[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