ML26028A182
| ML26028A182 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 05574871 |
| Issue date: | 02/09/2026 |
| From: | Mark Franke NRC/RGN-II/DORS/OB |
| To: | House J - No Known Affiliation |
| References | |
| EAI-RII-2026-0003 | |
| Download: ML26028A182 (0) | |
Text
EAI-RII-2026-0003 Mr. Jonathan H. House
[HOME ADDRESS DELETED UNDER 10 CFR 2.390(a)]
SUBJECT:
Dear Mr. House:
This letter refers to an Event Notification (EN 57893) made by Tennessee Valley Authoritys (TVAs) Sequoyah Nuclear Plant (Sequoyah) to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on August 29, 2025. The EN informed the NRC that you had tested positive for alcohol during a random fitness-for-duty (FFD) test conducted on August 29, 2025. The NRC received additional information from Sequoyah on October 23, 2025, associated with your confirmed positive FFD test result. Copies of the aforementioned documents have been placed in your Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 55 docket file.
During a telephone conversation between NRC staff and yourself on January 27, 2026, we informed you that the NRC was considering escalated enforcement for an apparent violation of 10 CFR 55.53(j). This regulation prohibits you, as a holder of an NRC license, from performing activities authorized by a license issued under 10 CFR Part 55 while under the influence of alcohol. We also informed you that we had sufficient information regarding the apparent violation to make an enforcement decision. However, we provided you with the opportunity to address the apparent violation by either attending a predecisional enforcement conference (PEC) or providing a written response before the NRC made its final enforcement decision.
During the call, you stated that you had no additional information to provide; and declined the opportunity to attend a PEC or provide a written response before NRCs final decision.
The NRC determined that a violation of 10 CFR 55.53(j) occurred due to you being under the influence of alcohol while you were performing licensed activities, as demonstrated by a confirmed positive test result for alcohol. This violation is cited in the enclosed Notice of Violation (Notice). The purpose of the Commission's FFD requirements is to provide reasonable assurance that nuclear power plant personnel work in an environment that is free of drugs and alcohol and the effects of the use of these substances. The use of alcohol such that an operator exceeds the cutoff limits specified in 10 CFR Part 26, or in the licensee's FFD program, is a serious matter which undermines the special trust and confidence placed in you as a licensed operator. Therefore, this violation is categorized as a Severity Level III violation in accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy. The current Enforcement Policy is included on the NRCs Web site at https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/enforcement/enforce-pol.html.
February 9, 2026
J. House The purpose of this letter is to make clear to you the consequences of your violation of NRC requirements governing FFD as a licensed operator. In accordance with 10 CFR 26.75, any additional positive FFD test results will substantially affect your authorization for unescorted access to the protected area of a licensed facility. In addition, note that as provided in 10 CFR 55.61, the NRC could have taken action to suspend or revoke your license resulting from a confirmed positive test for alcohol in violation of the conditions and cutoff levels established by 10 CFR 55.53(j), and any repetition of this conduct in the future may result in revocation of your license.
You are required to respond to this letter and should follow the instructions specified in the enclosed Notice when preparing your response. In your response, you should document the specific actions taken and any additional actions you plan to prevent recurrence to ensure your ability and willingness to carry out the special trust and confidence placed in you as a licensed operator of a nuclear power facility. After reviewing your response to this Notice, including your proposed and/or completed corrective actions, the NRC will determine whether further NRC enforcement action is necessary to ensure compliance with NRC regulatory requirements.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's "Public inspections, exemptions, requests for withholding, enforcement actions are made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. A copy of this letter and the enclosed Notice of Violation with your address removed will be made available to the public, unless you provide a sufficient basis to withdraw this violation. The NRC also includes significant enforcement actions on its Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/enforcement/actions/.
In addition, this letter will be maintained by the Office of Enforcement in an NRC Privacy Act system of records, NRC-3, Enforcement Actions Against Individuals. This system, which is not publicly accessible, includes all records pertaining to individuals who are being or have been considered for enforcement action, whether such action was taken or not. Detailed information about this system of records, including the NRC-3 system notice, can be accessed from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/foia/privacy-systems.html. Finally, a copy of this letter will be placed in your 10 CFR Part 55 docket file.
J. House If you have any questions related to this matter, please contact Matthew Endress, Chief, Operations Branch, NRC Region II, at 404-997-4718, or via email at Matthew.Endress@nrc.gov.
Sincerely, Mark Franke, Director Division of Operating Reactor Safety Docket No. 55-74871 License No. OP-503622
Enclosure:
Notice of Violation cc w/Enclosure and with HOME ADDRESS DELETED: Distribution via GovDelivery Subscriber CERTIFIED MAIL RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED Signed by Franke, Mark on 02/09/26
ML26028A182 (Cover letter w/ enclosure(s))
Entire Report:
X SUNSI Review X Non-Sensitive Sensitive X Publicly Available Non-Publicly Available OFFICE RII:DORS RII:DORS RII:DORS RII:RC RII:ACES HQ:OE NAME D. Lanyi M. Endress M. Franke S. Price B. Desai D. Solorio DATE 1/28/2026 1/28/2026 2/09/2026 2/6/2026 2/5/2026 2/5/2026
Enclosure NOTICE OF VIOLATION Mr. Jonathan H. House Docket No. 55-74871
[HOME ADDRESS DELETED UNDER 10 CFR 2.390]
License No. OP-503622 EAI-RII-2026-0003 As a result of an event notification from Tennessee Valey Authority (TVA) dated August 29, 2025, a violation of NRC requirements was identified. In accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy, the violation is listed below:
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), paragraph 55.53(j), states in part that a licensee shall not perform activities authorized by a license issued under this part while under the influence of alcohol that could adversely affect his or her ability to safely and competently perform his or her licensed duties. For the purpose of this paragraph, with respect to alcoholic beverages, the term "under the influence" means the licensee exceeded, as evidenced by a confirmed test result, the lower of the cutoff levels for drugs or alcohol contained in subparts E, F, and G of part 26 of this chapter, or as established by the facility licensee.
Licensee procedure NPG-SPP-14.1, Fitness-For-Duty, Revision 23, Section 3.2.11, Alcohol Analysis Process, implements 10 CFR 26 and states, in part, that a confirmed positive test result for alcohol must be declared when the result of a confirmatory test is 0.04 percent of blood-alcohol content (BAC), which is equivalent to the cutoff level specified in 10 CFR 26.103(a)(1).
Contrary to the above, on August 29, 2025, Mr. Jonathan H. House, an NRC licensee, performed activities authorized by NRC-issued license OP-503622 under the influence of alcohol which could have adversely affected his ability to safely and competently perform his licensed duties. Specifically, he was selected for a random alcohol breath test while assigned to licensed duties as a Unit 2 Control Room Operator. The results confirmed a 0.092 percent BAC, exceeding the cutoff level of 0.04 percent BAC established in 10 CFR 26.103(a)(1) and licensee procedure NPG-SPP-14.1.
This is a Severity Level III violation (NRC Enforcement Policy, Section 6.4.c.1)
Pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 2.201, Mr. Jonathan H. House, is hereby required to submit a written statement or explanation to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN:
Regional Administrator, Region II, 245 Peachtree Center Avenue NE, Suite 1200, Atlanta Georgia, 30303-1257, and marked "Open by Addressee Only, and a copy to the NRC Resident Inspector at the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, with a similar marking, within 30 days of the date of the letter transmitting this Notice of Violation (Notice). This reply should be clearly marked as a "Reply to a Notice of Violation; EAI-RII-2026-0003" and should include: (1) the reason for the violation, or, if contested, the basis for disputing 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. If an adequate reply is not received within the time specified in this Notice, an order or a Demand for Information may be issued requiring information as to why such other action as may be proper should not be taken. Where good cause is shown, consideration will be given to extending the response time.
J. House If you contest this enforcement action, you should also provide a copy of your response, with the basis for your denial, to the Director, Office of Enforcement, United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
Your response will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room and in the NRCs Agencywide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS), accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To the extent possible, your response should not include any personal privacy or proprietary information so that it can be made available to the public without redaction. If personal privacy or proprietary information is necessary to provide an acceptable response, then please provide a bracketed copy of your response that identifies the information that should be protected and a redacted copy of your response that deletes such information. If you request withholding of such material, you must specifically identify the portions of your response that you seek to have withheld and provide in detail the bases for your claim of withholding (e.g., explain why the disclosure of information will create an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy or provide the information required by 10 CFR 2.390(b) to support a request for withholding confidential commercial or financial information). This letter will be maintained by the Office of Enforcement in an NRC Privacy Act system of records, NRC-3, Enforcement Actions Against Individuals. This system, which is not publicly accessible, includes all records pertaining to individuals who are being or have been considered for enforcement action, whether such action was taken or not.
The NRC-3 system notice, which provides detailed information about this system of records, can be accessed from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/foia/privacy-systems.html.
Dated this 09 Day of February 2026