[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 119 (Friday, June 20, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33687-33688]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-16175]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-250, 50-251, 50-335, and 50-389, License Nos. DPR-31, 
DPR-41, DPR-67, and NPF-16]


Florida Power & Light Company, Turkey Point, Units 3 and 4, and 
St. Lucie, Units 1 and 2; Receipt of Petition for Director's Decision 
Under 10 CFR 2.206

    Notice is hereby given that by Petition dated April 23, 1997, as 
supplemented May 11 and May 17, 1997, Thomas J. Saporito, Jr., on 
behalf of himself and the National Litigation Consultants (Petitioners) 
has requested, pursuant to Section 2.206 of Title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR 2.206), that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (Commission or NRC) take action with regard to operations at 
the Florida Power & Light Company's (FPL or licensee) Turkey Point 
Nuclear Station, Units 3 and 4, and St. Lucie Nuclear Station, Units 1 
and 2.
    The Petitioners request the Commission (1) modify, suspend, or 
revoke FPL's operating licenses for these facilities until FPL can 
sufficiently demonstrate that employees at the FPL nuclear facilities 
are exposed to a work environment that encourages employees to freely 
raise safety concerns directly to the NRC without being required to 
first identify safety concerns to the licensee; (2) take escalated 
enforcement action because of discriminatory practices of the licensee 
in violation of 10 CFR 50.7 and/or other NRC regulations, and that the 
enforcement action be retroactive to the initial occurrence of the 
violation by the licensee; (3) conduct a public hearing through the 
Atomic Safety and Licensing Board and permit Petitioners leave to 
intervene to perfect an evidentiary record in consideration of whether 
the licensee has violated NRC requirements and/or regulations; (4) 
require the licensee to post a written notice alongside each NRC Form 3 
currently posted at the licensee's nuclear facilities that alerts 
employees that they can directly contact the NRC about safety concerns 
without first identifying the safety concerns to the licensee; (5) 
require the licensee to provide a copy of the posted communications to 
all employees and insure that all employees are made aware of those 
communications through the licensee's General Employee Training 
Program; and (6) require the licensee to provide the NRC with written 
documents authorized by licensee officers under affirmation that the 
requirements described in items (4) and (5) have been fully complied 
with.
    In the supplement of May 11, 1997, the imposition of a civil 
penalty in the amount of $100,000 against each of three former FPL 
managers is requested and that the NRC refer the matter of the conduct 
of these managers to the Department of Justice for consideration of 
invoking criminal proceedings.
    In the supplement of May 17, 1997, the Petitioners requested 
imposition of a civil penalty in the amount of $100,000 against each of 
six FPL employees and restriction of these employees' licensed 
activities and revocation of their unescorted access to nuclear 
facilities; the imposition of a civil penalty in the amount of $100,000 
against the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), 
that the IBEW be required to inform its members that they have a right 
to report safety concerns directly to the NRC, and that the IBEW 
encourages such action at the discretion of its members; and the 
imposition of a civil penalty in the amount of $100,000 against two 
agents or representatives of the licensee. The Petitioners also 
requested investigations of ``willful falsification'' of a company 
record and the cause of ``transcripts found missing'' in a Department 
of Labor (DOL) proceeding, and the referral of the matter of the 
conduct of the eight individuals and entities to the Department of 
Justice for consideration of invoking criminal proceedings. Finally, it 
was requested that the NRC conduct an interview with the

[[Page 33688]]

Petitioners regarding the substance of their 2.206 Petition.
    As grounds for this request, the Petitioners assert that the NRC's 
failure to take enforcement action against the licensee on the basis of 
the Secretary of Labor's finding in case 89-ERA-07/17 that FPL violated 
the Energy Reorganization Act when it discharged an employee for 
raising safety concerns has resulted in a ``chilling effect'' at FPL 
and continued discrimination against employees by FPL in violation of 
10 CFR 50.7. In addition, in the Petitioners' May 11, 1997, supplement 
to their Petition, they assert that the employee's ``Damages Brief'' in 
the Department of Labor proceeding establishes that the licensee and 
its managers are liable for creating a hostile work environment at 
Turkey Point and have failed to stop harassment and discrimination 
against the employee. The Petitioners further assert that the record in 
this case contains evidence showing direct participation of the 
employee's chain of command in the retaliatory actions taken against 
the employee. In the supplement to the Petition of May 17, 1997, the 
Petitioners assert that certain pleadings and transcripts in this DOL 
proceeding set out a chronology of events surrounding missing record 
transcripts and the falsification of a licensee company business 
record. They further assert that there exists additional evidence 
necessitating a meeting between the NRC and Petitioners.
    The request is being treated pursuant to 10 CFR 2.206 of the 
Commission's regulations. The request has been referred to the Director 
of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. As provided by Section 
2.206, appropriate action will be taken on this Petition within a 
reasonable time. A copy of the Petition is available for inspection at 
the Commission's Public Document Room at 2120 L Street, NW., 
Washington, D.C. 20555-0001.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 14th day of June 1997.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 97-16175 Filed 6-19-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P