ML20135D993
| ML20135D993 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Cooper  |
| Issue date: | 02/28/1997 |
| From: | Howell A NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION IV) |
| To: | Horn G NEBRASKA PUBLIC POWER DISTRICT |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20135D994 | List: |
| References | |
| EA-97-017, EA-97-17, NUDOCS 9703060185 | |
| Download: ML20135D993 (6) | |
See also: IR 05000298/1996031
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
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AR LINGToN, T E X AS 76011-8064
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FEB 2 81997
EA 97-017
G. R. Horn, Senior Vice President
of Energy Supply
Nebraska Public Power District
141415th Street
Columbus, Nebraska 68601
SUBJECT:' NRC INSPECTION REPORT 50-298/96-31 AND NOTICE OF VIOLATION
Lear Mr. Horn:
The NRC conducted an inspection at the Cooper Nuclear Station facility on December 1,
1996, through January 11,1997. The initial findings of that effort were discussed with
your staff on January 21,1997. Following additional special in-office inspection and
review, the inspection was completed, a telephonic exit was conducted on February 19,
1997, and the scheduling of a predecisional enforcement conference was discussed. The
enclosed report presents the results of that inspection.
Based on the results of this inspection, the NRC has determined that two violations of NRC
requirements c curred. These violations are cited in the enclosed Notice of
Violation (Notice) and the circumstances surrounding them are described in detail in the
enclosed inspection report. The first violation describes a f ailure to provide procedures to
respond to slush buildup in the circulating water bays. The second violation describes a
failure to follow the procedural requirement to write a problem identification report for an
identified maintenance problem.
The NRC is concerned with the failure to provide procedures with specific details to
respond to slush buildup because it forced operators to deal with the situation without
formal guidance and caused them to rely solely on experience and informal actions.
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Our concern with the failure to follow procedures for writing a problem identification report
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is that it illustrates a misunderstanding of the problem identification report process by
maintenance personnel and that, through this misunderstanding, you would have micsed
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an opportunity to evaluate the processes which allowed a valve with inadequate packing to
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be installed in a safety-related application,
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You are required to respond to this letter and should follow the instructions specified in the
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enclosed Notice when preparing your response. The NRC will use your response, in part,
to determine whether further enforcement action is necessary to ensure compliance with
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regulatory requirements.
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9703060185 970228
ADOCK 05000298
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In addition, one apparent violation was identified. This apparent violation and a closely
related apparent violation described in NRC Inspection Report 50-298/96-24are being
considered for escalated enforcement action in accordance with the " General Statement of
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Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions" (Enforcement Policy), NUREG-1600.
Accordingly, no Notice of Violation is presently being issued for these inspection findings.
In addition, please be advised that the number and characterization of the apparent
violation described in the enclosed inspection report may change as a result of further NRC
review.
The apparent violation described in this report involves three examples of recent
failures to perform a 10 CFR 50.59 evaluation of plant configurations different from those
described in the Updated Safety Analysis Report (USAR). These three examples include
the failure to evaluate: (1) the presence of combustible materials in the service water
booster pump room, (2) the lack of installation of the ice deflector, and (3) the lack of the
drywellidentified leakage sumps fill rate timer.
An open predecisional enforcement conference to discuss this apparent violation has been
scheduled for April 15,1997,in the Region IV office. The decision to hold a predecisional
enforcement conference does not mean that the NRC 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
unJerstanding 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 your response to Violation 298/96030-02,you stated that NPPD considered this a
violation of 10 CFR 50.71(e) rather than 10 CFR 50.59. For the predecisional enforcement
conference, we request that you be prepared to discuss this issue, along with the apparent
violation identified in this report. One approach that we suggest for each example, would
be to determine how the current facility configuration compares with the FSAR, determine
if any differences from the FSAR were reviewed by your staff and found to be acceptable
changes pursuant to 10 CFR 50.59; and, present your evaluation of whether a violation of
10 CFR 50.59 or 10 CfR 50.71(e) or both occurred,
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 violations, (2) the application of the f actors 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 deliberations on this
matter. No response regarding this apparent violation is required at this time.
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Nebraska Public Power District
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In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC's " Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter,
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its enclosures, and your rerponse to the attached Notice of Violation will be placed in the
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NRC Public Document Room (PDR). To the extent possible, your response should not
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include any personal privacy, proprietary, or safeguards information so that it can be
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placed in the PDR without redaction.
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Should you have any questions concerning this inspection, we will be pleased to discuss
them with you.
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Sincerely,
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h Arthur T. Howell111, Acting Director
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Division of Reactor Projects
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Docket No.: 50-298
License No.: DPR-46
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Enclosures:
2. NRC Inspection Report
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50-298/96 31
cc w/ enclosures:
John R. McPhail, General Counsel
Nebraska Public Power District
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P.O. Box 499
Columbus, Nebraska 68602-0499
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P. D. Graham, Vice President of
Nuclear Energy
Nebraska Public Power District
P.O. Box 98
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Brownville, Nebraska 68321
B. L. Houston, Nuclear Licensing
& Safety Manager
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Nebraska Pedlic Power District
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P.O. Box 98
Brownville, Nebraska 68321
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Nebraska Public Power District
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R. J. Singer, Manager-Nuclear
Midwest Power
907 Walnut Street
P.O. Box 657
Des Moines, Iowa 50303
Mr. Ron Stoddard
Lincoln Electric System
11th and O Streets
Lincoln, Nebraska 68508
Randolph Wood, Director
Nebraska Department of Environmental
Quality
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P.O. Box 98922
Lincoln, Nebraska 68509-8922
Chairman
Nemaha County Board of Commissioners
Nemaha County Courthouse
1824 N Street
Auburn, Nebraska 68305
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Cheryl Rogers, LLRW Program Manager
Environmental Protection Section
Nebraska Department of Health
301 Centennial Mall, South
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P.O. Box 95007
Lincoln, Nebraska 68509-5007
Dr. Mark B. Horton, M.S.P.H.
Director
Nebraska Department of Health
P.O. Box 950070
Lincoln, Nebraska 68509-5007
R. A. Kucera, Department Director
of Intergovernmental Cooperation
Department of Natural Resources
P.O. Box 176
Jefferson City, Missouri 65102
Kansas Radiation Control Program Director
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Nebraska Public Power District
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FEB 2 81997
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E-Mail report to T. Boyce (THB)
E-Mail report to NRR Event Tracking System itPAS)
E-Mail report to Document Control Desk (DOCDESK)
E-Mail report to Richard Correia (RPC)
E-Mail report to Don Taylor (DRT)
bec to DMB (IE14)
bec distrib. by RIV:
L. J. Callan
Resident inspector
DRP Director
DRS-PSB
Branch Chief (DRP/C)
MIS System
Branch Chief (DRP/TSS)
RIV File
Project Engineer (DRP/C)
Leah Tremper (OC/LFDCB, MS: TWFN 9E10)
G. F. Sanborn, EO
W. L. Brown, RC
J. Lieberman, OE, MS: 7-H5
OE:EA File, MS: 7-H5
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DOCUMEN T NAME: R:\\_CNS\\CN631 RP.MHM
To receive copy of document, indicate in box: "C" = Copy wthout enclosures "E" = Copy wnh encicsures "N" = No copy
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