ML20206B210

Notation Vote Approving with Comment SECY-99-109 Re Recovery of Millstone Nuclear Power Station,Unit 2

ML20206B210
Person / Time
Site:	Millstone
Issue date:	04/20/1999
From:	Merrifield J NRC COMMISSION (OCM)
To:	Vietticook A NRC OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY (SECY)
Shared Package
ML20206B174	List: ML20206B172 ML20206B177 ML20206B186 ML20206B195 ML20206B198 ML20206B210
References
SECY-99-109-C, NUDOCS 9904290182
Download: ML20206B210 (2)

Text

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NOTATION VOTE RESPONSE SHEET TO: Annette Vietti-Cook, Secretary FROM: COMMISSIONER MERRIFIELD

SUBJECT:

SECY-99-109 - RECOVERY OF MILLSTONE NUCLEAR POWER STATION, UNIT 2 Approved Disapproved Abstain Not Participating COMMENTS:

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COMMISSIONER MERR! FIELD'S COMMENTS ON SECY-99109 After careful review of the information provided to me regarding the restart readiness of Millstone Unit 2,1:

1. Agree with the staff's conclusion that NNECO has satisfied the August 14,1996 Order for the Millstone Station and that the Order be closed.

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2. Agree with the staff's conclusion that NNECO has taken appropriate corrective actions to support restad of Millstone Unit 2.

3. Support authorizing the restart of Unit 2 which entails thanging the watch list status of Unit 2 from Category 3 to Category 2, and designating the EDO as the senior manager responsible for: .

l a) Verifying that the appropriate aspects of IMC 0350 are complete, and b) Approving commencement of actions to restart Unit 2. l l

As I discussed in my comments related to SECY-99-O iQ given the potential problems that could arise from activities such as the impending reorganization at Millstone, future NRC inspections i or evaluations of the plant's SCWE are warranted. I believe that the staff must continue to be vigilant in its efforts to monitor the licensee's performance in the areas of ECP and SCWE so that any decline in performance is detected in its early stages.

As discussed at the April 14,1999 Commission meeting, the licensee is facing many challenges in the near future including: 1) the Unit 2 restart,2) the Unit 3 refueling outage, 3) the site reorganization,4) maintaining a strong SCWE/ECP,5) reducing backlogs on Units 2 & 3,6) electric industry deregulation, and 7) implementing a new work control process. While i support a more " normalized" NRC regulatory posture for the Millstone plant, I strongly encourage the staff to be vigilant in its oversight of the facility to ensure the NNECO's efforts to meet these challenges does not distract from their focus on plant safety and sound operational performance.

As I stated at the Commission meeting, given the importance of an effective corrective action program, it is critical that both the licensee and the staff monitor the performance of this program closely so that indicators of problems are detected at an early stage.

Even after the restart of Unit 2, there will still be a great deal of stakeholder interest in Millstone.

The staff should continue to be vigilant in its efforts to keep stakeholders informed of issues pertaining to Millstone. Without clear and effective communication with our stakeholders, our efforts to restore public confidence in the NRC's commitment to safety at the Millstone plant will not be successful.

Finally, I commend the staff for their tireless efforts associated with the oversight of the Millstone plant.

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'%, j8 April 28, 1999 OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY MEMORANDUM TO: William D. Travers Executive Director for Operations FROM: Annette Vietti-Cook. Secretary

SUBJECT:

STAFF REQUIREMENTS - SECY-99-109 - RECOVERY OF MILLSTONE NUCLEAR POWER STATION, UNIT 2 I 1

The Commission has agreed with the staffs conclusions that Northeast Nuclear Energy l Company (NNECO) has satisfied the August 14,1996, independent Corrective Action Verification Program (ICAVP) Order. The Commission has also agreed with the staffs conclusion that NNECO has taken appropriate corrective actions to support restart of Millstone Unit 2. The Commission therefore approves designation of the Executive Director for Operations as the senior manager responsible for (1) verifying that the appropriate aspects of IMC 0350 are complete, and (2) approving commencement of actions to restart Unit 2.

Given the importance of an effective corrective action program, the staff should ensure that the licensee's corrective action program improvements that were identified as being necessary, and were implemented during this extended shutdown (e.g., lower thresholds for reporting problems, ' l[4 more management emphasis on the need for employees to identify problems, prompt dyj processing of operability determinations, improved performance indicators, root-cause analysis, and trending) are maintained.

The staff must continue to be vigilant in its efforts to monitor the licensee's performance in the areas of ECP and SCWE so that any decline in performance is detected in its early stages.

cc: Chairman Jackson Commissioner Dieus Commissioner Diaz Commissioner McGaffigan Commissioner Merrifield OGC CIO CFO OCA OlG OPA Office Directors, Regions, ACRS, ACNW, ASLBP (via E-Mail)

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