IR 05000395/1989014

Discusses Insp Rept 50-395/89-14 on 890614-15 & Forwards Notice of Violation & Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty in Amount of $25,000

ML20247C592
Person / Time
Site:	Summer
Issue date:	08/31/1989
From:	Ebneter S NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION II)
To:	Bradham O SOUTH CAROLINA ELECTRIC & GAS CO.
Shared Package
ML20247C598	List: IR 05000395/1989014 ML20247C614
References
EA-89-143, NUDOCS 8909140053
Download: ML20247C592 (3)

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- AUG 311939

Docket No. 50-395 License No. NPF-12 EA 89-143 South Carolina Electric & Gas Company ATTN: Mr. O. S. Bradham Vice President, Nuclear Operations Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station

' Post Office Box 88 Jenkinsville, South Ccrolina 29065 Gentlemen:

SUBJECT: NOTICE OF VIOLATION AND PROPOSED IMPOSITION OF CIVIL PENALTY (NRC INSPECTION REPORT N0. 50-395/89-14)

This refers to the. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) inspection conducted by L. Lawyer at the V. C. Summer facility on June 14-15, 1989. The inspection included a review of the circumstances surrounding the assumption, on June 2, 1989, of licensed operator duties by an operator who had failed the annual

- requalification exam and had not satisfactorily completed retraining and retesting. The report documenting this inspection was sent to you by letter dated July 17, 1989. As a result of this inspection, a significant failure to comply with NRC regulatory requirements was identified, and accordingly, NRC concerns relative to the inspection findings were discussed in an Enforcement Conference held on July 28, 1989. The letter summarizing this Conference wt:,

sent to you on August 10, 198 The violation described in the enclosed Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty (Notice) involved a failure to assure that an operator or senior operator qualified pursuant to 10 CFR Part 55 was present at the controls. This was caused when a licensed but unqualified senior reactor operator assumed the operator-at-the-controls watch from about 7:00 a.m., to 10:00 a.m., on June 2, 1989, with the unit in mode five. This SR0 had taken a written requalification examination on April 11, 1989, with a failing score as determined on April 21, 1989. No retraining nor retesting, as required by 10 CFR Part 55 was performed prior to this person's assumption of the watch on June 2, 1989. The station staff promptly identified and reported the incident to the NRC. The NRC recognizes that other properly qualified licensed operators were on watch with other dutier in the control room during this time perio We also note that while the immediate corrective action of relieving the unqualified operator was timely, your short-term corrective action was lacking in breadth in that it did not address the contribution of operations management

'to the error. The long-term corrective action described at the enforcement conference was both thorough and comprehensiv To emphasize the need for adequate control to assure that properly qualified licensed persons are present at the controls at all times during the operation of the facility, I have been authorized, after consultation with the Director, Office of Enforcement, and the Deputy Executive Director for Nuclear Materials Safety, Safeguards, and Operations Support, to issue the enclosed Notice of ,(

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South Carolina Electric and -2- ggg 3 1 jggg Gas Company Violation and _ Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty in the amount of Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($25,000) for the violation described in the enclosed Notic In accordance with the " General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions," 10 CFR Part 2, Appendix C, (1989) (Enforcement Policy),

the violation described in the enclosed Notice has been categorized as a Severity Level III violation. The base civil penalty for a Severity Level III violation is $50,00 *

The escalation and mitigation factors in the Enforcement Policy were considered and t. he base civil penalty has been mitigated by 50 percent. Mitigation was deemed appropriate because your shift supervisor identified and reported the violation, and also for your generally good performance in reactor operation However, the civil penalty was not completely mitigated because escalation was applied for your failure to initiate adequate corrective actions. Though the immediate corrective action was satisfactory, escalation is appropriate not-withstanding your eventual long term corrective actions because you erroneously determined that the sole root cause of the violation was the individual licensed ,

operator's error. You initially maintained that it was the operator's responsi- '

bility to assure that all requalification requirements were met. Consequently, NRC-intervention was necessary to focus your attention on the program weaknesses, which you subsequently corrected. No other factors were deemed appropriate and a $25,000 civil penalty is assessed for this violatio You are required to respond to this letter and should follow the instructions specified in the enclosed Notice when preparing your response. In your response, you should document the specific actions taken and any additional actions you plan to prevent recurrence. After reviewing your response to this Notice, including your proposed corrective actions and the results of future inspections, the NRC will determine whether further NRC enforcement action is necessary to ensure compliance with NRC regulatory requirement In accordance with Section 2.790 of the NRC's " Rules of Practice," Part 2, Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, a copy of this letter and its enclosure will be placed in the NRC Public Document Roo The responses directed by this letter and enclosed Notice are not subject to the clearance procedures of the Office of Management and Budget as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, Public Law No. 96-51

Sincerely, Original signed by SDEbneter Stewart D. Ebneter Regional Administrator Enclosure:

Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty cc w/ encl: (See page 3)

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AUG S 11989 SouthCarolinaElectficand - 3 ..

Gas Company'

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cc w/ encl:

J. L. .Skolds, General Manager Nuclear Plant Operations A. R. Koon, Jr., Manager-Nuclear Licensing J. B. Knotts, J Bishop. . Cook, Purcell' & Reynolds W. A. Williams, Jr., Technical

' Assistant, Nuclear Operations -

Santee Coope R. E. Rainear, Executive Vice President, South Carolina Public

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Service Authorit State of South Carolina

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