Escalated Enforcement Actions Issued to Reactor Licensees - R

On January 5, 2012, the NRC issued a Notice of Violation and Proposed Civil Penalty in the amount of $140,000 to Entergy Operations, Inc. (Entergy) for a Severity Level III violation as a result of an investigation at the River Bend Station.  An investigation conducted by the NRC Office of Investigations determined that on  multiple occasions multiple reactor operators willfully failed to follow an Entergy procedure that prohibited internet access in the “At-the-Controls” area of the control room, except as specifically authorized by the Operations Manager.  These reactor operators put Entergy in violation of the River Bend Station Technical Specifications.

On August 24, 2011, the NRC issued a Confirmatory Order (Effective Immediately) to Entergy Nuclear Operations Inc. and Entergy Operations Inc. (collectively Entergy) to formalize commitments made as a result of an ADR mediation session held on July 18, 2011 in Washington DC. By letter dated May 20, 2011, the NRC identified an apparent violation of 10 CFR 50.7 to Entergy Operations Inc. based on the NRC’s Office of Investigations, March 17, 2011 report (OI Case No. 4-2010-053). Specifically, the NRC had reached a preliminary conclusion that an employee at the River Bend Station was rated lower in his/her 2008 annual performance appraisal based in part on the employee questioning the qualifications necessary to perform certain work activities in compliance with applicable plant procedure(s).

Prior to the issuance of the NRC’s May 20, 2011 letter but following a separate NRC inquiry, Entergy conducted its own internal investigation of the circumstances giving rise to the apparent violation. The NRC recognized that as a result of its investigation, Entergy took several specific actions at the River Bend Station and several fleet-wide actions. The fleet-wide actions included conducting supervisory and Employee Concerns Program personnel training on 10 CFR 50.7; reviewing all closed internal retaliation type cases in 2008 and 2009; reviewing all 2009 appraisals for employees with overall “improvement required” rating; and revising several quality-affecting procedures.

As a result of the settlement agreement from the ADR mediation session, Entergy agreed to take a number of additional fleet-wide actions. A summary of those fleet-wide actions are: (1) reorganizing the quality control organization’s reporting structure; (2) reinforcing the company’s commitment to a safety conscious work environment through a written communication from a senior Entergy nuclear executive; (3) reviewing and, as necessary, revising the existing general employee training on 10 CFR 50.7 to include insights from the circumstances giving rise to this matter; (4) reviewing and, as necessary, revising training to new supervisors for 10 CFR 50.7 to include insights from the circumstances giving rise to this matter; and (5) conducting an effectiveness review of the Employee Concerns Program enhancements and training that were implemented relating to the underlying matter. Entergy also agreed to conduct a plant wide safety culture survey at the River Bend Station prior to December 31, 2012.

In recognition of Entergy’s prior actions and in exchange for the additional actions Entergy agreed to take as described in the enclosed confirmatory order, the NRC agreed not to pursue further action relating to this matter which may have otherwise resulted in the issuance of a Notice of Violation with a base civil penalty had it not reached a settlement agreement.