IR 05000397/2025301

Notification of NRC Initial Operator Licensing Examination 05000397/2025301

ML24045A318
Person / Time
Site:	Columbia
Issue date:	02/14/2024
From:	Thomas Farina NRC/RGN-IV/DORS/OB
To:	Schuetz R Energy Northwest
References
Download: ML24045A318 (4)

Text

February 14, 2024

SUBJECT:

COLUMBIA GENERATING STATION - NOTIFICATION OF NRC INITIAL OPERATOR LICENSING EXAMINATION 05000397/2025301

Dear Mr. Schuetz:

In a telephone conversation on February 14, 2024, between Mr. Greg Knudson, Operations Training Manager and myself, chief examiner, arrangements were made for the administration of operator licensing examinations at Columbia Generating Station during the week of January 13, 2025.

As agreed during the telephone conversation, your staff will prepare the examinations based on the guidelines in Revision 12 to NUREG-1021, Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors. The NRCs regional office will discuss with your staff any changes that might be necessary before the examinations are administered.

To meet the above schedule, it will be necessary for your staff to furnish the operating test outlines by August 12, 2024. The written examination outline was provided to your staff on January 23, 2024. The written examinations, operating tests, and supporting reference materials identified in NUREG-1021, Examination Standard (ES)-2.1, Preparing for Operator Licensing Initial Examinations, will be due by October 28, 2024. Pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 55.40(b)(3), an authorized representative of the facility licensee shall approve the examinations and tests before they are submitted to the NRC for review and approval. All materials shall be complete and ready to use.

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 December 9, 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 me 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 I am 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 mandatory information collections is estimated to average 400 hours0.00463 days <br />0.111 hours <br />6.613757e-4 weeks <br />1.522e-4 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. Greg Knudson has been advised of the policies and guidelines referenced in this letter. If you have any questions about the the NRCs examination procedures and guidelines, please contact me at 817-200-1117, or Heather Gepford, Chief, Operations Branch at 817-200-1156.

Sincerely, Thomas Farina, Chief Examiner Operations Branch Division of Operating Reactor Safety Docket No. 05000397 License No. NPF-21 Electronic Distribution via LISTSERV Signed by Farina, Thomas on 02/14/24

ML24045A318 SUNSI Review: ADAMS: Non-Publicly Available Non-Sensitive Keyword:

By: TJF2 Yes No Publicly Available Sensitive NRR-079 OFFICE OB:SOE NAME TFarina SIGNATURE /RA/

DATE 02/14/24