[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 197 (Tuesday, October 13, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 54737]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-27346]
[[Page 54737]]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-498 and 499]
STP Nuclear Operating Company, South Texas Project, Units 1 and
2; Confirmatory Order Modifying License, Effective Immediately
I
STP Nuclear Operating Company, (the Licensee) is the holder of
Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-76 and NPF-80, which authorizes
operation of South Texas Project, Units 1 and 2, located in Matagorda
County, TX.
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 timeframe, 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 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 discussed with these licensees
the progress of the licensees' corrective actions and the extent of
licensee management attention regarding completion of Thermo-Lag
corrective actions. South Texas Project, Units 1 and 2, are two of the
plants whose schedule extends beyond 1997.
Based on the information submitted by STP Nuclear Operating
Company, the NRC staff has concluded that the schedules presented by
STP Nuclear Operating Company are reasonable. This conclusion is based
on (1) the amount of installed Thermo-Lag, (2) the complexity of the
plant-specific fire barrier configurations and issues, (3) the need to
perform certain plant modifications during outages as opposed to those
that can be performed while the plant is at power, and (4) integration
with other significant, but unrelated issues that STP Nuclear Operating
Company is addressing at its plant. In order to remove compensatory
measures such as fire watches, it has been determined that resolution
of the Thermo-Lag corrective actions by STP Nuclear Operating Company
must be completed in accordance with current STP Nuclear Operating
Company schedules. By letter dated June 15, 1998, the NRC staff
notified STP Nuclear Operating Company of its plan to incorporate STP
Nuclear Operating Company's schedule commitment into a requirement by
issuance of an order and requested consent from the Licensee. By letter
dated June 25, 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 25,
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 25, 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:
STP Nuclear Operating Company shall complete final
implementation of Thermo-Lag 330-1 fire barrier corrective actions
at South Texas Project, Units 1 and 2, described in the STP Nuclear
Operating Company submittals to the NRC dated December 20, 1995,
August 26, 1996, November 6, 1996, and July 7, 1997, as modified and
summarized by the letters of April 15, 1998, and June 4, 1998, by
the end of 1998, excluding those corrective actions which are the
subject of the pending deviation request from Appendix R, Section
II.G.2.c, dated September 14, 1995, as supplemented by letters dated
November 6, 1996, May 22, 1997, August 4, 1997, and April 15, 1998,
for NRC staff review and approval pursuant to License Condition 2.E
of a change to the approved fire protection program. A schedule for
completion of any corrective actions associated with this request
will be determined separately.
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, Rulemakings 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 IV, 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400,
Arlington, Texas, 76011 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.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 2nd day of October 1998.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 98-27346 Filed 10-9-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P