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. April 4, 1984 ,
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s The Honorable Richard L. Ottinger, Chairnan Subcommittee on Energy Conservation and Power Committee on Energy and Conmerce United States House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Mr. Chairman:
Enclosed for your information is an announcement that the Nuclear -
Regul.atory Commission staff has reduced by 50 percent a proposed -
civil penalty against the Arizona Public Service Company concern-ing the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station.
It is planned to mail this information to the news media today,
- April 4, 1984.
Sincerely, Ca rl ton Kammerer, Director Office of Congressional Affairs i
Enclosure:
As stated cc: Rep. Carlos Moorhead IDENTICAL LETTER SENT T0:
Sen. Simpson/cc: Sen. Hart Rep. Udall/cc: Rep. Lujan Rep. Markey/cc: Rep. Marlenee j Sen. DeConcini ,
Sen. Goldwater Rep. Udall Rep. Stump i
8510230118 851004 ~
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N'LC FOIM 318 bOi80l NRCM O2dO OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
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f" % NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION UNITED STATES
! .'M 3 Office of Public Affairs W2U5/5 .
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- Washington, D.C. 20555 No. 84-44 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tel. 301/492-7715 (Wednesday, April 4,1984 )
NRC STAFF REDUCES PROPOSED CIVIL PENALTY AGAINST ARIZONA PUBLIC SERVICE FOR PREVIOUSLY CITED QUALITY ASSURANCE VIOLATION AT PALO VERDE The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has reduced by 50 percent a proposed civil penalty against the Arizona Public Service Company (APS) for violations at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station that were identified during a special NRC construction assessment inspection at the plant last fa'll._
In an April 3 letter to APS, the NRC staff said it is imposing a $20,000 -
fine for the violation, instead of the $40,000 proposed in December, because of the company's " prompt and extensive corrective action."
Based on the results of a special team inspection conducted at Palo Verde Unit 1 between September 6 and November 1, 1983, the NRC Region V office proposed a $40,000 civil penalty against the company on December 12 for a breakdown in its quality assurance program. Under NRC procedures, APS was given 30 days to either pay the fine or formally submit a protest. The utility filed its response on January 31, after receiving an extension of time.
Richard C. DeYoung, Director of the NRC's Office of Inspection and Enforcement in Bethesda, MD, today notified the company of his finding that the violations did occur as cited by the staff, but that the proposed fine had been reduced by 50 percent because of the prompt and extensive corrective actions identified in the company's January 31 response. As examples of the corrective actions, DeYoung cited the company's indeoendent assessment following the NRC findings, suspension of startup work at the company's ,
initiative, a management reorganization and the " unusually prompt and ,
extensive" direct involvement by senior corporate management. The company now ,
has 30 days to either pay the $20,000 fine or request a hearing before an NRC '
administrative law judge.
The violation resulted from four examples of a breakdown in the quality assurance program: (1) caps had been installed on pressure s,ensing lines in the containmen; building with no procedure to assure that they would have been removed prior to operation of the reactor; (2) no record of a disconnected manual operator on a valve in the High Pressure Safety Injection System; (3) no record of a mispositioned valve indicator on a similar HPSI valve; and (4) bolts missing from the frames of six motor control centers.
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In its December 12 letter, the NRC staff also proposed anott.er $40,000
.. fine against APS for improperly signed electrical installation records at the plant.. The company requested and was granted an extension of time for response to that civ'tl penalty until the.NRC Office of Investigations keport on the matter is released. It is not known when thht report will be released. Therefore, today's action does not address that proposed fine.
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