Contrary to
10 CFR 50.72(b)(2)(xi) requirements to report, within four hours, any event related to the health and safety of the public for which notification to other government agencies has been made, on April 19, the licensee failed to make the required notification within the four hour requirement. At 2350 on April 18, 2013, the Berrien County 911 Dispatcher notified the licensee that an emergency
siren in the nearby Warren Dunes State Park was alarming. Four local citizens had called the dispatcher regarding the
siren. The licensee confirmed that the
siren should not be activated and took action to silence the
siren. Initially, the licensee concluded that the
siren actuation was not reportable because the site did not plan to issues a press release and believed the single
siren would have minimal impact to the local population. The following day, the licensee reviewed the circumstances surrounding the
siren and concluded that
10 CFR 50.72(b)(2)(xi) applied and a four hour report should have been made.
NUREG-1022 includes as an example that an Emergency Notification System notification is needed if county governments are informed of an actuation by concerned members of the public. The licensee made the notification at 1230 on April 19, 2013. The inspectors concluded that the failure to make the required four hour notification was a performance deficiency. Because the violation impacted the regulatory process, in that the licensee failed to make a required report on time, the inspectors assessed the performance deficiency using traditional enforcement. The inspectors concluded that the finding was a
Severity Level IV violation in accordance with the
Enforcement Policy, which includes a failure to make a report required by
10 CFR 50.72 as an example of a
SL IV violation. The licensee entered the condition into the
CAP as
AR 2013-5949. Corrective actions included clarifications to licensee procedures to prevent similar occurrences. On September 19, a similar event occurred and the licensee made the report on time. Because the licensee self-identified the condition, entered the condition in the corrective action program and took action to address the causes, the inspectors concluded that the issue could be addressed as a licensee identified non-cited violation.
