ML20235B472

Forwards Insp Rept 50-282/87-11 on 870618-0702 & Notice of Violation & Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty in Amount of $25,000 for Failure to Verify That 4,260 V Breaker Not in Connect Position,Per IE Info Notice 84-46

ML20235B472
Person / Time
Site:	Prairie Island
Issue date:	09/18/1987
From:	Davis A NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III)
To:	Larson C NORTHERN STATES POWER CO.
Shared Package
ML20235B474	List: ML20235B472 ML20235B515
References
EA-87-138, IEIN-84-46, NUDOCS 8709240117
Download: ML20235B472 (4)

See also: IR 05000282/1987011

Text

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SEP 1 8 1987

Docket No. 50-282

License No. DPR-42

EA 87-138

Northern hatn Power Company

ATTN: Mr. C. E. Larson

Vice President, Nuclear

Generation

International Centre Building

920 Second Avenue South

Minneapolis, MN 55401

Gentlemen:

SUBJECT: NOTICE OF VIOLATION AND PROPOSED IMPOSITION OF CIVIL PENALTY

(NRC INSPECTION REPORT NO. 50-282/87011(DRP))

I

This refers to the inspection conducted during the period June 18 through

July 2,1987, at the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, Unit 1. The

inspection was conducted to review the circumstances that resulted in Unit 1

Safety Injection Pump (SI) No.11 being inoperable for approximately 25 days. .

The problem was identified by your staff and was immediately reported to the j

NRC Senior Resident Inspector. The details of the events that led to the J

violation are presented in the subject inspection report that was sent to j

you on July 10, 1987. This matter was discussed on July 15, 1987, during j

an Enforcement Conference held in the NRC Region III office between '

Mr. James T. Howard, President and Chief Executive Officer, and others of your

staff and Mr. A. B. Davis and others of the NRC staff. During the conference, ,

we discussed the violation, the root causes, and your corrective actions. j

The violation described in the Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of

Civil Penalty resulted because of a failure to verify that a 4160 volt breaker

that supplied power to the No. 11 SI pump was not in the " Connect" position.

Personnel relied on an indicator light in the control room to verify

that the breaker was closed. When plant personnel discovered the problem, an

operator turned the racking screw and was able to correctly position the breaker.

During the enforcement conference, it was noted that your staff had previously

identified 5 to 8 additional instances where breakers were improperly positioned

in other than the " Connect" position. These involved both safety and nonsafety-

related systems. The NRC is concerned that you did not aggressively pursue a

more comprehensive and lasting corrective action after identifying these a

improperly positioned breakers and after reviewing NRC IE Information Notice l

No. 84-46, " Circuit Breaker Position Verification," dated June 13, 1984.

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SEP 1 8 1987

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To emphasize the importance of properly returning equipment to service and

properly verifying that systems and components are operational, I have been

authorized, after consultation with the Director, Office of Enforcement, and

the Deputy Executive Director for Regional Operations, to issue the enclosed

Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty in the amount of

Twenty-five Thousand Dollars (525,000) for the violation described in the

enclosed Notice. In accordance with the " General Statement of Policy and

Procedures for NRC Enforcement Actions," 10 CFR Part 2, Appendix C (1987)

(Enforcement Policy), the violation described in the enclosed Notice has been

categorized at Severity Level III. The base value of a civil penalty for a l

Severity Level III violation is $50,000. The NRC Enforcement Policy allows for l

reduction of a civil penalty under certain circumstances. In this case, the ,

base civil penalty has been reduced by 50 percent because of your prompt identi- )

fication and reporting and because of unusually prompt and extensive corrective  !

actions. Further mitigation was not applied because prior notice of similar I

events was available based on the previous incidents at Prairie Island and the I

information given in I&E Information Notice 84-46. l

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

specified in the enclosed Notice when preparing your response. In your

response, you should document the specific actions taken and any additional

actions you plan to prevent recurrence. After reviewing your response to this

Notice, including your proposed corrective actions and the results of future

inspections, the NRC will determine whether further NRC enforcement action is

necessary to ensure compliance with NRC regulatory requirements.

In accordance with Section 2.790 of the NRC's " Rules of Practice," Part 2,

Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, a copy of this letter and its

enclosures will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room.

The responses directed by this letter and the enclosed Notice are not subject

to the clearance procedures of the Office of Management and Budget as required

by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, Pub. L. No.95-511.

Si cerely,

Oricinalv1gnedby, "

.L hert Davis

A. Bert Davis

Regional Administrator

Enclosures:

1. Notice of Violation and

Proposed Imposition of

Civil Penalty

2. Inspection Report

No. 50-282/87011(DRP)

See Attached Distribution

RIII RIII R RIII

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_ _ _ _ _ _ - _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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Northern States Power Company 3 SEP 181987

Distribution

cc w/ enclosures:

E. L. Watzl, Plant Manager

DCS/RSB (RIDS)

Licensing Fee Management Branch

Resident Inspector, RIII Prairie

Island

Resident Inspector, RIII Monticello

John W. Ferman, Ph.D.,

Nuclear Engineer, MPCA l

State Liaison Officer, State I

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of Minnesota

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Northern' States-Power Company _ ,

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DISTRIBUTION'

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DCS

SECY

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' J.. Taylor, DEDO

T. Martin, DEDRO

S. Schinki, OGC

J. Lieberman, OE

P..Milano, OE

A. B. Davis, RIII

Enforcement Coordinators

RI, RII, RIII, RIV, RV.

T. Murley, NRR

B. Hayes, 01

S. Conne11ey, OIA

E. Jordan, AE00

F. Ingram, PA

DE Files

EDO Rdg File

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