ML050980229
| ML050980229 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Three Mile Island  |
| Issue date: | 06/17/2005 |
| From: | Colburn T NRC/NRR/DLPM/LPD1 |
| To: | Crane C AmerGen Energy Co |
| Sands S, 415-3154, NRR/DLPM | |
| References | |
| TAC MC4951 | |
| Download: ML050980229 (13) | |
Text
June 17, 2005 Mr. Christopher M. Crane President and Chief Executive Officer AmerGen Energy Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555
SUBJECT:
THREE MILE ISLAND NUCLEAR STATION, UNIT 1 RE: MONTHLY OPERATING REPORTS AND ANNUAL OCCUPATIONAL RADIATION REPORTS (TAC NO. MC4951)
Dear Mr. Crane:
The Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 254 to Facility Operating License No. DPR-50 for the Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1 (TMI-1). The amendment consists of changes to the Technical Specifications (TSs) in response to your application dated October 21, 2004, as supplemented January 4, 2005.
The amendment deletes the TS requirements to submit monthly operating reports and annual occupational radiation exposure reports. The change is consistent with Revision 1 of the Nuclear Regulatory Commissions (NRC) approved Technical Specifications Task Force (TSTF)
Change Traveler, TSTF-369, "Elimination of Requirements for Monthly Operating Reports and Occupational Radiation Exposure Reports." This TS improvement was announced in the Federal Register (69 FR 35067) on June 23, 2004, as part of the Consolidated Line Item Improvement Process.
A copy of the related safety evaluation is also enclosed. Notice of Issuance will be included in the Commission's biweekly Federal Register notice.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Timothy G. Colburn, Senior Project Manager, Section 1 Project Directorate I Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-289
Enclosures:
- 1. Amendment No. 254 to DPR-50
- 2. Safety Evaluation cc w/encls: See next page
June 17, 2005 Mr. Christopher M. Crane President and Chief Executive Officer AmerGen Energy Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555
SUBJECT:
THREE MILE ISLAND NUCLEAR STATION, UNIT 1 RE: MONTHLY OPERATING REPORTS AND ANNUAL OCCUPATIONAL RADIATION REPORTS (TAC NO. MC4951)
Dear Mr. Crane:
The Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 254 to Facility Operating License No. DPR-50 for the Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1 (TMI-1). The amendment consists of changes to the Technical Specifications (TSs) in response to your application dated October 21, 2004, as supplemented January 4, 2005.
The amendment deletes the TS requirements to submit monthly operating reports and annual occupational radiation exposure reports. The change is consistent with Revision 1 of the Nuclear Regulatory Commissions (NRC) approved Technical Specifications Task Force (TSTF)
Change Traveler, TSTF-369, "Elimination of Requirements for Monthly Operating Reports and Occupational Radiation Exposure Reports." This TS improvement was announced in the Federal Register (69 FR 35067) on June 23, 2004, as part of the Consolidated Line Item Improvement Process.
A copy of the related safety evaluation is also enclosed. Notice of Issuance will be included in the Commission's biweekly Federal Register notice.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Timothy G. Colburn, Senior Project Manager, Section 1 Project Directorate I Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-289
Enclosures:
- 1. Amendment No. 254 to DPR-50
- 2. Safety Evaluation cc w/encls: See next page DISTRIBUTION PUBLIC PDI-1 R/F RLaufer TColburn MOBrien(2) Tech Branch TBoyce OGC ACRS GHill(2) ABurritt, RI DLPM DPR WReckley SSands ADAMS ACCESSION NO.: ML050980229 OFFICE PDI-1/PM PDIII-2/PM DLPM/LPM PDI-2/LA PDI-1/SC NAME TColburn SSands WReckely MOBrien RLaufer DATE 6/16/05 06/14/05 06/14/05 6/17/05 6/17/05 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1 cc:
Site Vice President - Three Mile Island Nuclear Director - Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Station, Unit 1 AmerGen Energy Company, LLC AmerGen Energy Company, LLC 200 Exelon Way, KSA 3-E P. O. Box 480 Kennett Square, PA 19348 Middletown, PA 17057 Rich Janati, Chief Senior Vice President - Nuclear Services Division of Nuclear Safety AmerGen Energy Company, LLC Bureau of Radiation Protection 4300 Winfield Road Department of Environmental Protection Warrenville, IL 60555 Rachel Carson State Office Building P.O. Box 8469 Vice President - Operations, Mid-Atlantic Harrisburg, PA 17105-8469 AmerGen Energy Company, LLC 200 Exelon Way, KSA 3-N Plant Manager - Three Mile Island Nuclear Kennett Square, PA 19348 Station, Unit 1 AmerGen Energy Company, LLC Vice President - Licensing and Regulatory Affairs P. O. Box 480 AmerGen Energy Company, LLC Middletown, PA 17057 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555 Regulatory Assurance Manager - Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1 Regional Administrator AmerGen Energy Company, LLC Region I P.O. Box 480 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Middletown, PA 17057 475 Allendale Road King of Prussia, PA 19406 Peter Eselgroth, Region I U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman 475 Allendale Road Board of County Commissioners King of Prussia, PA 19406 of Dauphin County Dauphin County Courthouse Michael A. Schoppman Harrisburg, PA 17120 Framatome ANP Suite 705 Chairman 1911 North Ft. Myer Drive Board of Supervisors Rosslyn, VA 22209 of Londonderry Township R.D. #1, Geyers Church Road Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary Middletown, PA 17057 AmerGen Energy Company, LLC 2301 Market Street, S23-1 Senior Resident Inspector (TMI-1) Philadelphia, PA 19101 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission P.O. Box 219 Middletown, PA 17057
Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1 cc:
Dr. Judith Johnsrud National Energy Committee Sierra Club 433 Orlando Avenue State College, PA 16803 Eric Epstein TMI Alert 4100 Hillsdale Road Harrisburg, PA 17112 Correspondence Control Desk AmerGen Energy Company, LLC P.O. Box 160 Kennett Square, PA 19348 Manager Licensing - Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1 Exelon Generation Company, LLC 200 Exelon Way, KSA 3-E Kennett Square, PA 19348 Associate General Counsel AmerGen Energy Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555
AMERGEN ENERGY COMPANY, LLC DOCKET NO. 50-289 THREE MILE ISLAND NUCLEAR STATION, UNIT 1 AMENDMENT TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 254 License No. DPR-50
- 1. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission or NRC) has found that:
A. The application for amendment by AmerGen Energy Company, LLC (the licensee), dated October 21, 2004, as supplemented January 4, 2005, 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; 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. DPR-50 is hereby amended to read as follows:
(2) Technical Specifications The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A, as revised through Amendment No. 254, are hereby incorporated in the license. The AmerGen Energy Company, LLC, shall operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications.
- 3. This license amendment is effective as of its date of issuance and shall be implemented within 60 days of issuance.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
/RA/
Richard J. Laufer, Chief, Section 1 Project Directorate I Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Attachment:
Changes to the Technical Specifications Date of Issuance: June 17, 2005
ATTACHMENT TO LICENSE AMENDMENT NO. 254 FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. DPR-50 DOCKET NO. 50-289 Replace the following pages of the Appendix A Technical Specifications with the attached revised pages. The revised pages are identified by amendment number and contain marginal lines indicating the areas of change.
Remove Insert 3-128 3-128 6-12 6-12 6-13 6-13 6-12a ---
6-14 ---
SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION RELATED TO AMENDMENT NO. 254 TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. DPR-50 AMERGEN ENERGY COMPANY, LLC THREE MILE ISLAND NUCLEAR STATION, UNIT 1 DOCKET NO. 50-289
1.0 INTRODUCTION
By application dated October 21, 2004, Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML042990134, as supplemented January 4, 2005, ADAMS Accession No. ML050940465, AmerGen Energy Company, LLC (the licensee) requested changes to the Technical Specifications (TSs) for the Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1.
The staffs proposed no significant hazards consideration determination was published in the Federal Register on April 12, 2005 (70 FR 19114).
The proposed amendment would delete the TS requirements to submit monthly operating reports (MORs) and annual occupational radiation exposure reports (ORERs). The change is consistent with Revision 1 of Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)-approved Industry/Technical Specifications Task Force (TSTF) Standard Technical Specification Change Traveler, TSTF-369, "Removal of Monthly Operating Report and Occupational Radiation Exposure Report." This TS improvement was published in the Federal Register (69 FR 35067) on June 23, 2004, as part of the Consolidated Line Item Improvement Process (CLIIP).
2.0 REGULATORY EVALUATION
Section 182a. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, (the Act) requires applicants for nuclear power plant operating licenses to state such TSs as the Commission may deem necessary. Such TSs shall be a part of the license issued. The Commission's regulatory requirements related to the content of TSs are set forth in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Section 50.36, ?Technical specifications. The regulation requires that TSs include items in five specific categories, including (1) safety limits, limiting safety system settings, and limiting control settings; (2) limiting conditions for operation (LCO); (3) surveillance requirements; (4) design features; and (5) administrative controls. However, the regulation does not specify the particular requirements to be included in a plant's TSs.
The Commission has provided guidance for the content of TSs in its ?Final Policy Statement on Technical Specification Improvements for Nuclear Power Reactors (58 FR 39132, published July 22, 1993), in which the Commission indicated that compliance with the Final Policy Statement satisfies Section 182a. of the Act. The Final Policy Statement identified four criteria
to be used in determining whether a particular item should be addressed in the TSs as an LCO.
The criteria were subsequently incorporated into 10 CFR 50.36 (60 FR 36593, published July 19, 1995). While the criteria specifically apply to LCO, the Commission indicated that the intent of these criteria may be used to identify the optimum set of administrative controls in TSs.
Addressing administrative controls, 10 CFR Part 50.36 states that they are ?the provisions relating to organization and management, procedures, record keeping, review and audit, and reporting necessary to assure operation of the facility in a safe manner. The specific content of the administrative controls section of the TSs is, therefore, related to those programs and reports that the Commission deems essential for the safe operation of the facility, which are not adequately covered by regulations or other regulatory requirements. Accordingly, the NRC staff may determine that specific requirements, such as those associated with this change, may be removed from the administrative controls in the TSs if they are not explicitly required by 10 CFR Part 50.36(c)(5) and are not otherwise necessary to obviate the possibility of an abnormal situation or event giving rise to an immediate threat to the public health and safety.
The impetus for the MOR came from the 1973-1974 oil embargo. Regulatory Guide 1.16, Revision 4, ?Reporting of Operating Information--Appendix A Technical Specifications, published for comment in August 1975, identifies operating statistics and shutdown experience information that was desired in the operating report at that time. In the mid-1990s, the NRC staff assessed the information that is submitted in the MOR and determined that while some of the information was no longer used by the NRC staff, the MOR was the only source of some data used in the NRC Performance Indicator (PI) Program of that time period (see NRC Generic Letter (GL) 97-02, ?Revised Contents of the Monthly Operating Report). Beginning in the late 1990s, the NRC developed and implemented a major revision to its assessment, inspection, and enforcement processes through its Reactor Oversight Process (ROP). The ROP uses both plant-level PI and inspections performed by NRC personnel. In conjunction with the development of the ROP, the NRC developed the Industry Trends Program (ITP). The ITP provides the NRC a means to assess overall industry performance using industry level indicators and to report on industry trends to various stakeholders (e.g., Congress). Information from the ITP is used to assess the NRC's performance related to its goal of having ?no statistically significant adverse industry trends in safety performance. The ITP uses some of the same PI as the PI Program from the mid-1990s and, therefore, the NRC has a continuing use for the data provided in the MOR. The NRC staff also uses some data from the MOR to support the evaluation of operating experience, licensee event reports, and other assessments performed by the NRC staff and its contractors.
For TMI-1, TS 3.24, Reactor Vessel Water Level Indication, includes a provision to include in the MOR details about the reactor vessel water level indication system (RVLIS) if one channel is inoperable for 30 days or both channels are inoperable for 7 days. The licensee proposes to replace these provisions with a requirement to submit a special report, which would provide the same information currently included in the MOR regarding inoperable RVLIS channels.
Licensees are required by TSs to submit annual ORERs to the NRC. These reports, developed in the mid-1970s, supplement the reporting requirements currently defined in 10 CFR Part 20.2206, ?Reports of individual monitoring, by providing a tabulation of data by work areas and job functions. The NRC included data from the ORER in its annual publication of
NUREG-0713, ?Occupational Radiation Exposure at Commercial Nuclear Power Reactors and Other Facilities, through the year 1997, but no longer includes the data in that or other reports.
3.0 TECHNICAL EVALUATION
3.1 MORs (Section 6.9.1.B of the TMI-1 TSs)
As previously mentioned, the administrative requirements in the TSs are reserved for ?the provisions relating to organization and management, procedures, record keeping, review and audit, and reporting necessary to assure operation of the facility in a safe manner. The current use of the information from the MOR is not related to reporting on or confirming the safe operation of specific nuclear power plants. Instead, the data is used by the NRC to assess and communicate with stakeholders regarding the overall performance of the nuclear industry. Data related to PI for specific plants are reported to the NRC as part of the ROP. The NRC staff has determined that the MOR does not meet the criteria defined for requirements to be included in the administrative section of TSs and the reporting requirement may, therefore, be removed.
Although the MOR does not satisfy the criteria for inclusion in TSs, the NRC staff nevertheless has a continuing need to receive the data in order to compile its reports on industry trends and to support other evaluations of operating experience. In addition, information such as plant capacity factors that are reported in the MOR are useful to the NRC staff and are frequently asked for by agency stakeholders.
The NRC staff interacted with licensees, industry organizations, and other stakeholders during the development of the Consolidated Data Entry (CDE) program (currently being developed and maintained by the Institute of Nuclear Power Operation (INPO)), regarding the use of an industry database like CDE to provide data currently obtained from MORs. These discussions also involved the related Revision 1 to TSTF-369, ?Elimination of Requirements for Monthly Operating Reports and Occupational Radiation Exposure Reports. As described in Section 4.0 of this safety evaluation, the licensee is making a regulatory commitment to continue to provide the data identified in GL 97-02, following the removal of the TS requirement to submit MOR, and will therefore, continue to meet the needs of the NRC staff for the ITP and other evaluations. The use of an industry database such as CDE is more efficient and cost-effective for both the NRC and licensees than would be having the NRC staff obtain the needed information from other means currently available. Should a licensee fail to satisfy the regulatory commitment to voluntarily provide the information, the NRC could obtain the information through its inspection program (similar to the process described in NRC Inspection Procedure 71150, ?Discrepant or Unreported Performance Indicator Data) with the licensee being charged for the time spent by the NRC staff.
The only significant changes resulting from the adoption of TSTF-369 are that the information will be provided quarterly instead of monthly (although the operating data will still be divided by month) and the form of the reporting will be from a consolidated database such as CDE instead of in correspondence from individual licensees. The change of reporting frequency to quarterly has some advantages for both the NRC staff and licensees, since it will coincide with the collection and submission of the ROP PI data. In terms of the specific method used to transmit the data to the NRC, the licensee has committed (see Section 4.0 below) to provide data identified in GL 97-02 on a quarterly basis. The NRC staff believes that the most efficient process for licensees and the NRC will be for all licensees to use a system such as CDE.
Such systems have advantages in terms of improved data entry, data checking, and data verification and validation. The NRC will recognize efficiency gains by having the data from all plants reported using the same computer software and format. Although the data may be transmitted to the NRC from an industry organization maintaining a database such as CDE, the licensees provide the data for the system and remain responsible for the accuracy of the data submitted to the NRC for their plant(s). The public will continue to have access to the data through official agency records accessible in ADAMS.
To reflect the deletion of the MOR, the licensee proposes to revise TS 3.24 to require a special report within 14 days of one channel of RVLIS being inoperable for 30 days or both channels being inoperable for 7 days. The staff finds the proposal acceptable because it maintains the current requirements for reporting conditions associated with inoperable RVLIS channels and only revises the mechanism used to provide the report from the MOR to a special report.
3.2 ORERs (Section 6.9.1.C for the TMI-1 TSs)
The information that the NRC staff needs regarding occupational doses is provided by licensees in the reports required under 10 CFR Part 20. The data from the Part 20 reports are sufficient to support the NRC trending programs, radiation related studies, and preparation of reports such as NUREG-0713. Accordingly, the NRC's limited use of the ORER submitted pursuant to the existing TS requirements no longer warrants the regulatory burden imposed on licensees. Therefore, the NRC staff finds it acceptable that Section 6.9.1.C of the TMI-1 TSs, is being deleted and the ORER will no longer be submitted by the licensee.
4.0 VERIFICATIONS AND COMMITMENTS In order to efficiently process incoming license amendment applications, the NRC staff requested each licensee requesting the changes addressed by TSTF-369 using the CLIIP to address the following plant-specific regulatory commitment.
Each licensee should make a regulatory commitment to provide to the NRC using an industry database the operating data (for each calender month) that is described in GL 97-02 ?Revised Contents of the Monthly Operating Report, by the last day of the month following the end of each calendar quarter. The regulatory commitment will be based on use of an industry database (e.g., the industry's CDE program, currently being developed and maintained by the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations).
The licensee has made a regulatory commitment to provide to the NRC using an industry database the operating data (for each calendar month) that is described in GL 97-02 by the last day of the month following the end of each calendar quarter. The regulatory commitment will be based on use of an industry database (e.g., the industry's CDE program, currently being developed and maintained by the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations). This regulatory commitment will be implemented to prevent any gaps in the monthly operating statistics and shutdown experience provided to the NRC (i.e., data for all months will be provided using one or both systems (MOR and CDE)).
Each licensee possessing both operating and shutdown reactors at a single site will include in its application a regulatory commitment to provide information to the NRC annually (e.g., with its annual submittal in accordance with 10 CFR 20.2206) to support the apportionment of station
doses to differentiate between operating and shutdown units. The data will provide the summary distribution of annual whole body doses as presented in Appendix B of NUREG-0713 for each reactor type and for operating and shutdown units.
The TMI site includes Unit 2 which is shutdown and co-located with the operating unit (TMI-1).
The licensee has made a regulatory commitment to provide information to the NRC annually to support the apportionment of the station doses to differentiate between the operating and shutdown units.
The NRC staff finds that reasonable controls for the implementation and for subsequent evaluation of proposed changes pertaining to the above regulatory commitments can be provided by the licensee's administrative processes, including its commitment management program. The NRC staff has agreed that Nuclear Energy Institute 99-04, Revision 0,
?Guidelines for Managing NRC Commitment Changes, provides reasonable guidance for the control of regulatory commitments made to the NRC staff (see Regulatory Issue Summary 2000-17, ?Managing Regulatory Commitments Made by Power Reactor Licensees to the NRC Staff, dated September 21, 2000). The NRC staff notes that this amendment establishes a voluntary reporting system for the operating data that is similar to the system established for the ROP Pl Program. Should the licensee choose to incorporate a regulatory commitment into the final safety analysis report or other document with established regulatory controls, the associated regulations would define the appropriate change-control and reporting requirements.
5.0 STATE CONSULTATION
In accordance with the Commission's regulations, the Pennsylvania State official was notified of the proposed issuance of the amendment. The State official had no comments.
6.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION
The amendment relates to changes in record keeping, reporting, or administrative procedures or requirements. Accordingly, the amendments meet the eligibility criteria for categorical exclusion set forth in 10 CFR Part 51.22(c)(10). Pursuant to 10 CFR Part 51.22(b) no environmental impact statement or environmental assessment need be prepared in connection with the issuance of the amendments.
7.0 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 amendments will not be inimical to the common defense and security or to the health and safety of the public.
Principal Contributors: W. Reckley Date: June 17, 2005