[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 218 (Tuesday, November 13, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63933-63934]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-22093]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-271; License No. DPR-28]
Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC and Entergy Nuclear
Operations, Inc.; Receipt of Request for Action Under 10 CFR 2.206
Notice is hereby given that by petition dated August 27, 2007, the
New England Coalition (NEC or the petitioner) has requested that the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) take action with
regard to the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (Vermont Yankee).
The NEC petition requested that NRC promptly restore reasonable
assurance of adequate protection of public health and safety that is
now degraded by the failure of the licensee and its employees to report
adverse conditions leading to a reduction in plant safety margins at
the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (Vermont Yankee), or otherwise
to order a derate or shutdown of Vermont Yankee until it can be
determined to what extent Vermont Yankee is being operated in an
unanalyzed condition. Specifically, the petition requested the
following actions: (1) NRC completion of a Diagnostic Evaluation Team
examination or Independent Safety Assessment of Vermont Yankee to
determine the extent of condition of non-conformances, reportable
items, hazards to safety, and the root causes thereof; (2) NRC
completion of a safety culture assessment to determine why worker
safety concerns were not previously reported and why assessments of
safety culture under the Reactor Oversight Process failed to capture
the fact or reasons that safety concerns have gone unreported; (3)
derate Vermont Yankee to 50% of licensed thermal power with a mandatory
hold at 50% until a thorough and detailed structural and performance
analysis of the cooling towers, including the alternate cooling system,
has been completed by the licensee; reviewed and approved by NRC; and
until the above steps (1) and (2) have been completed; and (4) NRC
investigation and determination of whether or not similar non-
conforming conditions and causes exist at other Entergy-run nuclear
power plants.
As a basis for the request, the petition cited problems related to
the inadequate performance of Vermont Yankee Inservice Inspection,
Maintenance, Engineering, and Quality Assurance leading to a cooling
tower cell collapse coupled with the employees' assertion of degrading
plant conditions inimical to public health.
The request is being treated pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR) section 2.206 of the Commission's
regulations. The request has been referred to the Director of the
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. As provided by 10 CFR 2.206,
appropriate action will be taken on this petition within a reasonable
time. Mr. Raymond Shadis, in his capacity as the petitioner's Staff
Technical Advisor, participated in two telephone conference calls with
the NRC's Petition Review Board (PRB) on September 12, 2007, and
October 3, 2007, to discuss the petition and provide any additional
explanation in light of the PRB's initial recommendation. The results
of those discussions were considered in the PRB's determination
regarding the petitioner's request for action and in establishing the
schedule for the review of the petition. The PRB confirmed its initial
recommendation to reject action items (1), (2), and (4), which are the
diagnostic evaluation team examination, safety culture assessment, and
the NRC investigation at other Entergy facilities. These action items
were rejected for review under the 2.206 process because these actions
are not enforcement-related. However, the PRB has determined that the
petition meets the criteria for review in Management Directive 8.11
with respect to a portion of action item (3). Specifically, the PRB
found that the facts presented in the petition related to the cooling
tower cell collapse in action (3) were credible and sufficient to
warrant further inquiry.
A copy of the petition and supplement and the transcripts of the
telephone conference calls are available for inspection at the
Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint
North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor),
Rockville, Maryland and from the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and
Management System (ADAMS)
[[Page 63934]]
Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web site,
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (ADAMS Accession Nos.
ML072420194, ML072780363, ML072610466, and ML07830584). Persons who do
not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the
documents located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff
by telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to
[email protected].
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 6th day of November 2007.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
J. T. Wiggins,
Deputy Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E7-22093 Filed 11-9-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P