52164 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 193 / Monday, October 6, 1997 / Notices

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.

If a hearing is requested, the

Commission will make a final

determination on the issue of no

significant hazards consideration. The

final determination will serve to decide

when the hearing is held.

If the final determination is that the

amendment request involves no

significant hazards consideration, the

Commission may issue the amendment

and make it immediately effective,

notwithstanding the request for a

hearing. Any hearing held would take

place after issuance of the amendment.

If the final determination is that the

amendment request involves a

significant hazards consideration, any

hearing held would take place before

the issuance of any amendment.

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:

Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, or

may be delivered to the Commission’s

Public Document Room, the Gelman

Building, 2120 L Street, NW.,

Washington, DC, by the above date. 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

Jeffrie J. Keenan, Esquire, Nuclear

Business Unit—N21, P.O. Box 236,

Hancocks Bridge, NJ 08038, 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).

For further details with respect to this

action, see the application for

amendment dated September 24, 1997,

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 Pennsville Public Library, 190 S.

Broadway, Pennsville, New Jersey

08070.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 30th day

of September 1997.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

original signed by

Leonard N. Olshan,

Acting Director, Project Directorate I–2,

Division of Reactor Projects—I/II, Office of

Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

[FR Doc. 97–26403 Filed 10–3–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50–390]

Tennessee Valley Authority, Watts Bar

Nuclear Plant; Exemption

I

On February 7, 1996, the Nuclear

Regulatory Commission issued Facility

Operating License No. NPF–90 to

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA or the

Licensee) for the Watts Bar Nuclear

Plant. The license stipulated, among

other things, that the facility is subject

to all rules, regulations, and orders of

the Commission.

II

In its letter dated June 20, 1997, the

licensee requested an exemption from

the Commission’s regulations. Section

50.60 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal

Regulations, ‘‘Acceptance Criteria for

Fracture Prevention Measures for

Lightwater Nuclear Power Reactors for

Normal Operation,’’ states that all

lightwater nuclear power reactors must

meet the fracture toughness and

material surveillance program

requirements for the reactor coolant

pressure boundary as set forth in

Appendices G and H to 10 CFR Part 50.

Appendix G to 10 CFR Part 50 defines

pressure/temperature (P/T) limits

during any condition of normal

operation, including anticipated

operational occurrences and system

hydrostatic tests to which the pressure

boundary may be subjected over its

service lifetime. It also states that the

American Society of Mechanical

Engineers Boiler and Pressure Code

(ASME Code) edition and addenda

specified in 10 CFR 50.55a are

applicable. It is specified in 10 CFR

50.60(b) that alternatives to the

described requirements in Appendices

G and H to 10 CFR Part 50 may be used

when an exemption is granted by the

Commission under 10 CFR 50.12.

To prevent low-temperature

overpressure transients that would

produce pressure excursions exceeding

the 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix G, P/T

limits while the reactor is operating at

low temperatures, the licensee installed

a low-temperature overpressure

protection (LTOP) system. The system

includes pressure-relieving devices

called power-operated relief valves

(PORVs). The PORVs are set at a

pressure low enough so that if an LTOP

transient occurred, the mitigation

system would prevent the pressure in

the reactor vessel from exceeding the 10

CFR Part 50, Appendix G, P/T limits. To

prevent the PORVs from lifting as a

result of normal operating pressure

surges (e.g., reactor coolant pump

starting, and shifting operating charging

pumps) with the reactor coolant system

in a solid water condition, the operating

pressure must be maintained below the

PORV setpoint. Applying the LTOP

instrument uncertainties required by the

staff’s approved methodology results in

an LTOP setpoint that establishes an

operating window that is too narrow to

permit reasonable system makeup and

pressure control.

To prevent these difficulties, the

licensee has requested to use the ASME

Code Case N–514, ‘‘Low Temperature

Overpressure Protection,’’ which

designates the allowable pressure as 110

percent of that specified by 10 CFR Part

50, Appendix G. This would provide an

increased band to permit system

makeup and pressure control. ASME

Code Case N–514 is consistent with

guidelines developed by the ASME

Working Group on Operating Plant

Criteria to define pressure limits during

LTOP events that avoid certain

unnecessary operational restrictions,

provide adequate margins against failure

of the reactor pressure vessel, and

reduce the potential for unnecessary

activation of pressure-relieving devices

used for LTOP. The content of this

ASME Code Case has been incorporated

into Appendix G of Section XI of the

ASME Code and published in the 1993

Addenda to Section XI and has been

incorporated into the latest draft of

Regulatory Guide 1.147 (Draft

Regulatory Guide DG–1050, Revision 12

of Regulatory Guide 1.147, Inservice

Inspection Code Case Applicability

ASME Section XI, dated May 1997).

However, 10 CFR 50.55a, ‘‘Codes and

Standards,’’ only authorizes addenda

through the 1988 Addenda.

III

Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, the

Commission may, upon application by

any interested person or upon its own

initiative, grant exemptions from the

requirements of 10 CFR Part 50 when (1)

the exemptions are authorized by law,

will not present an undue risk to public
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 193 / Monday, October 6, 1997 / Notices 52165

health or safety, and are consistent with

the common defense and security and

(2) when special circumstances are

present. According to 10 CFR

50.12(a)(2)(ii), special circumstances are

present whenever application of the

regulation in question is not necessary

to achieve the underlying purpose of the

rule.

The underlying purpose of 10 CFR

Part 50, Appendix G, is to establish

fracture toughness requirements for

ferritic materials of pressure-retaining

components of the reactor coolant

pressure boundary to provide adequate

margins of safety during any condition

of normal operation, including

anticipated operational occurrences, to

which the pressure boundary may be

subjected over its service lifetime.

Section IV.A.2 of Appendix G requires

that the reactor vessel be operated with

P/T limits at least as conservative as

those obtained by following the

methods of analysis and the required

margins of safety of Appendix G of the

ASME Code.

Appendix G of the ASME Code

requires that the P/T limits be

calculated: (a) using a safety factor of

two on the principal membrane

(pressure) stresses; (b) assuming a flaw

at the surface with a depth of onequarter (1⁄4) of the vessel wall thickness

and a length of six (6) times its depth;

and (c) using a conservative fracture

toughness curve that is based on the

lower bound of static, dynamic, and

crack arrest fracture toughness tests on

material similar to the Watts Bar reactor

vessel material.

In determining the setpoint for LTOP

events, the licensee proposed to use

safety margins based on an alternate

methodology consistent with the ASME

Code Case N–514 guidelines. The ASME

Code Case N–514 allows determination

of the setpoint for LTOP events such

that the maximum pressure in the vessel

would not exceed 110 percent of the P/

T limits of the existing ASME Code

Appendix G. This results in a safety

factor of 1.8 on the principal membrane

stresses. All other factors, including

assumed flaw size and fracture

toughness, remain the same. Although

this methodology would reduce the

safety factor on the principal membrane

stress, the proposed criteria will provide

adequate margins of safety on the

reactor vessel during LTOP transients,

and thus will satisfy the underlying

purpose of 10 CFR 50.60 for fracture

toughness requirements. Further, by

relieving the operational restrictions,

the potential for undesirable lifting of

the PORV would be reduced, thereby

improving plant safety.

IV

For the foregoing reasons, the NRC

staff has concluded that the licensee’s

proposed use of the alternate

methodology in determining the

acceptable setpoint for LTOP events will

not present an undue risk to public

health and safety and is consistent with

the common defense and security. The

NRC staff has determined that there are

special circumstances present, as

specified in 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2), in that

application of 10 CFR 50.60 is not

necessary in order to achieve the

underlying purpose of this regulation.

Accordingly, the Commission has

determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR

50.12, this exemption is authorized by

law, will not present an undue risk to

the public health and safety, and is

consistent with the common defense

and security.

Accordingly, the Commission hereby

grants an exemption from 10 CFR 50.60

such that in determining the setpoint for

LTOP events, the Appendix G curves for

P/T limits are not exceeded by more

than 10 percent. This exemption

permits using the safety margins

recommended in the AMSE Code Case

N–514, in lieu of the safety margins

required by 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix

G. This exemption is applicable only to

LTOP conditions during normal

operation.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the

Commission has determined that the

granting of the exemption will have no

significant impact on the quality of the

human environment (62 FR 50630).

This exemption is effective upon

issuance.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 29th day

of September 1997.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Samuel J. Collins,

Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

[FR Doc. 97–26405 Filed 10–3–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

Termination of the Technical

Specifications Plus Electronic Bulletin

Board System (BBS)

Notice is hereby given that effective

October 15, 1997, the Nuclear

Regulatory Commission (NRC) will

terminate the operation of the Tech

Specs Plus BBS that provided a source

of electronic copies of the NRCs

Standard Technical Specifications.

Information on the NRC’s Standard

Technical Specifications can be

obtained from the NRC’s web site at url:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/sts/sts.htm.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 30th day

of September 1997.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

William D. Beckner,

Chief, Technical Specifications Branch,

Associate Director for Projects, Office of

Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

[FR Doc. 97–26404 Filed 10–3–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–U

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

Sunshine Act Meeting

AGENCY HOLDING THE MEETING: Nuclear

Regulatory Commission.

DATE: Wednesday, October 8, 1997.

PLACE: Commissioners’ Conference

Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville,

Maryland.

STATUS: Public.

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED:

Wednesday, October 8

3:30 pm Affirmation Session (Public

Meeting)

A: Changes to paragraph (h) of 10 CFR

Part 50.55a, ‘‘Codes and Standards’’

B: Sequoyah Fuels Corp. & General

Atomic: Docket No. 40–8027–EA;

LBP–95–18 and LBP–96–24,

Memoranda and Orders (Approving

Settlement) (Tentative)

The schedule for Commission

meetings is subject to change on short

notice. To verify the status of meetings

call (Recording)—(301) 415–1292.

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Bill Hill, (301) 415–1661.

* * * * *

The NRC Commission Meeting

Schedule can be found on the Internet

at: http://www.nrc.gov/SECY/smj/

schedule.htm.

This notice is distributed by mail to

several hundred subscribers; if you no

longer wish to receive it, or would like

to be added to it, please contact the

Office of the Secretary, Attn: Operations

Branch, Washington, D.C. 20555 (301–

415–1661).

In addition, distribution of this

meeting notice over the internet system

is available. If you are interested in

receiving this Commission meeting

schedule electronically, please send an

electronic message to wmh@nrc.gov or

dkw@nrc.gov.

* * * * *

William M. Hill, Jr.,

SECY Tracking Officer, Office of the

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97–26509 Filed 10–2–97; 11:42 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–M