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Browns Ferry Unit 1 Recovery

Browns Ferry Unit 1 (BF1) was shutdown in March 1985, along with Units 2 and 3, for correction of a variety of issues. In May 2002, recovery of BF1 was authorized and planned by the Board of the Tennessee Valley Authority. Units 2 and 3 have been previously restarted under NRC oversight. The NRC staff in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) and Region II is coordinating and overseeing the regulatory activities associated with the recovery effort. On August 14, 2003, NRR issued a Regulatory Framework for the Restart of Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Unit 1. The letter identified significant regulatory actions that require resolution before restart. These actions include Generic Communications (i.e, Bulletins, Generic Letters, and Three Mile Island action plan items), Special Programs, Commitments, Technical Specification Changes, and other licensing activities. The letter was the NRC's response to a framework proposed by Tennessee Valley Authority for BF1 in a December 13, 2002 letter, as supplemented by a February 28, 2003 letter, and a meeting summary dated May 13, 2003, for a meeting held on April 24, 2003. The Region II staff will monitor the recovery of Unit 1 via the BF1 Restart Inspection Program as defined in NRC Inspection Manual Chapter (IMC) 2509 during major renovation, restart testing, and return to operational status.

As described in IMC 2509, the staff initially does not plan to use the Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) for inspection and oversight of BF1 during the extended process prior to returning the unit to operation. The unique circumstances involved with the defueled BF1 make the application of the ROP problematic until the unit returns to power operations. Application of the ROP will be phased in, as described in SECY-03-0123 and IMC 2509 to allow for application of the ROP to areas considered ready for transition. Additionally, SECY-03-0123 describes how the NRC staff initially intends to apply traditional enforcement during the recovery and restart process for BF1. Once incorporated into the ROP, Safety Cornerstone areas will utilize the Significance Determination Process (SDP) to evaluate the significance of any identified violations and issues.

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Inspection Reports:

• 2003-008
• 2003-009
• 2003-010
• 2003-011
• 2004-006
• 2004-007
• 2004-011

Meeting Summaries For Meetings Held On:

• February 10, 2003
• November 12, 2003 - NRC Staff Summary
• November 12, 2003 - TVA Presentation
• March 16, 2004 - Meeting Announcement - Pre-Decisional Enforcement Conference
• April 28, 2004 - Notice of Violation
• September 9, 2004 - NRC Staff Summary
• September 9, 2004 - TVA Presentation