[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 35 (Tuesday, February 22, 1994)] [Unknown Section] [Page 0] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 94-3849] [[Page Unknown]] [Federal Register: February 22, 1994] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. 50-305] Wisconsin Public Service Corp., et. al.; Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant Exemption I The Wisconsin Public Service Corporation, Wisconsin Power and Light Company, and Madison Gas and Electric Company (the licensee), are the holders of Facility Operating License No. DPR-43 which authorizes operation of the Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP). The licensee provides, among other things, that it is subject to all rules, regulations, and orders of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) now and hereafter in effect. The facility consists of a pressurized water reactor located at the licensee's site in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin. II In a letter dated November 16, 1993, the licensee applied for a partial exemption from the Commission's regulations. The subject exemption is from the requirements of 10 CFR part 50, Appendix J, Section III.D.1.(a). This Section requires, in part, that ``. . . a set of three Type A tests shall be performed at approximately equal intervals during each 10-year service period. The third test of each set shall be conducted when the plant is shutdown for the 10-year plant inservice inspection.'' The licensee proposes to perform the three Type A tests at approximately equal intervals within each 10-year period, with the third test of each set conducted as close as practical to the end of the 10-year period. However, there would be no required connection between the Appendix J 10-year interval and the inservice inspection 10-year interval. Kewaunee's 10-year Appendix J interval ends in 1994 and the third Type A test is scheduled for the 1994 refueling outage. The 10-year plant inservice inspection (ISI) is the series of inspections performed every 10 years in accordance with Section XI of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code and Addenda as required by 10 CFR 50.55a. The licensee performs the ISI volumetric, surface and visual examinations of components and system pressure tests in accordance with 10 CFR 50.55a(g)(4) throughout the 10-year inspection interval. The major portion of this effort is presently being performed every 12 months during the refueling outages. Kewaunee's second 10-year ISI interval ends in June 1994. Kewaunee is scheduled to complete the second 10-year ISI program during the spring of 1995, as allowed by section XI IWA 2400(c). The reactor vessel inspection during the 1995 refueling outage will complete the second 10-year ISI program. Kewaunee is also scheduled to begin the third 10-year program during the 1995 refueling outage. As a result, the completion of the second 10-year ISI program will occur in 1995 and the 10-year Appendix J interval will end in the spring of 1994. There is no benefit to be gained by the coupling requirement cited above in that elements of the ISI program are conducted throughout each 10-year cycle rather than during a refueling outage at the end of the 10-year cycle. Consequently, the subject coupling requirement offers no benefit either to safety or to the economical operation of the facility. Moreover, each of these two surveillance tests (i.e., the Type A tests and the 10-year ISI program) is independent of the other and provides assurances of different plant characteristics. The Type A test assures the required leak-tightness to demonstrate compliance with the guidelines of 10 CFR part 100. The 10-year ISI program provides assurance of the integrity of the structures, systems, and components in compliance with 10 CFR 50.55a. There is no safety-related concern necessitating their coupling in the same refueling outage. Accordingly, the staff finds that application of the regulation is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule. On this basis, the staff finds that the licensee has demonstrated that there are special circumstances present as required by 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2). Further, the staff also finds that the uncoupling of the Type A tests from the 10-year ISI program will not present an undue risk to the public health and safety. III Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, this exemption as described in Section II is authorized by law and will not endanger life or property or the common defense and security and is otherwise in the public interest and hereby grants the exemption with respect to the requirements of 10 CFR part 50, Appendix J, Paragraph III.D.1.(a). Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that the granting of this exemption will have no significant impact on the environment (59 FR 1037). Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 14th day of February 1994. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Jack W. Roe, Director, Division of Reactor Projects--III/IV/V, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. 94-3849 Filed 2-18-94; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-M