[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 70 (Tuesday, April 12, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-8692]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: April 12, 1994]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-416]

 

Entergy Operations, Inc., System Energy Resources, Inc., South 
Mississippi Electric Power Association, Mississippi Power and Light 
Co.; Notice of Consideration of Issuance of Amendment to Facility 
Operating License and Opportunity for a Hearing

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is 
considering issuance of an amendment to Facility Operating License No. 
NPF-29, issued to Entergy Operations, Inc. (the licensee), for 
operation of the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station, Unit 1, located in 
Claiborne County, Louisiana.
    The proposed amendment, requested by the licensee by letter of 
October 15, 1993, would represent a full conversion from the current 
Technical Specifications (TS) to a set of TS based on NUREG-1434, 
``Improved BWR/6 Technical Specifications,'' Revision O, September 
1992. NUREG-1434 has been developed through working groups composed of 
both NRC staff members and the BWR/6 owners and has been endorsed by 
the staff as part of an industry-wide initiative to standardize and 
improve TS. As part of this submittal, the licensee has applied the 
criteria contained in the Final NRC Policy Statement on Technical 
Specification Improvements to the current Grand Gulf Nuclear Station, 
Unit 1 Technical Specifications utilizing BWR Owners' Group (BWROG) 
report NEDO-31466, ``Technical Specification Screening Criteria 
Application and Risk Assessment,'' (and Supplement 1) as incorporated 
in NUREG-1434.
    The licensee has categorized the proposed changes into four general 
groupings. These groupings are characterized as administrative changes, 
relocated changes, more restrictive changes, and less restrictive 
changes.
    Administrative changes are those that involve reformatting, 
renumbering and rewording of the existing TS. The reformatting, 
renumbering and rewording process reflects the attributes of NUREG-1434 
and do not involve technical changes to the existing TS. Such changes 
are administrative in nature and do not impact initiators of analyzed 
events or assumed mitigation of accident or transient events.
    Relocated changes are those involving relocation of requirements 
and surveillances for structures, systems, components or variables that 
do not meet the criteria of inclusion in TS as identified in the 
Application of Selection Criteria to the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station TS. 
The affected structures, systems, components or variables are not 
assumed to be initiators of analyzed events and are not assumed to 
mitigate accident or transient events. The requirements and 
surveillances for these affected structures, systems, components or 
variables will be relocated from the TS to administratively controlled 
documents. Changes to these documents will be made pursuant to 10 CFR 
50.59. In addition, the affected structures, systems, components or 
variables are addressed in existing surveillance procedures which are 
subject to 10 CFR 50.59 and subject to the change control provision in 
the Administrative Controls Section of the TS. These proposed changes 
will not impose or eliminate any requirements.
    More restrictive changes are those involving more stringent 
requirements for operation of the facility. These more stringent 
requirements do not result in operation that will alter assumptions 
relative to mitigation of an accident or transient event. The more 
restrictive requirements continue to ensure process variables, 
structures, systems and components are maintained consistent with the 
safety analyses and licensing basis.
    Changes characterized as less restrictive have been subdivided into 
four additional subcategories. They include:
    a. Relocating details to TS Bases, the Updated Safety Analysis 
Report (USAR), or procedures. The requirements to be transposed from 
the TS to the Bases, USAR or procedures are the same as those currently 
included in the existing TS. The TS Bases, USAR and procedures 
containing the relocated information are subject to 10 CFR 50.59 and 
are subject to the change control provisions in the Administrative 
Controls section of the TS.
    b. Extension of instrumentation surveillance test intervals (STIs) 
and allowed outage times (AOTs). The proposed changes affect only the 
STIs and AOTs and will not impact the function of monitoring system 
variables over the anticipated ranges for normal operation, anticipated 
operational occurrences, or accident conditions. However, the changes 
are expected to reduce the test related plant scrams and test induced 
wear on the equipment. General Electric Topical Reports GENE-770-06-1 
and GENE-770-06-2 showed that the effects of these extensions of STIs 
and AOTs, which produced negligible impact, are bounded by previous 
analyses. Further, the NRC has reviewed these reports and approved the 
conclusions on a generic basis.
    c. Relocation of instrumentation only requirements (which provide 
no post-accident function). These requirements are part of the routine 
operational monitoring and are not considered in the safety analysis. 
Changes made to the Bases, USAR, and procedures containing the 
relocated information will be made in accordance with 10 CFR 50.59 and 
are subject to the change control provisions in the Administrative 
Controls section of the TS. These proposed changes will not impose or 
eliminate any requirements.
    d. Other less restrictive changes. Additional changes that result 
in less restrictions in the TS are discussed individually in the 
licensee's submittal.
    Before issuance of the proposed license amendment, the Commission 
will have made findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as 
amended (the Act) and the Commission's regulations.
    By May 12, 1994, the licensee may file a request for a hearing with 
respect to issuance of the amendment to the subject facility operating 
license and any person whose interest may be affected by this 
proceeding and who wishes to participate as a party in the proceeding 
must file a written request for a hearing and a petition for leave to 
intervene. Requests for a hearing and petitions for leave to intervene 
shall be filed in accordance with the Commission's ``Rules of Practice 
for Domestic Licensing Proceedings'' in 10 CFR part 2. Interested 
persons should consult a current copy of 10 CFR 2.714, which is 
available at the Commission's Public Document Room, the Gelman 
Building, 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC 20555 and at the local 
public document room located at the Judge George W. Armstrong Library, 
Post Office Box 1406, S. Commerce at Washington, Natchez, Mississippi 
39120. If a request for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene is 
filed by the above date, the Commission or an Atomic Safety and 
Licensing Board, designated by the Commission or by the Chairman of the 
Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel, will rule on the request and/
or petition, and the Secretary or the designated Atomic Safety and 
Licensing Board will issue a notice of hearing or an appropriate order.
    As required by 10 CFR 2.714, a petition for leave to intervene 
shall set forth with particularity the interest of the petitioner in 
the proceeding, and how that interest may be affected by the results of 
the proceeding. The petition should specifically explain the reasons 
why intervention should be permitted with particular reference to the 
following factors: (1) The nature of the petitioner's right under the 
Act to be made a party to the proceeding; (2) the nature and extent of 
the petitioner's property, financial, or other interest in the 
proceeding; and (3) the possible effect of any order which may be 
entered in the proceeding on the petitioner's interest. The petition 
should also identify the specific aspect(s) of the subject matter of 
the proceeding as to which petitioner wishes to intervene. Any person 
who has filed a petition for leave intervene or who has been admitted 
as a party may amend the petition without requesting leave of the Board 
up to fifteen (15) days prior to the first prehearing conference 
scheduled in the proceeding, but such an amended petition must satisfy 
the specificity requirements described above.
    Not later than fifteen (15) days prior to the first prehearing 
conference scheduled in the proceeding, a petitioner shall file a 
supplement to the petition to intervene which must include a list of 
the contentions which are sought to be litigated in the matter. Each 
contention must consist of a specific statement of the issue of law or 
fact to be raised or controverted. In addition, the petitioner shall 
provide a brief explanation of the bases of the contention and a 
concise statement of the alleged facts or expert opinion which support 
the contention and on which the petitioner intends to rely in proving 
the contention at the hearing. The petitioner must also provide 
references to those specific sources and documents of which the 
petitioner is aware and on which the petitioner intends to rely to 
establish those facts or expert opinion. Petitioner must provide 
sufficient information to show that a genuine dispute exists with the 
applicant on material issue of law or fact. Contentions shall be 
limited to matters within the scope of the amendments under 
consideration. The contention must be one which, if proven, would 
entitle the petitioner to relief. A petitioner who fails to file such a 
supplement which satisfies these requirements with respect to at least 
one contention will not be permitted to participate as a party.
    Those permitted to intervene become parties to the proceeding, 
subject to any limitations in the order granting leave to intervene, 
and have the opportunity to participate fully in the conduct of the 
hearing, including the opportunity to present evidence and cross-
examine witnesses.
    A request for a hearing or a petition for leave to intervene must 
be filed with the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555, Attention: Docketing and Services 
Branch, or may be delivered to the Commission's Public Document Room, 
the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, NW, Washington, DC, by the above 
date. Where petitions are filed during the last ten (10) days of the 
notice period, it is requested that the petitioner promptly so inform 
the Commission by a toll-free telephone call to Western Union at 1-
(800) 248-5100 (in Missouri 1-(800) 342-6700). The Western Union 
operator should be given Datagram Identification Number N1023 and the 
following message addressed to William D. Beckner, Director, Project 
Directorate IV-1: petitioner's name and telephone number, date petition 
was mailed, plant name, and publication date and page number of the 
Federal Register notice. A copy of the petition should also be sent to 
the Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555, and to Nicholas S. Reynolds, Esq., Winston & 
Strawn, 1400 L Street, NW., 12th Floor, Washington, DC 20005-3502, 
attorney for the licensee.
    Nontimely filings of petitions for leave to intervene, amended 
petitions, supplemental petitions and/or requests for hearing will not 
be entertained absent a determination by the Commission, the presiding 
officer, or the presiding Atomic Safety and Licensing Board that the 
petition and/or request should be granted based upon a balancing of the 
factors specified in 10 CFR 2.714(a)(1)(i)-(v) and 2.714(d).
    If a request for a hearing is received, the Commission's staff may 
issue the amendment after it completes its technical review and prior 
to the completion of any required hearing if it publishes a further 
notice for public comment of its proposed finding of no significant 
hazards considerations in accordance with 10 CFR 50.91 and 50.92.
    For further details with respect to this action, see the 
application for amendment dated October 15, 1993, which is available 
for public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, the 
Gelman Building 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC 20555, and at the 
local public document room, located at the Judge George W. Armstrong 
Library, Post Office Box 1406, S. Commerce at Washington, Natchez, 
Mississippi 39120.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 5th day of April 1994.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Paul W. O'Connor,
Senior Project Manager, Project Directorate IV-I, Division of Reactor 
Projects III/IV, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 94-8692 Filed 4-11-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-M