Information Relating to the Deadlines for Compliance with 10 CFR 50.49, "Environmental Qualification of Electric Equipment Important to Safety for Nuclear Power Plants" (Generic Letter No. 85-15)
UNITED STATES
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D C. 20555
August 6, 1985
TO ALL LICENSEES OF OPERATING REACTORS
Gentlemen:
SUBJECT: INFORMATION RELATING TO THE DEADLINES FOR COMPLIANCE WITH 10 CFR
50.49, "ENVIRONMENTAL QUALIFICATION OF ELECTRIC EQUIPMENT
IMPORTANT TO SAFETY FOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS" (GENERIC LETTER
85-15)
The deadline for compliance with 10 CFR 50.49, "Environmental Qualification
of Electric Equipment Important to Safety for Nuclear Power Plants" is
specified in the rule as the date of the second refueling outage after March
31, 1982 or March 31, 1985, whichever was earlier. Some plants have received
extensions to these deadlines up to November 30, 1985. Where current
extensions terminate prior to November 30, 1985, the delegation in 10 CFR
50.49(g) permits the Director of NRR to act on further requests for
extensions as long as the new deadline is not beyond November 30, 1985.
Section 50.49(g) states that "in exceptional cases, the Commission itself
may consider and grant extensions beyond November 30, 1985, for completion
of environmental qualification." The purpose of this letter is to advise
licensees that it is the Commission's intention that extensions will be
granted only in rare circumstances and that enforcement action will be taken
against licensees that continue to operate their plants with unqualified
equipment beyond November 30, 1985, without extensions approved by the
Commission.
It is the Commission's intention that licensees which are not in compliance
on November 30, 1985, and which have not been given extensions either will
have to either shut down or, if they have valid staff-approved
justifications for continued operation, select to operate and face civil
penalties of $5,000 per item2 per day for each day after November 30, 1985,
on which a licensee operates in noncompliance with the rule. For
noncompliance identified after November 30, 1985, such fines may be made
retroactive to November 30, 1985 for each day a licensee clearly knew, or
should have known, that equipment qualification was incomplete. Some
mitigation of any penalty may be considered based upon satisfaction of the
following factors:
1/ For purposes of enforcement, "unqualified equipment" means equipment
for which there is not adequate documentation to establish that this
equipment will perform its intended functions in the relevant
environment.
2/ An item is defined as a specific type of electrical equipment,
designated by manufacturer and model, which is representative of all
identical equipment in a plant area exposed to the same environmental
service conditions.
8508070178
- 2 -
1. Did the licensee identify and promptly report the noncompliance
with 10 CFR 50.49?
2. Did the licensee apply best efforts to complete environmental
qualification within the deadline?
3. Has the licensee proposed actions which can be expected to result
in full compliance within a reasonable time?
For equipment which is discovered (through new test results, NRC inspection,
or other means) after November 30, 1985, to be in noncompliance or is
suspected to be in noncompliance with the requirements of 10 CFR 50.49,
licensees should report the finding if the condition found meets the
reporting criteria of 10 CFR 50.72 (Prompt Notification) or 10 CFR 50.73
(Licensee Event Reporting System). Evaluations of the significance of and
corrective action for all actual and potential noncompliances should be
documented as should the circumstances of discovery of the noncompliance or
suspected noncompliance. These documents should be retained in appropriate
licensee files. If equipment addressed in the plant Technical Specifications
is found to be unable to perform its intended function during an accident
because of equipment qualification problems, the licensee is required to
follow the provisions of the Technical Specifications. A case by case
determination will be made whether retroactive enforcement is appropriate
for noncompliance identified after November 30,, 1985.
Licensees desiring an extension beyond November 30, 1985, must submit an
extension request at the earliest possible date to the Commission with a
copy to the Director, NRR and the Director, IE. Requests received after
September 30, 1985, will be considered untimely, and may be denied on that
basis. The basis for any extension request beyond November 30, 1985 must
clearly identify the exceptional nature of the case, e.g., why, through
events entirely beyond its control, the licensee will not be in compliance
with the rule on November 30; the date when compliance will be achieved; and
a justification for continued operation until compliance will be achieved.
This letter does not require any response and therefore does not need
approval of the Office of Management and Budget. Comments on burden and
duplication may be directed to the Office of Management and Budget, Reports
Management Room 3208, New Executive Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20503.
Should you have any questions, the staff contacts are Gary Holahan for
technical questions and Jane Axelrad for enforcement questions. Mr. Holahan
can be reached on (301) 492-7415 and Ms. Axelrad can be reached on (301)
492-4909.
Hugh L. Thompson, Jr., Director
Division of Licensing
cc: List of Generic Letters
Page Last Reviewed/Updated Thursday, March 25, 2021