[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 229 (Wednesday, November 27, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65426-65431]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-25709]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. EA-18-130; NRC-2019-0232]


In the Matter of Southern Nuclear Operating Company

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Confirmatory Order; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a 
Confirmatory Order to Southern Nuclear Operating Company (SNC). This 
action is based on two investigations conducted by the NRC Office of 
Investigations (OI), that apparent willful violations of NRC's 
regulations regarding ``Employee Protection,'' occurred. Specifically, 
two contract employees at Vogtle Units 3 and 4 were terminated from 
employment in 2016 and 2017, respectively. The NRC determined that 
these terminations were, in part, because the contract employees 
engaged in protected activity. An ADR mediation session was held on 
August 5, 2019, with SNC, and a preliminary settlement agreement was 
reached. Subsequently, SNC consented to the specific actions listed in 
section V of the Confirmatory Order and the NRC agrees to no pursue any 
further enforcement action in connection with this apparent violation. 
The Confirmatory Order becomes effective upon issuance.

DATES: The Confirmatory Order containing the agreements made between 
SNC and the NRC was issued on November 20, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2019-0232 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly-available

[[Page 65427]]

information related to this document using any of the following 
methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov/ and search for Docket ID NRC-2019-0232. Address 
questions about NRC docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges; 
telephone: 301-287-9127; email: [email protected]. For technical 
questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section of this document.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS 
Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public 
Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or 
by email to [email protected]. The Confirmatory Order is available 
in ADAMS under Accession No. ML19269C005.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Catherine Thompson, Office of 
Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001; telephone: 301-287-9515, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the Confirmatory Order is 
attached.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day of November 2019.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
George A. Wilson,
Director, Office of Enforcement.

Attachment--Confirmatory Order Prohibiting Involvement in NRC-Licensed 
Activities

United States of America

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

In the Matter of Southern Nuclear Operating Company; Vogtle Electric 
Generating Plant, Units 3 and 4

Docket No.: 5200025, 5200026; License No.: NPF-91, NPF-92; EA-18-130 
and EA-18-171

Confirmatory Order Modifying License

Effective Upon Issuance

I

    Southern Nuclear Operating Company (SNC or Licensee) is the holder 
of License Nos. NPF-2, NPF-8, DPR-57, NPF-5, NPF-68, NPF-81, and 
Combined Licenses NPF-91 and NPF-92, issued by the U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) pursuant to Part 50 and Part 
52 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR). The 
licenses authorize the operation of the Joseph M. Farley, Nuclear Plant 
Units 1 and 2, the Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2, the 
Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2, and the combined 
construction and operation of Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 3 
and 4 (Vogtle), in accordance with conditions specified therein. These 
facilities are located in Columbia, Alabama; Baxley, Georgia; and 
Waynesboro, Georgia, respectively.
    This Confirmatory Order (CO) is the result of an agreement reached 
during an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mediation session 
conducted on August 5, 2019 in Rockville, Maryland to address two 
apparent violations. The NRC and SNC agree to disagree as to whether 
the violations occurred.

II

    On February 13, 2018, the NRC, Office of Investigations (OI), 
issued a report (2-2017-004) related to SNC Vogtle Units 3 and 4, 
currently under construction. Based on the evidence developed during 
its investigation, the NRC identified an apparent violation of 10 CFR 
52.5, ``Employee Protection,'' and determined that the apparent 
violation of 10 CFR 52.5 was willful. The NRC determined that SNC 
directed a contract employee at the Vogtle Units 3 and 4 construction 
site be removed in December 2015, in part, for engaging in protected 
activity. The contract employee was subsequently terminated by his 
employer on February 3, 2016. By letter dated May 15, 2019, the NRC 
notified SNC of the results of the investigation with an opportunity 
to: (1) Attend a predecisional enforcement conference or (2) 
participate in an ADR mediation session in an effort to resolve this 
concern.
    On November 20, 2018, the NRC, Office of Investigations (OI), 
issued a report (2-2017-032) related to SNC, Vogtle Units 3 and 4, 
currently under construction. Based on the evidence developed during 
its investigation, the NRC identified an apparent violation of 10 CFR 
52.5, ``Employee Protection,'' and determined that the apparent 
violation of 10 CFR 52.5 was willful. The NRC determined that a 
contract employee was removed from the site by an SNC official on July 
13, 2017, in part, for engaging in protected activity when he was 
employed by a different contractor on the site from 2014-2015. The 
contract employee was subsequently terminated by his employer on July 
14, 2017. By letter dated June 12, 2019, the NRC notified SNC of the 
results of the investigation with an opportunity to: (1) Attend a 
predecisional enforcement conference or (2) participate in an ADR 
mediation session in an effort to resolve this concern.
    In response to the NRC's offers, SNC requested the use of the NRC's 
ADR process. In recognition of the substantially similar broad 
corrective actions expected from the two cases, the NRC and SNC agreed 
to include both cases in this mediation. On August 5, 2019 the NRC and 
SNC met in an ADR session mediated by a professional mediator, arranged 
through Cornell University's Institute on Conflict Resolution. The ADR 
process is one in which a neutral mediator, with no decision-making 
authority, assists the parties in their attempt to reach an agreement 
on resolving any differences regarding the dispute. This Confirmatory 
Order is issued pursuant to the agreement reached during the August 5, 
2019 mediation.

III

    During the ADR mediation session, SNC and the NRC reached a 
preliminary settlement agreement. The elements of the agreement 
included: (1) Corrective actions that SNC has already completed to 
improve the nuclear safety culture (NSC) and safety conscious work 
environment (SCWE) at the site (provided to the NRC at the August 5, 
2019 ADR mediation session); (2) agreed upon future actions; and (3) 
general provisions.

Previously Completed Corrective Actions

    1. Implemented the One Project Employee Concerns Program (One 
Project ECP):
    a. Consolidated all individuals on the construction site under the 
One Project ECP. SNC's One Project ECP manages the intake of all 
construction concerns, investigations, referrals when necessary and 
tracking of associated corrective actions.
    b. Expanded the scope of the One Project ECP. One Project ECP 
reviews a range of concerns broader than those explicitly described as 
nuclear safety concerns. This builds trust with the construction site 
population, as well as helps identify issues that might not appear to 
be nuclear safety concerns but either become nuclear safety concerns or 
have some tie to a nuclear safety concern.
    c. One Project ECP has expanded ECP staff to have representatives 
available

[[Page 65428]]

for at least 3 hours during the night shift.
    2. Implemented a single project-wide Corrective Action Program 
which provides for SNC ownership of all Corrective Action Program 
activities on the project.
    3. Implemented a Discipline Review Process for construction 
contractors to require review of certain terminations for potential 
SCWE issues. Additional oversight by SNC HR of Contractors' 
implementation of the Discipline Review Process was added in December 
2018 as a result of CR# 50009752.
    4. Enhanced the presence and visibility of ECP in the field. SNC 
ECP provides SCWE training to contractor employees during onboarding. 
ECP personnel spend time in the field, handing out cards, discussing 
the program and locations, assessing SCWE knowledge, and educating when 
necessary.
    5. Project and Leadership Reset conducted on July 25, 2018, with 
the expectation that employees, contractors and leaders on the Vogtle 3 
and 4 project site read and sign a ``Recommitment to Project 
Expectations'' and ``Recommitment to Leadership Expectations,'' 
respectively, which included ``My behaviors will demonstrate and 
support a strong nuclear safety culture and an environment for raising 
concerns.''
    6. SNC SCWE policy was updated on October 22, 2018, to explicitly 
state that violations of the policy may result in termination; 
dismissal of contracted third-party representatives; cancellation of 
contracts or service-level agreements; loss of access or other 
privileges; barring individuals from access to facilities, property or 
any system or network owned or controlled by the Company or its 
affiliates.

Agreed Upon Future Actions

1. Employee Concerns Program (ECP)
    a. SNC-Fleet Wide (FW) will maintain an ECP for plants authorized 
to operate (fleet-wide ECP) (see Attachment) in substantially the same 
form as SNC Policy 701, ``Employee Concerns Program,'' revised 02/2017.
    b. SNC-Vogtle 3 and 4 (V) will maintain the existing Vogtle 3 and 4 
One Project ECP through commercial operation of each unit, or until 
such time that SNC determines transition to fleet-wide ECP is 
warranted.
2. Adverse Action Review Processes
    a. SNC-FW/V \1\ will maintain a review process covering significant 
adverse actions (termination or suspension) taken by SNC with respect 
to SNC employees which requires consideration of protected activity, if 
any, prior to taking the significant adverse action.
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    \1\ SNC-FW/V refers to both SNC's entire operating fleet and 
Vogtle Units 3 and 4 (see Attachment).
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    b. SNC-V will maintain a Discipline Review Process (DRP), 
applicable to SNC contractors or subcontractors (collectively 
``contractors'') at the Vogtle 3 and 4 Project site who are engaged in 
nuclear safety related work. Contractors must follow this process when 
termination is under consideration. This process also applies to SNC 
when (1) SNC requests removal of a contractor employee from the Vogtle 
3 and 4 Project pursuant to contractual rights, and (2) when SNC 
releases from the Vogtle Project a supplemental worker assigned to 
support SNC. SNC may allow for exceptions to the DRP in the following 
instances: Terminations related to Part 26 FFD or Site Access failures; 
reduction in force (RIF)-related terminations; any action dictated by a 
collective bargaining (or similar) agreement applicable to contractor 
employees; violations of project work rules which do not depend on 
supervisory discretion; and end of assignment releases.
    c. In the event the results of the review process in 2a. or 2b. 
reveal a SCWE policy violation that is substantiated by the SNC-FW/V 
Compliance and Concerns organization, corrective actions arising from 
that violation which may include discipline will be tracked and 
confirmed as completed by the SNC Compliance and Concerns organization.
3. Training
    a. Within four (4) months of issuance of this confirmatory order, 
and until three (3) years thereafter, SNC-FW/V will require all SNC 
employees who are onboarding to complete SCWE training, including 
training on 10 CFR 50.7, 10 CFR 52.5, 10 CFR 50.5, and 10 CFR 52.4, 
definition of adverse action as it appears in the RIS 2005-18, and 
acknowledge the SNC SCWE policy within two (2) months of reporting to 
work.
    b. Within four (4) months of issuance of this confirmatory order, 
SNC-V will provide SCWE training to management in the Vogtle 3 and 4 
Project site. Lessons learned from these issues will be included in the 
training materials. The management covered by this item includes 
superintendents, managers and above (both contractors and SNC) up to 
and including the project executive vice president, who are in those 
roles as of the date that is three (3) months after the issuance of 
this confirmatory order. Such training shall be developed by a third 
party with experience in the area of employee protection and shall 
include training on 10 CFR 50.7, 10 CFR 52.5, 10 CFR 50.5, and 10 CFR 
52.4, the definition of adverse action as it appears in the RIS 2005-
18, and relevant case studies.
    c. Beginning no later than two (2) months of issuance of this 
confirmatory order, and until three (3) years thereafter, SNC will 
require all new SNC-FW/V supervisors (a leader responsible for 
performance management and work direction for individual contributors) 
to receive SCWE training within six (6) months of their beginning work 
as a supervisor at SNC.
    d. Within six (6) months of issuance of this confirmatory order, 
SNC-FW/V will review and make appropriate revisions to include SCWE 
with its construction and fleet General Employee Training (GET) 
program, or successor training, to ensure adequate coverage of 10 CFR 
50.7, 10 CFR 52.5, 10 CFR 50.5, and 10 CFR 52.4. Lessons learned from 
these or similar issues will be identified and addressed in these 
training materials.
4. Other Activities
    a. Within twelve (12) months from the issuance of this confirmatory 
order, SNC will deliver a presentation to provide SCWE insights that 
were derived from these events to present at an appropriate industry-
sharing forum (e.g., the NRC's Regulatory Information Conference, the 
National Association of Employee Concerns Professionals). The 
presentation shall be made available for NRC review.
    b. Within three (3) months of issuance of this confirmatory order, 
SNC-FW will revise the SCWE policy to address lessons learned from 
these issues.
    c. Within three (3) months of issuance of this confirmatory order, 
a senior SNC executive will issue a written communication to all SNC-
FW/V employees and to contractors at the Vogtle 3 and 4 project site 
reinforcing SNC's commitment to maintaining a SCWE and reaffirming 
SNC's insistence upon the protection of employees' rights and 
obligations to raise safety issues without fear of retaliation. SNC-FW/
V will mandate that SNC first line leaders and construction management 
(superintendents and above) inform their reports of the contents of the 
communication.
    d. Within six (6) months of issuance of this confirmatory order, 
SNC-V will obtain an independent SCWE survey of Vogtle 3 and 4 project 
site. SNC-V will obtain a second independent SCWE survey of Vogtle 3 
and 4 no later than thirty (30) months after issuance of this

[[Page 65429]]

confirmatory order. Results of each survey will be summarized into 
reports which will be made available for inspection by NRC. 
Recommendations (if any) from the survey reports will be entered into 
the Corrective Action Program or Employee Concerns Program, as 
appropriate, depending on the nature of the recommendation, for 
disposition.

General Provisions

    1. The proposed settlement does not affect other potential 
escalated enforcement actions, including ongoing investigations by the 
NRC's Office of Investigations. However, as part of its deliberations 
and consistent with the philosophy of the Enforcement Policy, Section 
3.3, ``Violations Identified Because of Previous Enforcement Action,'' 
the NRC will consider enforcement discretion for violations of the NRC 
Employee Protection Rules (10 CFR 50.7, 10 CFR 52.5) that occur prior 
to or during implementation of the corrective actions aimed at 
correcting that specific condition as specified in the Confirmatory 
Order.
    2. The NRC and SNC agree to disagree as to whether the violations 
occurred.
    3. The NRC will not cite a violation or issue a civil penalty.
    4. This order will be placed on the Vogtle 3 & 4 dockets only.
    5. This order will not count as escalated enforcement in the civil 
penalty assessment process for future cases unless they are violations 
of the NRC Employee Protection Rules.
    6. In the event of the transfer of the operating license of 
Southern Nuclear Operating Company to another entity, the terms and 
conditions set forth hereunder shall continue to apply to Southern 
Nuclear Operating Company and accordingly survive any transfer of 
ownership or license.
    On November 20, 2019, SNC consented to issuing this Confirmatory 
Order with the commitments, as described in Section V below. SNC 
further agreed that this Confirmatory Order is to be effective upon 
issuance, the agreement memorialized in this Confirmatory Order settles 
the matter between the parties, and that it has waived its right to a 
hearing.

IV

    I find that SNC's completed corrective actions, as described in 
Section III above, combined with the 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 SNC commitments be confirmed by this Order. Based on the 
above and SNC's consent, this Confirmatory Order is effective upon 
issuance.

V

    Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 103, 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 52, it is hereby ordered, 
effective upon issuance, that License Nos. NPF-2, NPF-8, DPR-57, NPF-5, 
NPF-68, NPF-81, NPF-91, and NPF-92 are modified as follows:
1. Employee Concerns Program (ECP)
    a. SNC-FW will maintain a fleetwide ECP for plants authorized to 
operate in substantially the same form as SNC Policy 701, ``Employee 
Concerns Program,'' revised 02/2017.
    b. SNC-V will maintain the existing Vogtle 3 and 4 One Project ECP 
through commercial operation of each unit, or until such time that SNC 
determines transition to fleet-wide ECP is warranted.
2. Adverse Action Review Processes
    a. SNC-FW/V will maintain a review process covering significant 
adverse actions (termination or suspension) taken by SNC with respect 
to SNC employees which requires consideration of protected activity, if 
any, prior to taking the significant adverse action.
    b. SNC-V will maintain a Discipline Review Process (DRP), 
applicable to SNC contractors or subcontractors (collectively 
``contractors'') at the Vogtle 3 and 4 Project site who are engaged in 
nuclear safety related work. Contractors must follow this process when 
termination is under consideration. This process also applies to SNC 
when (1) SNC requests removal of a contractor employee from the Vogtle 
3 and 4 Project pursuant to contractual rights, and (2) when SNC 
releases from the Vogtle Project a supplemental worker assigned to 
support SNC. SNC may allow for exceptions to the DRP in the following 
instances: Terminations related to Part 26 FFD or Site Access failures; 
reduction in force (RIF)-related terminations; any action dictated by a 
collective bargaining (or similar) agreement applicable to contractor 
employees; violations of project work rules which do not depend on 
supervisory discretion; and end of assignment releases.
    c. In the event the results of the review process in 2a. or 2b. 
reveal a SCWE policy violation that is substantiated by the SNC-FW/V 
Compliance and Concerns organization, corrective actions arising from 
that violation, which may include discipline, will be tracked and 
confirmed as completed by the SNC Compliance and Concerns organization.
3. Training
    a. Within four (4) months of issuance of this confirmatory order, 
and until three (3) years thereafter, SNC-FW/V will require all SNC 
employees who are onboarding to complete SCWE training, including 
training on 10 CFR 50.7, 10 CFR 52.5, 10 CFR 50.5, and 10 CFR 52.4, 
definition of adverse action as it appears in RIS 2005-18, and 
acknowledge the SNC SCWE policy within two (2) months of reporting to 
work.
    b. Within four (4) months of issuance of this confirmatory order, 
SNC-V will provide SCWE training to management in the Vogtle 3 and 4 
Project site. Lessons learned from these issues will be included in the 
training materials. The management covered by this item includes both 
contractors' and SNC superintendents and managers, up to and including 
the project executive vice president, who are in those roles as of the 
date that is three (3) months after the issuance of this confirmatory 
order. Such training shall be developed by a third party with 
experience in the area of employee protection and shall include 
training on 10 CFR 50.7, 10 CFR 52.5, 10 CFR 50.5, and 10 CFR 52.4, the 
definition of adverse action as it appears in RIS 2005-18, and relevant 
case studies.
    c. Beginning no later than two (2) months after issuance of this 
confirmatory order, and until three (3) years thereafter, SNC will 
require all new SNC-FW/V supervisors (a leader responsible for 
performance management and work direction for individual contributors) 
to receive SCWE training within six (6) months of their beginning work 
as a supervisor at SNC.
    d. Within six (6) months of issuance of this confirmatory order, 
SNC-FW/V will review and make appropriate revisions to include SCWE 
with General Employee Training (GET) program, or successor training, to 
ensure adequate coverage of 10 CFR 50.7, 10 CFR 52.5, 10 CFR 50.5, and 
10 CFR 52.4. Lessons learned from these or similar issues will be 
identified and addressed in these training materials.
4. Other Activities
    a. Within twelve (12) months of the issuance of this order, SNC 
will deliver a presentation to provide SCWE insights that were derived 
from these events to present at an appropriate industry-sharing forum 
(e.g., the NRC's

[[Page 65430]]

Regulatory Information Conference, the National Association of Employee 
Concerns Professionals). The presentation shall be made available for 
NRC review.
    b. Within three (3) months of issuance of this order, SNC-FW will 
revise the SNC SCWE policy to address lessons learned from these 
issues.
    c. Within three (3) months of issuance of this order, a senior SNC 
executive will issue a written communication to all SNC-FW/V employees 
and to contractors at the Vogtle 3 and 4 project site reinforcing SNC's 
commitment to maintaining a SCWE and reaffirming SNC's insistence upon 
the protection of employees' rights and obligations to raise safety 
issues without fear of retaliation. SNC-FW/V will mandate that SNC 
first line leaders and construction management (superintendents and 
above) inform their reports of the contents of the communication.
    d. Within six (6) months of issuance of this order, SNC-V will 
obtain a third-party, independent SCWE survey of Vogtle 3 and 4 project 
site. SNC-V will obtain a second third-party, independent SCWE survey 
of Vogtle 3 and 4 no later than thirty (30) months after issuance of 
this confirmatory order. Results of each survey will be summarized into 
reports which will be made available for inspection by NRC. 
Recommendations (if any) from the survey reports will be entered into 
the Corrective Action Program or Employee Concerns Program, as 
appropriate, depending on the nature of the recommendation, for 
disposition.
    This agreement is binding upon successors and assigns of SNC.
    The Director, Office of Enforcement may, in writing, relax or 
rescind any of the above conditions upon demonstration by SNC or its 
successors of good cause.

VI

    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR 2.309, any person 
adversely affected by this Confirmatory Order, other than SNC, may 
request a hearing within thirty (30) calendar days of the date of 
issuance of this Confirmatory Order. 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, and include a statement of good cause for the 
extension.
    All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including a 
request for hearing, a petition for leave to intervene, any motion or 
other document filed in the proceeding prior to the submission of a 
request for hearing or petition to intervene (hereinafter 
``petition''), and documents filed by interested governmental entities 
participating under 10 CFR 2.315(c), must be filed in accordance with 
the NRC's E-Filing rule (72 FR 49139; August 28, 2007, as amended at 77 
FR 46562, August 3, 2012). The E-Filing process requires participants 
to submit and serve all adjudicatory documents over the internet, or in 
some cases to mail copies on electronic storage media. Participants may 
not submit paper copies of their filings unless they seek an exemption 
in accordance with the procedures described below.
    To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 10 
days prior to the filing deadline, the participant should contact the 
Office of the Secretary by email at [email protected], or by 
telephone at 301-415-1677, to (1) request a digital identification (ID) 
certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or 
representative) to digitally sign submissions and access the E-Filing 
system for any proceeding in which it is participating; and (2) advise 
the Secretary that the participant will be submitting a petition or 
other adjudicatory document (even in instances in which the 
participant, or its counsel or representative, already holds an NRC-
issued digital ID certificate). Based upon this information, the 
Secretary will establish an electronic docket for the hearing in this 
proceeding if the Secretary has not already established an electronic 
docket.
    Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is 
available on the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/getting-started.html. Once a participant has obtained a 
digital ID certificate and a docket has been created, the participant 
can then submit adjudicatory documents. Submissions must be in Portable 
Document Format (PDF). Additional guidance on PDF submissions is 
available on the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/electronic-sub-ref-mat.html. A filing is considered complete at the 
time the document is submitted through the NRC's E-Filing system. To be 
timely, an electronic filing must be submitted to the E-Filing 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 email notice confirming receipt of the document. The 
E-Filing system also distributes an email notice that provides access 
to the document to the NRC's 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, applicants and 
other participants (or their counsel or representative) must apply for 
and receive a digital ID certificate before adjudicatory documents are 
filed so that they can obtain access to the documents via the E-Filing 
system.
    A person filing electronically using the NRC's adjudicatory E-
Filing system may seek assistance by contacting the NRC's Electronic 
Filing Help Desk through the ``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC's 
Public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html, by 
email to [email protected], or by a toll-free call at 1-866-672-
7640. The NRC Electronic Filing Help Desk is available between 9 a.m. 
and 6 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, excluding government 
holidays.
    Participants who believe that they have good cause for not 
submitting documents electronically must file an exemption request, in 
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper filing 
stating why there is good cause for not filing electronically and 
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, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, Attention: Rulemaking and 
Adjudications Staff. Participants filing adjudicatory documents 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. A presiding officer, having granted an 
exemption request from using E-Filing, may require a participant or 
party to use E-Filing if the presiding officer subsequently determines 
that the reason for granting the exemption from use of E-Filing no 
longer exists.
    Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in the 
NRC's electronic hearing docket which is available to the public at 
https://adams.nrc.gov/ehd, unless excluded

[[Page 65431]]

pursuant to an Order of the Commission or the presiding officer. If you 
do not have an NRC-issued digital ID certificate as described above, 
click ``Cancel'' when the link requests certificates and you will be 
automatically directed to the NRC's electronic hearing dockets where 
you will be able to access any publicly available documents in a 
particular hearing docket. Participants are requested not to include 
personal privacy information, such as social security numbers, home 
addresses, or personal phone numbers in their filings, unless an NRC 
regulation or other law requires submission of such information. For 
example, in some instances, individuals provide home addresses in order 
to demonstrate proximity to a facility or site. 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 submission.
    The Commission will issue a notice or order granting or denying a 
hearing request or intervention petition, designating the issues for 
any hearing that will be held and designating the Presiding Officer. A 
notice granting a hearing will be published in the Federal Register and 
served on the parties to the hearing.
    If a person (other than SNC) requests a hearing, that person shall 
set forth with particularity the manner in which his interest is 
adversely affected by this Confirmatory 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 hearings. 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 30 days from the date of 
this Confirmatory 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.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

George A. Wilson,
Director, Office of Enforcement

Dated this 20th day of November 2019

Attachment: As stated.

All Facilities Owned and Operated by Southern Nuclear Operating Company

    All items in this order that apply to Vogtle Units 3 and 4, or are 
designated with a ``V'' apply to the following facilities:

Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 3 and 4
Docket Nos. 05200025, 05200026
License Nos. NPF-91, NPF-92

    All items in this order that apply to SNC's entire fleet, or are 
designated as ``fleet-wide'' or with an ``FW'' apply to the following 
facilities:

Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2
Docket Nos. 05000424, 05000425
License Nos. NPF-68, NPF-81

Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2
Docket Nos. 05000348, 05000364
License Nos. NPF-2, NPF-8

Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2
Docket Nos. 05000321, 05000366
DPR-57, NPF-5


[FR Doc. 2019-25709 Filed 11-26-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P