ML16204A042

Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2, and Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant, Unit 1 - Acceptance Letter, Unacceptable, with Opportunity to Supplement (CAC Nos. MF8061, MF8062, and MF8070)

ML16204A042
Person / Time
Site:	Vogtle, Farley
Issue date:	07/26/2016
From:	Williams S A Plant Licensing Branch II
To:	Pierce C R Southern Nuclear Operating Co
Williams, S, NRR/DORL/LPLII-1, 415-1009
References
CAC MF8061, CAC MF8062, CAC MF8070
Download: ML16204A042 (4)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 July 26, 2016 Mr. Charles R. Pierce Regulatory Affairs Director Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc. P.O. Box 1295 I Bin 038 Birmingham, AL 35201-1295

SUBJECT:

VOGTLE ELECTRIC GENERATING PLANT, UNITS 1 AND 2, AND JOSEPH M. FARLEY NUCLEAR PLANT, UNIT 1 -ACCEPTANCE LETTER, UNACCEPTABLE, WITH OPPORTUNITY TO SUPPLEMENT (CAC NOS. MF8061, MF8062, AND MF8070}

Dear Mr. Pierce:

By letters dated June 28, 2016, and June 30, 2016 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System Accession Nos. ML 16180A046 and ML 16182A475, respectively}, Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc. (SNC) submitted a request for relief for the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2 (VEGP) and Joseph M. Farley, Unit 1 (FNP). SNC requests relief to eliminate the reactor pressure vessel threads in flange examination requirement for the remainder of the inservice inspection intervals.

The purpose of this letter is to provide the results of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff's acceptance review of these two relief requests.

The acceptance review was performed to determine if there is sufficient technical information in scope and depth to allow the NRC staff to complete its detailed technical review. The acceptance review is also intended to identify whether the application has any readily apparent information insufficiencies in its characterization of the regulatory requirements or the licensing basis of the plant. Pursuant to Sections 50.55a(z)(1) and 50.55a(z)(2) of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (1 O CFR), the applicant shall demonstrate that the proposed alternatives would provide an acceptable level of quality and safety, or that compliance with the specified requirements of Section 50.55a would result in hardship or unusual difficulty, without a compensating increase in the level of quality or safety. The NRC staff has reviewed your application and concluded that the information delineated in the enclosure to this letter is necessary to enable the staff to make an independent assessment regarding the acceptability of the proposed relief request in terms of regulatory requirements and the protection of public health and safety and the environment.

In order to make the application complete, the NRC staff requests that SNC supplement the application to address the information requested within 20 days of the date of this letter. This will enable the NRC staff to begin its detailed technical review. If the information responsive to the NRC staff's request is not received by the above date, the application will not be accepted for review pursuant to 1 O CFR 2.101, and the NRC will cease its review activities associated with the application.

If the application is subsequently accepted for review, you will be advised C. Pierce of any further information needed to support the staff's detailed technical review by separate correspondence.

The information requested and associated timeframe in this letter were discussed with your staff on July 25, 2016. If you have any questions, please contact me at (301) 415-1009 or by e-mail at Shawn.Williams@nrc.gov.

Docket Nos. 50-424, 50-425, 50-348

Enclosure:

Supplemental Information Needed cc: Distribution via Listserv Sincerely, Shawn A. Williams, Senior Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch 11-1 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION NEEDED RELIEF REQUEST SOUTHERN NUCLEAR OPERATING COMPANY. INC. VOGTLE ELECTRIC GENERATING PLANT, UNITS 1AND2 JOSEPH M. FARLEY NUCLEAR PLANT, UNIT 1 DOCKET NOS. 50-424, 50-425, AND 50-348 By letters dated June 28, 2016, and June 30, 2016 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System Accession Nos. ML 16180A046 and ML 16182A475, respectively), Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc. (SNC or the licensee) submitted a request for relief for the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2 (VEGP) and Joseph M. Farley, Unit 1 (FNP). SNC requested to eliminate the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) threads in flange examination requirement (ASME Code,Section XI, Examination Category B-G-1, Item Number 86.40) for the remainder of the inservice inspection intervals for VEGP and FNP. The following information is needed to continue U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff acceptance review. 1. The VEGP and FNP application states that the technical basis for elimination of the RPV threads in flange examination requirement is contained in Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) Technical Report 3002007626, March 2016. This referenced EPRI report is not approved by the NRC. For the licensee to use the information in this report as a technical basis, the pertinent information in the EPRI report specific to each application must be provided on the docket. Enclosure C. Pierce of any further information needed to support the staff's detailed technical review by separate correspondence.

The information requested and associated timeframe in this letter were discussed with your staff on July 25, 2016. If you have any questions, please contact me at (301) 415-1009 or by e-mail at Shawn.Williams@nrc.gov.

Sincerely, /RAJ Shawn A. Williams, Senior Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch 11-1 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos. 50-424, 50-425, 50-348

Enclosure:

Supplemental Information Needed cc: Distribution via Listserv DISTRIBUTION:

PUBLIC LPL2-1 R/F RidsACRS_MailCTR Resource RidsNrrDorl Resource RidsNrrDorlDpr Resource RidsNrrDorllpl2-1 Resource RidsNrrLALRonewicz Resource RidsNrrPMFarleyResource RidsNrrPMVogtle Resource RidsRgn2MailCenter Resource RidsNrrDeEvib Resource RidsNrrDraApla Resource ADAMS Accession No.: ML 16204A042 OFFICE DORL/LPL2-1

/PM DORL/LPL2-1/PM NAME SWilliams RMartin DATE 7/25/16 7/25/16 OFFICE DORL/LPL2-1/BC DORL/LPL2-1/PM NAME MMarkley SWilliams DATE 7/25/16 7/26/16 DORL/LPL2-1

/LA LRonewicz 7/25/16 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY DE/EVIB/BC JMcHale 7/25/16