ML20199A209

EN-97-116:on 971229,informs Commission That Staff Intends to Exercise Enforcement Discretion in Accordance W/Section VII.B.2 of Enforcement Policy & Not Issue NOV or Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty to Util for Violations

ML20199A209
Person / Time
Site:	Crystal River
Issue date:	12/22/1997
From:	Lieberman J, David Nelson NRC OFFICE OF ENFORCEMENT (OE)
To:
References
EA-97-565, EN-97-116, NUDOCS 9801270150
Download: ML20199A209 (1)

Text

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December 22,1997 i

EN 97-116

• OFFICE OF ENFORCEMENT NOTIFICATION OF SIGNIFICANT ENFORCEMENT ACTION UdtnisA: Florida Power Corporation (EA 97-565)

Crystal River 3 Docket No. 50-302 Geblect: EXERCISE Oc ENFORCEMENT DISCRETION This is to inform ti;: ".ommission that the staff intends to exercise enforcement discretion in accordance with En .on Vll.B.2 of the Enforcement Policy and not issue i Notice of Violation or Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty to Florida Power Corporation (FPC) for violations identified in numerous Licenseo Event Reports (LERs) from Crystal River 1 These violations invo!ve a number of noncompliances in design control,10 CFR 50.59 evaluations, procedural adequacy / adherence, reportability, and corrective actions.

Normally, the violations of regulatory requirements associated with the subject LERs would be categorized in accordance with the Enforcement Policy as Severity Level 111 and Severity Level IV violations. However, enforcement discretion is warranted based on: (1) most of the issues were identified by FPC and enforcement action is not considered necessary to achieve remedial action for those issues identified by the NRC; (2) the violations, for the most part, were bat 9d upon activities which took place before the events leading to the shutdown of Crystal River 3; (3) the violations were not considered to be willful and would not be categodzed at a Severity Level higher than Severity Level I!; (4) L ystal River 3 is shut down for performance reasons including engineering violations, such as the ones identified in these LERs, and in enforcement actions issued on March 12,1997 (Enforcement Actions 96 365,96 465 and 96 527) which involved a Severity Level ll p,oblem for the failure to perform adOquate reviews pursuant to 10 CFR 50.59 and in a $500,000 civil penalty issued on July 10,1996 (EA 95-126), which included sanctions for engineering violations; (5) FPC has demonstrated that remedial action is being taken to ensure reestablishment of design margins for plant systems prior to plant restart; and (6) FPC's decision to restart Crystal River Unit 3 requires NRC concurrence in accordance with a Confirmatory Action Letter issued on March 4,1997.

It should be noted that the licensee has not been specifically informed of this accision. The schedule of issuance and notification is:

Mailing of Notico December 29,1997 Telephone Notification of Licensee December 29.1997 The State of Florida will be notified.

Contacts: D. Nelson, OE, 415-3280 J. Lieberman, OE, 415 2741 Distribution OWFN , OWFN TWFN Regional Offices Chairman Jackson EDO OC RI RIV _

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