ML20202D089

Discusses Insp Repts 50-298/97-07 & 50-298/97-12 on 970629- 0809 & 970708-0905 & Forwards Notice of Violation & Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty in Amount of $110,000

ML20202D089
Person / Time
Site:	Cooper
Issue date:	12/01/1997
From:	Merschoff E NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION IV)
To:	Horn G NEBRASKA PUBLIC POWER DISTRICT
Shared Package
ML20202D095	List: ML20202D089 ML20202D108
References
50-298-97-07, 50-298-97-12, 50-298-97-7, EA-97-424, NUDOCS 9712040142
Download: ML20202D089 (6)

See also: IR 05000298/1997007

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December 1, 1997

EA 97 424

G. R. Horn, Senior Vice Precident

of Energy Supply

Nebraska Public Power District

141415th Street

Columbus, Nebraska 68001

SUBJECT:

NOTICE OF VIOLATION AND PROPOSED IMPOSITION OF CIVIL PENALTY -

$ 110,000

(NRC Inspection Report Nos. 50-298/97 07 and 9712)

Dear Mr. Horn:

This refers to the inspections conducted on June 29 through August 9,1997, and July 8

through September 5,1997, at your Cooper Nuclear Station f acility. The inspections were

conducted to review the circumstances surrounding severalinstances of failures to

identify, correct, or prevent recurrence of conditions adverse to quality. These issues were

discussed with you during an exit briefing conducted on September 5,1997, and were

documented in NRC Inspectinn Report Nos. 50 298/97 07 and 9712 dated September 4,

and October 3,1997, respectively. A predecisional enforcement conference was held in

the NRC Region IV office in Arlington, Texas, on October 17,1997, to discuss apparent

violations identified during these inspections.

Based on the information developed during the inspection and the information that you

provided during the conference, the NRC has determined that violations of NRC

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requirements occurred. These violations are cited in the enclosed Notice of Violation and

Proposed imposition of Civil Penalty and the circumstances surrounding them were

described in detailin the subject inspection reports. These violations involve several

examples of failures to meet the requirements of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix B,

Criterion XVI. The first example involves a failure to recognize and correct instances

whereby large volumes of water could cause both trains of the standby gas treatment

system to be inoperable under certain circumstances. This problom htad been identified in

1994 (reference LER 94 035 and NRC Inspection Report 90 26) when plant personnel

recognized that backflow of water from Sump Z, under design basis accident conditions,

could render both trains of the standby gas treatment system inorserabic. However, the

corrective actions taken in 1994 were ineffective and the District identified this as an issue

again in July 1997 (reference LER 97-010).

The second example involves a failure to identify and correct significant blockage of

Residual Heat Removal (RHR) Heat Exchanger B which reduced the heat transfer capability

- below design requirements. After questioning by an NRC inspector, the District opened a

condition adverse to qt,ality tracking number (CAO 97-0742) regardin0 the issue of mud

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found in the heat exchanger. The CAO was closed after concluding that the heat

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exchanger had been operable, that the condition was not reportable, and (of concern to the

NRC) that na condition adverse to nuclear safety or unexpected condition existed. Attor

significant involvement from the NRC expressing concerns about the District's conclusion

that the condition was not adverse to nuclear safety, several months later, the

CAO 07 0742 and related CAQs were reopened to more thoroughly review the issues.

The remaining seven violations also involve situations in which the District inadequately

identified or corrected conditions adverse to quality. These violations occurred during

similar timeframes and had similar causes.

During the conference, your staff discussed severaiinitiatives that the District has

implemented to improve its safety focus, especially in the area of problem identification

and resolution. The District noted that an alert radwaste operator identified the issue

involving the standby gas treatment system (the first example in the Notice). The NRC

recognizes that the District identified this issue, but notes that this condition could have

resulted in a common modo failure for a safety system, and was not corrected for over

2 years. There also were prior missed opportunities to identify this problem. The situation

involving RHR Heat Exchanger B (the second example in the Notice) is significant because

your staff did not recognize a significant condition adverse to quality on a safety system,

even af ter significant NRC involvement. The circumstances surrounding these two

violations, as well as the other seven, indica'.e contemporary weaknesses in your staff's

ability to recognize and correct problems. Therefore, these violations are classified in the

aggregate in accordance with the " General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC

Enforcement Actions" (Enforcement Policy), NUREG 1600, as a Severity Level lli problem.

In accordance with the Enforcement Policy, a base civil penalty in the amount of $55,000

is considered for a Severity Level lll problem. Because your f acility has been the subject of

escalated enforcement actions within the last 2 years,' the NRC considered whether credit

was warranted for /dentification and Conective Action in accordance with the civil penalty

assessment process in Section VI.B.2 of the Enforcement Policy. Given the circumstances

surrounding the identification of the violation involving RHR Heat Exchanger 8, and the fact

that NRC identified most of the violations, the NRC has determined that the District is not

deserving of Identification credit. in evaluating whether credit is warranted for the

Conectivo Action factor, the NRC considered whether the District's corrective actions will

prevent recurrence of the specific violations, and are sufficiently comprehensive, given the

significance and complexity of the violations, to prevent recurrence of violations with

similar root causes. The District has been undertaking actions to improve personnel

performance in problem identification and resolution. Examples of the District's actions

include evaluating self identification rates, focusing on engineering teamwork, better

' A Notice of Violation and Exercise of Discretion (EA97-017) was isst ed on June 25.1997 involving a

Severity level til probletn telated to failurn to update the USAR and to perform adequate safety evaluations in

accordance with 10 CFR $0.$9. The NRC exerdsed discretion and did not propose a civil penalty.

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focusing on conservative decision-making, emphasizing fundamentals such as procedure

use and adherence, reducing challenges in the control room, enhancing training,

conducting self assessments, and improving the tracking and trending of prngrams such as

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CAQ/SCAQ. Many of these actiont were ongoing at the time of the violations, and little

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information was provided at the conference relative to additional actions, timetables, etc.,

that would result in improved performance. Given the District's past performance as well

as the circumstances surrounding the violations, the NHC was unable to justify giving the-

District credit for time Correct /va Act/on factor.

Therefore, to emphasize the importance of prompt identification and comprehensive

correction of violations, and in recognition of your previous escalated enforcement actions,

I have been authorized, after consultation with the Director, Office of Enforcement, to

issue the enclosed Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty (Notice)in

the amount of $110,000 for the Severity Levellli problem,

it should be noted that, on the basis of information provided to the NRC during the~

conference, the apparent violation related to the Automatic Depressurization System relief

valve accumulator low pressure alarm was not a violation. As such, this issue was not

cited in the encinse.1 Notice.

You are required to respond to this letter and should follow the instructions specified in the

encloted Notice when preparing your response, in your response, you should document

the specific actions taken and any additional actions you plan to prevent recurrence. The

NRC will use your response, in part, to determine whether further enforcement action is

necessary to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements,

in accordance with 10 CFR 2,790 of the NRC's " Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter,

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its enclosure, and your response will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room.

Sincerely,

Ellis W. Merse

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Regional Ad , fiistrator

Docket No. 50 298

License No. DPR-4G

Enclosure: Notice of Violation and

Proposed imposition of Civil Penalty

cc w! Enclosure: (see next page)

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cc w/ Enclosure:~

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-John R. McPhail, General Counsel

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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 -

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Nebraska Public Power District

P.O. Box 98

Brownville, Nebraska 68321

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B. L. Houston, Nuclear Licensing

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and Safety Manager

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Nebraska Public Power District

P.O. Box 98

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Brownville, Nebraska 68321

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Dr. William D. Leech

MidAmerican Energy

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007 Walnut Street

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P.O. Box 657

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Des Moines, Iowa 50303 0657

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Mrz Hon Stoddr d

Lincoln Electric Gystem

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11th'and O Streets

Lincoln, Nebraska 68508

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Randolph Wood, LJ ector

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Nebraska Departmt at of Environmental

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P.O. Box 98922

-Lincoln, Nebraska 68509 8922.

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Chairman.-

Nemaha County Board of Commissioners

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Nemaha County Courthouse

1824 N Street '

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Auburn, Nebraska 68305 ~

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Chery! Ro0ers, LLRW Program Manager

Environmental Protection Section

flebraska Department of Health

301 Centennial Mall, South

P.O. Box 95007

Lincoln, Nebraska 08509 5007

R. A. Kucera, Department Director

of intergovernmental Ccoperation

Department of Natutal Resources

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P.O. Box 170

Jefferson City, Missouri 05102

Kantas Radiation Cortrol Program Director

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MIS Coordinator

BHenderson, PAO

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TPGwynn (TPG)

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ECollins (EEC)

GSanborn (GFS)

GMVasquez (GMV)

BHenderson (BWH)

MHammond (MFH2)

CHackney (CAH)

DKunihiro (DMK1)

AHowell (ATH)

DChamberlain (DDC)

KPerkins (KEP)

DRP Branch Chief

KBrockman (KEB)

MMiller, SRI (MHM)

DOCUMENT NAME: G:\\EA\\ DRAFT \\EA97424.DFT

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