IR 05000298/2024301

Notification of NRC Initial Operator Licensing Examination 05000298/2024301

ML23243A985
Person / Time
Site:	Cooper
Issue date:	09/01/2023
From:	Heather Gepford NRC/RGN-IV/DORS/OB
To:	Dia K Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD)
References
50-298/23-301 50-298/OL-301
Download: ML23243A985 (1)

Text

September 01, 2023

SUBJECT:

COOPER NUCLEAR STATION - NOTIFICATION OF NRC INITIAL OPERATOR LICENSING EXAMINATION 05000298/2024301

Dear Khalil Dia:

In a telephone conversation on May 10, 2023, between Mr. Andrew Vaugh, Superintendent, Simulator & Training Support and Mr. John Kirkland, Chief Examiner, arrangements were made for the administration of operator licensing examinations at Cooper Nuclear Station during the week of June 10, 2024.

As agreed during the telephone conversation, the NRC will prepare the written examinations and operating test outlines based on the guidelines in Revision 12 of NUREG-1021, Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors. Your staff will be given the opportunity to review the operating test outlines by October 2, 2023, and the examinations by December 11, 2023.

During this call, your staff was provided the initial request to furnish the supporting reference materials identified in NUREG-1021, Examination Standard (ES)-2.1, Preparing for Operator Licensing Initial Examinations and these references were provided on August 31, 2023.

Pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 55.40(b)(3), and authorized representative of the facility licensee shall approve the examinations and tests before final approval by the NRC.

We request that any personal, proprietary, sensitive unclassified, or safeguards information in your response be contained in a separate enclosure and appropriately marked. Delays in receiving the required materials, or the submittal of inadequate or incomplete materials, may cause the examinations to be cancelled or rescheduled. In addition, your support for on-site validation of the examinations is required during the week of May 13, 2024. To conduct the requested written examinations and operating tests, your staff will need to provide adequate space and accommodations and to make the simulation facility available on the dates noted above. In accordance with ES 3.5, Administering Operating Tests, your staff should retain the original simulator performance data (e.g., system pressures, temperatures, and levels) generated during the dynamic operating tests until the NRC takes licensing action on all the applications and any adjudicatory actions on any hearing demands are complete.

ES-1.2, Guidelines for Taking NRC Examinations, contains a number of NRC guidelines for the written examinations and operating tests as they are being administered.

To permit timely NRC review and evaluation, your staff should submit preliminary reactor operator and senior reactor operator waiver or excusal requests (if any) (Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number 3150 0090) at least 60 days before the first examination date (if possible). Contact Mr. Kirkland to determine the method for submission of the waiver or excusal requests. Preliminary reactor operator and senior reactor operator license applications (OMB control number 3150 0090) and medical certifications (OMB control number 3150 0024)

should be submitted at least 30 days before the first examination date. If the NRC does not receive the preliminary applications at least 30 days before the examination date, a postponement may be necessary. Final, signed applications certifying that all training has been completed and requesting any waivers or excusals, as applicable, should be submitted at least 14 days before the first examination date.

Although the guidelines for waiver or excusal requests call for their receipt at least 30 days before the first examination date (preliminary) and 14 days before the first examination date (final), the requests should be submitted as early as possible in the process (see the 60-day guideline above). Resolutions resulting from verbal inquiries by the facility licensee to the NRC are not binding. Submittals addressing waivers or excusals, or both, should be in writing (i.e., using NRC Form 398 or as directed when Mr. Kirkland is contacted to determine the method for submission. The NRC will document its final decision on whether to grant a waiver or excusal on the final (not preliminary) NRC Form 398 submitted for the applicant. The NRC will not provide its decision until the final application is submitted to the agency.

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

This letter contains information collection requirements that are subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). These information collections were approved by the OMB, approval number 3150-0018.

The burden to the public for these voluntary information collections is estimated to average 2,250 hours0.00289 days <br />0.0694 hours <br />4.133598e-4 weeks <br />9.5125e-5 months <br /> per examination, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering, and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the information collections. Send comments regarding this information collection to the FOIA, Library, and Information Collections Branch (T6-A10M), U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555 0001, or by e-mail to Infocollects.Resource@nrc.gov, and to the OMB reviewer at: OMB Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (3150-0018), Attn: Desk Officer for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 725 17th Street, NW Washington, DC 20503; e-mail:

oira_submission@omb.eop.gov. Public Protection Notification

The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless the document requesting or requiring the collection displays a currently valid OMB control number.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390, Public inspections, exemptions, requests for withholding, a copy of this letter and its enclosures will be available electronically for public inspection through the NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible on the NRCs Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. Mr. Vaughn has been advised of the policies and guidelines referenced in this letter. If you have any questions about the NRCs examination procedures and guidelines, please contact Mr. Kirkland at 817-200-1771, or Heather Gepford, Chief, Operations Branch at 817-200-1156.

Sincerely, Heather J. Gepford, Ph.D., Chief Operations Branch Division of Operating Reactor Safety Docket No. 50-298 License No. DPR-46 Electronic distribution via Listserv Signed by Gepford, Heather on 09/01/23

ML23243A985 SUNSI Review: ADAMS: Non-Publicly Available Non-Sensitive Keyword:

By: JCK Yes No Publicly Available Sensitive NRR-079 OFFICE SOE:DORS/OB C:DORS/OB NAME JKirkland HGepford SIGNATURE /RA/ /RA/

DATE 08/31/23 09/01/23