IR 05000498/2015301

Er 05000498/2015301; 05000499/2015301; on September 24, 2015 - October 2, 2015; South Texas Project Electric Generating Station, Units 1 and 2; Initial Operator Licensing Examination Report

ML15300A446
Person / Time
Site:	South Texas
Issue date:	10/27/2015
From:	Vincent Gaddy Operations Branch IV
To:	Koehl D South Texas
References
ER 2015301
Download: ML15300A446 (11)

Text

ber 27, 2015

SUBJECT:

SOUTH TEXAS PROJECT ELECTRIC GENERATING STATION, UNITS 1 AND 2, NRC EXAMINATION REPORT 05000498/2015301; 05000499/2015301

Dear Mr. Koehl:

On October 15, 2015, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) completed an initial operator license examination at South Texas Project Electric Generating Station, Units 1 and 2.

The enclosed report documents the examination results and licensing decisions. The preliminary examination results were discussed on October 1, 2015, with Mr. D. Rencurrel, Senior Vice President, Operations, and other members of your staff. A telephonic exit meeting was conducted on October 15, 2015, with Mr. S. Mason.

The examination included the evaluation of 6 applicants for reactor operator licenses, 3 applicants for instant senior reactor operator licenses and 6 applicants for upgrade senior reactor operator licenses. The license examiners determined that 12 of the 15 applicants satisfied the requirements of 10 CFR Part 55, and the appropriate licenses have been issued.

However, 1 reactor operator applicant, 1 instant senior reactor operator applicant, and 2 upgrade senior reactor operator applicants will have the issuance of their license delayed until any written examination appeals have been reviewed for possible impact on their licensing decisions in accordance with NUREG 1021, Revision 10, ES-501, Section D.3.c. There were no post examination comments submitted by your staff. Enclosure 1 contains the details of this report.

No findings were identified during this examination.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice and Procedure," a copy of this letter and its enclosure will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRC 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).

Sincerely,

/RA/

Vincent G. Gaddy, Chief Operations Branch Division of Reactor Safety Docket Nos. 50-498 and 50-499 Licenses Nos. NPF-76 and NPF-80 Enclosures:

1. Examination Report 05000498/2015301 and 05000499/2015301 w/Attachment 2. Simulator Fidelity Report

ML15300A446 SUNSI Review ADAMS Publicly Available Non-Sensitive Keyword:

By: COsterholtz Yes No Non-Publicly Available Sensitive NRC-002 OFFICE SOE:OB SOE:OB SOE:OB OE:OB OE:OB OE:OB OE:OB NAME COsterholtz TFarina JKirkland MBloodgood CCowdrey MKennard CSteely SIGNATURE /RA/ /RA/ /RA/ /RA/ /RA/ /RA/ /RA/

DATE 10/21/15 10/22/15 10/26/15 10/22/15 10/27/15 10/22/15 10/22/15 OFFICE C:OB C:DRP/B NAME VGaddy NTaylor SIGNATURE /RA/ /RA/

DATE 10/27/15 10/23/15

Letter to Dennis from Vincent G. Gaddy, dated October 27, 2015 SUBJECT: SOUTH TEXAS PROJECT ELECTRIC GENERATING STATION, UNITS 1 AND 2, NRC EXAMINATION REPORT 05000498/2015301; 05000499/2015301 Electronic distribution by RIV:

Regional Administrator (Marc.Dapas@nrc.gov)

Deputy Regional Administrator (Kriss.Kennedy@nrc.gov)

DRP Director (Troy.Pruett@nrc.gov)

DRP Deputy Director (Ryan.Lantz@nrc.gov)

DRS Director (Anton.Vegel@nrc.gov)

DRS Deputy Director (Jeff.Clark@nrc.gov)

Senior Resident Inspector (Alfred.Sanchez@nrc.gov)

Resident Inspector (Nicholas.Hernandez@nrc.gov)

Branch Chief, DRP/B (Nick.Taylor@nrc.gov)

Senior Project Engineer, DRP/B (David.Proulx@nrc.gov)

Project Engineer, DRP/B (Shawn.Money@nrc.gov)

Project Engineer, DRP/B (Steven.Janicki@nrc.gov)

STP Administrative Assistant (Lynn.Wright@nrc.gov)

Public Affairs Officer (Victor.Dricks@nrc.gov)

Public Affairs Officer (Lara.Uselding@nrc.gov)

Project Manager (Lisa.Regner@nrc.gov)

Acting Team Leader, DRS/TSS (Eric.Ruesch@nrc.gov)

RITS Coordinator (Marisa.Herrera@nrc.gov)

ACES (R4Enforcement.Resource@nrc.gov)

Regional Counsel (Karla.Fuller@nrc.gov)

Technical Support Assistant (Loretta.Williams@nrc.gov)

Congressional Affairs Officer (Jenny.Weil@nrc.gov)

RIV Congressional Affairs Officer (Angel.Moreno@nrc.gov)

RIV/ETA: OEDO (Cindy.Rosales-Cooper@nrc.gov)

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

REGION IV

Dockets: 05000498, 05000499 Licenses: NPF-76, NPF-80 Report: 05000498/2015301; 05000499/2015301 Licensee: STP Nuclear Operating Company Facility: South Texas Project Electric Generating Station, Units 1 and 2 Location: FM 521 - 8 miles west of Wadsworth Wadsworth, Texas 77483 Dates: September 24, 2015 - October 15, 2015 Inspectors: C. Osterholtz, Chief Examiner T. Farina, Senior Operations Engineer J. Kirkland, Senior Operations Engineer M. Bloodgood, Operations Engineer C. Cowdrey, Operations Engineer M. Kennard, Operations Engineer C. Steely, Operations Engineer Approved By: Vincent G. Gaddy, Chief Operations Branch Division of Reactor Safety-1- Enclosure

SUMMARY

ER 05000498/2015301; 05000499/2015301; September 24, 2015 - October 2, 2015;

South Texas Project Electric Generating Station, Units 1 and 2; Initial Operator Licensing Examination Report.

NRC examiners evaluated the competency of 6 applicants for reactor operator licenses, applicants for instant senior reactor operator licenses and 6 applicants for upgrade senior reactor operator licenses at South Texas Project Electric Generating Station, Units 1 and 2.

The NRC developed the written examination and the operating test outlines, with the licensee generating the final operating test in accordance with the operating test outlines, using NUREG-1021, Revision 10, "Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors." The written examination was administered by the licensee on September 24, 2015. NRC examiners administered the operating tests on the week of September 28, 2015.

The examiners determined that 12 of the applicants satisfied the requirements of 10 CFR Part 55 and the appropriate licenses, as well as three denial letters, have been issued. However, 1 reactor operator applicant, 1 instant senior reactor operator applicant, and upgrade senior reactor operator applicants will have the issuance of their license delayed until any written examination appeals have been reviewed for possible impact on their licensing decisions in accordance with NUREG 1021, Revision 10, ES-501, Section D.3.c.

NRC-Identified and Self-Revealing Findings

None

Licensee-Identified Violations

None

REPORT DETAILS

4OA5 Other Activities (Initial Operator License Examination)

.1 License Applications

a. Scope

NRC examiners reviewed all license applications submitted to ensure each applicant satisfied relevant license eligibility requirements. The examiners also audited three of the license applications in detail to confirm that they accurately reflected the subject applicants qualifications. This audit focused on the applicants experience and on-the-job training, including control manipulations that provided significant reactivity changes.

b. Findings

No findings were identified.

.2 Examination Development

a. Scope

NRC examiners generated the integrated examination outlines and draft examination material submitted by the licensee against the requirements of NUREG-1021. The NRC examination team conducted an onsite validation of the operating tests.

b. Findings

NRC examiners provided draft examination and post-validation comments to the licensee. The licensee satisfactorily completed comment resolution prior to examination administration.

NRC examiners determined that the operating tests initially submitted by the licensee were within the range of acceptability expected for a proposed examination.

.3 Operator Knowledge and Performance

a. Scope

On September 24, 2015, the licensee proctored the administration of the written examination to all 15 applicants. The licensee staff graded the written examinations, analyzed the results, and presented their analysis to the NRC on October 14, 2015.

The NRC examination team administered the various portions of the operating tests to all 15 applicants during the week of September 28, 2015.

b. Findings

No findings were identified.

Twelve of the 15 applicants passed the written examination and all 15 applicants passed all parts of the operating test. The final written examinations and post-examination analysis may be accessed in the ADAMS system under the accession numbers noted in the attachment. There were no post-examination comments as indicated in the licensee submittal.

The examination team noted the following generic weakness:

• The ability of operating crews to recognize that a power ascension should be secured when responding to an instrument failure while in Mode 2. The licensee generated Condition Report 15-22959-1 to address this issue.

• The ability of operating crews to locate and implement procedures for bypassing a gland steam regulating valve. The licensee generated Condition Report 15-22830-1 to address this issue.

• The ability of operating crews to fully and accurately communicate pertinent information between crew members. The licensee generated Condition Report 15-22959-2 to address this issue.

.4 Simulation Facility Performance

a. Scope

The NRC examiners observed simulator performance with regard to plant fidelity during examination validation and administration.

b. Findings

No findings were identified.

.5 Examination Security

a. Scope

The NRC examiners reviewed examination security during both the onsite preparation week and examination administration week for compliance with 10 CFR 55.49 and NUREG-1021. Plans for simulator security and applicant control were reviewed and discussed with licensee personnel.

b. Findings

No findings were identified.

4OA6 Meetings, Including Exit

Exit Meeting Summary

The chief examiner presented the preliminary examination results to Mr. D. Rencurrel, Senior Vice President, Operations, and other members of the staff on October 1, 2015. A telephonic exit was conducted on October 15, 2015, between Messrs. Clyde Osterholtz, Chief Examiner, and S. Mason, Lead Examination Writer.

The licensee did not identify any information or materials used during the examination as proprietary.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

KEY POINTS OF CONTACT

Licensee Personnel

D. Rencurrel, Senior Vice President, Operations

G.T. Powell, Site Vice President

L. Blaylock, CPS Energy

A. Culver, Operations Training Supervisor

T. Frahm, Operations Manager, Unit 2

R. Gibbs, Production Support Manager

G. Hildebrandt, Operations Manager

K. Hilscher, Training Manager

G. Janak, Operations Training Manager

W. Markham, Operations Training

S. Mason, Operations Training

M. Murray, Regulatory Affairs Manager

J. Pierce, Integrated Work Management

R. Savage, Licensing

R. Scarborough, Quality Assurance Manager

NRC Personnel

A. Sanchez, Senior Resident Inspector