ML22116A081

Notification of NRC Initial Operator Licensing Exam 05000397/2023301

ML22116A081
Person / Time
Site:	Columbia
Issue date:	05/03/2022
From:	Heather Gepford NRC/RGN-IV/DORS
To:	Schuetz R Energy Northwest
References
OL-397/23-301
Download: ML22116A081 (4)

See also: IR 05000397/2023301

Text

May 03, 2022

Mr. Robert Schuetz, Chief Executive Officer

Energy Northwest

MD 1023

76 North Power Plant Loop

P.O. Box 968

Richland, WA 99352

SUBJECT: COLUMBIA GENERATING STATION - NOTIFICATION OF NRC INITIAL

OPERATOR LICENSING EXAMINATION 05000397/2023301

Dear Mr. Schuetz:

In a telephone conversation on April 20, 2022, between Mr. Craig Prost, Manager, Operations

Training, and Mr. John Kirkland, Chief Examiner, arrangements were made for the

administration of operator licensing examinations at Columbia Generating Station during the

week of February 20, 2023.

As agreed during the telephone conversation, your staff will prepare the examinations based on

the guidelines in Revision 12 to NUREG-1021, Operator Licensing Examination Standards for

Power Reactors. The NRCs regional office will discuss with your staff any changes that might

be necessary before the examinations are administered.

To meet the above schedule, it will be necessary for your staff to furnish the operating test

outlines by September 19, 2022. The written examination outline was provided to your staff on

April 20, 2022. The written examinations, operating tests, and supporting reference materials

identified in NUREG-1021, Examination Standard (ES)-2.1, Preparing for Operator Licensing

Initial Examinations, will be due by December 5, 2022. Pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of

Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 55.40(b)(3), an authorized representative of the facility licensee

shall approve the examinations and tests before they are submitted to the NRC for review and

approval. All materials shall be complete and ready to use.

We request that any personal, proprietary, sensitive unclassified, or safeguards information in

your response be contained in a separate enclosure and appropriately marked. Delays in

receiving the required materials, or the submittal of inadequate or incomplete materials, may

cause the examinations to be cancelled or rescheduled. In addition, your support for on-site

validation of the examinations is required during the week of January 23, 2023.

To conduct the requested written examinations and operating tests, your staff will need to

provide adequate space and accommodations and to make the simulation facility available on

the dates noted above.

R. Schuetz 2

In accordance with ES 3.5, Administering Operating Tests, your staff should retain the original

simulator performance data (e.g., system pressures, temperatures, and levels) generated during

the dynamic operating tests until the NRC takes licensing action on all the applications and any

adjudicatory actions on any hearing demands are complete.

ES-1.2, Guidelines for Taking NRC Examinations, contains a number of NRC guidelines for

the written examinations and operating tests as they are being administered.

To permit timely NRC review and evaluation, your staff should submit preliminary reactor

operator and senior reactor operator waiver or excusal requests (if any) (Office of Management

and Budget (OMB) control number 3150 0090) at least 60 days before the first examination date

(if possible). Contact Mr. Kirkland to determine the method for submission of the waiver or

excusal requests. Preliminary reactor operator and senior reactor operator license applications

(OMB control number 3150 0090) and medical certifications (OMB control number 3150 0024)

should be submitted at least 30 days before the first examination date. If the NRC does not

receive the preliminary applications at least 30 days before the examination date, a

postponement may be necessary. Final, signed applications certifying that all training has been

completed and requesting any waivers or excusals, as applicable, should be submitted at least

14 days before the first examination date.

Although the guidelines for waiver or excusal requests call for their receipt at least 30 days

before the first examination date (preliminary) and 14 days before the first examination date

(final), the requests should be submitted as early as possible in the process (see the 60-day

guideline above). Resolutions resulting from verbal inquiries by the facility licensee to the NRC

are not binding. Submittals addressing waivers or excusals, or both, should be in writing

(i.e., using NRC Form 398 or as directed when Mr. Kirkland is contacted to determine the

method for submission. The NRC will document its final decision on whether to grant a waiver

or excusal on the final (not preliminary) NRC Form 398 submitted for the applicant. The NRC

will not provide its decision until the final application is submitted to the agency.

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

This letter contains information collection requirements that are subject to the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). These information collections were approved

by the OMB, approval number 3150-0018.

The burden to the public for these mandatory information collections is estimated to average

400 hours0.00463 days <br />0.111 hours <br />6.613757e-4 weeks <br />1.522e-4 months <br /> per examination, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data

sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the

information collections. Send comments regarding this information collection to the FOIA,

Library, and Information Collections Branch (T6-A10M), U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

Washington, DC 20555 0001, or by e-mail to Infocollects.Resource@nrc.gov, and to the OMB

reviewer at: OMB Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (3150-0018), Attn: Desk Officer

for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 725 17th Street, NW Washington, DC 20503; e-mail:

oira_submission@omb.eop.gov.

R. Schuetz 3

Public Protection Notification

The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection

of information unless the document requesting or requiring the collection displays a currently

valid OMB control number.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390, Public inspections, exemptions, requests for withholding, a

copy of this letter and its enclosures will be available electronically for public inspection through the

NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is

accessible on the NRCs Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. Mr. Prost has been advised of the policies and

guidelines referenced in this letter. If you have any questions about the the NRCs examination

procedures and guidelines, please contact me at 817-200-1159.

Sincerely,

Signed by Gepford, Heather

on 05/03/22

Heather J. Gepford, Chief

Operations Branch

Division of Operating Reactor Safety

Docket: 50-397

License: NPF-21

ML22116A081

SUNSI Review: ADAMS: Non-Publicly Available Non-Sensitive Keyword:

By: JCK Yes No Publicly Available Sensitive NRR-079

OFFICE SOE:DORS/OB C:DORS/OB

NAME JKirkland HGepford

SIGNATURE /RA/ /RA/

DATE 5/2/2022 5/3/2022