ML13295A518
| ML13295A518 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Davis Besse  |
| Issue date: | 12/11/2014 |
| From: | Ellen Brown Plant Licensing Branch III |
| To: | Lieb R FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co |
| Eva Brown, NRR/DORL 415-2315 | |
| References | |
| TAC MF2803 | |
| Download: ML13295A518 (13) | |
Text
UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 December 11, 2014 Mr. Raymond A Lieb Site Vice President FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company Mail Stop A-DB-3080 5501 North State, Route 2 Oak Harbor, OH 43449-9760
SUBJECT:
DAVIS-BESSE NUCLEAR POWER STATION, UNIT NO. 1 -AUDIT OF THE LICENSEE'S MANAGEMENT OF REGULATORY COMMITMENTS (TAC NO. MF2803)
Dear Mr. Lieb:
In Regulatory Issue Summary 2000-17, "Managing Regulatory Commitments Made by Power Reactor Licensees to the NRC Staff," dated September 21, 2000 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML003741774), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) informed licensees that the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) document NEI 99-04, "Guidelines 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, that changes to the regulatory commitments are evaluated, and when appropriate, reported to the NRC.
The NRC's Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation has instructed its staff to perform an audit of the licensees' commitment management programs once every three years to determine whether the licensees' programs are consistent with the industry guidance in NEI 99-04, and that regulatory commitments are being effectively implemented.
The NRC staff performed an audit of the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, Unit 1, Comm1tment Management Program from its Headquarters Office, in Rockville, MD., during the months of November and December 2013, and reviewed commitments made or changed over the past three years. Details of the audit are set forth in the enclosed Audit Report.
The NRC staff identified observations and has made recommendations which were discussed with your staff on June 27, 2014, and are detailed in the audit report. These observations/
recommendations are minor issues, and did not change the conclusion of the report. Based on this audit, the staff finds that the licensee has (1) an effective program for managing and implementing regulatory commitments, and (2) an effective program for managing changes to regulatory commitments.
R. Lieb There is no need for the licensee to respond to this letter. The NRC staff appreciates the resources that were made available by your staff during the audit. If you have any questions please contact Nicholas DiFrancesco at (301) 415-1115.
Sincerely, IRA/
Eva A Brown, Senior Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch 111-2 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-346
Enclosure:
Audit Report cc w/encl: Distribution via Listserv
UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 AUDIT REPORT BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION LICENSEE MANAGEMENT OF REGULATORY COMMITMENTS FIRST ENERGY NUCLEAR OPERATING COMPANY DAVIS-BESSE NUCLEAR POWER STATION, UNIT 1 DOCKET NO. 50-346
1.0 INTRODUCTION
AND BACKGROUND The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) informed licensees in Regulatory Issue Summary (RIS) 2000-17, "Managing Regulatory Commitments Made by Power Reactor Licensees to the NRC Staff," dated September 21, 2000, that the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) document NEI 99-04, "Guidelines for Managing NRC Commitment Changes," contains acceptable guidance for controlling regulatory commitments. RIS 2000-17 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. NEI 99-04 describes a "regulatory commitment" as an explicit statement to take a specific action agreed to, or volunteered by, a licensee by a certain date and submitted in writing on the docket 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 three years to determine whether the licensees' programs are consistent with the industry guidance in NEI 99-04, and that regulatory commitments are being effectively implemented. An audit of the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, Unit 1, Commitment Management Program was performed at NRC Headquarters Office in Rockville, MD, during November and December 2013. The audit reviewed commitments made since the previous audit on December 21, 2010.
The NRR guidelines direct the 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 (i.e., amendments, reliefs, exemptions, etc.) and activities (i.e., bulletins, generic letters, etc.).
2.0 AUDIT PROCEDURE AND RESULTS The audit consisted of three major parts: (1) verification of the licensee's implementation of NRC commitments that have been completed, (2) verification of the licensee's program for managing changes to NRC commitments, and (3) verification that all regulatory commitments reviewed were correctly applied in NRC staff licensing action reviews.
Enclosure
2.1 Verification of Licensee's Management and Implementation of Commitments The primary focus on 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. The audit also verifies that the licensee's commitment management system includes a mechanism to ensure traceability of commitments following initial implementation. This ensures that licensee 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.
2.1.1 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 (i.e., amendments, exemptions, etc.), or licensing activities (i.e.,
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 ADAMS for the licensee's submittals since the last audit and selected a representative sample for verification.
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 and technical specifications.
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 attached Audit Summary, Tables 1 and 2, provides details of the audit, results, and auditor findings.
The NRC staff reviewed NOBP-LP-4004, "FENOC Regulatory Commitment Management Program," Revision 0, and finds that it follows the NEI 99-04 guidance. Overall, the NRC staff concludes that NOP-LP-4004, Revision 0, and associated commitment management forms has in place an effective program to identify, manage, and close commitments made to the NRC as part of licensing actions/activities. However, during the staff audit sample there were several cases where NOP-LP-4004, Revision 0, the procedure/closure forms could be improved to demonstrate a complete and timely closure (Audit finding Nos. 1, 2, and 3). Additionally, the NRC staff identified instances where the commitment tracking system database was out of date
and conflicted with docketed FENCO letters (Audit finding Nos. 4, 5, and 6). Furthermore, there were instances where commitments were either not recorded in the tracking system or the status in the commitment tracking system was out of date.
The NRC staff has included recommendations in the Audit Summary tables. Generally, the NRC staff recommendations are: (1) procedures are strengthen to ensure that changes in a commitments status are reflected in the licensee's tracking system as they occur, (2) commitment closure forms are not signed until implementation is positively confirmed, and (3) commitment closure forms should demonstrate that the due date are satisfied for actions that have floating due dates (e.g., outage-related activities, fuel exposure).
The NRC staff observed that overall the licensee tracking system was effective in documenting the commitment change process, ensuring traceability of commitments, and consideration of reporting requirements.
2.2 Verification of the Licensee's Program for Managing 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. Accordingly, the NRC staff compared procedure NOBP-LP-4004 to NEI 99-04 to determine whether the procedure is consistent with the guidance in NEI 99-04 for evaluating and reporting changes to regulatory commitments. Also, the NRC staff reviewed the documentation associated with a sample of commitment changes.
2.2.1 Audit Results The attached Audit Summary Table 1 and 2 provides details of this portion of the audit and its results.
The NRC staff found that NOBP-LP-4004, "FENOC Regulatory Commitment Management Program," Revision 0, closely follows the NEI 99-04 guidance. The NRC staff concludes that the procedure used by the licensee to manage commitment changes is appropriate.
The results of the NRC staff's review of closed, deleted, or modified commitments are contained in Table 1. The NRC staff's review of open or maintained commitments is contained in Table 2.
2.3 Review to Identify Misapplied Commitments The commitments reviewed for this audit were also evaluated to determine if they had been misapplied. A commitment is considered to be misapplied if the action comprising the commitment was relied on by the NRC staff in making a regulatory decision such as a finding of public health and safety in an NRC safety evaluation associated with a licensing action.
Reliance on an action to support a regulatory decision must be elevated from a regulatory commitment to a legal obligation (e.g., license condition, condition of a relief request, regulatory exemption limitation or condition). A commitment is also considered to have been misapplied if the commitment involves actions that were safety significant (i.e., commitments used to ensure safety).
Each of the commitments selected for the audit sample were reviewed to determine if any had been misapplied.
2.3.1 Review of Safety Evaluation Reports for Licensing Actions since the Last Audit to Determine if They Are Properly Captured as Commitments or Obligations In addition to the commitments selected for the audit sample, all license amendment safety evaluations, exemptions and relief request safety evaluations that have been issued for a facility since the last audit were identified. These documents were evaluated to determine if they contained any misapplied commitments as described above.
3.0 CONCLUSION
The NRC staff concludes, based on this audit, that the licensee has (1) an effective program for managing and implementing regulatory commitments, and (2) an effective program for managing changes to regulatory commitments. The issues identified in this audit were entered into the licensee's corrective action program for evaluation and will also be forwarded to NRC Region II I staff for consideration in future inspection activities.
4.0 LICENSEE PERSONNEL CONTACTED FOR THIS AUDIT Kathleen Nevins Phil Lashley Principal Contributor: N. DiFrancesco Date: December 11, 2014
TABLE 1 Audit Summary: Closed, Deleted, or Modified Commitments FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (FENOC)
Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, Unit 1 Docket No. 50-346 Commitment No(s). I Descriptions Review and Disposition Auditor's Assessment DB-A21976 FENOC letter dated April 15, 2009 (ADAMS No. Auditor Finding No. 1 - Recommendation 1 for Commitment 1 and 2:
DB-A21977 ML091130228), contains three regulatory commitments in NOP-LP-4004, Revision 0, requires commitment closure documentation support of a license amendment 282 approved on January 28, demonstrate that "activities to meet the regulatory commitment have been LTOP implementation, 2011 (ADAMS No. ML103610148) completed."
reanalysis, and submittal of PLTR Commitment 1 and 2: The licensee should document the completed actions prior to closing report using alternative The commitment was closed on April 4, 2011, with a statement regulatory commitments.
methodologies that "The LTOP analysis is being implemented on site based on the issuance of License Amendment 282, which fulfills the Auditor Finding No. 2 -Recommendation 2- Commitment 3:
commitment." [emphasis added]. The licensee should meet deadlines communicated to the NRC or document the basis for not notifying. The licensee according to procedure The commitment appears to be closed prior to verification that is expected to notify the NRC of a change prior to the committed due date Davis-Besse had completed implementation. The NRC staff of matters involving compliance. For commitment 3, the due date appears confirmed that the LTOP analysis was implemented in UFSAR to have been exceeded by 18 days based on 21 EFPY being reached on Update Revision 29 dated December 12, 2012 (ADAMS Nos. April 9, 2011. The staff notes that prior to License Amendment 282, filing ML13003A350 and ML13003A351, non-public). this report by 21 EFPY was a requirement controlled by License Condition 2.C(3)(d).
Commitment 3:
The stated that the pressure temperature limits curve will be Although, the deadline was missed there was no actual safety impact submitted to the NRC prior to exceeding 21 EFPY. Davis- given that the reanalysis supportive of operation past 21 EFPY was signed Besse exceeded 21 EFPY on April 9, 2011, according to on March 18, 2011. The NRC staff could not determine when the PTLR commitment extension request approved on 2-24-11, which was implemented at the site.
stated that" ... the plant will approach 21 EFPY by 41912011 ... "
For commitments with sliding due dates the closure text should By letter dated, April 27, 2011 (ADAMS No. ML11122A091 ), demonstrate that the commitment was satisfactorily completed. Failure to Davis-Besse submitted the PTLR. The report contained no meet the due date should be appropriately communicated consistent with statements that the action was in support of closing a plant procedures (e.g. NOBP-LP-4004 Section 4.3 Meeting Regulatory regulatory commitment. Commitments) and applicable guidance.
Commitment 3 was tracked under DB-A21977. The commitment was closed on May 3, 2011. The closed-out form did not demonstrate that the deadline was met.
DB-A19808 FENOC by letter dated January 25, 2001, committed to FENOC closed the commitment on June 20, 2011.
implement program elements of topical report MPR-1807 Implement program Revision 2 and NRC safety evaluation. Basis for closure is NOP-ER-3601, "Motor Operated Valve Program elements of topical Overview," Revision 7, dated 7/24/2013. The program appears to have report MPR-1807 been previously completed. The commitment was appropriately closed.
Revision 2 and NRC SE DB-012800 Historic commitments from 1985 and 1986 related to improving FENOC closed the commitments on April 20, 2011.
& Davis-Besse regulatory performance and to ensure licensee DB-001366 review of NRC correspondence to screen for entry into their Basis for closure was these commitments related to historic corrective commitment tracking management system. actions and commitments to improve their commitment management Procedure revisions system. These activities are superseded by FENOC development of address the NOBP-LP-4004 based on NEI 99-04 guidance. The commitment closure commitment tracking is appropriate.
concerns Long term commitment tracking program established DB-019251 The staff reviewed the closure text for DB-019251. DB FENOC closed the commitment October 19, 2012.
previously had commitments related to alternative emergency Revise Procedure for operations facility (AEOF) to allow meeting with officials and as The commitment was appropriately closed.
staffing EOF with an alternative location for a general emergency. These declaration of general commitments remain satisfied as the EOF is outside the 10 emergency .... Outside EPZ.
the 10 mile emergency planning zone DB-011242 The auditor reviewed the commitment closure text related to FENOC closed the commitment August 7, 2013.
DB-011242 and DB-011244.
Procedures to prevent The licensee completed a review of the heavy load requirements related to damage to spent fuel commitments DB-011242 and DB-011244. The closure text stated that from load drop NRC safety evaluation report dated October 29, 1984, superseded the commitments made by letter dated February 1, 1982.
--*---
The commitment was appropriately closed.
DB-A21993 FENOC closed the commitment November 7, 2011 (database) Auditor Finding No. 3 and Repeat of Recommendation 1:
or October 27, 2011 (official manager signature).
Upon Reaching Action Commitments documentation should confirm completion of the Level 3 OF EN-DP- The licensee determined that the commitment would not be commitment. Planned or future activities should not be used as 01171, Plant Shall Be satisfied until the new RPV head is in containment and the old justification for closure.
Shutdown in 30 one is out of containment.
Days if RPV Head Recommendation 3:
Leakage cannot be The action was close on October 27, 2011. However, ruled out. commitment text comment 5 states: The tracking system could be improved by providing the date that comments are entered on commitment tracking system items to improve According to the outage schedule as of 10/26/11 at traceability.
0516, the old RPV head will not be removed from containment until at least 10/30/11. Therefore, the due date for this commitment is changed to 11/7/11 to match the updated schedule.
DB-L-10-221-LRAA.1- During the commitment audit FENOC database indicated Auditor Finding No. 4:
43 DB-L-1 0-221-LRAA.1-43 as open. Based on the docketed correspondence, the associated commitment is closed. As described in FENOC letter dated, Ensure Current Station By letter dated July 23, 2013, "Notification of Completion of A July 23, 2013, which demonstrates the implementation of the Operating Experience License Renewal Commitment Related to the Review of the commitments, there was no associated commitment Review Process Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, Unit No. 1, License management system closure document for the staff to review.
Includes Future Review Renewal Application (TAC No. ME4640) and License Of Plant-Specific and Renewal Application Amendment No. 45," (ADAMS Recommendation 4:
Industry Operating Accession#: ML13206A382), FENOC informed NRC that The commitment management database should reflect Experience to Confirm this activity had been completed. docketed correspondence.
Effectiveness of License Renewal Aging Specifically, FENOC in the July 23, 2013, letter stated: The licensee in the commitment text indicated that the Management Programs commitment is subject to change by the NRC until the renewal By letter dated January 7, 2013 (ML13008A330), application is approved.
FENOC stated that actions had been completed to address the new operating experience program The commitment as a voluntary activity is under licensee guidance identified in NRC License Renewal Interim control. Had the commitment been closed the NRC staff Staff Guidance (ISG) document LR-ISG-2011-05, could have reviewed the implementation of the commitment "Ongoing Review of Operating Experience." The actions within this triennial audit and acknowledge implementation described in license renewal future Commitment 43, within the NRC review of the pending renewal application.
therefore, have been completed, and the License Renewal Application is revised accordingly.
The tracking database contains a note which stated, 'This is a license renewal future commitment and is subject to change by subsequent correspondence with the NRC until the license renewal application has been approved."
TABLE 2 Audit Summary: Open and Maintained Commitments FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (FENOC)
Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, Unit 1 Docket No. 50-346 Commitment No. Commitment Description Auditor's Review Disposition DB-L-13-157-03 Complete Updated Final Safety Letter dated May 15, 2013, documented The completion date of 10/30/2015, for the third Analysis Report Changes as three regulatory commitments. These commitment, is to reflect the facility design in the Appropriate, scheduled for commitments are in process following UFSAR relating to potential facility licensing changes completion by 10/30/2015. resolution of Generic Safety Concern to reflect resolution of concerns associated with GSI GSI-191, Assessment of Debris 191. The commitment in the May 15, 2013, letter Accumulation on Pressurized-Water has due date of NRC acceptance of the DBNPS final Reactor Sump Performance. GSI-191 response. The 10/30/2015 serves only as a placeholder for the licensee. The staff finds the tracking of this open commitment to be satisfactory.
DB-A22006 Submit Application for License June 29, 2011, the licensee for DBNPS The staff finds that the commitment is appropriately Amendment to Implement 10 CFR commitment to submitting a license being tracked and managed.
50.48(c), scheduled for completion amendment to come into compliance by 7/1/2014. with 50.48(c) fire protection requirements. Currently, DBNPS has enforcement discretion.
DB-A21980 Provide the structural limit By letter dated August 31, 2009, FENCO The staff finds that this commitment is in progress associated with the most limiting commitment to providing information and being appropriately tracked and managed.
Large Break Loss-of-coolant related to the structural limits of the accident (LOCA) for the replacement replacement steam generator design Steam Generators, scheduled for associated with steam generator thermal completion by February 1, 2014. loads due to break in the upper hot-leg large-bore piping.
DB-A09135 Prior to license expiration submit The licensee commitment relates to Following submittal of the 2013 decommissioning plans for managing spend fuel at site tracking requirements from 10 CFR funding report, based on NRC staff draft RAis, until transferred to DOE, scheduled 50.75. The licensee entered this in their FENCO identified that a report was required to for completion by 4/22/2012. commitment program in response to support the current license expiration date of April federal register final rule dated August 22, 2017. Davis-Besse currently has a license 31, 1983, titled "Requirements for renewal application under review.
Licensee Actions Regarding the Disposition of Spent On August 22, 2013, the RAI response (L-13-270) to Fuel Upon Expiration of Reactor the decommissioning funding status report was Operating Licenses." submitted. It included the DB DCE pursuant to 10 CFR 50. 75(f)(3).
On October 21, 2013, Davis-Besse entered CR-2013-16836 into their corrective action system to ensure that required reports are provided on time going forward.
Auditor Finding No. 5:
This activity is marked as open. However, the due date has been past. The auditor received no documentation on the commitment closure or justification for revising of the existing due date.
DB-L-1 0-221- License renewal Appendix A As provided in Appendix A The staff finds that commitment items C#26, C#33, LRAA.1-26, commitments number: (ML102450563) of the licensee's license C#37, and C#39 are in progress and being LRAA.1-33, renewal application, multiple appropriately tracked and managed.
LRAA.1-37, C#26 - relates to concrete sample programmatic and one-time LRAA.1-39, from inaccessible concrete commitments have been made. Auditor Finding No. 6:
subjecteJ to groundwater with a due Scheduled for completion varies for each Item C#50- was not documented in the FENOC list and date of 12/31/2014. item. of open or closed commitments provided to the NRC staff on October 17, 2013.
LRAA.1-50 C#33 - relates to refueling canal Items C#26, C#33, C#37, and C#39, are leaks with a due date of 12/31/2014. being effectively tracked within the Licensee stated that the commitments would have licensee's corrective action system. been reviewed after issuance of the license renewal C#37- relates to core bores at ECCS amendment. The NRC staff notes that commitments pump room wall has a due date of are a voluntary activities and not contingent on NRC 12/31/2014. staff amendment approved.
C#39 - relates to borated water degradation of steel vessel has a due date of 12/31/2014.
C#50 - relates to in-service inspection program -IWF.
DB-020639 Programmatic commitment to Reviewed commitment confirmed that The staff finds that the commitment is appropriately maintain the PORV and Block Valve programmatic commitment has been being tracked and managed.
in 1ST Program. effectively maintained and implementation.
DB-L-13-156-02 Capability of Performing Offsite Reviewed Commitment Tracking System The staff finds that the commitment is appropriately Dose Assessment During an Event Records associated with DB-L 156- being tracked and managed.
Involving Multiple 02.
Release Sources DB-L-13-157-03 Generic Letter 2004-02, "Potential Reviewed Commitment Tracking System The staff finds that the commitment is appropriately Impact of Debris Blockage on Records associated with DB-L-13-157- being tracked and managed.
Emergency 03.
Recirculation During Design Basis Accidents at Pressurized-Water Reactors," _ _j
R. Lieb There is no need for the licensee to respond to this letter. The NRC staff appreciates the resources that were made available by your staff during the audit. If you have any questions please contact Nicholas DiFrancesco at (301) 415-1115.
Sincerely, IRA!
Eva A. Brown, Senior Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch 111-2 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-346
Enclosure:
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PUBLIC LPL3-2 R/F RidsRgn3MaiiCenter Resource RidsAcrsAcnw_MaiiCTR Resource RidsNrrlpl3-2 Resource RidsNrrPMDavis-Besse Resource RidsNrrLASRohrer Resource RidsOgcRp Resource DKimble, SRI Davis-Besse ADAMS ACCESSION No*.. ML13295A518 NRR-106 OFFICE NRR/LPL3-2/PM N RR/LPL3-2/PM NRR/LPL3-2/LA NRR/LPL3-2/BC NAME NDiFrancesco EBrown SRohrer TTate DATE 9/22/14 9/22/14 9/22/14 12/11/14 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY