IR 05000331/2009011

IR 05000331-09-011, for Duane Arnold Energy Center, Final Significance Determination of White Finding and Notice of Violation

ML091610042
Person / Time
Site:	Duane Arnold
Issue date:	06/09/2009
From:	Satorius M Region 3 Administrator
To:	Richard Anderson Duane Arnold
References
EA-09-083 IR-09-011
Download: ML091610042 (6)

Text

une 9, 2009

SUBJECT:

FINAL SIGNIFICANCE DETERMINATION OF WHITE FINDING AND NOTICE OF VIOLATION; NRC INSPECTION REPORT NO. 05000331/2009011 -

DUANE ARNOLD ENERGY CENTER

Dear Mr. Anderson:

This letter provides you the final significance determination of the preliminary White finding discussed in our previous communication dated May 1, 2009, which provided Inspection Report Number 05000331/2009009 (ML091210530). The finding involved the failure to promptly identify and correct a condition adverse to quality which resulted in the Train B emergency diesel generator output breaker tripping under full load conditions while conducting a monthly surveillance test.

In a telephone conversation with Mr. Kenneth Riemer, Chief, Division of Reactor Projects, Branch 2, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Region III, on May 11, 2009, you indicated that the Duane Arnold Energy Center did not contest the characterization of the risk significance of this finding and that you declined your 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 finding is appropriately characterized as White, a finding having low to moderate safety significance.

The NRC has determined that the failure to promptly identify and correct a condition adverse to quality is a violation of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Appendix B, Criterion XVI, Corrective Action, as cited in the enclosed Notice of Violation (Notice). The circumstances surrounding the violation were described in detail in our letter, and its enclosure, of May 1, 2009.

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 planned to correct the violation and prevent recurrence, and the date when full compliance was achieved were adequately addressed in the 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. As a result of our review of Duane Arnold Energy Centers 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 NRCs document system (ADAMS), accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To the extent possible, any 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 Patrick L. Hiland Acting for/

Mark A. Satorius Regional Administrator Docket No. 50-331 License No. DPR-49 Enclosure:

Notice of Violation cc w/encl: M. Nazar, Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer M. Ross, Managing Attorney A. Khanpour, Vice President, Nuclear Engineering D. Curtland, Plant Manager S. Catron, Manager, Regulatory Affairs M. Mashhadi, Senior Attorney T. Jones, Vice President, Nuclear Operations, Midwest Region P. Wells, Vice President, Nuclear Safety Assessment R. Hughes, Director, Licensing and Performance Improvement D. McGhee, Iowa Dept. of Public Health Chairman, Linn County, Board of Supervisors R. McCabe, Chairman, Regional Assistance Committee, DHS/FEMA Region VII M. Rasmusson, State Liaison Officer