[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 150 (Tuesday, August 4, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47249-47252]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-16907]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-288; NRC-2020-0075]


In the Matter of Dr. Melinda P. Krahenbuhl, Reed Research 
Reactor, Portland, Oregon

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Confirmatory Order; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing 
Confirmatory Order (CO) IA-20-040 to Dr. Melinda Krahenbuhl, former 
Director of the Reed College, Reed Research Reactor, Portland, Oregon, 
as a result of a successful alternative dispute resolution (ADR) 
mediation session held on June 22, 2020. The CO confirms commitments 
agreed to during the ADR mediation, and the NRC is satisfied that the 
concerns discussed in Order IA-19-035 issued to Dr. Krahenbuhl on March 
16, 2020, will be addressed with the issuance of this CO. Accordingly, 
the NRC is withdrawing the March 16, 2020, Order prohibiting Dr. 
Krahenbuhl's involvement in NRC-licensed activities for three years 
and, subject to the satisfactory completion of the additional 
corrective actions described in Order IA-20-040, the NRC will take no 
further action concerning the violations discussed in Order IA-19-035. 
The Order is effective on the date of issuance.

DATES: The Order was issued on July 27, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2020-0075 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly-available 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-2020-0075. 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 reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by 
email to [email protected]. Order IA-19-035, issued to Dr. 
Krahenbuhl on March 16, 2020, is available in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML20064F133 and Order IA-20-040 issued on July 27, 2020, is available 
in ADAMS under Accession No. ML20195B129.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Fretz, Office of Enforcement, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; 
telephone: 301-287-9235, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the Order is attached.

    Dated: July 30, 2020.

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

Attachment--Confirmatory Order

United States of America Nuclear Regulatory Commission

In the Matter of Dr. Melinda P. Krahenbuhl
IA-20-040

Confirmatory Order Effective Upon Issuance

I.

    Dr. Melinda Krahenbuhl is the former Director of the Reed College, 
Reed Research Reactor (RRR) located in Portland, Oregon. Reed College 
(Reed) holds Renewed Facility Operating License (FOL) No. R-112 (Docket 
No. 50-288) issued on April 24, 2012, by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (NRC or Commission) pursuant to Parts 30, 50, and 70 of 
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR). The license 
authorizes the operation of the RRR in accordance with conditions 
specified therein.
    This Confirmatory Order (CO) is the result of an agreement reached 
during an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mediation session 
conducted on June 22, 2020.

II.

    On April 8, 2016, the NRC's Office of Investigations (OI) opened an 
investigation (OI Case No. 4-2016-022) at Reed to determine whether the 
RRR Director (Director) willfully documented and submitted to the NRC 
incomplete or inaccurate information associated with an application for 
a 10 CFR part 55 reactor operator license. A second investigation (OI 
Case No. 4-2017-023) at Reed was opened on March 28, 2017, to determine 
whether the Director willfully provided incomplete or inaccurate 
information to the NRC regarding an application for a 10 CFR part 55 
license (a senior reactor operator license). In a letter dated November 
20, 2019 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) 
Accession No. ML20044E056), the NRC notified Dr. Krahenbuhl of the 
apparent violations identified during the investigations.
    On January 10, 2020, the NRC held a predecisional enforcement 
conference (PEC) with Dr. Krahenbuhl and her representative at its 
headquarters facility in Rockville, Maryland, to obtain additional 
information regarding the apparent violations. On March 16, 2020, the 
NRC issued Order IA-19-035 (ADAMS Accession No. ML20064F133) suspending 
Dr. Krahenbuhl's senior reactor operator license (License No. SOP-
70678-1) issued pursuant to 10 CFR part 55 and prohibiting Dr. 
Krahenbuhl from any involvement in NRC-licensed activities for a period 
of 3 years. The Order also provided her the opportunity to request a 
hearing within 30 days of Order issuance or request ADR mediation with 
the NRC in an effort to resolve any disputes regarding the violations, 
appropriate enforcement actions, and appropriate corrective actions.
    In response to the Order, Dr. Krahenbuhl requested the use of ADR 
mediation. On June 22, 2020, the NRC, Dr. Krahenbuhl, and her 
representatives participated in a virtual ADR session that was mediated 
by a professional mediator, arranged through Cornell University's 
Institute on Conflict Resolution. The ADR process is one in

[[Page 47250]]

which a neutral mediator, with no decision-making authority, assists 
the parties in reaching an agreement on resolving any differences 
regarding the dispute. This CO is issued pursuant to the agreement 
reached during the June 22, 2020 ADR mediation session.

III.

    During the ADR session, Dr. Krahenbuhl and the NRC reached a 
preliminary settlement agreement. The elements of the agreement include 
the following:
    The NRC and Dr. Melinda Krahenbuhl agreed that violations of NRC 
requirements associated with reactor operator licensing occurred during 
the 2015 and 2016 time frame. The NRC and Dr. Melinda Krahenbuhl also 
agreed that it is vitally important that all information provided to 
the NRC be complete and accurate, and that integrity in relationships 
with regulatory staff is essential to maintaining public health and 
safety when engaging in NRC-regulated activities.
    The NRC acknowledges that Dr. Melinda Krahenbuhl was instrumental 
in the development of corrective actions taken by Reed College that 
addressed many of the NRC's concerns raised in the March 16, 2020, 
Order (ADAMS Accession No. ML20055F671) prior to her departure from 
Reed.
    The NRC and Dr. Melinda Krahenbuhl acknowledged that the terms and 
conditions agreed to during the mediation are not binding on either 
party until memorialized in a CO issued by the NRC to Dr. Melinda 
Krahenbuhl relating to this matter.
    The additional commitments made in the preliminary settlement 
agreement, as signed by both parties, consist of the following terms 
and conditions:
    A. Dr. Krahenbuhl will prepare and complete a presentation and 
newsletter article on a personal case study regarding topics such as 
the importance of complete and accurate information and integrity in 
relationships with regulatory staff. During the presentations given at 
the industry forums, Dr. Krahenbuhl will honestly answer questions 
about what she failed to do and the impact that this had on carrying 
out her responsibilities.
    1. By September 30, 2020, Dr. Krahenbuhl will submit a draft of the 
presentation and article to the Director, Division of Advanced Reactors 
and Non-power Production and Utilization Facilities, for review.
    2. Within 15 calendar days of the NRC's receipt of the presentation 
and article submitted by Dr. Krahenbuhl, the NRC will provide its 
comments, if any, to Dr. Krahenbuhl.
    3. Within 15 calendar days after receiving the NRC's comments, Dr. 
Krahenbuhl will submit the presentation and article for consideration 
per paragraph A.4.
    4. Dr. Krahenbuhl will submit the approved paper for publication to 
two of the organizations shown below and give the personal case study 
presentation at two of the following organizations or industry forums 
(two articles and two presentations). The intent of the personal case 
study presentation is that it would be given within 1 year from the 
date of the CO:

 American Nuclear Society (ANS Quarterly Meeting)
 Health Physics Society
 Women in Nuclear (WIN)
 TRTR Annual Conference
 ANSI medical
 NRC's Annual Regulatory Information Conference (RIC)

    If any of the forums listed above do not allow Dr. Krahenbuhl to 
present, Dr. Krahenbuhl will notify the Director, Office of 
Enforcement, with a proposed substitute.
    B. Dr. Krahenbuhl will undertake a study and submit recommendations 
to the appropriate American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/
American Nuclear Society (ANS) (sub)committee to enhance guidance on 
standards associated with the selection and training of personnel for 
research reactors (e.g., ANSI/ANS-15.4). This study may be conducted in 
cooperation with other industry colleagues familiar with this topic.
    1. Dr. Krahenbuhl will submit a draft of the recommendations to the 
Director, Division of Advanced Reactors and Non-power Production and 
Utilization Facilities, for review, at a date to be determined. The NRC 
and Dr. Krahenbuhl agreed subsequent to the ADR mediation session that 
the draft recommendations would be provided for NRC review on August 
14, 2020.
    2. Within 15 calendar days of the NRC's receipt of the 
recommendations submitted by Dr. Krahenbuhl, the NRC will provide its 
comments, if any, to Dr. Krahenbuhl.
    3. After receiving the NRC's comments, Dr. Krahenbuhl will submit 
the recommendations to the appropriate ANSI/ANS (sub)committee for 
consideration this year.
    C. Within 30 days of issuance of the CO, Dr. Krahenbuhl agrees to 
hire an executive coach, with demonstrated experience in this field, 
who will provide objective feedback on her interactions, thought 
processes, blind spots and strategic decision-making. Dr. Krahenbuhl 
agrees to retain the services of the executive coach for a period of 12 
months. Within six months, Dr. Krahenbuhl agrees to submit a report 
outlining the lessons learned from the executive coach and provide a 
summary of the feedback provided to Dr. Krahenbuhl to the Director, 
Division of Advanced Reactors and Non-power Production and Utilization 
Facilities. Dr. Krahenbuhl agrees to submit a second report outlining 
the lessons learned after the 12-month period has ended.
    D. Dr. Krahenbuhl agrees that she will refrain from applying for 
positions with an NRC licensee holding a Non-power Research or Test 
Reactor license, or an Operating Power Reactor license, for a period of 
1 year, beginning March 16, 2020.
    The NRC is satisfied that its concerns will be addressed by making 
the commitments described above legally binding through the issuance of 
this CO. Accordingly, consistent with Section 2.7.8 of its Enforcement 
Manual, the NRC is withdrawing the March 16, 2020, Order prohibiting 
Dr. Krahenbuhl's involvement in NRC-licensed activities for 3 years. 
Subject to the satisfactory completion of the corrective actions 
described in Section V below, the NRC will take no further action 
concerning the violations discussed in the March 16, 2020, Order.
    Additionally, 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 with similar root causes 
that occur prior to or during implementation of the corrective actions 
specified in this CO.
    On July 23, 2020, Dr. Melinda Krahenbuhl consented to issuing this 
CO with the commitments, as described in Section V below. Dr. 
Krahenbuhl further agreed that this CO is to be effective upon 
issuance, the agreement memorialized in this CO settles the matter 
between the parties, and that she has waived her right to a hearing.

IV.

    I find that Dr. Melinda Krahenbuhl's actions completed, 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 Dr. Melinda Krahenbuhl's commitments be

[[Page 47251]]

confirmed by this CO. Based on the above and Dr. Krahenbuhl's consent, 
this CO is effective upon issuance.
    By no later than thirty (30) days after the completion of the 
commitments specified in Section V, Dr. Melinda Krahenbuhl is required 
to notify the NRC in writing and summarize her actions.

V.

    Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 104c, 161b, 161i, 161o, 182 and 
186 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Commission's 
regulations in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR part 50, it is hereby ordered, 
effective upon issuance, that:
    A. Dr. Krahenbuhl will prepare and complete a presentation and 
newsletter article on a personal case study regarding topics such as 
the importance of complete and accurate information and integrity in 
relationships with regulatory staff. During the presentations given at 
the industry forums, Dr. Krahenbuhl will honestly answer questions 
about what she failed to do and the impact that this had on carrying 
out her responsibilities.
    1. By September 30, 2020, Dr. Krahenbuhl will submit a draft of the 
presentation and article to the Director, Division of Advanced Reactors 
and Non-power Production and Utilization Facilities, for review.
    2. Within 15 calendar days of the NRC's receipt of the presentation 
and article submitted by Dr. Krahenbuhl, the NRC will provide its 
comments, if any, to Dr. Krahenbuhl.
    3. Within 15 calendar days after receiving the NRC's comments, Dr. 
Krahenbuhl will submit the presentation and article for consideration 
per paragraph A.4.
    4. Dr. Krahenbuhl will submit the approved article for publication 
to two of the following organizations, and give the approved personal 
case study presentation at two of the following organizations' industry 
forums:

 American Nuclear Society (ANS Quarterly Meeting)
 Health Physics Society
 Women in Nuclear (WIN)
 National Organization of Test, Research, and Training Reactors 
(TRTR Annual Conference)
 American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Medical 
Subcommittee
 NRC's Annual Regulatory Information Conference (RIC)

    The two personal case study presentations shall be given within 1 
year from the date of the CO. If any of the organizations listed above 
do not allow Dr. Krahenbuhl the opportunity to present the approved 
personal case study at a sponsored conference, Dr. Krahenbuhl will 
notify the Director, Office of Enforcement, with a proposed substitute.
    B. Dr. Krahenbuhl will undertake a study and submit recommendations 
to the appropriate ANSI/ANS (sub)committee to enhance guidance on 
standards associated with the selection and training of personnel for 
research reactors (e.g., ANSI/ANS-15.4). This study may be conducted in 
cooperation with other colleagues familiar with this topic.
    1. By August 14, 2020, Dr. Krahenbuhl will submit a draft of the 
recommendations to the Director, Division of Advanced Reactors and Non-
power Production and Utilization Facilities, for review.
    2. Within 15 calendar days of the NRC's receipt of the 
recommendations submitted by Dr. Krahenbuhl, the NRC will provide its 
comments, if any, to Dr. Krahenbuhl.
    3. After receiving the NRC's comments, Dr. Krahenbuhl will submit 
the recommendations to the appropriate ANSI/ANS (sub)committee for 
consideration this year.
    C. Within 30 days of issuance of the CO, Dr. Krahenbuhl agrees to 
hire an executive coach, with demonstrated experience in this field, 
who will provide objective feedback on her interactions, thought 
processes, blind spots, and strategic decision-making. Dr. Krahenbuhl 
agrees to retain the services of the executive coach for a period of 12 
months. Within 6 months of retaining the services of the executive 
coach, Dr. Krahenbuhl agrees to submit a report outlining the lessons 
learned from the executive coach to the Director, Division of Advanced 
Reactors and Non-power Production and Utilization Facilities. Dr. 
Krahenbuhl agrees to submit a second report outlining the lessons 
learned after the 12-month period has ended.
    D. Dr. Krahenbuhl agrees that she will refrain from applying for 
positions with an NRC licensee holding a Non-power Research or Test 
Reactor license, or an Operating Power Reactor license, for a period of 
1 year, beginning March 16, 2020.
    The Director, Office of Enforcement, may, in writing, relax, 
rescind, or withdraw any of the above conditions upon demonstration by 
Dr. Krahenbuhl of good cause.

VI.

    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR 2.309, any person 
adversely affected by this CO, other than Dr. Melinda Krahenbuhl, may 
request a hearing within thirty (30) calendar days of the date of 
issuance of this CO. 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 and petition for leave to intervene (petition), any 
motion or other document filed in the proceeding prior to the 
submission of a request for hearing or petition to intervene, and 
documents filed by interested governmental entities that request to 
participate 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. Detailed 
guidance on making electronic submissions may be found in the Guidance 
for Electronic Submissions to the NRC and on the NRC website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. 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

[[Page 47252]]

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 a 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 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 Dr. Melinda Krahenbuhl requests a hearing, 
that person shall set forth with particularity the manner in which his 
or her interest is adversely affected by this CO and shall address the 
criteria set forth in 10 CFR 2.309(d) and (f).
    If a hearing request is granted to 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 CO 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 CO 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 27th day of July 2020.

[FR Doc. 2020-16907 Filed 8-3-20; 8:45 am]
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