NL-04-1197, Southern Nuclear Operating Company Reorganization
| ML041900052 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Hatch, Vogtle, Farley  |
| Issue date: | 07/01/2004 |
| From: | Stinson L Southern Nuclear Operating Co |
| To: | Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| References | |
| NL-04-1197 | |
| Download: ML041900052 (2) | |
Text
L M. Stinson (Mike)
Southern Nuclear Vice President Operating Company, Inc.
40 Inverness Center Parkway Post Office Box 1295 Birmingham, Alabama 35201 Tel 205.992.5181 Fax 205.992.0341 SOUTHERN July 1, 2004 COMPANY Energy to Serve YourWorld' DocketNos.:
50-321 50-348 50-424 NL-04-1197 50-366 50-364 50-425 U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ATTN: Document Control Desk Washington, D. C. 20555-0001 Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant Vogtle Electric Generating Plant Southern Nuclear Operating Company Reorganization Ladies and Gentlemen:
Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc. (SNC) has evaluated the benefits associated with standardizing the staff organizations at each site in a continuing effort to improve performance of each of the plants it operates. The evaluation included careful consideration of the licensing requirements and commitments of SNC as the licensed operator of the Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant, the Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, and the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant and included benchmarking of top performing plants in the industry to examine their organizational structure and processes.
The benchmarking indicated that improvements could be made to standardize plant operations for the SNC fleet by streamlining the management structure, redesigning certain organizations, and adjusting staffing to better match workload while improving safety and reliability. Accordingly, the standard site organization reflects the application of best practices and lessons learned and will promote an overall enhancement in process effectiveness and efficiencies associated with plant operations. SNC had previously advised NRC management of this activity and of SNC's intention to implement a standard organization at all three sites in the summer of 2004. The purpose of this letter is to notify the NRC that SNC has implemented the new standard organization at all three sites effective July 1, 2004.
The standard site organization will not change the unit organization requirements or staff qualification requirements contained in the plant Technical Specifications. Line management as required by the plant Technical Specifications also remains unchanged.
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U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission NL-04-1 197 Page 2 Evaluations in accordance with 10 CFR 50.54(a) have been performed regarding the necessary revisions to each of the plant's Quality Assurance (QA) Programs to facilitate these changes. The standard site organization does not affect the operational QA support function since the reporting relationship of the QA Manager to the SNC Executive Vice President and the responsibilities of the onsite QA staff remain unchanged. The QA staff will continue to have the requisite authority necessary as well as the organizational freedom required to ensure the QA function remains independent. Accordingly, it has been determined that these changes to the QA Programs do not reduce any QA commitments and can be implemented without prior NRC approval. Likewise, other changes to the FSAR were necessary. Evaluations in accordance with 10 CFR 50.59 have been performed regarding those changes and it has been determined that prior approval by the NRC is not necessary to implement these changes as well.
These evaluations have been reviewed by the Plant Review Boards at each of the three sites. Accordingly, these changes will be submitted to the NRC in accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR 50.71 (e) as part of the FSAR update process.
If you have any questions, please advise.
Sincerely, L. M. Stinson LMS/TMM cc:
Southern Nuclear Operating Company Mr. J. B. Beasley, Jr., Executive Vice President Mr. H. L. Sumner, Jr., Vice President - Plant Hatch Mr. J. T. Gasser, Vice President - Plant Vogtle Mr. D. E. Grissette, General Manager-Plant Farley Mr. G. R. Frederick, General Manager-Plant Hatch Mr. W. F. Kitchens, General Manager - Plant Vogtle RTypes: CFAO4.054; CHAO2.004; CVC7000; LC# 14072 U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Dr. W. D. Travers, Regional Administrator Mr. S. E. Peters, NRR Project Manager - Farley Mr. C. Gratton, NRR Project Manager - Hatch Mr. C. Gratton, NRR Project Manager-Vogtle Mr. C. A. Patterson, Senior Resident Inspector - Farley Mr. D. S. Simpkins, Senior Resident Inspector - Hatch Mr. J. Zeiler, Senior Resident Inspector-Vogtle