ML26055A121

IP 92702 Follow-Up on Traditional Enforcement Actions Including Traditional Enforcement Violations, Deviations, Confirmatory Action Letters, and Orders

ML26055A121
Person / Time
Issue date:	03/25/2026
From:	Molly Keefe-Forsyth NRC/NRR/DRO/IRAB
To:
References
CN 26-010, DC 25-019
Download: ML26055A121 (0)

Text

Issue Date: 03/25/26 1

92702 NRC INSPECTION MANUAL IRAB INSPECTION PROCEDURE 92702 FOLLOW-UP ON TRADITIONAL ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS INCLUDING TRADITIONAL ENFORCEMENT VIOLATIONS, DEVIATIONS, CONFIRMATORY ACTION LETTERS, AND ORDERS Effective Date: April 1, 2026 PROGRAM APPLICABILITY: IMCs 2200 A, 2201 C, 2202, 2504 A, 2504 B, 2514, 2515 C, 2545, 2550, 2561 B, 2600 B, 2602, 2641, 2690 A, 2690 B 92702-01 INSPECTION OBJECTIVES 01.01 To determine that adequate corrective actions have been implemented for traditional enforcement actions including violations, deviations, Confirmatory Action Letters (CALs),

and Orders.

01.02 To ascertain whether the actions taken by the licensee or individual address the commitments of a CAL or Order.

Note: This inspection procedure (IP) is not intended to be used to follow-up on any Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) findings. This procedure is only applicable to traditional enforcement actions, such as violations, deviations, confirmatory action letters, and orders.

92702-02 INSPECTION REQUIREMENTS 02.01 Inspection Planning Determine which traditional enforcement action responses are to be followed up based on their safety or security significance and complexity, inherent inadequacy, or apparent weaknesses in license administrative or management controls. Follow-up will be performed for all traditional enforcement actions that result in the issuance of a Notice of Violation, and for all Orders. Follow-up for Severity Level IV Non-Cited Violations (NCVs) will be performed as deemed necessary. CALs may or may not require follow-up inspection to verify completion of the specified licensee commitments and actions.

The inspection preparation should include a review of relevant inspection reports, inspection report transmittal letters, Notices of Violations or Deviations, CALs, Orders, licensee response letters to enforcement correspondence, minutes of related enforcement meetings with the licensee, and any other agency records of communication on the issue with the licensee.

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92702 For each item in a CAL or Order, identify licensee commitments and actions. Select a sample of licensee activities that are indicative of the actions the licensee committed to accomplish in responses to the CAL or Order.

02.02 Inspection As necessary, conduct an inspection of the selected traditional enforcement actions (i.e.,

violations, deviations, CALs, and Orders) with respect to timeliness, completeness, and adequacy of licensee actions in the following areas. Where appropriate, these inspections are to be actual physical verifications of equipment and processes.

a. Corrective Actions Determine that adequate and timely corrective actions have been implemented for traditional enforcement actions including violations, deviations, Confirmatory Action Letters (CALs), and Orders.

For multiple traditional enforcement violations, verify that appropriate corrective action(s) are specified for each cause identified for the group of violations or that there is an evaluation indicating that no actions are necessary.

For CALs and Orders, determine whether the actions taken meet the commitments described in the CAL or the requirements in the Order. Promptly notify the Office of Enforcement if licensee commitments contained in a CAL or Order have not been met.

Guidance:

1. For CALs and Orders, determine whether licensee management has forwarded copies of the CAL or Order and any needed instructions to appropriate onsite management representatives. Also, verify that operations are being conducted in accordance with the order, or the requirements have been incorporated into the license.

2. Verify corrective actions, as described in the licensees response to the traditional enforcement actions, have been fully implemented and were effective in addressing the issues that resulted in the enforcement action. Determine that any outstanding corrective actions have been prioritized with consideration of the regulatory compliance and that a schedule has been established for implementing and completing these corrective actions.

3. The corrective action plan should achieve compliance. The licensees should prioritize the type of corrective action chosen. Attention should be given to solutions that involve only changing procedures or providing training as they are sometimes over-utilized. In such cases, consideration should be given to more comprehensive corrective actions. The corrective actions should be assigned to individuals or organizations that are appropriate to ensure that the actions are taken promptly.

Also, the licensee should ensure that there is a formal tracking mechanism established for each of the specific corrective actions.

4. If applicable, the licensee has posted copies of enforcement correspondence for radiological working conditions as required by 10 CFR 19.11.

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92702

5. Follow-up actions were initiated for deviations noted in any recent Quality Assurance (QA) audits conducted by the licensee of the inspection area in which traditional enforcement actions were identified.

b. Causal Analysis Review the adequacy of the licensee cause analysis, if available.

For multiple TE violations, verify:

1. The group of violations received an evaluation at an appropriate level of detail using a systematic method(s) to identify cause(s).

Guidance: The determination of cause(s) can be achieved using a variety of different methods. Regardless of the method or combination of methods selected by the licensee, the results should normally include:

A clear identification of the problem and the assumptions made as a part of the evaluation. The evaluation should have been conducted until the causes were beyond the licensees control and until the problem(s) are fully understood.

A collective evaluation of the cause(s) for indications of more significant problems with a process or system should be done when there are multiple issues. For example, issues associated with personnel failing to follow procedures may be indicative of a problem with supervisory oversight and communication of standards.

A determination of potential process issues (such as procedures, work practices, operational policies, and supervision) and human performance issues (such as training, communications, human system interface, and fitness for duty).

2. The evaluation included a consideration of how prior occurrences in the same traditional enforcement area (willfulness, regulatory process, or consequences) were addressed by the licensee.

Guidance: The evaluation should include a proper consideration of repeat occurrences of the same or similar problems at the facility. This review is necessary to help in determining if the violations are due to a more fundamental concern involving weaknesses in the licensees corrective action program.

3. The evaluation addresses the extent of condition and the extent of cause of the problem, if needed. See IMC 2515 Appendix B, Supplemental Inspection Program for extent of condition and the extent of cause definitions.

Guidance:

The extent of condition review should assess the degree that the actual condition (improper human action, etc.) may exist in other areas.

The extent of cause review should focus more on the actual causes of the repeated traditional enforcement violations and the extent that they could have resulted in additional violations. The extent of cause review should assess the

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92702 applicability of the root causes across disciplines or departments, for different programmatic activities for human performance.

c. Safety Culture Consideration If available, review the licensees cause evaluation to determine if safety culture components were considered as a cause of or a contributor to the traditional enforcement violations.

Guidance: Determine if the cause evaluation considered whether a weakness in any safety culture components was a direct cause or a significant contributing cause to escalated traditional enforcement actions. Review the licensees evaluation and/or discuss with appropriate licensee personnel, whether safety culture was considered as a possible cause of the violations. If so, verify that the evaluation included at least those components that the inspectors determined could reasonably have been a contributor to the violation(s).

d. Generic Implications Analysis. If applicable, review the adequacy of the licensees generic implication analysis.

e. QA Program Procedures and Practices Changes. For activities performed to satisfy a construction inspection program, determine that the licensee's review of the QA program evaluated the program's scope and effectiveness.

92702-03 INSPECTION GUIDANCE 03.01 General Guidance This inspection procedure provides a mechanism to perform in-office and onsite follow-up inspection of traditional enforcement actions.

10 CFR 50, Appendix B, Quality Assurance Criteria for Nuclear Power Plants and Fuel Reprocessing Plants may form the regulatory basis for many enforcement actions.

Licensee commitments that form the basis for deviations may have been made during the licensing process or may have been made in written correspondence to the NRC after receipt of the plant operating license. For fuel facilities, failure to meet the performance or reporting requirements of 10 CFR 70, Domestic Licensing of Special Material other applicable regulations, or license conditions stated in the license are examples that may form the regulatory basis of enforcement action.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.201, Notice of Violation, enforcement sanctions typically require written explanations and statements of reply concerning corrective actions, steps taken to prevent recurrence, and a schedule for completion of corrective and preventive actions. Specific responses or actions may be required in other enforcement sanctions.

The inspector should carefully review the enforcement actions and inspection report transmittal letters which may contain NRC perceptions of, and concerns with, licensee performance. Such statements are valuable background information.

The NRC inspection program places strong emphasis on the inspection of licensee performance as the basis for determining the overall adequacy of the implementation of licensee programs. Thus, when a deficiency in the licensee performance is identified,

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92702 and especially when repetitive conditions occur, a key element to be reviewed is the failure of the licensee program to identify and correct the deficiency. Where licensee corrective actions for NRC identified deficiencies are not adequate, additional inspections (such as IP 71152, Problem Identification and Resolution (PI&R), for power reactors and selected portions of IP 88005, Management Organization and Controls, and other applicable inspection procedures, for fuel facilities) may be warranted to assess the adequacy of the licensee corrective actions for internally identified problems.

CALs and Orders are described in NRCs Enforcement Policy. CALs and Orders are tools used by NRC as a means for conforming or directing licensee or individuals actions in order to remove significant concerns about health and safety, the environment, safeguards, or security.

A CAL is an administrative mechanism to confirm a licensees or individuals voluntary agreement to take certain actions. An Order is a written NRC directive to modify, suspend, or revoke a license; to cease and desist from a given practice or activity; or to take some other action. Inspectors should note that unlike commitments made by the licensees in response to violations, order requirements are legally binding obligations.

This inspection procedure should be followed if it is determined that a follow-up inspection is necessary to close a CAL; to verify that a licensee or individual has met the requirements of an Order; to review the licensees response for the adequacy of the corrective actions, including whether the license has properly identified the causes for violations that resulted in the issuance of a Notice of Violation.

03.02 Inspection Planning Guidance The timing of NRC follow-up to a routine inspection would depend on the relative qualitative safety or security significance of a deficient licensee program in the area of the traditional enforcement action. Typically, the inspection staff will have information about the probable cause of traditional enforcement actions as a result of their normal inspection activity. In addition, as part of the enforcement process, the licensee would make their own determination of their program adequacy. The available information can then be used to decide on the timing of NRC follow-up, along with the scope and depth of follow-up that is warranted. Follow-up on Orders should generally be completed after notification by the licensee, or party subject to the order, that the required actions are complete. Some actions are recurring over a long period, as such, follow-up is not required to wait pending completion of all confirmatory order actions.

Depending on the relative safety or security significance of the issue, the inspector and their management may conclude that an in-office review of the licensee docketed evaluation and corrective actions may suffice to close out the finding, rather than performing an onsite follow-up inspection.

Because of their unique nature, the regional office should closely coordinate with the Office of Enforcement (OE) for follow-up of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

Confirmatory Orders related to discrimination cases. Typically, the OE staff will take the lead to perform the follow-up review of discrimination cases. The review will initially take place in-office. The OE reviewer will determine any necessary onsite follow-up activity and coordinate onsite follow-up with the region. The OE reviewer will also provide a feeder inspection report input to document the results of their review.

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92702 The onsite inspection, if necessary, is to both determine the adequacy of the licensee actions to correct the deficiencies associated with the traditional enforcement action, and to examine whether the licensee evaluations included a review of items from their internal self-assessment activities when assessing the repetitive and generic nature of an NRC action and the effectiveness of the related licensee programs. Where an item is identified as repetitive in nature, the licensee should have conducted an in-depth analysis of the effectiveness of their management control systems. This analysis entails the determination of the causal factors (i.e. root cause(s)) of deficient controls and their potential generic implications. Note that this is the most important part of this inspection procedure. The OE reviewer will identify any necessary onsite verification of selected aspects of a licensee's commitments that are part of the ADR Confirmatory Order related to discrimination that shall be performed to ensure the adequacy of implementation.

Confirm that the licensee has instituted appropriate corrective and preventive measures.

Refer to IPs 71152, 95001, and 88005, and applicable inspection procedures for the program being reviewed (such as IPs listed in IMC 2600 Appendix B for fuel cycle facilities) for further guidance on the adequacy of the licensees investigation of the causal factors (i.e. root cause evaluations) and corrective action reviews.

The inspector should use their discretion to perform field verification activities to supplement their review of licensee programs to gain assurance that the corrective and preventive measures have been appropriately implemented in the field.

03.03 Documentation

a. Document the closure of the CAL, to the license and the docket file, if all the commitments in the CAL have been met.

b. Document to the licensee docket file when the licensee has initially met all the requirements in the Order. In cases where all the requirements have been completed or have been incorporated into the license, document that fact to the docket file. See Part I, Section 2.7.8.2, of the Enforcement Manual on specific language to use when documenting the status of orders in inspection reports.

c. Document the closure of all the enforcement actions, to the licensee and the docket file, if all inspection requirements have been met.

d. The results of the follow-up power reactor inspection activity should be documented in the inspection results section of the inspection report. Similarly, the results of the follow-up construction inspection activity should be documented in the OTHER ACTIVITIES -

TEMPORARY INSTRUCTIONS, INFREQUENT AND ABNORMAL section of the inspection report. The results of follow-up actions for fuel cycle facility violations should be documented in the Other Area Section of the report and in accordance with IMC 0616, Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards Inspections Reports.

92702-04 RESOURCE ESTIMATE This inspection procedure supports the review of the adequacy of a licensee corrective and preventive measures in response to a traditional enforcement violation or deviation, CAL, or Order. The inspector should obtain confidence through an in-office review of the licensee actions, supplemented with onsite reviews and field verifications when appropriate. The amount of time to perform the inspection is a function of the number of findings followed up, as well as

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92702 the scope and depth of the follow-up activity. This procedure is implemented on an as-needed basis and can serve as a vehicle to perform follow-up on a single to multiple traditional enforcement actions. For power reactor licensees, this procedure will be performed on an as needed basis as part of IMC 2515 Appendix C and IMC 2201 Appendix C. For fuel cycle facility licensees, this procedure will be performed on an as needed basis as part of IMC 2600, and in conjunction with other IMC 2600 inspection procedures as deemed applicable to the enforcement action being reviewed.

For planning purposes, the resources for completing this inspection procedure are estimated to be up to 32 hours3.703704e-4 days <br />0.00889 hours <br />5.291005e-5 weeks <br />1.2176e-5 months <br /> of direct inspection effort. The actual inspection resources necessary to complete this inspection procedure may vary.

92702-05 REFERENCES 10 CFR 2.201, "Notice of Violation" 10 CFR 19.11, "Posting of Notices to Workers" 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix B, "Quality Assurance Criteria for Nuclear Power Plants and Fuel Reprocessing Plants" NRC Enforcement Manual NRC Enforcement Policy IMC 0305, Operating Reactor Assessment Program IMC 2201 Appendix C, "General Special and Infrequent Inspections" IMC 2202, Security Decommissioning Program IMC 2515 Appendix B, Supplemental Inspection Program IMC 2561, "Decommissioning Power Reactor Inspection Program" IMC 2600 Appendix B, NRC Core Inspection Requirements IP 71152, "Problem Identification and Resolution (PI&R)"

IP 88005, Management Organization and Controls IP 95001, "Supplemental Inspection Response to Action Matrix Column 2 (Regulatory Response) Inputs" END

Issue Date: 03/25/26 Att1-1 92702 : Revision History for Inspection Procedure 92702 Commitment Tracking Number Accession Number Issue Date Change Notice Description of Change Description of Training Required and Completion Date Comment Resolution and Closed Feedback Form Accession Number (Pre-Decisional, Non-Public Information)

ML073230154 11/01/2007 CN 07-034 This inspection procedure is being reissued and reactivated as a part of the 10 CFR Part 50 construction inspection program to support the resumption of construction activities at Watts Bar Unit 2. The inspection of construction activities at Watts Bar Unit 2, following restart of construction in 2007, will be governed by Inspection Manual Chapter 2517, Watts Bar Unit 2 Construction Inspection Program.

N/A ML072820539 01/10/08 CN 08-001 Re-issuance of procedure to resolve ROP Feedback Form 2515B-1104 regarding follow-up for traditional enforcement and ADR Confirmatory Orders, and ROP Feedback Form 92702-1216 regarding the interface with security inspection program IMC2201.

None ML080020045 06/06/17 CN 17-012 This IP was deleted from the Watts Bar Unit 2 construction inspection program.

None 02/07/18 CN 18-003 This IP was deleted from the Watts Bar Unit 2 construction inspection program but remains active for other inspection programs. (Listed again in CN 18-003)

None

Issue Date: 03/25/26 Att1-2 92702 Commitment Tracking Number Accession Number Issue Date Change Notice Description of Change Description of Training Required and Completion Date Comment Resolution and Closed Feedback Form Accession Number (Pre-Decisional, Non-Public Information)

N/A ML20139A160 10/26/20 CN 20-055 Added additional guidance on CALs and Orders follow-up. Added additional guidance for reviewing corrective actions and licensee causal factors investigation. Rearranged procedure contents in accordance with IMC 0040 format. Added guidance for the follow-up of traditional enforcement actions for Fuel Facilities. Minor editorial comments incorporated.

None ML20148M276 92702-2156 ML20259A326 ML26055A121 03/25/26 CN 26-010 ADVANCE ACT provision 507(d)(2)(A).

Consolidate traditional enforcement follow-up inspections to eliminate IPs 92722 and 92723 and incorporate guidance into other existing procedures. These revisions were recommended as a result of the ADVANCE Act 507 Report to Congress that discussed the revision of the ROP Baseline Inspection Program.

N/A ML25274A088 92702-2443 ML21223A327