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	NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION III 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle IL 60532
	CONTACT:	Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663/e-mail: rjs2@nrc.gov
		Angela Dauginas (630) 829-9662/e-mail: opa3@nrc.gov

NEWS ANNOUNCEMENT: RIII-97-14

February 10, 1997

NRC PREDECISIONAL ENFORCEMENT CONFERENCE WITH DETROIT EDISON COMPANY

ON APPARENT VIOLATIONS OF NRC REQUIREMENTS AT FERMI PLANT

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet February 18 with representatives of Detroit Edison Company for a predecisional enforcement conference on apparent violations at the Fermi Nuclear Power Station. The facility is in Monroe, Michigan.

The meeting will be at 10:30 a.m. in the Third Floor Conference Room of the NRC Region III Office, 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle, Illinois. The meeting is open to public observation.

The apparent violations occurred in October and November while the plant was shut down for refueling and replacement of its main turbine. In one instance, operators failed to take timely action to interconnect the plant's safety cooling water reservoirs. The connection was restored in 28 hours, which exceeded the eight-hour requirement. In the second occasion, the plant's safety review committee approved a clarification to a license requirement. The clarification resulted in plant operators violating license requirements. The third apparent violation involved the failure by operators to conduct a routine test of control rod instrumentation prior to changing the operational condition of the reactor.

The decision to hold an enforcement conference does not mean the NRC has determined that a violation has occurred or that enforcement action will be taken. Rather, the purpose is to discuss apparent violations, their causes and safety significance; to provide the licensee an opportunity to point out any errors that may have been made in the NRC inspection report; and to enable the company to outline its proposed corrective actions.

No decisions on the apparent violations or any contemplated enforcement action, such as a fine, will be made at this conference. Those decisions will be made by senior NRC officials at a later date.

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