ML17059C770
| ML17059C770 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Nine Mile Point  |
| Issue date: | 09/08/1999 |
| From: | Blough R NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I) |
| To: | Mueller J NIAGARA MOHAWK POWER CORP. |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9909150041 | |
| Download: ML17059C770 (8) | |
Text
September 8,
1999 Mr. John H. Mueller Chief Nuclear Owcer Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station Operations Building, 2nd Floor P.O. Box 63 Lycoming, NY 13093
SUBJECT:
NOTICE OF ENFORCEMENT DISCRETION FOR NIAGRAMOHAWK POWER CORPORATION (NMPC) REGARDING NINE MILEPOINT UNIT2 (NOED No. 99-1-005)
Dear Mr. Mueller:
By letter dated September 3, 1999, you requested that the NRC exercise discretion not to enforce compliance with the actions required in Nine Mile Point Unit 2 Technical Specification (TS) 3.4.3.1, Action d (i.e., allow continued operation of Unit 2 with both the drywell floor drain and the drywell equipment drain tank fillrate monitoring systems inoperable).
Your letter documented information previously discussed in a telephone conference call on September 3, 1999, at 1:30 p.m, with NRC staff members, including Satwant Bajwa, Chief, Section 1, Project Directorate 1, Division of Licensing Project Management (DLPM), Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation and me.
During the conference call, your staff stated that as of September 3, at 11:12 a.m., NMPC had been unable to restore either of the monitoring systems to an operable status within the 24 hour2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br /> Allowed Outage Time (AOT) of TS 3.4.3.1, Action d, which required that the plant be in hot shutdown within the next 12 hours1.388889e-4 days <br />0.00333 hours <br />1.984127e-5 weeks <br />4.566e-6 months <br /> (by 11;12 p.m. on September 3, 1999). NMPC requested that a Notice of Enforcement Discretion (NOED) be issued for TS 3.4.3.1, Action d, to extend the AOT by 24 hours2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br />, pursuant to the NRC's policy regarding exercise of discretion for an operating facility, set out in Section Vll.c, of the "General Statement of Policy and Procedures for NRC Enforcement Actions," (Enforcement Policy), NUREG-1600.
This letter documents our telephone conversation when we orally issued this NOED for the period. beginning at 2:38 p.m., on September 3, 1999, and ending not later than 2:38 p.m., on September 4, 1999. We understand that the condition causing the need for the NOED was corrected by your staff and resulted in you exiting from TS 3.4.3.1, Action d, and from this NOED on September 4, 1999, at 6:50 a.m.
The drywell floor and equipment drain tank fillrate monitoring systems were inoperable because their respective chart recorders were intermittently spiking high offscale due to the failure of a common analog input module. As a result, the monitoring systems were not capable of electronically processing instrumentation sensor data and providing reactor coolant system fill rate indications in the control room. Accordingly, TS 3.4.3.1, Action d was entered.
NMPC requested this NOED after the consideration of the safety significance and potential consequences led your staff to conclude that completing repairs to the monitoring systems at power was more appropriate than shutting down Unit 2 in accordance with TS 3.4.3.1.
That r,
9909i5004i 990908 PDR ADQCK 050004i0 P
PDR OFFICIAL RECORD COPY IE:01
John H. Mueller conclusion was based, in part, on NMPC's determination that the monitor spiking was not indicative of leakage in the primary containment; that manual calculations could be performed to provide reactor coolant system fillrate data; and that other parameters could be monitored in the control room to assure prompt identification of any changing conditions within the primary containment.
As compensatory measures during the period of the NOED, your staff periodically recorded the instrumentation sensor data from the drain tank monitoring systems; performed manual calculations to provide reactor coolant system fillrate data; and maintained both the primary containment airborne gaseous and particulate radioactivity monitoring systems operable and monitored their output hourly from the control room.
The NRC's basis for the discretion included verification that there was no known degradation in the reactor pressure vessel boundary, that there had been no noticeable change in recent weeks in the drywell floor and equipment drain leak rates, and that alternative leak detection methods were being used as compensatory measures.
In addition, our basis considered that the Improved Standard Technical Specifications contain a less restrictive 30-day AOT for the same equipment being out of service.
On the basis of the staffs evaluation of your request, we concluded that to avoid an undesirable transient as a result of forcing compliance with the license condition, an NOED was warranted because the action involved no safety impact, was consistent with the enforcement policy and staff guidance, and had no adverse impact on public health and safety. Therefore, we exercised discretion to not enforce compliance with Nine Mile Point Unit 2 TS 3.4.3.1 for the period 2:38 p.m. on September 3, 1999, until 6:50 a.m. on September 4, 1999. As I discussed with NMPC by telephone on September 3, 1999, our ability to decide promptly on your request was due, in part, to the straightforwardness of the technical issue; however, in the future itwould be advisable for your staff to enter earlier into the detailed technical discussions with the NRC staff when an NOED request is an option that you are considering.
As stated in the Enforcement Policy, action willbe taken, to the extent that violations were involved, for the root cause that led to the noncompliance for which this NOED was necessary.
Sincerely, Origmnal Signed by:
A. Randolph Blough, Director Division of Reactor Projects Docket No. 50%10 NOED No. 99-01-005
0 b
John H. Mueller 3
CC:
G. Wilson, Esquire M. Wetterhahn, Winston and Strawn J. Rettberg, New York State Electric and Gas Corporation P. Eddy, Electric Division, Department of Public Service, State of New York C. Donaldson, Esquire, Assistant Attorney General, New York Department of Law J. Vinquist, MATS, Inc.
F. Valentino, President, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority J. Spath, Program Director, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
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John H. Mueller Distribution:
H. Miller, RA/J. Wiggins, DRA (1)
W. Kane, ADPR, NRR D. Dambly, OGC R. Borchardt, OE (OEIIAIL)
D. Holody, ORA B. Fewelf, RC D. Screnci, PAO N. Sheehan, FPAO T. Walker, ORA Region I Docket Room (with concurrences)
Nuclear Safety Information Center (NSIC)'UBLIC NRC Resident inspector M. Evans, DRP W. Cook, DRP M. Oprendek, DRP R. Junod, DRP NOED Fife Distribution w/encl: (VIAE-IIAIL)
M. Tschiltz Rl EDO Coordinator G. Hunegs - Nine Mile Point E. Adensam, NRR D. Hood, NRR Inspection Program Branch (IPAS)
R. Correia, NRR DOCDESK NOED NRCWEB DOCUMENT NAME: G:(BRANCH1ENMPSTUFRNMP2NOED903.WPD To receive a copy ofthis document, indicate in the box: "G" = Copy without attachment/enclosure "E" = Copy with attachment/enclosure "N"= No copy OFFICE RI/DRP HQ/NRR RI/DRP NAME MEvans EAdensam~
ABlough DATE 09/
/99 09/ 99, 09/ /99 OFFICIALRECORD COPY
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