[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]
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