LEADS NATION IN FNFDRrFMFMTC
Feds Want Specific
Plan To Improve
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BY KRIC CARLSON
Carolina Power and Light Co. has acccptcd an offer
from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to allow the
company another 30 days before submitting a detailed
ni;in 10 upgrade safety procedures and to correct man
agemcnt deficiencies at the company's Brunswick
Nuclcar Plant near Soulhport.
In a strongly worded letter to CP&L last week, the
NRC asked the company to include additional informa
tion in its requested response to a highly critical May 27
commission review of plant operations.
CP&L had been given 30 days to reply and was
preparing to mail its response last Friday, company
spokesman Elizabeth Bean said Monday.
But the new NRC letter dated June 23 raised addition
al safety questions and asked for a more detailed re
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reply and add the newly requested information before
submitting a response within 30 days.
"They offered us the option of responding separately
or combining orn response. We intend to respond to
both requests together sometime in late July." Bean said.
The latest NRC letter said recent inspection findings
and events at the nuclcar plant "nave not only rein
forced, but increased NRC concerns about the material
condition of uie plant and management effectiveness in
controlling the processes and activities" there.
It notes that declining performance and continuing
non-compliance with regulatory requirements at the
plant have resulted in "a succession of escalated en
forcements over the past two years which has placed the
facility in the unenviable position of leading the nation's
nuciear power plants in this category."
The NRC has fined CP&L nine times since July 1988
for violating maintenance procedures at the plant
Both reactor units at the plant were shut down in
April after structural problems were found in the dicsel
generator building that could make it vulnerable to
earthquake damage. The generators arc needed to power
pumps that circulate cooling water through the reactors.
The NRC said the decision to voluntarily shut down
the plant and to identify structural problems was a good
one, but added that it had "not seen any proposals to rec
tify these during the current outage."
The plant citpcctcd * r~rr.?ir "ec ~ -? i~?> .<??;?
early fall. Bean said Monday. No additional delays are
expected due to the latest NRC requests.
Besides correcting structural deficiencies previously
noted by the NRC, the company already has begun in
specting other areas of the plant for similar problems.
Plant personnel also have been using the shutdown to
catch up on a general backlog of maintenance work,
Bean said.
in its latest request for a plan to upgrade plant opera
tions, the NRC said CP&L must establish a detailed
schedule for corrective actions that can be monitored
and verified for effectiveness.
Concerns that the NRC want* the company to address
before either unit returns to service include corrosion
and uiiier deficiencies in equipment, backlogs of de
ferred maintenance, and potential structural deticicncies
related to steel, block walls and supports.
During a six -week inspection completed May 1, the
NRC found aging equipment, poor maintenance and in
effective work controls at the plant.
Approximately 200 structures and components were
found to have inadequate safety margins for earthquake
resistance. Many of these deficiencies were more than
two years old, including bent, twisted and cracked sup
ports and defective bolts in some building walls.
Inspectors in the emergency dicscl generator building
found bolt heads that had been cut off and welded to
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existed. Some bolts had been cut short, improperly re
ducing the threaded length. Others were installed in con
crete without the required steel anchor sleeves.
CP&L inspectors recently found similai bolt prob
lems in other arras in the plant, "though not in (he
amount or safety significance" of those in the generator
building. Most of the new problems were in bolts that
support equipment, not in structural fasteners. Bean said.
The company has also discovered that some of the
structural steel at the plant was not installed as specified
in the original blueprints. Bean said the construction was
different but not necessarily less effective than the in
tended design.
None of the design discrepancies were in the primary
structure of the plant, which is constructed of reinforced
concrete. Bean said.
The latest in-house inspection also found that some
ventilation ducts in the main control building do not
meet specifications for withstanding 300 mile-per-hour
tornado winds.
No increase in rates is expected to come as a direct re
sult of the current maintenance. Bean said. However an
adjustment may be necessary in fall, 1993 if the shut-'
down leads to significant purchases of power and fuel.
The NRC also wants the company to establish a plan
to correct management problems identified during the
commission's review of plant operations.
"Manaocmcnl hac not wl hicrh standards fnr the mate
rial condition of the plant and has not provided the lead
ership needed for effective implementation of improve
ments," the inspection report concludcd Lack of criti
cal self-assessment has resulted in the tailurc to recog
nize problems and the failure to implement effective
corrective actions."
CP&L announced May 14 that it would spend more
than S200 million in an accelerated effort to improve op
erations and performance at the plant. The company said
it did not plan to raise rates to pay for the improvements.
O'B B1 iHn**+ Annrrwf=*H
Tax Hike And All
Despite a three-cent tax increase, the Ocean Isle Beach budget was ap
proved at a June 23 meeting of the town board, with nary a public mur
mur. The public hearing preceding the meeting was attended by only one
resident, who asked only a few benign questions.
The additional pennies had already been publicly explained as a fund
strictly for bcach renourishment. This portion of the taxes, amounting to
a total of about $92,(XX), will be placed in a capital project fund, to which
another 580,000 will be audcu frorri the accommodation tax. In addition,
the board has in the past two years designated about $98,000 for this pro
ject.
Taxes for OLB property owners wiii now be 20 cents per $100 property
evaluation, providing a tax base for the town of 5307,835,400. Mayor
Betty Williamson said she expects collection of these taxes to be very
close to 100 percent. "In 1990-91, we collected 100 percent," she said,
"and last year, they were 99.3 percent collected."
Williamson reflected on what she called "a very progressive year." She
pointed to recent certification of the town's land use plan update by the
Coastal Resources Commission, a five percent reduction in flood insur
ance premiums awarded to property owners, and the receipt of ali sewer
permits fo- Phase Two of the sewer system construction. "Bids for this
will r>c let this iaj. sne vucl, "and then the system will serve the wnole
island."
The project that demanded a tax increase, the first since 1986, is the
dredging of Shallotte Inlet, an longtime goal of the island community. "It
was not feasible for the U.S. Corps of Engineering to do the whole dredg
ing job," Williamson explained, "so the town applied for permits to do it
ourselves. Thai's why we need the money."
The Ccrps has agreed, however, to do limited dredging of a four-by
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will be done at no cost to the town.
"We have now received our permit to do the inlet dredging,"
Williamson said, "and we plan to do it while the Corps has its equipment
here for the maintenance job. That should save some time and money."
In an effort to prevent contamina
tion of recycled goods, Brunswick
County will station site managers at
its three previously unmanned tem
porary recycling locations, it was
announced this week.
The Northwest Park recycling site
on U.S. 74-76 near the overpass of
Lanvalc Road and Ml Misery Road
will be open Tuesdays and Fridays
from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Town Creek Park site on
U.S. 17 in Winnabow will be staffed
from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednes
days and Saturdays.
The Waccamaw Park recycling
locauon on N.C. 130 near Wacca
maw school will be open Mondays
anH Thursdays from to am in 6
p.m.
A site manager will be on hand
during opening horn ?o help sort rc
cycleables into proper bins.
All three sites previously were
unmanned and accessible seven
days a week until 11 p.m. with
opening hours of 7 a.m. on week
days and 8 a.m. Saturdays and
Sundays
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had to be made because new state
and federal regulations have tight
ened controls on foreign materials in
recycling bins.
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"Unfortunately, wc were seeing
so much contamination of recycled
materials that we didn't have a prod
uct we could market," said county
Recycling Coordinator Mary Mc
Carley.
A single trash bag included in a
bin of recyclable cans could cause
the entire load to be rejected, Mc
Carlcy said.
She hopes that stationing a site
manager at each recycling location
to oversee dumping and answer
questions will alleviate much of the
contamination piobiem. Now all of
the county's eight recycling sites
will be supervised.
Recycleables also can be taken to
the Oxpen convenience station at the
intersection of N.C !3Q and Oxpen
Road (S.R. J 14) or the N.C. 904
convenience station on Seaside
Road, south of (Jrisscttown These
sites are open seven days a week un
til 7 p.m.
The three county transfer stauons
also have manned recycling centers
open Monday through Saturday
from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The Ocean Isle transfer station is
Icvaieii un Haic Swauip Roau (S.R.
1154) off N.C. 179, southwest of
There's a
better way
to fatten
up your
savings!
CERTIFICATES
OF DEPOSIT
24-MONTH CERTIFICATE
COMPOUNDED DAILY
m
INTEREST RATE
YIELD
RHl IC'.'5!*5
LENDER
?m Security
C35?/ SAVINGS & LOAN ASSOCIATION ?</
?Southport *Leland 'Shallotte 'Calabash *Long fteach
457-5246 371-6546 754-4371 579-3595 278-6022
Shalloue.
The Leland transfer station is on
Chappcll Loop Road (S.R. 1524)
next to the wastewater treatment
plant in Leland.
The Southport transfer station is
at the intersection of N.C. 133 and
N.C. 87, next to the Brunswick
County Board of Education.
The county plans to open two
more recycling locations, one at the
county landfill and another on N.C.
211. New signs will be installed
soon to direct residents and visitors
to the nearest recycling center,
McCarley said.
She also hopes to have a mobile
recycling trailer for use at festivals
and other gatherings. It would also
be available to chuivhcj, civic
groups, clubs and other organiza
tions for spccial events or recycling
programs.
Aluminum cans, newsprint and
green, brown and clear glass can be
left at the recycling locations. Cans
should be rinsed and glossy inserts
removed from newspapers.
Glass beverage and food- type
containers should be sorted by color
and rinsed thoroughly. Labels can be
left on, but lids should be discarded.
The recycling cenicrs cannol lake
plate glass, automotive glass, mir
rors, Pyrcx, ceramics, clay or light
bulbs.
All items brought to the drop cen
ters in plastic or brown paper bags
or cardboard boxes should be
dumped into the appropriate bins.
Bags can be recycled at the grocery
store. Boxes should be reused,
McCarley advised.
For further information about the
county's recycling program, call
McCarlcy at 253-4488.
m6*"' Sundaes
Dip Yogurt
Jce Cream
We make our own
Cream & Butter
FUDGE
CABD&
?am.
754 9968 ^ ^
Twin Crmtti (Food Uo Ptooc. SK^U*i?
IMA
Brunswick Inlands Medium' At>Suuiciit?z>
BRUNSWICK ISLANDS
MEDICAL ASSOCIATES, P.A.
AND EXPRESS CARE
WILL CLOSE EFFECTIVE
IMMEDIATELY
Until further notice, the office will be staffed
from 9 am to 1 pm daily to make records
available to patients.
Dr. Marcus Williams will be available through
the Cape Fear Memorial Hospital for emer
gencies.
Patients who choose to continue care with Dr.
Williams may call 919-791-9924 to make ap
pointments.
CARE
ciaai the bhumswick bcato*