ML20199E761
| ML20199E761 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Millstone  |
| Issue date: | 01/16/1998 |
| From: | Callan L NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION IV) |
| To: | Kenyon B NORTHEAST UTILITIES SERVICE CO. |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9802020243 | |
| Download: ML20199E761 (5) | |
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY. COMMISSION
-g wasMineroN, D.C. 200 4 0064 lanuary16.-108
' Mr. Bruce D. Kenyon President and Chief Executive Officer Northeast Utilities Service Company P.O. Box 128 -
Waterford, CT 06385
Dear Mr. Kenyon:
On January 6 and 7,1998, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) senior managers met to evaluate the nuclear safety performance of operating reactors, fuel facilities, and other materials licensees. The NRC conducts this meeting semiannually to determine if the safety ~
' performance of the various licensees exhibits sufficient weaknesses to warrant increased NRC attention or if it is trending adversely and requires steps be taken to communicate concems to
-the utility's president or board of directors.; At the January 1998 Senior Management Meeting l (SMM), the Millstone Nuclear Power Station was discussed; The Millstone Nuclear Power Stat!on remains a Category 3 facility. Facilities in this category are having or have had significant weaknesses that warrant maintaining the plant in a shutdown
. condition until the licensee can demonstrate to the NRC that adequate programs have both been estatAished and implemented to ensure substantialimprovement. Commission approvalis requimd for restart of a plant in a Category 3 status, A summary of NRC discussions related to the Millstone facilities follows:
Millstone Nublear Power Station was designated a Category 3 facility in June 1996.
Because of the longstanding issues at the Millstone facilities and resultant increased NRC
- attention on licensee activities, the discussions on Millstone concentrated on ongoing NRC oversight. The NRC Special Projects Office (SPO), which was formed to direct-managerial attention on the issues at Millstone Nuclear Power Station,- has provided focused agency oversight of the recovery efforts at the Millstone units Principally, the SPO has given attention to the licensee's efforts to establish an independent Corrective Action Verification Program (ICAVP) anri en independent third party to oversee the ;
employee concems programs. Other activities of the SPO are detailed in the Millsto'le Restart Assessment Plan, which was last updated on July 16,1997, in addition to identifying major elements requiring resolution before plant restart, the plan contains, ft, each unit, a list of significant issues and actions that the staff intends to review before the restart. On January 30,1997; April 23,1997; August 6,1997; and December 12,1997, Northeast Utilities (NU) executives and NRC senior management briefed the Commission on the status of the Millstone recovery efforts.
- In summary, longstanding Millstone performance concems remain to be resolved. NRC's
. SPO will continue to apply NRC Inspection Manual Chapter 0350, " Staff Guidelines for Restart Approval," to the activities to support restart of Millstone Units 1,2, and 3.
Through application of these guidelines, the NRC plans to continue to closely 9
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9802020243 990116 POR ADOCK 05000245 P
A Bruce D. Kenyon 2-monitor the programs and performance at the Millstone Station to assure development and implementation of effective corrective action programs. The next periodic meeting with the Commission on the status of Millstone recovery efforts is scheduled for February 19,1998.
An NRC Commission Meeting, open to the public, is scheduled to be held in the Commissioners' Conference Room in Rockville, Maryland on January 21,1998 at 10:00 a.m., to review the results of the latest meeting of NRC senior managers. Since the status of Millstone recovery efforts are the subject of periodic meetings as discussed above, we expect that the discussion of the Millstone Station at this meeting will be limited. Dr. William Travers, Director for NRC's Special Projects Office, has discussed the bases for our conclusions with regard to the Millstone Station with members of your staff.
If you have any questions, regarding this matter, do not hesitate to call me at (301) 415-1700.
Sincerely,
/
L.JsephdaIIan E)mcutive Director for Operations l
l Docket Nos.: 50-245, 50-336, and 50-423 cc: See next page DISTRIBUTION: See attached page DOCUMENT NAME: A:\\ MILLS 198.LTR To r:ceive a copynt4his document, indicate in the box: "C" = Copy without enclosures "E" = Copy with enclosures "N" = No copy OFFICE DS(Olll A' l DM/)
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OFFICIAL RECpD COPY
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Millstone Nuclear Power Station, Units 1,2, and 3 oc:
Ullian M. Cuoco, Esquire Mr. Wayne D. Lanning Senior Nuclear Counsel Deputy Director of Inspections Northeast Utilities Service Company Special Projects Office P. O. Box 270 475 Allendale Road Hartford, CT 06141-0270 King of Prussia, PA 19406-1415 Mr. Kevin T. A. McCarthy, Director Mr. F. C. Rothen Monitoring and Radiation Division Vice President - Work Services Department of Environmental Northeast Nuclear Energy Company Protection P.O. Box 128
- 79 Elm Street Waterford, CT 06S85 Hartford, CT 06106 5127 Charles Brinkman, Manager Mr. Allan Johanson, Assistant Washington Nuclear Operations Director ABB Combustion Engineering Office of Policy and Management 12300 Twinbrook Pkwy, Suite 330 1
Policy Development and Planning Rockville, MD 20852 Division f
450 Capitol Avenue - MS 52ERN Mr. D. M. Goebel P O. Box 341441 Vice President - Nuclear Oversight Hartford, CT 06134-1441 Northeast Utilities Service Company P. O. Box 128 Regional Administrator, Region I Waterford, CT 06385
. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 475 Allendale Road -
Mr. M. L. Bowling, Jr.
- King of Prussia, PA 19406 Recovery Officer-Millstone Unit 2 c/o Ms. P. A.. Loftus First Selectmen Director-Regulatory Affairs Town of Waterford Northeast Nuclear Energy Company Hallof Records P. O. Box 128 200 Boston Post Road Waterford, CT 06385 Waterford, CT 06385 Senior Resident inspector Mr. J. P. McElwain Millstone Nuclear Power Station Recovery Officer-Millstona Unit 1 clo U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Vice President (Acting)- Millstone Unit 3 P. O. Box 513 Northeast Nuclear Energy Company Niantic, CT 06357 P. O.' Box 128 Waterford, CT 06385 Mr. David Amerine Vice President - Nuclear Engineering Deborah Katz, President and Support Citizens Awareness Network Northeast Utilities Service Company P. O. Box 83 P. O. Box 128 Shelbume Falls, MA 03170 Waterford, CT 06385
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Millstone Nuclear Power Station, Units 1,2, and 3 cc:
Mr. M. H. Brothers Little Hwbor Consultants, Inc.
Vice President - Operations Millstone ITPOP Project ONice Northeast Nuclear Energy Company P. O. Box 0630 P. O. Box 128 Niantic, CT 06375-0630 Waterford, CT 06385 Mr. Evat: W. Woollacott Mr. M. R. Sculty, Executive Director Co-Chair Connecticut Municipal Electric Nuclear Energy Advisory Council Energy Cooperative 128 Terry's Plain Road 30 Stott Avenue Simsbury, CT 06070 Norwich, CT 06360 Mr. P. D. Hinnenkamp Mr. William D. Meinert Director-Unit Operations Nuclear Engineer Northeast Nuclear Energy Company Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale P, O. Box 128 Electric Company Waterford, Connecticut 06385 P. O. Box 426 Ludlow, MA 01056 Mr. J. A. Price Unit Director-Millstone Unit 2 Emest C. Hadley, Esq.
Northeast Nuclear Energy Company 1040 B Main Street P. O. Box 128 l
P. O. Box 54g Waterford, Connecticut 06385 West Wareham, MA 02576 Joseph R. Egan, Esq.
Egan & Associates, P.C.
2300 N Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20037 j
Citizens Regulatory Commission ATTN: Ms. Susan Perry Luxton 180 Great Neck Road Waterford, CT 06385 The Honorable Terry Concannon Co-Chair Nuclear Energy Advisory Council Room 4035 Legislative Office Building Capitol Avenue Hartford, CT 06106 Mr. G. D. Hicks Unit Director-Millstone Unit 3 Northeast Nuclear Energy Company P. O. Box 128 Waterford, Connecticut 06385 J
4 DISTRIBUTION: for letter to Mr. B. D. Venyon (MILLSTONE 1,2, and 3)
Central Files PUBLIC -
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