ML20135B681
| ML20135B681 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Beaver Valley |
| Issue date: | 02/21/1997 |
| From: | Cooper R NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I) |
| To: | Cross J DUQUESNE LIGHT CO. |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20135B683 | List: |
| References | |
| EA-97-076, EA-97-76, NUDOCS 9703030165 | |
| Download: ML20135B681 (3) | |
See also: IR 05000334/1996010
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February 21,1997
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EA 97-076
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Mr. J. E. Cross
President
Generation Group
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Duquesne Light Company (DLC)
Post Office Box 4
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Shippingport, Fennsylvania 15077
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SUBJECT:
NRC INTEGRATED INSPECTION REPORT 50-334/96-10, 50-412/96-10 AND
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Dear Mr. Cross:
The NRC condur?ed an inspection of the Beaver Valley Power Station (BVPS) facilities from
December 22,1996, to February 8,1997. The enclosed report presents the results of that
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inspection.
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During the 7-week period covered by this inspection period, your conduct of activities at
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the Beaver Valley Power Station facilities was generally characterized by sound operational
decisions. Your staff's discovery that Unit 2 recirculation spray pump flood seals were not
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installed correctly demonstrated a good questioning attitude. Your decision to place the
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unit in cold shutdown until repairs were completed demonstrated a conservative operating
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philosophy. Excellent follow-up of the issue was shown by engineering and licensing staff.
Operator response to the Unit 2 trip caused by a main transformer backfeed ground relay
on January 6 was good, despite several unexpected secondary plant challenges. Your
efforts to determine the root cause of the trip were good; however, the failure to
adequately implement the original design of the ground relay was a noted weakness.
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Based on the results of this inspection, two violations of NRC requirements were identified.
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In the first instance, the NRC identified a failure to have the required criticality alarm
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system installed to monitor the Unit 1 new fuel storage area or to have a valid exemption
from the requirement. In the second instance, inspectors identified that your staff had not
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properly verified that a vendor met the requirements of the Qualified Suppliers List before
using their services. This had been an unresolved item in a previous report.
These violations are cited in the enclosed Notice, and the circumstances surrounding them
are described in detail in the enclosed report. Please note that you are required to respond
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to this letter and should follow the instructions specified in the enclosed Notice when
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preparing your response. The NRC will use your response, in part, to determine whether
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further enforcement action is necessary to ensure compliance with regulatory
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requirements.
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9703030165 970221
ADOCK 05000334
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J. E. Cross
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in addition, one apparent violation was identified and is being considered for escalated
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enforcement action in accordance with the " General Statement of Policy and Procedure for
NRC Enforcement Actions" (Enforcement Policy), NUREG-1600. From September 1996 to
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February 1997, your staff identified numerous valves and switches out of their normal
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position. Although you have demonstrated a low threshold for identifying component-
misconfigurations and have initiated several comprehensive corrective actions during this
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inspection period, it appears that previous corrective actions initiated in 1995 to address
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similar problems have been ineffective.
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The NRC is concerned with the continuing difficulties in maintaining appropriate
configuration control at BVPS. No Notice of Violation is presently being issued for these
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inspection findings. In addition, please be advised that the number and characterization of
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apparent violations described in the enclosed inspection report may change as a result of
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further NRC review. A predecisional enforcement conference to discuss this apparent
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violation has been scheduled for March 4,1997.
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The decision to hold a predecisional enforcement conference does not mean that the NRC
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has determined that a violation has occurred or that enforcement action will be taken. This
conference is being held to obtain information to enable the NRC to make an enforcement
decision, such as a common understanding of the facts, root causes, missed opportunities
to identify the apparent violation sooner, corrective actions, significance of the issues and
the need for lasting and effective corrective action. In addition, this is an opportunity for
you to point out any errors in our inspection report and for you to provide any information
concerning your perspectives on 1) the severity of the violation, 2) the application of the
factors that the NRC considers when it determines the amount of a civil penalty that may
be assessed in accordance with Section VI.B.2 of the Enforcement Policy, and 3) any other
application of the Enforcement Policy to this case, including the exercise of discretion in
accordance with Section Vll.
You will be advised by separate correspondence of the results of our debbcrations on this
matter. No response regarding the apparent violation is required at this time,
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,
Original Signed By:
Richard W. Cooper, ll, Director
Division of Reactor Projects
Docket Nos. : 50-334, 50-412
Enclosures:
2. Inspection Report 50-334/96-10, 50-412/96-10
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J. E. Cross
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cc w/encis:
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R. LeGrand, Vice President, Nuclear Operations
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S. Jain, Vice President, Nuclear Services
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L. Freeland, Manager, Nuclear Engineering Department
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B. Tuite, General Manager, Nuclear Operations Unit
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K. Ostrowski, Manager, Quality Services Unit
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R. Brosi, Manager, Nuclear Safety Department
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M. Clancy, Mayor
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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
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State of Ohio
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Distribution w/encis:
Region 1 Docket Room (with concurrences)
PUBLIC
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Nuclear Safety information Center (NSIC)
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D. Screnci, PAO
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NRC Resident inspector
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P. Eselgroth, DRP
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D. Haverkamp, DRP
B. Welling, DRP
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C. O'Daniell, DRP
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Distribution w/encls (VIA E-MAIL)-
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J. Stolz, NRR
D. Brinkman, NRR
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W. Dean, OEDO
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Inspection Program Branch, NRR (IPAS)
R. Correia, NRR
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D. Taylor, NRR
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DOCUMENT NAME: G:\\ BRANCH 7\\BV\\lR96-10.BV
To reesive e copy of this document, indicate in the hos: 'C" = Copy without ettechment/ enclosure
- E' = Copy with ettschment/ enclosure
- N" = No copy
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