June 13, 2002

EA-02-090

Mr. M. Warner

Site Vice President

Kewaunee and Point Beach Nuclear Plants

Nuclear Management Company, Inc.

6610 Nuclear Road

Two Rivers, WI 54241

SUBJECT: FINAL SIGNIFICANCE DETERMINATION FOR A WHITE FINDING AND

NOTICE OF VIOLATION (NRC INSPECTION REPORT NOS. 50-266/02-03;

50-301/02-03 AND 50-266/02-05; 50-301/02-05) (POINT BEACH NUCLEAR

PLANT, UNIT 2)

Dear Mr. Warner:

The purpose of this letter is to provide you with the final results of our significance

determination of the finding identified in the subject inspection reports. As discussed in the

letter from the NRC to you, dated May 14, 2002, the inspection finding was assessed using the

significance determination process and was preliminarily characterized as White, an issue with

low to moderate increased importance to safety, which may require additional NRC inspections. 

This White finding involved the self-revealing failure of safety injection system pump 2P-15B

due to nitrogen gas binding.

In a telephone conversation with Mr. Roger Lanksbury of NRC, Region III, on May 24, 2002,

you indicated that Nuclear Management Company agreed with the preliminary characterization

of the risk significance of this finding and the apparent violation associated with this issue. You

also indicated that there was no additional information you wished to present and, therefore, a

Regulatory Conference was not needed.

After considering the information developed during the inspections, the NRC has concluded that

the inspection finding is appropriately characterized as White (i.e., an issue with low to

moderate increased importance to safety, which may require additional NRC inspections).

You have 30 calendar days from the date of this letter to appeal the staff’s determination of

significance for the identified White finding. Such appeals will be considered to have merit only

if they meet the criteria given in NRC Inspection Manual Chapter 0609, Attachment 2.

The NRC has also determined the failure to take prompt corrective actions to preclude

repetition after Point Beach personnel concluded that the safety injection system was

susceptible to gas binding and when decreasing trends in the Unit 2 A safety injection

accumulator level were identified is a violation of Criterion XVI, “Corrective Action,” of

10 CFR Part 50, Appendix B, which requires, in part, that conditions adverse to quality be
M. Warner -2-

promptly identified and corrected. In the case of significant conditions adverse to quality, the

measures shall assure that the cause of the condition is determined and corrective actions

taken to preclude repetition. The violation is cited in the attached Notice of Violation (Notice). 

The circumstances surrounding the violation are described in detail in the subject inspection

reports. In accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy, NUREG-1600, the Notice of Violation

is considered escalated enforcement because it is associated with a White finding.

You are required to respond to this letter and should follow the instructions specified in the

enclosed Notice when preparing your response.

Because plant performance for this issue has been determined to be in the regulatory response

band, we will use the NRC Action Matrix to determine the most appropriate NRC response for

this event. We will notify you, by separate correspondence, of that determination.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC’s "Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter,

its enclosure, and your response will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRC

Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records System (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).

Sincerely,

/RA/

Geoffrey E. Grant, Director

Division of Reactor Projects

Docket Nos. 50-266; 50-301

License Nos. DPR-24; DPR-27

Enclosure: Notice of Violation

See Attached Distribution

DOCUMENT NAME: C:\ORPCheckout\FileNET\ML021640295.wpd *See

previous

concurrence

To receive a copy of this document, indicate in the box: "C" = Copy without

attachment/enclosure "E" = Copy with attachment/enclosure "N" = No copy

OFFICE RIII RIII RIII RIII

NAME MKunowski:dtp RLanksbury BClayton GGrant
DATE 06/04/02 06/04/02 06/07/02 06/07/02

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
M. Warner -3-

cc w/encl: R. Grigg, President and Chief

 Operating Officer, WEPCo

R. Anderson, Executive Vice President

 and Chief Nuclear Officer

T. Webb, Licensing Manager

D. Weaver, Nuclear Asset Manager

T. Taylor, Plant Manager

A. Cayia, Site Director

J. O’Neill, Jr., Shaw, Pittman, 

 Potts & Trowbridge

K. Duveneck, Town Chairman

 Town of Two Creeks

D. Graham, Director

 Bureau of Field Operations

A. Bie, Chairperson, Wisconsin

 Public Service Commission

S. Jenkins, Electric Division

 Wisconsin Public Service Commission

State Liaison Officer
M. Warner -4-

ADAMS Distribution:

WDR 

DFT 

BAW

WDT

WFK

FJC

JLD

LJC

DCD

SJC1

RWB1

LAD

SFG

HTB

GPC

DBD

DJH

CFE

GFS

JED2

GEG

HBC

KJL

PGK1

RidsNrrDipmIipb

RJS2

RML2

JLL2

DRPIII

DRSIII

PLB1

JRK1

ADAMS (PARS)

SECY

OCA

OEWEB

OEMAIL
NOTICE OF VIOLATION

Nuclear Management Company, Inc. Docket No. 50-301

Point Beach Nuclear Plant, Unit 2 License No. DPR-27

EA-02-090

During NRC inspections conducted from January 22 through March 31, 2002, a violation of

NRC requirements was identified. In accordance with the "General Statement of Policy and

Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions," NUREG-1600, the violation is listed below: 

Criterion XVI, “Corrective Action,” of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix B, requires, in part, that

conditions adverse to quality be promptly identified and corrected. In the case of

significant conditions adverse to quality, the measures shall assure that the cause of the

condition is determined and corrective actions taken to preclude repetition.

Contrary to the above, between April 2000 and February 20, 2002, the licensee failed to

promptly identify and correct a significant condition adverse to quality regarding leakage

from the 2T-34A safety injection accumulator. Nitrogen that leaked from the

accumulator caused gas binding and subsequent failure of the 2P-15B safety injection

pump on February 20, 2002. Specifically:

a. In April 2000, the licensee completed a review of Information Notice 88-023,

Supplement 5, “Potential for Gas Binding of High-Pressure Safety Injection

Pumps During a Loss-of-Coolant-Accident,” and identified that the Point Beach

safety injection systems were susceptible to gas binding in the event of leakage

from the safety injection accumulators through multiple check valves and/or

motor-operated valves. However, corrective actions were not promptly taken.

b. On February 12, 2001, (Condition Report 01-0454), and on January 15, 2002,

(Action Request 1862), licensed control room operators identified decreasing

trends in 2T-34A safety injection accumulator level. However, the cause of the

condition was not determined and corrective actions were not taken to preclude

repetition.

This violation is associated with a White SDP finding.

Pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 2.201, Nuclear Management Company, Inc., is hereby

required to submit a written statement or explanation to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, ATTN: Document Control Desk, Washington, DC 20555, with a copy to the

Regional Administrator, Region III, and a copy to the NRC Resident Inspector at Point Beach,

within 30 days of the date of the letter transmitting this Notice of Violation (Notice). This reply

should be clearly marked as a "Reply to a Notice of Violation" and should include: (1) the

reason for the violation, or, if contested, the basis for disputing the violation or significance

determination, (2) the corrective steps that have been taken and the results achieved, (3) the

corrective steps that will be taken to avoid further violations, and (4) the date when full

compliance will be achieved. Your response may reference or include previous docketed

correspondence, if the correspondence adequately addresses the required response. If an

adequate reply is not received within the time specified in this Notice, an order or a Demand for

Information may be issued as to why the license should not be modified, suspended, or 
Notice of Violation -2-

revoked, or why such other action as may be proper should not be taken. Where good cause is

shown, consideration will be given to extending the response time. 

If you contest this enforcement action, you should also provide a copy of your response, with

the basis for your denial, to the Director, Office of Enforcement, United States Nuclear

Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. 

Because your response will be made 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), to the extent possible, it should not include any personal privacy,

proprietary, or safeguards information so that it can be made available to the public without

redaction. ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/readingrm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room). If personal privacy or proprietary

information is necessary to provide an acceptable response, then please provide a bracketed

copy of your response that identifies the information that should be protected and a redacted

copy of your response that deletes such information. If you request withholding of such

material, you must specifically identify the portions of your response that you seek to have

withheld and provide in detail the bases for your claim of withholding (e.g., explain why the

disclosure of information will create an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy or provide the

information required by 10 CFR 2.790(b) to support a request for withholding confidential

commercial or financial information). If safeguards information is necessary to provide an

acceptable response, please provide the level of protection described in 10 CFR 73.21. 

In accordance with 10 CFR 19.11, you may be required to post this Notice within two working

days. 

Dated this 13th day of June 2002.