IR 05000285/2024004
| ML25099A323 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Fort Calhoun  |
| Issue date: | 04/16/2025 |
| From: | Julio Lara Region 4 Administrator |
| To: | Via T Omaha Public Power District |
| References | |
| EAF-RIV-2025-0002 IR 2024004 | |
| Download: ML25099A323 (1) | |
Text
April 16, 2025
SUBJECT:
FORT CALHOUN STATION - NOTICE OF VIOLATION; NRC INSPECTION REPORT 050-00285/2024-004
Dear Troy Via:
This letter refers to the inspection conducted on December 9-11, 2024, at the Fort Calhoun Station near Blair, Nebraska, with continued in-office review through January 22, 2025. The purpose of the inspection was to examine activities conducted under your license as they relate to public health and safety, the common defense and security, and compliance with the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commissions (NRC) rules and regulations, and with the conditions of your license. A final exit briefing was conducted via videoconference with you and members of your staff on January 22, 2025. Details of the in-office review and one apparent violation were provided to you in the subject inspection report, dated February 4, 2025, Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML25027A457.
In the letter transmitting the inspection report, we provided you with the opportunity to address the apparent violation identified in the report by either attending a predecisional enforcement conference or by providing a written response before we made our final enforcement decision.
In a letter dated February 26, 2025, (ML25063A277) you provided a written response to the apparent violation.
Based on the information developed during the inspection and the information that you provided in your February 26, 2025, written response to the inspection report, the NRC has determined that a violation of NRC requirements occurred. The violation is cited in the enclosed Notice of Violation (Notice) and the circumstances surrounding the violation are described in detail in the subject inspection report. The violation involved the failure to design and prepare radioactive materials for shipment so that, under conditions normally incident to transportation, the radiation level did not exceed 200 millirem per hour at any point on the external surface of the package, as required by Section 173.441 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations (49 CFR).
Pursuant to 10 CFR 71.5, licensees who deliver licensed material to a carrier for transport must comply with the requirements of the U.S. Department of Transportation regulations in 49 CFR Parts 171 through 180. The NRC considers the violation to be significant because the failure to sufficiently survey and package debris by Fort Calhoun Station resulted in a shipment that exceeded NRC and the U.S.
Department of Transportation regulatory limits, which potentially could have caused individuals associated with or in close proximity to the shipment to have received unintended and excess radiation exposure. Therefore, this violation has been categorized in accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy at Severity Level III. The Enforcement Policy can be found on the NRCs website at https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/enforcement/enforce-pol.html.
In accordance with the NRCs Enforcement Policy, a civil penalty is considered for any escalated enforcement violation.
Because your facility has not been the subject of escalated enforcement actions within the last 2 years, the NRC considered whether credit was warranted for Corrective Action in accordance with the civil penalty assessment process in Section 2.3.4 of the Enforcement Policy. The NRC has determined that Corrective Action credit is warranted based on the prompt and comprehensive corrective actions you implemented. Your corrective actions to address the violation are documented in NRC Inspection Report 050-00285/2024-004 and in your letter dated February 26, 2025.
Therefore, to encourage prompt identification and comprehensive correction of violations, and in recognition of the absence of previous escalated enforcement action, I have been authorized, after consultation with the Director, Office of Enforcement, not to propose a civil penalty in this case. However, significant violations in the future could result in a civil penalty. In addition, issuance of this Severity Level III violation constitutes escalated enforcement action that may subject you to increased inspection effort.
The NRC has concluded that information regarding: (1) the reason for the violation; (2) the corrective actions that have been taken and the results achieved; and (3) the date when full compliance was achieved is already adequately addressed on the docket in NRC Inspection Report 050-00285/2024-004 and your letter dated February 26, 2025. Therefore, you are not required to respond to this letter unless the description therein does not accurately reflect your corrective actions or your position. In that case, or if you choose to provide additional information, you should follow the instructions specified in the enclosed Notice.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRCs Agency Rules of Practice, a copy of this letter, its enclosure, and your response, if you choose to provide one, will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room and in the NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), accessible from the NRC website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To the extent possible, your response should not include any personal privacy or proprietary information so that it can be made available to the public without redaction. The NRC also includes significant enforcement actions on its website at https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/enforcement/current.html. If you have any questions concerning this matter, please contact Jeffrey Josey of my staff at (817) 200-1249.
Sincerely, Julio F. Lara Deputy Regional Administrator Docket No. 050-00285 License No. DPR-40 Enclosure:
Notice of Violation Signed by Lara, Julio on 04/16/25
ML25099A323 SUNSI Review By: ESM ADAMS:
Yes No Sensitive Non-Sensitive Non-Publicly Available Publicly Available Keyword:
NRC-002 OFFICE HP:DRSS/DIOR SHP:DRSS/DIOR TL:ACES C:DRSS/DIOR RC NAME EMcManus SAnderson BAlferink JJosey DCylkowski SIGNATURE
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/RA/ E DATE 04/10/25 04/10/25 04/10/25 04/10/25 04/11/25 OFFICE OE DD:DRSS DRA NAME DBradley NOKeefe JLara SIGNATURE
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DATE 04/14/25 04/14/25 04/16/25
Enclosure NOTICE OF VIOLATION Omaha Public Power District Docket No. 050-00285 Fort Calhoun Station License No. DPR-40 EAF-RIV-2025-0002 During an NRC inspection conducted on December 9-11, 2024, with continued in-office review through January 22, 2025, a violation of NRC requirements was identified. In accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy, the violation is listed below:
10 CFR 71.5 requires, in part, that each licensee who delivers licensed material to a carrier for transport shall comply with the requirements of the DOT regulations in 49 CFR Parts 171 through 180. Title 49 CFR 173.441(a) requires, in part, with exceptions not applicable here, that each package of radioactive materials offered for transportation be designed and prepared for shipment so that under conditions normally incident to transportation, the radiation level does not exceed 200 millirem per hour (mrem/hr) at any point on the external surface of the package.
Contrary to the above, on November 6, 2024, the licensee failed to design and prepare a package of radioactive material such that, under normal conditions incident to transport, the radiation level did not exceed 200 mrem/hr at any point on the external surface of the package. Specifically, the licensee shipped a package containing radioactive materials (crushed concrete, metal debris, and lagoon liner) such that when the package arrived at its destination on November 14, 2024, radiation levels of approximately 765 mrem/hr were measured on the side of the railcar, exceeding the regulatory requirement of 200 mrem/hr.
This is a Severity Level III violation (Enforcement Policy Section 6.8.c.2).
The NRC has concluded that information regarding: (1) the reason for the violation; (2) the corrective actions that have been taken and the results achieved; and (3) the date when full compliance was achieved is already adequately addressed on the docket in NRC Inspection Report 050-00285/2024-004 and your letter dated February 26, 2025.
However, if the description therein does not accurately reflect your corrective actions or your position, you are required to submit a written statement or explanation pursuant to 10 CFR 2.201 within 30 days of the date of the letter transmitting this Notice of Violation. In that case, or if you choose to respond, clearly mark your response as a Reply to a Notice of Violation; EAF-RIV-2025-0002, and send it to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN:
Document Control Desk, Washington, DC 20555-0001 with a copy to the Regional Administrator, Region IV, 1600 E. Lamar Blvd., Arlington, Texas 76011-4511, and email it to R4Enforcement@nrc.gov.
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, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
If you choose to respond, your response will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the NRCs ADAMS, accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Therefore, to the extent possible,
the response should not include any personal privacy or proprietary 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 that such material is withheld from public disclosure, you must specifically identify the portions of your response that you seek to have withheld and provide in detail the bases for your claim (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).
In accordance with 10 CFR 19.11, you may be required to post this Notice within two working days of receipt.
Dated this 16th day of April 2025.