ML040960005
| ML040960005 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Oconee  |
| Issue date: | 04/05/2004 |
| From: | Nolan M NRC/OE |
| To: | Duke Energy Corp |
| Dixon-Herrity J | |
| References | |
| EA-04-018 EN-04-022 | |
| Download: ML040960005 (3) | |
Text
April 05, 2004 EN-04-022 OFFICE OF ENFORCEMENT NOTIFICATION OF SIGNIFICANT ENFORCEMENT ACTION Licensee: Duke Energy Corporation (EA-04-018)
Oconee Nuclear Station Docket No. 050-00269, 270, 287
Subject:
NOTICE OF VIOLATION AND PROPOSED IMPOSITION OF CIVIL PENALTY -
$60,000 This is to inform the Commission that a Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty in the amount of $60,000 will be issued on or about April 8, 2004 to Duke Energy Corporation as result of an inspection at the Oconee Nuclear Station. The action is based on a Severity Level III violation involving a failure to adhere to the requirements of 10 FR 50.59, in that the licensee made changes to the Oconee facility, as described in the Updated Final Safety Analysis Report in May 2001 which involved unreviewed safety questions without obtaining prior NRC approval. In this case, the licensee revised the analysis for high energy line break (HELB) accidents, permitting the facility to initiate emergency feedwater up to 30 minutes after a HELB as opposed to the previously reviewed and approved 15 minutes and revised the analysis to permit initiation of high pressure injection up to 8 hours9.259259e-5 days <br />0.00222 hours <br />1.322751e-5 weeks <br />3.044e-6 months <br /> after a HELB as opposed to the reviewed and approved 1 hour1.157407e-5 days <br />2.777778e-4 hours <br />1.653439e-6 weeks <br />3.805e-7 months <br />.
In accordance with the Enforcement Policy, a base civil penalty in the amount of $60,000 is considered for a Severity Level III violation. Because Oconee has not been the subject of escalated enforcement actions within the last two years, the staff considered whether credit was warranted for Corrective Action in accordance with the civil penalty assessment process in Section VI.C.2 of the Enforcement Policy. During the predecisional enforcement conference the licensee provided corrective actions which included rewriting the licensees 10 CFR 50.59 evaluation. However, the corrective actions taken failed to restore the facility to compliance and, at the time of the conference, the licensee had not completed its root cause analysis.
Based on the failure to bring the facility into compliance prior to the conference, the staff determined that credit for Corrective Action was not warranted. Therefore, the staff is proposing imposition of a base civil penalty in the amount of $60,000. The licensee has been contacted regarding the need to implement corrective actions.
It should be noted that the licensee has not been specifically informed of the enforcement action. The schedule of issuance and notification is:
Mailing of Notice April 8, 2004 Telephone Notification of Licensee April 8, 2004 The State of South Carolina will be notified.
The licensee has thirty days from the date of the Notice in which to respond. Following NRC evaluation of the response, the civil penalty may be remitted, mitigated, or imposed by Order.
Contacts: Jennifer Dixon-Herrity, OE, 415-1980; Chris Nolan, OE, 415-3360
Distribution OWFN ________ OWFN ______ TWFN _______ Regional Offices Chairman _____ EDO OCFO RI RIV Comm. ________ DEDR OP CTR RII Comm. ________ DEDMRS NMSS RIII SECY OE OCIO OCA OGC OIG MAIL PA NRR RES PUBLIC IP OI ACRS STP ADAMS ACCESSION NO ML040960005 C:\ORPCheckout\FileNET\ML040960005.wpd OE:ES OE:SC JDixon-Herrity CNolan 4/5/2004 4/5/2004 PRELIMINARY INFORMATION - NOT FOR PUBLIC DISCLOSURE UNTIL VERIFICATION THAT LICENSEE HAS RECEIVED ACTION