Junk Plant Cooper: Six "Slap On The Wrist" Violations Associated with Procedures

The magnitude of it is eye popping. It is a Entergy managed plant. The Risk Perspectives based violation is just not big enough to change behavior at Cooper or any other plant is the USA.

I mean, does the NRC broadly keep a tract of procedure related problems? If it continues to go up, it means the ROP is ineffective...

 May 1, 2017

SUBJECT: COOPER NUCLEAR STATION – NRCINTEGRATED INSPECTION REPORT 05000298/2017001

(fixed bad link) 

Green. The inspectors reviewed a self-revealed, non-cited violation of Technical Specification 5.4.1.a, for the licensee’s failure to implement Maintenance Procedure 7.3.16, “Low Voltage Relay Removal and Installation,” Revision 22, for relay replacement work. Specifically, on October 28, 2016, the licensee failed to evaluate the potential impact of primary containment isolation system relay PCIS-REL-K27 work on shutdown cooling relay PCIS-REL-K30, which was mounted next to K27 and shared a common mounting rail. As a result, the licensee did not identify the potential of losing residual heat removal shutdown cooling, and while installing the K27 relay and snapping it into the mounting rail, workers caused a momentary actuation of relay K30 and a loss of residual heat removal shutdown cooling. Corrective actions to restore compliance included restoration of shutdown cooling, completion of the K27 relay maintenance with shutdown cooling out of service, and an outage risk management procedure change that prohibited work on or near shutdown cooling relays while the system was required to be in service. The licensee entered this deficiency into the corrective action program as Condition Report CR-CNS-2016-07645.

The licensee’s failure to implement Maintenance Procedure 7.3.16, in violation of Technical Specification 5.4.1.a, was a performance deficiency. The performance deficiency was more than minor, and therefore a finding, because it was associated with the equipment performance attribute of the Initiating Events Cornerstone and affected the associated cornerstone objective to limit the likelihood of those events that upset plant stability and challenge critical safety functions during shutdown operations.

Green. The inspectors identified a non-cited violation of Technical Specification 5.4.1.a for the licensee’s failure to maintain Emergency Procedure 5.1ASD, “Alternate Shutdown,” Revision 17, for establishing reactor equipment cooling system flow to the high pressure coolant injection system fan coil unit. Specifically, the licensee failed to maintain Emergency Procedure 5.1ASD with adequate instructions to place the reactor equipment cooling system north or south critical loop in service and verify reactor equipment system flow to the high pressure cooling injection system fan coil unit during some control room evacuation scenarios. The immediate corrective actions were to assess operability of the high pressure coolant injection system during control room evacuations that are not related to fire scenarios, and to revise Emergency Procedure 5.1ASD with instructions to open the critical loop supply valves (REC-MOV-711 or REC-MOV-714) in the control room or locally, and verify reactor equipment system flow to the high pressure coolant injection fan coil unit. The licensee entered this deficiency into the corrective action program as Condition Report CR-CNS-2017-01403.

• Green. The inspectors identified a non-cited violation of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix B, Criterion V, “Instructions, Procedures, and Drawings,” associated with the licensee’s failure to identify a condition adverse to quality associated with Station Procedure 2.2.24.1, “250 Vdc Electrical System (Div 1),” Revision 14, in accordance with Station Procedure 0-CNS-LI-102, “Corrective Action Process,” Revision 6. Specifically, the licensee failed to identify that Station Procedure 2.2.24.1 contained inadequate instructions to ensure the oncoming charger 1C output voltage was matched with the bus 1A voltage when transferring bus 1A from charger 1A to charger 1C, so that technical specification bus voltage requirements would remain met. This resulted in an unexpected and initially unrecognized decline in voltage on the bus to below the required minimum of 260.4 Vdc.

Green. The inspectors identified a non-cited violation of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix B, Criterion V, “Instructions, Procedures, and Drawings,” associated with the licensee’s failure to identify a condition adverse to quality for Division 1 residual heat removal service water booster pump A, in accordance with Station Procedure 0-CNS-LI-102, “Corrective Action Process,” Revision 6. Specifically, on January 5, 2017, the inspectors identified an oil level lower than normally expected, oil on the pump skid, and an oil droplet formed on the Division 1 residual heat removal service water booster pump A inboard bearing sight glass. The inspectors informed the control room of this condition, and the licensee determined the oil leakage from the pump’s sight glass would have prevented the pump from operating for the required 30 days during a design basis accident. The immediate corrective action was to repair the Division 1 residual heat removal service water booster pump A inboard bearing sight glass, restoring operability of the pump. The licensee entered this deficiency into the corrective action program as Condition Report CR-CNS-2017-00054.

The licensee’s failure to identify a condition adverse to quality for Division 1 residual heat removal service water booster pump A, in violation of Station Procedure 0-CNS-LI-102, was a performance deficiency.

Green. The inspectors identified a non-cited violation of 10 CFR 50.55a(g)(4) for the licensee’s failure to use an approved method to disposition an American Society of Mechanical Engineers Code nonconforming condition in the residual heat removal service water system. Specifically, the licensee identified multiple locations with localized pipe thinning below the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Code B31.1 design minimum pipe-wall thickness during an ultrasonic examination but failed to use an approved method to calculate a new acceptable pipe-wall thickness. As a corrective action to restore compliance, the licensee replaced this section of piping on November 1, 2016, during Refueling Outage 29. The licensee entered this issue into the corrective action program as Condition Reports CR-CNS-2016-05558 and CR-CNS-2016-05963.

Green. The inspectors reviewed a self-revealed, non-cited violation of Technical Specification 3.0.4 for the licensee’s failure to install the correct reactor core isolation cooling pressure control valve, RCIC-AOV-PCV23, mechanical stop and verify proper operation of the system prior to entering a mode of applicability for Technical Specification 3.5.3. This condition resulted in RCIC-AOV-PCV23 going fully open during surveillance testing following Refueling Outage 29, causing a pressure transient. This transient caused a failure of the reactor core isolation cooling turbine lube oil cooler gasket, lifting of a pressure relief valve, and a water leak. The licensee immediately shut down the reactor core isolation cooling system and declared it inoperable. The immediate corrective actions were to restore RCIC-AOV-PCV23 from the closed mechanical stop to the required open mechanical stop and to replace the turbine lube oil cooler gasket to restore operability of the system. The licensee entered this deficiency into the corrective action program as Condition Report CR-CNS-2016-08122 and initiated a root cause evaluation to investigate this condition.

Junk Facility Browns Ferry: TVA Doesn't Use Procedures

There are two procedures problems here, one address and one not.

The techs should have had a procedure for this. They setting up lower level employees to failure without having procedures. The "corrective action" procedure wasn't followed in that no procedures set this event up?   

Licensee Event Report 50-259/2016-004-0

On October 8, 2016, during the performance of preventive maintenance of the transformer winding turns ratio test on the 480V Shutdown Board transformer TS1 B, it was discovered that the transformer was set on the incorrect tap. This would result in lower than minimum required voltages at the electrically downstream buses and equipment during a postulated loss of coolant accident coincident with degraded voltage conditions. Transformers TS1A and TS1 Band their associated 480V shutdown boards were determined to be inoperable since installation prior to Unit 1 restart from an extended outage in 2007. This event is being reported as a condition which was prohibited by the plant's Technical Specifications, a condition that could have prevented the fulfillment of the safety function of structures or systems that

are needed to shut down the reactor and maintain it in a safe shutdown condition, remove residual heat, or mitigate the consequences of an accident, and a condition that resulted in the nuclear plant being in an unanalyzed condition that significantly degrades plant safety.

The cause of this event was the technicians did not use the correct drawings to install the transformers because they were incorrectly classified and listed as "documentation only" drawings. There were no steps in the work order to correctly set the taps. Corrective actions were to re-set the taps for the transformers in accordance with the applicable drawing, validate other similar transformer settings, and revise the classification for the applicable drawing.

Junk Plant RIver Bend: Following Grand Gulf Into The "Not Following" Procedure Abyss

Basically three "slap on the wrist" procedure violations at River Bend this inspection cycle. How prevalent is bum procedures in River Bend??? It just might be River Bend is maliciously not following procedures to inflate profits or minimize losses?

May 1, 2017

SUBJECT: RIVER BEND STATION – NRC INTEGRATEDINSPECTION REPORT 05000458/2017001

Green. The inspectors identified a non-cited violation of Technical Specification 5.4, “Procedures,” for the licensee’s failure to follow station maintenance procedures related to the control of scaffolding in the reactor building. Specifically, the licensee installed scaffolding less than two inches from safety-related containment unit cooler HVR-UC1B without completing an engineering evaluation. The licensee entered this issue into their corrective action program as Condition Report CR-RBS-2016-07963. Corrective actions included removing the scaffolding.

Green. The inspectors identified a non-cited violation of Technical Specification 5.4, “Procedures,” for the licensee’s failure to properly pre-plan and perform maintenance on safety-related components in accordance with documented instructions appropriate to the circumstances. Specifically, the licensee used work order instructions that did not contain sufficient detail for the reassembly of SWP-PVY32C, a safety-related valve in the control building ventilation system. As a result, SWP-PVY32C developed a refrigerant leak, and on November 17, 2015, the valve failed. This in turn caused the control building ventilation system to fail, and the high pressure core spray system was consequently declared inoperable. The licensee entered this condition into their corrective action program as Condition Report CR-RBS-2017-02364. Corrective actions included incorporating the torque values into the model work order instructions for future maintenance and reassembly.

Green. The inspectors identified a non-cited violation of Technical Specifications 3.8.4, “DC Sources - Operating,” 3.8.7, “Inverters – Operating,” and 3.8.9, “Distribution Systems – Operating,” for the licensee’s failure to either restore inoperable electrical power subsystems, inverters, and distribution subsystems to operable status within the applicable completion times, or be in Mode 3 in 12 hours and Mode 4 in 36 hours. Specifically, electrical power systems required by the above limiting conditions for operation were inoperable due to the associated division of the control building chilled water system chillers being out of service and therefore unavailable to provide the technical specification support function of attendant cooling that is needed for the associated electrical systems to perform their specified safety functions. As a result of this deficiency, the station reduced the reliability and availability of systems cooled by control building chilled water system chillers by allowing configurations that did not conform to the single failure criterion. The licensee entered this issue into their corrective action program as Condition Report CR-RBS-2015-02525. Corrective actions included entering the appropriate limiting conditions for operation of affected safety-related systems when the non-safety related support system were non-functional.

Junk Plant Grand Gulf: One Of The Most Dangerous Plants In USA.

I thought over the weekend these guys would be at 100% after the weekend. I think these guys got the world record on a slow start-up from a outage to 100% power. They were some 96% power thurs and fri, now they backed down to 85% power. What a cascade of problems these guys have had in the last year.

Basically, inadequate maintenance, extremely poor training of licensed control employees and unclear start-up procedures. I think the whole Entergy fleet has problems with procedures. They should have never allowed these guys to start-up from a four month safety shutdown until all procedures were scrubbed and they get guys in the control room who got the balls to keep their procedures clean of problems, clarity and are comprehensively trained on their procedures...

Fundimentally behind this all is a staff who is under severe management intimidation from a republican domination (management ) and submission (employees) system.

NRC Enforcement Discretions: Not earned leniency

How has the rate of "Enforcement Discretions" changed over time?

Homer Simpson's Hope Creek: Sending A Message To The NRC

Update

Come on, you got the NRC staff lawyers involved in my case already. They are dictating to the NRC inspectors if they can initiate a probe and the depth of it with Hope Creek. I like to put one of them lawyers in the control room to see if they can dance. Better yet, one of Hope Creek's financial pin heads in the control room. Lets see if they can handle a LOOP, scram and numerous broken and degraded safety components in the same event...     

Update

Mike Mulligan <steamshovel2002@gmail.com>	10:36 AM (1 hour ago)
to NRC

We are walking in a Pilgrim style minefield (metaphor). I am getting really good at this. The theme is, I identify a anomaly, failure or degradation with a safety component the NRC can't see or is covering up. The safety component fails unexpectantly to everyone except me. The NRC is perceived as incompetent, then the NRC overcompensates to recapture their public credibility such as Pilgrim. The Pilgrim model...

The is the only way to counteract us, is to massively increase the scrutiny (a preemptive NRC resourced size inspection such as in Arkansas Nuclear One or Pilgrim) of Hope and Salem while they appear in the early stages. Clean out all unaddressed violations the NRC has tolerated for decades...

The public is in a very sour mood now, they ain't going to take any shit from the NRC.

I forgot the official's name I talked to yesterday. I wish he would send me his email address?

Http://steamshovel2002.blogspot.com/

"Homer Simpson's Hope Creek: Sending A Message To The NRC"

***I think the NRC's bureaucratic system has a severe case of politically inspired campaign contribution Schizophrenia. You never can trust what you see from them?

***The bureaucratic organizational order and reliability within the NRC and Hope/Salem are disintegrating right before our eyes.

"Granularity" 

Homer Simpson's Hope Creek: Sending A Message To The NRC

There are systemic management issues here. Most likely we are talking about obsolete nuclear instrumental susceptible to human era, absent communication between the control room and the technician which was a unaddressed long term problem at the plant and a  gave shortage of highly skilled and paid instrumentation employees.

Basically top management believes in the conservative political ideology of employee domination and total submission. There is a big safety issues at this plant. Management isn't following the codes and rules...the NRC is facilitating this destructive behavior. The NRC and top management got a extremely tight lid on information. The information you get from senior management and NRC doesn't get even close to the true conditions of the facility.  

This plant is declining at a precipitous rate...the NRC doesn't have the tools to put a early floor on the conditions of the plant. It has a high probability, the floor, with turning into Arkansas Nuclear One or Pilgrim.

I currently in high level discussions with the NRC on the quickening decline of this huge nuclear facility and a extremely ineffectual regulator.

I wouldn't doubt the tech had secret agreement with management. They gave the tech a boat load money in the cover-up to quit...he took a sword in the chest to protect his buddies, management and the NRC. The whole deal circumvented the ROP!!!

I know the NRC is going to be reading this closely!!!!          

Salem nuclear plants hit a Homer but strike out | Editorial

Updated on May 5, 2017 at 7:43 AM Posted on May 5, 2017 at 7:42 AM

PSEG Nuclear's Artificial Island generating complex in Lower Alloways Creek Township

By South Jersey Times Editorial Board

It's almost impossible to describe what went down in -- and after -- a 2015 incident at the Hope Creek nuclear generating plants without invoking the name "Homer Simpson" from popular culture.

If you've been asleep since 1989, Homer Simpson is a nuclear plant technician/safety inspector in the TV cartoon "The Simpsons." Come to think of it, Homer has often been caught asleep in his control panel chair at the plant in the fictional town of Springfield. When he's not portrayed on the show as lazy, he's portrayed as inept, and frequently trying to cover up his operational mistakes.

We don't know the name of the real-life ex-worker who mistakenly triggered a four-day shutdown at PSEG Nuclear's Lower Alloways Creek Township reactor complex and then, according to a just-finished U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission letter, tried to hide the error. Unless the name IS "Homer Simpson," it's a serious enough breach of policy that re-doing a couple hundred animation cels in Korea couldn't correct it.

A PSEG spokesperson said the technician involved was forced to resign, which is appropriate, given a passage from the NRC letter issued Wednesday about the Sept. 28, 2015, mishap: The worker "made an error in a surveillance test and deliberately tried to correct the error rather than comply with the procedural guidance to stop and inform management."

If PSEG acted appropriately, what about the NRC, the agency charged with keeping our nation's nuclear generating capacity safe?

NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said the agency takes "seriously" this "rare" and potentially dangerous violation of protocol. It sounds tough, until you learn what the NRC DID NOT do. It did not issue any fines or penalties against PSEG, and it will not bar the worker from moving to a job at another nuclear generating plant.

Why not, if the NRC has these tools at its disposal?

From the narrative provided by the NRC and the company, here's the book on this valued technician who won't be prohibited from working at Peach Bottom, Oyster Creek, or any similar installation across the country: First, he entered data into a wrong area. Second, he tried to fix the error without notifying plant officials. Third, according to PSEG Nuclear spokesman Joe Delmar, he "provided testimony that contradicted the cause of the (shutdown)."

In short, do something wrong, cover it up, then lie about it.

As for PSEG itself, its bacon was saved by the fact that it uncovered the error on its own, then reported it promptly to the NRC. Perhaps that doesn't justify a fine. But some sort of penalty might make the company think more about its vetting process for technicians -- especially since the NRC thinks it's OK for Hope Creek to inherit someone else's Homer Simpson that another plant booted out.

Delmar stated that the ex-technician and his actions don't represent the "quality work" performed each day by 1,600 Artificial Island employees. True. We must stress, though, that it took only one "bad apple" to shut down an entire reactor. If this event was so "rare," it requires a stronger NRC response, one that doesn't make it seem so routine.

Junk and Dead Ender Plant Palisades: More CDRM Cracks and Replacements.

These seals have been a pain in the ass from plant start-up. They continually crack and leak. They always come up with a new miraculous alloy guaranteeing the cracks and leaks will never reappear. They done a costly complete replacement twice in resent years in terms of money and radiation exposure. I will never forget them titanium gonad shields.  

"The plant operated at or near full power during the inspection period until March 17, 2017, when the unit was taken offline for a forced outage to replace a leaking seal on control rod drive (CRD) mechanism 13. On March 23, 2017, the reactor was taken critical and the plant was synchronized to the grid. The reactor achieved approximately 70 percent power on March 27, 2017, where it remained for the remainder of the inspection period, in preparation for the upcoming refueling outage, 1R25"

Junk Watts Bar Facility: This Is What Capacity Factor Looks Like With Intractable Employee Intimidation By Upper Management

They are just not doing enough or quality, maintenance or replacement of obsolete component. The NRC just doesn't have enough horsepower. Increasing numbers of nuclear plants are completely spinning out of control right now.

I can't wait for the drama with the startup of either Arkansas Nuclear One units. It better than the movies.   

Facility: WATTS BAR Region: 2 State: TN Unit: [1] [ ] [ ] RX Type: [1] W-4-LP,[2] W-4-LP NRC Notified By: BILL SPRINKLE HQ OPS Officer: DONG HWA PARK	Notification Date: 05/02/2017 Notification Time: 22:33 [ET] Event Date: 05/02/2017 Event Time: 19:45 [EDT] Last Update Date: 05/02/2017
Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY 10 CFR Section: 50.72(b)(2)(iv)(B) - RPS ACTUATION - CRITICAL 50.72(b)(3)(iv)(A) - VALID SPECIF SYS ACTUATION	Person (Organization): RANDY MUSSER (R2DO)

Unit	SCRAM Code	RX CRIT	Initial PWR	Initial RX Mode	Current PWR	Current RX Mode
1	M/R	Y	26	Power Operation	0	Hot Standby

Event Text

MANUAL REACTOR TRIP DUE TO FAILED REACTOR COOLANT PUMP POWER TRANSFER "On May 2nd, 2017, at 1945 EDT, Watts Bar Nuclear [WBN] Plant Unit 1 reactor was manually tripped due to a failure of the #3 Reactor Coolant Pump normal feeder breaker to close during the planned power transfer to unit power following startup. Concurrent with the reactor trip, the Auxiliary Feedwater system actuated as designed. "All control and shutdown rods fully inserted. All safety systems responded as designed. The unit is currently stable in Mode 3, with decay heat removal via auxiliary feedwater and main steam dump systems. Unit 1 is in a normal shutdown electrical alignment. "This reactor trip and system actuation is being reported under 10CFR 50.72(b)(3)(iv)(A) and 10CFR 50.72 (b)(2)(iv)(B).

This below comment must be nuclear industry graveyard humor. These are the guys (unit 2) with a collapse main condenser...   

"There was no effect on WBN Unit 2. "The NRC Senior Resident [Inspector] has been notified."

Here is two newspaper articles with TVA back peddling about the units 2 main condenser collapse and its terrible capacity factor.

TVA's newest nuclear plant helps keep winter costs down despite recent snags

Federal utility boosts profits during season even with cut in hydroelectric generation, decreased power sales

May 3rd, 2017 by Dave Flessner in Business Around the Region Read Time: 4 mins.

TVA's newest nuclear power plant helped enable the federal utility to keep costs down this winter while a drought cut hydroelectric generation from TVA's power-generating dams.

But a ruptured condenser that broke apart when support beams failed at the Watts Bar Unit 2 reactor on March 23 has forced the $5 billion power plant to cease power production for the past six weeks and could keep the reactor out of service until later this summer, TVA officials said Tuesday.

"These are huge pieces of equipment — three stories tall or more — and we are still assessing the extent of the damages and the best way to make the necessary repairs," TVA President Bill Johnson said Tuesday. "It isn't technically complicated, but there is very little space, so how you do [the fix] is the tricky part. We don't have a fixed schedule yet."

The heat exchanger, or condenser, turns steam generated within the reactor back into water. But it has nothing to do with the nuclear side of the plant.

Tennessee Valley Authority CEO Bill Johnson answers questions during an interview with The Associated Press Tuesday, April 18, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. The CEO of the biggest public utility in the country says the agency is not going to reopen coal-fired power plants under President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

The condenser equipment could not be checked for reliability during the prolonged construction of Watts Bar Unit 2, which began in 1974 and was completed last year, Johnson said.

Dave Lochbaum, director of the Union of Concerned Scientists Nuclear Safety Project, said similar problems in the internal supports for the condenser developed at the Grand Gulf Nuclear Plant in Mississippi during that plant's initial fuel cycle.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission also cited TVA last year for having a "chilled work environment" at Watts Bar that could stifle employees from voicing concerns. But regulators said in March that the work environment is improving and managers have implemented numerous processes and programs to address any employee concerns.

Or maybe the silence before the 100 yearer?  

"It seems like the worst is behind us, although the all-clear is not quite ready," Lochbaum said.

Making tritium for nuclear bombs

Watts Bar Unit 2 also could be critical to supplying a key component for America's nuclear arsenal. TVA has been irradiating tritium for nuclear weapons at its Unit 1 reactor at Watts Bar since 2003 and is preparing to also make tritium at the newest reactor at Watts Bar for the Department of Energy's military operations.

"We're in a unique position to support the DOE on tritium, a key component in the nation's nuclear component capabilities.," Johnson said. "Supporting the national defense is a key part of our history and this is just the latest in a long series of activities we have supported dating back to before World War II."

As a government-owned utility, TVA is uniquely positioned to use its nuclear power generation to also support nuclear weapons within the terms of international nonproliferation agreements that otherwise could restrict mixing civilian and military nuclear functions.

TVA changes generation mix

The 1,210-megawatt Watts Bar Unit 2 entered commercial operation on Oct. 19, 2016, as the first new nuclear reactor in the country in two decades.

TVA said Tuesday it brought a new 1,025-megawatt combined cycle power plant online last month to replace two coal units at the Paradise Fossil Plant in Kentucky. The new gas-powered facility was completed on time and within its $900 million budget, Johnson said.

TVA also added the River Bend Solar Energy Center in northern Alabama in November and another combined cycle gas-powered facility at the Allen Fossil Plant is expected to be completed in 2018, replacing TVA's 58-year-old coal plant in Memphis.

"TVA's generation fleet continues to become more diversified and this is helping us provide low-cost energy in a reliable and efficient manner," Johnson said. "With the drought conditions we experienced in the first half of the year, which limited power production from our dams, Watts Bar Nuclear Unit 2 played an important role in keeping costs low."

TVA rates lower than 5 years ago

Despite an increase in both TVA's base rates and fuel cost adjustments in the past year, Johnson said TVA rates are still below where they were in 2012, thanks to more than $800 million of cuts in annual operating expenses at TVA and the shift toward cheaper fuel sources, including natural gas and nuclear power.

"TVA's power rates have become more competitive year over year for several years now and we've managed to keep costs down this year despite drier than average conditions in the first half of the year," Johnson said.

Since he joined TVA as CEO in 2013, TVA has cut its staff by nearly 20 percent from 13,000 to about 10,500 today.

TVA said Tuesday its power sales in the winter quarter were down 7 percent, cutting net income by a third from last year. But for the first half of fiscal 2017, TVA still reported net income of $313 million, or $32 million more than the previous year, on sales of more than $5 billion in the 6-month period.

After completing Watts Bar and the new Paradise gas plant, TVA is focusing on finishing the Allen gas plant and spending another $1.1 billion in coal cleanup projects. But the agency's $26 billion of long-term debt should begin to decline this year and fall steadily over the coming decade, TVA Chief Financial Officer John Thomas said.

Them financial pin heads disconnected from the world. Maybe the pressure to reduce TVA's huge governmental debts is causing the problems in the Watts Bar two plant facility. Lets all just make believe they can bring down long term debts to zero in a century. Can you even imagine the stock price if this was a private company? You can clearly see the hypocrisy of the Great Southern extremist ideology here. Indeed, the extremist Republicans in general. Unpayable governmental debt to benefit my political self interest is perfectly ok for me, a grievous sin destroying the nation for all other ideologies, the poor and weak and other political parties. Less productive debt to everyone else means more blow debt for me. Throwing bags of governmental just printed one hundred bills from helicopters is great for my Southern district, but bad for everyone else. You can't even imagine the Roosevelt and later money we spend on the great southern infrastructure project of the 20th century, which drove the back water South to where they are today. It was once what a great nation could do. The forever unpayable long term debt is the Sword of Damocles hanging over TVA system. Believe me, the Southern conservatives and Republican extremist secretly love gigantic government and infinite government monies and debts as long as it serves their own pocket. Yep, our unimaginably large southern nuclear weapons production facilities was a Roosevelt infrastructure and jobs program. Do you remember, Roosevelt felt so sorry for seeing the suffering object and intractable poverty in the South, and especially in Georgia, he decided to fix it. It was what a great man once could do. I once was a southern long haul truck driver. I'd seen the southern infrastructure spectacular with my own eyes!!!    

One only wonders what the real price of TVA's electricity would be if Congress forced them to quickly pay off this debt. If they never allowed TVA to run up the long term debt. It would astronomical. The cheap price of Southern electricity is on the dime of everyone else in the nation!!!          

"Our expectation is that our debt will begin to drop this year," Johnson told financial analysts during an earnings call Tuesday.

TVA has $1 billion of notes up for maturity in July and another $700 million of bonds expiring in December "so I would expect we would be back in the market sometime this year."

Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6340.

(Platts)TVA says Watts Bar-2 reactor to be offline until summer for repairs

Washington (Platts)--2 May 2017 530 pm EDT/2130 GMT

The Tennessee Valley Authority's 1,210-MW Watts Bar-2 nuclear generating unit will be offline until sometime this summer as a result of a structural failure in the unit's condenser, TVA CEO Bill Johnson said in a conference call with analysts Tuesday.

The reactor, located in Spring City, Tennessee, has been shut since March 23, when it started up from an outage and experienced a condenser vacuum loss. A review showed the condenser waterbox had experienced a structural failure, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in a preliminary report.

The condenser is a three-story-high heat exchanger connected to the turbine, a standard part of any generating unit, Johnson said. "We're still assessing the damage and the best way to repair it," he said.

The tight quarters inside the condenser are a challenge and "the logistics are quite tricky," Johnson said.

There is no fixed schedule for the repair work other than to complete it during the summer, he said.

Watts Bar-2 became the newest US nuclear unit in October when it began commercial operations. Construction of Watts Bar-2 began in the 1970s, but was suspended for two decades before TVA decided in 2007 to complete the unit.

The federal power producer said that many of the active plant components, pumps, valves and motors, were reconditioned or replaced during the completion effort.

The adjacent, 1,210-MW Watts Bar-1 reactor was operating at 15% of capacity Tuesday as it exited a refueling and maintenance outage that began March 18. The unit restarted earlier this week, and was at 14% of capacity early Monday, NRC said in its daily reactor status report.

Johnson said TVA's fuel and purchased power expenses were higher during the six months that ended March 31 as a result of lower hydroelectric generation and the need to purchase more power, Johnson said.

The electricity generating mix for the six months ending March 31 was 41% nuclear power, 25% coal-fired units, 11% hydroelectric and purchased renewable power, 15% natural gas and 8% purchased non-renewable power, TVA said. That share was an increase from 32% nuclear power in the same period of fiscal 2016, it said.

TVA recorded net income of $211 million in the three months ending March 31, compared with a profit of $318 million in the same period of 2016, it said in a Tuesday filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Its revenue totaled $2.51 billion in the quarter, compared with $2.53 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Expenses for fuel and purchased power increased this year, TVA said.

The Huge New Hinsdale/Brattleboro Route 119 Bridge Construction Project Begins

This always has been a disgusting political indictment condemning all of us. It is ridicules all the details not now being all worked out, with the broader game plan sitting in idle waiting for the funding. The NHDOT is terrible underfunded, as is the care of our poor and defenseless foster children. There always was a destructive rivalry between the states and our two small towns. The primary cause of this is the level of object poverty in our two towns. Why do I think all issues delaying the building of the new bridge is a agenda to not spend money. Welcome to the balkanization of the USA where every state, person, town and city is nation-state unto their own! Where the weak federal government is too intimidated to set our over arching laws, codes and regulations. We are a nation of squabblers with no set direction. It is a steep regression of a once great nation.

Is our great savior only President Trump!!!         

It is a indictment on our forth estate!!! Where they don't have the skills and resources to comprehensively paint our horrendous dysfunctions with our greater good.

That is why I was running my around that bridge protesting for three years like a mad man with a fake homemade halo on my head and then yanking unattached planks from a walkway of a grossly obsolete 1920s era rust bucket bridge. It was the best $1500 dollars I ever spent.

And the greatest over arcing issue of it all, always with tears in my eyes and infinite sorrows in my heart, is how severe and horrendously underfunded all our great institutions serving our common good have become.


We have become a geography of individual nation states with no glue to hold us together. It truly is survival of the fittest  We are aiming for nothing but our individual self interest. It is a great regression of democracy itself.

Sometimes with my fake homemade halo on my head, I feel like I am the only sane person in the USA.      

Brattleboro bridge to N.H.: repairsaga spans four decades

A new bridge might finally be built, adding a chapter to a story that began in 1977

Originally published in The Commons issue #406 (Wednesday, May 3, 2017).

By Wendy M. Levy/The Commons

BRATTLEBORO—How long does it take to build a new bridge?

When it connects two states across a body of water, includes a railroad grade crossing and a hazardous waste site, and involves one of Brattleboro’s least-favorite intersections, it could take 40 years.

And they haven’t even started construction…

I just last week gave the Keene Sentinel a heads up. I asked them to check into when my bridge build is to begin? It seems they blew me off. It is a $35 million dollar project. I don't understand why the local papers don't keep us updated on the huge construction project.

Sitting aside the marina today is a NHDOT soil sampling rig. They pull out bore holes of dirt, they evaluate the soil conditions in advance of the project. They drill down many feet or to bed rock. Then the engineers figure out what kind of bridge footing are needed for a particular bridge.

I wonder when the actual dirt digging begins???

Controversial VY Shooting Range in Hinsdale, NH and Leyden, Ma

Yep, I watched them bulldozing for the last two months. Noticed them building up the berms for the second time. It is a half ass shooting range. Last snow storm, I parked next to the sewage plant. I go out most snow storms and hike along woods behind the range for hours on end. A big old blizzard is even better. I love being out in any storm. The police and snow plows get irked with me parking on the roads during snow storms. I didn't want to park my car near the gun range gate cause my car might get stuck in the snow. So I am on River Road on the way back, been out for about six hours on the most beautiful snow storm you can ever image. I am exhausted and cold, it was a spectacular day. Up ahead is a police car coming towards me. The chief had seen me shoveling out by the side of a road in another wooded area in the morning. I see its the chief, it is the second time. I thinking man, the police department must be really short of the officers for him to be out so long. The Chief is a really dedicated person to his difficult job. About nine months prior to this, I complained to the selectman about this police department. Heroin is decimating the police department and they are severely undermanned. The chief explained in heavy snow my car is parked near the sewage plant, he asked me want I am doing out here. I told him I am walking the woods behind the old dump. He explained I am making it difficult for the plows to clear road. Because there were issues with me complaining about the police department, I didn't want to get in a argument with the chief. I said as little as I could.

Proposal to expand Hinsdale shooting range draws backlash

By Ethan DeWitt Sentinel Staff

HINSDALE — The opposition was relentless, the criticisms rapid-fire.

A proposal to renovate the Hinsdale Police Department shooting range and extend its use to employees of Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant drew a strong backlash at a board of selectman hearing Monday night, as residents raised concerns with noise levels and safety.

The proposal, advanced by Police Chief Todd Faulkner, would amend the town’s shooting range ordinance to expand the use of the range to security personnel from the nuclear power plant, as well as officers from Cheshire County police departments...

Anyway, I use the trail from the dump gate, through the gun range, up behind the gun range, to the dam area, all the time. The path is completely cut off by the new berms. They took no consideration making a new trail bypassing safely the shooting range.

I never got charge with anything on the link below. The agents said in a deep elevated voice, to never say them three bad words again in the same paragraph. This was pre Snowden. I think the FBI, CIA or NSA through domestic surveillance, picked up my three bad words. Told the FBI to take a peek at me. I asked the agent they got this information, the told me they couldn't say for national security reasons. I am glade are agencies are paying so much attention to terrorism issues.        

VY: FBI/Joint Terrorism Task Force investigating VY incident (Nov 2013)

The last time I got involved with protesting Vermont Yankee's new shooting range in Leyden Ma, two FBI agents assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force demanded they talk to me "before the end of daylight today".They thought I was making terrorism threats to VY. Remember, very few of the plant operations staff is left at the plant now.

The similarities with the Leyden and Hinsdale shooting range is the police force and Vermont Yankee are bullies. They wasn't proper notification. None of these dummies could imagine the amount of semi and automatic gun fire could effect the local population.  

Leyden rifle range run-in results in broken foot

Posted Wednesday, October 14, 2009 10:14 pm

By BOB AUDETTE

BRATTLEBORO -- A man who lives next door to the rifle range where Vermont Yankee security officers train sustained a fracture of a bone in his foot after it was run over by a vehicle driven by one of those guards.
"It hurts," said Matthew Cormier, 22, who said his 3-month-old child was awakened by a blaring truck horn as a vehicle was leaving the Leyden Rifle Range on River Road in Leyden, Mass., on Tuesday night.
He ran out of the house to ask the drivers not to blow their horns, he said.
The first vehicle that passed him almost hit him, said Cormier, so he tried to get the second vehicle to stop, which did not.
The third vehicle that went by was so close to the edge of the road that it ran over his foot, fracturing a bone.
"He didn’t even make an attempt to slow down," said Cormier. "He just kept on going."
Cormier denied he had thrown himself on the vehicle or made any physical move to block the road.
"If I had run out in front of him, I would probably be dead," he said.
He also denied that he damaged any vehicle during the altercation, which he was accused of by the security officers.
"How am I going to damage the vehicle when he is running me over?" asked Cormier, who called 911 after being struck by the vehicle.
Cormier said he plans to talk with a lawyer to figure out how to proceed, whether it’s just against the driver or against the driver and Vermont Yankee.
Leyden Police Chief Daniel Galvis said the incident is still under investigation.
Neighbors had called police to complain about the noise coming from the rifle range, which didn’t end until about 8 p.m., said Cecilia Tusinski, 64.
Tusinski and her husband Peter went outside to yell at and wave signs at the security guards as they drove by.
"We were highly incensed by the level of the noise," she said. "We went out specifically to voice our displeasure at the racket they were making. I yelled go home and don’t come back. We’re sick of you and have had enough."
The incident quickly escalated into a shouting match after one of the drivers stopped and threw his door open, she said.
"It was a heated exchange," said Tusinski.
She said some not very polite words were traded back and forth.
"I was yelling quite loudly and not in a very ladylike fashion," she said.
The driver not only swore at her and her husband, she said, but passengers in the next vehicle swore at them and gestured with their middle fingers. Her husband Peter said they also called them "crybabies."
"I then responded with some expletives," he admitted, adding "I believe we did nothing wrong. We expressed our displeasure through yelling and holding up a sign."
The sign read "Respect Leyden Taxpayers, No Shooting After 6 p.m."
"This is an intolerable situation," he said.
Though Cormier called 911 after being struck, police did not arrive until after they received a phone call that he had damaged one of the vehicles. When they did arrive, they were quick with their questions, asking if anyone was blocking the road or if anyone had threatened to go into their house and bring out a gun.
"It was nonsense," said Cecilia Tusinski.
"This is absurd that the state police were giving us the third degree," said her husband. "They’re more concerned about protecting VY’s goon squad than the citizens who pay taxes."
What was even worse, said Peter Tusinski, was the fact that none of the officers offered to help Cormier.
"Why in the hell would you send three state troopers and two local officers and not render assistance?" he asked.
The Tusinskis said they want Vermont Yankee to respect their neighborhood.
As taxpayers in Leyden, said Cecilia Tusinski, "We feel that our right to a peaceful night is being taken away by this escalation in the training of Vermont Yankee security forces."
Noise at the rifle range has gotten worse recently, she said, and Tuesday night’s racket was especially disturbing. She said that might be due to several factors, including it was a clear night, leaves have fallen off the trees, buildings at the rifle range were recently demolished and logging has taken some trees down.
But either way, said Peter Tusinski, having a large number of people firing at once creates quite a racket.
"The noise and disruption at night appears to have escalated," he said. "It’s getting everyone upset."
Another problem is that Yankee issued a schedule of when training was to be conducted, but hasn’t been sticking to the schedule, they both said.
Plant officials are attempting to make sure the schedules set are adhered to by their security forces, said Larry Smith, director of communications, which is a challenge, he admitted.
Smith also confirmed that Yankee had made a request of local police.
"We have requested a police escort," he said.
Sue Sojka, a registered nurse who drove Cormier to the hospital, said there is one solution that can make the problem go away.
"Get your butts home with your family and let us have some peace and quiet," she said.

Defective Safety Relief Valves: NRC Says It's Not Target Rock

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION INSPECTIONOF CURTISS-WRIGHT FLOW CONTROL COMPANY TARGET ROCK DIVISION, REPORT NO.99900060/2017-202 AND NOTICE OF NONCONFORMANCE

Entergy's Poor Southern Capacity Factor?

Grand Gulf: agonizing slow startup to 100%

Arkansas Nuclear 1	0
Arkansas Nuclear 2	0
Callaway	100
Columbia Generating Station	74
Comanche Peak 1	100
Comanche Peak 2	0
Cooper	100
Diablo Canyon 1	0
Diablo Canyon 2	100
Grand Gulf 1	95
Palo Verde 1	100
Palo Verde 2	0
Palo Verde 3	100
River Bend 1	89
South Texas 1	89
South Texas 2	100
Waterford 3	0
Wolf Creek 1

*Seems Waterford is in a normal outage. ANO 2 was at 50% power for forever based on leaking feed water heater and then shutdown to repair. Unit 1 seems to be in a prolonged normal outage.

Grand Gulf has severe employee troubles. They can't get it up past 94% power since startup?

River Bend been heavily coming down in power for a week, then stopping at 64%...who knows what went on? It doesn't look like a coast down to outage.

Arkansas Nuclear 1	0
Arkansas Nuclear 2	0
Callaway	100
Columbia Generating Station	74
Comanche Peak 1	100
Comanche Peak 2	0
Cooper	100
Diablo Canyon 1	0
Diablo Canyon 2	100
Grand Gulf 1	92
Palo Verde 1	100
Palo Verde 2	0
Palo Verde 3	100
River Bend 1	64
South Texas 1	69
South Texas 2	100
Waterford 3	0
Wolf Creek 1

Ticks

I pulled 5 off me this year. Its way above average. I think it is going to be a very bad season with ticks. I am the woods a lot riding my bike.

2016 Uranium Prices

NRC Blog Shutdown: Here it comes?

Bet you Trump shutdown the NRC's Blog. It sure isn't the same blog before Trump. Bet it revolves around a general Trump order for all agencies, don't post anything until we define what can be disclosed? We can't let the Obama leftovers at the agencies spew out their agenda...