ML25345A353
| ML25345A353 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Cook  |
| Issue date: | 12/15/2025 |
| From: | Paul Zurawski NRC/RGN-III/DORS/OB |
| To: | Ferneau K Indiana Michigan Power Co |
| Roach G. | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML24201A076 | List: |
| References | |
| Download: ML25345A353 (0) | |
Text
Kelly Ferneau Executive VP and Chief Nuclear Officer Indiana Michigan Power Company Nuclear Generation Group One Cook Place Bridgman, MI 49106
SUBJECT:
DONALD C. COOK NUCLEAR PLANT - CONFIRMATION OF INITIAL LICENSE EXAMINATION, JULY 2026
Dear Kelly Ferneau:
In a Microsoft Teams conversation held on December 11, 2025, between Tod Kaspar, Operations Training Manager and Gregory Roach, Senior Operations Engineer, arrangements were made for the administration of operator licensing examinations at Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant during the week of July 6, 2026.
As agreed upon during the Microsoft Teams conversation, the staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will prepare the examinations based on the guidelines in Revision 12 to NUREG-1021, Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors.
To meet the above schedule, your staff has furnished the agreed upon reference materials identified in NUREG-1021, Examination Standard (ES)-2.1, Section F, Reference Material for Operator Licensing Initial Examinations. Additional requests may be made as examination development progresses.
The outline for the written examination was provided to your staff for review and comment and feedback has been received from your staff. The operating test outlines for the JPMs and the required dynamic scenarios were provided for your staffs review and comment on September 18, 2025 which is prior to the pre-onsite validation visit scheduled for the week of February 2, 2026. The NRC developed written exam will be provided to your staff prior to March 9, 2026, and the facility developed operating test will be provided to the NRC for review prior to April 6, 2026. The NRC will make an examination validation visit to your facility the week of June 8, 2026. 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, December 12, 2025
K. Ferneau 2
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 Gregory Roach 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 certificate ions (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 Gregory Roach when contacting him 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 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 Freedom of Information Act, Library, and Information Collections Branch (T6-A10M),
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555 0001, or by email 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.
K. Ferneau 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 website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. Tod Kaspar 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 Gregory Roach, Chief Examiner at 630-829-9760 or myself at 630-829-9631.
Sincerely, Paul J. Zurawski, Chief Operations Branch Division of Operating Reactor Safety Docket Nos. 50-315; 50-316 License Nos. DPR-58; DPR-74 cc: Distribution via LISTSERV Dan Emery - Training Manager Signed by Zurawski, Paul on 12/12/25
K. Ferneau 4
Letter to Kelly Ferneau from Paul J. Zurawski dated December 12, 2025.
SUBJECT:
DONALD C. COOK NUCLEAR PLANT - CONFIRMATION OF INITIAL LICENSE EXAMINATION, JULY 2026 DISTRIBUTION:
Rodney Clagg RidsNrrDorlLpl3 RidsNrrPMDCCook Resource RidsNrrDroIrib Resource Jack Giessner Mohammed Shuaibi Diana Betancourt-Roldan John Pelchat Jared Heck Jennifer Dalzell R3-DORS Ikeda Betts Maryia Bahdanovich-Kniazkova ADAMS Accession Number: ML25345A353 OFFICE RIII/DORS/OB/CE RIII/DORS/OB:BC NAME GRoach:gmp PZurawski DATE 12/11/25 12/12/25 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY