ML14188C481

Summary of Annual Assessment Meeting with Wolf Creek Generating Station

ML14188C481
Person / Time
Site:	Wolf Creek
Issue date:	07/07/2014
From:	O'Keefe N F NRC/RGN-IV/DRP/RPB-B
To:	Heflin A C Wolf Creek
O'Keefe N F
References
Download: ML14188C481 (41)

Text

July 7, 2014

Adam C. Heflin, President and Chief Executive Officer Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation P.O. Box 411 Burlington, KS 66839

SUBJECT:

SUMMARY OF ANNUAL ASSESSMENT MEETING WITH WOLF CREEK GENERATING STATION

Dear Mr. Heflin:

On June 24, 2014, members of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff met with representatives of the Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation (WCNOC) at the New Strawn Community Center in New Strawn, Kansas.

During the meeting, the participants discussed the NRC's assessment of the WCNOC performance during 2013. Specifically, the NRC staff provided an overview of our inspection activities, findings, and overall performance assessment for the station. Copies of the NRC and WCNOC presentations from the meeting are included as Enclosures 1 and 2, respectively.

During the question and answer session at the end of the meeting, there were no questions.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter 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.

Should you have any questions concerning this matter, we will be pleased to discuss them with you. Sincerely,

/RA/ Neil F. O'Keefe, Branch Chief Project Branch B Division of Reactor Projects Docket No.: 50-482 License No.: NPF-42

Enclosures:

As stated

ML14188C481 SUNSI Review By: NFOe ADAMS Yes No Publicly Available Non-Publicly Available Non-Sensitive Sensitive Keyword: RGN-002 OFFICE SPE:PBB C:PBB NAME DProulx:PBH NOKeefe SIGNATURE /RA/ /RA/DProulx for DATE 07/07/14 07/07/14 Letter to Adam C. Heflin from Neil F. O'Keefe dated July 7, 2014

SUBJECT:

SUMMARY OF ANNUAL ASSESSMENT MEETING WITH WOLF CREEK GENERATING STATION DISTRIBUTION: Regional Administrator (Marc.Dapas@nrc.gov) Deputy Regional Administrator (Kriss.Kennedy@nrc.gov) Acting DRP Director (Troy.Pruett@nrc.gov) Acting DRP Deputy Director (Michael.Hay@nrc.gov) DRS Director (Anton.Vegel@nrc.gov) DRS Deputy Director (Jeff.Clark@nrc.gov) Senior Resident Inspector (Charles.Peabody@nrc.gov) Resident Inspector (Raja.Stroble@nrc.gov) WC Administrative Assistant (Carey.Spoon@nrc.gov) Branch Chief, DRP/B (Neil.OKeefe@nrc.gov) Senior Project Engineer, DRP/B (David.Proulx@nrc.gov) Project Engineer, DRP/B (Fabian.Thomas@nrc.gov) Public Affairs Officer (Victor.Dricks@nrc.gov) Public Affairs Officer (Lara.Uselding@nrc.gov) Project Manager (Fred.Lyon@nrc.gov) Branch Chief, DRS/TSB (Geoffrey.Miller@nrc.gov) RITS Coordinator (Marisa.Herrera@nrc.gov)

ACES (R4Enforcement.Resource@nrc.gov) Regional Counsel (Karla.Fuller@nrc.gov) Technical Support Assistant (Loretta.Williams@nrc.gov) Congressional Affairs Officer (Jenny.Weil@nrc.gov) RIV/ETA: OEDO (Yen-Chu.Jen@nrc.gov) 1 Introductions2 3Where We Are Essential Service Water System Diagram4 5What We've Accomplished 6ESW Piping Replacement 7What Remains to be Done Essential Service Water System Diagram8 9Containment Cooler 10Containment Cooler Tube Closing11 12 1 Wolf Creek Generating Station 2013 Annual Assessment Meeting Nuclear Regulatory Commission - Region IV Burlington, KS June 24, 2014 2 Agenda Introductions Overview of Inspection Process NRC Discussion of Plant Performance Results WCNOC Response and Comments Closing Remarks Public Comments and Questions NRC Staff Charles Peabody, Senior Resident Inspector at Wolf Creek Iradj Stroble, Resident Inspector at Wolf Creek Neil O'Keefe, Branch Chief Troy Pruett, Division Director, Division of Reactor Projects 3 4 NRC Performance Goals Safety: Ensure adequate protection of public health and safety and the environment. Security: Ensure adequate protection in the secure use and management of radioactive materials.

5 Reactor Oversight Process SafetyCornerstonesBaseline Inspection ResultsSignificance ThresholdAction MatrixSignificance ThresholdPerformance IndicatorResultsRegulatory ResponseStrategicPerformance AreasSafetyCornerstonesBaseline Inspection ResultsSignificance ThresholdAction MatrixSignificance ThresholdPerformance IndicatorResultsRegulatory ResponseStrategicPerformance Areas 6 Significance Threshold Performance Indicators Green: Only Baseline Inspection White: Increases NRC oversight Yellow: Increases NRC oversight Red: Increases NRC oversight Inspection Findings Green: Very low safety issue White: Low to moderate safety issue Yellow: Substantial safety issue Red: High safety issue 7 Action Matrix Concept Increasing Safety Significance Increasing NRC Inspection Efforts Increasing NRC/Licensee Management Involvement Increasing Regulatory Actions LicenseeResponseRegulatoryResponseDegradedCornerstoneMultiple/Rep.DegradedCornerstoneUnacceptablePerformance 8 Wolf Creek Generating Station Inspection Activities January 1 - December 31, 2013 Baseline Inspection - ~ 2150 hours0.0249 days <br />0.597 hours <br />0.00355 weeks <br />8.18075e-4 months <br /> -Conducted by resident inspectors and regional specialist inspectors -Inspections cover: Maintenance Operations Engineering Radiation Protection Security Emergency Preparedness 9 Wolf Creek Generating Station Inspection Activities January 1 - December 31, 2013 Two Supplemental Inspections -White Performance Indicator -Yellow Finding Results of Supplemental Inspections White Performance Indicator: -Substantive improvements in EDG maintenance -Modifications to make failures less likely -Installed diverse diesel generators -Performance indicator returned to Green and White PI closed. 10 Results of Supplemental Inspections Yellow Finding: Thorough root cause analysis Corrective actions to address: Contractor oversight Maintenance procedure quality Human performance Safety culture 11 Independent Safety Culture Assessment Performed in conjunction with the supplemental inspection Conducted focus group discussions Assessed effectiveness of safety culture improvements Assessed effectiveness of corrective actions for four Substantive Cross-Cutting Issues 12 13 Wolf Creek Generating Station Annual Assessment Summary January 1 - December 31, 2013 Overall conclusion: Wolf Creek Generating Station operated in a manner that preserved public health and safety 14 Wolf Creek Generating Station Assessment Results January 1 - December 31, 2013 Wolf Creek Generating Station returned to the Licensee Response Column (Column 1) -Shifted from Column 3 to Column 1 after two successful supplemental inspections on July 1, 2013 15 Wolf Creek Generating Station Annual Assessment Summary January 1, 2014 to present Current Status: -Wolf Creek was placed into the Regulatory Response Column (Column 2) on March 26, 2014 after the NRC issued a Greater-than-Green finding in the Physical Protection Cornerstone.

16 Future Inspections Supplemental inspections for the Greater-than-Green Physical Protection finding and the White Emergency Preparedness finding. Wolf Creek Generating Station Annual Assessment Summary 17 January 1 - December 31, 2013 No current substantive cross-cutting issues Some long-standing equipment issues not fully resolved: -Essential service water pipe replacements and water hammer mitigation -Containment cooler pitting corrosion Wolf Creek Generating Station Annual Assessment Summary Other Safety Culture Issues Chilling Effect Letter issued on August 19, 2014 -Possible discrimination of contract worker for raising safety concerns -One work group felt discouraged from reporting problems NRC intent is to ensure that these issues do not create an broader environment where workers do not feel free to report problems 18 19 NRC Closing Remarks Troy Pruett Division Director Division of Reactor Projects NRC Region IV 20 Licensee Response and Remarks Adam Helfin President and Chief Nuclear Officer Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation Meeting Closure The business portion of this meeting with WCNOC is concluded. NRC staff members will answer questions, then remain after the meeting if more questions remain 21 22 Open to the Public The NRC places a high priority on keeping the public and stakeholders informed of its activities. At www.nrc.gov, you can: -Find public meeting dates and transcripts; -Read NRC testimony, speeches, press releases, and policy decisions; and -Access the agency's Electronic Reading Room to find NRC publications and documents.

23 Contacting the NRC Report an emergency -(301) 816-5100 (call collect) Report a safety concern -(800) 695-7403 -Allegation@nrc.gov General information or questions -www.nrc.gov -Select "What We Do" for Public Affairs Actions in Response to the Japan Nuclear Accident Actions in response to Japan Nuclear Accident Website: http://www.nrc.gov/japan/japan-info.html Mailbox for comments on staff actions:

JLD_Public.Resource@nrc.gov Office of Public Affairs Point of Contact:

OPA.resource@nrc.gov or 301-415-8200 24 NRC Social Media Channels Blog: http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov/ Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nrcgov/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/nrcgov YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/NRCgov RSS: http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html#rss 25 26 Reference Sources Reactor Oversight Process -http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/index.html Public Electronic Reading Room -http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm.html Public Document Room 800-397-4209 (Toll Free)