IA-20-025, NRC Office of Investigation Report 1-2019-013 and Notice of Violation
| ML20063L275 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Susquehanna  |
| Issue date: | 03/12/2020 |
| From: | David Lew NRC Region 1 |
| To: | Paul M - No Known Affiliation |
| Cherie Crisden | |
| References | |
| IA-20-025 1-2019-013 | |
| Download: ML20063L275 (6) | |
Text
UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION REGION I 2100 RENAISSANCE BOULEVARD, SUITE 100 KING OF PRUSSIA, PA 19406-2713 March 12, 2020 IA-20-025 Mr. Michael S. Paul HOME ADDRESS DELETED UNDER 10 CFR 2.390
SUBJECT:
NRC OFFICE OF INVESTIGATIONS REPORT 1-2019-013 AND NOTICE OF VIOLATION
Dear Mr. Paul:
This letter refers to the investigation initiated on August 29, 2019, by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commissions (NRCs) Office of Investigations (OI), to determine whether you, a licensed Senior Reactor Operator (SRO) at Susquehanna Steam Station (SSES) Unit 1 deliberately performed duties while under the influence of alcohol. On July 4, 2019, an Event Notification (EN# 54148) was made by Susquehanna Nuclear, LLC (Susquehanna) informing the NRC that you had tested positive for alcohol during a random fitness-for-duty (FFD) test conducted on July 4, 2019.
In a letter dated July 8, 2019 (ML19189A352),1 the NRC requested additional information from Susquehanna regarding this occurrence, including: (1) your specific duties during the timeframe you were under the influence of alcohol; (2) whether there were any procedural errors or other operational impacts related to this occurrence; and (3) Susquehannas intentions with regard to your resumption of licensed duties. Susquehanna responded to the NRC in a letter dated July 31, 2019 (ML19275E380; nonpublic because it contains personal privacy information), and informed the NRC that, during the relevant timeframe, you had completed your turnover for the Unit Supervisor position at SSES Unit 1 and were supervising licensed activities. Susquehanna stated that they identified no procedural errors or other operational impacts related to this occurrence. Additionally, Susquehanna revoked your unescorted access to the protected area and placed an administrative hold on your license while you completed a treatment plan.
Based on the results of its investigation, the NRC determined that you did not deliberately perform licensed activities at SSES Unit 1 while under the influence of alcohol because you did not knowingly report to work under the influence of alcohol. Specifically, you believed that because you had stopped drinking at an appropriate time and received adequate hours of sleep, you would not have alcohol in your system when you reported to work on July 4, 2019.
CERTIFIED MAIL RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED 1 Designation in parentheses refers to an Agency-wide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) accession number. Unless otherwise noted, documents referenced in this letter are publicly-available using the accession number in ADAMS.
M. Paul 2 Though not the result of deliberate misconduct, the NRC determined that your actions still resulted in a violation of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Section 55.53(j),
which prohibits licensees from performing activities authorized by a license while under the influence of alcohol. The term "under the influence" means the licensee exceeded, as evidenced by a confirmed test result, the lower of the cutoff levels for alcohol contained in subparts E, F, and G of 10 CFR Part 26, or as established by the facility licensee.
During a telephone conversation on January 23, 2020, Cherie Crisden, of my staff, described to you the apparent violation and provided you an opportunity to accept the violation or provide any additional information in writing or through the conduct of a pre-decisional enforcement conference (PEC). You indicated that you did not believe that either attending a PEC or submitting a written response was necessary. Accordingly, the NRC determined that the violation of 10 CFR 55.53(j) occurred due to you being under the influence of alcohol while you were performing licensed activities, as demonstrated by a confirmed positive test result for alcohol. The violation is cited in the enclosed Notice of Violation (Notice).
The purpose of the Commissions FFD requirements is to provide reasonable assurance that nuclear power plant personnel work in an environment that is free from drugs and alcohol, and the effects of the use of these substances. The use of alcohol, such that an operator exceeds the cutoff limits specified in 10 CFR Part 26, or in the licensees FFD program, is a serious matter, which undermines the special trust and confidence placed in you as a licensed Senior Reactor Operator. Therefore, the violation is categorized at Severity Level III in accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy. The current Enforcement Policy is included on the NRCs Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/enforcement/enforce-pol.html.
You are not required to respond to the Notice unless you contest the violation. In that case, or if you choose to provide additional information, you should follow the instructions specified in the enclosed Notice. Please note that, in accordance with 10 CFR 26.75(e), future similar violations will substantially affect your authorization for unescorted access to the protected area of a licensed facility. In addition, note that as provided in 10 CFR 55.61, the NRC could have taken action to suspend or revoke your license. After considering specific factors related to this case, (this was your first confirmed positive test; SSES temporarily revoked your unescorted access to the protected area and placed an administrative hold on your license while you completed a treatment program; and that you completed the aforementioned treatment (and are continuing treatment) to prevent recurrence of a similar problem), the NRC decided not to suspend or revoke your license. However, any future repetition of this conduct could result in revocation of your license.
The NRC intends to place a copy of this letter, the NRC letter dated July 8, 2019, the Susquehanna letter dated July 31, 2019, and the enclosed Notice in your 10 CFR Part 55 docket file. Additionally, in accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice,"
these documents, as well as any further response from you, if one is provided, will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room and from the NRCs Agency-wide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. The NRC also includes significant enforcement actions on its Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/enforcement/actions/ .
M. Paul 3 All final NRC documents, such as the OI report described above, are official agency records and may be made available to the public under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) subject to redaction of information appropriate under the FOIA. Requests under the FOIA should be made in accordance with 10 CFR 9.23, Requests for Records. Additional information is available on the NRC website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/foia/foia-privacy.html. In addition, this letter will be maintained by the Office of Enforcement in an NRC Privacy Act system of records, NRC-3, Enforcement Actions Against Individuals. This system, which is not publicly-accessible, includes all records pertaining to individuals who are being, or have been, considered for enforcement action, whether such action was taken or not. The NRC-3 system notice, which provides detailed information about this system of records, can be accessed from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/foia/privacy-systems.html.
If you have any further questions about this matter, you may contact Cherie Crisden at 610-337-5061.
Sincerely,
/RA/
David C. Lew Regional Administrator Docket No. 55-64066 License No. SOP-500885
Enclosure:
Notice of Violation cc: w/encl and w/HOME ADDRESS DELETED Brad Berryman, President and Chief Nuclear Officer Susquehanna Nuclear, LLC
ML20063L275 X Non-Sensitive X Publicly Available X SUNSI Review/CJC*
Sensitive Non-Publicly Available OFFICE RI/ORA RI/DRS RI/DRP RI/DRP RI/DRS RI/ ORA D Jackson/ds NAME C Crisden/cjc* J Greives/ jeg* D. Collins/dsc* J Yerokun/jty* B Klukan/bmk*
for*
DATE 1/24/20 1/24/20 1/28/20 1/31/20 2/10/20 2/10/20 OFFICE RI/ORA OE RA NAME R McKinley/rm* G Wilson D Lew/RKL for 2/27/20 via DATE 2/15/20 3/11/20 email
- see previous concurrence NOTICE OF VIOLATION Michael Paul Docket No. 55-64066
[HOME ADDRESS DELETED License No. SOP-500885 UNDER 10 CFR 2.390] IA-20-25 As a result of information provided by Susquehanna Nuclear, LLC (Susquehanna) in a letter dated July 31, 2019, and identified during an NRC investigation conducted between August 29, 2019, and November 29, 2019, the NRC identified a violation of NRC requirements.
In accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy, the violation is listed below:
10 CFR 55.53(j) requires, in part, that an (individual) licensee shall not perform activities authorized by a license while under the influence of alcohol. The term "under the influence" means the licensee exceeded, as evidenced by a confirmed test result, the lower of the cutoff levels for alcohol contained in subparts E, F, and G of 10 CFR Part 26, or as established by the facility licensee.
Contrary to the above, on July 4, 2019, you, the holder of an NRC-issued Senior Reactor Operator (SRO) license (SOP-500885), performed activities authorized under your NRC SRO license at Susquehanna Steam Electric Station Unit 1, while under the influence of alcohol. Susquehanna identified that you were under the influence via a random test administered to you on July 4, 2019, as part of its fitness-for-duty (FFD) program. The random FFD test yielded a confirmed positive result for alcohol that exceeded the cutoff level established by the facility licensee.
This is a Severity Level III violation (NRC Enforcement Policy Example Violation 6.4).
You are not required to respond to the Notice unless you contest the violation. Should you contest the violation, a response is required within 30 days of the date of this letter, addressing the specific basis for disputing the violation. This response should be sent to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Regional Administrator, NRC Region I, 2100 Renaissance Blvd., Suite 100, King of Prussia, PA 19406, and marked Open by Addressee Only - Response to a Notice of Violation; (IA-20-025). If you contest this enforcement action, you should also provide a copy of your response, with the basis for your denial, to the Director, Office of Enforcement, United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
Your response will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room and in the NRCs Agency-wide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS), accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To the extent possible, your response should not include any personal privacy, proprietary, or safeguards information so that it can be made available to the public without redaction. If personal privacy or proprietary information is necessary to provide an acceptable response, then please provide a bracketed copy of your response that identifies the information that should be protected and a redacted copy of your response that deletes such information. If you request withholding of such material, you must specifically identify the portions of your response that you seek to have withheld and provide in detail the bases for your claim of withholding (e.g.,
explain why the disclosure of information will create an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy or provide the information required by 10 CFR 2.390(b) to support a request for withholding confidential commercial or financial information). If safeguards information is
Notice of Violation 2 necessary to provide an acceptable response, please provide the level of protection described in 10 CFR 73.21.
This letter will be maintained by the Office of Enforcement in an NRC Privacy Act system of records, NRC-3, Enforcement Actions Against Individuals. This system, which is not publicly-accessible, includes all records pertaining to individuals who are being, or have been considered, for enforcement action, whether such action was taken or not. The NRC-3 system notice, which provides detailed information about this system of records, can be accessed from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/foia/privacy-systems.html.
Dated this 12th day of March, 2020