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Ack Receipt of in Response to Apparent Violation Noted in Insp Repts 50-498/96-25 & 50-499/96-25 Issued on 961211 Re Insp Completed on 961206 & Forwards Nov.Nrc Determined That Violation of NRC Requirements Occurred
	ML20137F384
Person / Time
Site:	South Texas
Issue date:	03/27/1997
From:	Merschoff E; NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION IV)
To:	Cottle W; HOUSTON LIGHTING & POWER CO.
Shared Package
ML20137F389	List: ML20137F384; ML20137F463;
References
	EA-96-500, NUDOCS 9704010090
	Download: ML20137F384 (6)
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March 27, 1997

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William T. Cottle, Group Vice

President, Nuclear

Houston Lighting & Power Company )

Post Office Box 289 i

Wadsworth, Texas 77483

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SUBJECT: NOTICE OF VIOLATION AND EXERCISE OF ENFORCEMENT DISCRETION <

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(NRC SPECIAL INSPECTION REPORT 50-498/96-25;50-499/96-25) I

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Dear Mr. Cottle: J

i This refers to the February 6,1997, letter submitted by Houston Lighting & Power

Company (HL&P) in response to the apparent violations identified in NRC Inspection

i. Report 50-498/96-25;50-499/96-25, issued on December 11,1996. NRC's inspection

was completed on December 6,1996. As indicated ir. the NRC letter transmitting the

j inspection report, two apparent violations were identified involving leakage from a valve in

the safety injection system at South Texas Project (STP), Unit 2. HL&P was given a

choice of requesting a predecisional enforcement conference or submitting a written

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response to the apparent violations. HL&P first opted for a conference, but rescinded that '

request on January 23,1997, and chose to submit a written response to the apparent

i violations.

, In its February 6 response, HL&P did not dispute the apparent violations and described

specific actions taken to correct each of them and the broader issues associated with

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them. These actions included repairing the leaking valve, assuring that no other leakage

paths existed, and implementing various measures aimed at ensuring a careful assessment

of any plant conditions that may impact design basis margins. A more detailed description

of these actions is contained in HL&P's February 6 letter.

Based on the information developed during the inspection, and the information that HL&P

{ provided in its response to the inspection report, the NRC has determined that a violation

of NRC requirements occurred. This violation is cited in the enclosed Notice of Violation

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(Notice) and concerns a failure to promptly identify and correct a significant nonconforming I

condition, namely a safety injection system valve that was leaking excessively and at a ;

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rate greater than th?t described in the facility's Updated Final Safety Analysis

Report (UFSAR). Consequently, this failure to identify the significance of the condition led

to a failure to perform an evaluation pursuant to the requirements of 10 CFR 50.59, to

determine if operation of the safety injection system in a manner different from that

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described in the UFSAR constituted an unreviewed safety question.

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Houston Lighting &

Power Company -2-

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The NRC's primary concern about this violation is the failure of plant staff to recognize the

significance of safety injection system leakage outside containment. Leakage from this

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' valve into the Fuel Hwdling Buildi~j, a significant condition adverse to quality, was

identified by plant operators in Febhary 1996, and was not scheduled for repair until

June 1997. As discussed in the inspection report, at least six reviewers of the condition I

report which described this leakage, including licensed operators and the system engineer, .

failed to recognize the potential impact of system leakage on doses to control room

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personnel in the event of a loss of coolant accident. Further, the leakage was

approximately 20 times the amount assumed for dose calculations contained in UFSAR

Table 15.6-12, and this condition was not evaluated in accordance with 10 CFR 50.59 in

order to determine if an unreviewed safety question existed or if it was appropriate to

delay repairs until June 1997. The NRC considers that degraded or nonconforming

conditions not permanently resolved at the first available opportunity are,in essence, de

facto changes to the facility that should be evaluated under 10 CFR 50.59. In this case, ,

the failure to fully evaluate the degraded condition resulted in the failure to identify an I

unreviewed safety question. Appropriate action was finally taken in October 1996, but

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only af ter the issue was raised by the NRC's resident inspector at STP in September 1996.

Thus, for approximately 8 months, a condition existed which would have resulted in

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l significantly higher doses to control room personnel and to increased radioactivity released

from the facility had a loss of coolant accident occurred.

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In accordance with the " General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcemant

Actions" (Enforcement Policy), NUREG-1600, the violation described above and in the

Notice has been categorized at Severity Level ill. In accordance with the Enforcement

Policy,'a civil penalty with a base value of $50,000 is considered for a Severity Level lll

violation. ' Because your facility has been the subject of escalated enforcement action

within the last 2 years', the NRC considered whether credit was warranted for

/dentification and Corrective Action in accordance with the civil penalty 1ssessment

process in Section VI.B.2 of the Enforcement Policy. As indicated above, this problem was

identified by the NRC, thus HL&P is not deserving of credit for identification. Based on our

review of the actions you have taken, as described in your February 6 letter, we have

determined that credit for corrective action is warranted.

The NRC's consideration of the factors described above normally would result in the

assessment of a civil penalty at tr.e base value. However, we note as HL&P did in its

February 6 letter, that the events that led to the escalated enforcement actions

summarized in Footnote 1, occurred more than 2 years prior to the discovery of the

violations at issue in this case. The NRC has taken this into consideration and has

l determined that this fact, in conjunction with the recent overall good performance at STP

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' On October 17,1995, a Notice of Violation and Proposed imposition Civil Penalty in

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the amount of $160,000 was issued for violations involving discrimination of security

personnel in 1992. On September 19,1996, a Noticr of Violation and Proposed

, imposition of Civil Penalty i,n the amount of $200,000 was issued for violations involving

j discrimination of contract personnel at STP in 1991 and early 1994.

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Houston Lighting &

Power Company -3-

warrants the exercise of discretion in accordance with Section Vil.B.6 of the Enforcement ;

Policy. Therefore, after consultation with the Director, Office of Enforcement and the i

Deputy Executive Director for Regulatory Effectiveness, Program Oversight, investigations !

and Enforcement, no civil penalty is being proposed in this case. However, HL&P is on '

notice that significant violations in the future, particularly a recurrence of the violation '

described in the Notice, could result in a civil penalty, i

The NRC has concluded that information regarding the reasons for the violation, the

corrective actions taken and planned to correct the violation and prevent recurrence, and !

the date when full compliance was achieved is already adequately addressed on the docket !

in Inspection Report No. 50-498/96-25;50-499/96-25 and HL&P's letter dated February 6,

1997. Therefore, you are not required to respond to this letter unless the description in

the referenced correspondence does not accurately reflect your corrective actions or your

position. In that case, or if you choose to provide additional information, you should follow

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the instructions specified in the enclosed Notice. j

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In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC's " Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter, i

its enclosure, and any response you choose to submit will be placed in the NRC Public i

Document Room (PDR). i

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Sincerely, j

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Ellis W. Merschof

Regional Admini rator

Dockets: 50-498; 50-499

Licenses: NPF-76; NPF-80

Enclosure: Notice of Violation

cc w/ enclosure:

Lawrence E. Martin, General Manager

Nuclear Assurance & Licensing ;

Houston Lighting & Power Company '

P.O. Box 289

Wadsworth, Texas 77483

Mr. J. C. Lanier/Mr. M. B. Lee

City of Austin

Electric Utility Department

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721 Barton Springs Road !

Austin, Texas 78704

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Houston Lighting &

Power Company -4-

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Mr. K. J. Fiedler/Mr. M. T. Hardt '

City Public Service Board

P.O. Box 1771

San Antonio, Texas 78296

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Jack R. Newman, Esq. ;

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius

1800 M. Street, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20036-5869

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Mr. G. E. Vaughn/Mr. C. A. Johnson

Central Power & Light Company

P.O. Box 289, Mail Code: N5012

Wadsworth, Texas 77483 l

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INPO

Records Center

700 Galleria Parkway i

Atlanta, Georgia 30339-5957

Dr. Bertram Wolfe

15453 Via Vaquero

Monte Sereno, California 95030 1

Bureau of Radiation Control

State of Texas

1100 West 49th Street

Austin, Texas 78756

Andy Barrett, Director

Environmental Policy

Office of the Governor

P.O. Box 12428

Austin, Texas 78711

Judge, Matagorda County

Matagorda County Courthouse

1700 Seventh Street

Bay City, Texas 77414

Licensing Representative

Houston Lighting & Power Company

Suite 610

Threa Metro Center

Bethesda, Maryland 20814

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Houston Lighting &

Power Company -5-

Rufus S. Scott, Associate

General Counsel

Houston Lighting & Power Company

P.O. Box 61867

Houston, Texas 77208

Joseph R. Egan, Esq.

Egan & Associates, P.C.

2300 N Street, N.W.

! Washington, D.C. 20037

Mr. J. W. Beck

Little Harbor Consultants, Inc

44 Nichols Road '

Cohasset, MA 02025-1166

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Houston Lighting &

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3/13/97 3/19/97 '

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ML20137F384

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