ML20248A738

Forwards Insp Rept 50-423/98-81 on 980302-31 & 0412,notice of Violation & Exercise of Enforcement Discretion.Purpose of Insp Was to Evaluate Readiness of Fire Protection Program to Support Restart of Unit 3

ML20248A738
Person / Time
Site:	Millstone
Issue date:	05/22/1998
From:	Wiggins J NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I)
To:	Bowling M NORTHEAST NUCLEAR ENERGY CO.
Shared Package
ML20248A743	List: IR 05000423/1998081 ML20248A738 ML20248A778
References
50-423-98-81, EA-98-206, NUDOCS 9806010032
Download: ML20248A738 (4)

See also: IR 05000423/1998081

Text

- - - _ _ - _ - _ _ - _ - _ - _ _ - - _ _ _ _ - - _ _ _ - . .__ ._ _ _ _ - - _ __ _ _ _ _

'

.

. ..;r

1

...

r

May 22, 1998

EA 98-208 -

r . Mr. M. L. Bowling, Recovery Officer - Technical Services

C/o Ms. Patricia Loftus, Director - Regulatory

Affairs for Millstone Station

' NORTHEAST NUCLEAR ENERGY COMPANY

PO Box 128

Waterford, CT 06385

SUBJECT: NRC INSPECTION REPORT NO. 50-423/98-81, NOTICE OF VIOLATION,

AND EXERCISE OF ENFORCEMENT DISCRETION

Dear Mr. Bowling:

n This refers to the inspection conducted on March 2 - 31,1998, at the Millstone Unit 3

facility in Waterford, Connecticut. The purpose of the inspection was to evaluate the

readiness of the Fire Protection Program to support restart of Unit 3. The enclosed report

.

, presents the results of this inspection. The results of the inspection were discussed with

members of your staff at a meeting conducted March 6,1998, at the site, and during a

'

l conference call conducted March 30,1998,

l

'

Overall, we noted that significant improvements have been made to your fire protection

program. We noted improvements in your fire drill critiques, program controls, surveillance

i testing of safe shutdown equipment, and implementation of licensing commitments. On

! the basis of the improvements noted, we are closing Significant issues List item 42, Fire

Protection Program for Unit 3.

Notwithstanding your marked improvement, the NRC has determined that violations of NRC )

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

j (Notice) and the circumstances surrounding them are described in detail in the subject

'

inspection report. T.he violations are of concern because the fire barrier degradation was }

NRC identified, and the corrective actions for your identification of the multiple high

impedance fault susceptibility were judged to be inadequate.

The enclosed report also describes six issues which involved violations of NRC

requirements that could be considered for escalated enforcement action. After

consultation with the Director, Office of Enforcement, and the Director, Special Projects

Office, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, I have been authorized to exercise

enforcement discretion pursuant to Section Vll.B.2 of the NRC's Enforcement Policy, and

not issue a formal Not!ce of Violation or propose any civil penalties because your facility

has been in an extended shutdown and the NRC has taken significant enforcement action

for the performance issues that led to the shutdown. The decision to exercise discretion -

was made considering the violations: 1) relating to past performance inadequacies which

. predate the current extended shutdown,2) were identified by you as part of your

'

9906010032 990522 ,

4g

'

DR ADOCK 0 ,

o

. - _ _ _ - _ - _ - _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - - _ _ _ - . _ _ - _ _ _ _ _ _ . . _ _ _ _ _ - _ _ _ _ _ _ = _ _ _ _ _

.

,.

,

M. Bowling 2

comprehensive performance improvement programs,3) would not have been characterized

at a severity level higher than Severity Level ll, and 4) were not willful violations. Since

the restart of Millstone Unit 3 reactor requires NRC concurrence, the conditions of Section

Vll.B.2 of the Enforcement Policy are met.

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

enclosed Notice when preparing your response. 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

and its enclosures will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room (PDR).

If you have any questions, please call me at (610) 337-5376.

Sincerely,-

ORIGINAL SIGNED BY:

James T. Wiggins, Director

Division of Reactor Safety

Docket No. 50-423

Enclosures:

Notice of Violation

NRC Inspection Report 50-423/98-81

Millstone Unit 3 - Fire Protection Program Assessments

l

l

I-

,

.'

. _ . _

. _ _ - - _ _ _ - _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - - .-

.

.

M. Bowling 3

cc w/ encl:

B. Kenyon, President and Chief Executive Officer - Nuclear Group

l M. H. Brothers, Vice President - Operations

J. McElwain, Unit 1 Recovery Officer

J. Streeter, Recovery Officer - Nuclear Oversight

G. D. Hicks, Unit Director - Millstone Unit 3

J. A. Price, Unit Director - Millstone Unit 2

D. Amerine, Vice President - Human Services

E. Harkness, Director, Unit 1 Operations

F. C. Rothen, Vice President, Work Services

J. Cantrell, Director - Nuclear Training

L. M. Cuoco, Esquire

J. R. Egan, Esquire

V. Juliano, Waterford Library

J. Buckingham, Department of Public Utility Control

S. B. Comley, We The People

State of Connecticut SLO Designee

D. Katz, Citizens Awareness Network (CAN)

R. Bassilakis, CAN

J. M. Block, Attorney, CAN

S. P. Luxton, Citizens Regulatory Commission (CRC)

Representative T. Concannon

E. Woollacott, Co-Chairman, NEAC

J. Althouse, Manager - Nuclear Training Assessment Group

S. J. Sherman, Audits and Evaluation

- _ . _ .

..

.

M. Bowling 4

Distribution w/ encl:

Region 1 Docket Room (with som of concurrences)

Nuclear Safety Information Center (NSIC)

PUBLIC

FILE CENTER, NRR (with Oriainal concurrences)-

SPO Secretarial File, Region i

NRC Resident inspector

J. Wiggins, DRS

L. Nicholson, DRS

OE (2)

H. Miller, RA/W. Axelson, DRA

B. Jones, PIMB/ DISP

W. Lanning, Deputy Director of Inspections, SPO, RI

W. Travers, Director, SPO, NRR

C. Miskey, DRS

. Distribution w/enci (VIA E-MAIL):

R. Zimmerman, ADPR, NRR

F. Davis, OGC

A. Nicosia, OGC

J. Lieberman, OE (OEMAIL)

D. Holody, EO, Rl

J. Andersen, PM, SPO, NRR

M. Callahan, OCA

R. Correia, NRR

B. McCabe, OEDO

S. Dembek, PM, SPO, NRR

E. Imbro, Deputy Director of ICAVP Oversight, SPO, NRR

< D. Mcdonald, PM, SPO, NRR

P. McKee, Deputy Director of Licensing, SPO, NRR

H. Pastis, SPO, NRR (Employee Concerns Only)

S. Reynolds, Chief, ICAVP Oversight, SPO, NRR

D. Screnci, PAO

Inspection Program Branch (IPAS)

DOCDESK

DOCUMENT NAME: G:\EEB\FUHRMEIS\ MIL 3988A. INS

Ta receive a copy of this document, Indicate in the box: "C" = Copy without attachment / enclosure "E" = Copy with attachment /enolosure "N" =

No copy MuwgI

OFFICE Rl/DRS l@ Rl/DRS [i- Pl/DRP l C, l hJ M .,{Ml 6

NAME RFuhrmeister P WRulandt,)//[( JDurr p JWigginslv T.L uk A

DATE 04/17/98 05//3/98

'

05//f/98 05/7V98

'

05/f2/98

i OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

W/

es kMg6

5