ML20136A947

Partially Deleted Memo Re Allegation of Misconduct by Region II Inspector.Inspector Removed Licensee Official Documents from Work Area & Attempted to Direct Work of Licensee

ML20136A947
Person / Time
Site:	Saint Lucie
Issue date:	07/03/1996
From:	Ebneter S NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION II)
To:	Norton L NRC OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL (OIG)
Shared Package
ML20136A754	List: ML20136A752 ML20136A798 ML20136A947 ML20136A953 ML20136A968 ML20136A982 ML20136A994 ML20138E515 ML20138G365
References
FOIA-96-485 NUDOCS 9703100089
Download: ML20136A947 (2)

Text

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M4 9 UNrrE) STATM

/ NUCLEAR REGUt.ATORY COMMISSION

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o REGION 11 101 MARIETTA STMEET, N.W., SUITE 2000 m l ATLANTA, GEORGIA 303254100 h9

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q\\qh Jll -3 1996 MEMORANDUM T0: Leo Norton Acting Inspector General Office of the Inspector General /,

l FROM: Stewart D. Ebneter, Regional Administrator

SUBJECT:

ALLEGATION OF MISCONDUCT BY A REGION II INSPECTOR l

On June 21, 1996, the St. Lucie Plant Manager contacted the Senior Resident Inspector to complain about the inappropriate conduct of a Regional Inspector.

Specifically. that the inspector removed licensee official documents from a work area and attempted to direct the work of the licensee. Attached is a sumary of the licensee's complaint.

A ussed with Mr. Styker o. f your staff on Jul 2 19 here have bee Q

If you need additional information, please call Luis A. Reyes at 404-331-5610.

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Attachment:

Asltated

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w u. n i in inis recc,d was e ,,,1,o j

ia accordar.c:: w.:P ito Frcedom of Information y \

ht, h F0iA-c/aqh.3 W3 9703100089 9703o5 PDR FOIA BINDER 96-495 PDR

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Merle Miller was on site at St.1.ucie from 6/16 to 6/74/96 to perfom i inspections of the Unit 1 NI upgrade in progress. On 6/21/96, I was l approached by the Plant Manager who stated that, while he did not want to create a problem, he wanted me to know that Merle had conducted himself in a way that would not have met my expectations for an-inspector on site.

The Plant Manager paraphrased information supplied to him by Larry Heigel, an i I&C Supervisor involved in the activities Merle was following. I later spoke *

'directly with Helgel, who recounted the following events which occurred on or  ;

about 6/20:

• A worker was performing modifications inside the C NI cabinet in the Unit I control room. Doing so required them to access cables through doors in the back of the cabinets. The worker had his work order on a cart (which was used to store equipment, tools, etc) in front of the l subject cabinet.

• Merle approached the worker (behind the cabinet) and asked where his  !

paperwork was. The worker responded that it was on his cart and proceeded to the cart.

. Upon reaching the cart, the worker could not find his paperwork. Merle began to talk about potential violations due to the lack of paperwork. .  :

The worker said he didn't understand where the paperwork went, as it had been on the cart previously...

• Merle pulled the paperwork out ofi his pocket and told the worker that  !

the worker had just saved the company a lot of ' money (referring, apparently, to. a civil. penalty).. . . - . -  %

= Heigel then stated that he confronted Merle on the issue.

In addition to this issue, Helgel stated that Merle, throughout his inspection, appeared to be attempting to direct work. Helgel stated that

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Merle would always preface his statements with "this is just my opinion, I'm not telling you what to do...," but Helgel stated that the message was clear to him. Also, Helgel stated that Merle took a controlled Change Request Notice (part of a design modification package) from Jeff Barbieri (I&C) and refused to return it. When requested by Barbieri to return it, Merle was said to have made Barbieri a copy and said something to the effect of "If I find it, it's fair game."

Upon being notified of these issues by the Plant Manager, I spoke with Merle on 6/21, asking him directly about the " lost" paperwork assertion. Merle .

responded by saying "I can understand why he'd think that..." and then  !

launching into a completely unrelated discussion. I tried to get him to  !

address the issue a few more times and then gave up, concluding that he was evading the issue. In later discussions with Heigel, I was told that Merle's behavior had improved dramatically when he covered work activities on 6/22.  ;

Helgel also stated that George Schnebli, upon hearing the description of what '

Merle was purported to have done relative to the lost paperwork, said that I that had been one of Merle's " favorite tricks" when George had traveled with iMerle as an NRC inspector.

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