IR 05000528/2015005

Mid-Cycle Assessment Letter for Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1,2,and 3 (Report 05000528/2015005, 05000529/2015005 and 05000530/2015005)

ML15243A580
Person / Time
Site:	Palo Verde
Issue date:	09/01/2015
From:	Miller G B NRC/RGN-IV/DRP
To:	Edington R K Arizona Public Service Co
Geoffrey Miller
References
IR 2015005
Download: ML15243A580 (6)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION REGION IV 1600 E LAMAR BLVD ARLINGTON, TX 76011

-4511 September 1, 2015 Randall K. Edington Executive Vice President, Nuclear/CNO Arizona Public Service Company P.O. Box 1856 Buckeye, AZ 85326

SUBJECT: MID-CYCLE ASSESSMENT LETTER FOR PALO VERDE NUCLEAR GENERATING STATION, UNITS 1, 2

, AND 3 (REPORT 05000528/2015 005 , 05000529/201500 5 AND 05000530/2015 005) Dear Mr. Edington

,

On August 12, 2015 , the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) completed its mid

-cycle performance review of the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1, 2, a nd The NRC reviewed the most recent quarterly performance indicators (PIs) in addition to inspection results and enforcement actions from July 1, 201 4 through June 30, 201 This letter informs you of the NRC's assessment of your facility during this period and its plans for future inspections at your facilit The NRC determined that overall, Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1, 2, and 3 were operated in a manner that preserved public health and safety and met all cornerstone objective The NRC determined the performance at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1, 2, a nd 3 during the most recent quarter was within the Licensee Response Column of the NRC's Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) Action Matrix because all inspection findings had very low (i.e., Green) safety significance, and all PIs indicated that your performance was within the nominal, expected range (i.e., Green). Therefore, the NRC plans to conduct ROP baseline inspections at your facilit The enclosed inspection plan lists the inspections scheduled through June 30, 201 Routine inspections performed by resident inspectors are not included in the inspection pla The inspections listed during the second half of the inspection plan are tentative and may be revised at the end

-of-cycle performance revie The NRC provides the inspection plan to allow for the resolution of any scheduling conflicts and personnel availability issue The NRC will contact you as soon as possible to discuss changes to the inspection plan should circumstances warrant any change This inspection plan does not include security related inspections, which will be sent via separate, non

-publicly available correspondenc In response to the accident at Fukushima, the Commission issued Order EA

-12-049, "Order Modifying Licenses with Regard to Requirements for Mitigation Strategies for Beyond

-Design-Basis External Events," which requires licensees to develop, implement, and maintain guidance R. Edington and strategies to maintain or restore core cooling, containment, and spent fuel pool cooling capabilities following a beyond

-design-basis external even Additionally, the Commission issued Order EA

-12-051, "Order Modifying Licenses with Regard to Reliable Spent Fuel Pool Instrumentation," which requires licensees to have a reliable means of remotely monitoring wide-range Spent Fuel Pool levels to support effective prioritization of event mitigation and recovery actions in the event of a beyond

-design-basis external even The NRC is conducting audits of licensee efforts towards compliance with these Order The audit has been completed at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, and the information gathered will aid staff in development of the ultimate Safety Evaluation for the sit After the NRC staff receives the Final Compliance letter for the site, the Final Safety Evaluation will be issue Then, the NRC staff will confirm through inspections the full implementation of the orders mentioned above by performing Temporary Instruction 2515/191, "Inspection of the Implementation of Mitigating Strategies and Spent Fuel Pool Instrumentation Orders and Emergency Preparedness Communication/Staffing/Multi

-Unit Dose Assessment Plans."

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRC's document system (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading

-rm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room).

Please contact me at 817-200-1173 with any questions you have regarding this lette

Sincerely,

/RA/

Geoffrey B. Miller Chief, Branch D Division of Reactor Projects Docket Nos.

50-528; 50-529; 50-530 License Nos.

NPF-41; NPF-51; NPF-74 Enclosure: Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1, 2, and 3 Inspection/Activity Plan

R. Edington and strategies to maintain or restore core cooling, containment, and spent fuel pool cooling capabilities following a beyond

-design-basis external even Additionally, the Commission issued Order EA

-12-051, "Order Modifying Licenses with Regard to Reliable Spent Fuel Pool Instrumentation," which requires licensees to have a reliable means of remotely monitoring wide-range Spent Fuel Pool levels to support effective prioritization of event mitigation and recovery actions in the event of a beyond

-design-basis external even The NRC is conducting audits of licensee efforts towards compliance with these Order The audit has been completed at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, and the information gathered will aid staff in development of the ultimate Safety Evaluation for the sit After the NRC staff receives the Final Compliance letter for the site, the Final Safety Evaluation will be issue Then, the NRC staff will confirm through inspections the full implementation of the orders mentioned above by performing Temporary Instruction 2515/191, "Inspection of the Implementation of Mitigating Strategies and Spent Fuel Pool Instrumentation Orders and Emergency Preparedness Communication/Staffing/Multi

-Unit Dose Assessment Plans."

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRC's document system (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading

-rm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room).

Please contact me at 817-200-1173 with any questions you have regarding this lette

Sincerely,

/RA/ Geoffrey B. Miller Chief, Branch D Division of Reactor Projects Docket Nos.

50-528; 50-529; 50-530 License Nos.

NPF-41; NPF-51; NPF-74 Enclosure: Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1, 2, and 3 Inspection/Activity Plan DISTRIBUTION: See next page ADAMS ACCESSION NUMBER: SUNSI Review By: GBM ADAMS Yes No Publicly Available Non-Publicly Available Non-Sensitive Sensitive OFFICE: RIV C/DRP/D D/DRS D/DRP NAME GMiller AVegel TPruett SIGNATURE /RA/ /RA/ /RA/ DATE 8/27/15 8/27/15 8/27/15 Letter to Randall K. Edington from Geoffrey B. Miller dated September 1, 2015

SUBJECT: MID-CYCLE ASSESSMENT LETTER FOR PALO VERDE NUCLEAR GENERATING STATION, UNITS 1, 2, AND 3 (REPORT 05000528/201 5 005 , 05000529/201 5 00 5 AND 05000530/201 5 00 5) DISTRIBUTION

Regional Administrator (Marc.Dapas@nrc.gov)

Deputy Regional Administrator (Kriss.Kennedy@nrc.gov)

DRP Director (Troy.Pruett@nrc.gov)

DRP Deputy Director (Ryan.Lantz@nrc.gov) DRS Director (Anton.Vegel@nrc.gov)

DRS Deputy Director (Jeff.Clark@nrc.gov)

Senior Resident Inspector (Charles.Peabody@nrc.gov) Resident Inspector (Dustin.Reinert@nrc.gov

) Resident Inspector (David.You@nrc.gov)

Branch Chief (Geoffrey.Miller@nrc.gov) Senior Project Engineer (Bob.Hagar@nrc.gov)

Project Engineer (Jan.Tice@nrc.gov)

Public Affairs Officer (Victor.Dricks@nrc.gov)

Public Affairs Officer (Lara.Uselding@nrc.gov)

RIV State Liaison Officer (Bill.Maier@nrc.gov)

Project Manager (Margaret.Watford@nrc.gov) Acting Team Lead, DRS/TS S (Eric.Ruesch@nrc.gov) Director, DIRS, NRR (Scott.Morris@nrc.gov)

Deputy Director, DIRS, NRR (Allen.Howe@nrc.gov)

Director, DORL, NRR (Anne.Boland@nrc.gov

) Deputy Director, DORL, NRR (George.Wilson@nrc.gov) Director, NSIR/DPR (Rob.Lewis@nrc.gov) Chief, LPL IV-1, DORL, NRR (Michael.Markley@nrc.gov

) Regional Counsel (Karla.Fuller@nrc.gov)

RITS Coordinator (Marisa.Herrera@nrc.gov)

Technical Support Assistant (Loretta.Williams@nrc.gov)

Congressional Affairs Officer (Jenny.Weil@nrc.gov) RIV Congressional Affairs Officer (Angel.Moreno@nrc.gov)

RIV/ETA: OEDO (Cindy.Rosales

-Cooper@nrc.gov) ROPassessment Resource@nrc.gov ROPreports@nrc.gov OEMail Resource@nrc.gov

Electronic Distribution for Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station

Page 1 of 2 08/26/2015 14:07:47 Report 22 Unit NumberPlanned Dates Start EndInspection ActivityTitle No. of Staff on SitePalo VerdeInspection / Activity Plan 07/01/2015

-06/30/2017 EP-2-HAB EXERCISE INSPECTION 7 1, 2, 3 IP Emergency Action Level and Emergency Plan Changes7111404 09/14/2015 09/18/2015 1, 2, 3 IP Exercise Evaluation - Hostile Action (HA) Event7111407 09/14/2015 09/18/2015 EP-3-EP PERFORMANCE INDICATORS 1 1, 2, 3 IP Drill/Exercise Performance71151-EP01 09/14/2015 09/18/2015 1, 2, 3 IP ERO Readiness71151-EP02 09/14/2015 09/18/2015 1, 2, 3 IP A lert & Notification System Reliability71151-EP03 09/14/2015 09/18/201571111.08-INSERVICE INSPECTION 2R19 1 2 IP Inservice Inspection Activities - PWR7111108P 10/19/2015 10/30/2015 RS 5-RP INSPECTION 1 1, 2, 3 IP Radiation Monitoring Instrumentation71124.05 10/26/2015 10/30/2015 EB1-07T-PV TRIENNIAL HEAT SINK PERFORMANCE 1 1, 2, 3 IP Heat Sink Performance7111107T11/16/201511/20/2015 EB2-05T-TRIENNIAL FIRE PROTECTION INSPECTION 4 1, 2, 3 IP Fire Protection [Triennial]7111105T 12/14/2015 12/18/2015 EB2-05T-TRIENNIAL FIRE PROTECTION INSPECTION 4 1, 2, 3 IP Fire Protection [Triennial]7111105T01/11/2016 01/15/2016 RS 24-RADIATION SAFETY 2 1, 2, 3 IP Occupational ALARA Planning and Controls71124.02 01/18/2016 01/22/2016 1, 2, 3 IP Occupational Dose Assessment71124.04 01/18/2016 01/22/2016EXAM-INITIAL EXAM 7 1 INITIAL EXAM PALO VERDE UNIT 1 (10/2016)

X02576 10/03/2016 10/07/2016 2 INITIAL EXAM PALO VERDE UNIT 2 (10/2016)

X02577 10/03/2016 10/07/2016 3 INITIAL EXAM PALO VERDE UNIT 3 (10/2016)

X02578 10/03/2016 10/07/2016 1 INITIAL EXAM PALO VERDE UNIT 1 (10/2016)

X02576 10/31/201611/10/2016 2 INITIAL EXAM PALO VERDE UNIT 2 (10/2016)

X02577 10/31/201611/10/2016 3 INITIAL EXAM PALO VERDE UNIT 3 (10/2016)

X02578 10/31/201611/10/2016TSB 52B-BIENNIAL PI&R INSPECTION 4 1, 2, 3 IP Problem Identification and Resolution71152B 03/07/201603/11/2016 1, 2, 3 IP Problem Identification and Resolution71152B 03/21/2016 03/25/2016 EP-1-EP PERFORMANCE INDICATORS 1 1 IP Drill/Exercise Performance71151-EP0104/11/2016 04/16/2016 1 IP ERO Readiness71151-EP0204/11/2016 04/16/2016 1 IP A lert & Notification System Reliability71151-EP0304/11/2016 04/16/2016 This report does not include INPO and OUTAGE activities. This report shows only on-site and announced inspection procedure Page 2 of 2 08/26/2015 14:07:47 Report 22 Unit NumberPlanned Dates Start EndInspection ActivityTitle No. of Staff on SitePalo VerdeInspection / Activity Plan 07/01/2015

-06/30/2017 EP-2-BIENNIAL EP PROGRAM INSPECTION 1 1, 2, 3 IP A lert and Notification System Testing711140204/11/2016 04/16/2016 1, 2, 3 IP Emergency Preparedness Organization Staffing and Augmentation System711140304/11/2016 04/16/2016 1, 2, 3 IP Emergency Action Level and Emergency Plan Changes711140404/11/2016 04/16/2016 1, 2, 3 IP Correction of Emergency Preparedness Weaknesses and Deficiencies711140504/11/2016 04/16/2016 RS 13 PI-RADIATION SAFETY 2 1, 2, 3 IP Radiological Hazard Assessment and Exposure Controls71124.01 04/18/2016 04/22/2016 1, 2, 3 IP In-Plant Airborne Radioactivity Control and Mitigation71124.03 04/18/2016 04/22/2016 1, 2, 3 IP Occupational Exposure Control Effectiveness71151-OR01 04/18/2016 04/22/2016 1, 2, 3 IP RETS/ODCM Radiological Effluent Occurrences71151-PR01 04/18/2016 04/22/201671111.08-INSERVICE INSPECTION 1 1 IP Inservice Inspection Activities - PWR7111108P 04/18/2016 04/29/2016 EB1-21T-PV COMPONENT DESIGN BASIS INSPECTION 2 1, 2, 3 IP Component Design Bases Inspection7111121 08/01/2016 09/02/201671111.08-INSERVICE INSPECTION 1 3 IP Inservice Inspection Activities - PWR7111108P 10/17/2016 10/28/2016 INSP-BIENNIAL REQUAL INSPECTION 3 1, 2, 3 IP Licensed Operator Requalification Program7111111B 12/12/2016 12/16/2016 RS 5678-RS TEAM 5 1, 2, 3 IP Radiation Monitoring Instrumentation71124.05 01/23/2017 01/27/2017 1, 2, 3 IP Radioactive Gaseous and Liquid Effluent Treatment71124.06 01/23/2017 01/27/2017 1, 2, 3 IP Radiological Environmental Monitoring Program71124.07 01/23/2017 01/27/2017 1, 2, 3 IP Radioactive Solid Waste Processing and Radioactive Material Handling, Storage, and Transportation71124.08 01/23/2017 01/27/2017 EB1-17T-PV PERMANENT PLANT MODS & 50.59 3 1, 2, 3 IP Evaluations of Changes, Tests, and Experiments and Permanent Plant Modifications7111117T 02/27/2017 03/17/2017 EP-3-EP PERFORMANCE INDICATOR VERIFICATION 1 1, 2, 3 IP Drill/Exercise Performance71151-EP01 03/06/2017 03/10/2017 1, 2, 3 IP ERO Readiness71151-EP02 03/06/2017 03/10/2017 1, 2, 3 IP A lert & Notification System Reliability71151-EP03 03/06/2017 03/10/2017 EP2-BIENNIAL EP EXERCISE INSPECTION 4 1, 2, 3 IP Exercise Evaluation7111401 03/06/2017 03/10/201771111.08-INSERVICE INSPECTION UNIT 2 1 2 IP Inservice Inspection Activities - PWR7111108P 04/17/2017 04/28/2017 This report does not include INPO and OUTAGE activities. This report shows only on-site and announced inspection procedures.