ML20198P477

FOIA Request for Documents Re Allegations from or Communications to or from M Gaballa During Period from 960101 Through Present Involving Discrimination Under Section 210 of Energy Reorganization Act

ML20198P477
Person / Time
Site:	Brunswick
Issue date:	10/27/1998
From:	Payne M EDELSTEIN & PAYNE
To:	NRC OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATION (ADM)
Shared Package
ML20198P464	List: ML20198P462 ML20198P477 ML20198P529 ML20198P619 ML20198P664 ML20198P712 ML20198P728 ML20198P743
References
FOIA-99-32 NUDOCS 9901070061
Download: ML20198P477 (6)

Text

F . .

j .,s

~

i

$ EDELSTEIN AND PAYFE ~

ATToRN EYS AT L AW TELEPHONE 919 8281456 Maihng Addresa fax 919 828-4689 _ Post orricE Box 28186 RALEIGH. NC 27611 STEVEN R Er>EurTEIN Street Address

' E Ta^vis PArNE . October 27,1998 315 East JONES STREET ii g g{ RALEIGH. NC 27601 CassMr 9 9-o S c2 l Director, Division of Freedom 0 31B M /o-3o-9& ~

, , -ofInformation and Publications Services f.CGOR M . b('

l Office of Administration %htbdCnt ,__

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 2055,5 Certified Mail - Return Receipt Requested  ;

i i

Re: Freedom ofinformation Act Request for documents concerning allegations from, or

- communications to or from Maged Gaballa during the period from January 1,1996, through the present. i i

Dear Sir or Madam:

I am representing Maged Gaballa in two cases involving allegations of discrimination under l Section 210 of the Energy Reorganization Act. Those claims are being processed under Case Numbers 96-ERA-00043 and 98-ERA-00024, and a consolidated trial en both of those cases is now scheduled for early Febmary,1999. In preparing for the trial of these matters, I would like to obtain j

all documents concerning contacts that Mr. Gaballa had with any officials or employees of the NRC, as well as any and all documents concerning investigations conducted by the NRC as a result of communications or allegations made by Mr. Gaballa. Mr. Gaballa worked as an engineer at the Brunswick Nuclear Plant (BNP) operated by Carolina Power & Light Company (CP&L). I am requesting these documents pursuant to 5 U.S.C. Section 552(a)(3) and 10 CFR Section 9.23. The documents requested cover the time period from January 1,1996, through the present. The type of documents requested include the following:

Any and all notes, memos, recordings, transcripts, summaries or other documents concerning conversations, interviews, or other communication from Mr. Gaballa to the NRC resident inspector at BNP.

Any and all notes, memos, recordings, transcripts, summaries or other documents  ;

conce,rning conversations, interviews, or other communication from Mr. Gaballa to any other officials or employees of the NRC.

Any and all tables or summaries of allegations or communication from Mr. Gaballa to any official or employee of the NRC. j L

9l :4 Wd 0013086

, BSI G3Al3338 I

990107oo61 9e1221 PDR FOIA PAYSE99-32 PDR .

i

._ . . ~ . . . , . . . . ., , . , , , , _ _ ,. ,

1 l

l.

l  :

i FOIA Request October 27,1998 Page 2 l

l l

Any and all correspondence from Mr. Gaballa to any and all employees or officials of l the NRC. l Any and all correspondence from any employee or official of the NRC to Mr. Gaballa.

Any and all notes, memos, recordings, transcripts, summaries or other documents or records concerning interviews conducted with persons other than Mr. Gaballa, by or on behalf of the NRC, during any investigation of allegations made by Mr. Gaballa.

Any and all documents, Including reports, correspondence, or exhibits, submitted by or on behalf of CP&L to any employee or oflicial of the NRC, concerning or pertaining to any of the allegations of Mr. Gaballa. i 1

Any and all work papers, prepared or generated during the investigation of, or response to any of Mr. Gaballa's allegations. This request includes all notes made by any investigator, drafts of reports or memos, and correspondence or communications from one NRC employee to another.

Any and all interim or final reports or evaluations concerning any of the allegations made by Mr. Gaballa. l Any and all violations or citations issued by the NRC to CP&L as a result of any of Mr. Gaballa's allegations, and any and all responses or appeals to any such citations or violations, received by the NRC from CP&L.

Any other documents or records containing facts and evidence relied upon by any employee or official of the NRC to support the conclusions in any reports or evaluations concerning or pertaining to the allegations of Mr. Geballa.

With respect to the allegations that Mr Gaballa made to the NRC, from limited documents that he has been able .to provide me, I have prepared a table of the allegations of which I am aware, identifying them by the allegation number assigned by Region II. That list is included as Exhibit A.

I want to emphasize that this list may not be entirely complete, and this FOIA Request includes a request for documents concerning any other allegations or communications from Mr. Gaballa even ifit is not listed on enclosed Exhibit A. Where a specific allegation number was assigned as a result of Mr. Gaballa's comniunication to NRC employees, it would be appropriate for the agency's response to be organized by allegation. For instance, a part of the agency's response could be a file j folder with essentially all documents related to allegation RII-1996-A-0074, and so forth. Where no specific allegation number was assigned afler a communication from Mr. Gaballa, documents l

l

1 l FOIA Request October 27,1998 page 3 concerning that communication should be provided separate from documents that pertain to a specific allegation number.

In addition to records and documents concerning communication and allegation of Mr.

Gaballa, I would also likespecific records concerning meetings, discussions or conferences between  ;

or among employees of the NRC and employees or representatives of CP&L, as well as specific documents submitted to the NRC concerning the EQ issues for which the company was cited in 1996.

The documents or records that I would like are the following:

1. Any notes, minutes, memos, recordings, transcripts, summaries or other documents concerning any exit interviews or meetings at the end of the inspection conducted at BNP during the period from June 24 through September 17, 1996.

This inspection is documented in Inspection Report No. 50-325/96-14 and 50-324/96-14.

2. Any notes, minutes, memos, recordings, transcripts, summaries or other documents concerning a predecisional enforcement conference conducted at the Region II oflice on October 21,1996. This conference is referred to in a letter of November 19, 1996, to CP&L regarding EA 96-354, a notice of violation and proposed imposition of civil penalties.

3. Any and all correspondence, reports, or other documents or records submitted by or on behalfofCP&L to the NRC concerning all corrective actions planned and/or taken by CP&L to preclude a recurrence of the conditions and violations that resulted in the Notice of Violation issued to CP&L on November 19,1996, EA 96-354. This request includes any documents concerning changes or modifications to the planned corrective actions proposed by CP&L.

4. Any and all correspondence, directives, notices, memos, reports or other documents or records sent by or on behalf rf the NRC to any employee, official or representative of CP&L, concerning or about any submissions received from CP&L concerning corrective actions it was taking, or planning to take, as a result of the violations issued on November 19,1996, EA 96-354.

Reauest for Waiver or Reduction of Fees l

l On behalf of Mr. Gaballa, and pursuant to 10 CFR 9.41, I respectfully request that your

agency waive or substantially reduce the fees for obtaining and producing copies of the records that I have requested. As a result of the retaliation and discrimination that he sulTered at BNP, and most particularly the extreme stress that his supervisors put him under, Mr. Gaballa developed serious

4 FOIA Request October 27,1998 page 4 cardiac problems, as well as severe depression for which he is receiving on-going therapy and treatment. As a result of these conditions , he is currently disabled, and may be permanently disabled. l He has been unable to work since February,1998, and had no income for a period of nearly 6 months. l In September he was finally approved for long term disability benefits, which were retroactive to mid-August,1998. Still, those, benefits are substantially less than the salary that Mr. Gaballa received as a nuclear engineer. The lack of any income for an extended period of time, and now the reduced l income that he is receiving, has placed a severe financial strain on Mr. Gaballa, as well as on his family, which consists ofhis wife and three children. I believe that these facts constitute compelling i reasons for waiving the usual fees.

I Providing these documents for no fee is also appropriate because their production will serve l a very significant public interest. The Energy Reorganization Act provides specific protections for I individuals at nuclear installations who report possible problems, concerns, or violations to the NRC.

Many of Mr. Gaballa's concerns and allegations were found substantiated by the NRC, including allegations he made that management oflicials at BNP were inhibiting nuclear employees from preparing and initiating condition reports concerning matters potentially affecting the safety of the plant. This intimidation and inhibition of employees occurred aflu the Notice of Violation issued in November,1996. Many of Mr. Gabalia's other allegations concerning specific pieces of equipment were also found substantiated by the NRC. Providing the requested documents for no fee will serve the very important public interest ofencouraging employees in the nuclear industry to promptly take their safety concems to the NRC, knowing that if they ever needed documentation about their reports and the outcome of their reports, they would be able to obtain the agency's records without incurring substantial financial burdens.

The provision of these documents without charging a fee also serves the public interest in that they will be made part of the public record during the trial that is scheduled on Mr. Gaballa's discrimination and retaliation cases. Making the information contained in many of these documents public at the hearing, will, again, not only contribute to an environment in which employees in the nuclear industry are likely to bring their safety concerns to the NRC; it will also contribute to general public awareness among the citizens who reside in the region of the Brunswick Nuclear Plant, and hopefully restilt in increased public scrutiny and better accountability of CP&L for its management practices at that plant.

With respect to other factors to be considered in this request for a waiver or reduction of the fees, I would point out that there is no commercial interest or use that would be furthered by this disclosure, which might suggest a denial of the request. In addition, provision of these documents and their use at the public hearing before the Administrative Law Judge will most likely have significant impact on the public's understanding of the management practices of CP&L at the BNP, substantially increasing that understanding and hopefully generating much more public awareness about the issue

1 FOIA Request October 27,1998 page 5 IfI need to do anything further to have this request considered and approved, please let me know immediately.

Timeliness of the Production of the Documents As indicated aboSe, the trial of Mr. Gaballa's cases is currently scheduled to commence in early February,1999. Several weeks prior to that date, the parties will be required by the Judge to identify and exchange all exhibits that they intend to introduce at the hearing. In order to make effective use of the documents that I am requesting, it is imperative that they be received as soon as possible. However, given the somewhat extensive nature of the request, I do understand that it may be necessary to extend the 20 day time limit contained in the Freedom ofinformation Act. While myself and Mr. Gaballa are willing to consider such extensions, I would hope that your agency would produce portions of the documents responsive to this request as soon as they become available, rather than waiting to provide any documents until all of the documents have been compiled. Thus, to the extent that the investigative file with respect to a specifically numbered allegation of Mr. Gaballa has been obtained and reviewed, it would be L Ipful if all of the documents subject to production from that file would then immediately be copies and made available to me. I would greatly appreciate any assistance and cooperation your agency can provide, such that I begin to receive copies of the requested documents as soon as possible. I Conclusion I want to thank you in advance for year assistance and cooperation in this matter. IfI need to do anything further to have this request for documents promptly processed such that copies of the documents can be sent to me, please let me know immediately.

Sincerely,

-~ . _-

M. Travis Payne Enclosure cc: Maged Gaballa j

o; r

ALLEGATIONS OF MAGED GABALLA CONCERNING THE BRUNSWICK NUCLEAR PLANT

' DOCKET NOS. 50-324 AND 50-325

- R]I-1996-AiOO74 l

Ril-1996-A-0212 -

RII-1997-A-0031, RII-1997-A-0067 l l

RII-1997-A-0100 J l

RII-1997-A-0108 RII-1997-A-0111 .

. RII-1997-A-0117 l l

. RII-1997-A-0166 )

l RII-1997-A-0187 RII-1997-A-0188 RII-1997-A-0237 RII-1997-A-0238 RII-1998-A-0014 Office ofInspection (01) Report No. 2-96-036, issued 9/5/97 OI Report No. 2-97-015, issued 4/28/98 l

EXilLBIT A I

I f .'

L

!