1

 Inspection Report No. 05000282/2006015; 05000306/2006015 was assigned to track

the violation described in the enclosed Notice.

September 28, 2006

EA-06-162

Mr. T. Palmisano

Site Vice President

Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant

Nuclear Management Company, LLC

1717 Wakonade Drive East

Welch, MN 55089

SUBJECT: NOTICE OF VIOLATION [NRC INSPECTION REPORT 05000282/2006015;

05000306/2006015 AND NRC INVESTIGATION REPORT NO. 3-2006-004]

PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT

Dear Mr. Palmisano:

This refers to an inspection by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that was

completed on June 29, 2006, and an investigation by the NRC Office of Investigations (OI) that

was completed on April 27, 2006, at the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2,

(Prairie Island) operated by the Nuclear Management Company, LLC (NMC). The inspection

and investigation identified an apparent violation of 10 CFR 50.9, “Completeness and Accuracy

of Information,” associated with information that NMC provided to the NRC on July 21, 2005, in

two applications for reactor operator licenses at the Prairie Island facility. A copy of the

inspection report, NRC Inspection Report No. 05000282/2006013;05000306/2006013, was

provided to you on July 18, 2006.1

In the letter transmitting the inspection report, we provided you the opportunity to address the

apparent violation identified in the report by either attending a predecisional enforcement

conference or by providing a written response before we make our final enforcement decision. 

In a letter dated August 14, 2006, you provided a written response to the apparent violation.

Based on the information developed during the NRC inspection, the OI investigation and the

information that you provided in your August 14, 2006, written response to the inspection report,

the NRC determined that a violation of NRC requirements occurred. The violation is cited in the

enclosed Notice of Violation (Notice) and the circumstances surrounding it are described in

detail in the subject inspection report. In summary, on July 21, 2005, NMC submitted two 

NRC Form 398s, “Personal Qualification Statement - License,” to the NRC, one for an applicant 

seeking a reactor operator (RO) license and one for an applicant seeking a senior reactor

operator (SRO) license at the Prairie Island facility. Both of the NRC Form 398s indicated the

applicants had completed on Januarly 18, 2005, a significant manipulation of the reactor

controls using the Prairie Island simulator to simulate a reactor startup. The NRC Form 398s
T. Palmisano -2-

also indicated that, as of January 18, 2005, NMC had conducted certification testing of the

simulator which demonstrated that the simulator replicated the current plant reactor core model. 

However, following a subsequent investigation, NMC determined that it could not locate

documentation to demonstrate that simulator certification testing for the reactor startup

procedure had occurred. Therefore, inaccurate information was submitted on the NRC

Form 398s. The licensee subsequently performed testing of the simulator during October 2005,

which demonstrated that the simulator replicated the current plant reactor core model.

The information on NRC Form 398 is material to the NRC because it is used to determine that

an applicant for license to operate a nuclear power reactor had performed a sufficient number

of significant reactivity control manipulations prior to being licensed to operate a nuclear power

reactor. On September 23, 2005, the NRC issued a license to operate a nuclear reactor to

each applicant based, in part, on the inaccurate information that the NMC submitted to the NRC

concerning each applicant’s use of the Prairie Island simulator to manipulate the controls for a

reactor startup. Therefore, this violation has been categorized in accordance with the NRC

Enforcement Policy at Severity Level III.

In accordance with the Enforcement Policy, a base civil penalty in the amount of $65,000 is

considered for a Severity Level III violation. Because your facility has not been the subject of

escalated enforcement actions within the two years preceding the violation, the NRC

considered whether credit was warranted for corrective actions in accordance with the civil

penalty assessment process in Section VI.C.2 of the Enforcement Policy. Credit was warranted

for corrective actions consisting of: (1) revising the procedure on NRC Operator Licensing

Requirements to include a checklist to verify that items on the checklist support the

requirements for license applications prior to its submittal of the applications; and (2) revising

the procedure for simulator testing documentation to strengthen the specific testing and

documentation instructions. 

Therefore, to encourage prompt and comprehensive correction of violations and in recognition

of the absence of previous escalated enforcement action, I have been authorized, after

consultation with the Director, Office of Enforcement, not to propose a civil penalty in this case. 

However, significant violations in the future could result in a civil penalty. 

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 will be achieved is already addressed on the docket in NRC Inspection Report

No. 05000282/2006013;05000306/2006013 and in an August 14, 2006, letter from the Nuclear

Management Company, LLC. Therefore, you are not required to respond to this letter unless 

the description therein does not accurately reflect your corrective actions or your position. In

that case, or if you choose to provide additional information, you should follow the instructions

specified in the enclosed Notice. Please contact Hironori Peterson, Chief, Operations Branch,

with questions. Mr. Peterson can be reached at telephone number (630) 829-9707.
T. Palmisano -3-

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter, its

enclosure, and your response, if you choose to respond, will be made available electronically

for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the NRC’s document system

(ADAMS), accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To

the extent possible, your response should not include any personal privacy, proprietary, or

safeguards information so that it can be made available to the Public without redaction. The

NRC also includes significant enforcement actions on its Web site at www.nrc.gov; select What

We Do, Enforcement, then Significant Enforcement Actions.

Sincerely, 

/RA by Geoffrey E. Grant Acting for/

 

James L. Caldwell

Regional Administrator

Docket Nos. 50-282; 50-306

License Nos. DPR-42; DPR-60

Enclosure: Notice of Violation 

cc w/encl: C. Anderson, Senior Vice President, Group Operations

M. Sellman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Nuclear Officer

Regulatory Affairs Manager

J. Rogoff, Vice President, Counsel & Secretary

Nuclear Asset Manager

State Liaison Officer, Minnesota Department of Health

Tribal Council, Prairie Island Indian Community

Administrator, Goodhue County Courthouse

Commissioner, Minnesota Department

 of Commerce

Manager, Environmental Protection Division

 Office of the Attorney General of Minnesota

Council Administrator

President, Prairie Island Tribal Council

Goodhue County Sheriff

Director, Pierce County Emergency

 Management Agency

Chair, Pierce County Board of Commissioners

Chair, Dakota County Board of Commissioners

Mayor of Red Wing

Director, Goodhue County Emergency

 Management Agency

Chair, Goodhue County Board of Commissioners

Pierce County Sheriff

Dakota County Sheriff

INPO
1

 No legal objection received on September 18, 2006, during a telephone conversation 

 between Michael Spencer, OGC, and Charles Weil, RIII.

2

 David Solorio, OE, provided HQ concurrence in an e-mail dated September 26, 2006.

T. Palmisano -3-

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter, its

enclosure, and your response, if you choose to respond, will be made available electronically

for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the NRC’s document system

(ADAMS), accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To

the extent possible, your response should not include any personal privacy, proprietary, or

safeguards information so that it can be made available to the Public without redaction. The

NRC also includes significant enforcement actions on its Web site at www.nrc.gov; select What

We Do, Enforcement, then Significant Enforcement Actions.

Sincerely, 

/RA by Geoffrey E. Grant Acting for/

James L. Caldwell

Regional Administrator

Docket Nos. 50-282; 50-306

License Nos. DPR-42; DPR-60

Enclosure: Notice of Violation 

cc w/encl: C. Anderson, Senior Vice President, Group Operations

M. Sellman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Nuclear Officer

Regulatory Affairs Manager

J. Rogoff, Vice President, Counsel & Secretary

Nuclear Asset Manager

State Liaison Officer, Minnesota Department of Health

Tribal Council, Prairie Island Indian Community

Administrator, Goodhue County Courthouse

Commissioner, Minnesota Department

 of Commerce

Manager, Environmental Protection Division

 Office of the Attorney General of Minnesota

Council Administrator

President, Prairie Island Tribal Council

Goodhue County Sheriff

Director, Pierce County Emergency

 Management Agency

Chair, Pierce County Board of Commissioners

Chair, Dakota County Board of Commissioners

Mayor of Red Wing

Director, Goodhue County Emergency

 Management Agency

Chair, Goodhue County Board of Commissioners

Pierce County Sheriff

Dakota County Sheriff

INPO

*See previous concurrence

FILE NAME: E:\Filenet\ML062750146.wpd

 Publicly Available G Non-Publicly Available G Sensitive  Non-Sensitive

To receive a copy of this document, indicate in the box: "C" = Copy w/o att/encl "E" = Copy w/att/encl "N" = No copy

OFFICE RIII E OGC1 E D:OE2 E RIII E RIII RIII RIII

NAME Weil * Spencer for

Jones*

Solorio for

Carpenter*

West for

Pederson

West for

Satorius

O’Brien Grant for

Caldwell

DATE 09/26/06 09/18/06 09/26/06 09/27/06 09/27/06 09/27/06 09/28/06

 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
Letter from J. Caldwell to T. Palmisano dated September 28, 2006

SUBJECT: NOTICE OF VIOLATION [NRC INSPECTION REPORT05000282/2006015; 

 05000306/2006015 AND NRC INVESTIGATION REPORT NO. 3-2006-004]

DISTRIBUTION: 

ADAMS (PARS)

SECY 

OCA 

L. Reyes, EDO

W. Kane, DEDR

C. Carpenter, OE

D. Solorio, OE

D. Starkey, OE

R. Fretz, OE

J. Caldwell, RIII

G. Grant, RIII

L. Chandler, OGC

B. Jones, OGC

J. Dyer, NRR

C. Pederson, RIII

M. Satorius, RIII

A. Boland, RIII

S. West, RIII

D. Holody, Enforcement Officer, RI

C. Evans, Enforcement Officer, RII

K. O’Brien, Enforcement Officer, RIII

K. Fuller, Enforcement Officer, RIV 

R. Pascarelli, Enforcement Coordinator, NRR

H. Peterson, RIII

R. Skokowski, RIII

Resident Inspector 

E. Brenner, OPA

H. Bell, OIG

G. Caputo, OI

J. Schlueter, OSTP

C. Weil, RIII

M. Spencer, OGC

R. Paul, OI:RIII

S. Kryk, OI:RIII

N. Hane, OI:RIII

J. Strasma, RIII:PA

R. Lickus, RIII

J. Lynch, RIII

OEWEB

OEMAIL

OAC3

ROPreports@nrc.gov
NOTICE OF VIOLATION

Nuclear Management Company, LLC Docket Nos. 50-266; 50-301

Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant License Nos. DPR-24; DPR-27

Units 1 and 2 EA-06-162

During an NRC inspection completed on June 29, 2006, and an NRC Office of Investigations

investigation completed on April 27, 2006, a violation of NRC requirements was identified. In

accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy, the violation is listed below:

10 CFR 50.9(a) provides, in part, that information provided to the Commission by an

applicant for a license or by a licensee shall be complete and accurate in all material

respects.

10 CFR 55.31(a) requires, in part, that an authorized representative of the facility

licensee must certify, on NRC Form 398, “Personal Qualification Statement - License,”

that an applicant for a reactor operator or senior reactor operator license successfully

completed the facility licensee’s requirements to be licensed as a reactor operator or a

senior reactor operator. The authorized representative of the facility licensee must also

provide evidence that the applicant, as a trainee, successfully manipulated the controls

of either the facility for which a license is sought or a plant-referenced simulator that

meets the requirement of 10 CFR 55.46(c). 

10 CFR 55.46(c) requires, in part, that a facility licensee that proposes to use a plantreferenced simulator to meet the control manipulation requirements in

10 CFR 55.31(a)(5) must ensure that the plant-referenced simulator utilizes models

relating to nuclear and thermal-hydraulic characteristics that replicate the most recent

core load in the nuclear power reference plant for which a license is being sought. 

10 CFR 55.46(c) also requires the facility licensee demonstrate simulator fidelity so that

significant control manipulations are completed without procedural exceptions or

deviation from the approved training scenario sequence.

10 CFR 55.46(d) requires, in part, that the facility licensee conduct performance testing

throughout the life of the simulation facility in a manner to ensure simulator fidelity has

been demonstrated. The results of performance tests must be retained for four years

after the completion of each performance test or until superseded by updated test

results.

Contrary to the above, on July 21, 2005, the facility licensee provided inaccurate

information to the Commission on two NRC Form 398s, “Personal Qualification

Statement - Licensee,” dated July 20, 2005, for an individual applying for a reactor

operator license and for an individual applying for a senior reactor operator license. 

Specifically, the facility licensee provided information on each application indicating the

applicant performed reactivity control manipulations on the Prairie Island plant simulator

on January 18, 2005, and that the simulator had a current core model that replicated the

plant as verified by performance testing. However, the facility licensee failed to retain

records for simulator performance testing associated with reactivity control 
Notice of Violation -2-

manipulations that was conducted on the plant-referenced simulator during 

November 2004. Therefore, the facility licensee’s statements on each NRC Form 398

were inaccurate, because at the time the simulated reactivity manipulation was

performed on January 18, 2005, the facility licensee could not demonstrate the simulator

had a current core model that replicated the plant as verified by performance testing. 

This information was material to the NRC because it was used to evaluate the

sufficiency of the significant control manipulations for each applicant and was part of the

bases the NRC used to issue licenses to the reactor operator license applicant and the

senior reactor operator license applicant.

This is a Severity Level III violation (Supplement VII) 

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 will be achieved is already addressed in NRC Inspection Report

No. 05000282/2006013; 05000306/2006013 (ADAMS Accession No. ML062000319) and in an

August 14, 2006, letter from the Nuclear Management Company, LLC (ADAMS Accession

No. ML062270252). However, you are required to submit a written statement of explanation

pursuant to 10 CFR 2.201 if the description therein 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, EA-06-162" and send it to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, ATTN: Document Control Desk, Washington, D.C. 20555 with a copy to the

Regional Administrator and Enforcement Officer, NRC Region III, and a copy to the Resident

Inspector at the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant within 30 days 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 made available electronically for public

inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the NRC’s document system (ADAMS),

accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Therefore, to

the extent possible, it should not include any personal privacy, proprietary, or safeguards

information so that it can be made available to the public without redaction. 

In accordance with 10 CFR 19.11, you may be required to post this Notice within two working

days. 

Dated this 28th day of September 2006