Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Notice of Issuance of Director's Decision Under 10 CFR 2.206, 69605 [E5-6307]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 220 (Wednesday, November 16, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Page 69605]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-6307]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. STN 50-454]
[License No. NPF-37]


Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Notice of Issuance of Director's 
Decision Under 10 CFR 2.206

    Notice is hereby given that the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, has issued a director's decision with regard to a petition 
dated March 2, 2005, filed by Mr. Barry Quigley, hereinafter referred 
to as the ``petitioner.'' On March 4, 2005, the petitioner provided 
additional clarifying information during a conference call with the 
Petition Review Board. The conference call was recorded; a transcript 
is publicly available in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) 
Agencywide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS) at Accession 
No. ML050870619. The petition concerns the operation of the Byron 
Station, Unit 1 which is owned and operated by Exelon Generation 
Company, LLC (Exelon).
    The petition requested that the NRC take enforcement action against 
Exelon's Byron Station for failure to comply with 10 CFR part 50, 
Appendix B, Criterion XVI. Specifically, the petitioner stated that the 
1C loop stop isolation valve (LSIV) has been broken for at least 6 
years and has not been repaired.
    The petition of March 2, 2005, raises concerns originating from the 
condition that the 1C LSIV can be difficult to close, to the point that 
the protective features of the motor actuate. The petitioner indicated 
that the failure mechanism is metal-to-metal contact between the valve 
disc and a misaligned valve guide which introduces debris into the 
reactor coolant system (RCS).
    A public meeting with Exelon was held in the NRC Region III offices 
on March 21, 2005; a summary of the meeting is available at ADAMS 
Accession No. ML050820530. The petitioner was in attendance and offered 
comments prior to adjournment of the meeting. The licensee made several 
submittals containing additional information regarding the LSIV 
performance and testing as well as a May 27, 2005, response to an NRC 
staff Request for Additional Information.
    As a result of evaluation of the information provided, the NRC 
prepared a proposed Director's Decision, copies of which were sent to 
the petitioner and to the licensee for comment on July 29, 2005, and 
August 1, 2005, respectively. The petitioner responded with comments on 
August 14, 2005, and the licensee responded on August 12, 2005. The 
comments and the NRC staff's response to them are included in the 
Director's Decision.
    The Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation has 
determined that the request to take enforcement action against Exelon's 
Byron Station for failure to comply with 10 CFR part 50, Appendix B, 
Criterion XVI, be denied. The reasons for this decision are explained 
in the director's decision pursuant to Title 10 of Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR) Section 2.206 DD-05-05, the complete text of which 
is available in ADAMS for inspection at the Commission's Public 
Document Room, located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1 
F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland, and from 
the ADAMS Public Library component on the NRC's Web site, https://
www.nrc.gov/reading-rm.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room).
    The staff concluded that the 1C LSIV (which does not perform a 
safety function) is unlikely to be degraded to a condition where the 
valve guides, or a portion of the valve guides, can loosen and migrate 
to the reactor vessel during normal plant operation. Nevertheless, the 
NRC considered the potential for the release of loose parts into the 
RCS at Byron Station, Unit 1. The NRC concluded that loose parts from 
the 1C LSIV have an acceptability low potential of occurrence. Even so, 
the licensee has provisions to locate, identify, and respond to both 
large and small loose parts. Further, because the licensee complies 
with NRC Staff Position RSB 5-1, ``Design Requirements of the Residual 
Heat Removal System,'' the NRC is assured that for LSIV loose parts 
scenarios that postulate obstruction of the chemical and volume control 
system letdown line or obstruction of the pressurizer spray line/nozzle 
will not prevent safe shutdown of Byron Station, Unit 1.
    A copy of the Director's Decision will be filed with the Secretary 
of the Commission for the Commission's review in accordance with 10 CFR 
2.206 of the Commission's regulations. As provided for by this 
regulation, the Director's Decision will constitute the final action of 
the Commission 25 days after the date of the decision, unless the 
Commission, on its own motion, institutes a review of the director's 
decision in that time.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day of November, 2005.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
J.E. Dyer,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E5-6307 Filed 11-15-05; 8:45 am]
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