[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 229 (Tuesday, November 29, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73733-73737]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-30728]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-483; NRC-2011-0276]


Union Electric Company; Callaway Plant, Unit 1; Notice of 
Consideration of Issuance of Amendment to Facility Operating License, 
Proposed No Significant Hazards Consideration Determination, and 
Opportunity for a Hearing

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of license amendment request, opportunity to comment, 
opportunity to request a hearing.

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DATES: Comments must be filed by December 29, 2011. A request for a 
hearing must be filed January 30, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Please include Docket ID NRC-2011-0276 in the subject line 
of your comments. For additional instructions on submitting comments 
and instructions on accessing documents related to this action, see 
``Submitting Comments and Accessing Information'' in the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section of this document. You may submit comments by any 
one of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for documents filed under Docket ID NRC-
2011-0276. Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher, 
telephone: (301) 492-3668; email: [email protected].
     Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Chief, Rules, 
Announcements, and Directives Branch (RADB), Office of Administration, 
Mail Stop: TWB-05-B01M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
DC 20555-0001.
     Fax comments to: RADB at (301) 492-3446.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Submitting Comments and Accessing Information

    Comments submitted in writing or in electronic form will be posted 
on the NRC Web site and on the Federal rulemaking Web site, http://www.regulations.gov. Because your comments will not be edited to remove 
any identifying or contact information, the NRC cautions you against 
including any information in your submission that you do not want to be 
publicly disclosed.
    The NRC requests that any party soliciting or aggregating comments 
received from other persons for submission to the NRC inform those 
persons that the NRC will not edit their comments to remove any 
identifying or contact information, and therefore, they should not 
include any information in their comments that they do not want 
publicly disclosed.
    You can access publicly available documents related to this 
document using the following methods:
     NRC's Public Document Room (PDR): The public may examine 
and have copied, for a fee, publicly available documents at the NRC's 
PDR, O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 
Maryland 20852.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC 
are available online in the NRC Library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this page, the public can gain entry into ADAMS, 
which provides text and image files of the NRC's public documents. If 
you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing 
the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC's PDR reference staff 
at 1-(800) 397-4209, (301) 415-4737, or by email to 
[email protected]. The application for amendment, dated December 10, 
2010, as supplemented by letters dated June 16, 2011, and October 27, 
2011, are available electronically under ADAMS Accession Nos. 
ML103470204, ML111680233 and ML113010383, respectively.
     Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Public comments and 
supporting materials related to this notice can be found at http://www.regulations.gov by searching on Docket ID NRC-2011-0276.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mohan C. Thadani, Senior Project 
Manager, Plant Licensing Branch IV, Division of Operating Reactor 
Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555. Telephone: (301) 415-1476; 
fax number: (301) 415-2102 email: [email protected].
    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is 
considering issuance of an amendment to Facility Operating License No. 
NPF-30 issued to Union Electric Company (the licensee) for operation of 
the Callaway Plant, Unit 1, located in Callaway County, Missouri.
    The license amendment request was originally noticed in the Federal 
Register on March 8, 2011 (76 FR 12766). This notice is being reissued 
in its entirety to include a revised description of the amendment 
request. The proposed amendment would add a new Surveillance 
Requirement (SR)

[[Page 73734]]

3.3.8.6 to Technical Specification (TS) 3.3.8, ``Emergency Exhaust 
System (EES) Actuation Instrumentation.'' The new SR would require the 
performance of response time testing on the portion of the EES required 
to isolate the normal fuel building ventilation exhaust flow path and 
initiate the fuel building ventilation isolation signal (FBVIS) mode of 
operation. The proposed amendment also would revise TS Table 3.3.8-1 to 
indicate that new SR 3.3.8.6 applies to automatic actuation Function 2, 
``Automatic Actuation Logic and Actuation Relays (BOP ESFAS),'' and 
Function 3, ``Fuel Building Exhaust Radiation--Gaseous.'' In addition, 
the specified frequency of new SR 3.3.8.6 would be relocated and 
controlled in accordance with the licensee's Surveillance Frequency 
Control Program in accordance with guidance in Nuclear Energy Institute 
(NEI) 04-10, ``Risk-Informed Technical Specifications Initiative 5b, 
Risk-Informed Method for Control of Surveillance Frequencies.'' 
Finally, there would be corresponding changes to the Final Safety 
Analysis Report (FSAR).
    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.
    The Commission has made a proposed determination that the amendment 
request involves no significant hazards consideration. Under the 
Commission's regulations in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(10 CFR), Section 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 the Commission issued in 
the Federal Register on March 8, 2011 (76 FR 12766). The Commission is 
issuing a modified no significant hazards consideration to consider 
aspects of the SR 3.3.8.6 relocation to the Surveillance Frequency 
Control Program. The NRC previously approved the relocation of 
surveillance frequencies as part of Callaway Plant's License Amendment 
No. 202, as noted in the Federal Register on January 11, 2011 (76 FR 
1649).

    1. Does the proposed change involve a significant increase in 
the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated?
    Response: No.
    There are no design changes associated with the proposed change. 
All design, material, and construction standards that were 
applicable prior to this amendment request will continue to be 
applicable.
    The proposed change will not affect accident initiators or 
precursors nor adversely alter the design assumptions, conditions, 
and configuration of the facility or the manner in which the plant 
is operated and maintained with respect to such initiators or 
precursors. There will be no change to fuel handling methods and 
procedures.
    Therefore, there will be no changes that would serve to increase 
the likelihood of occurrence of a fuel handling accident.
    The proposed change changes a performance requirement, but it 
does not physically alter safety-related systems nor affect the way 
in which safety-related systems perform their functions.
    The proposed TS change will serve to assure that the fuel 
building ventilation exhaust ESF [emergency safety feature] response 
time is tested and confirmed to be in accordance with the system 
design and consistent with the assumptions of the fuel building FHA 
[fuel handling accident] analysis (as revised). As such, the 
proposed change will not alter or prevent the capability of 
structures, systems, and components (SSCs) to perform their intended 
functions for mitigating the consequences of an accident and meeting 
applicable acceptance limits.
    The proposed change will not affect the source term used in 
evaluating the radiological consequences of a fuel handling accident 
in the fuel building. However, the Fuel Building Ventilation Exhaust 
ESF response time has been increased to 90 seconds in recognition of 
the total delay times involved in the generation of a fuel building 
ventilation isolation signal (FBVIS) and the times required for 
actuated components to change state to their required safety 
configurations. Consequently, the fuel handling accident 
radiological consequences as reported in FSAR [Final Safety Analysis 
Report] Table 15.7-8 have increased. However, the increases are much 
less than the upper limit of ``minimal'' as defined pursuant to 10 
CFR 50.59(c)(2)(iii) and NEI [Nuclear Energy Institute] 96-07 
Revision 1 [``Guidelines for 10 CFR 50.59 Implementation,'' November 
2000]. Therefore, there is no significant increase in the calculated 
consequences of a postulated design basis fuel handling accident in 
the fuel building. The applicable radiological dose criteria of 10 
CFR 100.11, 10 CFR 50 Appendix A General Design Criterion 19, and 
SRP [NUREG-0800, ``Standard Review Plan for the Review of Safety 
Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR [Light-Water-Reactor] 
Edition''] 15.7.4 will continue to be met. New SR 3.3.8.6 is added 
to ensure system performance consistent with the accident analyses 
and associated dose calculations (as revised).
    [The licensee's request in its letter dated October 27, 2011, 
for relocating the specified frequency of new SR 3.3.8.6 to the 
licensee-controlled Surveillance Frequency Control Program is the 
type of SR whose relocation to the licensee's Surveillance Frequency 
Control Program was previously approved in Amendment No. 202, dated 
July 29, 2011 (ADAMS Accession No. ML111661877). That amendment was 
approved based on the conclusion that the change did not involve a 
significant increase in the probability or consequences of accidents 
previously evaluated.]
    Therefore, the proposed change does not involve a significant 
increase in the probability or consequences of an accident 
previously evaluated.
    2. Does the proposed change create the possibility of a new or 
different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated?
    Response: No.
    With respect to any new or different kind of accident, there are 
no proposed design changes nor are there any changes in the method 
by which any safety-related plant SSC performs its specified safety 
function. The proposed change will not affect the normal method of 
plant operation or change any operating parameters. No new accident 
scenarios, transient precursors, failure mechanisms, or limiting 
single failures will be introduced as a result of this amendment.
    The proposed amendment will not alter the design or performance 
of the 7300 Process Protection System, Nuclear Instrumentation 
System, Solid State Protection System, BOP ESFAS, MSFIS [Main Steam 
and Feed Isolation System], or LSELS [Load Shedding and Emergency 
Load Sequencing] used in the plant protection systems.
    [The licensee's request in its letter dated October 27, 2011, 
for relocating the specified frequency of new SR 3.3.8.6 to the 
licensee-controlled Surveillance Frequency Control Program is the 
type of SR whose relocation to the licensee's Surveillance Frequency 
Control Program was previously approved in Amendment No. 202, dated 
July 29, 2011 (ADAMS Accession No. ML111661877). That amendment was 
approved based on the determination that the change does not involve 
a possibility of creating a new or different kind of accident].
    The proposed change does not, therefore, create the possibility 
of a new or different accident from any accident previously 
evaluated.
    3. Does the proposed change involve a significant reduction in a 
margin of safety?
    Response: No.
    There will be no effect on those plant systems necessary to 
assure the accomplishment of protection functions associated with 
reactor operation or the reactor coolant system. There will be no 
impact on the overpower limit, departure from nucleate boiling ratio 
(DNBR) limits, heat flux hot channel factor (FQ), nuclear 
enthalpy rise hot channel factor (F[Delta]H), loss of coolant 
accident peak cladding temperature (LOCA PCT), peak local power 
density, or any other limit and associated margin of safety. 
Required shutdown margins in the COLR [Core Operating Limits Report] 
will not be changed.

[[Page 73735]]

    The proposed change does not eliminate any surveillances or 
alter the frequency of surveillances required by the Technical 
Specifications. The proposed change would add a new Technical 
Specification Surveillance Requirement for assuring the satisfactory 
performance of the fuel building ventilation exhaust ESF function in 
response to a[n] FBVIS. The accident analysis for a fuel handling 
accident in the fuel building was re-performed to support the 
proposed Fuel Building Ventilation Exhaust ESF response time, and 
this reanalysis demonstrated that the acceptance criteria continue 
to be met with only a slight increase in radiological consequences 
(i.e., less than one percent).
    [The licensee's request in its letter dated October 27, 2011, 
for relocating the specified frequency of new SR 3.3.8.6 to the 
licensee-controlled Surveillance Frequency Control Program is the 
type of SR whose relocation to the licensee's Surveillance Frequency 
Control Program was previously approved in Amendment No. 202, dated 
July 29, 2011 (ADAMS Accession No. ML111661877). That amendment was 
approved based on the determination that the proposed change would 
not result in a significant reduction of margin of safety.]
    Therefore, the proposed change does 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 30 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 60 days after the date of publication of this notice. The 
Commission may issue the license amendment before expiration of the 60-
day period provided that its final determination is that the amendment 
involves no significant hazards consideration. In addition, the 
Commission may issue the amendment prior to the expiration of the 30-
day comment period should circumstances change during the 30-day 
comment period such that failure to act in a timely way would result, 
for example, in derating or shutdown of the facility. Should the 
Commission take action prior to the expiration of either the comment 
period or the notice period, it will publish in the Federal Register a 
notice of issuance. Should the Commission make a final No Significant 
Hazards Consideration Determination, any hearing will take place after 
issuance. The Commission expects that the need to take this action will 
occur very infrequently.
    Within 60 days after the date of publication of this notice, any 
person(s) whose interest may be affected by this action may file a 
request for a hearing and a petition to intervene with respect to 
issuance of the amendment to the subject facility operating license. 
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 person(s) 
should consult a current copy of 10 CFR 2.309, which is available at 
the Commission's PDR, located at One White Flint North, Public File 
Area O1F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. 
NRC regulations are accessible electronically from the NRC Library on 
the NRC Web site at 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 a presiding officer designated by 
the Commission or by the Chief Administrative Judge of the Atomic 
Safety and Licensing Board Panel will rule on the request and/or 
petition; and the Secretary or the Chief Administrative Judge of the 
Atomic Safety and Licensing Board will issue a notice of a hearing or 
an appropriate order.
    As required by 10 CFR 2.309, 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 general requirements: (1) The name, address and telephone 
number of the requestor or petitioner; (2) the nature of the 
requestor's/petitioner's right under the Act to be made a party to the 
proceeding; (3) the nature and extent of the requestor's/petitioner's 
property, financial, or other interest in the proceeding; and (4) the 
possible effect of any decision or order which may be entered in the 
proceeding on the requestor's/petitioner's interest. The petition must 
also identify the specific contentions which the requestor/petitioner 
seeks to have litigated at the proceeding.
    Each contention must consist of a specific statement of the issue 
of law or fact to be raised or controverted. In addition, the 
requestor/petitioner shall provide a brief explanation of the bases for 
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 
requestor/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. 
The petition must include 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 requestor/petitioner 
who fails to satisfy 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.
    If a hearing is requested, the Commission will make a final 
determination on the issue of no significant hazards consideration. 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.
    All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including a 
request for hearing, a petition for leave to intervene, any motion or 
other document filed in the proceeding prior to the submission of a 
request for hearing or petition to intervene, and documents filed by 
interested governmental entities participating under 10 CFR 2.315(c), 
must be filed in accordance with the NRC E-Filing rule (72 FR 49139, 
August 28, 2007). The E-Filing process requires participants to submit 
and serve all adjudicatory documents over the Internet, or in some 
cases to mail copies on electronic storage media. Participants may not 
submit paper copies of their filings unless they seek an exemption in 
accordance with the procedures described below.

[[Page 73736]]

    To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 
ten (10) days prior to the filing deadline, the participant should 
contact the Office of the Secretary by email at [email protected], 
or by telephone at (301) 415-1677, to request (1) a digital ID 
certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or 
representative) to digitally sign documents and access the E-Submittal 
server for any proceeding in which it is participating; and (2) advise 
the Secretary that the participant will be submitting a request or 
petition for hearing (even in instances in which the participant, or 
its counsel or representative, already holds an NRC-issued digital ID 
certificate). Based upon this information, the Secretary will establish 
an electronic docket for the hearing in this proceeding if the 
Secretary has not already established an electronic docket.
    Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is 
available on NRC's public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/apply-certificates.html. System requirements for accessing 
the E-Submittal server are detailed in NRC's ``Guidance for Electronic 
Submission,'' which is available on the agency's public Web site at 
http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. Participants may 
attempt to use other software not listed on the Web site, but should 
note that the NRC's E-Filing system does not support unlisted software, 
and the NRC Meta System Help Desk will not be able to offer assistance 
in using unlisted software.
    If a participant is electronically submitting a document to the NRC 
in accordance with the E-Filing rule, the participant must file the 
document using the NRC's online, Web-based submission form. In order to 
serve documents through EIE, users will be required to install a Web 
browser plug-in from the NRC Web site. Further information on the Web-
based submission form, including the installation of the Web browser 
plug-in, is available on the NRC's public Web site at  http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html.
    Once a participant has obtained a digital ID certificate and a 
docket has been created, the participant can then submit a request for 
hearing or petition for leave to intervene. Submissions should be in 
Portable Document Format (PDF) in accordance with NRC guidance 
available on the NRC public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. A filing is considered complete at the time the 
documents are submitted through the NRC's E-Filing system. To be 
timely, an electronic filing must be submitted to the E-Filing system 
no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date. Upon receipt of 
a transmission, the E-Filing system time-stamps the document and sends 
the submitter an email notice confirming receipt of the document. The 
E-Filing system also distributes an email notice that provides access 
to the document to the NRC Office of the General Counsel and any others 
who have advised the Office of the Secretary that they wish to 
participate in the proceeding, so that the filer need not serve the 
documents on those participants separately. Therefore, applicants and 
other participants (or their counsel or representative) must apply for 
and receive a digital ID certificate before a hearing request/petition 
to intervene is filed so that they can obtain access to the document 
via the E-Filing system.
    A person filing electronically using the agency's adjudicatory E-
Filing system may seek assistance by contacting the NRC Meta System 
Help Desk through the ``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC Web site 
at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html, by email at 
[email protected], or by a toll-free call at (866) 672-7640. The 
NRC Meta System Help Desk is available between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., 
Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, excluding government holidays.
    Participants who believe that they have a good cause for not 
submitting documents electronically must file an exemption request, in 
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper filing 
requesting authorization to continue to submit documents in paper 
format. Such filings must be submitted by: (1) First class mail 
addressed to the Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: 
Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff; or (2) courier, express mail, or 
expedited delivery service to the Office of the Secretary, Sixteenth 
Floor, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 
Maryland, 20852, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff. 
Participants filing a document in this manner are responsible for 
serving the document on all other participants. Filing is considered 
complete by first-class mail as of the time of deposit in the mail, or 
by courier, express mail, or expedited delivery service upon depositing 
the document with the provider of the service. A presiding officer, 
having granted an exemption request from using E-Filing, may require a 
participant or party to use E-Filing if the presiding officer 
subsequently determines that the reason for granting the exemption from 
use of E-Filing no longer exists.
    Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in 
NRC's electronic hearing docket which is available to the public at 
http://ehd1.nrc.gov/EHD/, unless excluded pursuant to an order of the 
Commission, or the presiding officer. Participants are requested not to 
include personal privacy information, such as social security numbers, 
home addresses, or home phone numbers in their filings, unless an NRC 
regulation or other law requires submission of such information. With 
respect to copyrighted works, except for limited excerpts that serve 
the purpose of the adjudicatory filings and would constitute a Fair Use 
application, participants are requested not to include copyrighted 
materials in their submission.
    Petitions for leave to intervene must be filed no later than 60 
days from the date of publication of this notice. Non-timely filings 
will not be entertained absent a determination by the presiding officer 
that the petition or request should be granted or the contentions 
should be admitted, based on a balancing of the factors specified in 10 
CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i)-(viii).
    For further details with respect to this license amendment 
application, see the application for amendment dated December 10, 2010, 
as supplemented by letters dated June 16, 2011, and October 27, 2011, 
which is available for public inspection at the Commission's PDR, 
located at One White Flint North, File Public Area O1 F21, 11555 
Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available 
documents created or received at the NRC are accessible electronically 
through ADAMS in the NRC Library at 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 email to [email protected].
    Attorney for licensee: John O'Neill, Esq., Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw 
Pittman LLP, 2300 N Street NW., Washington, DC 20037.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd day of November 2011.

[[Page 73737]]

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Mohan C. Thadani,
Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch IV, Division of 
Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2011-30728 Filed 11-28-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P