[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 196 (Wednesday, October 10, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50971-50975]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-22016]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-445 and 50-446; NRC-2018-0205]


Vistra Operations Company LLC; Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant, 
Unit Nos. 1 and 2

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: License amendment application; opportunity to comment, request 
a hearing, and petition for leave to intervene.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering 
issuance of amendments to Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-87 and 
NPF-89, issued to Vistra Operations Company LLC (Vistra OpCo, the 
licensee), for operation of the Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant 
(CPNPP), Unit Nos. 1 and 2. The proposed exigent amendments would 
revise CPNPP Technical Specification (TS) 3.8.4, ``DC [Direct Current] 
Sources--Operating,'' by adding a new REQUIRED ACTION to CONDITION B 
and an extended COMPLETION TIME (CT), on a one-time basis, to repair 
two affected battery cells on the CPNPP Unit No. 1, Train B safety-
related batteries. Specifically, the amendments would change the TS CT 
for each of the Unit No. 1, Train B safety-related batteries (BT1ED2 
and BT1ED4) during Unit 1, Cycle 20, from 2 hours to 18 hours.

DATES: Submit comments by October 24, 2018. Requests for a hearing or 
petition for leave to intervene must be filed by December 10, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2018-0205. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges; 
telephone: 301-287-9127; email: [email protected]. For technical 
questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section of this document.
     Mail comments to: May Ma, Office of Administration, Mail 
Stop: TWFN-7-A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001.
    For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting 
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Margaret O'Banion, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-1233, email: Margaret.O'[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2018-0205 or Docket Nos. 50-445 and 
50-446 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information 
for this action. You may obtain publicly-available information related 
to this action by any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2018-0205.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS 
Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public 
Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or 
by email to [email protected]. The license amendment request dated 
September 5, 2018, as supplemented by letters dated September 20 and 
October 3, 2018 are available in ADAMS under Accession Nos. 
ML18250A186, ML18267A059, and ML18277A207, respectively.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at

[[Page 50972]]

the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville 
Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

B. Submitting Comments

    Please include Docket ID NRC-2018-0205 in your comment submission.
    The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact 
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your 
comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment submissions into 
ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to remove 
identifying or contact information.
    If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons 
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to 
include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be 
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should 
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to 
remove such information before making the comment submissions available 
to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.

II. Introduction

    The NRC is considering issuance of amendments to Facility Operating 
License Nos. NPF-87 and NPF-89, issued to Vistra OpCo, for operation of 
the CPNPP Unit Nos. 1 and 2, located in Somervell County, Texas.
    The proposed exigent amendments would revise CPNPP TS 3.8.4, ``DC 
Sources--Operating,'' by adding a new REQUIRED ACTION to CONDITION B 
and an extended CT, on a one-time basis, to repair two affected battery 
cells on the CPNPP Unit No. 1, Train B safety-related batteries. 
Specifically, the amendments would change the TS CT for each of the 
Unit No. 1, Train B safety-related batteries (BT1ED2 and BT1ED4) during 
Unit No. 1, Cycle 20, from 2 hours to 18 hours. The new REQUIRED ACTION 
B.2 would provide up to an 18 hour CT to replace cell 27 in battery 
BT1ED2 and up to an 18 hour CT to replace cell 41 in battery BT1ED4 
(not at the same time). In addition, the amendments would place 
operational limits on Unit Nos. 1 and 2 during the extended CT as 
protective measures, as described in Attachment 2 of the letter dated 
September 20, 2018.
    This notice is being reissued in its entirety due to the revised 
scope of the license amendment request resulting from the supplements 
dated September 20 and October 3, 2018.
    On November 8, 2017, the licensee experienced cell jar cracking on 
cell 41 in battery BT1ED4. On July 2, 2018, the licensee experienced 
cell jar cracking on cell 27 in battery BT1ED2. Both affected battery 
cells have been jumpered out to restore operability of Unit No. 1, 
Train B batteries BT1ED4 and BT1ED2. The licensee stated that by 
replacing the affected battery cells, the licensee would regain margin 
on its safety-related batteries.
    In accordance with the requirements of paragraph 50.91(a)(6) of 
title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), the licensee 
requested approval of the amendments under exigent circumstances. The 
licensee stated that exigent approval was needed to avoid a potential 
shutdown in the event of an unanticipated second battery cell failure 
on either of the CPNPP Unit No. 1, Train B batteries. In addition, the 
licensee stated that it had made a good faith effort to submit the 
license amendment request in a timely manner following the failure of 
one of the affected battery cells in July 2018. The NRC staff 
determined that if a second battery cell were to fail on either of the 
CPNPP Unit No. 1, Train B batteries, the licensee would be unable to 
restore the affected battery(ies) to OPERABLE status within 2 hours and 
would be required to shutdown. In addition, the NRC staff determined 
that if the licensee requested license amendments under emergency 
circumstances per 10 CFR 50.91(a)(5) to extend the CT during the 2-hour 
CT, the staff would not have enough time to process the emergency 
amendments within the 2-hour CT and the licensee would be required to 
shutdown. As a result, the NRC staff finds that exigent circumstances 
exist.
    Before any issuance of the proposed license amendments, the NRC 
will need to make the findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 
1954, as amended (the Act), and NRC's regulations.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.91(a)(6), for amendments to be granted under 
exigent circumstances, the NRC has made a proposed determination that 
the license amendment request involves no significant hazards 
consideration. Under the NRC's regulations in 10 CFR 50.92, this means 
that operation of the facility in accordance with the proposed 
amendments 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 a revised analysis of the issue of no significant hazards 
consideration in letter dated October 3, 2018, which is presented 
below:

    1. Do the proposed changes involve a significant increase in the 
probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated?
    Response: No.
    The proposed changes add provisions to increase the COMPLETION 
TIME (CT) from two hours to eighteen hours, on a one-time basis for 
Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant Class 1E Batteries BT1ED2 and 
BT1ED4. This one-time increase will only be used once per battery 
during Unit 1 Cycle 20 (not at the same time). An additional 
REQUIRED ACTION, new Note, and associated COMPLETION TIME is 
specified when batteries BT1ED2 and BT1ED4, associated with the 
plant Class 1 E Direct Current (DC) electrical power subsystem, are 
declared inoperable to replace a jumpered cell. Regulatory 
Commitment 5644411 includes conditions (preventive measures) for 
Unit 1 and Unit 2 to reduce site risk for the planned replacement of 
cell 27 in battery BT1ED2 and cell 41 in battery BT1ED4. The 
proposed changes do not physically alter any plant structures, 
systems, or components, and are not accident initiators: Therefore, 
there is no effect on the probability of accidents previously 
evaluated. As part of the single failure design feature, loss of any 
one DC electrical power subsystem does not prevent the minimum 
safety function from being performed. Also, the proposed changes do 
not affect the type or amounts of radionuclides release following an 
accident, or affect the initiation and duration of their release. 
Therefore, the consequences of accidents previously evaluated, which 
rely on the safety related Class 1E battery to mitigate, are not 
significantly increased.
    Therefore, the proposed change does not involve a significant 
increase in the probability or consequences of an accident 
previously evaluated.
    2. Do the proposed changes create the possibility of a new or 
different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated?
    Response: No.
    The proposed changes do not involve a change in design, 
configuration, or method of operation of the plant. The proposed 
changes will not alter the manner in which equipment is operated, 
nor will the functional demands on credited equipment be changed. 
The proposed changes do not impact the interaction of any systems 
whose failure or malfunction can initiate an accident.
    There are no identified redundant components affected by these 
changes and thus there are no new common cause failures or any 
existing common cause failures that are affected by extending the 
CT. The proposed changes do not create any new failure modes.
    Therefore, the proposed change does not create the possibility 
of a new or different kind of accident from any previously 
evaluated.
    3. Does the proposed change involve a significant reduction in a 
margin of safety?
    Response: No.

[[Page 50973]]

    The proposed changes are based upon a deterministic evaluation. 
This evaluation is supplemented by risk information.
    The deterministic evaluation concluded with one inoperable 
battery associated with the Class 1E DC electrical power subsystem, 
the redundant OPERABLE Class 1E DC electrical power subsystems will 
be able to perform the safety function as described in the accident 
analysis.
    Supplemental risk information supporting this license amendment 
request concluded that the additional REQUIRED ACTION, new Note, 
associated COMPLETION TIME have a negligible impact on overall plant 
risk and is consistent with the NRC Safety Goal Policy statement and 
the thresholds in Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.174, ``An Approach for 
Using Probabilistic Risk Assessment in Risk-Informed Decisions on 
Plant-Specific Changes to the Licensing Basis,'' and RG 1.177, ``An 
Approach for Plant-Specific, Risk-Informed Decisionmaking: Technical 
Specifications.''
    The deterministic evaluation, supplemental risk information, and 
Regulatory Commitment 5644411 (conditions for Unit 1 and Unit 2) 
provide assurance that the plant Class 1E DC electrical power 
subsystem will be able to perform its design function with a longer 
COMPLETION TIME for inoperable batteries BT1ED2 and BT1ED4 during 
Unit 1 Cycle 20, and risk is not significantly impacted by the 
change.
    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 
license amendment request involves a no significant hazards 
consideration. In accordance with 10 CFR 50.91(a)(6), where the 
Commission finds that exigent circumstances exist, in that a licensee 
and the Commission must act quickly and that time does not permit the 
Commission to publish a Federal Register notice allowing 30 days for 
prior public comment, and it also determines that the amendment 
involves no significant hazards considerations, it will issue a Federal 
Register notice providing notice of an opportunity for hearing and 
allowing at least two weeks from the date of the notice for prior 
public comment. Therefore, in accordance with 10 CFR 50.91(a)(6)(i)(A), 
the NRC staff is providing a 14-day notice period for public comment.
    The NRC is seeking public comments on this proposed determination 
that the license amendment request involves no significant hazards 
consideration. 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 amendments until the 
expiration of the 14-day notice period. However, if circumstances 
change during the notice period, such that failure to act in a timely 
way would result, for example, in shutdown of the facility, the 
Commission may issue the license amendments 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. If 
the Commission takes 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.

III. Opportunity To Request a Hearing and Petition for Leave To 
Intervene

    Within 60 days after the date of publication of this notice, any 
persons (petitioner) whose interest may be affected by this action may 
file a request for a hearing and petition for leave to intervene 
(petition) with respect to the action. Petitions shall be filed in 
accordance with the Commission's ``Agency Rules of Practice and 
Procedure'' in 10 CFR part 2. Interested persons should consult a 
current copy of 10 CFR 2.309. The NRC's regulations are accessible 
electronically from the NRC Library on the NRC's website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/. Alternatively, a copy of 
the regulations is available at the NRC's Public Document Room, located 
at One White Flint North, Room O1-F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first 
floor), Rockville, Maryland 20852. If a petition is filed, the 
Commission or a presiding officer will rule on the petition and, if 
appropriate, a notice of a hearing will be issued.
    As required by 10 CFR 2.309(d) the petition should specifically 
explain the reasons why intervention should be permitted with 
particular reference to the following general requirements for 
standing: (1) The name, address, and telephone number of the 
petitioner; (2) the nature of the petitioner's right under the Act to 
be made a party to the proceeding; (3) the nature and extent of the 
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 petitioner's interest.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(f), the petition must also set 
forth the specific contentions which the petitioner seeks to have 
litigated in 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 petitioner must 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 
petitioner must also provide references to the specific sources and 
documents on which the petitioner intends to rely to support its 
position on the issue. The petition must include sufficient information 
to show that a genuine dispute exists with the applicant or licensee on 
a material issue of law or fact. Contentions must be limited to matters 
within the scope of the proceeding. The contention must be one which, 
if proven, would entitle the petitioner to relief. A petitioner who 
fails to satisfy the requirements at 10 CFR 2.309(f) 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. 
Parties have the opportunity to participate fully in the conduct of the 
hearing with respect to resolution of that party's admitted 
contentions, including the opportunity to present evidence, consistent 
with the NRC's regulations, policies, and procedures.
    Petitions must be filed no later than 60 days from the date of 
publication of this notice. Petitions and motions for leave to file new 
or amended contentions that are filed after the deadline will not be 
entertained absent a determination by the presiding officer that the 
filing demonstrates good cause by satisfying the three factors in 10 
CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i) through (iii). The petition must be filed in 
accordance with the filing instructions in the ``Electronic Submissions 
(E-Filing)'' section of this document.
    If a hearing is requested, and the Commission has not made a final 
determination on the issue of no significant hazards consideration, the 
Commission will make a final determination on the issue of no 
significant hazards consideration. The final determination will serve 
to establish 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 would take place after issuance of the amendment. If the final 
determination is that the amendment request involves a significant 
hazards consideration, then

[[Page 50974]]

any hearing held would take place before the issuance of the amendment 
unless the Commission finds an imminent danger to the health or safety 
of the public, in which case it will issue an appropriate order or rule 
under 10 CFR part 2.
    A State, local governmental body, Federally-recognized Indian 
Tribe, or agency thereof, may submit a petition to the Commission to 
participate as a party under 10 CFR 2.309(h)(1). The petition should 
state the nature and extent of the petitioner's interest in the 
proceeding. The petition should be submitted to the Commission no later 
than 60 days from the date of publication of this notice. The petition 
must be filed in accordance with the filing instructions in the 
``Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)'' section of this document, and 
should meet the requirements for petitions set forth in this section, 
except that under 10 CFR 2.309(h)(2) a State, local governmental body, 
or Federally-recognized Indian Tribe, or agency thereof does not need 
to address the standing requirements in 10 CFR 2.309(d) if the facility 
is located within its boundaries. Alternatively, a State, local 
governmental body, Federally-recognized Indian Tribe, or agency thereof 
may participate as a non-party under 10 CFR 2.315(c).
    If a hearing is granted, any person who is not a party to the 
proceeding and is not affiliated with or represented by a party may, at 
the discretion of the presiding officer, be permitted to make a limited 
appearance pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 2.315(a). A person 
making a limited appearance may make an oral or written statement of 
his or her position on the issues but may not otherwise participate in 
the proceeding. A limited appearance may be made at any session of the 
hearing or at any prehearing conference, subject to the limits and 
conditions as may be imposed by the presiding officer. Details 
regarding the opportunity to make a limited appearance will be provided 
by the presiding officer if such sessions are scheduled.

IV. Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)

    All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including a 
request for hearing and petition for leave to intervene (petition), 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 that request to 
participate under 10 CFR 2.315(c), must be filed in accordance with the 
NRC's E-Filing rule (72 FR 49139; August 28, 2007, as amended at 77 FR 
46562; August 3, 2012). 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. Detailed 
guidance on making electronic submissions may be found in the Guidance 
for Electronic Submissions to the NRC and on the NRC website at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. Participants may not submit 
paper copies of their filings unless they seek an exemption in 
accordance with the procedures described below.
    To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 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 (1) request a digital identification (ID) 
certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or 
representative) to digitally sign submissions and access the E-Filing 
system for any proceeding in which it is participating; and (2) advise 
the Secretary that the participant will be submitting a petition or 
other adjudicatory document (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 the NRC's public website at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/getting-started.html. Once a participant has obtained a 
digital ID certificate and a docket has been created, the participant 
can then submit adjudicatory documents. Submissions must be in Portable 
Document Format (PDF). Additional guidance on PDF submissions is 
available on the NRC's public website at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/electronic-sub-ref-mat.html. A filing is considered complete at the 
time the document is 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's 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 
document on those participants separately. Therefore, applicants and 
other participants (or their counsel or representative) must apply for 
and receive a digital ID certificate before adjudicatory documents are 
filed so that they can obtain access to the documents via the E-Filing 
system.
    A person filing electronically using the NRC's adjudicatory E-
Filing system may seek assistance by contacting the NRC's Electronic 
Filing Help Desk through the ``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC's 
public website at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html, by 
email to [email protected], or by a toll-free call at 1-866-672-
7640. The NRC Electronic Filing Help Desk is available between 9 a.m. 
and 6 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 
stating why there is good cause for not filing electronically and 
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, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, Attention: Rulemaking and 
Adjudications Staff. Participants filing adjudicatory documents 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 the 
NRC's electronic hearing docket which is available to the public at 
https://adams.nrc.gov/ehd, unless excluded pursuant to an order of the 
Commission or the presiding officer. If you do not have an NRC-issued 
digital ID certificate as described above, click cancel when

[[Page 50975]]

the link requests certificates and you will be automatically directed 
to the NRC's electronic hearing dockets where you will be able to 
access any publicly available documents in a particular hearing docket. 
Participants are requested not to include personal privacy information, 
such as social security numbers, home addresses, or personal phone 
numbers in their filings, unless an NRC regulation or other law 
requires submission of such information. For example, in some 
instances, individuals provide home addresses in order to demonstrate 
proximity to a facility or site. 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.
    For further details with respect to this action, see the 
application for license amendment dated September 5, 2018, as 
supplemented by letters dated September 20, and October 3, 2018.
    Attorney for licensee: Timothy P. Matthews, Esq., Morgan, Lewis and 
Bockius, 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004.
    NRC Branch Chief: Robert J. Pascarelli.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, on October 4, 2018.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Margaret W. O'Banion,
Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch IV, Division of Operating 
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2018-22016 Filed 10-9-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P