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EA-99-104 - Waterford 3 (Entergy Operations,
Inc.)
June 15, 1999
EA 99-104
Charles M. Dugger, Vice President
Operations, Waterford-3
Entergy Operations, Inc.
P.O. Box B
Killona, Louisiana 70066
SUBJECT: NOTICE OF VIOLATION (NRC INSPECTION REPORT 50-382/99-08)
Dear Mr. Dugger:
This refers to your letter dated June 3, 1999, in which you responded
to an apparent violation described in NRC Inspection Report 50-382/99-08,
dated May 3, 1999. The apparent violation, which was identified by Entergy
Operations, Inc. personnel at Entergy's Waterford-3 Steam Electric Station,
involved mistakenly granting unescorted access to the facility to an individual
whose background investigation indicated he had recently failed another
employer's pre-employment drug screening.
In Attachment 1 to your June 3, 1999 letter, you described and clarified
Entergy's corrective actions. Entergy's corrective actions included revoking
the individual's access, conducting a review of the individual's work,
retraining and counseling Waterford-3 personnel who mistakenly granted
access, conducting additional training for all access authorization personnel,
revising procedures to emphasize the need to perform a comprehensive review
of all information in an applicant's folder and to assure that all derogatory
information has been adjudicated, and reviewing approximately 800 access
authorization files for workers granted access during Refuel Outage 09.
You reported that no similar errors were found.
Based on its review of all information in this case, and after consideration
of the information you provided in your letter, the NRC has concluded
that a violation of NRC requirements occurred. Specifically, information
regarding illegal use of a controlled substance without adequate evidence
of rehabilitation is required to be considered in making access authorization
determinations. In this case, derogatory information of this nature was
missed and was not considered until 30 days after temporary unescorted
access was granted. This violation has been classified at Severity Level
III because it involved granting unescorted access to an individual who
would not have been granted access had the derogatory information been
considered (Supplement III, NRC Enforcement Policy).
Since the Waterford-3 facility has received escalated enforcement action
in the past two years(1), the NRC considered
both identification and corrective actions in determining
whether a civil penalty should be assessed for this violation (Section
VI.B.2, NRC Enforcement Policy). As already noted, Entergy identified
this violation and took comprehensive corrective actions. Thus, the NRC
has determined that credit for both factors is warranted, resulting in
no civil penalty being assessed.
The NRC also has concluded that no further response to this violation
is warranted since information regarding your corrective actions is already
described in your June 3, 1999 letter and in Security Incident Report
99-SO2-00 which Entergy submitted to the NRC on April 22, 1999.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice," this
letter and its enclosure will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room.
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Sincerely,
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Ellis W. Merschoff
Regional Administrator
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Docket No. 50-382
License No. NPF-38
Enclosure: Notice of Violation
cc w/Enclosure:
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Entergy Operations, Inc.
P.O. Box 31995
Jackson, Mississippi 39286-1995
Vice President, Operations Support
Entergy Operations, Inc.
P.O. Box 31995
Jackson, Mississippi 39286-1995
Wise, Carter, Child & Caraway
P.O. Box 651
Jackson, Mississippi 39205
General Manager, Plant Operations
Waterford 3 SES
Entergy Operations, Inc.
P.O. Box B
Killona, Louisiana 70066
Manager - Licensing Manager
Waterford 3 SES
Entergy Operations, Inc.
P.O. Box B
Killona, Louisiana 70066
Chairman
Louisiana Public Service Commission
One American Place, Suite 1630
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70825-1697
Director, Nuclear Safety & Regulatory Affairs
Waterford 3 SES
Entergy Operations, Inc.
P.O. Box B
Killona, Louisiana 70066
Ronald Wascom, Administrator
Louisiana Radiation Protection Division
P.O. Box 82135
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70884-2135
Parish President
St. Charles Parish
P.O. Box 302
Hahnville, Louisiana 70057
Winston & Strawn
1400 L Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20005-3502
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NOTICE OF VIOLATION
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Entergy Operations, Inc.
Waterford-3 Steam Electric Station |
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Docket No. 50-382
License No. NPF-38
EA 99-104
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During an NRC inspection completed April 22, 1999, a violation of NRC
requirements was identified. In accordance with the "General Statement
of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions," NUREG-1600, Rev.
1, the violation is listed below:
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10 CFR 73.56(b)(1) states, in part, that the licensee
shall establish and maintain an access authorization program granting
unescorted access to protected and vital areas with the objective
of providing high assurance that individuals granted unescorted access
are trustworthy and reliable. 10 CFR 73.56(a)(1) required the licensee
to incorporate the access authorization program into the site Physical
Security Plan and implement it.
Paragraph 2.3.1 of the licensee's Physical Security Plan commits to
Regulatory Guide 5.66, Access Authorization Program For Nuclear Power
Plants, in its entirety.
Paragraph 7.1 of Regulatory Guide 5.66 states, in part, that in its
decision to grant unescorted access, the utility shall consider information
obtained during the background investigation. Paragraph 7.1 also states,
"In making a determination of trustworthiness and reliability, the
following must be considered: .... b. Illegal use or possession of
a controlled substance or abuse of alcohol without adequate evidence
of rehabilitation."
Paragraph 6.8.1 of Entergy Corporate Security Departmental Procedure
CS-DP-104, Revision 0, states that the licensee's decision to grant
unescorted access authorization shall be based upon review of all
information developed during the completion of a background investigation
and psychological evaluation. In addition, paragraph 6.8.3 states
that the licensee must consider illegal use or possession of a controlled
substance or abuse of alcohol without adequate evidence of rehabilitation.
Contrary to the above, on February 23, 1999, the licensee failed to
consider information obtained during a background investigation before
granting temporary unescorted access to a contractor employee. The
licensee failed to consider information obtained during the employee's
background investigation which indicated use of a controlled substance
without adequate evidence of rehabilitation. Specifically, the background
investigation for this employee revealed that the employee had recently
failed another employer's pre-employment drug screening by testing
positive for drugs. (01013)
This is a Severity Level III violation (Supplement III).
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The NRC has concluded that information regarding the reason for the violation,
the corrective actions taken and planned to correct the violation and
prevent recurrence, and the date when full compliance was achieved is
already adequately addressed on the docket in Entergy's June 3, 1999 letter
to the NRC and in Security Incident Report 99-SO2-00 which Entergy submitted
to the NRC on April 22, 1999. However, you are required to submit a written
statement or explanation pursuant to 10 CFR 2.201 if the description
in these documents does not accurately reflect your corrective actions
or your position. In that case, or if you choose to respond, clearly mark
your response as a "Reply to a Notice of Violation," and send it to the
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Document Control
Desk, Washington, DC 20555 with a copy to the Regional Administrator,
Region IV, 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400, Arlington, Texas 76011,
and a copy to the NRC Resident Inspector at the facility that is the subject
of this Notice, within 30 days of the date of the letter transmitting
this Notice of Violation (Notice).
If you contest this enforcement action, you should also provide a copy
of your response, with the basis for your denial, to the Director, Office
of Enforcement, United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555-0001.
If you choose to respond, your response will be placed in the NRC Public
Document Room (PDR). Therefore, to the extent possible, the response should
not include any personal privacy, proprietary, or safeguards information
so that it can be placed in the PDR without redaction. If personal privacy
or proprietary information is necessary to provide an acceptable response,
then please provide a bracketed copy of your response that identifies
the information that should be protected and a redacted copy of your response
that deletes such information. If you request withholding of such material,
you must specifically identify the portions of your response that
you seek to have withheld and provide in detail the bases for your claim
of withholding (e.g., explain why the disclosure of information will create
an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy or provide the information
required by 10 CFR 2.790(b) to support a request for withholding
confidential commercial or financial information). If safeguards information
is necessary to provide an acceptable response, please provide the level
of protection described in 10 CFR 73.21.
Dated this 15th day of June 1999
1. Entergy received a Severity Level III violation
on January 7, 1999, for a violation which involved losing control of a
copy of the Waterford-3 physical security plan.
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