IR 05000266/2006011

EA-06-274, Point Beach Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2, Notice of Violation (NRC Special Inspection Report 05000266/2006011; 050000301/2006011)

ML070290711
Person / Time
Site:	Point Beach
Issue date:	01/29/2007
From:	Caldwell J NRC/RGN-III
To:	Koehl D Nuclear Management Co
References
EA-06-274 IR-06-011
Download: ML070290711 (7)

Text

ary 29, 2007

SUBJECT:

NOTICE OF VIOLATION [NRC SPECIAL INSPECTION REPORT 05000266/2006011; 050000301/2006011] POINT BEACH NUCLEAR PLANT, UNITS 1 AND 2

Dear Mr. Koehl:

This refers to the special inspection conducted by the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

from April 1 to October 27, 2006, at the Point Beach Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2, that is operated by the Nuclear Management Company, LLC (NMC). The inspection identified an apparent violation of 10 CFR 50.71(e) for failure to update the Point Beach Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR) with the results of a 1982 reactor vessel head drop analysis. A copy of the inspection report was provided to you on November 21, 2006.

In the letter transmitting the inspection report, we provided you with the opportunity to address the apparent violation identified in the report by either attending a predecisional enforcement conference or by providing a written response before we made our final enforcement decision.

In a letter dated December 19, 2006, you provided a response to the apparent violation.

Based on the information developed during the inspection and the information that you provided in your response dated December 19, 2006, the NRC has determined that a violation of NRC requirements occurred. The violation is cited in the enclosed Notice of Violation (Notice) and the circumstances surrounding it are described in detail in the subject inspection report. In summary, on April 6, 2005, NRC inspectors identified that the licensee (currently Nuclear Management Company (NMC)) had not considered the results of a 1982 reactor vessel head drop analysis for the original head, during preparations for the replacement of the Unit 2 reactor vessel head later in April 2005. The 1982 reactor vessel head drop analysis was performed in response to a request from the NRC (NRC Generic Letter (GL)80-113, Control of Heavy Loads, dated December 20, 1980). Further review by the NRC inspectors revealed that Wisconsin Electric Power Company (the predecessor licensee) had not incorporated this analysis into the FSAR in 1983, as required by 10 CFR 50.71(e) and as a result, may not have taken all of the appropriate contingencies and precautions when moving the original Unit 1 and Unit 2 heads during refueling outages since the analysis was completed in 1982. The NRC determined that the licensee had numerous opportunities since 1983 to incorporate this analysis into the FSAR but failed to identify and capitalize on these opportunities until the problem was identified and brought to its attention in 2005 by the NRC.

The licensees failure to update the FSAR in 1983, combined with the licensee staffs continued failure to fully understand the facilitys licensing and design basis since that time, impacted the licensee staffs ability in 2005 to understand the current Point Beach licensing and design basis, and resulted in a performance deficiency. The performance deficiency also impacted the NRCs ability to perform its regulatory function because the licensee staffs failure to update the FSAR and understand the facilitys licensing and design basis represented a challenge to the regulatory envelope upon which certain activities were licensed, such as reactor vessel head lift activities. Therefore, this violation has been categorized in accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy at Severity Level III.

In accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy, a base civil penalty is normally considered for a Severity Level III violation. Since the violation occurred in 1983, the time frame permitted in the statute of limitations for applying civil sanctions has been exceeded and no civil penalty is proposed. However, I have been authorized, after consultation with the Director, Office of Enforcement, to issue the enclosed Notice of Violation.

The NRC has concluded that information regarding the reason for the violation, the corrective actions taken and planned to correct the violation and prevent recurrence and the date when full compliance was achieved is already adequately addressed on the docket in Inspection Report No 05000266/2006011; 050000301/2006011 (ADAMS Accession No. ML063250465)

and in a December 19, 2006, letter from the Nuclear Management Company, LLC (ADAMS Accession No. ML063550037). Therefore, you are not required to respond to this letter unless the description therein does not accurately reflect your corrective actions or your position. In that case, or if you choose to provide additional information, you should follow the instructions specified in the enclosed Notice. Please contact Patrick Louden, Chief, Reactor Projects Branch 5, with questions. Mr. Louden can be reached at telephone number (630) 829-9627.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter, its enclosure, and your response, if you choose to respond, will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the NRCs document system (ADAMS), accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To the extent possible, your response should not include any personal privacy, proprietary, or safeguards information so that it can be made available to the Public without redaction. The NRC also includes significant enforcement actions on its Web site at www.nrc.gov; select What We Do, Enforcement, then Significant Enforcement Actions.

Sincerely,

/RA by Geoffrey E. Grant Acting for/

James L. Caldwell Regional Administrator Docket Nos. 50-266; 50-301 License Nos. DPR-24; DPR-27 Enclosure: Notice of Violation cc w/encl: F. Kuester, President and Chief Executive Officer, We Generation D. Cooper, Senior Vice President, Group Operations J. McCarthy, Site Director of Operations D. Weaver, Nuclear Asset Manager Plant Manager Regulatory Affairs Manager Training Manager Site Assessment Manager Site Engineering Director Emergency Planning Manager J. Rogoff, Vice President, Counsel & Secretary K. Duveneck, Town Chairman Town of Two Creeks Chairperson Public Service Commission of Wisconsin J. Kitsembel, Electric Division Public Service Commission of Wisconsin State Liaison Officer