[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 222 (Thursday, November 19, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59995-59997]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-27792]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2009-0505; Docket No. 050-00255; License No. DPR-20; EA-09-060]


Confirmatory Order (Effective Immediately)

Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., Palisades Nuclear Plant, 27780 Blue 
Star Memorial Highway, Covert, MI 49043-9530.

I

    Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Licensee or Entergy) is the 
holder of Reactor Operating License No. DPR-20 issued by the U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) pursuant to 10 CFR 
Part 50 on March 24, 1971. The license authorizes the operation of the 
Palisades Nuclear Plant in accordance with conditions specified 
therein.
    This Confirmatory Order is the result of an agreement reached 
during an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mediation session 
conducted on September 15, 2009.

II

    On May 22, 2008, the NRC completed a security baseline inspection 
at the Palisades Nuclear Plant. The inspection covered one or more of 
the key attributes of the security cornerstone of the NRC's Reactor 
Oversight Process. As a result of the inspection observations, the NRC 
Office of Investigations (OI) initiated an investigation (OI Case No. 
3-2008-020). Based on the evidence developed during the inspection and 
investigation, the NRC identified a violation of 10 CFR 50.9 for 
inaccurate and incomplete information. This violation is described in 
the separate Notice of Violation, included as Enclosure 3 to the 
transmittal letter. (Because the Notice of Violation contains Security-
Related information, it is not being made publicly available.)
    The results of the investigation were sent to Entergy in a letter 
dated July 14, 2009. This letter offered Entergy the opportunity to 
either participate in ADR mediation or to attend a Predecisional 
Enforcement Conference. On July 28, 2009, the NRC and Entergy agreed to 
mediate. On September 15, 2009, the NRC and Entergy participated in an 
ADR session mediated by a professional mediator, arranged through 
Cornell University's Institute on Conflict Resolution. As used by the 
NRC, ADR is a process in which a neutral mediator with no decision-
making authority assists the parties in reaching an agreement on 
resolving any differences regarding the dispute. This Confirmatory 
Order is issued pursuant to the agreement reached during the ADR 
process.

III

    During the September 15, 2009, ADR session, a preliminary 
settlement agreement was reached. The elements of the agreement 
consisted of the following:
    1. Entergy will publish the corrective actions set forth in this 
Confirmatory Order to the Entergy fleet nuclear workforce, via Inside 
Entergy, within one month of the issuance of the Confirmatory Order. 
Entergy will provide a copy of the publication to the Regional 
Administrator, Region III, within one month of publication of the 
article.
    2. Entergy agrees to develop and implement a formal process, within 
the current Corrective Action Program (CAP), that ensures that 
Safeguards and Security-Related information, which would otherwise not 
be contained in the CAP, is processed in an auditable manner, 
consistent with Entergy's existing CAP. Entergy will develop and 
implement this process within 6 months of the date of the Confirmatory 
Order and will provide a description of these program changes to the 
Regional Administrator, Region III, within one month of their 
implementation.
    Entergy will complete training for those personnel with Safeguards 
access on the program described above within 90 days of the effective 
date of the procedure or process described above.
    3. Entergy will provide training to Entergy's nuclear workforce on 
the sensitivity and importance of providing complete and accurate 
information to the NRC. This training will be completed within 1 year 
of the date of the issuance of the Confirmatory Order. Entergy will 
tailor the training, as appropriate, to reflect the level of the 
individuals within the organization and their specific responsibilities 
for communicating with the NRC. Entergy will maintain auditable records 
of the training and will provide notification to the Regional 
Administrator, Region III, within one month of completion of the 
training.
    4. Entergy will assess its succession planning process with respect 
to how that process addresses unanticipated, short-term personnel 
losses in key positions. Entergy will complete this assessment, and 
will develop corrective actions, as appropriate, within 6 months of the 
date of the issuance of the Confirmatory Order. Entergy will provide 
the results of this assessment to the Regional Administrator, Region 
III, within one month of its completion.
    5. An Entergy executive will meet with the three NRC Regional 
Administrators for the regions in which Entergy owns and operates 
plants, to share and discuss the results of the safety culture 
workplace survey conducted at each Entergy nuclear plant in 2009. 
Subject to the schedules of the Entergy and NRC executive participants, 
Entergy will seek to have these meetings conducted by March 31, 2010.
    6. Entergy will provide a lessons-learned presentation to the 
Regional Utility Groups for the NRC Regions in which Entergy operates 
nuclear facilities within 1 year of the date of the issuance of the 
Confirmatory Order. That lessons-learned presentation will address the 
events which gave rise to the Confirmatory Order and the corrective 
actions taken. Entergy will provide a copy of the proposed presentation 
to the Regional Administrator, Region III, for review prior to the 
presentation.
    7. The NRC agrees to cite Entergy for a single violation of 10 CFR 
50.9, associated with incomplete and inaccurate information, based 
exclusively on the information contained in Condition Reports CR-PLP-
2007-05448 and CR-PLP-2007-05758 and the February 5, 2008, verbal 
communications with the NRC. The NRC will not assign a Severity Level 
to the violation and will not issue a civil penalty for the violation.
    8. Entergy, by signing the Agreement in Principle, makes no 
admission that any employee or former employee deliberately violated 
any NRC requirements and that this agreement is settlement of a 
disputed claim in order to avoid further action by the NRC.
    On October 13, 2009, Entergy consented to issuing this Order with 
the commitments, as described in Section V below. Entergy further 
agreed that this

[[Page 59996]]

Order is to be effective upon issuance and that it has waived its right 
to a hearing.

IV

    Since Entergy has agreed to take additional actions to address NRC 
concerns, as set forth in Item III above, the NRC has concluded that 
its concerns can be resolved through issuance of this Order.
    I find that Entergy's commitments as set forth in Section V are 
acceptable and necessary and conclude that with these commitments the 
public health and safety are reasonably assured. In view of the 
foregoing, I have determined that public health and safety require that 
Entergy's commitments be confirmed by this Order. Based on the above, 
and Entergy's consent, this Order is immediately effective upon 
issuance.

V

    Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 104, 161b, 161i, 161o, 182 and 
186 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Commission's 
regulations in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR Part 50, it is hereby ordered, 
effective immediately:
    1. Entergy shall publish the corrective actions set forth in this 
Confirmatory Order to the Entergy fleet nuclear workforce, via Inside 
Entergy, within one month of the issuance of the Confirmatory Order. 
Entergy shall provide a copy of the publication to the Regional 
Administrator, Region III, within one month of publication of the 
article.
    2. Entergy shall develop and implement a formal process, within the 
current Corrective Action Program (CAP), that ensures that Safeguards 
and Security-Related information, which would otherwise not be 
contained in the CAP, is processed in an auditable manner, consistent 
with Entergy's existing CAP. Entergy shall develop and implement this 
process at all of Entergy's licensed facilities within 6 months of the 
date of the Confirmatory Order and shall provide a description of these 
program changes to the Regional Administrator, Region III, within one 
month of their implementation.
    Entergy shall complete training for those personnel with Safeguards 
access on the program described above within 90 days of the effective 
date of the procedure or process described above.
    3. Entergy shall provide training to Entergy's nuclear workforce on 
the sensitivity and importance of providing complete and accurate 
information to the NRC. This training shall be completed at all of 
Entergy's licensed facilities within 1 year of the date of the issuance 
of the Confirmatory Order. Entergy shall tailor the training, as 
appropriate, to reflect the level of the individuals within the 
organization and their specific responsibilities for communicating with 
the NRC. Entergy shall maintain auditable records of the training and 
shall provide notification to the Regional Administrator, Region III, 
within one month of completion of the training.
    4. Entergy shall assess its succession planning process with 
respect to how that process addresses unanticipated, short-term 
personnel losses in key positions. Entergy shall complete this 
assessment for all of Entergy's licensed facilities, and shall develop 
corrective actions, as appropriate, within 6 months of the date of the 
issuance of the Confirmatory Order. Entergy shall provide the results 
of this assessment to the Regional Administrator, Region III, within 
one month of its completion.
    5. An Entergy executive shall meet with the three NRC Regional 
Administrators for the regions in which Entergy owns and operates 
plants, to share and discuss the results of the safety culture 
workplace survey conducted at each Entergy nuclear plant in 2009. 
Subject to the schedules of the Entergy and NRC executive participants, 
Entergy shall seek to have these meetings conducted by March 31, 2010.
    6. Entergy shall provide a lessons-learned presentation to the 
Regional Utility Groups for the NRC Regions in which Entergy operates 
nuclear facilities within 1 year of the date of the issuance of the 
Confirmatory Order. That lessons-learned presentation shall address the 
events which gave rise to the Confirmatory Order and the corrective 
actions taken. Entergy shall provide a copy of the proposed 
presentation to the Regional Administrator, Region III, for review 
prior to the presentation.
    The Regional Administrator, NRC Region III, may, in writing, relax 
or rescind any of the above conditions upon demonstration by Entergy of 
good cause.

VI

    Any person adversely affected by this Confirmatory Order, other 
than Entergy, may request a hearing within 20 days of the Confirmatory 
Order's publication in the Federal Register. Where good cause is shown, 
consideration will be given to extending the time to request a hearing.
    A request for extension of time must be directed to the Director, 
Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
DC 20555-0001, and include a statement of good cause for the extension.
    A request for a hearing must be filed in accordance with the NRC E-
Filing rule, which the NRC promulgated in August 28, 2007, (72 FR 
49139). The E-Filing process requires participants to submit and serve 
documents over the Internet or, in some cases, to mail copies on 
electronic optical storage media. Participants may not submit paper 
copies of their filings unless they seek a waiver in accordance with 
the procedures described below.
    To comply with the procedural requirements associated with E-
Filing, at least five days prior to the filing deadline the requestor 
must contact the Office of the Secretary by e-mail at 
[email protected], or by calling (301) 415-1677, to request: (1) A 
digital ID certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or 
representative) to digitally sign documents and access the E-Submittal 
server for any NRC proceeding in which it is participating; and/or (2) 
creation of an electronic docket for the proceeding (even in instances 
when the requestor (or its counsel or representative) already holds a 
NRC-issued digital ID certificate). Each requestor will need to 
download the Workplace Forms ViewerJ to access the Electronic 
Information Exchange (EIE), a component of the E-Filing system. The 
Workplace Forms ViewerTM is free and is available at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/install-viewer.html. Information 
about applying for a digital ID certificate also is available on NRC's 
public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/apply-certificates.html.
    Once a requestor has obtained a digital ID certificate, had a 
docket created, and downloaded the EIE viewer, it can then submit a 
request for a hearing through EIE. Submissions should be in Portable 
Document Format (PDF) in accordance with NRC guidance available on the 
NRC public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. 
A filing is considered complete at the time the filer submits its 
document through EIE. To be timely, electronic filings must be 
submitted to the EIE system no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on 
the due date. Upon receipt of a transmission, the E-Filing system time-
stamps the document and sends the submitter an e-mail notice confirming 
receipt of the document. The EIE system also distributes an e-mail 
notice that provides access to the document to the NRC Office of the 
General Counsel and any others who have advised the Office of the 
Secretary that they wish to participate in the proceeding, so that the 
filer need not serve the document on those

[[Page 59997]]

participants separately. Therefore, any others who wish to participate 
in the proceeding (or their counsel or representative) must apply for 
and receive a digital ID certificate before a hearing request is filed 
so that they may obtain access to the document via the E-Filing system.
    A person filing electronically using the agency's adjudicatory e-
filing system may seek assistance through the ``Contact Us'' link 
located on the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html or by calling the NRC Meta-System Help Desk, which is 
available between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through 
Friday, excluding government holidays. The Meta-System Help Desk can be 
contacted by telephone at 1-866-672-7640 or by e-mail at 
[email protected].
    Participants who believe that they have good cause for not 
submitting documents electronically must file a motion, in accordance 
with 10 CFR. 2.302(g), with their initial paper filing requesting 
authorization to continue to submit documents in paper format. Such 
filings must be submitted by: (1) First class mail addressed to the 
Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemaking and 
Adjudications Staff; or (2) courier, express mail, or expedited 
delivery service to the Office of the Secretary, Sixteenth Floor, One 
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, 
Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff. Participants filing a 
document in this manner are responsible for serving the document on all 
other participants. Filing is considered complete by first-class mail 
as of the time of deposit in the mail, or by courier, express mail, or 
expedited delivery service upon depositing the document with the 
provider of the service.
    Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in 
NRC's electronic hearing docket which is available to the public at 
http://ehd.nrc.gov/EHD_Proceeding/home.asp, unless excluded pursuant 
to an order of the Commission, an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, or 
a Presiding Officer. Participants are requested not to include personal 
privacy information, such as social security numbers, home addresses, 
or home phone numbers in their filings. With respect to copyrighted 
works, except for limited excerpts that serve the purpose of the 
adjudicatory filings and would constitute a Fair Use application, 
participants are requested not to include copyrighted materials in 
their works.
    If a person other than Entergy requests a hearing, that person 
shall set forth with particularity the manner in which his interest is 
adversely affected by this Order and shall address the criteria set 
forth in 10 CFR 2.309(d) and (f).
    If the hearing is requested by a person whose interest is adversely 
affected, the Commission will issue an Order designating the time and 
place of any hearing. If a hearing is held, the issue to be considered 
at such hearing shall be whether this Confirmatory Order should be 
sustained.
    In the absence of any request for hearing, or written approval of 
an extension of time in which to request a hearing, the provisions 
specified in Section V above shall be final 20 days from the date this 
Order is published in the Federal Register without further order or 
proceedings. If an extension of time for requesting a hearing has been 
approved, the provisions specified in Section V shall be final when the 
extension expires, if a hearing request has not been received.
    A request for hearing shall not stay the immediate effectiveness of 
this order.

    Dated this 10th day of November 2009.

    For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Mark A. Satorius,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. E9-27792 Filed 11-18-09; 8:45 am]
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