[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 120 (Tuesday, June 23, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34204-34205]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-16648]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-338]


Virginia Electric and Power Company; North Anna Power Station, 
Unit 1; Confirmatory Order Modifying License Effective Immediately

I

    Virginia Electric and Power Company (VEPCO, the licensee) is the 
holder of Facility Operating License No. NPF-4, which authorizes 
operation of North Anna Power Station (NAPS), Unit 1, located in Louisa 
County, Viginia.

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 NAPS, Unit 1, that had corrective 
action scheduled beyond 1997, the NRC reviewed with VEPCO the schedule 
of Thermo-Lag corrective actions described in the VEPCO submittal to 
the NRC dated December 18,1997. Based on the information submitted by 
VEPCO, the NRC staff has concluded that the schedules presented are 
reasonable. This conclusion is based

[[Page 34205]]

on the need to perform certain plant modifications during outages as 
opposed to those that can be performed while the plant is at power. In 
order to remove compensatory measures such as fire watches, it has been 
determined that resolution of the Thermo-Lag corrective actions by 
VEPCO must be completed in accordance with current VEPCO schedules. By 
letter dated May 14, 1998, the NRC staff notified VEPCO of its plan to 
incorporate VEPCO's schedule commitment into a requirement by issuance 
of an order and requested consent from the Licensee. By letter dated 
May 22, 1998, VEPCO provided its consent to issuance of a Confirmatory 
Order.

III

    The Licensee's commitment as set forth in its letter of December 
19, 1997, 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 December 18, 1997, 
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:

    Virginia Electric and Power Company shall complete final 
implementation of Thermo-Lag 330-1 fire barrier corrective actions 
at North Anna Power Station, Unit 1, described in the VEPCO 
submittal to the NRC dated December 18, 1997. Overall work package 
closeout will be completed by the completion of the next refueling 
outage scheduled to begin in September 1998.

    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, DC 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, DC 20555. Copies of the hearing request shall also 
be sent to the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U. S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, to the Deputy 
Assistant General Counsel for Enforcement at the same address, to the 
Regional Administrator, NRC Region II, Atlanta Federal Center, 61 
Forsyth Street, SW., Suite 23T85, Atlanta, Georgia 30303, 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, Md., this 15th day of 1998.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 98-16648 Filed 6-22-98; 8:45 am]
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