Severity Level IV. The inspectors identified that the licensee changed its standard emergency action level (
EAL) scheme on December 19, 2000, for those events related to toxic gas releases for Unusual Event and Alert classifications. The inspectors determined these changes decreased the effectiveness of the
emergency plan, and the licensee did not obtain prior NRC approval, contrary to the requirements of
10 CFR 50.54(q).
Because the issue affected the NRC's ability to perform its regulatory function, it was evaluated with the traditional enforcement process as specified in Section IV.A.3 of the
Enforcement Policy. According to Supplement VIII of the
Enforcement Policy, this issue was determined to be a
Severity Level IV violation because it involved a failure to meet a requirement not directly related to assessment and notification. Further, this problem was isolated to two
EALs and was not indicative of a functional problem with the
EAL scheme. Because the licensee has entered this issue into its corrective action program it is being treated as a Non-Cited Violation. (Section 1EP4)
