IR 05000306/2009013

NRC000023-Final Significance Determination for a White Finding and Notice of Violation; NRC Inspection Report No. 05000306/2009013; Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, Unit 2

ML102500635
Person / Time
Site:	Prairie Island
Issue date:	09/03/2009
From:	Satorius M Region 3 Administrator
To:	Schimmel M Northern States Power Co, Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel
SECY RAS
Shared Package
ML102500629	List: IR 05000282/2008008 IR 05000282/2008009 IR 05000282/2009008 IR 05000282/2009010 IR 05000282/2010003 IR 05000306/2009013 ML102500631 ML102500632 ML102500633 ML102500636 ML102500638 ML102500639 ML102500640 ML102500641 ML102500644 ML102500646 ML102500647 ML102500648 ML102500650 ML102500653
References
50-282-LR, 50-306-LR, ASLBP 08-871-01-LR-BD01, EA-09-167, RAS 18573
Download: ML102500635 (6)

Text

ber 3, 2009

SUBJECT:

FINAL SIGNIFICANCE DETERMINATION FOR A WHITE FINDING AND NOTICE OF VIOLATION; NRC INSPECTION REPORT NO. 05000306/2009013; PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT, UNIT 2

Dear Mr. Schimmel:

The purpose of this letter is to provide you the final results of our significance determination of the preliminary White finding identified in Inspection Report 05000282/2009010; 05000306/2009010.

The inspection finding was assessed using the Significance Determination Process and was preliminarily characterized as White, a finding with low to moderate increased importance to safety that may require additional U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) inspections. This White finding is associated with the licensees failure to design the component cooling water system such that it would be protected from the impact of a high energy line break, seismic, or tornado events.

In a telephone conversation with Mr. Steven West of the NRC Region III office, on August 10, 2009, Mr. Michael Wadley, former Site Vice President, indicated that Northern States Power Company - Minnesota did not contest the characterization of the risk significance of this finding and that Northern States Power Company - Minnesota declined the opportunity to discuss this issue in a regulatory conference or to provide a written response.

After considering the information developed during the inspection, the NRC has concluded that the inspection finding is appropriately characterized as White, a finding with low to moderate increased importance to safety that may require additional NRC inspections as stated in Inspection Report 05000282/2009010; 05000306/2009010.

The NRC has also determined that the finding is a violation of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix B, Criterion III, Design Control, as cited in the enclosed Notice of Violation (Notice). The circumstances surrounding the violation were described in detail in the subject inspection report.

In accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy, the Notice is considered escalated enforcement action because it is associated with a White finding.

The NRC has concluded that the information regarding the reason for the violation, the corrective actions taken, and the date when full compliance was achieved is already adequately addressed on the docket in the subject inspection report. Therefore, you are not required to respond to this letter unless the description therein does not accurately reflect your corrective actions or your position.

NRC000023 As a result of our review of Prairie Island Unit 2s performance, including this White finding, we have assessed you to be in the Regulatory Response column of the NRCs Action Matrix.

Therefore, we plan to conduct a supplemental inspection using Inspection Procedure 95001, Inspection for One or Two White Inputs in a Strategic Performance Area, when your staff has notified us of your readiness for this inspection. This inspection procedure is conducted to provide assurance that the root cause and contributing causes of risk significant performance issues are understood, the extent of condition is identified, and the corrective actions are sufficient to prevent recurrence.

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 provide one, will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the NRC=s Agencywide Documents Access and Management 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.

Sincerely,

/RA by Cynthia D. Pederson Acting for/

Mark A. Satorius Regional Administrator Docket No. 50-306 License No. DPR-60 Enclosure:

Notice of Violation cc w/encl: D. Koehl, Chief Nuclear Officer G. Salamon, Regulatory Affairs Manager P. Glass, Assistant General Counsel Nuclear Asset Manager J. Stine, State Liaison Officer, Minnesota Department of Health Tribal Council, Prairie Island Indian Community Administrator, Goodhue County Courthouse Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Commerce Manager, Environmental Protection Division Office of the Attorney General of Minnesota Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, Dakota County Law Enforcement Center

NRC000023