IR 05000219/2002001

2002 Annual Assessment Letter - Oyster Creek Generating Station (Report 50-219/02-01)

ML020630501
Person / Time
Site:	Oyster Creek
Issue date:	03/04/2002
From:	Blough A Division Reactor Projects I
To:	Kingsley O Exelon Generation Co, Exelon Nuclear
References
IR-02-001
Download: ML020630501 (6)

Text

rch 4, 2002

SUBJECT:

ANNUAL ASSESSMENT LETTER - OYSTER CREEK GENERATING STATION (REPORT 50-219/02-01)

Dear Mr. Kingsley:

On January 29, 2002, the NRC staff completed its end-of-cycle plant performance assessment of Oyster Creek Generating Station (Oyster Creek). The end-of-cycle review for Oyster Creek involved the participation of all technical divisions in evaluating performance indicators (PIs) for the most recent quarter and inspection results for the period from April 1 through December 31, 2001. The purpose of this letter is to inform you of our assessment of your safety performance during this period and our plans for future inspections at your facility so that you will have an opportunity to prepare for these inspections and to inform us of any planned inspections that may conflict with your plant activities.

As discussed in our previous annual assessment letter dated May 31, 2001, this inspection and assessment cycle consisted of three quarters (i.e., the second, third, and fourth calendar quarters of calendar year 2001) instead of the usual four quarters. This change was implemented in order to align the inspection and assessment cycle with the calendar year beginning on January 1, 2002.

Overall, Oyster Creek operated in a manner that preserved public health and safety and fully met all cornerstone objectives. Plant performance for the most recent quarter was within the Regulatory Response Column of the NRCs Action Matrix, based on a finding of low to moderate safety significance (White), effective May 10, 2001, in the Physical Protection cornerstone.

During an Operational Safeguards Response Evaluation (OSRE) in May 2001, the NRC staff identified a weakness in Amergens response strategy during one of four force-on-force exercises.

Before completing the OSRE, we confirmed that you immediately implemented appropriate compensatory measures and initiated a review to determine long term corrective actions. The NRC has scheduled a follow-up supplemental inspection for March 25, 2002, to review your assessment and corrective actions regarding this finding. Additionally, we note that you have appealed the staffs determination of significance for this White finding. That appeal is currently under review.

Mr. Oliver In our Annual Assessment Letter dated May 31, 2001, we had advised you of a potential adverse trend in the cross-cutting area of Problem Identification and Resolution, based on staff-identified findings. The trend involved insufficient rigor by station personnel in the identification of some adverse conditions and in the development of adequate corrective actions. The staff acknowledges that you have implemented a number of corrective actions to address these issues.

Since that time, the NRC staff has noted some improvement, based on a reduction in the number and significance of inspection findings in this area. Therefore, the NRC staff does not deem the recent findings to constitute a substantive cross-cutting issue. These cross-cutting areas nevertheless will continue to be inspected through our baseline inspection program.

The enclosed inspection plan details the inspections scheduled through March 31, 2003. The inspection plan is provided to minimize the resource impact on your staff and to allow for scheduling conflicts and personnel availability to be resolved in advance of inspector arrival onsite. Routine resident inspections are not listed due to their ongoing and continuous nature.

The schedule for the last six months of the inspection plan is tentative and may be revised at the Mid-Cycle Review meeting.

Immediately following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the NRC issued safeguards advisories recommending that nuclear power plant licensees go to the highest level of security, and all promptly did so. With continued uncertainty about the possibility of additional terrorist activities, the Nation's nuclear power plants, including Oyster Creek, remain at a high level of security. On February 25, 2002, the NRC issued an Order to all nuclear power plant licensees, requiring them to take certain additional interim compensatory measures to address the generalized high-level threat environment. These additional compensatory requirements will provide the NRC with reasonable assurance that public health and safety and the common defense and security continue to be adequately protected in the current generalized high-level threat environment. These requirements will remain in effect pending notification from the Commission that a significant change in the threat environment occurs, or until the Commission determines that other changes are needed following a more comprehensive re-evaluation of current safeguards and security programs. To date, we have monitored Oyster Creeks actions in response to the terrorist attacks through a series of audits. With the issuance of the Order, we will evaluate Oyster Creeks compliance with these interim requirements.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRCs Rules of Practice, a copy of this letter and its enclosure will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRC's document system (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/ADAMS/index.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room).

Mr. Oliver If circumstances arise which cause us to change this inspection plan, we will contact you to discuss the change as soon as possible. Please contact John Rogge at (610) 337-5146 with any questions you may have regarding this letter or the inspection plan.

Sincerely,

/RA/

A. Randolph Blough, Director Division of Reactor Projects Region I Docket No. 50-219 Licensee No. DPR-16 Enclosure: Oyster Creek Generating Station Inspection/ Activity Plan cc w/encl: Amergen Energy Company - Correspondence Control Deck Ron J. DeGregorio, Vice President J. A. Benjamin, Licensing - Vice President, Exelon Corporation M. Gallagher, Director-Licensing B. Stewart, Acting Regulatory Affairs Manager R. Shadis, New England Coalition Staff State of New Jersey N. Cohen, Coordinator - Unplug Salem Campaign E. Gbur, Coordinator - Jersey Shore Nuclear Watch E. Zobian, Coordinator - Jersey Shore Anti Nuclear Alliance

Mr. Oliver