[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 131 (Thursday, July 9, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37145-37146]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-18228]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-387 and 50-388]
Pennsylvania Power & Light Company, Susquehanna Steam Electric
Station (Units 1 & 2 ); Confirmatory Order Modifying Licenses Effective
Immediately
I
Pennsylvania Power & Light Company, (PP&L or the Licensee) is the
holder of Facility Operating Licenses Nos. NPF-17 and NPF-22, which
authorize operation of Susquehanna Steam Electric Station Units 1 and
2, located in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.
II
The staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has been
concerned that Thermo-Lag 330-1 fire barrier systems installed by
licensees may not provide the level of fire endurance intended and that
licensees that use Thermo-Lag 330-1 fire barriers may not be meeting
regulatory requirements. During the 1992 to 1994 time frame, the NRC
staff issued Generic Letter (GL) 92-08, ``Thermo-Lag 330-1 Fire
Barriers'' and subsequent requests for additional information that
requested licensees to submit plans and schedules for resolving the
Thermo-Lag issue. The NRC staff has obtained and reviewed all
licensees' corrective plans and implementation schedules. The staff is
concerned that some licensees may not be making adequate progress
toward resolving the plant-specific issues, and that some
implementation schedules may be either too tenuous or too protracted.
For example, several licensees informed the NRC staff that their
completion dates had slipped by 6 months to as much as 3 years. For
plants that have completion action scheduled beyond 1997, the NRC staff
has met with the licensees to discuss the progress of the licensees'
corrective actions and the extent of licensee management attention
regarding completion of Thermo-Lag corrective actions.
[[Page 37146]]
PP&L was one of the licensees with which the NRC staff held
meetings. At these meetings, the NRC staff reviewed with PP&L the
schedule of Thermo-Lag corrective actions described in the PP&L
submittals to the NRC dated April 15, 1993; February 3 and December 22,
1994; August 2, 1995; February 4, 1997; and January 6 and May 4, 1998.
Based on the information submitted by PP&L, the NRC staff has concluded
that the schedules presented by PP&L are reasonable. This conclusion is
based on the (1) amount of installed Thermo-Lag, (2) the complexity of
the plant-specific fire barrier configurations and issues, and (3) the
need to perform certain plant modifications during outages as opposed
to those that can be performed while the plant is at power. In order to
remove compensatory measures such as fire watches, it has been
determined that resolution of the Thermo-Lag corrective actions by PP&L
must be completed in accordance with current PP&L's schedules. By
letter dated May 19, 1998, the NRC staff notified PP&L of its plan to
incorporate PP&L's schedule commitment into a requirement by issuance
of an Order and requested consent from the Licensee. By letter dated
June 3, 1998, the Licensee provided its consent to issuance of a
Confirmatory Order.
III
The Licensee's commitment as set forth in its letter of June 3,
1998, is acceptable and is necessary for the NRC to conclude that
public health and safety are reasonably assured. To preclude any
schedule slippage and to assure public health and safety, the NRC staff
has determined that the Licensee's commitment in its June 3, 1998,
letter be confirmed by this Order. The Licensee has agreed to this
action. Based on the above, and the Licensee's consent, this Order is
immediately effective upon issuance.
IV
Accordingly, pursuant to sections 103, 161b, 161i, 161o, 182, and
186 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Commission's
regulations in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR Part 50, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED,
effective immediately, that:
Pennsylvania Power & Light Company shall complete final
implementation of Thermo-Lag 330-1 fire barrier corrective actions
at Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Units 1 and 2, described in
the Pennsylvania Power & Light Company's submittals to the NRC dated
April 15, 1993; February 3 and December 22, 1994; August 2, 1995;
February 4, 1997; and January 6 and May 4, 1998, by completion of
the April 2000 refueling outage for SSES, Unit 1. Overall work
package closeout will be completed by the end of December 2000.
The Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, may relax or
rescind, in writing, any provisions of this Confirmatory Order upon a
showing by the Licensee of good cause.
V
Any person adversely affected by this Confirmatory Order, other
than the Licensee, may request a hearing within 20 days of its
issuance. Where good cause is shown, consideration will be given to
extending the time to request a hearing. A request for extension of
time must be made in writing to the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555,
and include a statement of good cause for the extension.
Any request for a hearing shall be submitted to the Secretary, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Attention: Chief, Rulemaking and
Adjudications Staff, Washington, D.C. 20555. Copies of the hearing
request shall also be sent to the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation, U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D. C.
20555, to the Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Enforcement at the
same address, to the Regional Administrator, NRC Region I, 475
Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania 19406-1415 and to the
Licensee. If such a person requests a hearing, that person shall set
forth with particularity the manner in which his/her interest is
adversely affected by this Order and shall address criteria set forth
in 10 CFR 2.714(d).
If a hearing is requested by a person whose interest is adversely
affected, the Commission will issue an Order designating the time and
place of any such hearing. If a hearing is held, the issue to be
considered at such hearing shall be whether this Confirmatory Order
should be sustained.
In the absence of any request for hearing, or written approval of
an extension of time in which to request a hearing, the provisions
specified in Section IV above shall be final 20 days from the date of
this Order without further order or proceedings. If an extension of
time for requesting a hearing has been approved, the provisions
specified in Section IV shall be final when the extension expires if a
hearing request has not been received. An answer or a request for
hearing shall not stay the immediate effectiveness of this Order.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 2nd day of July 1998.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 98-18228 Filed 7-8-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
