ML24089A249
| ML24089A249 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Oyster Creek |
| Issue date: | 03/29/2024 |
| From: | Fleming J Holtec Decommissioning International |
| To: | Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, NRC Region 1, Document Control Desk |
| References | |
| EA-24-024, HDI-OC-24-014 | |
| Download: ML24089A249 (1) | |
Text
KPS Technology Campus, 1 Holtec Blvd., Camden, NJ 08104 Telephone (856) 797-0900 - Fax (856) 797-0900 www.holtecinternational.com
10 CFR 2.201 March 29, 2024
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ATTN: Document Control Desk Washington, DC 20555-0001
Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-16 NRC Docket Nos. 50-219 and 72-15
Subject:
Reply to Notice of Violation EA-2024-02 4
Dear Sir or Madam:
Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC (HDI) hereby submits the reply to a Notice of Violation identified in NRC Inspect Report No. 05000219/2023003 Enforcement Action No. EA-2024-024. As requested, the enclosure contains the following responses for the notice of violation and HDIs corrective actions: (1) the reason for the violation, (2) the corrective steps that have been taken and the results achieved, (3) the corrective steps that will be taken, and (4) the date when full compliance will be achieved.
This letter contains no new regulatory commitments. Shoul d you have any questions, please contact me at (856) 797-0900, ext. 3578.
Sincerely,
Jean A. Fleming Vice President of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Holtec International
Reference:
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Inspection Report to Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC, Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station -
NRC Inspection Report 05000219/2023003 and Notice of Violation (ADAMS Ascension No. ML24046A124), dated February 29, 2024.
Enclosure:
Reply to a Notice of Violation EA-2024-024
Page 1 of 5 HDI-OC-24-014 KPS Technology Campus, 1 Holtec Blvd., Camden, NJ 08104 Telephone (856) 797-0900 - Fax (856) 797-0900 www.holtecinternational.com
cc: NRC Regional Administrator - Region I Chief of the Decommissioning, ISFSI and Reactor Health Physics Branch, Region I NRC Lead Inspector - Oyster NRC NMSS - Oyster
Page 2 of 5 HDI-OC-24-014 KPS Technology Campus, 1 Holtec Blvd., Camden, NJ 08104 Telephone (856) 797-0900 - Fax (856) 797-0900 www.holtecinternational.com
Enclosure:
Reply to Notice of Violation EA-2024-024
Page 3 of 5 HDI-OC-24-014 KPS Technology Campus, 1 Holtec Blvd., Camden, NJ 08104 Telephone (856) 797-0900 - Fax (856) 797-0900 www.holtecinternational.com
Notice of Violation NRC Inspect Report No. 05000219/2023003 and Notice of Violation (EA-2024-024) dated February 29, 2024, cited below:
During an NRC inspection conducted between July 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023, a violation of NRC requirements was identified. In accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy, the violation is listed below:
10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i) states, in part, decommissioning trust funds may be used by licensees if the withdrawals are for expenses for legitimate decommissioning activities consistent with the definition of decommissioning in § 50.2.
10 CFR 50.2 defines decommissioning as removing a facility or site safely from service and reducing residual radioactivity to a level that permits (1) Release of the property for unrestricted use and termination of the license; or (2) Release of the property under restricted conditions and termination of the license.
Contrary to the above, from March 2020 through June 2023, Holtec Decommissioning International (HDI) used the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Stations (Oyster Creek) decommissioning trust fund for expenses that were not legitimate decommissioning activities. Specifically, HDI used funds to support community outreach activities that were not related to removing the facility or site safely from service and reducing residual activity to a level that permits release of the property for either unrestricted or restricted conditions and termination of the license.
This is a Severity Level IV violation (NRC Enforcement Policy Section 6.3).
Holtec Decommissioning International (HDI) accepts this violation, has performed a causal analysis, has taken prompt action to return to full compliance and has implemented comprehensive corrective actions for long-term sustained compliance.
Reason for the Violation The direct cause of the violation is procedural guidance did not exist to standardize the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) coding, invoice reviews, and approval of expenditures for reimbursement from decommissioning trust funds.
Purchase Orders (POs) are assigned a WBS code, during project controls initial invoice processing review, which categorizes invoices and expenditures related to the eligibility of the PO for reimbursement from the DTF.
Two contributing causes were also identified. HDI individuals failed to demonstrate a questioning attitude when potential regulatory uncertainty existed when assigning WBS codes to HDI POs and individuals compiling invoices for reimbursement from the DTF did not understand charitable donations was not a decommissioning activity consistent with the definition of decommissioning in 10 CFR 50.2.
Page 4 of 5 HDI-OC-24-014 KPS Technology Campus, 1 Holtec Blvd., Camden, NJ 08104 Telephone (856) 797-0900 - Fax (856) 797-0900 www.holtecinternational.com
Corrective Steps Taken and Results Achieved In response to the potential violation debriefed on the DTF. The licensee took the following prompt actions:
- Corrective Action Program (CAP) Incident report (IR) generated to document the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) initial issue of concern.
o An additional IR was generated upon issuance of the violation.
- HDI ceased reimbursement of all charitable donations from all sites DTFs.
- An extent of condition review of all past charitable donation invoices reimbursed from the DTS, from time of ownership transfer to Holtec, was completed.
- Reimbursement of charitable donations, with interest, to the DTFs was completed and documented. The most administratively appropriate and immediate reconciliation of funds was performed by deducting donation amounts, with interest, from the December 2023 DTF submission packages, with appropriate supporting information, to ensure amounts reimbursed to the DTFs were included in the 2023 year-end accounting and financial information to restore compliance.
- An HDI Fleet causal evaluation was performed to assess direct and contributing causes and provide long-term corrective actions to prevent recurrence of the violation.
Corrective Steps that Will be Taken The causal evaluation identified the following actions that will be taken:
- Create procedural guidance for reviewing, separating, and approving invoices for reimbursement from the trust funds. Include actions for assigning decommissioning WBS codes to POs and actions to coordinate with HDI.
- Perform an independent extent of condition review of all HDI sites DTF reimbursements to verify regulatory compliance.
- Establish initial and recurring training on decommissioning activity consistent with the definition of decommissioning in 10 CFR 50.2 for the Project Controls Group.
Date of Full Compliance HDI established full compliance on January 11, 2024, when Holtec reimbursed the respective DTF for charitable donations that had been previously distributed from the DTF through the issuance of a credit equal to the amount of the donation plus accrued interest. These credits were included in the December 2023 decommissioning reimbursement package submission.
Page 5 of 5 HDI-OC-24-014