ML20117N551

Submits Engineering Self Assessment Rept for Placement in Pdr.Rept Results Are Being Used to Identify Deficiencies & Recommend Corrective Actions

ML20117N551
Person / Time
Site:	Cooper
Issue date:	09/13/1996
From:	Graham P NEBRASKA PUBLIC POWER DISTRICT
To:	NRC OFFICE OF INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (IRM)
Shared Package
ML20117N554	List: ML20117N551 ML20117N560
References
NLS960174, NUDOCS 9609190264
Download: ML20117N551 (3)

Text

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r COOPER NUCLEAR STATION '

l. si P o. BOX es, BRoWNVILLE, NEBRASKA 00321

( Nebraska Public Power District ""fr""#a""

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NLS960174 l Sept "mber 13, 1996 i l

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Attention: Document Control Desk Washington, DC 20555

Subject:

-Engineering Self Assessment Report

References:

1) Letter from J. H. Mueller to L. J. Callan dated June 21, l 1996 " Engineering Self Assessment Report." l Gentlemen: i 1

In response to discussions held with the NRC Region IV staff, the Nebraska )

i Public Power District (District) is submitting the enclosed report entitled i

" Nebraska Public Power District, Cooper Nuclear Station, Engineering Self-Assessment," (February 5-23, 1996), for placement in the Public Document i Room (PDR). The relf-assessment report was prepared approximately nine months I after the Cooper Nuclear Station Engineering Division completed a major )

l reorganization involving a complete re-engineering of organizational 1 l

structure, personnel and location. The purpose of the report was to evaluate l the effectiveness of the new Engineering organization, staff and processes, )

l and to assess the success of the reorganization effort. The results of the self-assessment are being used to identify deficiencies and recommend j l corrective actions. j t

4 This report was previously submitted to the NRC Region IV office by letter dated June 21, 1996 (reference 1). Pursuant to a NRC Region IV staff request, l i

! the District is hereby providing a copy of the report to be placed in the PDR. l l For the reasons discussed below, the District has redacted certain portions of the report. <

l The portions of the report we have redacted contain personal privacy I

information, the publication of which would, in our view, constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy. The self assessment report states at the outset that it contains " subjective evaluations of processes, people and functions".(Engineering Self-Assessment at pp. 8-9). In this connection, the l report contains a full and candid assessment of the performance of variors i individuals, some of whom are named (pp. 83-86), and others of whom, even if not named, can be identified from contextual infornation provided in the report (e.g., title, position) (pp. 32, 34, 35, 36, 70). Information of this

! type should be protected from public disclosure. See 10 C.F.R. S 2.790(a) (6) i (pertaining to records that are " personnel and medical files and similar files,.the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion j of personal privacy") .

This type of information is routinely recognized by the NRC as appropriate for j redaction from documents placed in the PDR. For example, in a November 10,  !

1994 letter from James L. Milhoan, Deputy Director for Nuclear Reactor l l Regulation, Regional Operations and Research, to Guy R. Horn, the NRC l suggested that "the Licensee should highlight for redaction, names and other  ;

identifying information that it believes would constitute an unwarranted '

invasion of personal privacy *n connection with NPPD's submittal to the NRC of a. response to a Demand fo. .nformation.

400l, 9609190264 960913 PDR ADOCK 05000298 R PDR

'Poweffu Pride in Nebraska w= = , = = = , = = , - . , = = = = = = = = = = = = = - =

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NLS960174 l September 13, 1996 '

Page 2 of 2 Moreover, were this report to be the subject of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, the personal privacy exemption relating to such requests, FOIA Exemption 6 (which corresponds to 10 C.F.R. S 2.790(a) (6)), would come into l play.F Under federal case law, the personal privacy exemption is to be l interpreted broadly. In Department of State v. Washington Post Co., 456 U.S.

595, 599-600 (1982), the Supreme caert observed that the legislative history of Exemption 6 demonstrates that Congress' primary concern was "to provide for the confidentiality of personal matters," citing Department of the Air Force v. Rese, 425 U.S. 352, 375, n.14 (1976). Thus, in its landmark l decision, Department of Justice v. Reporters Comm. For Freedom of the Press, l 489 U.S. 749 (1989), the Supreme Court, in denying a request by the news media directed to the Department of Justice for access to criminal histories (" rap sheets"), stressed that "both the common law and the literal understandings of l privacy encompass the individual's control of information concerning his or  ;

her person." 489 U.S. at 763. Indeed, the NRC's own guidelines on the l personal privacy exemption state that the NRC will withhold from disclosure to I third parties " investigations of the conduct of named individuals" and l

" individual performance evaluations."U Should the NRC disagree with the extent of our redactions, please contact us so that we may discuss this issue further. We appreciate your kind attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

/),[).[2eH*t*~

P. D. Graham Site Manager Enclosure cc: Regional Administrator w/o enclosure USNRC - Region IV Senior Project Manager USNRC - NRR Project Directorate IV-1 Senior Resident Inspector w/o enclosure l USNRC - Cooper Nuclear Station NPG Distribution w/o enclosure

, Exemption 6 similarly covers records "which are personnel and

medical files and similar files, the disclosure of which would

[

constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy."

l Memorandum from Thomas E. Murley to all NRR Employees, "NRC Office Letter No. 104, Rev. 2, Freedom of Information Act Request,"

Enclosure 1 at 3-4 (July 31, 1990).

f o i I LIST OF NRC COMMITMENTS l ATTACHMENT 3 l l

Corresponden: No: NLS960174 The following table identifies those actions committed to by the District in i

this document. Any other actions discussed in the submittal represent intended or planned actions by the District. They are described to the NRC for the NRC's information and are not regulatory commitments. Please notify  ;

the Licensing Manager at Cooper Nuclear Station of any questions regarding '

this document or any associated regulatory commitments.

1 COMMITTED DATE COMMITMENT OR OUTAGE None l

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f l PROCEDURE NUMBER 0.42 l REVISION NUMBER 1.2 l PAGE 10 OF 16 l l