ML050620458
| ML050620458 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Point Beach  |
| Issue date: | 03/02/2005 |
| From: | Caldwell J Region 3 Administrator |
| To: | Koehl D Nuclear Management Co |
| References | |
| IR-05-001 | |
| Download: ML050620458 (8) | |
Text
March 2, 2005 Mr. Dennis L. Koehl Site Vice President Point Beach Nuclear Plant Nuclear Management Company, LLC 6590 Nuclear Road Two Rivers, WI 54241-9516
SUBJECT:
ANNUAL ASSESSMENT LETTER - POINT BEACH NUCLEAR PLANT (REPORT 05000266/200501; 05000301/200501)
Dear Mr. Koehl:
On February 8, 2005, the NRC staff completed its end-of-cycle plant performance assessment of Point Beach Nuclear Plant. The end-of-cycle review for Point Beach involved the participation of all reactor technical divisions in evaluating performance indicators (PIs) for the most recent quarter and inspection results for the period from January 1 through December 31, 2004. 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.
This performance review and enclosed inspection plan do not include physical protection information. A separate letter designated and marked as "Exempt from Public Disclosure in accordance with 10 CFR 2.390" will include the physical protection review and resultant inspection plan.
Overall, Point Beach operated in a manner that preserved public health and safety. While Point Beach met all cornerstone objectives, it remained within the Multiple/Repetitive Degraded Cornerstone Column of the Action Matrix with longstanding issues or significant degradation in safety performance. Point Beach was placed in this column during the first quarter of 2003.
Placement of Point Beach in this column was based on the Red finding for Unit 1 and Unit 2 associated with the auxiliary feedwater and instrument air systems and the Yellow finding for Unit 1 and the Red finding for Unit 2 associated with the potential failure of the auxiliary feedwater pumps because of plugging of recirculation line orifices. Details of these findings were provided in NRC Inspection Reports (IRs) 50-266/01-17(DRS); 50-301/01-17(DRS), dated April 3, 2002, and 50-266/02-15(DRP); 50-301/02-15(DRP), dated April 2, 2003, and in Final Significance Determination letters dated July 12, 2002, and December 11, 2003.
To address these findings and other identified station performance deficiencies, the Nuclear Management Company (the licensee for Point Beach) committed to take specific actions that have been incorporated into a Confirmatory Action Letter (CAL), issued on April 21, 2004. This CAL will remain open until the NRC has concluded that your actions have resulted in
D. Koehl demonstrated improved performance in the five areas listed in the CAL (Human Performance, Engineering Design Control, Engineering/Operations Interface, Emergency Preparedness, and Corrective Action Program).
In addition to our review of station performance during routine NRC inspection activities, Point Beach performance is being evaluated quarterly. Consistent with Inspection Manual Chapter (IMC) 0305, plants in the Multiple/Repetitive Degraded Cornerstone column of the Action Matrix are given consideration at each quarterly performance assessment review for:
(1) declaring plant performance to be unacceptable in accordance with the guidance in IMC 0305; (2) transferring to the IMC 0350, Oversight of Operating Reactor Facilities in a Shutdown Condition with Performance Problems, process; and (3) taking additional regulatory actions, as appropriate. Our assessment results to date have concluded that Point Beach has operated in a manner that preserved the public health and safety. The plant will remain in Column IV of the NRC Action Matrix. The NRC will continue to closely monitor Point Beach performance consistent with the guidance in IMC 0305.
In our 2003 Annual Assessment Letter, dated March 4, 2004, and in our 2004 Mid-Cycle Performance Review Letter, dated August 30, 2004, we advised you of substantive cross-cutting issues in the areas of problem identification and resolution (PI&R) and human performance. For PI&R, this was based on several findings that involved failures to effectively implement corrective actions. For human performance, this was based on findings involving lack of supervisory oversight, maintaining a questioning attitude, personnel self-checking, conservative decision-making, attention-to-detail, and communications. In response to the identified cross-cutting issues, you incorporated corrective actions in specific Action Plan steps in your comprehensive site-wide improvement plan (the Point Beach Excellence Plan). These steps are included in the commitments of the CAL.
Although we have noted improvement in the human performance area during the 3rd and 4th quarters of this assessment period, sustained improvement performance remains to be demonstrated. In addition, in the PI&R area, we continued to identify findings in the 3rd and 4th quarters of the assessment period. Consequently, we have determined that the two substantive cross-cutting issues continue to apply for the 2004 assessment period. We will continue to review your progress in addressing the cross-cutting issues during our baseline and CAL-followup inspections. We request that you discuss your efforts to address the cross-cutting issues at the public end-of-cycle review meeting, scheduled for April 19, 2005. In addition, we would like to discuss these issues during our routine public CAL progress meetings.
Additionally, on March 17, 2004, a Notice of Violation and Civil Penalty of $60,000 was issued for a Severity Level III violation involving unapproved changes to the Emergency Action Level scheme. As discussed in our 2003 Annual Assessment Letter, dated March 4, 2004, and in our 2004 Mid-Cycle Performance Review Letter, dated August 30, 2004, Point Beach management had stated that immediate corrective actions were taken. These actions have been verified by our inspectors. Implementation of longer-term corrective action to update the scheme to an industry standard will be reviewed during a future inspection.
D. Koehl In accordance with IMC 0305, Operating Reactor Assessment Program, your plant will be discussed at the upcoming Agency Action Review Meeting. We will notify you via separate correspondence if any agency actions change as an outcome of the meeting.
This letter advises you of our planned inspection effort resulting from the Point Beach end-of-cycle review. The enclosed plan details the inspections, less those related to physical protection, scheduled through September 30, 2006. 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. Please note, that in addition to baseline inspections, inspections will be conducted to ensure the actions committed to in the CAL are completed and station performance is improving. The inspections in the last nine months of the inspection plan are tentative and may be revised at the mid-cycle review meeting.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 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. Patrick Louden at (630) 829-9627 with any questions you may have regarding this letter or the inspection plan.
Sincerely,
/RA/
James L. Caldwell Regional Administrator Docket Nos. 50-266; 50-301 License Nos. DPR-24; DPR-27
Enclosure:
Point Beach Inspection/Activity Plan See Attached Distribution
D. Koehl In accordance with IMC 0305, Operating Reactor Assessment Program, your plant will be discussed at the upcoming Agency Action Review Meeting. We will notify you via separate correspondence if any agency actions change as an outcome of the meeting.
This letter advises you of our planned inspection effort resulting from the Point Beach end-of-cycle review. The enclosed plan details the inspections, less those related to physical protection, scheduled through September 30, 2006. 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. Please note, that in addition to baseline inspections, inspections will be conducted to ensure the actions committed to in the CAL are completed and station performance is improving. The inspections in the last nine months of the inspection plan are tentative and may be revised at the mid-cycle review meeting.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 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. Patrick Louden at (630) 829-9627 with any questions you may have regarding this letter or the inspection plan.
Sincerely,
/RA/
James L. Caldwell Regional Administrator Docket Nos. 50-266; 50-301 License Nos. DPR-24; DPR-27
Enclosure:
Point Beach Inspection/Activity Plan See Attached Distribution
- SEE PREVIOUS CONCURRENCES DOCUMENT NAME: G:\\Branch TSS\\EOC Ltrs\\eoc 030205\\Point Beach.wpd To receive a copy of this document, indicate in the box: "C" = Copy without attachment/enclosure "E" = Copy with attachment/enclosure "N" = No copy OFFICE RIII RIII RIII NRR NAME JGiessner/cco*
(via phone)
MKunowski*
(via email)
PLouden*
LRaghavan*
(via telecon)
DATE 02/15/05 02/16/05 02/16/05 02/24/05 OFFICE RIII RIII RIII NAME RCaniano for CPederson*
SReynolds*
JCaldwell DATE 02/16/05 02/24/05 02/ /05 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
D. Koehl cc w/encl:
F. Kuester, President and Chief Executive Officer, We Generation J. Cowan, Executive Vice President Chief Nuclear Officer D. Cooper, Senior Vice President, Group Operations J. McCarthy, Site Director of Operations D. Weaver, Nuclear Asset Manager Plant Manager Regulatory Affairs Manager Training Manager Site Assessment Manager Site Engineering Director Emergency Planning Manager J. Rogoff, Vice President, Counsel & Secretary K. Duveneck, Town Chairman Town of Two Creeks Chairperson Public Service Commission of Wisconsin J. Kitsembel, Electric Division Public Service Commission of Wisconsin State Liaison Officer
D. Koehl ADAMS Distribution:
WDR HKC RidsNrrDipmIipb GEG KGO CAA1 DRPIII DRSIII PLB1 JRK1 ROPreports@nrc.gov (inspection reports, final SDP letters, any letter with an IR number)
Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO)
Point Beach Inspection / Activity Plan 03/01/2005 - 09/30/2006 Inspection Type Inspection Activity Planned Dates Start End No. of Staff on Site Title Unit Number Page 1 of 2 02/28/2005 08:20:09 Report 22 5
LRI
- LICENSE RENEWAL INSPECTION - AGING EVAL License Renewal Insp 03/07/2005 04/01/2005 License Renewal Inspection IP 71002 1, 2 2
- UNIT 2 ISI/RPV HEAD FAB REVIEW Other Routine 04/04/2005 05/29/2005 Reactor Vessel Head Replacement Inspection IP 71007 2
Baseline Inspections 04/04/2005 05/29/2005 Evaluation of Changes, Tests, or Experiments IP 7111102 2
Baseline Inspections 04/04/2005 05/29/2005 Inservice Inspection Activities - PWR IP 7111108P 2
1 IP 71121
- RP OUTAGE ACCESS CTRL/ALARA INSPECTION Baseline Inspections 04/11/2005 04/15/2005 Access Control to Radiologically Significant Areas IP 7112101 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 04/11/2005 04/15/2005 ALARA Planning and Controls IP 7112102 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 04/11/2005 04/15/2005 Radioactive Material Processing and Transportation IP 7112202 1, 2 3
BR5
- CAL--ENGINEERING CLOSEOUT Supplemental Program 07/18/2005 08/19/2005 Inspection For Repetitive Degraded Cornerstones, Multiple Degraded Cornerstones, Multiple IP 95003 1, 2 1
MAINTEFF
- MAINTENANCE EFFECTIVENESS Baseline Inspections 09/12/2005 09/16/2005 Maintenance Effectiveness IP 7111112B 1, 2 1
71114
- BASELINE EP INSP Baseline Inspections 08/08/2005 08/12/2005 Alert and Notification System Testing IP 7111402 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 08/08/2005 08/12/2005 Emergency Response Organization Augmentation Testing IP 7111403 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 08/08/2005 08/12/2005 Correction of Emergency Preparedness Weaknesses and Deficiencies IP 7111405 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 08/08/2005 08/12/2005 Performance Indicator Verification IP 71151 1, 2 2
- LIC OPERATOR REQUAL PROGRAM EVALUATION Baseline Inspections 08/22/2005 08/26/2005 Licensed Operator Requalification Program IP 7111111B 1, 2 4
BR7
- PI&R Baseline Inspections 09/12/2005 09/30/2005 Identification and Resolution of Problems IP 71152B 1, 2 3
DESIGN
- HEAD REPLCMT MODIFICATION INSPECTION Other Routine 10/03/2005 11/18/2005 Reactor Vessel Head Replacement Inspection IP 71007 1
Baseline Inspections 10/03/2005 11/18/2005 Evaluation of Changes, Tests, or Experiments IP 7111102 1
Baseline Inspections 10/03/2005 11/18/2005 Permanent Plant Modifications IP 7111117B 1
3 ISI
- UNIT 1 ISI/RPV HEAD PRESERVICE REVIEW Other Routine 10/10/2005 11/18/2005 Reactor Vessel Head Replacement Inspection IP 71007 1
Baseline Inspections 10/10/2005 11/18/2005 Inservice Inspection Activities - PWR IP 7111108P 1
3 FY 2006
- POINT BEACH INIT PREP 10/2005 Not Applicable 10/17/2005 10/21/2005 OL - INITIAL EXAM - POINT BEACH - OCT/NOV 2005 W90127 1
3 IP 71121
- OUTAGE ALARA PLUS REMP & TRANSP Baseline Inspections 10/17/2005 10/21/2005 Access Control to Radiologically Significant Areas IP 7112101 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 10/17/2005 10/21/2005 ALARA Planning and Controls IP 7112102 1, 2 This report does not include INPO and OUTAGE activities.
This report shows only on-site and announced inspection procedures.
Point Beach Inspection / Activity Plan 03/01/2005 - 09/30/2006 Inspection Type Inspection Activity Planned Dates Start End No. of Staff on Site Title Unit Number Page 2 of 2 02/28/2005 08:20:09 Report 22 3
- OUTAGE ALARA PLUS REMP & TRANSP Baseline Inspections 10/17/2005 10/21/2005 Radioactive Material Processing and Transportation IP 7112202 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 10/17/2005 10/21/2005 Radiological Environmental Monitoring Program IP 7112203 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 10/17/2005 10/21/2005 Performance Indicator Verification IP 71151 1, 2 3
FY 2006
- POINT BEACH INIT EXAM 11/2005 Not Applicable 11/07/2005 11/18/2005 OL - INITIAL EXAM - POINT BEACH - OCT/NOV 2005 W90127 1
3 MOD/5059
- MODIFICATIONS/50.59 INSPECTION Baseline Inspections 12/05/2005 12/09/2005 Evaluation of Changes, Tests, or Experiments IP 7111102 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 12/05/2005 12/09/2005 Permanent Plant Modifications IP 7111117B 1, 2 1
HS
- HEAT SINK INSPECTION Baseline Inspections 02/06/2006 02/10/2006 Heat Sink Performance IP 7111107B 1, 2 1
- OPERATION OF AN ISFSI Other Routine 02/01/2006 03/31/2006 Operation of an Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation at Operating Plants IP 60855.1 1, 2 1
- RP POST OUTAGE ACCESS CTRL & ALARA INSP Baseline Inspections 03/20/2006 03/24/2006 Access Control to Radiologically Significant Areas IP 7112101 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 03/20/2006 03/24/2006 ALARA Planning and Controls IP 7112102 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 03/20/2006 03/24/2006 Performance Indicator Verification IP 71151 1, 2 6
SSDPC
- SSDPC INSPECTION Baseline Inspections 05/08/2006 05/26/2006 Safety System Design and Performance Capability IP 7111121 1
1 IP 71121
- RP INSTRUMENTATION & PPE INSPECTION Baseline Inspections 06/26/2006 06/30/2006 Radiation Monitoring Instrumentation and Protective Equipment IP 7112103 1, 2 1
- RP LIQ/GAS EFFLUENTS INSPECTION Baseline Inspections 07/31/2006 08/04/2006 Radioactive Gaseous and Liquid Effluent Treatment and Monitoring Systems IP 7112201 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 07/31/2006 08/04/2006 Performance Indicator Verification IP 71151 1, 2 1
- POINT BEACH UNIT 2 ISI INSPECTION Baseline Inspections 09/18/2006 10/14/2006 Inservice Inspection Activities - PWR IP 7111108P 2
1 IP 71121
- RP OUTAGE ACCESS CTRL/ALARA INSPECTION Baseline Inspections 09/25/2006 09/29/2006 Access Control to Radiologically Significant Areas IP 7112101 1, 2 Baseline Inspections 09/25/2006 09/29/2006 ALARA Planning and Controls IP 7112102 1, 2 This report does not include INPO and OUTAGE activities.
This report shows only on-site and announced inspection procedures.