ML12212A392
| ML12212A392 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Indian Point  |
| Issue date: | 07/24/2012 |
| From: | Dacimo F Entergy Nuclear Operations |
| To: | Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel |
| SECY RAS | |
| References | |
| RAS 23069, 50-247-LR, 50-286-LR, ASLBP 07-858-03-LR-BD01 | |
| Download: ML12212A392 (10) | |
Text
ATTACHMENT 16 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD In the Matter of Docket Nos. 50-247-LR and 50-286-LR Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.
Indian Point Nuclear Generating Units 2 and 3 July 24, 2012 DECLARATION OF FRED R. DACIMO Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746 and 10 C.F.R. § 2.304(d), I, Fred R. Dacimo, hereby declare as follows based on my personal knowledge:
- 1. I am the Vice President Operations - License Renewal for Indian Point Energy Center. Including my current employment at Indian Point, I have worked in the nuclear industry for nearly forty years at various nuclear power facilities throughout the United States.
- 2. I have served as Indian Points Vice President Operations - License Renewal since December 3, 2007. I am responsible for the overall management and direction of the license renewal program for Indian Point. From January 2003 through 2007, I served as the Site Vice President of Indian Point, and was responsible for the overall operation of Indian Point Nuclear Generating Units 2 and 3 (IP2 and IP3), as well as the maintenance of Unit 1, which is decommissioned and in a safe storage (SAFSTOR) condition.
- 3. I have been closely involved in the operation of Indian Point since 1999. At that time, I was hired by the New York Power Authority to serve as the Plant Manager of IP3. I continued to serve as Plant Manager after Entergy acquired IP3 in 2000 and was appointed Vice President of IP2 on September 1, 2001.
- 4. For two years before I joined Indian Point, I was employed by Commonwealth Edison as the Site Vice President of its LaSalle Station. I was responsible for overseeing the plants startup operations, and served as the plants primary liaison with regulatory authorities.
For years before that, I served as Northeast Utilities Vice President of Nuclear Operations, responsible for Connecticut Yankee, Millstone 1, 2 and 3, and Seabrook Nuclear Power Stations.
I have also held positions involving nuclear power plant operations at Boston Edisons Pilgrim Station and Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Station.
- 5. I earned a bachelors degree in nuclear science from SUNY Maritime College and currently serve on its Engineering Advisory Board. I have held Senior Reactor Operator licenses for both Boiling Water Reactors and Pressurized Water Reactors, and have also participated in
and mentored at the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations Senior Plant Managers Program. I currently sit on the Nuclear Oversight Board for Southern California Edison for its San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.
- 6. After 13 years of employment at Indian Point, I have witnessed how successful the site has been at providing safe, economical power to customers in surrounding regions, including New York City and Westchester County. I am also aware that Indian Point is a vital contributor to the economic and social welfare of neighboring communities. Entergy currently employs in excess of 1,000 people at Indian Point at an average annual salary of more than
$100,000. Indian Point is also a large consumer of local goods and services that are used to support plant operations, pays more than $20 million in taxes to entities within Westchester County every year, and makes participation in local charitable and philanthropic activities a priority, including by contributing approximately $2 million to non-profit organizations in New York in 2011 alone.
- 7. Accordingly, I am familiar with the facts stated herein, and if called upon to testify, I could and would testify to them competently.
Indian Point Operations Since Acquisition by Entergy
- 8. IP2 and IP3 are independent, but very similar, plants. There are no material differences in their operations.
- 9. IP2 and IP3 operate today in the same way that they operated before Entergy acquired them, but with much greater safety and efficiency.
- 10. When Entergy acquired the plants, IP2 and IP3 regularly operated at a composite capacity factor of less than 60 percent. Since then, Indian Points performance has improved dramatically. Since 2001, IP2 and IP3 have operated at a composite capacity factor of almost 94 percent, well above the current industry average of 90 percent. Safety also has steadily improved. Throughout each of the last five years, both IP2 and IP3 have achieved the NRCs top safety rating of green in both inspection findings and performance indicators, with the exception of four quarters in which IP3 received the second-highest rating of white in one of the performance indicators.
- 11. Although the safety and performance of IP2 and IP3 have been greatly improved under Entergys ownership and now rank among the best in the nation, this is not because of any modification to the operation of the plants, such as alteration or reconfiguration of the plants or new construction of energy production facilities. Rather, Indian Point has achieved these positive results, in large part, from the renewal of outdated and inefficient equipment. In an approach similar to replacing parts in a used car engine, Entergy updated plant equipment and systems in order to increase safety and efficiency. As a result of these efforts, many of the operating components of IP2 and IP3 were installed since Entergy purchased the plants a decade ago. Examples include new process computers for IP3, upgraded design internals for both plants moisture separators/reheaters, both main transformers for IP2 and one main transformer for IP3, upgraded and refurbished main turbines, and a significantly upgraded site security system. Moreover, some important components are replaced or refurbished on a regular basis, such as plant instrumentation and the reactor coolant pump seals and motors. Thus, although IP2 and IP3 have been operating since 1973 and 1975 respectively, they are not forty years old because many of their critical components have recently been replaced or refurbished.
- 12. Indian Point also has achieved excellent safety and efficiency results by fostering a performance and accountability-driven management culture. In addition, pursuant to the terms of Entergys purchase agreements, a high percentage of the NYPA and Consolidated Edison (ConEd) employees who worked at Indian Point immediately before Entergys acquisition of the plants continued to work at Indian Point as Entergy employees after the acquisition. This formed the initial basis for a strong institutional knowledge among Indian Point personnel that continues to this day and helps ensure consistency in the operation of the plants over time.
Physical Improvements to Indian Point Site
- 13. As part of its efforts to increase safety and efficiency, Entergy has also made minor improvements to the Indian Point site that support, but do not directly affect, the operation of the plants. The most significant of these are the construction of a Generation Support Building (GSB) and an Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI).
- 14. The GSB is an office building for Indian Point administrative staff. Entergy obtained all necessary permits and approvals from the state for the construction of the GSB, which was completed in 2004. It is four stories tall and is located east of the Hudson River behind several pre-existing structures, including the 250-foot tall reactor containment structures and the 134-foot tall IP2 and IP3 turbine buildings. Attached hereto as Exhibits A-D are photographs that accurately reflect the appearance of the GSB and the other structures on the Indian Point site, and their locations relative to the Hudson River.
- 15. Prior to Entergys acquisition of the plants and its construction of the GSB, Indian Point staff worked out of nearly one hundred temporary structures, such as trailers and temporary buildings, scattered throughout the site, some of which were visible from the Hudson River.
Entergy believed that consolidating staff in a single office building was vital to improving the safety culture and staff morale at Indian Point, and therefore made construction of the GSB a top priority. Completion of the GSB allowed Entergy to eliminate nearly all of the trailers and other temporary structures from the Indian Point site. Attached hereto as Exhibits E-H are photographs that accurately reflect the appearance of the Indian Point site before the temporary structures were replaced by the GSB.
- 16. Entergy constructed the ISFSI for the storage of spent fuel after obtaining all necessary federal, state, and local permits and approvals. Completed in the spring of 2008, the ISFSI is a 100-foot wide by 200-foot long pad located at the north end of IP2 and IP3. Its construction had been planned for many years and was initiated by ConEd. Entergy carried forward ConEds plan after its acquisition of IP2. Exhibits A-C accurately reflect the appearance of the ISFSI and its location relative to the Hudson River and the other structures on the Indian Point site.
Indian Point Operations During Renewal Period
- 17. In the same manner as the transfers of IP2 and IP3 to Entergy over a decade ago, the renewal of the operating licenses for IP2 and IP3 will not result in any change in the operation of the plants. Entergy does not at this time intend to make substantial modifications to either plant during the renewal period, except as necessary to comply with future regulatory requirements.
- 18. The license renewal process has required, and will continue to require during the renewal period, the implementation of aging management programs, resulting in an increased level of state-of-the-art surveillance of the operating equipment to ensure robustness and reliability during the renewal period. Active components are subjected to regular testing and replacement, and passive components must be inspected regularly, and replaced as needed, to ensure that any adverse aging is addressed. However, none of this affects how Entergy operates the plants.
- 19. Entergy anticipates that the most significant activity it will likely conduct during the renewal period under its aging management programs is the replacement of the reactor vessel heads and the control rod drive mechanisms (CRDMs) for IP2 and IP3, the timing of which is contingent on license renewal. If undertaken, these replacement activities will require an outage at each unit, but they will not result in any permanent or otherwise substantial change in plant operations. Moreover, replacement will occur concurrently with regularly scheduled refueling outages. Therefore, the replacement of the reactor vessel heads and CRDMs will not cause any change in the coastal effects that result from operation of IP2 and IP3.
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on July 24, 2012.
Executed in Accord with 10 CFR 2.304(d)
Fred R. Dacimo Vice President of License Renewal Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.
Indian Point Energy Center 450 Broadway, GSB P.O. Box 249 Buchanan, NY 10511-0249 (914) 734-6700 FDacimo@entergy.com EXHIBIT A Indian Point Overhead N IP2 Containment ISFSI IP3 Turbine Building IP1 Containment GSB IP2 Turbine Building IP3 Containment
EXHIBIT B IP2 Containment IP3 Containment GSB IP2 Turbine Building IP3 Turbine Building