ML17292B252
| ML17292B252 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Columbia  |
| Issue date: | 02/20/1998 |
| From: | Merschoff E NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION IV) |
| To: | Parrish J WASHINGTON PUBLIC POWER SUPPLY SYSTEM |
| Shared Package | |
| ML17292B253 | List: |
| References | |
| EA-97-138, NUDOCS 9802260024 | |
| Download: ML17292B252 (7) | |
See also: IR 05000397/1996022
Text
CATEGORY
2
REGULATORY INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
(RZDS)
ACCESSION NBR:9802260024
DOC.DATE: 98/02/20
NOTARIZED: NO
DOCKET
FACIL:50-397 WPPSS Nuclear Project, Unit 2, Washington Public
Powe
05000397
AUTH.NAME
AUTHOR AFFILIATION
MERSCHOFF,E.W.
Region
4
(Post
820201)
RECIP.NAME
RECIPIENT AFFILIATION
PARRZSH,J.V.
Washington Public Power Supply System
SUBJECT: Discusses
insp rept 50-397/96-22
on 971118
6 forwards notice
of violation.Insp identified five apparent violations of NRC
requirements
related to changes
made to instrument response-
time testing program at Washington Nuclear Project-2.
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UNITED STATES
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
REGION IV
611 RYAN PLAZADRIVE. SUITE 400
ARLINGTON,TEXAS 76011 8064
February
20,
l998
EA 97-138
Mr. J. V. Parrish (Mail Drop 1023)
Chief Executive Officer
Washington Public Power Supply System
P.O. Box 968
Richland, Washington
99352-0968
SUBJECT:
NOTICE OF VIOLATIONAND EXERCISE OF ENFORCEMENT DISCRETION
(NRC INSPECTION REPORT 50-397/96-22)
Dear Mr. Parrish:
This refers to your letter dated January 20, 1998, in response
to our letter and inspection report
dated December 3, 1997. The inspection was completed November 18, 1997! The NRC's
inspection identified five apparent violations of NRC requirements related to changes made to
the instrument response-time
testing program at Washington Nuclear Project-2 facility. The
NRC's letter indicated that the NRC was considering escalated enforcement action for these
apparent violations and requested that the Washington Public Power Supply System (Supply
System) respond to the apparent violations in writing, or request a predecisional enforcement
conference.
The Supply System opted to submit a written reply.
In your January 20 letter, you admitted all of the violations, emphasized that the violations did
not adversely impact safe plant operation or affect the ability of equipment to perform properly,
and acknowledged that the Supply System's implementation of industry guidance (NEDO- 32291) was not consistent with the NRC's expectations,
in that a license amendment was not
sought prior to the changes
being made to response-time
testing procedures.
You also noted
that the changes to response-time testing were ultimately found acceptable
to the NRC, as
indicated by the NRC's approval of Technical Specification Amendment 150 on June 11, 1997.
Based on the information developed during the inspection, and our consideration of the
information in your January 20, 1998 letter, the NRC has determined that violations of NRC
Your letter also described a number of corrective actions specific to the response-time
testing
issues, and stated that the Supply System is currently reviewing safety evaluations and
associated
changes made to the facility to determine ifinterpretation of generic guidance had
resulted in other instances of failure to identify the need to submit a license amendment request.
~el
1 997.
9802260024
'1180220
ADOCK 0500039'7
8
III/IIII/////////////////////((///////
'On March 20, 1997, the NRC informed the Supply System in writing that it was in
violation of WNP-2 Technical Specifications with respect to response-time
testing.
On
March 24, 1997, the NRC issued
a Notice of Enforcement Discretion, approving the Supply
System's request to continue power operations until the scheduled refueling outage in April
Washington Public Power Supply System
-2-
\\
requirements occurred.
A detailed description of the circumstances
resulting in the violations
was contained in the inspection report. These violations are cited in the enclosed Notice of .
Violation (Notice). The violations include: failures to conduct instrument response-time
testing in
accordance with Technical Specification requirements (Violations A, 8, and C); a failure to obtain
NRC approval prior to modifying response-time
testing procedures (Violation D); and failures to
implement changes
in response-time testing adequately and in accordance with NRC-approved
methodology (Violation E).
The NRC agrees with the Supply System's position regarding the safety consequences
of these
violations. The violations did not adversely affect the operability of the involved instrumentation
systems; thus, there was no actual adverse impact on plant safety.
The key violations involved
the failure to test the response time of various plant instrumentation systems in accordance with
existing requirements, and the failure to obtain approval from the NRC, as required by 10 CFR 50.59, before ceasing response-time testing required by technical specifications.
The failure to
conduct an adequate safety evaluation of these changes when they were being processed
within your 10 CFR 50.59 program appears to be the root cause of this entire problem.
The
significance of these violations rests in the processing failures that occurred, failures which, if
applied to other modifications or changes to plant systems and procedures,
could adversely
affect plant safety.
In addition, the NRC considers significant any failure to properly implement
10 CFR 50.59 in which a licensee has effectively modified NRC-approved Technical
Specifications without prior approval, a violation which undermines the checks and balances
inherent'in the regulatory process.
Therefore, these violations are classified in the aggregate at Severity Level III in accordance
with the "General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions"
(Enforcement Policy), NUREG-1600.
In accordance with the Enforcement Policy, normally a civil penalty with a base value of $55,000
is considered for a Severity Level III problem. And given prior escalated enforcement action
against the Supply System, and the NRC's identification of these violations, a civil penalty would
have resulted had we followed the normal civil penalty assessment
process described in VI.B.2
of the Enforcement Policy. However, in consideration of the circumstances of this case, and
after consultation with the Director, Office of Enforcement,
I have been authorized not to assess
a civil penalty, in accordance with VII.B.6 of the Enforcement Policy. Specifically, the NRC has
taken into consideration the apparent misinterpretation of NEDO-32291 guidance, which the
~
NRC had app'roved generically and which appears to have resulted in three other boiling water
reactor licensees making the same series of mistakes; the fact that all of the instruments in
question were tested and would have performed their intended functions; and the fact that the
response time verification portion of the calibration methodologies employed by the Supply
System were ultimately accepted by the NRC.
Although the NRC is generally satisfied with your corrective actions, as documented
in the
Supply System's letter dated January 20, 1998, we request that you supplement your January
20 letter with the date at which you plan to complete your review of safety evaluations and
associated
activities to determine if interpretation of generic guidance has resulted in other
instances of similar failures (reference page 3 of the January 20 letter). Aside from the
Washington Public Power Supply System
-3-
requested date, the NRC has concluded that information regarding the reason for the violations,
the corrective actions taken and planned to correct the violations and prevent recurrence, and
the date when full compliance was achieved is already adequately addressed
on the docket in
the Supply System's letter dated January 20, and the subject inspection report. Therefore, with
the exception above, no further response
is required unless the description therein does not
accurately reflect your corrective actions or your position.
In that case, or ifyou choose to
provide additional information, you should follow the instructions specified in the enclosed
Notice.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter, its
enclosure, and any response you choose to submit will be placed in the NRC Public Document
Room (PDR).
Sincer
ly,
Ellis W. Mersch
Regional Adm'strator
Docket No.:
50-397
License No.:
Enclosure:
cc (w/encl):
Chairman
Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council
P.O. Box 43172
Olympia, Washington
98504-3172
Mr. Rodney L. Webring (Mail Drop PE08)
Vice President, Operations Support/PIO
Washington Public Power Supply System
P.O. Box 968
Richland, Washington
99352-0968
Mr. Greg O. Smith (Mail Drop 927M)
WNP-2 Plant General Manager
Washington Public Power Supply System
P.O. Box 968
Richland, Washington
99352-0968
Mr. David A. Swank (Mail Drop PE20)
Manager, Regulatory Affairs
Washington Public Power Supply System
P.O. Box 968
Washington Public Power Supply System
-4-
Richland, Washington
99352-0968
Mr. Albert E. Mouncer (Mail Drop 396)
Chief Counsel
Washington Public Power Supply System
P.O. Box 968
Richland, Washington
99352-0968
Mr. Paul Inserra (Mail Drop PE20)
Manager, Licensing
Washington Public Power Supply System
P.O. Box 968
Richland, Washington
99352-0968
Perry D. Robinson, Esq.
Winston 8 Strawn
1400 L Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20005-3502
Washington Public Power Supply System
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