ML20210N578

Notice of Violation & Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty in Amount of $55,000.Violation Noted:On 980116,licensee Contractor Discriminated Against Contractor Electrician Due to Employee Involvement in Protected Activity

ML20210N578
Person / Time
Site:	Seabrook
Issue date:	08/03/1999
From:	NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I)
To:
Shared Package
ML20210N576	List: ML20210N572 ML20210N578
References
EA-98-165, NUDOCS 9908110155
Download: ML20210N578 (3)

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ENCLOSURE NOTICE OF VIOLATION AND i PROPOSED IMPOSITION OF civil PENALTY l North Atlantic Energy Service Corporation Docket No. 50-443 )

' Seabrook Station License No. NPF-56 EA 98-165 During an NRC investigation conducted by the NRC Office of Investigations (01) between January 29,1998, and May 27,1998, a violation of NRC requirements was identified. In accordance with the " General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions," NUREG-1600, the NRC proposes to impose a civil penalty pursuant to Section 234 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (Act),42 U.S.C. 2282, and 10 CFR 2.205.

The particular violation and associated civil penalty are set forth below:

10 CFR 50.7 prohibits, in part, discrimination by a Commission licensee or a contractor of a Commission licensee against an employee for engaging in certain protected activities. Discrimination includes discharge or other actions relating to the compensation, terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. The activities which are p ote::ted include, but are not limited to, reporting of safety concerns by an employee to his employer, i

Contrary to the above, on January 16,1998, a licensee contractor discriminated  !

against a contractor electrician due to the employee's involvement in protected activity.

Specifically, the comractor electrician was selected for a layoff on January 16,1998, due, at least in part, to the fact that he had raised a concern to e licensee Quality i

Contro! inspector on January 7,1998, regarding a wiring discrepancy in the control panel of the control building air-conditioning (CBA) system, a safety-related system.

l (01013)

This violation is classified at Severity Level 111 (Supplement Vil).

Civil Penalty - $55,000 Pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 2.201, North Atlantic Energy Service Corporation (NAESCo or Licensee) is hereby required to submit a written statement or explanation to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nur: lear Regulatory Commission, within 30 days of the i date of this Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty (Notice). This reply should be clearly marked as a " Reply to a Notice of Violation" and should include for each alleged violation: (1) admission or denial of the alleged violation, (2) the reasons for the violation if admitted, and if denied, the reasons why, (3) the corrective steps that have been taken and the results achieved, (4) the corrective steps that will be taken to avoid further violations, and (5) the date when full compliance will be achieved. If an adequate reply is not received within the time specified in this Notice, an order or a Dernsnd for Information may be issued as why the license should not be modified, suspended, or revoked or why such other action as may be proper should not be taken. Consideration may be given to extending the response t.ime for good cause shown.

9908110155 990003 PDR 0 ADOCK 05000443 PDR

V Enclosure 2 Within the same time as provided for the response required above under 10 CFR 2.201, the Licensee may pay the civil penalty proposed above, in accordance with NUREG/BR-0254 and by submitting to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, a statement in6cating when and by what method payment was made, or may protest imposition of the civil penalty in whole or in part, by a written answer addressed to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

. Should the Licensee fail to answer within the time specified, an order imposing the civil penalty will be issued. Should the Licensee elect to file an answer in accordance with 10 CFR 2.205 .

protesting the civil penalty, in whole or in part, such answer should be clearly marked as an  !

" Answer to a Notice of Violation" and may: (1) deny the violation listed in this Notice, in whole or in part, (2) demonstrate extenuating circumstances, (3) show error in this Notice, or (4) ebow other reasons why the penalty should not be imposed. In addition to protesting the civil penalty in whole or in part, such answer may request remission or mitigation of the i penalty. j I

in requesting mitigation of the proposed penalty, the factors addressed in Section VI.B.2 of the Enforcement Policy should be addressed. Any written answer in accordance with 10 CFR 2.205 should * , set forth separately from the statement or explanation in reply pursuant to 10 CFR 2.201, but may incorporate parts of the 10 CFR 2.201 reply by specific reference (e.g., citing page and paragraph numbers) to avoid repetition. The attention of the Licensee is directed to the other provisions of 10 CFR 2.205, regarding the procedure for imposing c civil penalty.

Upon failure to pay any civil penalty due which subsequently has been determined in accordance with the applicable provisions of 10 CFR 2.205, this matter may be referred to the Attorney General, and the penalties, unless compromised, remitted, or mitigated, may be collected by civil action pursuant to Section 234c of the Act,42 U.S.C. 2282c.

The response noted above (Reply to Notice of Violation, statement as to payment of civil penalty, and Answer to a Notice of Violation) should be addressed to: James Lieberman, Director, Office of Enforr.ement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852-2738, with a copy to the Regional Administrator, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region I and a copy to the NRC Resident inspector at the facility that is the subject of this Notice.

Because your response will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room (PDR), to the extent possible, it should not include any personal privacy, proprietary, or safeguards information so that it can be placed in the POR without redaction. If personal privacy or proprietary ,

information is necessary to provide an r,cceptable response, then please provide a bracketed  ;

copy of your response that identifies the information that should be protected and a redacted  !

copy of your response that deletes such information, if you request withholding of such material, you mual specifically identify the portions of your response that you seek to have j withheld and provide in detail the bases for your claim of withholding (e.g., explain why the disclosure of information will create an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy or provide the information required by 10 CFR 2.790(b) to support a request for withholding confidential commercial or financial information). If safeguards information is necessary to provide an acceptable response, pie.ase provide the level of protection described in 10 CFR 73.21.

t l Ericiosure 3 i i l- In accordance with 10 CFR 19.11, you may be required to post this Notice within two working l days.

Dateo this 3rd ' day of August 1999 i

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