[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 101 (Wednesday, May 27, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29038-29039]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-13971]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-352 and 50-353]


Philadelphia Electric Company, Limerick Generating Station, 
(Units 1 and 2); Confirmatory Order Modifying Licenses; Effective 
Immediately

I

    Philadelphia Electric Company (the Licensee) is the holder of 
Facility Operating Licenses Nos. NPF-39 and NPF-85, which authorize 
operation of Limerick Generating Station (LGS), Units 1 and 2, located 
in Montgomery and Chester Counties, Pennsylvania.

II

    The staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has been 
concerned that Thermo-Lag 330-1 fire barrier systems installed by 
licensees may not provide the level of fire endurance intended and that 
licensees that use Thermo-Lag 330-1 fire barriers may not be meeting 
regulatory requirements. During the 1992 to 1994 timeframe, the NRC 
staff issued Generic Letter (GL) 92-08, ``Thermo-Lag 330-1 Fire 
Barriers'' and subsequent requests for additional information that 
requested licensees to submit plans and schedules for resolving the 
Thermo-Lag issue. The NRC staff has obtained and reviewed all 
licensees' corrective plans and schedules. The staff is concerned that 
some licensees may not be making adequate progress toward resolving the 
plant-specific issues, and that some implementation schedules may be 
either too tenuous or too protracted. For example, several licensees 
informed the NRC staff that their completion dates had slipped by 6 
months to as much as 3 years. For plants that have completion action 
scheduled beyond 1997, the NRC staff has met with these licensees to 
discuss the progress of the licensees' corrective actions and the 
extent of licensee management attention regarding completion of Thermo-
Lag corrective actions. In addition, the NRC staff discussed with 
licensees the possibility of accelerating their completion schedules.
    Philadelphia Electric Company was one of the licensees with which 
the NRC staff held meetings. At these meetings, the NRC staff reviewed 
with

[[Page 29039]]

Philadelphia Electric Company the schedule of Thermo-Lag corrective 
actions described in the Philadelphia Electric Company submittals to 
the NRC dated April 16 and December 29, 1993, February 4 and December 
19, 1994, March 29 and August 2, 1995, May 2, 1996, and March 24, 1997. 
Based on the information submitted by Philadelphia Electric Company and 
provided during the meetings, the NRC staff has concluded that the 
schedules presented by Philadelphia Electric Company are reasonable. 
This conclusion is based on the (1) amount of installed Thermo-Lag, (2) 
the complexity of the plant-specific fire barrier configurations and 
issues, (3) the need to perform certain plant modifications during 
outages as opposed to those that can be performed while the plant is at 
power, and (4) integration with other significant, but unrelated issues 
that Philadelphia Electric Company is addressing at its plant. In order 
to remove compensatory measures such as fire watches, it has been 
determined that resolution of the Thermo-Lag corrective actions by 
Philadelphia Electric Company must be completed in accordance with 
current Philadelphia Electric Company schedules. By letter dated April 
16, 1998, the NRC staff notified Philadelphia Electric Company of its 
plan to incorporate Philadelphia Electric Company's schedule commitment 
into a requirement by issuance of an order and requested consent from 
the Licensee. By letter dated April 27, 1998, the Licensee provided its 
consent to issuance of a Confirmatory Order.

III

    The Licensee's commitment as set forth in its letter of April 27, 
1998, is acceptable and is necessary for the NRC to conclude that 
public health and safety are reasonably assured. To preclude any 
schedule slippage and to assure public health and safety, the NRC staff 
has determined that the Licensee's commitment in its April 27, 1998, 
letter be confirmed by this Order. The Licensee has agreed to this 
action. Based on the above, and the Licensee's consent, this Order is 
immediately effective upon issuance.

IV

    Accordingly, pursuant to sections 103, 161b, 161i, 161o, 182, and 
186 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Commission's 
regulations in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR Part 50, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, 
effective immediately, that:

    Philadelphia Electric Company shall complete final 
implementation of Thermo-Lag 330-1 fire barrier corrective actions 
at LGS, Units 1 and 2, described in the Philadelphia Electric 
Company's submittals to the NRC dated April 16 and December 29, 
1993, February 4 and December 19, 1994, March 29 and August 2, 1995, 
May 2, 1996, March 24, 1997, and January 14, 1998, by completion of 
the April 1999 refueling outage for LGS, Unit 2.

The Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, may relax or 
rescind, in writing, any provisions of this Confirmatory Order upon a 
showing by the Licensee of good cause.

V

    Any person adversely affected by this Confirmatory Order, other 
than the Licensee, may request a hearing within 20 days of its 
issuance. Where good cause is shown, consideration will be given to 
extending the time to request a hearing. A request for extension of 
time must be made in writing to the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555, 
and include a statement of good cause for the extension. Any request 
for a hearing shall be submitted to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Attention: Chief, Rulemakings and Adjudications 
Staff, Washington, D.C. 20555. Copies of the hearing request shall also 
be sent to the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U. S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555, to the Deputy 
Assistant General Counsel for Enforcement at the same address, to the 
Regional Administrator, NRC Region I, 475 Allendale Road, King of 
Prussia, Pennsylvania 19406-1415, and to the Licensee. If such a person 
requests a hearing, that person shall set forth with particularity the 
manner in which his/her interest is adversely affected by this Order 
and shall address criteria set forth in 10 CFR 2.714(d).
    If a hearing is requested by a person whose interest is adversely 
affected, the Commission will issue an Order designating the time and 
place of any such hearing. If a hearing is held, the issue to be 
considered at such hearing shall be whether this Confirmatory Order 
should be sustained.
    In the absence of any request for hearing, or written approval of 
an extension of time in which to request a hearing, the provisions 
specified in Section IV above shall be final 20 days from the date of 
this Order without further order or proceedings. If an extension of 
time for requesting a hearing has been approved, the provisions 
specified in Section IV shall be final when the extension expires if a 
hearing request has not been received. An answer or a request for 
hearing shall not stay the immediate effectiveness of this Order.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 19 day of May 1998.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 98-13971 Filed 5-26-98; 8:45 am]
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