IR 05000482/2015005

Mid-Cycle Assessment Letter for Wolf Creek Generating Station (Report 05000482/2015005)

ML15243A562
Person / Time
Site:	Wolf Creek
Issue date:	09/01/2015
From:	Pruett T W NRC/RGN-IV/DRP
To:	Heflin A C Wolf Creek
Nicholas Taylor
References
IR 2015005
Download: ML15243A562 (6)

Text

September 1, 2015

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

SUBJECT: MID-CYCLE ASSESSMENT LETTER FOR WOLF CREEK GENERATING STATION (REPORT 0500482/2015005)

Dear Mr. Heflin:

On August 11, 2015, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) completed its mid-cycle performance review of Wolf Creek Generating Station. The NRC reviewed the most recent quarterly performance indicators (PIs) in addition to inspection results and enforcement actions from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015. This letter informs you of the NRC's assessment of your facility during this period and its plans for future inspections at your facility.

The NRC determined that overall, Wolf Creek Generating Station operated in a manner that preserved public health and safety and met all cornerstone objectives. The NRC determined the performance at Wolf Creek Generating Station 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 facility.

The enclosed inspection plan lists the inspections scheduled through June 30, 2017. Routine inspections performed by resident inspectors are not included in the inspection plan. The inspections listed during the second half of the inspection plan are tentative and may be revised at the end-of-cycle performance review. The NRC provides the inspection plan to allow for the resolution of any scheduling conflicts and personnel availability issues. The NRC will contact you as soon as possible to discuss changes to the inspection plan should circumstances warrant any changes. This inspection plan does not include security related inspections, which will be sent via separate, non-publicly available correspondence.

On February 27, 2015, the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) completed a team inspection at Wolf Creek Generating Station. The inspection focused on the station's progress in addressing safety culture issues related to the NRC Chilling Effect Letter (CEL) dated August 19, 2013 (ML13233A208). The team determined that Wolf Creek Generating Station has taken appropriate actions to foster a workplace environment that encourages employees to raise safety concerns and to feel free to do so without fear of retaliation. The team concluded that no chilling effect existed at Wolf Creek Generating Station, and that the station has made reasonable progress in addressing the issues leading up to the issuance of the CEL. This inspection is documented in NRC Inspection Report 05000482/2015008, dated April 7, 2015 (ML 15086A560). The NRC closed the CEL in a letter dated April 7, 2015 (ML 15090A263), and considers the cross-cutting theme in safety conscious work environment (SCWE) closed. 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 and strategies to maintain or restore core cooling, containment, and spent fuel pool cooling capabilities following a beyond-design-basis external event. 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 event. The NRC is conducting audits of licensee efforts towards compliance with these Orders. This audit includes an onsite component in order for the NRC to evaluate licensee plans for complying with the Orders, as described in site-specific submittals, and to receive and review information relative to associated open items. This onsite activity will occur in the months prior to a declaration of compliance for the first unit at each site, and will aid staff in development of an ultimate Safety Evaluation for the site. The date for the onsite component at your site is being coordinated with your staff. A site-specific audit plan for the visit will be provided in advance to allow sufficient time for preparations. In accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (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 Nicholas H. Taylor, Chief, Reactor Projects Branch B, at 817-200-1141 with any questions you have regarding this letter.

Sincerely,/RA/

Troy W. Pruett, Director Division of Reactor Projects Docket No: 50-482 License No: NPF-42

Enclosure:

Wolf Creek Generating Station Inspection/Activity Plan

SUNSI Review By: NHTaylor ADAMS Yes No Publicly Available Non-Publicly Available Non-Sensitive Sensitive OFFICE RIV/BC/DRP RIV/D/DRS RIV/D/DRP NAME NTaylor AVegel TPruett SIGNATURE /RA/ /RA/ /RA/ DATE 8/26/15 8/26/15 8/27/15 Letter to Adam from Troy W. Pruett dated September 1, 2015

SUBJECT: ANNUAL ASSESSMENT LETTER FOR WOLF CREEK GENERATING STATION (REPORT 05000482/2015005) 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 (Douglas.Dodson@nrc.gov) Resident Inspector (Fabian.Thomas@nrc.gov) Branch Chief, DRP/B (Nicholas.Taylor@nrc.gov) Senior Project Engineer, DRP/B (David.Proulx@nrc.gov) Project Engineer, DRP/B (Steven.Janicki@nrc.gov) Project Engineer, DRP/B (Shawn.Money@nrc.gov) WC Administrative Assistant (Carey.Spoon@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 (Fred.Lyon@nrc.gov) Acting Team Leader, DRS/TSS (Eric.Ruesch@nrc.gov) Director, DIRS, NRR (Scott.Morris@nrc.gov) Deputy Director, DIRS, NRR (Allen.Howe@nrc.gov) Acting Director, DORL, NRR (Anne.Boland@nrc.gov) Acting Deputy Director, DORL (George.Wilson@nrc.gov) Director, NSIR/DPR (Rob.Lewis@nrc.gov) Chief, PLB IV, DORL, NRR (Michael.Markey@nrc.gov) RITS Coordinator (Marisa.Herrera@nrc.gov) Regional Counsel (Karla.Fuller@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 via Listserv for Wolf Creek Generating Station Page 1 of 208/26/201514:08:50Report 22UnitNumberPlanned DatesStart EndInspection ActivityTitleNo. of Staffon SiteWolf CreekInspection / Activity Plan07/01/2015-06/30/2017EXAM-INITIAL OPERATOR EXAM51 INITIAL EXAM WC(11/2015)X0254910/19/201510/23/20151 INITIAL EXAM WC(11/2015)X0254911/16/201511/20/2015FBI-FOCUSED BASELINE INSPECTION21 IPFollowup of Events and Notices of Enforcement Discretion7115306/14/201508/14/2015EB1-17T-WC PERMANENT PLANT MODS & 50.5931 IPEvaluations of Changes, Tests, and Experiments and Permanent Plant Modifications7111117T07/06/201507/10/20151 IPEvaluations of Changes, Tests, and Experiments and Permanent Plant Modifications7111117T07/20/201507/24/2015EP-2-HAB EXERCISE INSPECTION51 IPEmergency Action Level and Emergency Plan Changes711140412/07/201512/11/20151 IPExercise Evaluation - Hostile Action (HA) Event711140712/07/201512/11/2015EP-3-EP PERFORMANCE INDICATORS21 IPDrill/Exercise Performance71151-EP0112/07/201512/11/20151 IPERO Readiness71151-EP0212/07/201512/11/20151 IPAlert & Notification System Reliability71151-EP0312/07/201512/11/2015EB1-21T-WC COMPONENT DESIGN BASIS INSPECTION11 IPComponent Design Bases Inspection711112103/28/201604/29/2016EB1-07T-WC HEAT SINK PERFORMANCE11 IPHeat Sink Performance7111107T05/23/201605/27/2016RS 5678-RADIATION SAFETY - TEAM41 IPRadiation Monitoring Instrumentation71124.0505/23/201605/27/20161 IPRadioactive Gaseous and Liquid Effluent Treatment71124.0605/23/201605/27/20161 IPRadiological Environmental Monitoring Program71124.0705/23/201605/27/20161 IPRadioactive Solid Waste Processing and Radioactive Material Handling, Storage, and Transportation71124.0805/23/201605/27/2016TSB 52B-BIENNIAL PI&R INSPECTION41 IPProblem Identification and Resolution71152B06/13/201606/17/20161 IPProblem Identification and Resolution71152B06/27/201607/01/2016INSP-BIENNIAL REQUAL INSPECTION31 IPLicensed Operator Requalification Program7111111B07/18/201607/22/2016EP-1-BIENNIAL EP PROGRAM INSPECTION11 IPERO Readiness71151-EP0208/08/201608/12/20161 IPAlert & Notification System Reliability71151-EP0308/08/201608/12/20161 IPUnplanned Scrams per 7000 Critical Hrs71151-IE0108/08/201608/12/2016This report does not include INPO and OUTAGE activities. This report shows only on-site and announced inspection procedures.

Page 2 of 208/26/201514:08:50Report 22UnitNumberPlanned DatesStart EndInspection ActivityTitleNo. of Staffon SiteWolf CreekInspection / Activity Plan07/01/2015-06/30/2017EP-2-BIENNIAL EP PROGRAM INSPECTION11 IPAlert and Notification System Testing711140208/08/201608/12/20161 IPEmergency Preparedness Organization Staffing and Augmentation System711140308/08/201608/12/20161 IPEmergency Action Level and Emergency Plan Changes711140408/08/201608/12/20161 IPCorrection of Emergency Preparedness Weaknesses and Deficiencies711140508/08/201608/12/2016RS 12 PI-RADIATION SAFETY21 IPRadiological Hazard Assessment and Exposure Controls71124.0110/03/201610/07/20161 IPOccupational ALARA Planning and Controls71124.0210/03/201610/07/20161 IPOccupational Exposure Control Effectiveness71151-OR0110/03/201610/07/20161 IPRETS/ODCM Radiological Effluent Occurrences71151-PR0110/03/201610/07/201671111.08-INSERVICE INSPECTION11 IPInservice Inspection Activities - PWR7111108P10/03/201610/14/2016RS 13 PI-RADIATION SAFETY21 IPRadiological Hazard Assessment and Exposure Controls71124.0105/08/201705/12/20171 IPIn-Plant Airborne Radioactivity Control and Mitigation71124.0305/08/201705/12/20171 IPOccupational Exposure Control Effectiveness71151-OR0105/08/201705/12/20171 IPRETS/ODCM Radiological Effluent Occurrences71151-PR0105/08/201705/12/2017RS 24-RADIATION SAFETY21 IPOccupational ALARA Planning and Controls71124.0206/12/201706/16/20171 IPOccupational Dose Assessment71124.0406/12/201706/16/2017This report does not include INPO and OUTAGE activities. This report shows only on-site and announced inspection procedures.