[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 166 (Monday, August 29, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51098-51100]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-4710]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Notice of Opportunity To Comment on Model Safety Evaluation on
Elimination of Typical License Condition Requiring Reporting of
Violations of Section 2.C of Operating License Using the Consolidated
Line Item Improvement Process
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Request for comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the staff of the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) has prepared a model safety evaluation (SE)
relating to the elimination of the license condition involving
reporting of violations of other requirements (typically in License
Condition 2.C) in the operating license of some commercial nuclear
power plants. The NRC staff has also prepared a model no significant
hazards consideration (NSHC) determination relating to this matter. The
purpose of these models is to permit the NRC to efficiently process
amendments that propose to delete the reporting requirement. Licensees
of nuclear power reactors to which the models apply could then request
amendments, confirming the applicability of the SE and NSHC
determination to its reactors. The NRC staff is requesting comment on
the model SE and model NSHC determination prior to announcing their
availability for referencing in license amendment applications.
DATES: The comment period expires 30 days from date of publication in
the Federal Register. Comments received after this date will be
considered if it is practical to do so, but the Commission is able to
ensure consideration only for comments received on or before this date.
[[Page 51099]]
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted either electronically or via U.S.
mail.
Submit written comments to: Chief, Rules and Directives Branch,
Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration, Mail
Stop T-6-D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001.
Hand deliver comments to 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland,
between 7:45 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. on Federal workdays.
Copies of comments received may be examined at the NRC's Public
Document Room, located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike
(first floor), Rockville, Maryland.
Comments may be submitted by electronic mail to [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Reckley, Mail Stop: O-7D1,
Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, telephone 301-415-1323.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Regulatory Issue Summary 2000-06, ``Consolidated Line Item
Improvement Process for Adopting Standard Technical Specification
Changes for Power Reactors,'' was issued on March 20, 2000. The
consolidated line item improvement process (CLIIP) is intended to
improve the efficiency of NRC licensing processes. The CLIIP includes
an opportunity for the public to comment on a proposed change to
operating licenses, including the Technical Specifications, after a
preliminary assessment by the NRC staff and a finding that the change
will likely be offered for adoption by licensees. This notice solicits
comment on a proposed change that deletes a requirement for licensees
to report violations of other requirements (typically in License
Condition 2.C) of its facility's operating license. The CLIIP directs
the NRC staff to evaluate any comments received for a proposed change
and to either reconsider the change or announce the availability of the
change for adoption by licensees. Licensees opting to apply for this
proposed license amendment change are responsible for reviewing the
staff's evaluation, referencing the applicable technical
justifications, and providing any necessary plant-specific information.
Each amendment application made in response to the notice of
availability will be processed and noticed in accordance with
applicable rules and NRC procedures.
Applicability
This proposal to eliminate the reporting of violations of specific
requirements (typically in License Condition 2.C) of facility operating
licenses is applicable to any licensee that has such a provision in its
facility operating license. The NRC staff notes that many operating
licenses do not contain the requirement because it was never added or
was removed by a license amendment before issuance of this notice. The
CLIIP also addresses similar requirements if they exist in the
Administrative Section of Technical Specifications. The CLIIP does not
address reporting requirements contained in operating licenses other
than those specifically involving reports of violations of other
requirements (typically in License Condition 2.C) of the facility
operating license or requirements that restate the need to submit
reports in accordance with 10 CFR 50.72, ``Immediate notification
requirements for operating nuclear power reactors,'' and 10 CFR 50.73,
``Licensee event report system.''
Public Notices
This notice requests comments from interested members of the public
within 30 days of the date of publication in the Federal Register.
After evaluating the comments received as a result of this notice, the
NRC staff will either reconsider the proposed change or announce the
availability of the change in a subsequent notice (perhaps with some
changes to the safety evaluation or the proposed NSHC determination as
a result of public comments). If the NRC staff announces the
availability of the change, licensees wishing to adopt the change must
submit an application in accordance with applicable rules and other
regulatory requirements. For each application, the NRC staff will
publish a notice of consideration of issuance of amendment to facility
operating licenses, a proposed NSHC determination, and a notice of
opportunity for a hearing. The NRC staff will also publish a notice of
issuance of an amendment for each plant that receives the requested
change.
Proposed Model Safety Evaluation
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation, Consolidated Line Item Improvement, Elimination of License
Condition Requiring Reports of Violations of License Condition [2.C] in
Facility Operating License
1.0 Introduction
By application dated [ ], [LICENSEE] (the licensee), requested an
amendment to the Facility Operating License for [PLANT]. The proposed
amendment would delete Section 2[X] of the Facility Operating License,
which requires reporting of violations of the requirements in Section
2[C] of the Facility Operating License.
2.0 Regulatory Evaluation
A section or condition was included in the facility operating
licenses issued to some nuclear power plants requiring the licensee to
make reports to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regarding
violations of other sections of the operating license (typically
Section 2.C). A typical license condition reads as follows:
Except as otherwise provided in this license and its appendices,
the Licensee shall report any violations of the requirements contained
in Section 2.C of this license in the following manner: initial
notification shall be made within 24 hours to the NRC Operations Center
via the Emergency Notification System with written followup within
thirty days in accordance with the procedures described in 10 CFR 50.73
(Licensee event report system).
In addition to the information provided to support licensing
decisions, the NRC obtains information about plant operation, licensee
programs, and other matters using a combination of inspections and
reporting requirements. Routine or scheduled reports that are required
to be submitted to the NRC are defined in the related regulations,
specific license condition, technical specification, or an NRC-approved
program document. The reporting of emergencies, unplanned events or
conditions, and other special cases may also be addressed within such
documents by the inclusion of reporting thresholds and are also the
focus of the reporting requirements in 10 CFR 50.72, ``Immediate
notification requirements for operating nuclear power reactors,'' and
10 CFR 50.73, ``Licensee event report system.'' Changes to the
reporting regulations in 10 CFR 50.72 and 50.73 became effective in
January 2001 (see Federal Register notice on October 25, 2000 (65 FR
63769) and included
[[Page 51100]]
extending the allowable reporting times for licensee event reports
(LERs) from 30 days to 60 days.
[Optional: The Administrative Section of the Technical
Specifications (TS) for [PLANT] also includes a reporting
requirement that duplicates the requirements in 10 CFR 50.72 and 10
CFR 50.73, but which does not reflect subsequent changes in those
regulations such as requiring LERs within 60 days instead of 30
days.]
3.0 Technical Evaluation
Section 2.[X] of the Facility Operating License requires the
licensee to report any violations of the requirements of Section 2[C]
of the Facility Operating License and defines the method and allowable
time periods for such reports. The reporting threshold (i.e., a
violation) for some of the conditions included in Section 2.[C] of the
Facility Operating License duplicates those defined in 10 CFR 50.72 and
10 CFR 50.73. However, the requirements in the Facility Operating
License may have different deadlines than those defined in the
regulations (following a rule change in 2001). This difference in
reporting requirements has led to variations in reporting since many
facility operating licenses do not contain the subject condition. For
those licensees with a 30-day reporting requirement in the Facility
Operating License, the condition has decreased the benefits of the
rulemaking. For those cases where the current Facility Operating
License requirement to report violations is also reportable in
accordance with the regulations defined in 10 CFR 50.72 and 10 CFR
50.73, the NRC staff finds that the regulations adequately address this
issue and the elimination of the duplicative requirement in the
Facility Operating License is acceptable.
Some of the conditions addressed in Section 2.[C] of the Facility
Operating License may address the maintenance of particular programs,
administrative requirements, or other matters where a violation of the
requirement would not result in a report to the NRC in accordance with
10 CFR 50.72 or 10 CFR 50.73. In most cases, there are requirements for
reports to the NRC related to these conditions in other regulations,
the specific license condition or technical specification, or an NRC-
approved program document. In other cases, there are reports to other
agencies or news releases that would prompt a report to the NRC (in
accordance with 10 CFR 50.72(b)(2)(xi)). The NRC staff also assessed
violations of administrative requirements that could be reportable
under the current License Condition but that may not have a dupicative
requirement in a regulation or other regulatory requirement. The NRC
staff finds that the requirements to report such problems within 24
hours with written reports to follow using the LER process is not
needed. The NRC staff is confident that the information related to such
violations that is actually important to the NRC's regulatory functions
would come to light in a time frame comparable to the 60-day LER
requirements. The information would become available to the appropriate
NRC staff through the inspection program, updates to program documents,
resultant licensing actions, public announcements, or some other
reliable mechanism.
The NRC staff finds that the elimination of Section 2.[X] of the
Facility Operating License will not result in a loss of information to
the NRC that would adversely affect either its goal to protect public
health and safety or its ability to carry out its various other
regulatory responsibilities.
[Optional: The reporting requirement defined in TS [5.x.x] for
[PLANT] requires a report to the NRC when [REPORT REQUIREMENT]. This
requirement duplicates the requirements in 10 CFR 50.72 and 10 CFR
50.73, but does not reflect subsequent changes in those regulations
such as requiring LERs within 60 days instead of 30 days. The NRC
staff finds the elimination of the TS requirement acceptable since
the required reports are defined in an established NRC regulation
that is also applicable to this licensee.]
4.0 State Consultation
In accordance with the Commission's regulations, the [ ] State
official was notified of the proposed issuance of the amendment. The
State official had no comments.
5.0 Environmental Consideration
The amendment changes recordkeeping, reporting, or administrative
procedures or requirements. Accordingly, the amendment meets the
eligibility criteria for categorical exclusion set forth in 10 CFR
51.22(c)(10). Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b), no environmental impact
statement or environmental assessment need be prepared in connection
with the issuance of the amendment.
6.0 Conclusion
The Commission has concluded, based on the considerations discussed
above, that (1) there is reasonable assurance that the health and
safety of the public will not be endangered by operation in the
proposed manner, (2) such activities will be conducted in compliance
with the Commission's regulations, and (3) the issuance of the
amendment will not be inimical to the common defense and security or to
the health and safety of the public.
Proposed No Significant Hazards Consideration Determination
Description of Amendment Request: The proposed amendment would
delete Section 2.[X] of the Facility Operating License, which requires
reporting of violations of the requirements in Section 2.[C] of the
Facility Operating License. [The proposed amendment would also delete a
reporting requirement in Technical Specifications that is duplicative
of NRC regulations.]
Basis for proposed no significant hazards consideration
determination: As required by 10 CFR 50.91(a), an analysis of the issue
of no significant hazards consideration is presented below:
1. Does the change involve a significant increase in the
probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated?
Response: No.
The proposed change involves the deletion of a reporting
requirement. The change does not affect plant equipment or operating
practices and therefore does not significantly increase the
probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated.
2. Does the change create the possibility of a new or different
kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated?
Response: No.
The proposed change is administrative in that it deletes a
reporting requirement. The change does not add new plant equipment,
change existing plant equipment, or affect the operating practices
of the facility. Therefore, the change does not create the
possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any accident
previously evaluated.
3. Does the proposed change involve a significant reduction in a
margin of safety?
Response: No.
The proposed change deletes a reporting requirement. The change
does not affect plant equipment or operating practices and therefore
does not involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety.
Based on the above, the NRC staff proposes that the change presents
no significant hazards consideration under the standards set forth in
10 CFR 50.92(c).
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd of August, 2005.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
William D. Reckley,
Senior Project Manager, Section 1, Project Directorate IV, Division of
Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E5-4710 Filed 8-26-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P