29038 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 101 /Wednesday, May 27, 1998 / Notices

corrective actions described in the

PECO Energy Company’s submittals to

the NRC dated April 16 and December

29, 1993; February 4 and December 19,

1994; March 29 and August 2, 1995;

May 2, 1996; March 24, 1997; and

January 14, 1998. Based on the

information submitted by PECO Energy

Company, the NRC staff has concluded

that the schedules presented by PECO

Energy Company 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 PECO Energy Company must

be completed in accordance with

current PECO Energy Company’s

schedules. By letter dated April 16,

1998, the NRC staff notified PECO

Energy Company of its plan to

incorporate PECO Energy Company’s

schedule commitment into a

requirement by issuance of an Order

and requested consent from the

Licensee. By letter dated April 27, 1998,

the Licensee provided its consent to

issuance of a Confirmatory Order.

III

The Licensee’s commitment as set

forth in its letter of April 27, 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 April 27, 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:

PECO Energy Company shall complete

final implementation of Thermo-Lag 330–1

fire barrier corrective actions at Peach Bottom

Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and 3,

described in the PECO Energy Company’s

submittals to the NRC dated April 16 and

December 29, 1993; February 4 and

December 19, 1994; March 29 and August 2,

1995; May 2, 1996; March 24, 1997; and

January 14, 1998, prior to restart from 3R12

refueling outage of Peach Bottom Atomic

Power Station, Unit 3, scheduled for October

1999.

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, DC 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.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 19th day

of May 1998.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Samuel J. Collins,

Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

[FR Doc. 98–13973 Filed 5–26–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50–352 and 50–353]

Philadelphia Electric Company,

Limerick Generating Station, (Units 1

and 2); Confirmatory Order Modifying

Licenses; Effective Immediately

I

Philadelphia Electric Company (the

Licensee) is the holder of Facility

Operating Licenses Nos. NPF–39 and

NPF–85, which authorize operation of

Limerick Generating Station (LGS),

Units 1 and 2, located in Montgomery

and Chester Counties, 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

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 met with these licensees to

discuss the progress of the licensees’

corrective actions and the extent of

licensee management attention

regarding completion of Thermo-Lag

corrective actions. In addition, the NRC

staff discussed with licensees the

possibility of accelerating their

completion schedules.

Philadelphia Electric Company was

one of the licensees with which the NRC

staff held meetings. At these meetings,

the NRC staff reviewed with
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 101 /Wednesday, May 27, 1998 / Notices 29039

Philadelphia Electric Company the

schedule of Thermo-Lag corrective

actions described in the Philadelphia

Electric Company submittals to the NRC

dated April 16 and December 29, 1993,

February 4 and December 19, 1994,

March 29 and August 2, 1995, May 2,

1996, and March 24, 1997. Based on the

information submitted by Philadelphia

Electric Company and provided during

the meetings, the NRC staff has

concluded that the schedules presented

by Philadelphia Electric Company 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, (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 Philadelphia

Electric 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

Philadelphia Electric Company must be

completed in accordance with current

Philadelphia Electric Company

schedules. By letter dated April 16,

1998, the NRC staff notified

Philadelphia Electric Company of its

plan to incorporate Philadelphia

Electric Company’s schedule

commitment into a requirement by

issuance of an order and requested

consent from the Licensee. By letter

dated April 27, 1998, the Licensee

provided its consent to issuance of a

Confirmatory Order.

III

The Licensee’s commitment as set

forth in its letter of April 27, 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 April 27, 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:

Philadelphia Electric Company shall

complete final implementation of ThermoLag 330–1 fire barrier corrective actions at

LGS, Units 1 and 2, described in the

Philadelphia Electric Company’s submittals

to the NRC dated April 16 and December 29,

1993, February 4 and December 19, 1994,

March 29 and August 2, 1995, May 2, 1996,

March 24, 1997, and January 14, 1998, by

completion of the April 1999 refueling outage

for LGS, Unit 2.

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 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.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 19 day

of May 1998.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Samuel J. Collins,

Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

[FR Doc. 98–13971 Filed 5–26–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50–325 and 50–324]

Carolina Power & Light Company;

Brunswick Steam Electric Plant, Units

No. 1 and 2 Environmental

Assessment and Finding of No

Significant Impact

Introduction

The U. S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (the Commission) is

considering issuance of amendments to

Facility Operating License Nos. DPR–71

and DPR–62 issued to the Carolina

Power & Light Company (CP&L or the

licensee) for operation of the Brunswick

Steam Electric Plant, Units No. 1 and 2

(BSEP 1 & 2), respectively, located at the

licensee’s site in Brunswick County,

North Carolina.

Environmental Assessment

Identification of the Proposed Action

This Environmental Assessment has

been prepared to address potential

environmental issues related to the

licensee’s application dated November

1, 1996, as supplemented by letters

dated October 13, 1997, February 26,

1998, March 13, 1998, April 24, 1998,

and May 22, 1998. The proposed

amendments will replace the current

BSEP 1 & 2 Technical Specifications

(CTS) in their entirety with Improved

Technical Specifications (ITS) based on

Revison 1 to NUREG–1433, ‘‘Standard

Technical Specifications General

Electric Plants BWR/4’’ dated April

1995, and the CTS for BSEP 1 & 2.

The Need for the Proposed Action

It has been recognized that nuclear

safety in all plants would benefit from

improvement and standardization of TS.

The Commission’s ‘‘NRC Interim Policy

Statement on Technical Specification

Improvements for Nuclear Power

Reactors,’’ (52 Fed. Reg. 3788, February

6, 1987), and later the Commission’s

‘‘Final Policy Statement on Technical

Specification Improvements for Nuclear

Power Reactors,’’ 58 FR 39132 (July 22,

1993), formalized this need. To facilitate