IR 05000271/2003001

2003 Annual Assessment Letter - Vermont Yankee (Report 50-271/03-001)

ML030620317
Person / Time
Site:	Vermont Yankee
Issue date:	03/03/2003
From:	Miller H Region 1 Administrator
To:	Thayer J Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee
References
IR-03-001
Download: ML030620317 (6)

Text

rch 3, 2003

SUBJECT:

ANNUAL ASSESSMENT LETTER - VERMONT YANKEE (REPORT 50-271/03-001)

Dear Mr. Thayer:

On February 10, 2003, the NRC staff completed its end-of-cycle plant performance assessment of Vermont Yankee. The end-of-cycle review for Vermont Yankee involved the participation of all technical divisions in evaluating performance indicators (PIs) for the most recent quarter and inspection results for the period from January 1 through December 31, 2002. The purpose of this letter is to inform you of our assessment of your safety performance during this period and our plans for future inspections at your facility so that you will have an opportunity to prepare for these inspections and to inform us of any planned inspections that may conflict with your plant activities.

Overall, Vermont Yankee operated in a manner that preserved public health and safety and fully met all cornerstone objectives. Plant performance for the most recent quarter was within the Licensee Response Column of the NRCs Action Matrix, based on all inspection findings being classified as having very low safety significance (Green) and all PIs indicating performance at a level requiring no additional NRC oversight (Green). Therefore, we plan to conduct only baseline inspections at your facility through March 31, 2004.

While plant performance for the most recent quarter is within the licensee response column of the Action Matrix, there was an inspection finding of substantial safety significance (Yellow) in the physical protection cornerstone during the first three quarters of the assessment cycle. This finding was associated with response strategy weaknesses that had been identified during an Operational Safeguards Response Evaluation (OSRE) during the week of August 20, 2001. The NRC conducted a supplemental inspection during the week of September 23, 2002. Based on the results of this inspection, we concluded that major upgrades to your security program had been implemented that included corrective actions to address the weaknesses identified in the OSRE.

We closed the Yellow finding in accordance with the guidance contained in NRC Inspection Manual Chapter 0305, Operating Reactor Assessment Program, which moved Vermont Yankee from the Degraded Cornerstone column to the Licensee Response column of the NRCs Action Matrix on October 1, 2002.

Jay The enclosed inspection plan details the inspections scheduled through March 31, 2004. The inspection plan is provided to minimize the resource impact on your staff and to allow for scheduling conflicts and personnel availability to be resolved in advance of inspector arrival onsite. Routine resident inspections are not listed due to their ongoing and continuous nature.

The inspections in the last six months of the inspection plan are tentative and may be revised at the mid-cycle review meeting.

As you are aware, since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the NRC has issued several Orders and threat advisories to enhance security capabilities and improve guard force readiness.

We have conducted inspections to review your implementation of these requirements and have monitored your actions in response to changing threat conditions. For calendar year 2003, we plan to continue these inspections, conduct portions of the security baseline inspection program, as well as perform additional inspections to evaluate your compliance with new requirements that may be ordered. Based on our final determinations in this regard, we will notify you of any inspection plan changes.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRCs Rules of Practice, a copy of this letter and its enclosure will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRC's document system (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room).

If circumstances arise which cause us to change this inspection plan, we will contact you to discuss the change as soon as possible. Please contact Mr. Clifford J. Anderson at (610) 337-5227 with any questions you may have regarding this letter or the inspection plan.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Hubert J. Miller Regional Administrator Docket No. 50-271 Licensee No. DPR-28 Enclosure: Vermont Yankee Inspection/Activity Plan

Jay