[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 197 (Tuesday, October 13, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 54737]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-27346]



[[Page 54737]]

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-498 and 499]


STP Nuclear Operating Company, South Texas Project, Units 1 and 
2; Confirmatory Order Modifying License, Effective Immediately

I
    STP Nuclear Operating Company, (the Licensee) is the holder of 
Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-76 and NPF-80, which authorizes 
operation of South Texas Project, Units 1 and 2, located in Matagorda 
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 discussed with these licensees 
the progress of the licensees' corrective actions and the extent of 
licensee management attention regarding completion of Thermo-Lag 
corrective actions. South Texas Project, Units 1 and 2, are two of the 
plants whose schedule extends beyond 1997.
    Based on the information submitted by STP Nuclear Operating 
Company, the NRC staff has concluded that the schedules presented by 
STP Nuclear Operating Company 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 STP Nuclear Operating 
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 STP Nuclear Operating Company 
must be completed in accordance with current STP Nuclear Operating 
Company schedules. By letter dated June 15, 1998, the NRC staff 
notified STP Nuclear Operating Company of its plan to incorporate STP 
Nuclear Operating Company's schedule commitment into a requirement by 
issuance of an order and requested consent from the Licensee. By letter 
dated June 25, 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 25, 
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 25, 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:

    STP Nuclear Operating Company shall complete final 
implementation of Thermo-Lag 330-1 fire barrier corrective actions 
at South Texas Project, Units 1 and 2, described in the STP Nuclear 
Operating Company submittals to the NRC dated December 20, 1995, 
August 26, 1996, November 6, 1996, and July 7, 1997, as modified and 
summarized by the letters of April 15, 1998, and June 4, 1998, by 
the end of 1998, excluding those corrective actions which are the 
subject of the pending deviation request from Appendix R, Section 
II.G.2.c, dated September 14, 1995, as supplemented by letters dated 
November 6, 1996, May 22, 1997, August 4, 1997, and April 15, 1998, 
for NRC staff review and approval pursuant to License Condition 2.E 
of a change to the approved fire protection program. A schedule for 
completion of any corrective actions associated with this request 
will be determined separately.

    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 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 2nd day of October 1998.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 98-27346 Filed 10-9-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P