATORS
GL 92-03-3 -March 19, 1992 Since the generic letter does not contain any new or revised regulatory requirements, the Backfit Rule, 10 CFR 50.109, does not apply.Sincerely, ORIGINAL SIGNED: James G. Partlow, Associate Director for Projects Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Technical Contact:
D. Wigginton, NRR (301) 504-1301 Enclosure:
List of Recently Issued Generic Letters DISTRIBUTION:
Central File FMiraglia JPartlow CBerlinger MVirgil io PD4-1 Reading DWigginton JLarkins NRC PDR PNoonan CRossi JLieberman BBoger Reviewed by J.Main, Technical Editor, on February 12, 1992*C aa nvuiniic rnnV iS rrSn c OFC LA:PD4-1 _ PM:D I* D:PD4-1* l AD:DRPW45*
D:DRPW*NAME PNoonan DW Mgnton JLarkins MVirgilio BBoger DATE 3/ /92 13/1;/92 3/ /92 1/14/92 1/14/92 OFC DOEA* OE* ADP:JNRR*j-y DD:NRR OGC*NAME CRossi JLieberman JPartlow _ _Y FMirag_D 1/22/92 2/13/92 j3/12/92 i-J%4k -3//192 3/&I 992 Document Name: CBLcomp.GL
-3 -If there are any questions on this matter or you have an interest in attending or participating in a workshop, please contact the Technical Contact or your NRR licensing project manager. Licensees who wish to participate in the pilot program should address their responses to the attention of the NRC Document Control Desk.This request is covered by Office of Management and Budget Clearance Number 3150-0011, which expires May 31, 1994. The estimated average number of burden hours is 10 person hours for each licensee's response, including those needed to assess the request and to respond to the generic letter. This estimate of the average number of burden hours pertains only to the identified response-related matters and does not include the time needed to develop the CLB. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the Information and Records Management Branch, Division of Information Support Services, Office of Information Resources Management, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555, and to the Paperwork Reduction Project (3150-0011), Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, NEOB-3019, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, D.C. 20503.Since the generic letter does not contain any new or revised regulatory requirements, the Backfit Rule, 10 CFR 50.109, does not apply.
Technical Contact:
D. Wigginton, NRR (301) 504-1301 Enclosure:
List of Recently I Generic Letters DISTRIBUTION:
Central File FMiraglia JPartlow CBerlinger Sincerely, James G. Partlow, Associate Director for Projects Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulati.ssued MVirgilio NRC PDR BBoger PD4-1 Reading PNoonan DWigginton CRossi JLarkins JLieberman Reviewed by J.Mai Technical Editor, on February 12, 1992 icurrence* See nrovinn-, cnr_ww w. ,.vv_ _v.OFC LA:PD4-,nd
[ PM:PD-'1'
D:PD4-14 AD:DRPW45*
D:DRPW*NAME PNoonan t I DWij nton JLarkins MYirgilio BBoger DATE 3/11 /92 34,/92 3/ /92 -1/14/92 1/14/92-.- i .I. , r ~ r T V OFC DOFA*Y OE*ADP:NRR U DD: NRR OGGVn A0 MS-. __. f _ .... _. -- .. ;_ ...........
---1 m NAME CRo Si /I I JLieberman I JPartlIw \ FMiraglia I H -DATE 1/22/92 1 2/13/92 1 3/12,/92 3/ /92 3/it,/92 I kiA t 4ev Document Name: CBLcomp.GL
-3 -Since the generic letter does not contain any new or revised regulatory requirements, the Backfit Rule, 10 CFR 50.109, does not apply.Sincerely, James G. Partlow, Associate Director for Projects Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Technical Contact:
D. Wigginton, NRR (301) 504-1301 Enclosure:
List of Recently Issued Generic Letters DISTRIBUTION:
Central File FMiraglia JPartlow CBerlinger MVirgilio PD4-1 Reading DWigginton JLarkins NRC PDR PNoonan CRossi JLieberman BBoger Reviewed by J.Main, Technical Editor, on February 12, 1992* See previous concurrence OFC LA:PD4-14O, PM: P l! D:PD4-1* AD:DRPW45*
D:DRPW*NAME PNoonan DWigg on JLarkins MVirgilio BBoger DATE 3/Ik/92I3
1 92 3/ /92 1/14/92 1/14/92 OFC DOEA OE* }ADP:NRR*
DD:NRR OGC NAME CRossi JLieberman JPartlow FMiraglia U_____O__DATE 1/22/92 / 2/13/92 3/12/92 3/ /92 3/1192 Document Name: 1 BLcomp.GL
I-3 -Services, Office of Information Resources Management, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555, and to the Paperwork Reduction Project (3150-0011), Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, NEOB-3019, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, D.C. 20503.Since the generic letter does not contain any new or revised regulatory requirements, the Backfit Rule, 10 CFR 50.109, does not apply.Sincerely,
Technical Contact:
D. Wigginton, NRR (301) 504-1301 Enclosure:
List of Recently I Generic Letters DISTRIBUTION:
Central File FMiraglia JPartlow CBerlinger BBoger James G. Partlow, Associate Director for Projects Office of Nuclear Reactor egulation ssued MVirgilio NRC PDR PD4-1 Reading PNoonan DWigginton CRossi JLarkins JLieberman Reviewed by J.M n, Technical Editor, on February 12, icurrence 1992* Can mrwimlic tfnr D' B F. -1 ecus -V OFC lLA: PD4 -Q l PM:V -1 lD: PD4-1 lAD:DRPW45*
lD:DRPW* l NAME PNoonan DWi' nton nsMVirgilio BBoger DATE 2/0/92 2/ V 92 2/y3/92 1/14/92 j1/14/92 I --II nFC nnFA*ADP:NRR DD:NRR NAME CRossi erman JPartlow FMiraglia DATE 1/22/92 j/f /92 2/ /92 2/ /92 Document Name: CBLcomp.GL
DISTRIBUTION:
Central File FMiraglia JPartlow CBerlinger NRC PDR CRossi BBoger MVirgi io PD4-1 Reading DWigginton JLarkins Ptoonan JLieberman Reviewed by J main q71 Technical Editor, on 2)12k2.*Cpp nwattimic nIEc rnnolrrant OFC LA:PD4-1 PM:PD4-1 D:PD4-1 AD:DRPW45*
D:DRPW*NAME PNoonan DWigginton JLarkins MVirgilio BBoger DATE 2/ /92 2/ /92 2/ /92 1/14/92 1/14/92 a I nFC ppFA*OF ADP:NRR DD: NRR NAME CRossi JLieberman JPartlow FMiraglia DATE 1/22/92 2/ /92 2/ /92 2/ /92 J/Document Name: CBLcomp.GL2