[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 208 (Monday, October 29, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61188-61189]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-21211]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[IA-07-039]


In the Matter of Mr. Mark Sharp; Confirmatory Order (Effective 
Immediately)

I

    Mr. Mark Sharp was previously the holder of a senior operator's 
license pursuant to 10 CFR Part 55 granted by the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (NRC or Commission). License No. SOP-43795 (Docket No. 55-
31662) was granted to Mr. Sharp on December 6, 1996, and it expired, at 
the request of Arizona Public Service Company, on December 11, 2006. 
This senior operator license allowed Mr. Sharp to direct the licensed 
activities of licensed operators at, and to manipulate the controls of 
the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Unit Nos. 1, 2 and 3. Under 
the provisions of 10 CFR Part 55, and while his license was in effect, 
Mr. Sharp was required to observe all applicable rules, regulations, 
and orders of the Commission.

II

    On November 9, 2006, the managers at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating 
Station informed the NRC that Mr. Mark Sharp, a qualified senior 
operator, may have falsified a record related to a steam generator 
blowdown. Specifically, on November 8, 2006, Mr. Sharp mistakenly 
entered an incorrect blowdown constant into the plant computer and 
subsequently attempted to cover up the mistake by falsifying the 
blowdown record. As a result, the NRC Office of Investigations (OI), 
Region IV, conducted an investigation into the circumstances 
surrounding this matter.
    Based on the results of the OI investigation, the NRC identified an 
apparent violation to Mr. Sharp by letter dated July 12, 2007. The 
letter informed Mr. Sharp that the NRC was considering the apparent 
violation for escalated enforcement action in accordance with the NRC 
Enforcement Policy. Specifically, the apparent violation involved Mr. 
Sharp's failure to observe license condition 10 CFR Part 55.53(d) in 
that he engaged in deliberate misconduct prohibited by 10 CFR 50.5 when 
he caused a required plant record to be inaccurate, thereby causing 
Arizona Public Service Company to be in violation of 10 CFR 50.9.
    In the NRC's July 12, 2007, letter to Mr. Sharp, the NRC offered 
Mr. Sharp a choice to (1) attend a Pre-decisional Enforcement 
Conference, or (2) request Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) with 
the NRC in an attempt to resolve any disagreement.

III

    In response to the July 12 letter, Mr. Sharp requested ADR to 
resolve the matter with the NRC. ADR is a process in which a neutral 
mediator, with no decision-making authority, assists the parties in 
reaching an agreement to resolve any differences regarding the dispute.
    An ADR session was conducted between Mr. Mark Sharp and the NRC in 
Arlington, Texas, on August 21, 2007. During that ADR session, a 
settlement agreement was reached. The elements of the Agreement in 
Principle consisted of the following.
    Whereas, Mr. Mark Sharp and the NRC agree that Mr. Sharp 
deliberately violated NRC requirements on November 8, 2006, by 
falsifying a steam generator blowdown log to cover up a mistake while 
licensed as a senior reactor operator at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating 
Station;
    Whereas, the NRC has determined that this was an anomalous, 
isolated incident and is not reflective of his performance in the 
industry, neither NRC nor Mr. Sharp believe these factors justify or 
minimize the significance of deliberately falsifying a required record 
to cover up his mistake. NRC acknowledges Mr. Sharp's 25 years of 
performance in the nuclear industry without a similar incident; and
    Whereas, these terms and conditions shall not be binding on either 
party until memorialized in a Confirmatory Order issued by the NRC to 
Mr. Sharp relating to this matter.
    Therefore, the parties agree to the following terms and conditions:
    1. Mr. Sharp will not participate in activities requiring a 10 CFR 
Part 55 license until items 2-4 of this agreement are completed. Mr. 
Sharp is not prohibited from engaging in activities related to training 
of operators or any other 10 CFR Part 50 regulated activities.
    2. Mr. Sharp will submit a letter to the NRC Region IV Regional 
Administrator, to be docketed, articulating why the NRC should have 
confidence that he can be trusted to engage in activities under NRC 
jurisdiction in the future with the integrity such activities demand. 
This letter will be submitted within 30 days of the date of the 
Confirmatory Order.
    3. Mr. Sharp agrees to submit an article to the ``Communicator'' (a 
publication of the Professional Reactor Operator Society) articulating 
lessons learned from this incident and emphasizing the importance of 
self-reporting and not covering up errors. This article will be 
submitted within 60 days of the date of the Confirmatory Order with a 
copy submitted to the NRC at least 7 days earlier.
    4. Mr. Sharp agrees to prepare and submit an operating experience 
report to the Institute for Nuclear Power Operations regarding his 
actions on November 8, 2006, and the lessons learned from that 
experience. This report will be submitted within 60 days of the date of 
the Confirmatory Order

[[Page 61189]]

with a copy submitted to the NRC at least 7 days earlier.
    5. Mr. Sharp agrees to continue to incorporate his lessons learned 
into the training opportunities afforded him in the nuclear industry 
for a minimum period of 1 year from the date of the Confirmatory Order.
    6. Mr. Sharp and the NRC agree that Mr. Sharp may share the terms 
of this Agreement in Principle with his current workplace supervisors 
prior to the issuance of the Confirmatory Order.
    7. The NRC agrees not to pursue any further enforcement action in 
connection with the NRC's July 12, 2007, letter to Mr. Mark Sharp. This 
does not prohibit NRC from taking enforcement action in accordance with 
the NRC Enforcement Policy if Mr. Sharp commits a similar violation in 
the future or violates this order.
    On October 16, 2007, Mr. Mark Sharp consented to issuing this Order 
with the commitments, as described in Section V below. APS further 
agreed that this Order is to be effective upon issuance and that it has 
waived its right to a hearing.

IV

    Since Mr. Sharp has agreed to take 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 Mr. Sharp'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 
Mr. Sharp's commitments be confirmed by this Order. Based on the above 
and Mr. Sharp's consent, this Order is immediately effective upon 
issuance.

V

    Accordingly, pursuant to sections 104, 161b, 161i, 161o, and 186 of 
the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, the Commission's regulations 
in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR Part 55, It is hereby ordered, effective 
immediately, that:
    1. Mr. Sharp will not participate in activities requiring a 10 CFR 
Part 55 license until items 2-4 below are completed. Mr. Sharp is not 
prohibited from engaging in activities related to training of operators 
or any other 10 CFR Part 50 regulated activities.
    2. Mr. Sharp will submit a letter to the NRC Region IV Regional 
Administrator, to be included in his docket file, articulating why the 
NRC should have confidence that he can be trusted to engage in 
activities under NRC jurisdiction in the future with the integrity such 
activities demand. This letter will be submitted within 30 days of the 
date of this Confirmatory Order.
    3. Mr. Sharp will submit an article to the ``Communicator'' (a 
publication of the Professional Reactor Operator Society) articulating 
lessons learned from this incident and emphasizing the importance of 
self-reporting and not covering up errors. This article will be 
submitted within 60 days of the date of this Confirmatory Order with a 
copy submitted to the NRC Region IV Regional Administrator at least 7 
days before submission to the ``Communicator.''
    4. Mr. Sharp will prepare and submit an operating experience report 
to the Institute for Nuclear Power Operations regarding his actions on 
November 8, 2006, and the lessons learned from that experience. This 
report will be submitted within 60 days of the date of this 
Confirmatory Order with a copy submitted to the NRC Region IV Regional 
Administrator at least 7 days before submission to the Institute.
    5. Mr. Sharp will continue to incorporate his lessons learned into 
the training opportunities afforded him in the nuclear industry for a 
minimum period of one year from the date of this Confirmatory Order.
    The Regional Administrator, NRC Region IV, may relax or rescind, in 
writing, any of the above conditions upon a showing by Mr. Sharp of 
good cause.

VI

    Any person adversely affected by this Confirmatory Order, other 
than Mr. Mark Sharp, 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 must be made in writing 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. Any request for a 
hearing shall be submitted to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Attn: Chief, Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001. Copies of the hearing request shall also be 
sent to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, to the Assistant General Counsel 
for Materials Litigation and Enforcement at the same address, to the 
Regional Administrator, NRC Region IV, 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400, 
Arlington, Texas 76011-4005, and to Mr. Mark Sharp. Because of the 
possible disruptions in delivery of mail to United States Government 
offices, it is requested that answers and 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 a person other than Mr. Sharp 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 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 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 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.
    An answer or a request for hearing shall not stay the immediate 
effectiveness of this order.

    Dated this 19th day of October 2007.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Elmo E. Collins,
Regional Administrator.
 [FR Doc. E7-21211 Filed 10-26-07; 8:45 am]
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