ML24194A038
| ML24194A038 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Palo Verde  |
| Issue date: | 07/12/2024 |
| From: | Thomas Farina NRC/RGN-IV/DORS/OB |
| To: | Heflin A Arizona Public Service Co |
| References | |
| 50-528/25-301, 50-529/25-301, 50-530/25-301 50-528/OL-301, 50-529/OL-301, 50-530/OL-301 | |
| Download: ML24194A038 (1) | |
See also: IR 05000528/2025301
Text
July 12, 2024
Adam C. Heflin
Executive Vice President / Chief Nuclear Officer
Arizona Public Service Company
P.O. Box 52034, MS 7602
Phoenix, AZ 85072-2034
SUBJECT:
PALO VERDE NUCLEAR GENERATING STATION, UNITS 1, 2, AND 3 -
NOTIFICATION OF NRC INITIAL OPERATOR LICENSING EXAMINATION
05000528/2025301; 05000529/2025301; 05000530/2025301
Dear Mr. Heflin:
In a telephone conversation on July 11, 2024, between Mr. J. Shaver, Simulator and Exam
Group Lead and myself, chief examiner, arrangements were made for the administration of
operator licensing examinations at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station during the week of
May 5, 2025.
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 December 2, 2024. 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 17, 2025. 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 March 31, 2025.
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
A. Heflin
2
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 me 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 I am 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.
A. Heflin
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. John Rodgers has been advised of the policies
and guidelines referenced in this letter. If you have any questions about the NRCs examination
procedures and guidelines, please contact me at 817-200-1117, or Heather Gepford, Chief,
Operations Branch at 817-200-1156.
Sincerely,
Thomas J. Farina, Chief Examiner
Operations Branch
Division of Operating Reactor Safety
Docket Nos. 50-528; 50-529; 50-530
Licenses: NPF-41; NPF-51; NPF-74
Signed by Farina, Thomas
on 07/12/24
SUNSI Review:
ADAMS:
Non-Publicly Available
Non-Sensitive
Keyword:
By:tjf
Yes No
Publicly Available
Sensitive
NRR-079
OFFICE
OB:SOE
NAME
TFarina
SIGNATURE
/RA/
DATE
07/12/24