[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 197 (Thursday, October 10, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63169-63170]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-25844]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[EA-02-124; Dockets Nos. 50-456; 50-457, 50-454; 50-455, 50-461, 50-10;
50-237; 50-249, 50-373; 50-374, 50-352; 50-353, 50-219, 50-171: 50-277;
50-278, 50-254; 50-265, 50-289, 50-295; 50-304; Licenses Nos. NPF-72;
NPF-77, NPF-37; NPF-66, NPF-62, DPR-2; DPR-19; DPR-25, NPF-11; NPF-18,
NPF-39; NPF-85, DPR-16, DPR-12; DPR-44; DPR-56, DPR-29; DPR-30, DPR-50,
DPR-39; DPR-48]
Exelon Generation Company, LLC and AmerGen Energy Company, LLC;
Braidwood Station, Units 1 & 2, Byron Station, Units 1 & 2, Clinton
Power Station, Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Units 1, 2 & 3, LaSalle
County Station, Units 1 & 2, Limerick Generating Station, Units 1 & 2,
Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Peach Bottom Atomic Power
Station, Units 1, 2 & 3, Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 &
2, Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1, Zion Nuclear Power
Station, Units 1 & 2; Confirmatory Order Modifying Licenses (Effective
Immediately)
Exelon Generation Company, LLC (Exelon) and AmerGen Energy Company,
LLC (AmerGen) (Licensees) are the holders of twenty-one NRC Facility
Operating Licenses issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or
Commission) pursuant to 10 CFR part 50, which authorizes the operation
of the specifically named facilities in accordance with the conditions
specified in each license. Licenses No. NPF-72 and NPF-77 were issued
on July 2, 1987, and May 20, 1988, to operate the Braidwood Station,
Units 1 and 2. Licenses No. NPF-37 and NPF-66 were issued on February
14, 1985, and January 30, 1987, to operate Byron Station, Units 1 and
2. License No. NPF-62 was issued on April 17, 1987 to operate the
Clinton Power Station. Licenses No. DPR-2 and DPR-25 were issued on
September 28, 1959, and January 12, 1971, to operate Dresden Nuclear
Power Station, Units 1 and 3 (Dresden Station Unit 1 is currently in
decommissioning). License No. DPR-19 was extended on February 20, 1991,
for Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Unit 2. Licenses No. NPF-11 and NPF-
18 were issued on April 17, 1982, and February 16, 1983, to operate
LaSalle County Station, Units 1 and 2. Licenses No. NPF-39 and NPF-85
were issued on August 8, 1985, and August 25, 1989, to operate the
Limerick Generating Station, Units 1 and 2. License No. DPR-16 was
extended on July 2, 1991, for the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating
Station. License No. DPR-12 was issued on January 24, 1966, to operate
Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Unit 1, which was shut down on
October 31, 1974, and is in safe storage. Licenses No. DPR-44 and DPR-
56 were issued on October 25, 1973, and July 2, 1974, to operate Peach
Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 & 3. Licenses No. DPR-29 and DPR-
30 were issued on December 14, 1972, for the operation of both units at
the Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2. License No. DPR-
50 was issued on April 19, 1974, to operate the Three Mile Island
Nuclear Power Station, Unit 1. Licenses No. DPR-39 and DPR-48 were
issued on October 19, 1973, and November 14, 1973, for operation of the
Zion Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2 (the Zion Station is
currently in decommissioning).
On January 29, 2001, the NRC Office of Investigations (OI)
initiated an investigation to determine if a former Exelon employee
performing work at the Byron Station had been discriminated against for
raising safety concerns. In its Report No. 3-2001-005, issued March 26,
2002, OI concluded that an Exelon corporate manager deliberately
discriminated against the former employee on August 25, 2000, in
violation of the NRC regulations prohibiting employment discrimination,
10 CFR 50.7, ``Employee Protection,'' by not selecting the employee for
a new position. On June 17, 2002, the NRC staff contacted Exelon
management to schedule a predecisional enforcement conference. To
expedite resolution of this matter, Exelon requested the opportunity to
present a settlement proposal to the NRC prior to a predecisional
enforcement conference. The NRC staff agreed to this request.
Representatives of Exelon met with the NRC staff on July 2, July
18, July 30, September 9 and September 11, 2002, to discuss the terms
of the Exelon settlement proposal. In an August 5, 2002 letter, Exelon
described the proposed settlement and on September 27, 2002, the
Licensees committed to a number of corrective actions with respect to
employee protection, agreed to have the corrective actions confirmed by
Order, and admitted that a violation of 10 CFR 50.7 had occurred. The
corrective actions include, but are not limited to, counseling
management personnel involved in the violation of 10 CFR 50.7, and
training all vice-presidents and plant managers throughout the
Licensees' organization (at every nuclear station and at corporate
headquarters) on the provisions of the employee protection regulation.
These individuals, in turn, will train their subordinate managers. The
Licensees will also modify management training programs as appropriate
regarding the provisions of 10 CFR 50.7.
On September 27, 2002, the Licensees consented to issuance of this
Order with the commitments described in Section V below, waived any
right to a hearing on this Order, and agreed to all terms of this
Order, including that it shall be effective immediately.
I find that the Licensees' commitments as set forth in Section V,
below, are acceptable and necessary, and conclude that since Exelon
admitted the violation of 10 CFR 50.7 and since the Licensees committed
to taking comprehensive corrective actions by implementing this
Confirmatory Order, the NRC staff's concern regarding employee
protection can be resolved through confirmation of the Licensees'
commitments by this Order. I further find that the Licensees' approach
to resolving this matter is salutary and efficient, and that this
resolution is in the public interest. Accordingly, the NRC staff
exercises its enforcement discretion pursuant to Section VII.B.6 of the
NRC Enforcement Policy and will not issue Notices of Violation or a
civil penalty in this case.
Accordingly, pursuant to sections 103, 104b, 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, that license Nos. NPF-72, NPF-
77, NPF-37, NPF-66, NPF-62, DPR-2, DPR-19, DPR-25, NPF-11, NPF-18, NPF-
39, NPF-85, DPR-16, DPR-12, DPR-44, DPR-56, DPR-29, DPR-30, DPR-50,
DPR-39, and DPR-48 are modified as follows:
1. Exelon will counsel and coach personnel involved in the
violation of 10 CFR 50.7, which occurred on August 25, 2000, to
emphasize the importance of a safety conscious work environment and
provisions of 10 CFR 50.7. The counseling will be conducted by a
corporate Exelon executive not involved in the violation described
herein and who shall be senior to those counseled.
[[Page 63170]]
2. An Exelon corporate executive will train and coach every
executive-level employee (defined to include plant managers and all
vice-president level personnel) throughout the licensed organizations,
including every nuclear station and headquarters, on the employee
protection provisions of 10 CFR 50.7. The sessions will be conducted by
an Exelon executive knowledgeable about the issues involved in the
August 25, 2000, violation and will be held in small groups to assure
focus and interactive involvement of every executive. The sessions will
include a case study of the selection decision that caused this
enforcement action and a discussion of the lessons learned.
3. Each executive trained pursuant to Paragraph 2 above will be
provided a communications package for use in training the managers in
that executive's chain-of-command regarding these issues and the
Licensees' expectations for handling employee interactions.
4. The Licensees will enhance training on the prevention of
employment discrimination beyond that in its existing management
training programs. Lesson plans and other materials used in management
training programs on the prevention of employment discrimination will
be reviewed and revised as appropriate to address maintaining a safety
conscious work environment and the employee protection provisions of 10
CFR 50.7. The on-going training will be conducted at a frequency
consistent with the Licensees' existing policies, practices and
procedures.
5. The Licensees will review the internal candidate selection
process to ensure that the process incorporates the principles of
employee protection under 10 CFR 50.7.
6. A communication will be distributed to all employees of the
Licensees' organizations that strongly reaffirms management's
commitment to fostering a safety-conscious work environment in all
organizations at all sites and in its headquarters organization. The
Licensees will also reaffirm to all employees the Licensees'
commitments to a strong and viable Employee Concerns Program and will
reiterate the various means that all employees may employ to raise
issues that may be of concern to them.
7. Exelon will review all work environment surveys conducted since
September 2000 at the Byron Station (where the former employee
previously worked) to assure that management responses to any findings
were implemented to assure that no residual effect exists in the
safety-conscious work environment at the station as a result of the
selection decision. Exelon will provide to the Regional Administrator,
NRC Region III, Lisle, Illinois, a written description of the results
of this review and any actions taken or planned to be taken to assure
that a safety conscious work environment exists at the Byron Station.
8. The Licensees will accomplish these actions within six months of
the date of this Order and will furnish a written report of the results
achieved to the Director, Office of Enforcement, within 30 days
following completion.
The Director, Office of Enforcement may relax or rescind, in
writing, any of the above conditions upon a showing by the Licensees of
good cause.
Any person adversely affected by this Confirmatory Order, other
than the Licensees, may request a hearing within 20 days of its
issuance. Where good cause is shown, consideration will be given to
extending the time to request a hearing. A request for extension of
time in which to submit a request for a hearing must be made in writing
to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555, and include a statement of good cause
for the extension. Any request for a hearing shall be submitted to the
Secretary, Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Chief, Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff,
Washington, DC 20555. Copies of the hearing request shall also be sent
to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555; to the Assistant General Counsel for
Materials Litigation and Enforcement at the same address; to the
Regional Administrator, NRC Region III, 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle, IL
60532-4351; to the Regional Administrator, NRC Region I, 475 Allendale
Road, King of Prussia, PA 19406-1415; and to the Licensees. Because of
continuing disruptions in delivery of mail to United States Government
offices, it is requested that requests for hearing be transmitted to
the Secretary of the Commission either by means of facsimile
transmission to 301-415-1101 or by e-mail to [email protected] and
also to the Office of the General Counsel either by means of facsimile
transmission to 301-415-3725 or by e-mail to [email protected]. If
such a person 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 Sec.
2.714(d).\1\
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\1\ The most recent version of Title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations, published January 1, 2002, inadvertently omitted the
last sentence of 10 CFR 2.714(d) and subparagraphs (d)(1) and (2),
regarding petitions to intervene and contentions. Those provisions
are extant and still applicable to petitions to intervene. Those
provisions are as follows: ``In all other circumstances, such ruling
body or officer shall, in ruling on--(1) A petition for leave to
intervene or a request for hearing, consider the following factors,
among other things: (i) The nature of the petitioner's right under
the Act to be made a party to the proceeding. (ii) The nature and
extent of the petitioner's property, financial, or other interest in
the proceeding. (iii) The possible effect of any order that may be
entered in the proceeding on the petitioner's interest. (2) The
admissibility of a contention, refuse to admit a contention if: (i)
The contention and supporting material fail to satisfy the
requirements of paragraph (b)(2) of this section; or (ii) The
contention, if proven, would be of no consequence in the proceeding
because it would not entitle petitioner to relief.
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If a 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 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 twenty (20) days from the date of this
Order 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 at Rockville, Maryland this 3rd Day of October 2002.
For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Frank J. Congel,
Director, Office of Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 02-25844 Filed 10-9-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P