[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 51 (Tuesday, March 17, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13074-13076]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-6825]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-298]


Nebraska Public Power District, 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. 
DPR-46, issued to the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD or the 
licensee), for operation of the Cooper Nuclear Station (CNS), located 
in Nemaha County, Nebraska.
    The proposed amendment, requested by the licensee in a letter dated 
March 27, 1997, would represent a full conversion from the current 
Technical Specifications (TS) to a set of TS based on NUREG-1433, 
``Standard Technical Specifications, General Electric Plants, BWR/4,'' 
Revision 1, dated April 1995. NUREG-1433 has been developed through 
working groups composed of both NRC staff members and industry 
representatives and has been endorsed by the staff as part of an 
industry-wide initiative to standardize and improve the TS. As part of 
this submittal, the licensee has applied the criteria contained in the 
Commission's ``Final Policy Statement on Technical Specification 
Improvements for Nuclear Power Reactors (Final Policy Statement),'' 
published in the Federal Register on July 22, 1993 (58 FR 39132), to 
the current CNS TS, and, using NUREG-1433 as a basis, developed a 
proposed set of improved TS for CNS. The criteria in the Final Policy 
Statement were subsequently added to 10 CFR 50.36, ``Technical 
Specifications,'' in a rule change that was published in the Federal 
Register on July 19, 1995 (60 FR 36953) and became effective on August 
18, 1995.
    The licensee has categorized the proposed changes to the existing 
TS 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 restructuring, 
renumbering, rewording, interpretation and complex rearranging of 
requirements and other changes not affecting technical content or 
substantially revising an operating requirement. The reformatting, 
renumbering and rewording process reflects the attributes of NUREG-1433 
and does not involve technical changes to the existing TS. The proposed 
changes include: (a) Providing the appropriate numbers, etc., for 
NUREG-1433 bracketed information (information that must be supplied on 
a plant specific basis, and which may change from plant to plant), (b) 
identifying plant-specific wording for system names, etc., and (c) 
changing NUREG-1433 section wording to conform to existing licensee 
practices. 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 for inclusion in TS. Relocated changes 
are those current TS requirements that do not satisfy or fall within 
any of the four criteria specified in the Commission's policy statement 
and may be relocated to appropriate licensee-controlled documents.
    The licensee's application of the screening criteria is described 
in Volume 1 of its March 27, 1997, submittal, which is entitled, 
``Application of Selection Criteria to the Cooper Nuclear Station 
Technical Specifications.'' 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 such as the Updated Safety 
Analysis Report (USAR), the TS BASES, The Technical Requirements Manual 
(TRM), the Core Operating Limits Report (COLR), the Offsite Dose 
Assessment Manual (ODAM), the Inservice Testing (IST) Program, or other 
licensee-controlled documents. Changes made to these documents will be 
made pursuant to 10 CFR 50.59 or other appropriate control mechanisms. 
In addition the affected structures, systems, components, or variables 
are addressed in existing surveillance procedures that are also subject 
to 10 CFR 50.59. These

[[Page 13075]]

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 the mitigation of an accident or transient event. The more 
restrictive requirements will not alter the operation of process 
variables, structures, systems, and components described in the safety 
analyses. For each requirement in the current CNS TS that is more 
restrictive than the corresponding requirement in NUREG-1433 that the 
licensee proposes to retain in the improved Technical Specifications 
(ITS), they have provided an explanation of why they have concluded 
that retaining the more restrictive requirement is desirable to ensure 
safe operation of the facility because of specific design features of 
the plant.
    Less restrictive changes are those where current requirements are 
relaxed or eliminated, or new flexibility is provided. The more 
significant ``less restrictive'' requirements are justified on a case-
by-case basis. When requirements have been shown to provide little or 
no safety benefit, their removal from the TS may be appropriate. In 
most cases, relaxations previously granted to individual plants on a 
plant-specific basis were the result of (a) generic NRC actions, (b) 
new NRC staff positions that have evolved from technological 
advancements and operating experience, or (c) resolution of the Owners 
Groups' comments on the Improved Standard Technical Specifications. 
Generic relaxations contained in NUREG-1433 were reviewed by the staff 
and found to be acceptable because they are consistent with current 
licensing practices and NRC regulations. The licensee's design will be 
reviewed to determine if the specific design basis and licensing basis 
are consistent with the technical basis for the model requirements in 
NUREG-1433, thus providing a basis for these revised TS, or if 
relaxation of the requirements in the current TS is warranted based on 
the justification provided by the licensee.
    These administrative, relocated, more restrictive and less 
restrictive changes to the requirements of the current TS do not result 
in operations that will alter assumptions relative to mitigation of an 
analyzed accident or transient event.
    In addition to the changes solely involving the conversion, changes 
are proposed to the current technical specifications or as deviations 
from the improved GE Technical Specifications (NUREG-1433) as follows:
    1. ITS 3.1.8 revises the Scram Discharge Volume Vent and Drain 
Valve Actions from the corresponding actions of NUREG-1433, to 
eliminate the restoration requirement if the associated line is 
isolated.
    2. ITS 3.5.1 revises the ECCS Allowed Outage Times from those in 
the CTS to allow continued operation for up to 72 hours with certain 
equipment or systems inoperable.
    3. ITS 3.7.1, 3.7.2, and 3.7.3, would allow plant operation to 
continue indefinitely with only one pump per loop operable for the 
Residual Heat Removal Service Water Booster, the Service Water and the 
Reactor Equipment Cooling (REC) systems, based on current analyses. The 
CTS allow continued operation for only 30 days with one pump 
inoperable; the ITS also deviate from the required actions of NUREG-
1433.
    4. ITS 3.7.2 and 3.7.3 revise the Service Water and REC system pump 
and valve testing frequencies from monthly to quarterly to be 
consistent with ASME Section XI requirements.
    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 April 16, 1998, 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 a petition 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, and at the local public 
document room located at the Auburn Memorial Library, 1810 Courthouse 
Avenue, Auburn, NE 68305. 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 to intervene 
or who has been admitted as a party may amend the petition without 
requesting leave of the Board up to 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 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 a material 
issue of law or fact. Contentions shall be limited to matters within 
the scope of the amendment 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

[[Page 13076]]

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 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemakings and 
Adjudications Staff, or may be delivered to the Commission's Public 
Document Room, the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC, 
by the above date. A copy of the petition should also be sent to the 
Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, and to Mr. John R. McPhail, Nebraska Public 
Power District, Post Office Box 499, Columbus, NE 68602-0499, 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 consideration in accordance with 10 CFR 50.91 and 50.92.
    For further details with respect to this action, see the 
application for amendment dated March 27, 1997, which is available for 
public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, the Gelman 
Building, 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC, and at the local public 
document room located at the Auburn Memorial Library, 1810 Courthouse 
Avenue, Auburn, NE 68305.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 11th day of March 1998.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James R. Hall,
Senior Project Manager, Project Directorate IV-1, Division of Reactor 
Projects III/IV, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 98-6825 Filed 3-16-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P