[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 232 (Friday, December 3, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 67956]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-31377]



[[Page 67956]]

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-220]


Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation, Nine Mile Point Nuclear 
Station, Unit No. 1; Issuance of Final Director's Decision Under 10 CFR 
2.206

    Notice is hereby given that the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, has taken action with regard to a letter dated May 24, 
1999, as supplemented by letter dated August 10, 1999, (Petition) filed 
by Tim Judson (Petitioner) of the Syracuse Peace Council, on behalf of 
himself and others, pursuant to Section 2.206 of Title 10 of the Code 
of Federal Regulations (10 CFR 2.206). The Petitioner requested that 
the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Commission or NRC) suspend the 
operating license issued to Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation (NMPC or 
licensee) for Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, Unit 1 (NMP1) until (1) 
NMPC releases the most recent inspection data on the plant's core 
shroud; (2) a public meeting can be held in Oswego County, New York, to 
review this inspection data and the repair design to core shroud 
vertical welds V9 and V10; and (3) an adequate public review of the 
safety of the plant's continued operation is accomplished.
    In a letter dated June 11, 1999, the Director of the Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation acknowledged receipt of the Petition of May 
24, 1999, and addressed the actions under 10 CFR 2.206 that Petitioner 
requested to be taken before restart of NMP1 from its 1999 refueling 
outage (RFO-15). In the letter of June 11, 1999, the staff explained 
that the issues and concerns addressed in the Petition do not warrant 
deferring restart of NMP1 and that a meeting to provide for public 
review of the shroud reinspection results need not be held before 
restart.
    In the supplemental letter dated August 10, 1999, Petitioner 
reiterated the request for the meeting to provide for public review of 
the shroud reinspection data and repair, even though the meeting would 
take place after restart. Petitioner stated that the need for the 
meeting had increased because cracks were identified in the main drain 
line and control rod stub tubes during the hydrostatic testing of the 
reactor vessel during RFO-15. Petitioner stated that these cracks from 
the hydrostatic tests raise two concerns: (1) That the NRC's ``leak-
before-break'' model for assessing the safety of aging reactors is 
inadequate and (2) that the problem of cracking is not confined to the 
core shroud, but may be spreading throughout the reactor internals, 
pipes, and other systems, representing an unanalyzed condition that is 
only being identified piecemeal through certain incidental cases that, 
together, reveal a pattern of degradation of reactor components and 
systems and overall embrittlement of the reactor. Petitioner also 
expressed concern in the letter of August 10, 1999, that the core 
shroud inspection during RFO-15 indicated that shroud vertical weld V10 
is growing at a rate in excess of the NRC's accepted crack growth rate 
limit of 22 microinch/hr (1.55  x  10-8 centimeter/second), 
whereas he believes the measured rate should be at least 2 sigma below 
the limit.
    The Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation has 
concluded that the 1999 shroud reinspection results, reviewed by the 
NRC staff since receipt of the Petition, support NMPC's conclusion, 
reached before restart, that the structural integrity of the core 
shroud will be maintained during at least the current operating cycle 
in its present configuration. The additional issues raised by 
Petitioner in the supplement to the Petition were previously known and 
addressed by the NRC. These issues were resolved consistent with 
approved Boiling Water Reactor Vessel Internals Project programs, codes 
and standards, plant technical specifications, and the Commission's 
regulations. The crack growth rate for shroud vertical weld V10 did not 
exceed the NRC staff's accepted limit and its repair has diminished 
concern for its current and future behavior. Some of the issues of 
concern to the Petitioner were discussed during the Plant Performance 
Meeting at the NMP site on October 22, 1999, and the NRC staff remained 
in the area after the meeting to discuss issues of interest with the 
public and the local press. For these reasons, the NRC staff concludes 
the additional meeting requested by the Petitioner is not warranted. 
The Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation has concluded 
that the issues raised in the Petition do not represent a significant 
safety issue and do not warrant any NRC staff action to modify, 
suspend, or revoke operation of NMP1 for the reasons that are explained 
in the ``Final Director's Decision Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.206'' (DD-99-
14). Therefore, the Petition is not granted.
    The complete text of the Final Director's Decision follows this 
notice and is available for public inspection at the Commission's 
Public Document Rooms located in the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, 
NW., Washington, DC, and accessible electronically through the ADAMS 
Public Electronic Reading Room link at the NRC Web site (http://www/
mrc/gov).
    A copy of the Decision will be filed with the Secretary of the 
Commission for the Commission's review in accordance with 10 CFR 
2.206(c) of the Commission's regulations. As provided for by this 
regulation, the Decision will constitute the final action of the 
Commission 25 days after the date of issuance of the Decision unless 
the Commission, on its own motion, institutes a review of the Decision 
within that time.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 29th day of November 1999.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brian W. Sheron,
Acting Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 99-31377 Filed 12-2-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P