[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 168 (Friday, August 28, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53423-53426]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-18928]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. IA-20-008; NRC-2020-0195]
In the Matter of Joseph Shea, Tennessee Valley Authority,
Chattanooga, TN
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Order; issuance.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an
Order prohibiting involvement in NRC-licensed activities to Mr. Joseph
Shea, Vice President Nuclear Technology Innovation at Tennessee Valley
Authority (TVA), for 5 years. The NRC has determined that Mr. Joseph
Shea engaged in deliberate misconduct when he played a significant role
in the decisionmaking process to place a former employee on paid
administrative leave on October 15, 2018 and terminate the former
employee on January 14, 2019, in part, for engaging in protected
activity. The Order is effective on the date of issuance.
DATES: The Order was issued on August 24, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2020-0195 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-20-008, issued to Mr. Joseph
Shea on August 24, 2020, is available in ADAMS under Accession No.
ML20219A676.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ian Gifford, Office of Enforcement,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington DC 20555-0001;
telephone: 301-287-9216, email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the Order is attached.
Dated: August 24, 2020.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
George A. Wilson,
Director, Office of Enforcement.
Attachment--Order Prohibiting Involvement in NRC-Licensed Activities
United States of America Nuclear Regulatory Commission
In the Matter of Joseph Shea
IA-20-008
Order Prohibiting Involvement in NRC-Licensed Activities Immediately
Effective
I.
Mr. Joseph Shea is employed as Vice President Nuclear Technology
Innovation at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). TVA holds Browns
Ferry Units 1, 2 and 3 License Nos. DPR-33, DPR-52, and DPR-68 issued
by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) pursuant to
Part 50 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), on
December 20, 1973, June 28, 1974 and July 2, 1976, respectively. The
units are located on the Licensee's site in Athens, Alabama. TVA holds
Sequoyah Units 1 and 2 License Nos. DPR-77 and DPR-79 issued by the NRC
pursuant to 10 CFR part 50, on September 17, 1980 and September 15,
1981, respectively. The units are located on the Licensee's site in
Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee. TVA holds Watts Bar Units 1 and 2 License Nos.
[[Page 53424]]
NPF-90 and NPF-96 issued by the NRC pursuant to 10 CFR part 50, on
February 7, 1996 and October 22, 2015, respectively. The units are
located on the Licensee's site in Spring City, Tennessee. The licenses
authorize the operation of these facilities in accordance with the
conditions specified therein.
II.
On January 21, 2020, an investigation was completed by the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Office of Investigations (OI)
related to TVA (OI Report No. 2-2019-015). The purpose of the
investigation was to determine whether a former corporate employee was
the subject of employment discrimination for engaging in a protected
activity in violation of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(10 CFR) 50.7, ``Employee Protection.''
Based on the evidence developed during the investigation and
subsequent staff analysis, it appeared that Mr. Joseph Shea, as the
Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at TVA, engaged in deliberate
misconduct, in violation of 10 CFR 50.5, ``Deliberate Misconduct,''
that caused an NRC licensee to be in violation of 10 CFR 50.7,
``Employee Protection.'' Specifically, the NRC determined that a former
corporate employee was placed on paid administrative leave on October
15, 2018, and terminated on January 14, 2019, by Mr. Joseph Shea, in
part, for engaging in protected activity, including raising concerns
about a chilled work environment. The former employee engaged in
protected activity when expressing concerns to Mr. Joseph Shea
regarding the chilled work environment that the former Director of
Corporate Nuclear Licensing (CNL) was creating. Further, Mr. Joseph
Shea received a copy of the TVA Office of General Counsel (OGC) draft
report prepared by the TVA OGC attorney that identified the concerns of
the former employee. Additionally, in a (internal TVA) complaint that
the former Director of CNL provided to Mr. Joseph Shea on or about
March 9, 2018, the former Director of CNL identified the former
employee as the source of a chilled work environment complaint made to
the NRC.
The former employee suffered an adverse action when Mr. Joseph Shea
played a significant role in the decisionmaking process to place the
former employee on administrative leave and terminate the former
employee. There is a nexus between the former employee's protected
activity of raising concerns about a chilled work environment and the
termination of the former employee. Mr. Joseph Shea stated during the
predecisional enforcement conference that Mr. Joseph Shea terminated
the former employee for being ``disrespectful'' to the former Director
of CNL. However, the examples used in the TVA OGC report as evidence
that the former employee was ``disrespectful'' to the former Director
of CNL were: 1) raising concerns about a chilled work environment in a
TVA OGC interview; and 2) raising concerns about reprisal from the
former Director of CNL directly to Mr. Joseph Shea. Mr. Joseph Shea
admitted that he did not counsel the former employee about the asserted
disrespectful behavior.
The NRC has determined that Mr. Joseph Shea played a significant
role in the decisionmaking process to place the former employee on paid
administrative leave on October 15, 2018 and terminate her on January
14, 2019, in part, for engaging in protected activities. Accordingly,
the NRC has determined that Mr. Joseph Shea's actions were deliberate
and violated the requirements in 10 CFR 50.5, ``Deliberate
Misconduct.'' The NRC considers deliberate violations of 10 CFR 50.7,
``Employee Protection,'' significant because of the potential that
individuals might not raise safety issues for fear of retaliation.
III.
Based on the above, Mr. Joseph Shea, the Vice President Nuclear
Technology Innovation at TVA, engaged in deliberate misconduct, in
violation of 10 CFR 50.5, ``Deliberate Misconduct,'' that caused the
Licensee to be in violation of 10 CFR 50.7, ``Employee Protection.''
The NRC must be able to rely on TVA and its employees to comply with
NRC requirements, including the requirement prohibiting discrimination
against an employee for engaging in protected activities.
Consequently, given the significance of the underlying issues, Mr.
Joseph Shea's position within TVA that has a very broad sphere of
influence, and the deliberate nature of the actions, the NRC lacks the
requisite reasonable assurance that licensed activities can be
conducted in compliance with the Commission's requirements and that the
health and safety of the public will be protected if Mr. Joseph Shea
were permitted at this time to be involved in NRC-licensed activities.
Therefore, Mr. Joseph Shea is prohibited from any involvement in NRC-
licensed activities for a period of 5 years. Furthermore, pursuant to
10 CFR 2.202, the significance of Mr. Joseph Shea's wrongdoing
described above is such that this Order be immediately effective. Mr.
Joseph Shea is required to notify the NRC of his first employment in
NRC-licensed activities following the prohibition period.
IV.
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 50.5, it is hereby ordered,
immediately effective upon the date of issuance, that:
1. Mr. Joseph Shea is prohibited for 5 years from engaging in,
supervising, directing, or in any other way conducting NRC-licensed
activities. NRC-licensed activities are those activities that are
conducted pursuant to a specific or general license issued by the NRC.
2. If Mr. Joseph Shea is currently involved with another licensee
in other NRC-licensed activities, he must immediately cease those
activities, and inform the NRC of the name, address, and telephone
number of the employer, and provide a copy of this Order to the
employer.
3. For a period of 1 year after the 5-year period of prohibition
has expired, Mr. Joseph Shea shall, within 20 days of acceptance of his
first employment offer involving NRC-licensed activities, as defined in
paragraph IV.1 above, provide notice to the Director, Office of
Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, the name, address, and telephone number of the employer or the
entity where he is, or will be, involved in the NRC-licensed
activities. In the notification, Mr. Joseph Shea shall include a
statement of his commitment to compliance with regulatory requirements
and the basis why the Commission should have confidence that he will
now comply with applicable NRC requirements.
The Director, Office of Enforcement, or designee, may, in writing,
relax, rescind, or withdraw any of the above conditions upon
demonstration by Mr. Joseph Shea of good cause.
V.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.202, Mr. Joseph Shea must submit a
written answer to this Order under oath or affirmation within 30
calendar days of its issuance. Mr. Joseph Shea's failure to respond to
this Order could result in additional enforcement action in accordance
with the Commission's Enforcement Policy. In addition, Mr. Joseph Shea
and any other person adversely affected by this Order, may request a
hearing on this Order within 30 calendar days of its issuance. Where
good cause is shown, consideration will
[[Page 53425]]
be given to extending the time to answer or request a hearing. A
request for extension of time must be directed to the Director, Office
of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-001, 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 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.
If a person other than Mr. Joseph Shea requests a hearing, that
person shall set forth with particularity the manner in which his
interest is adversely affected by this Order and shall address the
criteria set forth in 10 CFR 2.309(d) and (f).
If a hearing is requested by Mr. Joseph Shea or 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 Order
should be sustained. Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202(c)(2)(i), Mr. Joseph Shea
or any other person adversely affected by this Order, may, in addition
to demanding a hearing, at the time the answer is filed or sooner, move
the presiding officer to set aside the immediate effectiveness of the
Order on the ground that the Order, including the need for immediate
effectiveness, is not based on adequate evidence but on mere suspicion,
[[Page 53426]]
unfounded allegations, or error. 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 IV above shall
be final 30 calendar days from the date this Order is issued without
further order or proceedings. If an extension of time for requesting a
hearing has been approved, the provisions specified in Section IV shall
be final when the extension expires if a hearing request has not been
received. AN ANSWER OR A REQUEST FOR HEARING SHALL NOT STAY THE
IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVENESS OF THIS ORDER.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
George A. Wilson,
Director, Office of Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2020-18928 Filed 8-27-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P