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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 Greenman Phone: (630) 829-9662/e-mail: opa3@nrc.gov

RIII-97-102

November 24, 1997

NRC PREDECISIONAL ENFORCEMENT CONFERENCE ON APPARENT VIOLATIONS OF NRC REQUIREMENTS AT QUAD CITIES STATION

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet November 26 with representatives of Commonwealth Edison Company for a predecisional enforcement conference on apparent maintenance program violations at the Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station. The facility is in Cordova, Illinois.

The meeting will start at 2:00 p.m. in the Third Floor Conference Room of the NRC Region III Office, 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle, Illinois. It is open to public observation. NRC officials will be available at its conclusion to answer questions from the news media and other interested observers.

The discussion will focus on Commonwealth Edison's apparent inadequate implementation of NRC's maintenance rule. This program, which became effective in July of last year, establishes requirements for monitoring the effectiveness of maintenance done on plant systems and equipment. It is designed to ensure that utilities evaluate the effectiveness of maintenance to minimize the likelihood of failures of equipment important to safety.

During an inspection in August and September, NRC inspectors found apparent inadequacies in the monitoring of systems and equipment, in developing system performance criteria, and in reviewing the historical performance of systems.

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 decision 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.