ML20236N038

Notice of Violation & Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty in Amount of $50,000.Violation Noted:On or About 980310, Unit 3 Operators Failed to Demonstrate Operability of Operable Offsite Power Circuits

ML20236N038
Person / Time
Site:	Palo Verde
Issue date:	07/10/1998
From:	NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION IV)
To:
Shared Package
ML20236N036	List: ML20236N033 ML20236N038
References
EA-98-131, NUDOCS 9807140371
Download: ML20236N038 (3)

Text

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i NOTICE OF VIOLATION -

AND PROPOSED IMPOSITION OF civil PENALTY Arizona Public Service Company Docket Nos. 50-528;50-529;50-530 ,

Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station License Nos. NPF-41; NPF-51; NPF-74 j EA 98-131 '

During an NRC investigation completed on February 13,1998, violations of NRC requirements were identified. In accordance with the " General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions," NUREG-1600, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission proposes to impose a civil penalty pursuant to Section 234 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (Act),42 U.S.C. 2282,'and 10 CFR 2.205. The particular violations and associated civil penalty are set forth below:

A. . Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station Unit 3 Technical Specification 3.8.1.1, Action b, requires that when an emergency diesel generator is out of service, operators must q demonstrate the operability of the operable offsite power circuits within 1 hour1.157407e-5 days <br />2.777778e-4 hours <br />1.653439e-6 weeks <br />3.805e-7 months <br /> and once per 8 hours9.259259e-5 days <br />0.00222 hours <br />1.322751e-5 weeks <br />3.044e-6 months <br /> thereafter. l l

' Contrary to this requirement, on or about March 10,1993, Unit 3 operators failed to demonstrate the operability of the operable offsite power circuits. The verification was I performed several hours later. (01013) '

.B. 10 CFR 50.9 requires, in part, that information required by the Commission's regulations or license conditions to be maintained by the licensee shall be complete and accurate in all material respects.

Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station Unit 3 Technical Specification 6.8.1 requires that written procedures shall be established, implemented, and maintained covering the applicable procedures recommended in Appendix A of Regulatory Guide 1.33, Revision 2, February 1978. Regulatory Guide 1.33, Revision 2, Appendix A, Section 1.h., requires administrative procedures for log entries, record retention, and review procedures.

Palo Verde's Nuclear Administrative and Technical Manual Procedure 40DP-90P22,

' " Operations Logkeeping," Revision 00.00, Step 3.2.9 required that the Unit log shall include entries documenting completion of required actions to comply with a limiting condition for operation (LCO).

Palo Verde's Nuclear Administrative and Technical Manual Procedure 43ST-3ZZ02,

" Inoperable Power Sources Action Statement Surveillance 3.8.1.1," Revision 01.04, L . provided for actions and verifications required to be performed by the action statements of LCO 3.8.1.1, in the event that an emery:,cy diesel generator is declared inoperable.

. Step 7.3 directed that Sections 8.1 and 8.2 be performed to verify that two offsite power sources are operable within 1 hour1.157407e-5 days <br />2.777778e-4 hours <br />1.653439e-6 weeks <br />3.805e-7 months <br /> and at least once every 8 hours9.259259e-5 days <br />0.00222 hours <br />1.322751e-5 weeks <br />3.044e-6 months <br /> thereafter, and that the indicated sections of the procedure be completed.

Contrary to these requirements, on or about March 10,1993, information contained in a required record was not complete and accurate in all material respects. Specifically,

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Unit 3 operators failed to demonstrate the operability of the operable offsite power l service within one hour as required by Technical Specification 3.8.1.1, Action b, as described in Violation A; however, the Unit log was completed so as to indicate that the action statement of LCO 3.8.1.1 was satisfactorily completed. Also, the required sections of Procedure 43ST-3ZZ02 were completed so as to reflect the action was completed within the required 1 hour1.157407e-5 days <br />2.777778e-4 hours <br />1.653439e-6 weeks <br />3.805e-7 months <br /> time period. (01023)

C. 10 CFR 50.73(a)(2)(1)(B), requires that the licensee shall submit a Licensee Event Report l (LER) within 30 days after discovery of the event for any operation or condition prohibited by the plant's Technical Specifications.

Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station Unit 3 Technical Specification 3.8.1.1 requires that when an emergency diesel generator is out of service, operators must demonstrate l the operability of the operable offsite power circuits within 1 hour1.157407e-5 days <br />2.777778e-4 hours <br />1.653439e-6 weeks <br />3.805e-7 months <br /> and once per 8 hours9.259259e-5 days <br />0.00222 hours <br />1.322751e-5 weeks <br />3.044e-6 months <br /> thereafter.

Contrary to this requirement, the licensee failed to submit an LER within 30 days of the discovery of an event for a condition prohibited by the plant's Technical Specifications.

Specifically, on March 10,1993, Unit 3 operators failed to demonstrate, within 1 hour1.157407e-5 days <br />2.777778e-4 hours <br />1.653439e-6 weeks <br />3.805e-7 months <br /> of removing an emergency diesel generator from service, the operability of the operable 4 offsite power circuits, as required by Action b. of Technical Specification 3.8.1.1; however, as of April 9,1993,30 days following this event, the licensee had not submitted an LER. (01033)

These violations represent a Severity Level 111 problem (Supplements I and Vil).

Civil Penalty - $50,000.

Pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 2.201, Arizona Public Service Company (Licensee)is hereby required to submit a written statement or explanation to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, within 30 days of the date of this Notice of Violation and Proposed imposition of Civil Penalty (Notice). This reply should be clearly marked as a " Reply to a Notice of Violation" and should include for each alleged violation: (1) admission or denial of the alleged violation, (2) the reasons for the violation if admitted, and if denied, the reasons why, (3) the corrective steps that have been taken and the results achieved, (4) the corrective steps that will be taken to avoid further violations, and (5) the date when full compliance will be achieved. If an adequate reply is not received within the time specif;ed in this Notice, an order or a Demand for Information may be issued as why the license should not be modified, suspended, or revoked or why such other action as may be proper should not be taken. Consideration may be given to extending the response time for good cause shown.

Under the authority of Section 182 of the Act,42 U.S.C. 2232, this response shall be submitted under oath or affirmation.

l Within the same time as provided for the response required above under 10 CFR 2.201, the l Licensee may pay the civil penalty by letter addressed to the Director, Office of Enforcement,

) U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, with a check, draft, money order, or electronic transfer l

payable to the Treasurer of the United States in the amount of the civil penalty proposed above, or the cumulative amount of the civil penalties if more than one civil penalty is proposed, or may

1 protest imposition of the civil penalty in whole or in part, by a written answer addressed to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Should the Licensee fail 3

to answer within the time specified, an order imposing the civil penalty will be issued. Should the j Licensee elect to file an answer in accordance with 10 CFR 2.205 protesting the civil penalty, in l whole or in part, such answer should be clearly marked as an " Answer to a Notice of Violation" and may: (1) deny the violations listed in this Notice, in whole or in part, (2) demonstrate ];

extenuating circumstances, (3) show error in this Notice, or (4) show other reasons why the {

penalty should not be imposed. In addition to protesting the civil penalty in whole or in part. such answer may request remission or mitigation of the penalty, in requesting mitigation of the proposed penalty, the factors addressed in Section VI.B.2 of the Enforcement Policy should be addressed. Any written answer in accordance with 10 CFR 2.205 should be set forth separately from the statement or explanation in reply pursuant to j 10 CFR 2.201, but may incorporate parts of the 10 CFR 2.201 reply by specific reference (e.g., j citing page and paragraph numbers) to avoid repetition. The attention of the Licensee is l

directed to the other provisions of 10 CFR 2.205, regarding the procedure for imposing a civil penalty.

j Upon failure to pay any civil penalty due which subsequently has been determined in accordance with the applicable provisions of 10 CFR 2.205, this matter may be referred to the Attorney General, and the penalty, unless compromised, remitted, or mitigated, may be collected by civil action pursuant to Section 234c of the Act. 42 U.S.C. 2282c.

The response noted above (Reply to Notice of Violation, letter with payment of civil penalty, and Answer to a Notice of Violation) should be addressed to: James Lieberman, Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, One White Flint North,11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852-2738, with a copy to the Regional Administrator, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region IV,611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400, Arlington, Texas 76011, and a copy to the NRC Resident lnspector at the facility that is the subject of this Notice.

Because your response will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room (PDR), to the extent possible, it should not include any personal privacy, proprietary, or safeguards information so that it can be placed in the PDR without redaction. If personal privacy or proprietary information is necessary to provide an acceptan response, then please provide a bracketed copy of your response that identifies the information that should be protected and a redacted copy of your response that deletes such information. If you request withholding of such material, you_mtst specifically identify the portions of your response that you seek to have withheld and provide in detail the bases for your claim of withholding (e.g., explain why the disclosure of information will create an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy or provide the information required by

l. 10 CFR 2.790(b) to support a request for withholding confidential commercial or financial information).' If safeguards information is necessary to provide an acceptable response, please I

provide the level of protection described in 10 CFR 73.21.

Dated at Arlington, Texas, this10th July 1998 t

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