[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 15 (Wednesday, January 23, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4016-4019]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-1079]
[[Page 4016]]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-361, 50-362, 50-206, 72-041; License Nos. NPF-10, NPF-
15, DPR-13, General License Pursuant to 10 CFR 72.210 EA-07-232]
In the Matter of Southern California Edison Company, San Onofre
Nuclear Generating Station; Confirmatory Order (Effective Immediately)
Southern California Edison Company (SCE or Licensee) is the holder
of reactor operating licenses, License Nos. NPF-10 and NPF-15, issued
by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission), pursuant to
10 CFR Part 50, on September 07, 1982, and September 16, 1983,
respectively. The licenses authorize the operation of San Onofre
Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) Units 2 and 3, respectively, in
accordance with conditions specified therein. In addition, SCE is the
holder of License No. DPR-13, which authorizes decommissioning of its
Unit 1 facility; and SCE is the holder of a General License Pursuant to
10 CFR 72.210, which authorizes the storage of spent fuel in an
independent spent fuel storage installation. These facilities are
located on the Licensee's site in San Clemente, CA. This Confirmatory
Order is the result of an agreement reached during an alternative
dispute resolution (ADR) mediation session conducted on December 3,
2007.
II
On January 9, 2007, the NRC Office of Investigations (OI) began an
investigation (OI No. 4-2007-016) at SONGS. As a result of the staff's
review of the information, the NRC was concerned that a qualified
contract fire protection specialist appeared to have engaged in
deliberate misconduct. Specifically, on multiple occasions from April
2001 to December 2006, the fire protection specialist appeared to
provide inaccurate information on firewatch records to indicate that
hourly firewatch rounds had been completed when they had not been
completed.
The NRC's preliminary findings were discussed in a letter to SCE
dated September 27, 2007. That letter identified an apparent violation
of 10 CFR 50.9 that was being considered for escalated enforcement
action, and identified the NRC's concern that the fire protection
specialist's actions may have involved willfulness in the form of
deliberate misconduct. The NRC's assessment concluded that the missed
firewatch rounds, absent willfulness, have very low safety significance
based on a bounding risk analysis, as discussed in our September 27,
2007, letter. However, the NRC was considering escalated enforcement in
this case because the apparent violation involved willfulness and
because of the lack of management oversight over firewatches during the
midnight shifts for a period of approximately 5\1/2\ years.
Both SONGS and the NRC noted that the NRC has substantiated several
instances of willful violations at SONGS in the past year.
(1) On November 1, 2006, one SL IV NCV (licensee-identified) was
issued to SONGS involving a radiographer who deliberately failed to
follow a Radiation Work Permit (EA-06-084).
(2) On March 15, 2007, two SL IV cited violations were issued
involving security-related information that is not publicly available
(EA-06-303).
(3) On June 29, 2007, one SL IV cited violation was issued
involving security-related information that is not publicly available
(EA-07-147).
(4) On November 7, 2007, one SL IV cited violation was issued
involving an I&C technician who willfully failed to control the work
activities of an unqualified I&C technician when performing work on
safety-related equipment, resulting in inoperability (EA-07-141).
In addition, OI is investigating other instances of willful
violations. In an attempt to resolve the issue you requested ADR with
the NRC. ADR is a general term encompassing various techniques for
resolving conflict outside of court using a neutral third party. The
technique that the NRC has decided to employ is mediation. In
requesting ADR, SCE noted the high number of substantiated willful
violations that have been identified at SONGS during such a short time
period, and SCE expressed its concern that SONGS might have an issue
related to its safety culture.
On December 3, 2007, the NRC and SCE met in an ADR session mediated
by a professional mediator, arranged through Cornell University's
Institute on Conflict Resolution. At the conclusion of the ADR session,
SCE and the NRC reached an Agreement in Principle. This Confirmatory
Order is issued pursuant to the agreement reached during the ADR
process.
III
During the December 3, 2007, ADR session, a preliminary settlement
agreement was reached. Pursuant to the ADR agreement, the following are
the terms and conditions agreed upon in principle by SCE and the NRC
relating to the issues described in the NRC's letter to SCE dated
September 27, 2007.
Whereas, the NRC and SCE agree that a contract firewatch person
deliberately failed to perform firewatch rounds and falsified
associated documentation as described in EA-07-232 dated September 27,
2007.
Whereas, the NRC and SCE agree that an I&C on-the-job trainer
willfully did not adequately control the actions of a trainee as
described in EA-07-141 dated November 7, 2007.
Whereas, the NRC and SCE agree that several apparent willful
violations have occurred from 2005 to present that may involve safety
culture issues.
The following are the specific actions that were agreed upon.
1. By January 31, 2008, SCE will perform a common cause evaluation
of known recent events, actually or potentially involving willful
events to determine the root and contributing causes for the collective
issues. This evaluation will include an analysis to determine if any
deficiencies of safety culture components were significant
contributors. The results of this evaluation will be factored into the
Corrective Action Program and addressed in other ongoing related
efforts, as appropriate.
2. By February 29, 2008, SCE will provide the NRC with a Corrective
Action Plan that includes the results of Item 1 and provides the
following key elements:
a. A monitoring program to determine the effectiveness of the
Corrective Action Plan developed pursuant to this Item 2.
b. By June 30, 2008, SCE will conduct multi-day interventions that
reinforce fundamental company values. SONGS will ensure that this
effort includes the elements of a strong nuclear safety culture to
prevent deliberate misconduct-related violation issues. The intent of
the interventions will be to focus leaders and managers on the
importance of balancing accountability and encouraging workers to self-
report errors and the importance of communicating this to their
workers.
c. SCE will expand the Corporate Ethics Program to encompass long-
term (i.e., greater than 90 days) managers and supervisors of
independent contract workers at SONGS, who will be required to take the
integrity training in 2008. SCE will conduct training for SONGS
managers and supervisors in 2008 and other SCE SONGS employees in 2009.
d. SCE will conduct a safety culture assessment by an independent
outside organization by April 1, 2008, that will provide trends of key
cultural performance indicators related at a minimum, to: (a) Nuclear
Safety Culture
[[Page 4017]]
and Performance, (b) Safety Conscious Work Environment (c) General
Culture and Work Environment. By June 30, 2008, the results of this
assessment will be factored into the Corrective Action Program and
addressed in other ongoing related efforts, as appropriate.
e. By April 1, 2008, SCE will further enhance the new employee
orientation and the general employee training programs to better ensure
that new and periodically retrained personnel clearly understand that
deliberate acts of non-compliance with regulations or procedures will
not be tolerated and could result in a significant disciplinary action
up to and including termination.
f. By September 30, 2008, SCE will develop and begin conducting
training (for managers and supervisors) on techniques that can be used
to monitor that workers are implementing procedures as instructed.
g. By April 1, 2008, SCE will enhance its existing disciplinary
process to provide more detailed guidance in cases involving a
deliberate misconduct-related violation. This process will communicate
to the workforce specific escalating disciplinary actions that may be
taken in response to initial and/or repeat deliberate misconduct by
individual contributors and supervisors/managers. Communication of
process enhancements will focus personnel on the importance of
balancing accountability and encouraging workers to self-report errors
and the importance of communicating this with their workers.
h. By April 1, 2008, SCE will revise the SONGS training lesson for
On-the-Job Training (OJT) trainers and provide this training to all OJT
trainers and trainees. The revised OJT training will reinforce the
responsibilities of the trainer and the trainees. Emphasis will be
placed on the expectations of a trainer while his/her trainee is
performing work during an OJT session.
i. SCE will take steps to incentivize on-site service contractors
to help SCE address the issues that have resulted in deliberate
misconduct-related violations. If SCE is unable to negotiate acceptable
programs by a particular contractor, then SCE will impose additional
oversight to ensure the performance of the contractor and its personnel
meets specified criteria.
j. By April 1, 2008, SCE will incorporate into the SONGS oversight
surveillance program, periodic sampling of repetitive rounds and log-
keeping activities to provide reasonable assurance that actions to
deter and detect instances of deliberate non-compliance are effective.
This oversight will include sampling of SCE and contractor activities.
k. SCE will use multiple site-wide communication tools (e.g., ``All
Hands'' meetings, monthly ``Manager and Supervisor Forum'' meetings,
and written communications) to emphasize to employees and contractors
at SONGS the need to comply with job rules, regulations, and procedures
and potential consequences when compliance does not occur.
l. Upon completion of the terms of the Confirmatory Action Order,
SCE will provide the NRC with a letter discussing its basis for
concluding that the Order has been satisfied.
For the period of 6 months following issuance of this Order, the
NRC will grant enforcement discretion if it concludes that the
provisions of Section VII.B.4 of the Enforcement Policy have been met.
Similar violations identified after this 6-month period may be
actionable under the NRC Enforcement Policy.
Based on the above actions, the NRC agrees to refrain from issuing
a civil penalty or a Notice of Violation for EA 07-232. The resulting
Confirmatory Order will, however, be considered by the NRC for any
assessment of SONGS plant performance under the NRC's Reactor Oversight
Process, as appropriate.
By 30 days after issuance of the Order, SCE will provide to the NRC
under separate letter its response to the three issues addressed by the
NRC in its letter dated September 27, 2007, (EA 07-232) and for NRC
letter dated November 7, 2007, (EA 07-141), the extent to which
trainers may fail to follow the procedural requirements of Section
6.3.2 of SONGS Training Procedure SO123-XV-27.
On January 8, 2008, SCE consented to issuing this Order with the
commitments, as described in Section V below. SCE further agreed that
this Order is to be effective upon issuance and that it has waived its
right to a hearing.
IV
Since SCE has agreed to take additional actions to address NRC
concerns, as set forth in Section III above, the NRC has concluded that
its concerns can be resolved through issuance of this Order.
I find that the Licensee'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
the Licensee's commitments be confirmed by this Order. Based on the
above and the Licensee'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, the Commission's
regulations in 10 CFR 2.202, and 10 CFR Parts 50 and 72, it is hereby
ordered, effective immediately, that license NOs. NPF-10, NPF-15, and
DPR-13, and SCE's General License Pursuant to 10 CFR 72.210, are
modified as follows:
1. By January 31, 2008, SCE will perform a common cause evaluation
of known recent events, actually or potentially involving willful
events to determine the root and contributing causes for the collective
issues. This evaluation will include an analysis to determine if any
deficiencies of safety culture components, as defined by NRC's
Inspection Manual Chapter (IMC) 0305, ``Operating Reactor Assessment
Program,'' were significant contributors. The results of this
evaluation will be factored into the Corrective Action Program and
addressed in other ongoing related efforts, as appropriate.
2. By February 29, 2008, SCE will provide the NRC with a Corrective
Action Plan that includes the results of Item 1 and provides the
following key elements:
a. A monitoring program to determine the effectiveness of the
Corrective Action Plan developed pursuant to this Item 2.
b. By June 30, 2008, SCE will conduct multi-day interventions that
reinforce fundamental company values. SONGS will ensure that this
effort includes the elements of a strong nuclear safety culture to
prevent deliberate violations. The intent of the interventions will be
to focus leaders and managers on the importance of balancing
accountability and encouraging workers to self-report errors and the
importance of communicating this to their workers.
c. SCE will expand the Corporate Ethics Program to encompass long-
term (i.e., greater than 90 days) managers and supervisors of
independent contract workers at SONGS, who will be required to take the
integrity training in 2008. SCE will conduct training for SONGS
managers and supervisors in 2008 and other SCE SONGS employees in 2009.
d. SCE will conduct a safety culture assessment by an independent
third-party organization by April 1, 2008. By June 30, 2008, the
results of this assessment will be factored into the Corrective Action
Program and
[[Page 4018]]
addressed in other ongoing related efforts, as appropriate.
e. By April 1, 2008, SCE will further enhance the new employee
orientation and the general employee training programs to better ensure
that new and periodically retrained personnel clearly understand that
deliberate acts of non-compliance with regulations or procedures will
not be tolerated and could result in a significant disciplinary action
up to and including termination.
f. By September 30, 2008, SCE will develop and begin conducting
training (for managers and supervisors) on techniques that can be used
to monitor that workers are implementing procedures as instructed.
g. By April 1, 2008, SCE will enhance its existing disciplinary
process to provide more detailed guidance in cases involving a
deliberate misconduct-related violation. This process will communicate
to the workforce specific escalating disciplinary actions that may be
taken in response to initial and/or repeat deliberate misconduct by
individual contributors and supervisors/managers. Communication of
process enhancements will focus personnel on the importance of
balancing accountability and encouraging workers to self-report errors
and the importance of communicating this with their workers.
h. By April 1, 2008, SCE will revise the SONGS training lesson for
OJT trainers and provide this training to all OJT trainers and
trainees. The revised OJT training will reinforce the responsibilities
of the trainer and the trainees. Emphasis will be placed on the
expectations of a trainer while his/her trainee is performing work
during an OJT session.
i. SCE will take steps to develop and implement incentives for on-
site service contractors to help SCE address the issues that have
resulted in deliberate misconduct-related violations. If SCE is unable
to negotiate acceptable programs by a particular contractor, then SCE
will impose additional oversight to ensure the performance of the
contractor and its personnel meets specified criteria.
j. By April 1, 2008, SCE will incorporate into the SONGS oversight
surveillance program, periodic sampling of repetitive rounds and log
keeping activities to provide reasonable assurance that actions to
deter and detect instances of deliberate non-compliance are effective.
This oversight will include sampling of SCE and contractor activities.
k. SCE will use multiple site-wide communication tools to emphasize
to employees and contractors at SONGS the need to comply with job
rules, regulations, and procedures and potential consequences when
compliance does not occur.
l. Upon completion of the terms of the Confirmatory Action Order,
SCE will provide the NRC with a letter discussing its basis for
concluding that the Order has been satisfied.
3. By 30 days after issuance of the order, SCE will provide to the
NRC under separate letter its response to the three issues addressed by
the NRC in its letter dated September 27, 2007 (EA 07-232) and for NRC
letter dated November 7, 2007 (EA 07-141), the extent to which trainers
may fail to follow the procedural requirements of Section 6.3.2 of
SONGS Training Procedure SO123-XV-27.
For the period of 6 months following issuance of this Order, the
NRC will grant enforcement discretion if it concludes that the
provisions of Section VII.B.4 of the Enforcement Policy have been met.
Similar violations identified after this 6-month period may be
actionable under the NRC Enforcement Policy.
Based on the above actions, the NRC agrees to refrain from issuing
a civil penalty or a Notice of Violation for EA 07-232. The resulting
Confirmatory Order will, however, be considered by the NRC for any
assessment of SONGS plant performance under the NRC's Reactor Oversight
Process, as appropriate.
The Regional Administrator, NRC Region IV, may relax or rescind, in
writing, any of the above conditions upon a showing by SCE of good
cause.
VI
Any person adversely affected by this Confirmatory Order, other
than SCE, may request a hearing within 20 days of its issuance. Where
good cause is shown, consideration will be given to extending the time
to answer or 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, 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, 2007, 72 FR 49,139
(Aug. 28, 2007). 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 (5) 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 an
NRC-issued digital ID certificate). Each requestor will need to
download the Workplace Forms ViewerTM 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 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 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 technical help line,
which is available
[[Page 4019]]
between 8:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.
The help line number is (800) 397-4209 or locally, (301) 415-4737.
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 SCE 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).
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. An answer or a request for hearing shall not stay the
immediate effectiveness of this order.
Dated this 11th day of January, 2008.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Elmo E. Collins,
Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. E8-1079 Filed 1-22-08; 8:45 am]
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