[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 235 (Friday, December 8, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 85666-85669]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-26952]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[IA-23-013; NRC-2023-0203]


Order; Issuance; In the Matter of Magnus Quitmeyer

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued an Order 
to Magnus Quitmeyer, a former employee of Arizona Public Services 
Company (APS), prohibiting his involvement in any NRC licensed 
activities for a period of five years. The Order is based on him having 
twice tested positive for an illegal substance, namely marijuana, 
during fitness-for-duty tests while he was employed by APS and held an 
NRC operator's license. The Order is also based on the results of NRC 
investigations. The Order is effective upon issuance.

DATES: The Order was issued on November 30, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2023-0203 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-2023-0203. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 
telephone: 301-415-0624; 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, at 301-415-4737, 
or by email to [email protected]. The Order to Magnus Quitmeyer is 
available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML23298A161.
     NRC's PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies 
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. To make an 
appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to 
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8 
a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeremy Groom, Region IV, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, telephone: 817-200-1182, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the Order is attached.

    Dated: December 4, 2023.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
David L. Pelton,
Director, Office of Enforcement.

Attached--Order

United States of America

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

In the Matter of: Magnus Lawrence Quitmeyer, Jr., IA-23-013

Order Prohibiting Involvement in NRC-Licensed Activities

I

    Magnus Quitmeyer was formerly employed as a reactor operator at 
Arizona Public Service Company's (APS) Palo Verde Nuclear Generating 
Station (Palo Verde). Magnus Quitmeyer was the holder of reactor 
operator license No. OP-503382 issued on November 12, 2019, by the U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) pursuant to part 55 
of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR). The license 
authorized Magnus Quitmeyer to manipulate the controls of Palo Verde 
located in

[[Page 85667]]

Tonopah, Arizona. At the request of APS, on October 26, 2022, the NRC 
terminated license No. OP-503382 retroactive to October 13, 2022.

II

    On August 7, 2020, during a random fitness-for-duty (FFD) test, 
Magnus Quitmeyer tested positive for an illegal substance (marijuana 
metabolite) while performing duties as a reactor operator at Palo 
Verde. This was a violation of 10 CFR 55.53(j) which requires, in part, 
that the licensee (Magnus Quitmeyer) shall not use any illegal drugs 
and shall not perform activities authorized by a license issued under 
10 CFR part 55 while under the influence of an illegal substance that 
could adversely affect the ability to safely and competently perform 
licensed duties.
    On September 29, 2020, the NRC Office of Investigations (OI), 
Region IV, initiated an investigation (4-2020-031) to determine if 
Magnus Quitmeyer, a licensed operator employed by APS, was willfully 
unfit for duty while on shift at Palo Verde. During his OI testimony, 
Magnus Quitmeyer indicated that he used another person's prescription 
marijuana while on vacation from June 19 to July 6, 2020. Magnus 
Quitmeyer stated that due to stresses in his life, he ``threw caution 
to the wind'' and used the marijuana three to four times a day, every 
day, while on vacation. Magnus Quitmeyer stated that once he started 
using marijuana, ``it was almost like that, I just kind of blocked it 
out and I just was like, you know what; I'm just going to go on 
vacation and do whatever I want, and the consequences be damned.'' The 
investigation was completed on July 14, 2021.
    On January 27, 2022, the NRC issued Magnus Quitmeyer a letter and 
Notice of Violation for his deliberate action to violate 10 CFR 
55.53(j), Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) 
Accession No. ML22027A588.
    On September 14, 2022, during a random FFD test, Magnus Quitmeyer 
again tested positive for an illegal substance (marijuana metabolite) 
while performing duties as a reactor operator at Palo Verde and again 
caused himself to be in violation of 10 CFR 55.53(j). The positive test 
was more than 3 times the regulatory limit for tetrahydrocannabinol 
(THC) established by NRC regulations and Palo Verde procedures. On 
September 20, 2022, APS put his site unescorted access on 
administrative hold, pending review of the initial positive results. 
The test result was confirmed on September 26, 2022, and APS terminated 
his employment.
    On November 18, 2022, the NRC OI, Region IV, initiated an 
investigation (4-2023-005) to determine if Magnus Quitmeyer, a licensed 
operator employed by APS, was willfully unfit for duty while on shift 
at Palo Verde. During his OI testimony, Magnus Quitmeyer indicated that 
beginning around June 2022, he used cannabidiol (CBD) oil as a sleep 
aid approximately 3-4 times per week over the course of approximately 
three months due to stresses in his life. Magnus Quitmeyer stated, ``in 
the back of my mind, I knew there was a possibility of this backfiring 
or something bad happening, but I just kind of shoved it away and did 
it.'' However, Magnus Quitmeyer's testimony that CBD oil was the cause 
of his September 14, 2022, positive FFD test was inconsistent with the 
test results of 53 nanograms/milliliter and the professional judgement 
of the Palo Verde medical review officer who testified that it was very 
unlikely for even someone very heavily using CBD oil with small amounts 
of THC to have these test results, thus, the positive test was more 
consistent with marijuana use. The investigation was completed on June 
13, 2023.
    On September 7, 2023, the NRC issued Magnus Quitmeyer a letter 
(ML23237B483) that documented a factual summary of investigation 4-
2023-005 and the details of the apparent violation of 10 CFR 55.53(j). 
The letter provided Magnus Quitmeyer an opportunity to: (1) respond in 
writing to the apparent violation in the letter within 30 days of the 
date of the letter or (2) request a predecisional enforcement 
conference. The NRC Region IV staff attempted to provide Magnus 
Quitmeyer the letter by both regular and certified United States Postal 
Service mail. In addition, between September 6 and October 2, 2023, the 
NRC Region IV staff attempted several times to contact Magnus Quitmeyer 
by cell phone, text message, and email to discuss the potential 
enforcement action. Magnus Quitmeyer failed to respond to all of the 
NRC staff's attempts to communicate with him.

III

    Based on the above, Magnus Quitmeyer deliberately used an illegal 
substance (marijuana metabolite) and then performed duties as a reactor 
operator at Palo Verde. This was a violation of 10 CFR 55.53(j) which 
requires, in part, that the licensee (Magnus Quitmeyer) shall not use 
any illegal drugs and shall not perform activities authorized by a 
license issued under 10 CFR part 55 while under the influence of an 
illegal substance that could adversely affect the ability to safely and 
competently perform licensed duties. The NRC holds licensed operators 
to high performance standards and entrusts them with assuring the 
public health and safety in the operation of a nuclear power plant. 
Incorporated into this trust is the expectation that licensed operators 
will follow all NRC requirements.
    Consequently, due to Magnus Quitmeyer's positive FFD test results 
on two separate occasions, and his repeated deliberate actions to use 
an illegal substance, I lack 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 Magnus Quitmeyer were permitted at this time to be 
involved in the performance of licensed activities. Therefore, the 
public health, safety and interest require that Magnus Quitmeyer be 
prohibited from any involvement in NRC-licensed activities for a period 
of five years from the date of this Order. Additionally, Magnus 
Quitmeyer is required to notify the NRC of his first employment in NRC-
licensed activities for a period of one year 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, 10 CFR 50.5, and 10 CFR 150.20, It is 
hereby ordered that:
    1. Magnus Quitmeyer is prohibited for five years from the date of 
this Order 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, including, but not limited to, those 
activities of Agreement State licensees conducted in the NRC's 
jurisdiction pursuant to the authority granted by 10 CFR 150.20.
    2. If Magnus Quitmeyer is currently involved with another licensee 
in NRC-licensed activities, he must immediately cease those activities, 
and inform the NRC by email at [email protected] 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 one year after the five year period of 
prohibition has expired, Magnus Quitmeyer shall,

[[Page 85668]]

within 30 days of acceptance of his first employment offer involving 
NRC-licensed activities or his becoming involved in 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, and email it to [email protected] with 
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, Magnus Quitmeyer 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 or rescind any of the above conditions upon demonstration by 
Magnus Quitmeyer of good cause.

V

    At this time, Magnus Quitmeyer is not required to respond to this 
Order; however, if he chooses to respond, he must submit a written 
answer to this Order under oath or affirmation within 30 days of its 
publication in the Federal Register to the Director, Office of 
Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001. In addition, Magnus Quitmeyer and any other person adversely 
affected by this Order may request a hearing on this Order within 30 
days of its publication in the Federal Register. Where good cause is 
shown, consideration will be given to extending the time to answer or 
request a hearing. A request for extension of time must be directed to 
the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, 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

[[Page 85669]]

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 Magnus Quitmeyer requests a hearing, that 
person shall set forth with particularity the manner in which his or 
her 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 Magnus Quitmeyer 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. 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 days 
from the date this Order is published in the Federal Register 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.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

/RA/

David L. Pelton,
Director, Office of Enforcement.

    Dated this 30th day of November 2023.

[FR Doc. 2023-26952 Filed 12-7-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P