[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 65 (Thursday, April 4, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16130-16132]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-8241]



[[Page 16130]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-285]


Omaha Public Power District; Notice of Consideration of Issuance 
of Amendment to Facility Operating License, Proposed No Significant 
Hazards Consideration Determination, and Opportunity for a Hearing

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is 
considering issuance of an amendment to Facility Operating License No. 
DPR-40, issued to Omaha Public Power District (the licensee), for 
operation of the Fort Calhoun Station, Unit 1 (FCS) located in 
Washington County, Nebraska.
    The proposed amendment would add an exception to the technical 
specifications to perform the surveillance test of Table 3-2, Item 20 
(Recirculation Actuation Logic Channel Functional Test) under 
administrative controls while components in excess of those allowed by 
Conditions a, b, d, and e of Technical Specification (TS) 2.3(2) are 
inoperable provided they are returned to operable status within one 
hour. This exception will apply only to the remainder of Cycle 20 and 
the entirety of Cycle 21.
    During the NRC Safety System Design and Performance Capability 
(SSDPC) inspection in February 2002, station personnel were informed 
that manual operator actions could not be used in lieu of automatic 
actions to maintain equipment operable without prior NRC approval. A 
comprehensive review was conducted of plant procedures that used manual 
actions in place of automatic actions in order to allow equipment to 
remain operable. The quarterly Recirculation Actuation Logic Channel 
Functional Test was identified as one of the tests affected. The 
licensee determined on March 26, 2002, that the surveillance could not 
be performed without a technical specification change, as there was 
insufficient time to make a modification to allow the performance of 
the test online without taking credit for operator action. This test 
was due to be performed on March 21, 2002, and will exceed its 
surveillance frequency and extension on April 21, 2002. Therefore, OPPD 
has requested an exigent TS change to allow this surveillance to be 
performed to avoid shutting down the plant.
    Before issuance of the proposed license amendment, the Commission 
will have made findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as 
amended (the Act) and the Commission's regulations.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.91(a)(6) for amendments to be granted under 
exigent circumstances, the NRC staff must determine that the amendment 
request involves no significant hazards consideration. Under the 
Commission's regulations in 10 CFR 50.92, this means that operation of 
the facility in accordance with the proposed amendment would not (1) 
involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an 
accident previously evaluated; or (2) create the possibility of a new 
or different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated; 
or (3) involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety. As 
required by 10 CFR 50.91(a), the licensee has provided its analysis of 
the issue of no significant hazards consideration, which is presented 
below:

    The proposed change does not involve a significant increase in 
the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated.
    Allowing performance of the quarterly surveillance test of Table 
3-2, Item 20 (Recirculation Actuation Logic Channel Functional Test) 
under administrative controls while components in excess of those 
allowed by Conditions a, b, d, and e of Technical Specification (TS) 
2.3(2) are inoperable provided they are returned to operable status 
within one hour will not affect the probability of any accident 
since the performance of the Recirculation Actuation Logic Channel 
Functional Test is not identified as the initiator of any analyzed 
event. This allowance applies only to the remaining portion of Cycle 
20 and all of Cycle 21. The proposed change will still require that 
the surveillance test be performed and the required ECCS [emergency 
core cooling system] systems to be available. The one hour 
completion time is considered sufficient time to perform the 
quarterly Recirculation Actuation Logic Channel Functional Test. 
Additionally, the one hour completion time ensures that prompt 
action is taken to restore the required ECCS capacity. The 
administrative controls in place will ensure that all required ECCS 
components remain available with compensatory dedicated operators. 
Closure of the recirculation minimum flow valves during testing 
could adversely affect all HPSI [high pressure safety injection], 
LPSI [low pressure safety injection] and CS [containment spray] 
pumps. However, manual operator actions serve to minimize the 
probability of this occurring and risk analysis concludes that the 
risk of this is small. This change will not alter assumptions 
relative to the mitigation of an accident or transient event. The 
performance of this activity has no affect on any accident scenario. 
Therefore, the proposed change does not involve a significant 
increase in the consequences of an accident previously evaluated.
    The proposed change does not create the possibility of a new or 
different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated.
    These proposed changes do not involve a physical alteration of 
the plant (no new or different type of equipment will be installed) 
or change the methods governing plant operation. The proposed change 
does not involve any physical changes to plant systems, structures 
or components (SSCs) or the manner in which these SSCs are operated, 
maintained, modified or inspected. Therefore, these changes do not 
create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from 
any accident previously evaluated.
    The proposed change does not involve a significant reduction in 
a margin of safety.
    The most risk significant portion of the Recirculation Actuation 
Logic Channel Functional Test is the opening of the recirculation 
minimum flow valve within three minutes of the receipt of a RAS 
[recirculation actuation signal] signal in order to prevent damage 
to the HPSI pumps. The manual actions have been determined to be 
acceptable and does not result in a significant reduction in any 
margin of safety. The bounding risk for the test is an Incremental 
Core Damage Probability (ICDP) of approximately 6.2E-09 for the 30 
minutes during which the RAS portion of the test is performed. The 
proposed change does not affect the frequency of the Recirculation 
Actuation Logic Channel Functional Test. The administrative controls 
in place will ensure that all required ECCS components remain 
available. The minimum numbers of ECCS components required by the 
FCS accident analyses remain available with compensatory dedicated 
operators. The proposed change will not significantly impact the 
availability or reliability of the plants systems or their ability 
to respond to plant transients and accidents. The one hour 
completion time allowed to satisfy ECCS requirements is acceptable 
based on the small probability of an event occurring during this 
time interval that the test is performed, and the desire to minimize 
plant shutdown transients. The performance of this activity has no 
affect on any accident scenario. Therefore, the proposed changes do 
not involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety.

    The NRC staff has reviewed the licensee's analysis and, based on 
this review, it appears that the three standards of 10 CFR 50.92(c) are 
satisfied. Therefore, the NRC staff proposes to determine that the 
amendment request involves no significant hazards consideration.
    The Commission is seeking public comments on this proposed 
determination. Any comments received within 14 days after the date of 
publication of this notice will be considered in making any final 
determination.
    Normally, the Commission will not issue the amendment until the 
expiration of the 14-day notice period. However, should circumstances 
change during the notice period, such that failure to act in a timely 
way would

[[Page 16131]]

result, for example, in derating or shutdown of the facility, the 
Commission may issue the license amendment before the expiration of the 
14-day notice period, provided that its final determination is that the 
amendment involves no significant hazards consideration. The final 
determination will consider all public and State comments received. 
Should the Commission take this action, it will publish in the Federal 
Register a notice of issuance. The Commission expects that the need to 
take this action will occur very infrequently.
    Written comments may be submitted by mail to the Chief, Rules and 
Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of 
Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001, and should cite the publication date and page number of 
this Federal Register notice. Written comments may also be delivered to 
Room 6D59, Two White Flint North, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 
Maryland, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Federal workdays. Documents may 
be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public Document 
Room, located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first 
floor), Rockville, Maryland.
    The filing of requests for hearing and petitions for leave to 
intervene is discussed below.
    By May 6, 2002, the licensee may file a request for a hearing with 
respect to issuance of the amendment to the subject facility operating 
license and any person whose interest may be affected by this 
proceeding and who wishes to participate as a party in the proceeding 
must file a written request for a hearing and a petition for leave to 
intervene. Requests for a hearing and a petition for leave to intervene 
shall be filed in accordance with the Commission's ``Rules of Practice 
for Domestic Licensing Proceedings'' in 10 CFR part 2. Interested 
persons should consult a current copy of 10 CFR 2.714, which is 
available at the Commission's Public Document Room, located at One 
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, 
Maryland, and available electronically on the Internet at the NRC Web 
site http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/. If a request 
for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene is filed by the above 
date, the Commission or an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, 
designated by the Commission or by the Chairman of the Atomic Safety 
and Licensing Board Panel, will rule on the request and/or petition; 
and the Secretary or the designated Atomic Safety and Licensing Board 
will issue a notice of hearing or an appropriate order.
    As required by 10 CFR 2.714, a petition for leave to intervene 
shall set forth with particularity the interest of the petitioner in 
the proceeding, and how that interest may be affected by the results of 
the proceeding. The petition should specifically explain the reasons 
why intervention should be permitted with particular reference to the 
following factors: (1) The nature of the petitioner's right under the 
Act to be made a party to the proceeding; (2) the nature and extent of 
the petitioner's property, financial, or other interest in the 
proceeding; and (3) the possible effect of any order which may be 
entered in the proceeding on the petitioner's interest. The petition 
should also identify the specific aspect(s) of the subject matter of 
the proceeding as to which petitioner wishes to intervene. Any person 
who has filed a petition for leave to intervene or who has been 
admitted as a party may amend the petition without requesting leave of 
the Board up to 15 days prior to the first prehearing conference 
scheduled in the proceeding, but such an amended petition must satisfy 
the specificity requirements described above.
    Not later than 15 days prior to the first prehearing conference 
scheduled in the proceeding, a petitioner shall file a supplement to 
the petition to intervene which must include a list of the contentions 
which are sought to be litigated in the matter. Each contention must 
consist of a specific statement of the issue of law or fact to be 
raised or controverted. In addition, the petitioner shall provide a 
brief explanation of the bases of the contention and a concise 
statement of the alleged facts or expert opinion which support the 
contention and on which the petitioner intends to rely in proving the 
contention at the hearing. The petitioner must also provide references 
to those specific sources and documents of which the petitioner is 
aware and on which the petitioner intends to rely to establish those 
facts or expert opinion. Petitioner must provide sufficient information 
to show that a genuine dispute exists with the applicant on a material 
issue of law or fact. Contentions shall be limited to matters within 
the scope of the amendment under consideration. The contention must be 
one which, if proven, would entitle the petitioner to relief. A 
petitioner who fails to file such a supplement which satisfies these 
requirements with respect to at least one contention will not be 
permitted to participate as a party.
    Those permitted to intervene become parties to the proceeding, 
subject to any limitations in the order granting leave to intervene, 
and have the opportunity to participate fully in the conduct of the 
hearing, including the opportunity to present evidence and cross-
examine witnesses.
    If the amendment is issued before the expiration of the 30-day 
hearing period, the Commission will make a final determination on the 
issue of no significant hazards consideration. If a hearing is 
requested, the final determination will serve to decide when the 
hearing is held.
    If the final determination is that the amendment request involves 
no significant hazards consideration, the Commission may issue the 
amendment and make it immediately effective, notwithstanding the 
request for a hearing. Any hearing held would take place after issuance 
of the amendment.
    If the final determination is that the amendment request involves a 
significant hazards consideration, any hearing held would take place 
before the issuance of any amendment.
    A request for a hearing or a petition for leave to intervene must 
be filed with the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemakings and 
Adjudications Staff, or may be delivered to the Commission's Public 
Document Room, located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike 
(first floor), Rockville, Maryland, by the above date. A copy of the 
petition should also be sent to the Office of the General Counsel, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, and to James 
R. Curtiss, Esq., Winstron & Strawn, 1400 L Street, NW., Washington, DC 
20005-3502, attorney for the licensee.
    Nontimely filings of petitions for leave to intervene, amended 
petitions, supplemental petitions and/or requests for hearing will not 
be entertained absent a determination by the Commission, the presiding 
officer or the presiding Atomic Safety and Licensing Board that the 
petition and/or request should be granted based upon a balancing of the 
factors specified in 10 CFR 2.714(a)(1)(i)-(v) and 2.714(d).
    For further details with respect to this action, see the 
application for amendment dated April 1, 2002, which is available for 
public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), 
located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), 
Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible 
electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management 
System (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the 
NRC web

[[Page 16132]]

site http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do not have 
access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents 
located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by 
telephone at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737 or by e-mail to [email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 1st day of April, 2002.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Alan Wang,
Project Manager, Section 2, Project Directorate IV, Division of 
Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 02-8241 Filed 4-3-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P