ML19353A348
| ML19353A348 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 12/09/1980 |
| From: | Ahearne J NRC COMMISSION (OCM) |
| To: | Moffett T HOUSE OF REP., GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8101080241 | |
| Download: ML19353A348 (10) | |
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NUCLE AR REGULATORY COMMISSION Y -m#,j vc AsecTcN. o c. :'ns q w._ 3 - f UFFICE OF THE CH A!R M AN The Honorable Toby Moffett, Chairman Subcommittee on Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Comittee on Government Operations United States House of Representatives Washington, D.C.
20515
Dear Mr. Chairman:
The Commission has had an opportunity to review the recorrendations contained in Report No. 96-1452 of the House Committee on Government Operations for the improvement of NRC's Inspection and Enforcement program.
After reviewing the Committee's report, I asked the NRC staff to consider each recommendation and provide its comments.
I am enclosing for your information the comments received by the Commissior, from Mr. Stello, Director of the Office of Inspection and Enforcemer.t.
The enclosure lists each recommendation of the Committee and the related staff response.
The Commission agrees in general with these comments.
We will examine the Cammittee's recommendations in developing our program.
Si [cerely, l
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\\ ' s ak John F. Ahearne Chairman
Enclosure:
As stated cc: Rep. Paul N. McCloskey, Jr.
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A.
With respect to the problem of identifying weak. utilities, the Ccesittee
'e recommends:
L The NRC should move as rapidly as possible to expand its Performance Appraisal program, as enforcement Director Victor Stello pledged to the Subcommittee he would.
The goal should be to have at least four highly cualified teams in the field.
On that basis, a cycle of appraising the management of all currently operating utilities every three years or less should be achievable.
Such a cycle should be a minimum goal.
Resoonse:
Action has been taken to assign suffici,ent personnel for three teams with a fourth team to be ' manned by the end of FY81.
About half the inspectors in the current three teams are on temporary assignments with PAB of six to nine months since they were drawn from Regional. inspector resources.
Thus, it will be necessary to recruit to replace those assignees as well as to man the fourth team during this fiscal year.
We are committed to proceed with that process.
A.2.
In that expansion of the PAB staffing, the NRC should place a high priority on obtaining a composite of individuals with extensive experience in operating and inspecting nuclear reactors and individuals with manage-ment experience, whether from the nuclear industry or another high-tech-nology industry.
The documented reluct6nce of the regional offices and some licensees to accept the findings and conclusions of.this new internal audit group dictate the need for an especially high level of experience and ccmpetence on the part of its inspectors.
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Response
We are placing a high pricrity on obtaining such a composite of qualified personnel in ou'r prese$ thy accelerated staffing efforts, t
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A.3.
The NRC should strongly consider extending the PAB program to the construction permit stage, with PAB inspections made of the licensee's performance at critical " hold points" or stages of the development of the nuclear facility.
PAS approval of the adequacy of the management controls i
utilized by the licensee would be made necessary for continuation of the construction.
Should incremental budget authority be needed for the 1
additional PAB teams required for this extension of the program to the construction phase, this Committee and the Congress should be so advised.
Likewise, the NRC should inform this Committee and the Congress in a timely fashion if it is aware of facters which would impede the implemen-tation of this reccamendation.
Res ponse : The PAS program was originally planned to include reactor i
1 construction.
Because of difficulties in finding adequate numbers of qualified personnel to inspect operating reactors (see response A-1),
no PAB inspection of construction sites is currently scheduled.
Priority has beer given to operating reactors in the interest of public health and safety. We are currently developing a trial program for inspection and identification of poorer performing construction licensees through Regionally based teams of specialists which we expect to meet PAB objec-tives in the construction area - at least in the near term.
A.4.
The PAB teams should continue to use " observations" in their reports to identify the management strengths and. weaknesses of particular licensees..
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Response
PAB observations regarding strengths and weaknesses rem'ain a key part of that inspection process.
A. S.
Weaknesses and areas of poor performance discovered by the PAB team inspections which appear to be prevalent throughout the industry should be given high priority attention by NRC headquarters for resolution for all licensees.
For example, the PAB reports and statements studied by the Subcommittee indicate that the training of non-licensed personnel by operating utilities may be a generic problem in the industry worthy of a ccmprehensive enforcement response by the NRC.
Resconse:
Eased upon the same weaknesses being noted in other inspections, we have initiated corrective action in the area of training of non-licensed personnel by preparing revisions to the appropriate industry Standard and i
issuing a Regulatory Guide.
Before concluding that any other weaknesses i
noted are sufficiently prevalent to take action with all licensees, we
'believe we should complete considerably more than the eight inspections 1
done to date.
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By the same token, those specific strengths of licensees identified by PAB and the details of the overall performance of licensees graded as 1
good performers should be communicated by NRC headquarters to all licensees.
A clear objective of the PAB program must be to raise the industry-wide standards by disseminating information about the management l
techniques of utilities that are doing a superior job in the NRC's judg-ment.
That will provide an important and necessary complement to the l
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d current industry efforts, through the new Institute cf '~ciear Power Operations (INPO), to meet this stt; a'
We have initiated a program for distributien of PAS reports to
Response
all licensees and have communicated with INPO representatives regarding We have emphasized weaknesses mere than strengths, inspection results.
We will concentrate to probably because of our function as regulators.
bring out positive inspection results as well.
The SALP program should be expedited and the results of'those A.7.
analyses utilized by thoroughgoing enforcement folicwup.
SALP efforts are
Response
We agree with this recommendation.
progressing well in the Regions.
Headquarters efforts to review Regional results are getting underway.
Both the PAS and SALP programs should grade the performance of A. 8,.
The three-tiered system suggested by past NRC studies of the licensees.
weak utility problem and pioneered by the PAS grcup appears acceptable.
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,We will continue with the three-tiered grading approach.
Response
The results of the PAB and SALP evaivations should be made readily
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available to the public, in light of the strong public intereste particularly on the part of those living near an operating reactor, in learning more about the operational performance at nearby nuclear plants.
Response
These reports are being placed in the Public Document Rqon.
We will review this recommencition itn an eye tcward further modifying cur program for wider c1ssemination of PAB inspection results.
B.
With respect to the five NRC regional enforcement offices, the Committee reccmmends:
L NRC headquarters should insist upon regional support for the concept of the PAB program as an internal audit device by which the NRC can monitor.the performance of the regional enforcement offices.
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Response
The PAE effort has the support of NRC manmgement.
Mr. Stello has emphasized acceptance of the PAS program by Regicnal Directors.
B.2.
The NRC should complete a substantially higher portion of its routine inspection program.
The Committee does not express a view on whether certain parts of the existing program could be eliminated.
It recommends only that the NRC must clearly determine what routine inspec-tions are necessary for insuring full licensee complimrce witn NRC regula-tions, then complete essentially all such inspections on a timely basis.
Response
The current reorganization of the Office of Inspection and Enforcement emphasizes the need for program review and development.
Many of the compeling requirements for resources rising out of the Tf4I-F accident have subsided somewhat which has aided program ccmpletion.
We expect to perform a review and adjustment of our present program to
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-g-assure that it emphasizes only those matters that we consider to bb important to safety.
In adc dion we nave emphasized program performance appraisal in the recent reorganization, which should also be a positive contribution in this area.
B.3.
Documentation of the NRC enforcement steps, including all contacts between the regional offices and licensees, must be complete.
Of particular importance is the contemporaneous recordation of any and all licensee commitments to the NRC to solve identified problems under specific timetables and licensee prcmises to take any additional steps indicated by the NRC as needed to improve the licensee's performance.
Response
We will emphasize that all NRC enforcement steps and licensee responses must be documented B.4.
The NRC should be certain that it has regular and full access, through its regional enforcement program, to all industry self-audits.
The Committee notes with particular approval Mr. Stello's statement that the NRC intends to achieve access to such industry self-audits as those to be produced by the new INPO.
In the normal course of regulation, the NRC should not base enforcement action directly on such self-audits, but should in all cases utilize their findings fully as the basis for indepen-dent identification by the Commission of problems indicated by such audits.
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We will assure that we have regular and full access to ind,ustry Rescense:
i We would respect the self-audits in the area of NRC's responsibility.
privacy of any accit criticism of licensee incividuals and recognize the counter productive nature of using such audits for enfcrcement action.
8I C_
With respect to licensees, the Committee recom ends:
The NEC should encourage the use of such self-audit techniques
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Utilities should be encouraged to share with each those discussed above.
other infctmation about management and technical developments at particular utilities that could improve the performance of the entire industry.
We agree with the Ccamittee's reccmmendation concerning the
Response
use of self-audit techniques and the subsecuent sharing of the results of such self-audits among utilities.
Our present rules prescribe self-audits on the part of licensees.
The NRC should consider formalizing an enforcement response directed C.2.
at utilities which show persistently poor performance when evaluated by For example, the NRC could determine that any the PAS and SALP programs.
utility receiving "Pccr" evaluations en half or more of the areas examined by PAS on two successive examinations within a three year perioc be automaticall'y subjected to a formal proceeding considering the suspension t
As the SALP program is developed, an alterna-of their operating license.
tive trigger for a suspension or revocation proceeding could be hinged to
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the evaluations produced by that program.
The Ccmmittee defers to.'the NRC's regulatory judgment in tccicing ine precise enforcement arrangement, but recom ends strer(5y ina; tne HEC create a formal enforcement device that puts licensees on notice that persistently poor evaluations jecpardize their construction permits and operating licenses.
Resconse:
NRC enfcrcement policy is basec upon the principle of correcting and improving licentee performance.
The Committee's aits with regard to use of PAE and SALP results in enforcement actions will be carefully consicsred as these programs are further developed and utilized.
C. 3.
In similar fashicn, the NRC should devise a formal enforcement mechanism for sanctioning licensees who repeatedly fail to honor ccmpliance commitments made to NRC enforcement officials in a timely fashion.
Even if the underlying problems at a utility are not seen as a direct threat l
to safe operation of a facility, it should be recognized by the NRC and I
the industry that a pattern of repeated failures to honor commitments to,
the Commis:icn to solve those problems is itself a major failing inconsis-tent with the standard of performance the public must denand frcm the l
nuclear power industry.
I Resconse:
The recently revised NRC enforcement criteria better takes into account the impact that a licensee's past failures should have on a given enforcement sanction.
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C.4 The Committee recor: ends that the NRC devote increased attent. ion to the problems of reaching vendcFs of nuclear equipment with effective enforcement action, inciucing possible expansion of the NRC inspection program regarding vendors.
The Committee cannot make additional recommen-dations in this area at this time, but views this as an important enforce-rent issue closely related to the question of adequate performance of utilities with nuclear cperating licenses and construction permits.
Should the NRC determine that additional statutory authority is either needed or wculd be helpful in reaching vendors with a more effective enforcement program, this Committee and the Congress should be so advised.
Resoonse:
We have recently revised the policy for our vendor inspection program to place greater emphasis upon inspection of design-related work by non-licensees such as architect / engineers while continuing inspection of vendor equipment problems c. safety significance.
Under 10 CFR 21 we do have authority to take erforcement action with non-licensees who fail to meet requirements with regard to premptly notifying the Commission of the existence of substantial scfety hazards.
We do not need additional enforcement authority with non-licensees at this time.
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