ML031910136

License Amendment, Regarding Staff Qualification Requirements (TAC Nos. MB8059 & MB8060)

ML031910136
Person / Time
Site:	Prairie Island
Issue date:	07/22/2003
From:	John Lamb NRC/NRR/DLPM/LPD3
To:	Solymossy J Nuclear Management Co
References
TAC MB8059, TAC MB8060
Download: ML031910136 (11)

Text

July 22, 2003 Mr. Joseph M. Solymossy Site Vice President Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant Nuclear Management Company, LLC 1717 Wakonade Drive East Welch, MN 55089

SUBJECT:

PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT, UNITS 1 AND 2 -

ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENTS REGARDING STAFF QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS (TAC NOS. MB8059 AND MB8060)

Dear Mr. Solymossy:

The Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 159 to Facility Operating License No. DPR-42 and Amendment No. 150 to Facility Operating License No. DPR-60 for the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2, respectively. The amendments consist of changes to the Technical Specifications (TSs) in response to your application dated March 19, 2003.

The amendments revise TS Section 5.3, Plant Staff Qualifications. The amendments update requirements that have been outdated based on licensed operator training programs being accredited by the National Academy for Nuclear Training and promulgation of the revised Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 55, Operators Licenses.

A copy of our related safety evaluation is also enclosed. The Notice of Issuance will be included in the Commission's biweekly Federal Register notice.

Sincerely,

/RA/

John G. Lamb, Project Manager, Section 1 Project Directorate III Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos. 50-282 and 50-306

Enclosures:

1. Amendment No. 159 to DPR-42

2. Amendment No. 150 to DPR-60

3. Safety Evaluation cc w/encls: See next page

ML031910136 *SE input provided by memo OFFICE PDIII-1/PM PDIII-1/LA IEHB/SC* OGC PDIII-1/SC NAME JLamb RBouling DTrimble SUttal/NLO LRaghavan DATE 07/07/03 07/13/03 06/17/03 07/23/03 07/21/03 Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2 cc:

Jonathan Rogoff, Esquire Tribal Council General Counsel Prairie Island Indian Community Nuclear Management Company, LLC ATTN: Environmental Department 700 First Street 5636 Sturgeon Lake Road Hudson, WI 54016 Welch, MN 55089 Manager, Regulatory Affairs Mr. Roy A. Anderson Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant Executive Vice President Nuclear Management Company, LLC Nuclear Management Company, LLC 1717 Wakonade Drive East 700 First Street Welch, MN 55089 Hudson, WI 54016 Adonis A. Neblett Nuclear Asset Manager Assistant Attorney General Xcel Energy, Inc.

Office of the Attorney General 414 Nicollet Mall, R.S. 8 455 Minnesota Street Minneapolis, MN 55401 Suite 900 St. Paul, MN 55101-2127 John Paul Cowan Chief Nuclear Officer U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Nuclear Management Company, LLC Resident Inspectors Office 27780 Blue Star Memorial Highway 1719 Wakonade Drive East Covert, MI 49043 Welch, MN 55089-9642 Mano K. Nazar Regional Administrator, Region III Senior Vice President U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Nuclear Management Company, LLC 801 Warrenville Road Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant Lisle, IL 60532-4351 1717 Wakonade Drive East Welch, MN 55089 Administrator Goodhue County Courthouse Box 408 Red Wing, MN 55066-0408 Commissioner Minnesota Department of Commerce 121 Seventh Place East Suite 200 St. Paul, MN 55101-2145 May 2003

NUCLEAR MANAGEMENT COMPANY, LLC DOCKET NO. 50-282 PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT, UNIT 1 AMENDMENT TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 159 License No. DPR-42

1. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has found that:

A. The application for amendment by the Nuclear Management Company, LLC (the licensee), dated March 19, 2003, complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commissions 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 Commissions 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 Commissions 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-42 is hereby amended to read as follows:

Technical Specifications The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A, as revised through Amendment No. 159 , are hereby incorporated in the license. The licensee shall operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications.

3. This license amendment is effective as of its date of its issuance and shall be implemented within 30 days.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

/RA/

L. Raghavan, Section Chief, Section 1 Project Directorate III Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Attachment:

Changes to the Technical Specifications Date of Issuance: July 22, 2003

ATTACHMENT TO LICENSE AMENDMENT NO. 159 TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. DPR-42 AND LICENSE AMENDMENT NO. 150 TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. DPR-60 DOCKET NOS. 50-282 AND 50-306 Replace the following page of the Appendix A Technical Specifications with the attached revised page. The revised page is identified by amendment number and contains marginal lines indicating the areas of change.

REMOVE INSERT 5.0-5 5.0-5

NUCLEAR MANAGEMENT COMPANY, LLC DOCKET NO. 50-306 PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT, UNIT 2 AMENDMENT TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 150 License No. DPR-60

1. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has found that:

A. The application for amendment by the Nuclear Management Company, LLC (the licensee), dated March 19, 2003, complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commissions 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 Commissions 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 Commissions 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-60 is hereby amended to read as follows:

Technical Specifications The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A, as revised through Amendment No. 150 , are hereby incorporated in the license. The licensee shall operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications.

3. This license amendment is effective as of its date of its issuance and shall be implemented within 30 days.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

/RA/

L. Raghavan, Section Chief, Section 1 Project Directorate III Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Attachment:

Changes to the Technical Specifications Date of Issuance: July 22, 2003

SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION RELATED TO AMENDMENT NO. 159 TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. DPR-42 AND AMENDMENT NO. 150 TO FACILITY OPERATION LICENSE NO. DPR-60 NUCLEAR MANAGEMENT COMPANY, LLC PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT, UNITS 1 AND 2 DOCKET NOS. 50-282 AND 50-306

1.0 INTRODUCTION

By application dated March 19, 2003, the Nuclear Management Company, LLC (the licensee),

requested changes to the Technical Specifications (TSs) for the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2. The proposed changes would revise TS Section 5.3, Plant Staff Qualifications. The amendments update requirements that have been outdated based on licensed operator training programs being accredited by the National Academy for Nuclear Training (NANT) and promulgation of the revised Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Part 55, Operators Licenses.

2.0 REGULATORY EVALUATION

On March 20, 1985, the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued the Commission Policy Statement on Training and Qualification of Nuclear Power Plant Personnel, which endorsed the NANT and its training accreditation process. In Generic Letter 87-07, "Information Transmittal of Final Rulemaking for Revisions to Operator Licensing 10 CFR 55 and Conforming Amendments," dated March 19, 1987, and in NUREG-1262, "Answers to Questions at Public Meetings Regarding Implementation of Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 55 on Operators' Licenses," published November 1987, the NRC indicated that it would accept a facilitys licensed operator training program if the facility certified in writing that the program was accredited and based on a systems approach to training (SAT). This certification would supersede the requirements of American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

N18.1-1971, "Selection and Training of Nuclear Power Plant Personnel," and ANSI/American Nuclear Society (ANS)-3.1-1978, "Selection, Qualification and Training of Personnel for Nuclear Power Plants." Facility licensees were advised to submit a request to the NRC for an administrative change to their licensing documents to revise or delete, as appropriate, the requirements that had been superseded.

In 1992, the NRC published its proposed rule 10 CFR 50.120, "Training and qualification of nuclear power plant personnel." The proposed rule stated that, if adopted, the rule would supersede the Commission Policy Statement on Training and Qualification of Nuclear Power Plant Personnel and would not result in any change to accredited programs. The NRC concluded that accredited programs that are implemented consistent with industry objectives

and criteria would be in compliance with 10 CFR 50.120. In April 1993, the NRC published its final rule on training and qualification of nuclear power plant personnel. The rule requires nuclear power plant licensees to establish, implement, and maintain SAT-based training programs for nine non-licensed positions. Accreditation of these nine training programs is an acceptable means of meeting the requirements of 10 CFR 50.120.

On January 18, 2001, the NRC issued Regulatory Issue Summary (RIS) 2001-01, Eligibility of Operator License Applicants," to familiarize licensees with the NRC's current guidelines for the qualification and training of reactor operator and senior operator license applicants.

RIS 2001-01 acknowledged that 10 CFR 55.31(a)(4) allows the NRC to accept an application for an operators license if the facility licensee certifies that the applicant has successfully completed a Commission-approved training program that is based on a systems approach to training. In addition, RIS 2001-01 stated that: (1) a training program would be considered approved by the NRC when it receives or renews accreditation from the National Nuclear Accrediting Board (NNAB); (2) accreditation of operator training programs suggests that facilities are implementing the education and experience guidelines endorsed by the NNAB; (3) NANT guidelines for education and experience (those in effect in 1987 or those issued in January 2000) outline acceptable methods for implementing the Commission's regulations; and (4) the NRC staff encourages all facility licensees to review their requirements and commitments related to licensed operator and senior operator education and experience and to update their documentation (e.g., Final Safety Analysis Report, TSs, and training program descriptions) to enhance consistency and minimize confusion."

3.0 TECHNICAL EVALUATION

The licensee has proposed to revise TS Section 5.3, which describes the requirements for plant staff qualifications. The proposed revision would update requirements that have been outdated based on licensed operator training programs being accredited by the NANT and promulgation of the revised 10 CFR Part 55. The proposed revision conforms to the current requirements of 10 CFR Part 55. The TS requirements for all other plant staff qualifications would remain unchanged.

The NRC staff concludes that the licensees proposed revision to the qualification requirements in TS Section 5.3 are acceptable as the revised requirements conform with the reactor operator and senior reactor operator license eligibility criteria and standards acceptable to the NRC staff.

In addition, the proposed revision would not affect the 10 CFR 50.36(c)(5) requirement to ensure the licensee maintains administrative controls that assure the operation of the facility in a safe manner.

The proposed revision to TS Section 5.3 is consistent with 10 CFR Part 55 and does not adversely affect nuclear safety or plant operations. Therefore, the NRC finds the proposed revision to TS Section 5.3 acceptable.

4.0 STATE CONSULTATION

In accordance with the Commission's regulations, the Minnesota State official was notified of the proposed issuance of the amendment. The State official had no comments.

5.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION

This amendment relates to changes in recordkeeping, reporting, or administrative procedures or requirements. Accordingly, the amendment meets the eligibility criteria for categorical exclusion set forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(10). Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b), no environmental impact statement or environmental assessment need be prepared in connection with the issuance of the amendment.

6.0 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 Commissions regulations, and (3) the issuance of the amendment will not be inimical to the common defense and security or to the health and safety of the public.

Principal Contributor: R. Pelton Date: July 22, 2003