ML20135E501
| ML20135E501 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Cooper  |
| Issue date: | 03/04/1997 |
| From: | Brockman K NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION IV) |
| To: | Horn G NEBRASKA PUBLIC POWER DISTRICT |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20135E504 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9703070114 | |
| Download: ML20135E501 (6) | |
See also: IR 05000298/1996025
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611 RYAN PLAZA drive. sulTE 400
MAR - 41997
EA 97-018
G. R. Horn, Senior Vice President
of Energy Supply
Nebraska Public Power District
141415th Street
Columbus, Nebraska 68601
SUBJECT: NRC INSPECTION REPORT 50-298/96-25 J/'RCISE OF ENFORCEMENT
DISCRETION AND NOTICE OF VIOLATIOu
Dear Mr. Horn:
An NRC inspection was conducted November 18-22 and December 9-13,1996, at your
Cooper Nuclear Station reactor facility. The enclosed report presents the scope and
results of that inspection. The overall results of the inspection were discussed with
Mr. Brad Houston of your staff on March 4,1997.
The inspection team concluded that your corrective action and self-assessment programs
were effective in identifying issues. This was particularly evident in the large number
of open items identified. However, we are concerned about your ability to resolve these
issues in a timely manner. For example, the team noted a large backlog of open items in
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the engineering area. While we understand your efforts to address these backlog
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conditions and have noted a slight reduction in the backlog, we remain concerned about
your ability to reduce the open item backlog to a reasonable level. More importantly, your
own followup self assessment identified that the engineering organization has not been
effective in resolving the problerns identified in the original engineering self assessment.
Specifically, there is a perceived lack of management commitment, lack of resources, and a
lack of authority of the plan owners to implement the action plans effectively. The
followup team also concluded that the engineering workload was very high and system
engineering performance did not meet your expectations due to the volume of emergent
work that prevented the system engineers from performing their primary responsibilities.
The inspection identified two violations of NRC requirements that are being cited. The first
violation involved the failure to implement effective corrective actions for the control of
combustibles in the reactor building, a problem previously identified during an internal
quality assurance audit. The second violation involved the failure of your Station
Operations Review Committee to review potential nuclear safety hazards.
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9703070114 970304
ADOCK 05000298
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These violations are cited in the enclosed Notice of Violation (Notice) and the
circumstances surrounding the violations are described in detail in the enclosed report.
Please note that you are required to respond to this letter and should follow the
instructions specified in the enclosed Notice when preparing your response. The NRC will
use your response, in part, to determine whether further enforcement action is necessary
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to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
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In addition to these cited violations, the inspection identified another violation involving
several examples of failing to comply with 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix R. These violations
were documented in Licensee Event Report 96-09. As discussed in Section F8 of the
inspection report, thr:se were identified by your staff during the performance of corrective
actions for a previous escalated enforcement action'. The circumstances surrounding this
violation meet the conditions in Section Vll.B.4 of the " General Statement of Policy and
Procedures for NRC Enforcement Actions," NUREG 1600. Therefore, after consultation
with the Director, Office of Enforcement, the agency has decided to exercise enforcement
discretion in this case and not issue a Notice of Violation for this violation (EA 97-018).
Four unresolved items were identified concerning: (1) the acceptability of the increase in
the cylinder exhaust differential temperatures for the emergency diesel generators, (2) the
acceptability of uting the automatic depressurization and the core spray systems as an
alternate safe shutccwii method during a fire, (3) the licensing basis of the fire detection
system, and (4) the licensing basis of the fire suppression system in the reactor
recirculation pump motor generator set area. We will review these issues with the Office
of Nuclear Reactor Regulation to determine their acceptability. These items are discussed
in Sections E7.6 and F8 of the enclosed inspection report.
in accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC's " Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter,
its enclosure (s), and your response will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room
(PDR). To the extent possible, your response should not include any personal privacy,
proprietary, or safeguards information so that it can be placed in the PDR without
redaction.
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EA 96-094 involved a failure to electrically isolate Diesel Generator 2 control circuitry from the effects of a
fire-induced cable f ault created by a postulated fire in the control room or cable spreading room. A Notice of Violation
was issued on April 17.1996 for this Severity Level ill violation, but no Civil Penalty was proposed in recognition
of the licensee's identification of the violation and its corrective actions.
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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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enneth E.
ck
n, Acting Director
Division of Reactor Safety
Docket No.: 50-298
License No.: DPR-46
Enclosures:
2. NRC Inspection Report
50-298/96-25
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cc w/ enclosures:
John R. McPhail, General Counsel
Nebraska Public Power District
P.O. Box 499
Columbus,' Nebraska 68602-0499
P, D. Graham, Vice President of
Nuclear Energy
Nebraska Public Power District
P.O. Box 98
Brownville, Nabraska 68321
B. L. Houston, Nuclear Licensing
and Safety Manager
Nebraska Public Power District
P.O. Box 98
Brownville, Nebraska 68321
R. J. Singer, Manager Nuclear
Midwest Power
907 Walnut Street
P.O. Box 657
Des Moines, Iowa 50303
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N'ebraska Public Power District '
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Mr. Ron Stoddard
Lincoln Electric System
11th and O Streets .
Lincoln, Nebraska 68508
Randolph Wood, Director
Nebraska Department of Environmental
Quality
P.O. Box 98922
Lincoln, Nebraska 68509-8922
Chairman
Nemaha County Board of Commissioners
Nemaha County Courthouse
1824 N Street
Auburn, Nebraska 68305
Cheryl Rogers, LLRW Program Manager
Environmental Protection Section
Nebraska Department of Health
301 Centennial Mall, South
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
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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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E-Mail report to T. Boyce (THB)
E-Mail report to NRR Event Tracking System (IPAS)
E-Mail report to Document Control Desk (DOCDESK)
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Regional Administrator
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G. Sanborn
OE:EA File
J. Lieberman, OE
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