ML20009D269

Guidance for 2019 Construction End-of Cycle Review

ML20009D269
Person / Time
Issue date:	01/08/2020
From:	Marissa Bailey NRC/RGN-II
To:	NRC/RGN-II
C. Taylor NRC/RII
References
Download: ML20009D269 (6)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION REGION II 245 PEACHTREE CENTER AVENUE NE, SUITE 1200 ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30303-1257 January 8, 2020 MEMORANDUM TO:

Branch Chiefs, Division of Construction Oversight (DCO)

FROM:

Marissa Bailey, Director /RA/

Division of Construction Oversight

SUBJECT:

GUIDANCE FOR 2019 CONSTRUCTION END-OF-CYCLE REVIEW The purpose of this memorandum is to provide guidance for the Region II Division of Construction Oversight (DCO) End-of-Cycle (EOC) Review for Vogtle Electric Generating Plant Units 3 & 4. Vogtle will be assessed using the guidance for the End-of-Cycle Review in IMC 2505. The enclosures to this memorandum provide specific guidance on the schedule, content, and conduct of the EOC review process. The highlights of this process include the EOC review meeting (February 10, 2020), the issuance of the EOC assessment letter, and the public meeting in the local area to present the EOC assessment results.

The End-of-Cycle review for Vogtle will include:

1. Focused plant discussions that achieve the desired output of the EOC review (i.e.,

annual assessment letters) and are conducted per the established meeting guidelines.

For the review, decisions will include the location in the Construction Action Matrix, whether a cross-cutting theme or substantive cross-cutting issue exists, and the appropriateness of the inspection plan. DCO Branch Chiefs should be prepared to discuss inspection findings, the qualitative results from the quality assurance inspections for the assessment period and the proposed inspection plan for the construction site.

Only issues where the inspection was completed prior to the end of the End-of-Cycle period (December 31, 2019) will be discussed. For both Unit 3 and Unit 4, issues where the inspection was completed prior to the end of the EOC period (December 31, 2019) will be discussed. In addition, per the licensees construction schedule, Vogtle Unit 3 is currently scheduled for the 103(g) finding and would transition to th ROP in November 2020. As a result, for Unit 3 only, open inspection issues of concern at the time of the EOC review meeting (February 10, 2020) will also be discussed.

Note: Apply the NRCs sensitive unclassified non-safeguards information (SUNSI) handling requirements to plant performance summaries, and center the required wording in the headers and footers of all applicable pages.

[Each page of the briefing package should be marked Official Use Only-Sensitive Internal Information and Pre-decisional at the top and bottom. Material related to physical protection issues should be marked appropriately.]

CONTACT:

Nicole Coovert, DCO/CIB1 404-997-4510.

DCO Branch Chiefs 2

2. Preparation of an End-of-Cycle Plant Performance Summary presentation using IMC 2505 Exhibit 4.

3. Focused discussions on safety significant (Greater-than-Green or Greater-than-SL IV) findings to support the Construction Action Matrix decision. Discussions should also include potential greater-than-green findings or potential greater-than-SL IV violations.

We should have confidence that the actions we have taken or are planning to take are consistent with the Construction Reactor Oversight Process.

4. Discussion of non-SDP enforcement actions having Severity Level III or greater significance and any non-escalated traditional enforcement actions if any follow-up is planned. The discussion should also include a statement of the planned Agency response as a result of those enforcement actions and, if desired, indicate if the licensee is approaching the criteria for a follow-up inspection.

5. Discussion of the inspection plan that addresses all significant inspection activities (consisting of approximately 6 months from the issuance of the annual assessment letter). In addition, the discussion should include any items which are being tracked for inspection follow-up. Particular attention should be paid to resource issues and inspections that may be impacted by staff changes as well as a discussion of findings that are currently being evaluated by the SDP that may affect the inspection plan.

6. Discussion of recommended Quality Assurance criterion to be focus areas for CY 2020 inspections.

7. Discussion of additional plant-specific or generic issues that could affect the performance of individual plants (or broader industry performance) or the NRC inspection plan. Independent assessments, significant licensing actions, construction experience issues, insights on other possible inputs to the assessment process, and issues of concern to external stakeholders should be considered for discussion.

8. Charge time to 05200025 & 26/2019006, and CAC: ASM

Enclosures:

1. Region II Schedule For Construction End-of-Cycle Review Activities

2. Schedule of End-of-Cycle Review Meeting

3. Format and guidance for Review Meeting Agenda

DCO Branch Chiefs 3

SUBJECT:

GUIDANCE FOR 2019 CONSTRUCTION END-OF-CYCLE REVIEW DATED: January 8, 2020 Distribution:

M. King, NRR V. Hall, NRR L. Jarriel, OE L. Dudes, RII J. Mundey, RII M. Bailey, RII N. Coovert, RII S. Rose, RII B. Davis, RII S. Smith, RII M. Kowal, RII M. Checkle, RII C. Even, RII G. Khouri, RII J. Eargle, RII B. Kemker, RII J. Shehee, RII R. Patterson C. Taylor, RII NRO_cROP Resource@nrc.gov NRR cROP ADAMS ACCESSION NO: ML20009D269 OFFICE RII:DCO RII:DCO RII:DCO RII:DCO NAME C Taylor N Coovert S Rose M Bailey DATE 1/ 08 /2020 1/ 08/ 2020 1/ 08 /2020 1/ 08 /2020 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

REGION II SCHEDULE FOR CONSTRUCTION END-OF-CYCLE REVIEW ACTIVITIES Due Date Task Description and Responsible Individual/Division December 31, 2020 cROP End-of-Cycle assessment period ends. (Assessment period covers January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019)

January 10, 2020 Contruction Project Manager (CPM) and Senior Project Engineer (SPE),

with assistance from the Senior Resident Inspector (SRI) and Resident Inspectors (RI), begin developing the End-of-Cycle Plant Performance Summaries. DCO branches should coordinate plant-specific issues and solicit input from the Region II allegation coordinator, agency allegation advisor (AAA) and the Nuclear Regulatory Regulation/Vogtle Project Office (NRR/VPO) project manager. Specifically, project managers should provide insights on the quality and timeliness of licensee submittals during the assessment period and the status of significant licensing actions.

January 24, 2020 Region II allegation coordinator, AAA and NRR/VPO project managers provide insights to the DCO Branch Chiefs in preparation for the End-of-Cycle review.

February 3, 2020 DCO branches provide the final 2019 End-of-Cycle Plant Performance Summaries, inspection plans, proposed 2019 annual assessment letters and other attachments to NRR/VPO, DCO Division Directors, and branch chiefs.

February 10, 2020 End-of-Cycle review meetings, chaired by the DCO Division Director, with DCO branch chiefs, resident staff (in person or by teleconference), and HQ representative(s) (in person or by teleconference).

March 3, 2020 Annual Assessment Letters should be signed and dated. Send copy to addressee only and to NRO via email to:

NRO_cROP Resource@nrc.gov March 5, 2020 Annual Assessment Letters ADAMS public release date. Send copy of the EOC letter to the other addressees in the letter.

March 5, 2020 DCO Admin will send report closeout requests to DRMA.

March 5, 2020 HQ staff will make the Annual Assessment Letters publicly available on the cROP website (with accompanying press release).

MEETING SCHEDULE BRANCH DATE TIME PLANT LOCATION DCO/IB1 February 10, 2020 1:00pm - 3:00pm Vogtle 3&4 Room 851

Format and guidance for the 2019 End-of-Cycle Review Meeting Agenda

1.

Location in the Action Matrix

2.

Signature level for the assessment letter.

3.

Potential Greater-than-Green issues & performance indicators close to crossing thresholds

4.

Cross-cutting themes or cross-cutting issues

5.

Proposed major team inspections through September 2020

6.

Focused discussion of significant or potential performance issues or trends, if any, including traditional enforcement follow up items, allegation trends/insights, and project insights.

7.

Key messages (if different than EOC key messages) for use by senior managers in preparing for interactions with licensees and other stakeholders.

Note: Apply the NRCs sensitive unclassified non-safeguards information (SUNSI) handling requirements to plant performance summaries, and center the required wording in the headers and footers of all applicable pages. [Each page of the briefing package should be marked Official Use Only-Sensitive Internal Information and Pre-decisional at the top and bottom. Material related to physical protection issues should be marked appropriately.]