[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 181 (Thursday, September 18, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54757-54758]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-23840]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-346; License No. NPF-03]
FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company; 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 letter
dated February 3, 2003, filed by Congressman Dennis Kucinich,
Representative for the 10th Congressional District of the State of Ohio
in the United States House of Representatives, hereinafter referred to
as the ``petitioner.'' The petition was supplemented on March 27, 2003.
The petition concerns the operation of the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power
Station, Unit 1 (Davis-Besse), located in Ottawa County, Ohio.
The Petitioner requested that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) immediately revoke the FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating
Company's (FENOC's or the licensee's) license to operate the Davis-
Besse Nuclear Power Station, Unit 1 (Davis-Besse), located in Ottawa
County, Ohio. As an alternative, the Petitioner asked the NRC to
reexamine its denial of a previous 2.206 petition, submitted by the
Toledo Coalition for Safe Energy et al., that requested the NRC issue
an order to the licensee requiring a verification by an independent
party for issues related to the reactor vessel head damage at Davis-
Besse.
The basis for the request was that FENOC ``has operated outside the
parameters of their operating license for several years, has violated
numerous federal laws, rules and regulations, and has hidden
information from the NRC and lied to the NRC to justify the continuing
operation of the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station.'' The Petitioner
supported his request by citing various publicly available documents
and information related to reactor pressure vessel head damage
discovered at Davis-Besse in March 2002. The documents describe
noncompliance with the Davis-Besse operating license and violations of
NRC regulations. The documents include NRC inspection reports,
newspaper articles, and reports published by the Union of Concerned
scientists.
By an acknowledgment letter dated February 10, 2003, the NRC staff
formally notified the Petitioner that the letter dated February 3,
2003, met the criteria for review under 10 CFR 2.206, and that the NRC
staff would act on the request within a reasonable time. The
acknowledgment letter further stated that the Davis-Besse facility was
shut down, and would remain so, until the NRC is satisfied that there
is reasonable assurance of adequate protection of the public health and
safety and that issues associated with management of the facility and
potential wrongdoing have been satisfactorily addressed. The NRC staff
also informed the Petitioner in the acknowledgment letter that the
issues raised in the petition were being referred to NRR for
appropriate action.
On March 27, 2003, the Petitioner submitted supplemental
information to support the petition. The licensee responded to the
Petition on February 27, 2003, and to the supplement on April 11, 2003.
These responses were considered by the staff in its evaluation of the
petition. Copies of the licensee's responses are publicly available in
the NRC's NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS).
The NRC sent a copy of the proposed Director's Decision to the
Petitioner and to licensee for comment on June 6, 2003. The Petitioner
and FENOC both responsed with comments on July 7, 2003. The comments
and the NRC staff's response to them are included with the Director's
Decision.
The Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation has
determined that the request to revoke the Davis-Besse operating license
and the alternative request for the NRC to reexamine its denial of a
previous 2.206 petition, submitted by the Toledo Coalition for Safe
Energy et al., that requested the NRC issue an order to the licensee
requiring a verification by an independent party for issues related to
the reactor vessel head damage at Davis-Besse, both be denied. The
reasons for these decisions are explained in the Director's Decision
pursuant to 10 CFR 2.206 DD-03-03, the complete text of which is
available in ADAMS, or are available for inspection at the Commission's
Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available
records are accessible from the ADAMS Public Electronic Reading Room on
the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. 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
at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to [email protected].
The NRC staff has carefully considered the Petitioner's arguments
regarding why FENOC's operating license for the Davis-Besse Nuclear
Power Station should be revoked, as well as the alternative request for
verification by independent party. The NRC staff shares the
Petitioner's concerns about verifying the adequacy of plant operator
performance and ensuring that future operation of the plant is
conducted safely and in compliance with NRC requirements. The licensee
has established, and is implementing, a Return-to-Service Plan that
comprehensively addresses human factors, programmatic, and equipment
issues along with the specific corrosion of the reactor vessel head.
This includes evaluating, testing, or inspecting plant safety-related
systems to ensure that they are able to perform their design-basis
functions as defined in the plant's technical specifications and
Updated Final Safety Analysis Report. Additionally, the NRC's has
implemented enhanced oversight of the Davis-Besse facility that
included the creation of an oversight panel to provide the required
oversight during the plant shutdown, any future restart, and following
restart until a determination is made that the plant is ready for
return to the NRC's normal Reactor Oversight Process. The NRC's
inspection activities go beyond ensuring that the direct causes of the
damage to the reactor vessel head are properly identified and
corrected. The NRC's activities also look broadly at safety-related
plant systems and programs to ensure that the physical condition of the
plant is adequate and the licensee's operations, maintenance, and
engineering organizations are prepared to operate the plant safely if
it is permitted to restart. Thus the NRC believes that the FENOC
Return-to-Service Plan, as monitored by the NRC Davis-Besse Oversight
Panel, provides an appropriate opportunity for FENOC to demonstrate or
achieve compliance with NRC requirements, and that these activities
will provide results that adequately address the Petitioner's stated
safety concerns.
With regard to the specific punitive action of revoking the Davis-
Besse operating license sought by the Petitioner, the NRC staff finds
that there is insufficient basis to take the requested action. While
serious violations did occur at the Davis-Besse facility, the
violations in and of themselves do not
[[Page 54758]]
warrant revocation of the license. The Davis-Besse facility is
currently shut down, and will remain so until the NRC is satisfied that
there is reasonable assurance of adequate protection of the public
health and safety and that restart issues associated with management of
the facility and potential wrongdoing have been satisfactorily
addressed. In its oversight of the licensee's corrective actions for
the identified violations, the NRC has not observed an inability or
unwillingness on the part of FENOC to achieve compliance with NRC
regulations, the Davis-Besse operating license, or the Davis-Besse
design and licensing bases.
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 12th day of September, 2003.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brian W. Sheron,
Acting Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 03-23840 Filed 9-17-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P