[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 148 (Monday, August 3, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41301-41302]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-20601]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-445]


TU Electric; Comanche Peak; Confirmatory Order Modifying License, 
Effective Immediately

I

    TU Electric, (the Licensee) is the holder of Facility Operating 
License No. NPF-87, which authorizes operation of Comanche Peak, Unit 1 
located in, Somervell County, TX.

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. The discussions with TU Electric, to resolve 
Thermo-Lag corrective actions have been numerous. In addition to 
telephone conversations and letter responses, two public meetings were 
held, the first on December 5, 1996, at the Region IV Office in 
Arlington, Texas and the second on November 12, 1997, at the NRC 
Headquarters Office in Rockville, Maryland.
    Based on the information submitted by TU Electric, the NRC staff 
has concluded that the schedules presented by TU Electric 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

[[Page 41302]]

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 TU 
Electric 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 TU Electric must be completed 
in accordance with current TU Electric schedules. By letter dated May 
20, 1998, the NRC staff notified TU Electric of its plan to incorporate 
TU Electric's schedule commitment into a requirement by issuance of an 
order and requested consent from the Licensee. By letter dated June 2, 
1998, the Licensee provided its consent to issuance of a Confirmatory 
Order.

III

    The Licensee's commitment as set forth in its letter of June 2, 
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 June 2, 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:
    TU Electric shall complete final implementation of Thermo-Lag 330-1 
fire barrier corrective actions at Comanche Peak, Unit 1, described in 
TU Electric submittals to the NRC dated April 9 and May 1, 1998, 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, 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: 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 IV, 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400, 
Arlington, Texas, 76011 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 28 day of July 1998.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 98-20601 Filed 7-31-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P