NRC NEWS

U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200

Washington, DC 20555-001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov

 

No. 96-139 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 (Thursday, October 10, 1996)

NOTE TO EDITORS:

 The staff of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has sent two letters to Northeast

Utilities (NU) regarding the Haddam Neck and Millstone nuclear plants.

 The text of each letter is attached.

 #

Attachments. October 9, 1996

 

Mr. Ted C. Feigenbaum

Executive Vice President and 

 Chief Nuclear Officer

Northeast Utilities Service Company

c/o Mr. Terry L. Harpster

Director - Nuclear Licensing Services

P.O. Box 128

Waterford, CT 06385

SUBJECT: ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF SEPTEMBER 13, 1996, LETTER,

 REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION - HADDAM NECK

 PLANT 

Dear Mr. Feigenbaum:

The NRC staff has received your September 13, 1996, response to our August 9, 1996, 10

CFR 50.54(f) request for additional information. This letter required you to (1) update and

resubmit your basis for continued operation of Haddam Neck, and (2) address the

implications of NRC- and Northeast Utilities- identified degraded and non-conforming

conditions requiring corrective action to meet the Haddam Neck Plant's design basis.

In your response, you addressed the second item and stated that the first item could not be

addressed until "additional reviews and corrective actions" have been completed. You

committed to not restart Haddam Neck until the actions discussed in your letter were

completed. You also committed to coordinate with the NRC staff to develop an inspection

and submittal schedule for these activities. Corrective actions requiring licensing actions

should be submitted with sufficient time to support staff review. Your commitment to not

restart the plant until the corrective actions have been completed is an acceptable interim

response to the August 9, 1996, letter.

The corrective actions you have outlined are extensive. I am also aware that you are in the

process of updating the Haddam Neck economic analysis. It is our understanding that you

intend to use this updated analysis to aid in making decisions about whether to operate

Haddam Neck in the future. While this reanalysis is being performed, certain tasks have

been postponed (including putting new fuel in the spent fuel pool) until completion of the

reanalysis.

 

Two more issues regarding recent plant performance should also be included and addressed
as corrective actions prior to plant restart. These issues were identified during the

augmented inspection team (AIT) review of events occurring between August 22 and

September 4, 1996, related to reactor coolant system (RCS) inventory and cooling capacity

(Inspection 50-213/96-80) and during the August 14, 1996, emergency preparedness (EP)

exercise (Inspection 50-213/96-07). Your performance revealed some fundamental

weaknesses in plant operations and in emergency response activities. While some corrective

actions have already been taken or are planned in response to the recent RCS events and the

EP exercise, it is important that you determine the root causes of these weaknesses and take

broad corrective actions.

Attachment 1 to your letter describes Haddam Neck Plant Configuration Management Plan

(CMP) restart related activities that provide reasonable assurance that the future operation

of Haddam Neck will be conducted in conformance with the Commission's regulations. 

Since you have concluded there are some similarities in weaknesses between Millstone and

Haddam Neck, information on your assessment and views on the need for an independent

corrective action verification program (ICAVP) at Haddam Neck should be provided as

soon as possible after your decision regarding future operation of the facility. 

 Sincerely, 

 /s/

 Frank J. Miraglia, Acting Director 

 Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Docket No. 50-213

. October 9, 1996

Mr. Ted C. Feigenbaum

Executive Vice President and

Chief Nuclear Officer

Northeast Utilities Service Company

c/o Mr. Terry Harpster

Director - Nuclear Licensing Services

P.O. Box 128

Waterford, CT 06385

Dear Mr. Feigenbaum:

Effective October 1, 1996, Northeast Utilities implemented a major reorganization,

including the establishment of a recovery organization for each of the Millstone units. We

recognize this reorganization may have an impact on your previous plans and schedules for

recovery of each of the Millstone units and Haddam Neck. Your earlier July 2, 1996, letter

provided the Operational Readiness Plan for Millstone Unit 3. Subsequently, the NRC has

met with Northeast Utilities to discuss this plan and the status of your restart activities. At

your earliest convienience, please provide us information on how the Operational Readiness

Plan and schedule of important milestones are impacted by your reorganization. This

information is needed so that we can appropriately plan our resources to oversee your

activities. Our September 12, 1996, letter to you provided a copy of the NRC Restart

Assessment Plan. 

 Sincerely,

 /s/

 Phillip F. McKee, Director 

 Northeast Utilities Project Directorate Division of Reactor

Projects - I/II 

 Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Docket Nos. 50-213, 50-245, 50-336

 and 50-423