ML20133C766
| ML20133C766 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Prairie Island  |
| Issue date: | 12/27/1996 |
| From: | Caldwell J NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III) |
| To: | Watzl E NORTHERN STATES POWER CO. |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20133C768 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9701080088 | |
| Download: ML20133C766 (2) | |
See also: IR 05000282/1996014
Text
-.
.
. .
~
.
- - .
.
_ - - - -.
. . ~
-_
...
!
tcy be 6
'
-
,
.
.
1
December 27, 1996
Mr. E. Watzl
)
Vice President
Nuclear Generation
Northern States Power Company
414 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, MN 55401
SUBJECT:
NRC INSPECTION REPORT NO. 50-282/96014, 50-306/96014
Dear Mr. Watz1:
On November 19, 1996, the NRC completed an inspection at your Prairie Island
Nuclear Generating Plant. The enclosed report presents the results of that
inspection.
During the 6-week period covered by this inspection, your conduct of
activities at the Prairie Island facilities wae usually good. However, a
concern with operator performance during surve...iance activities was
'
identified in the two most recent resident inspector reports.
During this
report period an additional operator error during surveillance activities was
identified. This resulted in a violation of Technical Specifications.
We
i
remain concerned with this negative trend and request that your response to
the violation include actions comprehensive enough to address the broad issue
i
and not just the single event.
'
An additional violation of Technical Specifications was identified by the NRC
when plant management misinterpreted the requirements and failed to test the
redundant diesel generator when one diesel was declared inoperable due to a
problem with the ventilation system. We are concerned with this issue because
the Operations Committee, led by senior plant management, approved a
nonconservative interpretation of the Technical Specifications action
requirements.
The violations are cited in the enclosed Notice of Violation, and the
circumstances surrounding the violations are described in detail in the
I
enclosed report.
Please note that you are required to respond to this letter
and should follow the instructions specified in the enclosed Notice when
I
<
,
preparing your response. The NRC will use your response, in part, to
'
determine whether further enforcement action is necessary to ensure compliance
with regulatory requirements.
9701000088 961227
Ol
ADOCK 05000282
G
.
'
.
.
E. Watzl
2
i
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC's " Rules of Practice," a copy of
this letter and its enclosures will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room
(PDR).
Sincerely,
/s/ J. L. Caldwell
James L. Caldwell, Director
Division of Reactor Projects
Docket Nos.:
50-282, 50-306
License Nos:
Enclosures:
Inspection Report 50-282/96014, 50-306/96014
cc w/encls: Plant Manager, Prairie Island
John W. Ferman, Ph.D.,
Nuclear Engineer, MPCA
State Liaison Officer, State
of Minnesota
State Liaison Officer, State
of Wisconsin
Tribal Council
Prairie Island Dakota 'ommunity
pistribution:
Docket File w/ encl
DRP w/ encl
PUBLIC IE-01 w/ encl
RIII PRR w/ encl
OC/LFDCB w/ enc 1
Prairie Island PM, NRR w/ encl
SRI Prairie Island w/ encl
CAA1 w/ encl (E-mail)
Monticello w/ enc 1
A. B. Beach w/ encl
W. L. Axelson w/ encl
Enf. Coordinator w/ encl
DOCUMENT NAME: R:INSPRPTS\\ POWERS \\PRA96014.DRP
To receive a copy of this document, indicate in the box 'C' = Copy w/o attach /enct "E" = Copy w/ attach / encl"N" = No copy
0FFICE
DRP v2]
l C.
co; IE
DRP /A
lO
I
I
NAME
Schweibinz/sn
Jacobso'n Ar-
Cald# ell
DATE
12/>7/96
12/a-7/96~
12'/n/96
,
0FFICIAL RECORD COPY
-.
-
-