ML21027A274

Calendar Year 2021 Inspection Guidance During COVID-19 Telework Restrictions

ML21027A274
Person / Time
Issue date:	01/28/2021
From:	Mark King Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:	Laura Dudes, Mirela Gavrilas, Jack Giessner, David Lew, Scott(Ois) Morris Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response, NRC Region 1, NRC/RGN-II, NRC/RGN-III, NRC Region 4
Heather Jones NRR/DRO/IRIB
References
Download: ML21027A274 (3)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 February 01, 2021 MEMORANDUM TO: Mirela Gavrilas, Director Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response David C. Lew, Regional Administrator Region I Laura A. Dudes, Regional Administrator Region II Jack Giessner, Regional Administrator Region III Scott A. Morris, Regional Administrator Region IV FROM: Michael King, Acting Deputy Director /RA/

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

SUBJECT:

CALENDAR YEAR 2021 INSPECTION GUIDANCE DURING COVID-19 TELEWORK RESTRICTIONS This purpose of this memorandum is to provide guidance for the regional offices to continue Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) inspection activities as COVID-19 restrictions continue to change in 2021. This memorandum supersedes the May 28, 2020, memorandum, Inspection Guidance During Transition From COVID-19 Mandatory Telework (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML20141L766) issued by the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulations (NRR) Division of Reactor Oversight (DRO).

This guidance is intended to balance the importance of protecting the health and safety of our inspectors and site personnel along with the need to conduct effective oversight that supports NRCs critical safety mission. The considerations and guidance listed in the May 28 memorandum can still be applied and should be viewed as guiding principles for regional decisions to continue the NRCs on-site inspection by residents and regional inspectors.

CONTACT: Heather Jones, NRR/DRO 301-415-4054

M. Gavrilas, et al 2 For your convenience, the considerations for determining whether to increase or decrease on-site inspection have not changed, and are provided below:

• specific health and safety circumstances of individual inspectors and their families, and availability of other inspectors as appropriate;

• plant risk configuration, including but not limited to, the availability of safety-related systems, outage activities, planned or emergent maintenance activities;

• the availability, connectivity and usefulness of remote technologies for inspectors to provide effective oversight of safety and security activities, including plant information (e.g., meetings, corrective action program, or other data);

• on-site COVID-19 conditions and trends; and

• local COVID-19 conditions around the site and the community where the inspectors reside, including directions from local authorities.

This memorandum restores the ROP completion goal for the calendar year (CY) 2021 ROP to complete the nominal inspection samples for the baseline inspection program for each site.

This ROP completion goal is similar to the ROP completion goals that existed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Notwithstanding this stated goal, NRR is mindful that because of this unprecedented public health emergency, the ROP completion goal allows for completion using minimum samples when needed, and some performance metrics may not be met for CY 2021.

The regions should consider the risks to our inspectors health and safetyand that of our licensees employeeswhen making decisions about inspection completion. The regions should use the normal processes described in Inspection Manual Chapter (IMC) 2515 to document ROP and program metric completion. All other ROP guidance discussed in the enclosure of the May 28, 2020 memorandum remains in effect for regional execution of the inspection program for CY 2021.

The regions, NRR, and the Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response are encouraged to leverage telework technology where such technologies can be shown to effectively accomplish the objectives of the NRCs inspection procedures and/or effectively minimize the further spread of COVID-19 during administrative aspects of the ROP (e.g., preparation and documentation, entrance and exit meetings, etc.). NRR will continue to assess this guidance and update it as needed.

ML21027A274 *via e-mail NRR-106 OFFICE DRO/IRIB/BC (A)* DRO/DD* DRO/D* NRR/DD (A)*

NAME HJones RFelts CMiller MKing DATE 1/27/2021 1/27/2021 1/28/2021 2/1/2021