IR 05000458/2023091

Final Significance Determination of a White Finding, Notice of Violation, and Follow-Up Assessment Letter; NRC Inspection Report 05000458/2023091

ML23187A639
Person / Time
Site:	River Bend
Issue date:	07/20/2023
From:	Robert Lewis NRC Region 4
To:	Hansett P Entergy Operations
Kramer J
References
EA-23-055 IR 2023091
Download: ML23187A639 (5)

Text

July 20, 2023

SUBJECT:

RIVER BEND STATION - FINAL SIGNIFICANCE DETERMINATION OF A WHITE FINDING, NOTICE OF VIOLATION, AND FOLLOW-UP ASSESSMENT LETTER; NRC INSPECTION REPORT 05000458/2023091

Dear Phil Hansett:

This letter provides you the final significance determination of the preliminary White finding discussed in our previous communication dated June 26, 2023, which included U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Inspection Report 05000458/2023090, Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML23165A102. The finding involved the failure to adequately inspect the high pressure core spray (HPCS) transformer wiring for signs of degradation, cracked insulation, and overheating in accordance with your maintenance procedure.

In a telephone conversation with David Proulx, Chief (Acting), Projects Branch C, of the NRC, Region IV on June 29, 2023, Randy Crawford, Manager, Regulatory Assurance, of your staff indicated that Entergy Operations, Inc. declined the opportunity to discuss this issue in a regulatory conference or to provide a written response, and understood that NRC Inspection Manual Chapter 0609, Attachment 2 appeal rights only apply to those licensees that have either attended a regulatory conference or submitted a written response to the preliminary determination letter.

After considering the information developed during the inspection, the NRC has concluded that the finding is appropriately characterized as White, a finding of low to moderate safety significance.

The NRC has also determined that the failure to adequately inspect the HPCS transformer wiring in accordance with your maintenance procedure is a violation of Technical Specification 5.4.1.a. as cited in the enclosed Notice of Violation (Notice). The circumstances surrounding the violation were described in detail in Inspection Report 05000458/2023090. In accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy, the Notice is considered an escalated enforcement action because it is associated with a White finding.

You are required to respond to this letter and should follow the instructions specified in the enclosed Notice when preparing your response. If you have additional information that you believe the NRC should consider, you may provide it in your response to the Notice. The NRC review of your response to the Notice will also determine whether further enforcement action is necessary to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. As a result of our review of the River Bend Stations performance, including this White finding, we have assessed the performance of River Bend Station to be in the Regulatory Response column of the NRCs Action Matrix, effective the second quarter of 2023. Therefore, we plan to conduct a supplemental inspection using Inspection Procedure 95001, Supplemental Inspection Response to Action Matrix Column 2 (Regulatory Response) Inputs, 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 and the extent of cause are identified, and the corrective actions are sufficient to prevent recurrence.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRCs Agency Rules of Practice and Procedure, a copy of this letter, its enclosure, and your response will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room and from the NRCs ADAMS, accessible from the NRC website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To the extent possible, your response should not include any personal privacy or proprietary information so that it can be made available to the public without redaction.

If you have any questions concerning this matter, please contact David Proulx of my staff at 817-200-1561.

Sincerely, Robert J. Lewis Regional Administrator (Acting)

Docket No. 05000458 License No. NPF-47 Enclosure:

Notice of Violation Signed by Lewis, Robert on 07/20/23

ML23187A639 SUNSI Review:

ADAMS:

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/RA/ E DATE 07/17/23 07/20/23

Enclosure NOTICE OF VIOLATION Entergy Operations, Inc.

Docket No. 05000458 River Bend Station License No. NPF-47 EA-23-055 During an NRC inspection conducted from September 19, 2022, to June 8, 2023, a violation of NRC requirements was identified. In accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy, the violation is listed below:

Technical Specification 5.4.1.a, requires, in part, that written procedures shall be established, implemented, and maintained covering the activities recommended in Regulatory Guide 1.33, Quality Assurance Program Requirements (Operational) revision 2, Appendix A. Regulatory Guide 1.33, revision 2, Appendix A, section 9.a, requires, in part, that maintenance that can affect the performance of safety-related equipment should be properly preplanned and performed in accordance with written procedures, or documented instructions appropriate to the circumstances.

The licensee established Work Order 53003640 to clean, inspect, and test high pressure core spray transformer E22-S003. Work Order 53003640 step 4.1.10 requires, in part, to inspect all wiring for signs of degradation, cracked insulation and overheating, and step 4.1.13 requires, in part, to inspect for loose nuts, bolts, set screws or other fasteners.

Contrary to the above, on June 21, 2022, the licensee failed to implement procedures recommended by Regulatory Guide 1.33, revision 2, Appendix A. Specifically, when performing a cleaning and inspection of high pressure core spray Transformer E22-S003, the licensee failed to adequately perform Work Order 53003640 step 4.1.10 to inspect all wiring for signs of degradation, cracked insulation and overheating, and step 4.1.13 to inspect for loose nuts, bolts, set screws or other fasteners. As a result, the transformer failed, causing the high pressure core spray system and standby service water pump SWP-P2C to be inoperable.

This violation is associated with a White significance determination process finding.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.201, Entergy Operations, Inc. is hereby required to submit a written statement or explanation to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Document Control Desk, Washington, DC 20555-0001, with a copy to the Regional Administrator, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region IV, 1600 East Lamar Blvd., Arlington, Texas 76011-4511, and the NRC Resident Inspector at the River Bend Station, and email it to R4Enforcement@nrc.gov within 30 days of the date of the letter transmitting this Notice of Violation (Notice). This reply should be clearly marked as a Reply to a Notice of Violation, EA-23-055 and should include:

(1) the reason for the violation, or, if contested, the basis for disputing the violation or severity level; (2) the corrective steps that have been taken and the results achieved; (3) the corrective steps that will be taken; and (4) the date when full compliance will be achieved.

Your response may reference or include previous docketed correspondence if the correspondence adequately addresses the required response. If an adequate reply is not received within the time specified in this Notice, the NRC may issue an order or a demand for information requiring you to explain why your license should not be modified, suspended, or revoked, or why such other action as may be proper should not be taken. Where good cause is shown, consideration will be given to extending the response time.

If you contest this enforcement action, you should also provide a copy of your response, with the basis for your denial, to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

Because your response will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room and from the NRCs ADAMS, accessible from the NRC website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html, to the extent possible, it should not include any personal privacy or proprietary information so that it can be made available to the public without redaction. If personal privacy or proprietary information is necessary to provide an acceptable response, then please provide a bracketed copy of your response that identifies the information that should be protected and a redacted copy of your response that deletes such information. If you request withholding of such material, you must specifically identify the portions of your response that you seek to have withheld and provide in detail the bases for your claim of withholding (e.g., explain why the disclosure of information will create an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy or provide the information required by 10 CFR 2.390(b) to support a request for withholding confidential commercial or financial information).

Dated this 20th day of July 2023