ML20137F249
| ML20137F249 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 02/05/1997 |
| From: | Rathbun D NRC OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL AFFAIRS (OCA) |
| To: | Gingrich N, Gore A, Murphy R GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE, HOUSE OF REP., SENATE |
| References | |
| RTR-NUREG-1020 CCS, GL-95-06, GL-95-6, NUDOCS 9704010022 | |
| Download: ML20137F249 (4) | |
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 30005 eeM j e.... February 5, 1997 The Honorable Al Gore i President of the United l States Senate
- Washington, DC 20510
Dear Mr. President:
Pursuant to Subtitle E of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Faimess Act of 1996, j 5 U.S.C. 801, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is submitting NRC Generic Letter l 95-06, Supplement 1, " Changes in the Operator Licensing Program," that was issued on
! January 31,1997. This generic letter is addressed to all holders of operating licenses for i nuclear power reactors, except those licensees of permanently shttdown reactors who are no longer required to utilize licensed reactor operators.
The purpose of the generic letter is to inform addressees about the results of a voluntary pilot i effort to revise the initial operator licensing program (outlined in Generic Letter 95-06), and to notify addressees about the NRC's decision to allow the voluntary implementation of Interim Revision 8 of NUREG-1021, " Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors," until Part 55, " Operators' Licenses," of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations j
(10 CFR Part 55) is amended.
Addressees who are scheduled for initial operator licensing examinations and wish to participate in preparing the examinations are requested to contact the NRC. The generic letter requires no specific action or written response; an addressee's decision to participate in
- the revised examination process prior to the completion of rulemaking is strictly voluntary.
I j Once rulemaking is complete,10 CFR Part 55 will require addressees to prepare the initial i operator licensing examinations. The revised process will give addressees more control over i the cost of licensing their operators and should result in a not resource savings to the
- industry.
! The NRC has determined that this generic letter is not a " major rule" as defined in 5 U.S.C.
l 804(2). This determination has been confirmed with the Office of Management and Budget.
Enclosed is a copy of NRC Generic Letter 95-06, Supplement 1. A notice of availability of
{ the generic letter will be published in the Federal Register.
j Sincerely, 1 A m y ., ,
i 9704010022 970205 NRCC Dennis K. Rathbun, Director PDR ORG .
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J pa ns y *, UNITED STATES j
g NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. speeHoot i ..... Ebbruary 5, 1997 i
The Honorable Newt Gingrich Speaker of the United States Heuse of Representatives l Washington, DC 20515 l Dear Mr. Speaker.
Pursuant to Subtitle E of the Small Business R3gulatory Enforcement Faimess Act of 1996,
. 5 U.S.C. 801, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is submitting NRC Generic Letter
- p5-06, Supplement 1, " Changes in the Operator Licensing Program," that was issued on
- Muary 31,1997. Thia generic letter is addressed to all holders 'of operating licenses for
- nuclear power reactors, except those licensees of permanently shutdown reactors who are no i longer required to utilize licensed reactor operators.
I The purpose of the generic letter is to inform addressees about the results of a voluntary pilot effort to revise the initial operator licensing program (outlined in Generic Letter 95-06), and to J
notify addressees about the NRC's decision to allow the voluntary implementation of Interim Revision 8 of NUREG-1021, " Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power i Reactors," until Part 55, " Operators' Licenses," of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations
- (10 CFR Part 55) it amended.
Addressees who are scheduled for initial operator licensing examinations and wish to participate in preparing the examinations are requested to contact the NRC. The generic letter requires no specific action or written response; an addressee's decision to participate in the revised examination process prior to the completion of rulemaking is strictly voluntary.
3 Once rulemaking is complete,10 CFR Part 55 will require addressees to prepare the initial l operator licensing examinations. The revised process will give addressees more control over the cost of licensing their operators and should result in a net resource savings to the I
industry.
The NRC has determined that this generic letter is not a " major rule" as defined in 5 U.S.C.
804(2). This determination has been confirmed with the Office of Management and Budget. ,
- Enclosed is a copy of NRC Generic Letter 95-06, Supplement 1. A notice of availability of j the generic letter will be published in the Federal Register.
. Sincerely, i Dennis K. Rathbun, Director
- Office of Congressional Affairs
Enclosure:
As stated i
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- UNITED STATES l
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 300sH001
! %,..... February 5, 1997 l
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I Mr. Robert P. Murphy General Counsel General Accounting ONice Room 7175 i 441 G Street, NW Washington, DC 20548
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Dear Mr. Murphy:
Pursuant to Subtitle E of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Faimess Act of 1996, 5 U.S.C. 801, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is submitting NRC Generic Letter 4 95-06, Supplement 1, " Changes in the Operator Licensing Program," that was issued on January 31,1997. This generic letter is addressed to all holders of operating licenses for nuclear power reactors, except those licensees of permanently shutdown reactors who are no longer required to utilize licensed reactor operators.
The purpose of the generic letter is to inform addressees about the results of a voluntary pilot effort to revise the initial operator licensing program (outlined in Generic Letter 95-06), and to l notify addressees about the NRC's decision to allow the voluntary implementation of Interim Revision S of NUREG-1021, " Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors," until Past 55, " Operators' Licenses," of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 55) is amended.
Addressees who are scheduled for initial operator licensing examinations and wish to participate in preparing the examinations air requested to contact the NRC. The generic letter requires no specific action or written response; an addressee's decision to participate in the revised examination process prior to the completion of rulemaking is strictly voluntary.
Once rulemaking is complete,10 CFR Part 55 will require addressees to prepare the initial operator licensing examinations. The revised process will give addressees more control over the cost of licensing their operators and should result in a net resource savings to the industry.
The NRC has determined that this generic letter is not a " major rule" as defined in 5 U.S.C.
804(2). Th!s determination has been confirmed with the ONice of Management ar,d Budget.
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- R. Murphy ;
l Enclosed is a copy of NRC Generic Letter 95-06, Supplement 1. A notice of availability of the generic letter will be published in the Federal Register.
Sincerely, p%, )f .
I i%
, Dennis K. Rathbun, Director Office of Congressional Affairs I
Enclosure:
As stated 1 i
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3 UNITED STATES i NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 1
OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION i WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 t
January 31,1997 l
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l NRC GENERIC LETTER 95-06, SUPPLEMENT 1: CHANGES IN THE OPERATOR
, LICENSING PROGRAM l Addressees i
!. All holders of r'perating licenses (except those licensees of permanently shutdown reactors i who are no longer required to utilize licensed reactor operators) for nuclear power reactors.
l
{ Purpose j The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing this generic letter (GL)
- supplement to (1) inform addressees of the results of the pilot program described in l GL 95-06 and (2) to notdy addressees of NRC's decision to change the operator licensing
- process so that facility licensees may voluntarily prepare the operating tests and prepare, i administer, and grade the written examinations that the NRC will review, approve, and use to
! determine the competence of operator license applicants at power reactor facilities. This
! change is being. implemented on an interim basis pending the completion of rulemaking that l will require power reactor facility licensees to participate in the examination development process.
! Bacieround On March 24,1995, the staff informed the Commission of its intent to revise the initial
- operator licensing program to allow greater participation by facility licensees and eliminate j contractor assistance in this area. The staff did not plan to revise Part 55 of Title 10 of the
. Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 55) because the rule does not specify who will
- prepare, administer, and grade the examinations. On April 18,1995, the Commission
! consented to the staffs proposal to initiate a transition process to revise the operator j licensing program, and directed the staff to carefully consider experience from pilot i examinations before full implementation. On August 15,1995, GL 95-06 outlined the revised l examination development process and solicited volunteers to participate in pilot examinations j to evaluate and refine the methodology.
Descnotion of Circumstances
{ Between October 1,1995, and April 5,1996, the NRC reviewed, approved, and administered l
! 22 initial operator licensing examinations that had been drafted by facility licensees in i accordance with the pilot examination guidance in GL 95-06. These examinations were used ;
l to test 146 operator and senior operator applicants.
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j, GL 95 06, Supplement 1 j January 31,1997 l . . Page 2 of 4 The staff documented the results of the pilot examinations in SECY-96-123, " Proposed Changes to the NRC Operator Licensing Program," and briefed the Commission on June 18, 1996. Although the staff had originally considered rulemaking unnecessary, resource and scheduling considerations, combined with the fact that the NRC had traditionally developed the sxaminations itself or through the use of contract examiners, prompted the staff to seek the Commission's approval to commence rulemaking that would require all power reactor facility licensees to prepare the initial operator licensing examinations. In a staff requirements memorandum (SRM) dated July 23,1996, the Commission posed a number of additional questions regarding the revised examination process and directed the staff to prepare a detailed rulemaking plan that would amend 10 CFR Part 55 to require power reactor facility licensees to prepare the initiallicensing examinations. The staff subsequently issued SECY-96-206, "Rulemaking Plan for Amendments to 10 CFR Part 55 to Change Licensed Operator Examination Requirements," on September 25,1996. The Commission approved the rulemaking plan and continued interim voluntary implementation of the new examination methodology in an SRM dated December 17,1996.
Lessons leamed during the pilot examinations and industry concems were addressed in Revision 8 of NUREG-1021, which has been retitled " Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors." A draft copy of the revision was placed in the NRC's Public Document Room on February 16,1996, and a Federal Register notice (FRN) requesting industry and public comments was published on February 22,1996 (61 FR 6869). The staff considered the industry's comments and met with representatives from the Nuclear Energy institute (NEI) and a number of utilities to discuss their concems during a public meeting on ;
April 18,1996. The staff is now in the process of issuing Interim Revision 8 for use until 10 CFR Part 55 is amended to require all power reactor facility licensees to prepare the initial operator licensing examinations.
Diseveston Under the voluntary pilot examination program, facility licensees prepared the initial operator licensing examinations based on the guidance in GL 95-06 and Revision 7 of NUREG-1021 and submitted the examinations to the NRC for review and approval. Once the examinations were approved, the facility licensees administered and graded the written examinations in accordance with NRC procedures, and NRC examiners independently administered and graded the operating tests. The NRC reviewed and approved the written examination grading results, including any changes to the answer keys and deletions of questions recommended by the facility licensees. The NRC continued to make the final licensing decisions and administer the appeal process for applicants who had been denied a license because they failed to pass the examination.
The pilot program demonstrated that examinations prepared by facility licensees in accordance with NRC guidelines, and subject to review, revision where appropriate, and approval by NRC staff examiners, were generally consistent with examinations prepared by NRC or contract examiners. The examinations also appeared to be equally effective at identifying applicants who had not mastered the job requirements well enough to become licensed reactor operators or senior operators. Although some of the pilot examinations
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j GL 95-06, Supplement 1 !
! January 31,1997 j Page 3 of 4 4
l l required significant rowerk to bring them up to NRC standards, the staff expects that the j quality of the draft examinations willimprove as facility licensees gain experiencs and i become more familiar with the NRC's requirements and expectations.
4 i The lack of familiarity with NRC examination requirements was also reflected in the fact that i several pilot program volunteers required more time to write the examinations than is usually required by experienced NRC examiners or contractors. However, the fact that some pilot l facilities were able to draft quality examinations requiring few NRC changes, using their own i employees or contractors, in equal or less time than is normally required by the NRC, j l illustrates the viability of the pilot process. It is expected that efficiency will improve once i j facility licensees gain experience with writing the examinations because facility employees l have more detailed knowledge of their facility and easier access to the reference materials j required to prepare the examinations.
t
! The fact that no NRC contractors were used to prepare the pilot examinations significantly reduced the fees that the NRC charged for examination services pursuant to 10 CFR 170.12(i). The staff expects that additional fee reductions may be realized as facility licensees gain experience with the NRC examination requirements and as the quality of the draft examinations improves. The revised process gives facility licensees more control over the cost of licensing their operators and should result in a not resource savings to the industry.
Since completing the pilot program, the NRC has revised the guidance in NUREG-1021 to integrate the pilot examination criteria given in Attachment 1 to GL 95-06, incorporate lessons leamed during the pilot examinaticns, and assimilate public and industry comments submitted in response to the FRN of February 22,1996. The significant changes from Revision 7 of the NUREG are noted in the Executive Summary of interim Revision 8. >
As noted under " Description of Circumstances," the Commission has approved the voluntary implementation of Revision 8 of NUREG-1021 pending an amendment to 10 CFR Part 55 that will require all power reactor facility licensees to prepare the initial operator licensing examinations. Facility licensees that volunteered to prepare their examinations before the date of the FRN announcing the publication of interim Revision 8 may prepare the examinations based on the guidance in the Interim Revision or the pilot examination guidance in Generic Letter 95-06, as arranged with their NRC Regional Office. Facility licensees that volunteer after the date of the FRN are expected to prepare the examinations based on the guidance in interim Revision 8. For examinations prepared by the NRC, interim Revision 8 will become effective 60 days after the date of the FRN. The corporate ,
notification letters issued after the effective date will give facility licensees at least 120 days of advance notice that the examinations will be administered based on the guidance in the revised procedures.
A copy of interim Revision 8 of NUREG-1021 will be mailed to each facility licensee. The NRC intends to solicit comments on the interim revision in conjunction with the rulemaking process and to issue Revision 8 when the rulemaking is complete.
- GL 95-06, Supplement 1 January 31,1997 Page 4 of 4 Voluntaiv Response Reauested Those addressees who are scheduled for initial operator licensing examinations and are interested in preparing the examinations as described herein should contact their NRC ;
Regional Office to make the necessary arrangements.
Backfit Discueeton This generic letter requires no specific action or written response. An addressee's decision to participate in the revised examination process is strictly volunta,y. Therefore, the staff did not perform a backfit analysis. The rulemaking that will require all power reactor facility licensees to prepare the initial operator licensing examinations will include a backfit analysis. l Federal Reaister Notification A notice of opportunity for public comment was not p'ublished in the Federal Register because an earlier notice (61 FR 6869) had solicited public comments on a draft revision of NUREG-1021, which addresses the same policy issue. However, comments on the issues addressed by this generic letter may be sent to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Document Control Desk, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001.
If you have any questions about this matter, please contact one of the technical contacts listed below or the appropriate Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.
M .
Thomas T. Martin, Director Division of Reactor Program Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Technical contacts: Stuart Richards, NRR Melvyn Leach, Rlli (301) 415-1031 (630) 829-9705 E-mail: sar@nrc. gov E-mail: nml@nrc. gov '
Glenn Meyer, RI John Pellet, RIV (610) 337-5211 (817) 860-8159 E-mail: gwm@nrc. gov E-mail: jlp@nrc. gov .
Thomas Peebles, Ril (404) 331-5541 E-mail: tap @nrc. gov '
Attachment:
List of Recently issued NRC Generic Letters
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- Attachment GL 95-06, Supplement 1 l , . January 31,1997 j Page 1 of 1 ;
i l LIST OF RECENTLY ISSUED GENERIC LETTERS i
- Generic Date of l Letter Subiect leseence !eenad To i 96-07 INTERIM GUIDANCE ON 12/05/96 ALL HOLDERS OF OLs i TRANSPORTATION OF AND DECOMMISSIONING
{ STEAM GENERATORS FACILITIES WITH POSSESSION-ONLY LICENSES FOR PRESSURIZED-WATER NPRs 96-06 ASSURANCE OF EQUIPMENT 11/13/96 ALL HOLDERS OF OLs OPERABILITY AND CONTAIN- FOR NPRs, EXCEPT FOR MENT INTEGRITY DURING THOSE LICENSES THAT DESIGN-BASIS ACCIDENT HAVE BEEN AMENDED TO CONDITIONS POSSESSION-ONLY STATUS 96-05 PERIODIC VERIFICATION OF 09/18/96 ALL HOLDERS OF OLs DESIGN-BASIS CAPABILITY (EXCEPT THOSE LICENSES OF SAFETY-RELATED MOTOR- THAT HAVE BEEN AMENDED OPERATED VALVES TO POSSESSION-ONLY STATUS) OR cps FOR NPRs 96-04 BORAFLEX DEGRADATION IN 06/26/96 ALL HOLDERS OF OLs SPENT FUEL POOL STORAGE FOR NPRs RACKS 95-09, MONITORING AND TRAINING OF 04/05/96 ALL U.S. NUCLEAR SUPP.1 SHIPPERS AND CARRIERS OF REGULATORY COMMISSION j RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS LICENSEES 9643 RELOCATION OF THE PRESSURE 01/31/96 ALL HOLDERS OF OLs TEMPERATURE LIMIT CURVES OR cps FOR NPRs AND LOW TEMPERATURE OVER-PRESSURE PROTECTION SYSTEM LIMITS -
96-02 RECONSIDERATION OF NUCLEAR 01/31/96 ALL HOLDERS OF OLs POWER PLANT SECURITY OR cps FOR NPRs REQUIREMENTS ASSOCIATED l WITH AN INTERNAL THREAT i l
OL = OPERATING LICENSE CP = CONSTRUCTION PERMIT NPR = NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS '
e CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENCE SYSTEM
, . DOCUMENT PREPARATION CHECELIST
- 'this check list is to be submitted with each document (or group of Qs/As) sentforprocessing into the CCS.
i 1. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OFDOCUMENT(S) /1, '
. JAk, -
- 2. TYPE OFDOCUMENT X CORRESPONDENCE HEARINGS (QUAs)
- 3. DOCUMENT CONTROL SENSITIVE (NRC ONLY) X NON-SENSITIVE t i
- 4. CONGRESSIONAL COMMITIEE AND SUBCOMMITIEE (if applicable) l Congressional Committee l Subcommittee 5, SUBIECT CODES
- (A) l (B)
(C)
- 6. SOURG OFDOCUMENTS i
(A) 5520 (DOCUMENT NAME )
(B) SCAN (C) ATTACHMENTS (D) OTHER l
- 7. SYSTEhf LOpDATES (A) Uf/7P/9? DATA OQ SENTDOCUMENT TO CCS (B) DATE CCS RECEIVED DOCUMENT j (C) DATE RETURNED TO OC4 FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (D) DATE RESUBMITTED BY OCA TO CCS 2
l (E) DATE ENTERED INTO CCS BY (F) DATE OCA NOTIFIED THATDOCUMENT IS IN CCS 310024 COMMENTS:
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RELEASE TO PDR J