[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 121 (Wednesday, June 24, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34490-34491]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-16745]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-327 and 50-328]


Tennessee Valley Authority (Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 
2); Confirmatory Order Modifying License Effective Immediately

I

    Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA, or the Licensee) is the holder of 
Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-77 and DPR-79, which authorizes 
operation of Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2 located in Hamilton 
County, Tennessee.

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, including Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2, 
the NRC staff has met with the 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.
    TVA was one of the licensees with which the NRC staff held 
meetings. At the May 30, 1997, meeting, the NRC staff reviewed with TVA 
the schedule of Thermo-Lag corrective actions for the Sequoyah units 
described in the handout presented to the NRC during that meeting. 
Based on the information provided during the meeting, as well as a 
subsequent letter dated June 25, 1997, the NRC staff has concluded that 
the schedules presented by TVA are reasonable. This conclusion is based 
on (1) the 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 TVA 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 TVA must be completed in accordance with current 
schedules. By letter dated April 29, 1998, the NRC staff notified TVA 
of its plan to incorporate TVA's schedule commitment into a requirement 
by issuance of an order and requested consent from the Licensee. By 
letter dated May 13, 1998, TVA provided its consent to issuance of a 
Confirmatory Order.

III

    The Licensee's commitment as set forth in its letter of May 13, 
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 May 13, 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:

    The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) shall complete final 
implementation of Thermo-Lag 330-1 fire barrier corrective actions 
at the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2 as described in the TVA 
submittal dated June 25, 1997. Walkdowns, evaluations, and upgrades 
will be completed by June 30, 1999.

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: Rulemaking 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 II at the Atlanta Federal Center, 23 
T85, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-3415, 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 18th day of June 1998.


[[Page 34491]]


    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 98-16745 Filed 6-23-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P