ML25141A174
| ML25141A174 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Grand Gulf  |
| Issue date: | 05/22/2025 |
| From: | Nicholas Hernandez NRC/RGN-IV/DORS/OB |
| To: | Kapellas B Entergy Operations |
| References | |
| Download: ML25141A174 (1) | |
See also: IR 05000416/2026301
Text
May 22, 2025
Brad Kapellas, Site Vice President
Entergy Operations, Inc.
Grand Gulf Nuclear Station
P.O. Box 756
Port Gibson, MS 39150
SUBJECT:
GRAND GULF NUCLEAR STATION - NOTIFICATION OF NRC INITIAL
OPERATOR LICENSING EXAMINATION 05000416/2026301
Dear Mr. Kapellas:
In a telephone conversation on April 16, 2025, between Mr. Anthony Watson, Lead Exam
Writer, and Nicholas Hernandez, Chief Examiner, arrangements were made for the
administration of operator licensing examinations at Grand Gulf Nuclear Station during the week
of January 12, 2026.
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 August 11, 2025. The written examination outline was provided to your staff on April
16, 2025. 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 October 27, 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 December 1, 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.
UNITED STATES
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
REGION IV
1600 E. LAMAR BLVD
ARLINGTON, TX 76011-4511
B. Kapellas
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. Nicholas Hernandez 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. Hernandez 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.
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.
B. Kapellas
3
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. Watson 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 817-200-1118.
Sincerely,
Nicholas Hernandez, Chief Examiner
Operations Branch
Division of Operating Reactor Safety
Docket No. 05000416
License No. NPF-29
Electronic Distribution via LISTSERV
Signed by Hernandez, Nicholas
on 05/22/25
SUNSI Review:
ADAMS:
Non-Publicly Available
Non-Sensitive
Keyword:
By: NAH
Yes No
Publicly Available
Sensitive
NRR-079
OFFICE
SOE:OB
NAME
NHernandez
SIGNATURE
/RA/
DATE
05/22/25