IR 05000259/2020404

NRC Security Inspection Report 05000259/2020404 and 05000260/2020404 and 05000296/2020404 and Apparent Violation (U)

ML20273A041
Person / Time
Site:	Browns Ferry
Issue date:	09/29/2020
From:	Mark Franke NRC/RGN-II
To:	Jim Barstow Tennessee Valley Authority
References
EA-20-048 IR 2020404
Download: ML20273A041 (4)

Text

September 29, 2020

SUBJECT:

BROWNS FERRY NUCLEAR PLANT - NRC SECURITY INSPECTION REPORT 05000259/2020404 AND 05000260/2020404 AND 05000296/2020404 AND APPARENT VIOLATION (U)

Dear Mr. Barstow:

This refers to the investigation completed on March 23, 2020, by the Nuclear Regulatory Commissions (NRC) Office of Investigations (OI) concerning activities at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant. The purpose of the investigation, in part, was to determine whether a Browns Ferry Nuclear Security Supervisor willfully failed to conduct required fatigue assessments after a security officer under his supervision was observed by fellow officers on two consecutive nights to be inattentive while on duty, and failed to report the events in accordance with regulatory requirements and licensee procedures. A Factual Summary of the OI investigation is provided as Enclosure 2.

Based on the results of the investigation, apparent violations (AV) were identified which are being considered for escalated enforcement action in accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy. The current Enforcement Policy is included on the NRCs Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/aboutnrc/regulatory/enforcement/enforce-pol.html. The AVs are discussed in Enclosure 1.

Before the NRC makes its enforcement decision, we are providing you an opportunity to: (1)

respond to these AVs in writing within 30 days of the date of this letter; (2) request a Pre-decisional Enforcement Conference (PEC); or (3) request Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

as discussed below. If a PEC is held, the NRC will issue a press release to announce the time and date of the conference; however, the PEC will be closed to public observation since it is associated with an OI report, the results of which have not been publicly released. The PEC will also be transcribed. If you decide to participate in a PEC, or pursue ADR, please contact James Shehee at 404-997-4563 within 10 days of the date of this letter. A PEC should be held within 30 days and an ADR session within 45 days of the date of this letter.

If you choose to provide a written response, it should be clearly marked as a Response to Apparent Violations in NRC Inspection Report 05000259,260,296/2020404 and Investigation Report No. 2-2019-022, EA-20-048 and should include (1) the reason for the AVs or, if contested, the basis for disputing the apparent violations; (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. Your response may reference or include previously docketed correspondence, if the correspondence adequately addresses the required response.

Additionally, your response should be sent to the NRCs Document Control Center, with a copy mailed to Mark Franke, Director, Division of Reactor Safety, Region II, 245 Peachtree Center Avenue NE, Atlanta, GA 30303, within 30 days of the date of this letter. If an adequate response is not received within the time specified or an extension of time has not been granted by the NRC, the NRC will proceed with its enforcement decision or schedule a PEC.

If you choose to request a PEC, the conference will afford you the opportunity to provide your perspective on these matters and any other information that you believe the NRC should take into consideration before making an enforcement decision. The decision to hold a PEC does not mean that the NRC has determined that a violation has occurred or that enforcement action will be taken. This conference would be conducted to obtain information to assist the NRC in making an enforcement decision. The topics discussed during the conference may include information to determine whether a violation occurred, information to determine the significance of a violation, information related to the identification of a violation, and information related to any corrective actions taken or planned.

In lieu of a PEC, you may request Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) with the NRC in an attempt to resolve this issue. ADR is a general term encompassing various techniques for resolving conflicts using a third party neutral. The technique that the NRC has decided to employ is mediation. Mediation is a voluntary, informal process in which a trained neutral (the mediator) works with parties to help them reach resolution. If the parties agree to use ADR, they select a mutually agreeable neutral mediator who has no stake in the outcome and no power to make decisions. Mediation gives parties an opportunity to discuss issues, clear up misunderstandings, be creative, find areas of agreement, and reach a final resolution of the issues. Additional information concerning the NRC's program can be obtained at http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/enforcement/adr.html. The Institute on Conflict Resolution (ICR) at Cornell University has agreed to facilitate the NRC's program as a neutral third party. Please contact ICR at 877-733-9415 within 10 days of the date of this letter if you are interested in pursuing resolution of this issue through ADR. In addition, please be advised that the number and characterization of apparent violations described in the enclosed inspection report may change as a result of further NRC review. You will be advised by separate correspondence of the results of our deliberations on this matter.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice and Procedure," a copy of this letter, and your response, if you choose to provide one, will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. If Security Related Information is necessary to provide an acceptable response, please mark your entire response Security-Related Information in accordance with 10 CFR 2.390(d)(1) and follow the instructions for withholding in 10 CFR.390(b)(1). In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390(b)(1)(ii), the NRC is waiving the affidavit requirements for your response.

Enclosures 1 and 2 contain Security-Related Information in accordance with 10 CFR 2.390(d)(1)

and its disclosure to unauthorized individuals could present a security vulnerability. Therefore, the material in the enclosures will not be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Should you have any questions concerning this letter, please contact Mr. James Shehee at 404-997-4563.

For administrative purposes this letter is issued as Inspection Report 05000259/2020404, 260/2020404 and 296/2020404 and the apparent violations are designated as AV 05000259/2020404-01, 05000260/2020404-01 and 05000296/2020404-01, Failure to Implement Fitness for Duty Fatigue Assessment and Reporting Requirements. If you have any questions concerning this matter, please contact Mr. James Shehee of my staff at 404-997-4563.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Mark E. Franke, Director Division of Reactor Safety Docket Nos. 05000259 and 05000260 and 05000296 License Nos. DPR-33 and DPR-52 and DPR-68 Enclosures:

1: Inspection Report 05000259/2020404, 05000260/2020404, and 05000296/2020404 2: Factual Summary SUBJECT:

BROWNS FERRY NUCLEAR PLANT - NRC SECURITY INSPECTION REPORT 05000259/2020404 AND 05000260/2020404 AND 05000296/2020404 AND APPARENT VIOLATIONS dated September 29, 2020 (U)

DISTRIBUTION N. Simonian, NSIR Daryl Johnson, NSIR/DSO/SOSB Dante Johnson, NSIR/DSO/SPEB R. Richardson, NSIR/DSO/SOSB T. Keene, NSIR F. Sullivan, NSIR A. Richardson, NSIR A. Letourneau, NSIR J. Rubenstone, NMSS T. Stephen, DRP M. Kirk, RI S. Ninh, DRP J. Seat, DRP S. Price, RII, ORA/RC L. Gibson, RII, EICS D. Furst, OE B. Hughes, NRR S. Prasad, NSIR M. Kowal, RII S. Sparks, RII OE MailRIDSNRRDIRS ADAMS ACCESSION NUMNER: _________________________________

Cover Letter only:

X SUNSI Review X Non-Sensitive Sensitive X Publicly Available Non-Publicly Available OFFICE OE DRS/PSB DRP/BR5 RII/EICS RII/DRS RII/ORA/RC NAME D.Furst J. Shehee T. Stephen M. Kowal M. Franke S. Price DATE 09/21/2020 09/02/2020 09/02/2020 09/02/2020 09/03/2020 03/6/2020 OFFICE NSIR NSIR NAME T. Keen S. Prasad DATE 09/22/2020 09/22/2020 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY ML20273A041