[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 203 (Monday, October 21, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64667-64668]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-26707]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-346, License No. NPF-3]
FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company; Davis-Besse Nuclear Power
Station, Unit 1; Notice of Issuance of Director's Decision Under 10 CFR
2.206
Notice is hereby given that the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation, has issued a Director's Decision with regard to a Petition
dated April 24, 2002, filed by David Lochbaum on behalf of multiple
organizations, hereinafter referred to as the ``Petitioners.'' The
Petition was supplemented on May 9, 2002. The Petition concerns the
operation of the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, Unit 1, operated by
FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company.
The Petition requested that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) issue an Order to FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (the
licensee), requiring a verification by an independent party (VIP) for
issues related to the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) head problem at
Davis-Besse, Unit 1, and that the VIP be tasked with the following:
1. Verifying the adequacy of the problem identification and
resolution (PIR) process.
2. Verifying the root cause evaluation prepared by the licensee for
the damage to the RPV head.
3. Verifying that the long-term accumulation of boric acid within
the reactor containment did not impair the function of safety-related
systems, structures, and components (SSCs).
4. Verifying that the licensee has taken appropriate actions in
response to NRC generic communications.
5. Verifying that the licensee has not deferred other plant
modifications without appropriate justification.
6. Verifying that all entities responsible for safety reviews
(e.g., Quality Assurance, INPO, the nuclear insurer, the plant
operating review committee, the offsite safety review committee, etc.)
are properly in the loop and functioning adequately.
7. Documenting its work in a publicly available report.
8. Presenting its conclusions to the NRC in a public meeting
conducted near the plant site.
In support of their request, the Petitioners cite the Order issued
by the NRC on August 14, 1996, to Northeast Nuclear Energy Company, the
owner of the Millstone Nuclear Power Station in Connecticut, as a
recent and relevant precedent for the action they requested. The
Petitioners consider that restarting the Davis-Besse plant before an
independent team of experts has examined the safety issues related to
the RPV head problem would be potentially unsafe and in violation of
Federal regulations.
The Petition of April 24, 2002, raises concerns originating in the
licensee's identification of extensive degradation to the pressure
boundary material of the RPV head on March 6, 2002. The VIP requested
by the Petitioners would provide an independent program to verify the
adequacy of plant owner performance and to reassure the public that all
reasonable safety measures have been taken prior to plant restart.
On May 9, 2002, the Petitioners and the licensee met with the
staff's Petition Review Board. The meeting gave the Petitioners and the
licensee an opportunity to provide additional information and to
clarify issues raised in the Petition.
The NRC sent a copy of the proposed Director's Decision to the
Petitioners and to the licensee for comment on August 16, 2002. The
Petitioners responded with comments on August 29, 2002, and the
licensee responded on August 30, 2002. The comments and the NRC staff's
response to them are included in the Director's Decision.
The Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation has denied
the request to issue an Order. The reasons for this decision are
explained in Director's Decision DD-02-01 pursuant to 10 CFR 2.206, the
complete text of which is available for inspection at the Commission's
Public Document Room, located at One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville, Maryland, and on the NRC's Web site http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the Electronic Reading Room), via the NRC's
Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) under
Accession No. ML022620366.
The NRC staff finds that its ongoing actions are sufficient to
verify the adequacy of the licensee's performance related to RPV head
degradation issues and to reassure the public that all reasonable
safety measures have been taken prior to plant restart. The
establishment of the Augmented Inspection Team and the Inspection
Manual Chapter (IMC) 0350 Oversight Panel, as well as the comprehensive
technical reviews being performed by the staff and investigations being
performed by the NRC's Office of Investigations, are responsive to the
degradation problem at Davis-Besse. The staff has adequate expertise
and resources to monitor the licensee's corrective and preventative
actions.
[[Page 64668]]
Thus, the enforcement-related action requested by the Petitioners for a
VIP is not warranted. Additionally, the licensee is already taking
action to provide an adequate level of independent verification for
restart activities. Therefore, the Petitioners' request that the NRC
issue an Order to the licensee requiring the establishment of a VIP is
denied. If further assessment by the IMC 0350 Oversight Panel
identifies new and/or different issues that would warrant consideration
of an enforcement-related action similar to that used at Millstone, a
change to the current staff regulatory approach would be considered.
A copy of the Director's Decision will be filed with the Secretary
of the Commission for the Commission's review in accordance with 10 CFR
2.206 of the Commission's regulations. As provided for by this
regulation, the Director's Decision will constitute the final action of
the Commission 25 days after the date of the decision, unless the
Commission, on its own motion, institutes a review of the Director's
Decision in that time.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of October, 2002.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 02-26707 Filed 10-18-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P