[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 128 (Monday, July 6, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36452-36453]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-17773]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-461]


In the Matter of Illinois Power and Clinton Power Station; 
Confirmatory Order Modifying License Effective Immediately

I

    Illinois Power (IP or the Licensee) is the holder of Facility 
Operating License No. NPF-62, which authorizes operation of Clinton 
Power Station located in DeWitt County, Illinois.

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.
    IP was one of the licensees with which the NRC staff held meetings. 
At these meetings, the NRC staff reviewed with IP the schedule of 
Thermo-Lag corrective actions described in the IP submittals to the 
NRC. Based on the information submitted by IP, and provided during the 
meetings, the NRC staff has concluded that the schedules presented by 
IP 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 IP 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 
IP must be completed in accordance with current IP schedules. By letter 
dated May 3, 1998, the NRC staff notified IP of its plan to incorporate 
IP's schedule commitment into a requirement by issuance of an order and 
requested consent from the Licensee. By letter dated May 22, 1998, the 
Licensee provided its consent to issuance of a Confirmatory Order.

III

    The Licensee's commitment as set forth in its letter of May 22, 
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 22, 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:
    Illinois Power (IP) complete final implementation of Thermo-Lag 
330-1 fire barrier corrective actions at Clinton Power Station as 
described in the June 19, 1997, and March 30, 1998, submittals to the 
NRC, in addition to the repair of the butt joint described in the March 
28, 1995, submittal to the NRC, by December 31, 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: Docketing and Services Section, 
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 III, 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle, IL 60532-
4351, 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

[[Page 36453]]

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.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 26th day of June 1998.

Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 98-17773 Filed 7-2-98; 8:45 am]
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