[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 217 (Monday, November 13, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77616-77619]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-24880]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-483; NRC-2023-0190]
Union Electric Company, dba Ameren Missouri; Callaway Plant, Unit
No. 1
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 an amendment to Renewed Facility Operating License No. NPF-
30, issued to Union Electric Company, doing business as (dba) Ameren
Missouri, for operation of the Callaway Plant, Unit No. 1. The proposed
amendment would revise the technical specifications (TSs), TS Bases,
and Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR), to allow use of one train of
the normal, non-safety-related service water system to solely provide
cooling water support for one of two redundant trains of TS-required
equipment when both equipment trains are required to be Operable during
cold shutdown/refueling conditions. Corresponding changes to the TS
Bases will be made once the amendment to the TSs and FSAR is approved.
DATES: Submit comments by December 13, 2023. Request for a hearing or
petitions for leave to intervene must be filed by January 12, 2024.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods;
however, the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the
Federal rulemaking website:
Federal rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2023-0190. Address
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann;
telephone: 301-415-0624; email: [email protected]. For technical
questions, contact the individual listed in the ``For Further
Information Contact'' section of this document.
Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop:
TWFN-7-A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
[[Page 77617]]
0001, ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff.
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: Mahesh L. Chawla, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-8371; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2023-0190 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 https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2023-0190.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://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, at 301-415-4737,
or by email to [email protected]. The ``License Amendment Request to
Clarify Support System Requirements for the Residual Heat Removal
System and Control Room Air Conditioning System Requirements Under
Technical Specification 3.4.8, 3.7.11 and 3.9.6 (LDCN 22-0029)'' and
Response to Regulatory Audit Questions and Supplement to License
Amendment Request Regarding Support System Requirements for the
Residual Heat Removal and Control Room Air Conditioning Systems Under
Technical Specifications 3.4.8, 3.7.11, and 3.9.6 (LDCN 22-0029), are
available in ADAMS under Package Accession Nos. ML22335A507 and
ML23289A214, respectively.
NRC's PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. To make an
appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8
a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
B. Submitting Comments
The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the
Federal rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please
include Docket ID NRC-2023-0190 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
https://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 an amendment to Renewed Facility
Operating License No. NPF-30, issued to Union Electric Company, dba
Ameren Missouri, for operation of the Callaway Plant, Unit No. 1,
located in Callaway County, Missouri.
On February 21, 2023, the NRC staff published a proposed no
significant hazards consideration (NSHC) determination in the Federal
Register (88 FR 10559) for the proposed amendment. The notice is being
reissued in its entirety due to the revised scope, description of the
amendment request, and proposed NSHC determination of the license
amendment request resulting from the supplement dated October 16, 2023.
The proposed amendment would revise the TSs, TS Bases, and FSAR to
allow use of one train of the normal, non-safety-related service water
system to solely provide cooling water support for one of two redundant
trains of TS-required equipment when both equipment trains are required
to be Operable during cold shutdown/refueling conditions. The supported
equipment/systems affected by the proposed change are the residual heat
removal system and control room air conditioning system, as applicable
during Modes 5 and 6. The applicable/affected TS limiting conditions
for operation (LCOs) are TS LCO 3.4.8, ``RCS [Reactor Coolant System]
Loops Mode 5, Loops Not Filled''; TS LCO 3.7.11, ``Control Room Air
Conditioning System (CRACS)''; and TS LCO 3.9.6, ``Residual Heat
Removal (RHR) and Coolant Circulation Low Water Level.''
Before any issuance of the proposed license amendment, the NRC will
need to make the findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as
amended (the Act), and NRC's regulations.
The NRC has made a proposed determination that the license
amendment request involves NSHC. Under the NRC's regulations in section
50.92 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR),
``Issuance of amendment,'' this means that operation of the facility in
accordance with the proposed amendment 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 its analysis of the issue
of NSHC, which is presented as follows:
1. Does the proposed change involve a significant increase in
the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated?
Response: No.
In general, when the unit is shut down, the Technical
Specification (TS) requirements ensure that the unit has the
capability to mitigate the consequences of postulated accidents,
including a fuel handling accident. However, assuming a single
failure and concurrent loss of all offsite or all onsite power is
not required (as described in Callaway Plant Final Safety Analysis
Report, Standard Plant, section 3.1.2). The rationale for this is
based on the fact that many design basis accidents (DBAs) that are
analyzed in Modes 1, 2, 3, and 4 have no specific analyses in Modes
5 and 6. Worst case bounding events such as loss-of-coolant
accidents and limiting pipe breaks are deemed not credible in Modes
5 and 6 because the energy contained within the reactor pressure
boundary, reactor coolant temperature and pressure, and the
corresponding stresses result in the probabilities of occurrence
being significantly reduced or eliminated, and in minimal
consequences. These deviations from DBA analysis assumptions and
design requirements during shutdown conditions are allowed by the
Limiting Conditions [for] Operation (LCOs) for required systems,
including those required for mitigation of a fuel handling accident
which may be postulated to occur during such conditions (i.e., Modes
5 and 6 or with the reactor defueled/offloaded).
The plant's design is such that, during normal plant operating
conditions, the non-
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safety related Service Water (SW) system supplies cooling water (via
safety-related Essential Service Water (ESW) piping) to plant loads,
including the Component Cooling Water (CCW) system. During accident/
emergency conditions, the safety-related ESW system serves as the
emergency back-up for providing cooling water.
The proposed changes to TS 3.4.8 and TS 3.9.6 would make it
clear that the SW system is allowed to be a credited support system
for one of the two required trains of the Residual Heat Removal
(RHR) system in Modes 5 and 6, respectively, except when the plant
is in a reduced-inventory, hot-core condition. The proposed change
to 3.7.11 would make it clear that the SW system is allowed to be a
credited support system for one of the two required trains of the
Control Room Air Conditioning System (CRACS) during Modes 5 and 6
and during movement of irradiated fuel assemblies. The SW-supported
train in either case would be the one not required to be supported
by an emergency diesel generator per TS 3.8.2, ``Electrical
Sources--Shutdown.''
The proposed amendment will not impact the ability of the RHR
system to remove decay heat in Modes 5 or 6, or impact its ability
to ensure mixing, prevent stratification, and effect gradual
reactivity changes as needed during reactor coolant system boron
concentration reductions. A loss of decay heat removal is not an
``accident previously evaluated'' in the FSAR; however, the design
basis for the RHR system is clearly intended to preclude such an
event. This intent will still be met, as the Technical
Specifications will still require two RHR trains to be Operable
during applicable conditions such that one train of the RHR system
would remain available assuming either a LOOP [loss of offsite
power] or a single failure, consistent with the plant's licensing
basis. On that basis, the RHR function would be met via the RHR
train supported by the ESW system and an DG [diesel generator], or
by the RHR train supported by the non-essential SW system and a
normal offsite power source (except as prohibited when the plant is
in a reduced-inventory, hot-core condition).
The one FSAR described DBA that may be postulated to occur
during Mode 5 or Mode 6 is a fuel handling accident (FHA). The
proposed changes do not affect the systems/functions required to
mitigate the dose consequences of an FHA. (Control room dose is
mitigated by the Control Room Emergency Ventilation System and not
by CRACS.) Therefore, the proposed changes do not involve any
significant increase in the consequences of the FHA as previously
described in the FSAR.
The proposed changes are consistent with the assumptions for
system availability made within the accident and transient analysis
for shutdown Modes (5 and 6) and do not involve making any physical
changes to the plant. As such, the changes do not introduce any new
failure mechanisms or transient precursors, nor do they modify the
likelihood of any existing precursors to an accident or transient as
analyzed in the Callaway Plant FSAR.
Based on the above, it is concluded that the proposed changes do
not involve a significant increase in the probability or
consequences of an accident previously evaluated.
2. Does the proposed change create the possibility of a new or
different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated?
Response: No.
This proposed license amendment does not involve any physical
changes to the plant or any changes to operation, function, or the
performance requirements of the CRACS or RHR system (except as
described above). As such, it does not introduce any new failure
mechanisms or transient precursors different than those previously
evaluated. The continued, very low potential for a loss of decay
heat removal ``event'' is as described and explained above.
Therefore, it is concluded that this change does not create the
possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any accident
previously evaluated.
3. Does the proposed change involve a significant reduction in a
margin of safety?
Response: No.
The margin of safety is established through equipment design,
operating parameters, and the setpoints at which automatic actions
are initiated. This amendment makes no physical changes to safety-
related systems, operating parameters, or setpoints for initiation
of protective actions.
The allowance for one train of the CRACS and RHR systems to be
supported by the SW system in lieu of the ESW system during shutdown
conditions per the proposed TS changes) is not expected to result in
any significant change the availability of these systems for
providing their required cooling function. The system alignment
wherein the SW system supplies cooling water to the CRACS and the
CCW system heat exchangers (the intermediary cooling water loop to
the RHR heat exchangers) is a normal operating configuration for
these systems. The SW system provides a more than an adequate
cooling water flow rate, with system temperature limitations
comparable to the ESW system, such that a significant change in
residual heat removal rate and control room cooling would not be
realized by this change.
Therefore, it is concluded that 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 NSHC.
The NRC is seeking public comments on this proposed determination
that the license amendment request involves NSHC. Any comments received
within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice will be
considered in making any final determination.
Normally, the Commission will not issue the amendment until the
expiration of the 60-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 derating or shutdown of the facility,
the Commission may issue the license amendment before the expiration of
the notice period, provided that its final determination is that the
amendment involves NSHC. The final determination will consider all
public and State comments received. If the Commission takes action
prior to the expiration of either the comment period or the notice
period, 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
person (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 10 CFR
2.309. If a petition is filed, the presiding officer will rule on the
petition and, if appropriate, a notice of a hearing will be issued.
Petitions must be filed no later than 60 days from the date of
publication of this notice in accordance with the filing instructions
in the ``Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)'' section of this document.
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).
If a hearing is requested and the Commission has not made a final
determination on the issue of NSHC, the Commission will make a final
determination on the issue of no significant hazards consideration,
which will serve to establish when the hearing is held. If the final
determination is that the amendment request involves NSHC, 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
any hearing held would take place before the issuance of the amendment
unless the Commission finds an
[[Page 77619]]
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 designated agency thereof, may submit a petition to the
Commission to participate as a party under 10 CFR 2.309(h) no later
than 60 days from the date of publication of this notice.
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).
For information about filing a petition and about participation by
a person not a party under 10 CFR 2.315, see ADAMS Accession No.
ML20340A053 (https://adamswebsearch2.nrc.gov/webSearch2/main.jsp?AccessionNumber=ML20340A053) and on the NRC's public website
at https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/adjudicatory/hearing.html#participate.
IV. Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)
All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including
documents filed by an interested State, local governmental body,
Federally recognized Indian Tribe, or designated agency thereof that
requests to participate under 10 CFR 2.315(c), must be filed in
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302. 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,
unless an exemption permitting an alternative filing method, as further
discussed, is granted. Detailed guidance on electronic submissions is
located in the ``Guidance for Electronic Submissions to the NRC''
(ADAMS Accession No. ML13031A056) and on the NRC's public website at
https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html.
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 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 https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/getting-started.html. After a digital ID certificate is
obtained and a docket created, the participant must submit adjudicatory
documents in Portable Document Format. Guidance on submissions is
available on the NRC's public website at https://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. ET on the due date. Upon receipt of a
transmission, the E-Filing system time-stamps the document and sends
the submitter an email confirming receipt of the document. The E-Filing
system also distributes an email 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 to
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 https://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., ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Participants who believe that they have 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 in accordance with 10 CFR
2.302(b)-(d). Participants filing adjudicatory documents in this manner
are responsible for serving their documents on all other participants.
Participants granted an exemption under 10 CFR 2.302(g)(2) must still
meet the electronic formatting requirement in 10 CFR 2.302(g)(1),
unless the participant also seeks and is granted an exemption from 10
CFR 2.302(g)(1).
Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in the
NRC's electronic hearing docket, which is publicly available at https://adams.nrc.gov/ehd, unless excluded pursuant to an order of the
presiding officer. If you do not have an NRC-issued digital ID
certificate as previously described, click ``cancel'' when 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. 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
should not include copyrighted materials in their submission.
For further details with respect to this action, see the
application for license amendment dated December 1, 2022 (ADAMS Package
Accession No. ML22335A507), as supplemented on October 16, 2023 (ADAMS
Package Accession No. ML23289A214).
Attorney for licensee: Jay E. Silberg, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw
Pittman LLP, 1200 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036.
NRC Branch Chief: Jennifer L. Dixon-Herrity.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Dated: November 6, 2023.
Mahesh L. Chawla,
Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch IV, Division of Operating
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2023-24880 Filed 11-9-23; 8:45 am]
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