IR 05000263/2014001

Annual Assessment Letter for the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, (Report 05000263/2014001)

ML15062A579
Person / Time
Site:	Monticello
Issue date:	03/04/2015
From:	Pederson C Region 3 Administrator
To:	Gardner P Northern States Power Co
References
IR 2014001
Download: ML15062A579 (5)

Text

UNITED STATES rch 4, 2015

SUBJECT:

ANNUAL ASSESSMENT LETTER FOR THE MONTICELLO NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT (REPORT 05000263/2014001)

Dear Mr. Gardner:

On February 12, 2015, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) completed its end-of-cycle performance review of the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant (MNGP). The NRC reviewed the most recent quarterly performance indicators (PIs) in addition to inspection results and enforcement actions from January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2014. This letter informs you of the NRCs assessment of your facility during this period and its plans for future inspections at your facility.

On February 26, 2015, the NRC forwarded a letter that stated the final significance determination of a greater-than-green (GTG) inspection finding in the Security Cornerstone.

With both the existing Yellow finding and the GTG security finding, MNGP met the definition of a Repetitive Degraded Cornerstone. Specifically, a Repetitive Degraded Cornerstone is one that is degraded for more than four consecutive quarters with at least one of the quarters having:

(1) three or more white inputs (the additional white input(s) can be from any cornerstone), or (2) one yellow and one white input (the additional white input can be from any cornerstone).

With the Yellow inspection finding in the Mitigating Systems Cornerstone open for seven consecutive quarters and the GTG inspection finding in the Security Cornerstone, Inspection Manual Chapter (IMC) 0305, "Operating Reactor Assessment Program," specifies that MNGP should be moved from Column 3 to Column 4 of the Action Matrix in the fourth quarter of 2014.

However, by letter dated February 27, 2015, you were notified that the NRCs Executive Director for Operations had approved a deviation from the NRCs Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) Action Matrix for MNGP. Therefore, as of February 27, 2015, MNGP is in the Regulatory Response Column, Column 2 of the ROP action matrix.

As stated in the deviation letter, Xcel Energy agreed to perform an independent safety culture assessment with a focus on human performance. The deviation will remain open until MNGP has successfully completed the actions prescribed by Column 2 of the NRC Action Matrix and upon completion of the NRC assessment of your safety culture evaluation. Should these criteria not be met and/or another GTG finding occurs while this deviation is open, the NRC will reassess the licensees placement in the Action Matrix consistent with the criteria contained in IMC 0305. In the mid-cycle assessment letter dated September 2, 2014, (ML14245A144), the NRC opened a substantive cross-cutting issue (SCCI) associated with Human Performance, Conservative Bias aspect (H.14). This assessment letter stated that the SCCI will remain open until the number of findings with a cross-cutting aspect of H.14 is reduced, the corrective actions taken to mitigate the cross-cutting theme prove effective, and sustained performance improvement is observed in the H.14 aspect of the human performance area. To address the SCCI, your staff performed a root cause evaluation and developed corrective actions. During the current assessment period, the number of findings with H.14 assigned as the cross-cutting aspect was reduced, but still met the definition of cross-cutting theme as described in IMC 0305, "Operating Reactor Assessment Program," dated November 20, 2014. Specifically, a cross-cutting theme exists if there are four or more findings having the same cross-cutting aspect. Additionally, as of the end of the assessment period, not all of the proposed corrective actions were completed; therefore, the SCCI will remain open until the above closure criteria are met. This is the second consecutive assessment letter documenting this SCCI. The NRC will continue to monitor your staffs effort and progress in addressing the SCCI by evaluating your corrective action program, the root cause evaluation for the SCCI, and performance improvement initiatives to adequately assess if positive results are obtained.

In its assessment letter dated March 4, 2014, (ML14063A307), the NRC opened an SCCI associated with the aspect of Human Performance, Documentation aspect (H.7). Since the SCCI was opened, you have completed a root cause evaluation and implemented corrective actions. The corrective actions appear effective as the number of findings with this cross-cutting aspect was reduced to below the SCCI threshold and our baseline inspections have not identified any significant concerns in this area. Therefore, the NRC determined that the SCCI is closed.

The enclosed inspection plan lists the inspections scheduled through June 30, 2016. Routine inspections performed by resident inspectors are not included in the inspection plan. The inspections listed during the last nine months of the inspection plan are tentative and may be revised at the mid-cycle performance review. The NRC provides the inspection plan to allow for the resolution of any scheduling conflicts and personnel availability issues. The NRC will contact you as soon as possible to discuss changes to the inspection plan should circumstances warrant any changes. This inspection plan does not include security related inspections, which will be sent via separate, non-publicly available correspondence.

As stated in the inspection plan, from June 22 to July 24, 2015, the NRC plans to perform the Component Design Basis Inspection.

In accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 2.390, Public Inspections, Exemptions, Requests for Withholding, of the NRC's "Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter, its enclosure, and your response (if any) will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRCs Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS)

component of the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS).

ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room).

Please contact Kenneth Riemer at 630-829-9628 with any questions you have regarding this letter.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Cynthia D. Pederson Regional Administrator Docket Nos. 50-263 License Nos. DPR-22 Enclosure:

Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant Inspection/Activity Plan cc w/encl: Distribution via LISTSERV