ML16326A210

Full Transition to the Reactor Oversight Process and Assessment Letter - Docket No. 50-0391

ML16326A210
Person / Time
Site:	Watts Bar
Issue date:	11/21/2016
From:	Wert L NRC/RGN-II
To:	James Shea Tennessee Valley Authority
References
Download: ML16326A210 (4)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION REGION II 245 PEACHTREE CENTER AVENUE NE, SUITE 1200 ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30303-1257 November 21, 2016 Joseph W. Shea Vice President, Nuclear Licensing Tennessee Valley Authority 1101 Market Street, LP 3D-C Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801

SUBJECT:

WATTS BAR NUCLEAR PLANT, UNIT 2 - FULL TRANSITION TO THE REACTOR OVERSIGHT PROCESS AND ASSESSMENT LETTER - DOCKET NO. 50-0391 On April 23, 2015, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Unit 2 Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) Transition Plan (ADAMS Accession No. ML15096A204). This plan (enclosed) described the staffs plan for transition of the inspection and oversight programs from Inspection Manual Chapter (IMC) 2517, Watts Bar Unit 2 Construction Inspection Program, to the ROP. IMC 2517 established the staffs policy for the conduct of the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Unit 2 construction and startup inspection program under IMC 2512 Construction Phase, IMC 2513 Preoperational Testing and Operational Preparedness Phase, and IMC 2514 Startup Testing Phase. The staff has completed the inspection activities required under each of these programs and determined that this completion provided reasonable assurance that each cornerstone of safety was ready to be monitored using the ROP. The closeout of the IMC 2517 Inspection Program is documented in NRC Inspection Report 05000391/2016609 (ADAMS Accession No. ML16326A199).

As of November 21, 2016, the NRC transitioned the remaining reactor safety cornerstones for the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Unit 2 to the full oversight of the ROP as described in IMC 2515 and IMC 0305. This also represents the conclusion of the applicability of IMC 2517.

Accordingly, IMC 0609, Significance Determination Process (SDP), will be utilized to characterize the significance of inspection findings for all cornerstones. Likewise, IMC 0608, Performance Indicator (PI) Program, will be utilized to evaluate and process the PI data submitted by Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Unit 2. The Enclosure provides additional details on the transition of the PIs. Enforcement for any violations will be administered in accordance with the ROP, and the Commissions Enforcement Policy. Therefore, the NRC is fully implementing the ROP as described in IMC 2515 and IMC 0305 for Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Unit 2, effective as of November 21, 2016.

On November 2, 2016, the NRC completed a performance review of Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Unit 2. The NRC reviewed the most recent valid quarterly performance indicators and reviewed the most recent inspection results and enforcement actions from July 1, 2015 through October 31, 2016. This letter informs you of the NRCs assessment of your facility during this period and its plans for future inspections at your facility.

J. Shea 2 The NRC determined that overall, Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Unit 2 operated in a manner that preserved public health and safety and met all cornerstone objectives. Inspection findings and traditional enforcement violations issued across all cornerstones were determined to be of very low safety significance (i.e., Severity Level IV or Green). Additionally, PIs for previously transitioned cornerstones indicated that your performance was within the nominal, expected range (i.e., Green). Therefore, the NRC has determined that Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Unit 2 has entered the Licensee Response Column of the ROP Action Matrix, effective as of November 21, 2016. The NRC plans to conduct ROP baseline inspections at your facility.

However, in accordance with the Transition Plan, the PIs for Initiating Events indicators IE01 and IE03 and Mitigating Systems indicators MS06, MS07, MS08, MS09, and MS10 are not yet valid and will be subject to augmented inspections until declared fully valid.

On August 10, 2016, during the Mid-Cycle assessment of the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, the NRC identified a Safety Conscious Work Environment (SCWE) cross-cutting theme due to the March 23, 2016, letter entitled, Chilled Work Environment for Raising and Addressing Safety Concerns at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant (ML16083A479). However, inspectors have not identified any safety significant violations due to this SCWE theme. The NRC plans to maintain a focused oversight and inspection of this theme in accordance with the ROP inspection program. This may include focused problem identification and resolution samples to confirm your corrective actions have been effective through baseline inspection samples.

In accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 2.390 of the NRC's "Agency Rules of Practice and Procedure," a copy of this letter, and its Enclosure, will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room, or from the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS); accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.

Sincerely, Leonard D. Wert, Jr.

Deputy Regional Administrator for Operations Docket No. 50-0391 License No. NPF-96

Enclosure:

Reactor Oversight Process Transition Plan For Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, Unit 2

Letter to Joseph W. Shea from Leonard D. Wert, Jr. dated November 21, 2016

SUBJECT:

WATTS BAR NUCLEAR PLANT, UNIT 2 - FULL TRANSITION TO THE REACTOR OVERSIGHT PROCESS AND ASSESSMENT LETTER - DOCKET NO. 50-0391 DISTRIBUTION:

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