NRC, Dairyland Power Cooperative Officials to Discuss Apparent Violations at La Crosse Plant

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

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NEWS ANNOUNCEMENT: RIII-98-39

June 24, 1998

NRC, DAIRYLAND POWER COOPERATIVE OFFICIALS TO DISCUSS APPARENT VIOLATIONS AT LA CROSSE PLANT

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet Tuesday, June 30, with representatives of Dairyland Power Cooperative for a predecisional enforcement conference on apparent violations at the permanently shut-down La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor nuclear plant, located in Genoa, Wisconsin.

The meeting will start at 1 p.m. (CT) 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 the conclusion to answer questions from the news media and other interested observers.

The discussion will focus on Dairyland Power's apparent failure to implement the NRC's maintenance rule. This rule, which became effective in July 1996, 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 May, NRC inspectors found that Dairyland Power apparently continued to use its existing programs after July 1996 in a manner which did not meet the requirements of the maintenance rule.

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.