IR 05000313/2025090
| ML25059A046 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Arkansas Nuclear  |
| Issue date: | 03/13/2025 |
| From: | Julio Lara Region 4 Administrator |
| To: | Pehrson D Entergy Operations |
| References | |
| EA-RIV-2024-0023, EA-24-107 4 2024-009, IR 2025090 | |
| Download: ML25059A046 (1) | |
Text
March 13, 2025
SUBJECT:
ARKANSAS NUCLEAR ONE, UNIT 1 - NOTICE OF VIOLATION; NRC INSPECTION REPORT 05000313/2024090 AND INVESTIGATION REPORT 4-2024-009
Dear Doug Pehrson,
This letter refers to the investigation completed on September 18, 2024, by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commissions (NRC) Office of Investigations at Arkansas Nuclear One (ANO). The investigation was conducted, in part, to determine if a licensed reactor operator assigned to Entergy Operations, Inc., at ANO Unit 1, willfully violated a facility licensee procedure and accessed unauthorized internet sites while performing licensed activities in the at-the-controls (ATC) area of the Unit 1 control room. The results of the Office of Investigations, including one apparent violation and a factual summary of the investigation, were provided to you in our letter dated January 14, 2025, Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML24346A037.
In our letter dated January 14, 2025, 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 13, 2025 (ML25044A412), you provided your response to the apparent violation.
Based on the information developed during the investigation and the information you provided in your February 13, 2025, written response to our letter dated January 14, 2025, 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 the factual summary of the investigation, which was issued as an enclosure to our letter dated January 14, 2025. The violation involved a licensed operator who deliberately violated Entergy Nuclear Fleet Procedure EN-OP-115-02, Control Room Conduct and Access Controls, by accessing external internet sites while performing licensed activities in the ATC area of the Unit 1 control room. The NRC considers the violation to be significant because accessing external internet sites from the ATC area of the control room had the potential to distract the licensed operator from monitoring the reactor, and because the licensed reactor operator deliberately chose to violate the procedural ban on accessing the internet from the ATC area. 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 http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/enforcement/enforce-pol.html.
In accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy, a base civil penalty in the amount of $180,000 is considered for a Severity Level III violation.
Because willfulness was associated with this violation, the NRC considered whether credit was warranted for Identification and Corrective Action, in accordance with the civil penalty assessment process in section 2.3.4 of the NRC Enforcement Policy. Because the violation was identified by an Entergy internal investigation, and because you promptly took action to notify the NRC, the NRC concluded that credit is warranted for Identification. The NRC also concluded that Corrective Action credit is warranted for your prompt and comprehensive corrective actions.
Your corrective actions to address the violation are documented in our letter dated January 14, 2025, and in your letter dated February 13, 2025.
Therefore, to encourage prompt identification and comprehensive correction of violations, 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 our letter dated January 14, 2025, and in your letter dated February 13, 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 and Procedure, a copy of this letter, the enclosure, and your response, if you choose to provide one, will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or in the NRCs 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 http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/enforcement/actions. If you have any questions concerning this matter, please contact Dr. Heather Gepford of my staff at 817-200-1159.
Sincerely, Julio F. Lara Deputy Regional Administrator Docket No. 05000313 License No. DPR-51 Enclosure: Notice of Violation Signed by Lara, Julio on 03/13/25
ML25059A046 SUNSI Review By: ACR ADAMS Yes No Publicly Available Non-Publicly Available Non-Sensitive Sensitive Keyword:
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DATE 03/10/25 03/06/25 03/10/25 03/13/25
Enclosure NOTICE OF VIOLATION Entergy Operations, Inc.
Docket No. 05000313 Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 1 License No. DPR-51 EA-RIV-2024-0023 / EA-24-107 During an NRC investigation completed on September 18, 2024, a violation of NRC requirements was identified. In accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy, the violation is listed below:
Technical Specification 5.4.1(a) requires, in part, that written procedures shall be established, implemented, and maintained covering the applicable procedures recommended in Regulatory Guide 1.33, Quality Assurance Program Requirements (Operation), revision 2, appendix A, February 1978.
Regulatory Guide 1.33, appendix A, Typical Procedures for Pressurized Water Reactors and Boiling Water Reactors, section 1.b, includes administrative procedures for safety-related activities in relation to authorities and responsibilities for safe operation and shutdown.
Entergy Fleet Nuclear Management Manual EN-OP-115-02, Control Room Conduct and Access Control, revision 6, section 5.1, Control Room Conduct, step 5.1.7 states, in part, do not use the internet in the at-the-controls area of the control room, except as specifically authorized by the operations manager.
Contrary to the above, between October 16, 2023, and January 8, 2024, a licensed operator used the internet in the at-the-controls area of the control room without specific authorization by the operations manager. Specifically, the operator deliberately accessed internet sites hundreds of times without authorization and for non-work-related activities while standing watch as the assigned operator at-the-controls in the control room.
This is a Severity Level III violation (NRC Enforcement Policy, Section 6.4.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 our letter dated January 14, 2025, and in your letter dated February 13, 2025.
However, if the description therein does not accurately reflect your position or your corrective actions, 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; EA-24-107/
EA-RIV-2024-0023, 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, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region IV, 1600 East Lamar Blvd., Arlington, Texas 76011-4511, and a copy to the NRC Resident Inspector at Arkansas Nuclear One 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 in the NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), accessible from the NRC website 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).
Dated this 13th day of March 2025