ML13066A769

Email from Jonathan Bartley, to: William Jones and Rick Croteau, Subject: FW: Nrr'S Draft Reply to Duke'S Letter of 6/14/12 on Oconee Flooding, Attachments: Me 7970 Oconee Letter2

ML13066A769
Person / Time
Site:	Oconee
Issue date:	08/06/2012
From:	Bartley J H NRC/RGN-II
To:	Croteau R, Jones W B NRC/RGN-II
References
FOIA/PA-2012-0325, TAC ME7970
Download: ML13066A769 (6)

Text

Bartley, JonathanFrom: Bartley, JonathanSent: Monday, August 06, 2012 3:15 PMTo: Jones, William; Croteau, Rick

Subject:

FW: NRR's draft reply to Duke'sJetter of 6/14/12 on Oconee floodingAttachments: ME7970 Oconee letter2 (IJp).docxImportance: HighNancy, John, and I discussed 3 options for responding to the 2 questions in the last RAI response (does theFlood SE satisfy the requirements of the Fukishima 50.54(f) re-evaluation and if not, will the CAL be closed tothe Fukishima 50.54(f)) and modifying the CAL. The answer to both of these has been determined to be no.There are 3 options:1. NRR issue the response to the 2 questions, licensee submit letter to modify CAL, close CAL toFukishima orders2. NRR issue the response to the 2 questions, Region II modify CAL, close CAL to Fukishima orders3. NRR issue the response to the 2 questions with CAL modification, close CAL to Fukishima ordersNRR is leaning towards option1. I told Nancy and John we were leaning towards option 3 but option 1 wouldwork as well. The attached letter is a first draft for option 1. NRR will be asking for Vic's concurrence on thisletter if we move forward with option 1.Oconee provided NRR a draft letter to modify the CAL (I have it). They propose to complete the updatedflooding hazard re-evaluation report by March 12, 2013 (per Category 1 timeline) which is reasonable.However, they also propose completing the integrated assessment report by March 2015 and submitting a listof proposed modifications and an implementation schedule by August 2015. Initial staff response is that theseare not reasonable, specifically the modifications, as related to dam failure. For dam failure these areessentially complete and may just need adjustment if the flood level changes due to the flooding hazard re-evaluation. These timelines would be reasonable for newly identified issues such as PMP flooding on-site.I think it would be reasonable to modify the due date for completion of the modifications to relate it tocompletion of the flood hazard re-evaluation and maybe add a couple of months to allow revising proposedmodifications if onsite flood levels change. The CAL currently says 30 months + regulatory review period(RRP) after resolution of all RAI's for CAL 2-10-003. Maybe revise to be 33 months + RRP starting March 13,2012.We will need to discuss with OCO prior to modifying the CAL (either them or us).I plan to brief Vic on this tomorrow morning during the pre-brief for the Oconee drop-in.JonathanFrom: Boska, JohnSent: Monday, August 06, 2012 10:23 AMTo: Bartley, Jonathan

Subject:

NRR's draft reply to Duke's letter of 6/14/12 on Oconee floodingImportance: HighJonathan, attached is our current draft reply. Duke's letter is ML12167A372. This is option 1 on my optionspaper. Eric Leeds has seen it but has not made a final decision. Victor McCree will be asked to concur. Pleaselet me know if you have any comments. If you have no comments, please circulate it at the Region to see ifthere are any comments. Thanks.John Boska Oconee Project Manager, NRR/DORLU.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission301-415-2901email: iohn.boskanrc.qov2

-OFFAtE ONLY -SECURIT'--RELATED INFO RATIONMr. Preston GillespieSite Vice PresidentOconee Nuclear StationDuke Energy Carolinas, LLC7800 Rochester HighwaySeneca, SC 29672

SUBJECT:

OCONEE NUCLEAR STATION, UNITS 1, 2, AND 3 -RESPONSE TOQUESTIONS REGARDING MODIFICATIONS TO ADDRESS EXTERNALFLOODING CONCERNS (TAC NOS. ME7970, ME7971, AND ME7972)

Dear Mr. Gillespie:

By letter dated June 22, 2010, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued aconfirmatory action letter (CAL) to Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC (Duke, the licensee), associatedwith the mitigation of external flooding hazards at the Oconee Nuclear Station, Units 1, 2, and 3(ONS) site, resulting from a postulated failure of the Jocassee Dam. By letter dated May 15, 2012,the NRC transmitted a request for additional information (RAI) on your responses to the CAL.By letter dated June 14, 2012, you provided the requested information to the NRC. You alsoincluded two questions with your response. The NRC staff has reviewed your RAI responses inAttachment 1 to your June 14, 2012, submittal, including the supporting information in Attachment2 to the submittal. These RAIs requested you to provide (1) the codes and standards to be usedin the design of the new flood walls and (2) the seismic design criteria contained in these codesand standards. The RAI responses included information regarding the codes and standards tobe used in the design and construction of the following structures related to the ONS externalflooding mitigation strategy: the mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) wall, cast-in-place concreteT-wall, jet grout, sheet pile wall and flood wall gates. These RAI responses also include a detaileddescription of the seismic design criteria to be applied to each of the aforementioned structures. Itis noted in your RAI responses that for structures and supports within the jurisdiction of theFederal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the design and construction of these structuresand supports will be performed in accordance with FERC-accepted codes and standards. TheNRC staff notes that the Jocassee and Keowee Dams, the failure of which have been used indeveloping the ONS external flooding mitigation strategy, are licensed and regulated by FERC.The NRC staff has previously recognized the jurisdictional boundaries of FERC and the ArmyCorp of Engineers (ACE) in the area of dam safety. Notably, the NRC staff's resolution of LicenseRenewal Issue No. 98-0100, "Crediting FERC-Required Inspection and Maintenance Programsfor Dam Aging Management," concluded that the use of FERC and ACE programs for agingmanagement of dams under the jurisdiction of these bodies provided an acceptable means tosatisfy the requirements of the license renewal rule. While License Renewal Issue No. 98-0100_OFF-IC:,AL USE ONLY -SECURITY-RELATED INFORMA-T-IO FFICI E LY SECURITY-RELATED IFOMATIOLP. Gillespie only explicitly addresses dam inspection issues, the resolution of this issue conveyed the NRCstaff's position that the expertise in dam safety, including construction, maintenance, inspectionand regulation, lies with FERC and the ACE. As such, the NRC staff finds it acceptable thatstructures or support for the structures within the jurisdiction of FERC and ACE will be designedand constructed in accordance with FERC-accepted codes and standards, given that this isconsistent with previous NRC positions regarding dam safety. The NRC staff also notes that areview of the codes and standards related to the structural design of the aforementionedstructures indicates that these codes and standards provide an adequate means to ensure thatthese structures are designed to withstand loads resulting from both an Operating BasisEarthquake (OBE) and Maximum Design Earthquake (MDE), as these are defined within theFERC-accepted standards.In your response you also asked the following two questions associated with the request forinformation (RFI) the NRC issued under 10 CFR 50.54(f) on March 12, 2012, regarding actions toaddress the Fukushima event:1. Will the January 28, 2011, Safety Evaluation (SE) satisfy the requirements of the 10 CFR50.54(f) "Recommendation 2.1: Flooding", as the Hazard Reevaluation Report for the site with nofurther flooding evaluations required?2. If the January 28, 2011, Safety Evaluation does not satisfy "Recommendation 2.1: Flooding" asthe Hazard Reevaluation Report for the site, will the June 22, 2010, Confirmatory Action Letter beclosed by the NRC to the March 12, 2012, NRC Request for Information 10 CFR 50.54(f)Regarding Recommendation 2.1?re.ponse is that theThe NRC's January 28, 2011, SE on the bounding flood at the Oconeesite due to failure of the Jocassee Dam will not fully satisfy Recommendation 2.1 of the NRC's RFIdated March 12, 2012. Other analyses are also required under Recommendation 2.1. However,if your review using the standards of the RFI indicate that the Jocassee Dam will not fail due toovertopping or seismic failure, then the NRC will accept the January 28, 2011, SE as defining thebounding flood at the Oconee site due to dam failure.The NRC intends to maintain the CAL dated June 22, 2010, active until it GaR beis superseded byregulatory action related to the Fukushima responses. The NRC staff Retes-understands that ouracceptance in this letter of the FERC standards initiates the timeline to have your flood wallsinstalled in 30 months plus the regulatory review period, which was committed to in your letterdated October 17, 2011. However, with consideration for the additional task of submitting theflooding hazard evaluation report required by the RFI letter by March 12, 2013, if you feel the needto request additional time please submit your request and we will consider it.OEL'URITYM-- REt-ATED4NFORMAN OffCIAL USE ONLY -SE-URITY-,RELATED INFORMATION-P. Gillespie If you have any questions, please call John Boska at 301-415-2901.Sincerely,Michele G. Evans, DirectorDivision of Operating Reactor LicensingOffice of Nuclear Reactor RegulationDocket Nos. 50-269, 50-270, and 50-287-OPFiCtA*ESEOI$LY---SEetJff*TY-~RE-LATED I ORAMATILO

-OFFiC1AL-USEO4Y-SCUIYRLTD -oM~oP. Gillespie If you have any questions, please call John Boska at 301-415-2901.Sincerely,Michele G. Evans, DirectorDivision of Operating Reactor LicensingOffice of Nuclear Reactor RegulationDocket Nos. 50-269, 50-270, and 50-287DISTRIBUTION:NonpublicRidsNrrLASFigueroaRidsNrrDe ResourceRidsNrrOd ResourceRidsAcrsAcnwMailCTR ResourceRidsNrrPMOconee ResourceRidsNrrDorILPL2-1 ResourceRidsNrrDeEmcb ResourceRidsNrrDorl ResourceRidsRgn2MailCenter ResourceRidsOgcRp ResourceLPL2-1 r/fADAMS Accession No.: ML12OFFICE LPL2-1/PM LPL2-1/LA LPL2-1/BC DE/EMCB/BC DE/D DORL/DNAME JBoska SFigueroa NSalgado MMurphy PHiland MEvansDATEOFFICE NRR/D Region Il/RA DORLIDNAME ELeeds VMcCree MEvansDATEOFFICIAL RECORD COPYOFFICIAL USE ONLY- SECURiTY-RELA I iNFORMATIO,