ML22280A054
| ML22280A054 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Vogtle  |
| Issue date: | 10/06/2022 |
| From: | Tom Stephen NRC/RGN-II |
| To: | Dean E Southern Nuclear Operating Co |
| References | |
| IR 2023301 | |
| Download: ML22280A054 (4) | |
See also: IR 05000424/2023301
Text
October 6, 2022
Mr. E. D. Dean III
Vice President
Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc.
Vogtle Electric Generating Plant
7821 River Road
Waynesboro, GA 30830
SUBJECT:
VOGTLE ELECTRIC GENERATING PLANT - NOTIFICATION OF LICENSED
OPERATOR INITIAL EXAMINATION 05000424/2023301 AND
Dear Mr. Dean:
During a telephone conversation on October 5, 2022, between Mr. William Burns, Exam Team
Lead, and Mr. J. Bundy, Senior Operations Engineer, arrangements were made for the
administration of licensing examinations at the Vogtle Electric Generating Station Units 1&2.
The on-site validation/preparatory week is scheduled for the week of March 27, 2023. The
operating test is scheduled to be administered during the weeks of May 1, 2023 and May 8,
2023. The written examination is scheduled to be administered the week of May 8, 2023.
As agreed during the telephone conversation, your staff will prepare both the operating test and
written examination based on the guidelines in Revision 12 of NUREG-1021, "Operator
Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors." The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) regional office will discuss with your staff any changes that might be
necessary before the examinations are administered. Your staff has also agreed to make
copies of all examination materials that are necessary for administering the examination.
To meet the above schedule, it will be necessary for your staff to furnish the operating test
outline by November 28, 2022. Mr. Bundy provided the written examination outline to your staff
on March 21, 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 February 15, 2023. 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.
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. 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.
E. D. Dean
2
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. Bundy 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 by Mr. Bundy) 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 voluntary information collections is estimated to average
2,250 hours0.00289 days <br />0.0694 hours <br />4.133598e-4 weeks <br />9.5125e-5 months <br /> per examination or response, 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; email: oira_submission@omb.eop.gov.
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
E. D. Dean
3
accessible on the NRCs Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. Mr. William Burns has been advised of the
policies and guidelines referenced in this letter. If you have any questions regarding the NRC's
examination procedures and guidelines, please contact Mr. Bundy at (404) 997-4557, (Internet
E-mail: Jason.Bundy@nrc.gov ), or me at (404) 997-4703, (Internet E-mail:
Thomas.Stephen@nrc.gov ).
Sincerely,
/RA/
Thomas A. Stephen, Chief
Operations Branch 1
Division of Reactor Safety
Docket Nos.: 50-424, 50-425
SUNSI REVIEW COMPLETE
FORM 665 ATTACHED
OFFICE
RII/DRS/OB:OLA
RII/DRS/OB:CE
RII/DRS/OB:BC
NAME
D Egelstad
J Bundy
T. Stephen
DATE
10/ 6 /2022
10/ 6 /2022
10/ 6/2022