[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 21 (Friday, January 31, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4816-4818]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-2380]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-317 and 50-318]
Baltimore Gas and Electric Company; Notice of Consideration of
Issuance of Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses and Opportunity
for a Hearing
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is
considering issuance of an amendment to Facility Operating License Nos.
DPR-53 and DPR-69 issued to the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE
or the licensee) for operation of the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power
Plant, Unit Nos. 1 and 2, located in Calvert County, Maryland.
The proposed amendments, requested by the licensee in a letter
dated December 4, 1996, would represent a full conversion from the
current Technical Specifications (TSs) to a set of TS based on NUREG-
1432, Revision 1, ``Standard Technical Specifications, Combustion
Engineering Plants'' dated April 1995. NUREG-1432 has been developed
through working groups composed of both NRC staff members and industry
representative and has been endorsed by the staff as part of an
industry-wide initiative to standardize and improve TS. As part of this
submittal, the licensee has applied the criteria contained in the
Commission's ``Final Policy Statement on Technical Specification
Improvements for Nuclear Power Reactors (final policy statement),''
published in the Federal Register on July 22, 1993 (58 FR 39132), to
the current Calvert Cliffs TSs, and, using NUREG-1432 as a basis,
developed a proposed set of improved TSs for Calvert Cliffs. The
criteria in the final policy statement were subsequently added to 10
CFR 50.36, ``Technical Specifications,'' in a rule change which was
published in the Federal Register on July 19, 1995 (60 FR 36953) and
became effective on August 18, 1995.
The licensee has categorized the proposed changes to the existing
TSs into five general groupings. These groupings are characterized as
administrative changes, relocated changes, more restrictive changes,
less restrictive changes, and removed detail.
Administrative changes are those that involve restructuring,
renumbering,
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rewording, interpretation and complex rearranging of requirements and
other changes not affecting technical content or substantially revising
an operational requirement. The reformatting, renumbering and rewording
process reflects the attributes of NUREG-1432 and do not involve
technical changes to the existing TSs. The proposed changes include:
(a) Providing the appropriate numbers, etc., for NUREG-1432 bracketed
information (information which must be supplied on a plant-specific
basis, and which may change from plant to plant), (b) identifying
plant-specific wording for system names, etc., and (c) changing NUREG-
1432 section wording to conform to existing licensee practices.
Such changes are administrative in nature and do not impact
initiators of analyzed events or assumed mitigation of accident or
transient events.
Relocated changes are those involving relocation of requirements
and surveillances for structures, systems, components or variables that
do not meet the criteria for inclusion in the TSs. Relocated changes
are those current TS requirements which do not satisfy or fall within
any of the four criteria specified in the Commission's policy statement
and may be relocated to appropriate licensee-controlled documents.
The licensee's application of the screening criteria is described
in Attachment (4) of their December 4, 1996, application titled
``Application of the Technical Specification Selection Criteria (Split
Report)'' in Volume 1 of the submittal. The affected structures,
systems components or variables are not assumed to be initiators of
analyzed events and are not assumed to mitigate accident or transient
events. The requirements and surveillances for these affected
structures, systems, components or variables will be relocated from the
TS to administratively controlled documents such as the Final Safety
Analysis Report (FSAR), the BASES, the Technical Requirements Manual
(TRM) or plant procedures. Changes made to these documents will be made
pursuant to 10 CFR 50.59 or other appropriate control mechanisms. In
addition, the affected structures, systems, components or variables are
addressed in existing surveillance procedures which are also subject to
10 CFR 50.59. These proposed changes will not impose or eliminate any
requirements.
More restrictive changes are those involving more stringent
requirements for operation of the facility or eliminate existing
flexibility. These more stringent requirements do not result in
operation that will alter assumptions relative to mitigation of an
accident or transient event. The more restrictive requirements will not
alter the operation of process variables, structures, systems and
components described in the safety analyses. For each requirement in
the current Calvert Cliffs TSs that is more restrictive than the
corresponding requirement in NUREG-1432 which the licensee proposes to
retain in the improved Technical Specifications (ITSs), they have
provided an explanation of why they have concluded that retaining the
more restrictive requirement is desirable to ensure safe operation of
the facilities because of specific design features of the plant.
Less restrictive changes are those where current requirements are
relaxed or eliminated, or new flexibility is provided. The more
significant ``less restrictive'' requirements are justified on a case-
by-case basis. When requirements have been shown to provide little or
no safety benefit, their removal from the TSs may be appropriate. In
most cases, relaxations previously granted to individual plants on a
plant-specific basis were the result of (a) generic NRC actions, (b)
new NRC staff positions that have evolved from technological
advancements and operating experience, or (c) resolution of the Owners
Groups' comments on the ITSs. Generic relaxations contained in NUREG-
1432 were reviewed by the staff and found to be acceptable because they
are consistent with current licensing practices and NRC regulations.
The licensee's design will be reviewed to determine if the specific
design basis and licensing basis are consistent with the technical
basis for the model requirements in NUREG-1432 and thus provides a
basis for these revised TSs or if relaxation of the requirements in the
current TSs is warranted based on the justification provided by the
licensee.
Removed detail changes move details from the current TS to a
licensee-controlled document. The details being removed from the
current TS are not assumed to be an initiator of any analyzed event and
are not assumed to mitigate accidents or transients. Therefore, the
relocation do not involve a significant increase in the probability or
consequences of an accident previously evaluated. Moving some details
to a licensee-controlled document will not involve a significant change
in design or operation of the plant and no hardware is being added to
the plant as part of the proposed changes to the current TS. The
changes will not alter assumptions made in the safety analysis and
licensing basis. Therefore, the changes will not create the possibility
of a new or different kind of accident from any accident previously
evaluated. The changes do not reduce the margin of safety since they
have no impact on any safety analysis assumptions. In addition, the
details to be moved from the current TS to a licensee-controlled
document are the same as the existing TSs.
Before issuance of the proposed license amendments, the Commission
will have made findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as
amended (the Act) and the Commission's regulations.
By March 3, 1997, 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, the Gelman
Building, 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC, and at the local public
document room located at the Calvert County Library, Prince Frederick,
Maryland 20678. 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 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
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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.
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: Docketing and
Services Branch, or may be delivered to the Commission's Public
Document Room, the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC,
by the above date. Where petitions are filed during the last 10 days of
the notice period, it is requested that the petitioner promptly so
inform the Commission by a toll-free telephone call to Western Union at
1-(800) 248-5100 (in Missouri 1-(800) 342-6700). The Western Union
operator should be given Datagram Identification Number N1023 and the
following message addressed to S. Singh Bajwa, Acting Director, Project
Directorate I-1: petitioner's name and telephone number; date petition
was mailed; plant name; and publication date and page number of this
Federal Register notice. 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 Jay Silberg, Shaw, Pittman, Potts and
Trowbridge, 2300 N Street NW., Washington, DC 20037, 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).
If a request for a hearing is received, the Commission's staff may
issue the amendment after it completes its technical review and prior
to the completion of any required hearing if it publishes a further
notice for public comment of its proposed finding of no significant
hazards consideration in accordance with 10 CFR 50.91 and 50.92.
For further details with respect to this action, see the
application for amendments dated December 4, 1996, which is available
for public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, the
Gelman Building, 2120 L Street NW., Washington, DC. and at the local
public document room located at the Calvert County Library, Prince
Frederick, Maryland 20678.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 27th day of January 1997.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John A. Zwolinski,
Deputy Director, Division of Reactor Projects--I/II, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 97-2380 Filed 1-30-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
