ML25357A221
| ML25357A221 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Palisades  |
| Issue date: | 12/22/2025 |
| From: | Justin Poole Plant Licensing Branch III |
| To: | Long S, Keith Miller, Steffic K Palisades Energy |
| Wall S | |
| References | |
| EPID L-2025-LLE-0032 | |
| Download: ML25357A221 (0) | |
Text
From:
Justin Poole To:
Kami Miller; Kyle Steffic; Salena Long Cc:
Ilka Berrios; Marlayna Doell
Subject:
Request for Additional Information RE: Request for Second Exemption from Part 26 Work Hours (L-2025-LLE-0032)
Date:
Monday, December 22, 2025 3:59:00 PM Attachments:
RAIs - Palisades Part 26 Subsequent Exemption Request FINAL.pdf
- All,
By letter dated December 12, 2025 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System Accession No. ML25346A199), Palisades Energy, LLC (Palisades) the requested an exemption from Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Section 26.205(d)
(3) and (d)(7) to use the less restrictive work hour limitations described in 10 CFR 26.205(d)
(4) for a duration of 60 days starting January 2, 2026 to support plant restart activities.
On December 18, 2025, the NRC staff sent the licensee DRAFT RAIs to ensure that the questions are understandable, the regulatory basis is clear, there is no proprietary information contained in the RAIs, and to determine if the information was previously docketed.On December 22, 2025, the NRC and the licensee held a clarification call to discuss the DRAFT RAIs. During the call the licensee and the staff agreed to modify question 1.b as follows from:
- a. Provide the work schedules, average weekly work hours, and the highest maximum average for individuals described in 10 CFR 26.4(a)(2) and (a)(4) for each subsequent 6-week shift cycle starting from November 3, 2025 through March 2, 2026. For example, see precedent from Watts Bar (ML22117A195) or Palisades (ML25224A206, ML25288A074).
to
- a. Provide the work schedules, average weekly work hours, and the highest maximum average for individuals described in 10 CFR 26.4(a)(2) and (a)(4) for the period starting November 3, 2025 through March 2, 2026. For example, see precedent from Watts Bar (ML22117A195) or Palisades (ML25224A206, ML25288A074).
for additional clarity.
During the call, the licensee stated that they would attempt to respond by December 26, 2025, to support their requested expedited schedule. The attached is the final version of the RAIs. These RAIs will be put in ADAMS as a publicly available document.
Justin C. Poole Project Manager Palisades, Crane, Duane Arnold Restart NRR/DORL/LPL 3 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (301)415-2048
REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PALISADES NUCLEAR PLANT, UNIT 1 DOCKET NO. 50-255 Second Request for Exemption from Requirements of 10 CFR 26.205, Fitness for Duty Programs - Work Hours By letter dated December 12, 2025 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML25346A199), the Palisades Energy LLC (Palisades) requested an exemption from Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Section 26.205(d)(3) and (d)(7) to use the less restrictive work hour limitations described in 10 CFR 26.205(d)(4) for a duration of 60 days starting January 2, 2026 to support plant restart activities.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Commission, NRC) staff is reviewing your submittal and has identified areas where additional information is needed to complete its review.
Request for Additional Information:
- 1. Section 26.9 of 10 CFR states, in part, that the Commission may grant an exemption from the requirements in 10 CFR Part 26 as it determines are authorized by law and will not endanger life or property or the common defense and security, and are otherwise in the public interest.
Section 26.23(e) of 10 CFR states, in part, that Fitness-for-duty programs must provide reasonable assurance that the effects of fatigue and degraded alertness on individuals' abilities to safely and competently perform their duties are managed commensurate with maintaining public health and safety.
The Mitigating Strategy section of the submittal proposes the following actions:
Since the start of the original exemption period on November 3, 2025, the covered workers in groups 10 CFR 26.4(a)(2) [Health Physics and Chemistry] and 10 CFR 26.4(a)(4) [Maintenance and Projects] have maintained work hours compliant with 10 CFR 26.205(d)(1), (d)(2), and (d)(4). In addition to complying with these requirements, Palisades Energy is committing the individuals identified in groups (a)(2) [Health Physics and Chemistry] and (a)(4) [Maintenance and Projects]
to a two-week rest and reset period prior to the start of the proposed 60-day extended exemption period. During the two-week rest and reset period (from December 19, 2025, through January 1, 2026), an average of 50 hours5.787037e-4 days <br />0.0139 hours <br />8.267196e-5 weeks <br />1.9025e-5 months <br /> per week or less for the covered workers in the Health Physics department, Chemistry department, Maintenance department, and Projects department will be maintained.
In addition to maintaining the requirements in 10 CFR 205(d)(1), (2), and (4), and observing the two-week rest and reset period, cognizant supervisors will assess employees for fatigue and mental alertness during the proposed exemption period.
As indicated in the Statements of Consideration for Part 26 on the Federal Register, the Commission elaborated on the objective of § 26.205(d)(4) which is to ensure that individuals performing the duties described in § 26.4(a)(1) through (a)(4) have sufficient periodic long-duration breaks to prevent cumulative fatigue from degrading their ability to safely and competently perform their duties. In addition, in setting the 60-day exemption period, the NRC considered that by the end of the 60-day exemption period, individuals performing the
duties in § 26.4(a)(1) through (a)(4) would have missed 17 normally scheduled days off which represents a 60% reduction in the time available to recover and prevent cumulative fatigue.
Furthermore, the Statements of Consideration indicate that in establishing § 26.205(d)(4) the NRC considered it appropriate to allow flexibility within the work hour requirements to accommodate limited periods of more intensive work schedules, such as unit outages.
However, the NRC limits this flexibility to infrequent circumstances, such as unit outages, to limit the potential for cumulative fatigue.
Given that the subsequent proposed exemption request seeks an additional 60-day period where the less restrictive work hour limitations will be utilized, which would shortly follow the initial 60-day outage period and the previously approved 60-day exemption period ending on January 1, 2026, extension of the less restrictive work hour limitations from 120 days to 180 days since August 24, 2025 could continue to substantively increase the potential for cumulative fatigue and fatigue-related personnel errors. Therefore, based on the docketed information, the staff is unable to determine if the proposed mitigating actions continue to provide reasonable assurance of adequate protection of public health and safety.
Provide additional details that address the following:
- a. The proposed exemption stated that Palisades re-assessed restart activities and determined that a second exemption period would be needed. Explain why this subsequent exemption would be in the interest of the public and safety in accordance with 10 CFR 26.9. Explain how cumulative fatigue will be prevented and bounded in the case of subsequent exemptions given the likelihood of additional outage time.
- b. Provide the work schedules, average weekly work hours, and the highest maximum average for individuals described in 10 CFR 26.4(a)(2) and (a)(4) for the period starting November 3, 2025, through March 2, 2026. For example, see precedent from Watts Bar (ML22117A195) or Palisades (ML25224A206, ML25288A074).
- c. The mitigating strategy enclosed in the proposed subsequent exemption is insufficient because the affected personnel 1) will miss a significant number of days off compared to the normal work hour controls; 2) will continue to work higher than average work hours beyond the initial 60-day outage; 3) will work successive periods of outage work controls that extend beyond considerations and intent of the 10 CFR 26 Subpart I rule.
Provide information that clearly addresses the insufficiencies above, including providing additional administrative controls that reduce the concerns about cumulative fatigue. For example, implementing a minimum days off schedule that aligns more with normal work hours or extending the duration of the commitment to 50 hours5.787037e-4 days <br />0.0139 hours <br />8.267196e-5 weeks <br />1.9025e-5 months <br /> per week averaged over 4 weeks.
- d. Describe the effectiveness of the mitigating actions, as supplemented, used during the Palisades exemption period that was approved on October 23, 2025. Provide the number of waivers issued, the number and nature of fatigue assessments conducted, including any assessments tied to specific operational events or concerns from August 24, 2025, through the current exemption period expiring on January 1, 2026.