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	NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION II 101 Marietta St. NW - Suite 2900, Atlanta GA 30323
	CONTACT:	Ken Clark (Phone: 404-331-5503, E-mail: kmc2@nrc.gov )
		Roger Hannah (Phone 404-331-7878, E-mail: rdh1@nrc.gov )

No.: II-97-06

January 10, 1997

NRC STAFF PROPOSES $100,000 IN FINES AGAINST FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT AT ST. LUCIE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has proposed $100,000 in civil penalties against Florida Power & Light Company for violations of NRC requirements at the St. Lucie nuclear power plant near Jensen Beach, Florida.

According to the letter sent to the company by NRC Regional Administrator Luis Reyes, a $50,000 civil penalty is being proposed for the failure to limit access to certain areas of the plant to only authorized individuals. This violation involved a former employee gaining access to the protected area and the identification of other instances where individuals had left the company but their access badges were not terminated. In addition, the company failed to notify the NRC of the unauthorized entry within one hour as required by the regulations.

The NRC staff is proposing a second $50,000 civil penalty for failing to appropriately implement portions of the plant's Radiological Emergency Plan. Specifically, the company failed to ensure a system was in place that would quickly notify additional employees to report in the event of an emergency. FPL also failed to adequately incorporate emergency plan requirements into plant procedures, and failed to conduct required training for some emergency response personnel.

The NRC staff also notified FPL of several violations related to nuclear instrumentation but the agency did not assess a civil penalty for those violations.

In the letter to FPL, Reyes wrote that although the violations are unrelated, "the NRC is concerned that collectively they reflect particularly poor overall performance by FPL." He also wrote that the NRC is concerned about "FPL's apparent lack of responsiveness and sensitivity to emergency preparedness issues that were raised by a concerned employee with FPL management." The letter further stated that the NRC will schedule a meeting with FPL to discuss the company's handling of employee concerns.

The company has 30 days to either pay the fines or to protest their imposition.