April 1, 2004

EA-03-208

Mr. William R. Kanda

Vice President - Nuclear, Perry

FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company

P. O. Box 97, A210

Perry, OH 44081

SUBJECT: NOTICE OF VIOLATION

[NRC OFFICE OF INVESTIGATIONS REPORT NO. 3-2002-031]

Dear Mr. Kanda:

This refers to the investigation conducted by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

Office of Investigations (OI) into an apparent violation of the Technical Specification limit on

working hours on March 12 and March 13, 2001, at the FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating

Company’s (FENOC) Perry Nuclear Power Plant. A summary of the OI investigation was

provided to you on December 19, 2003, and a predecisional enforcement conference was held

with you on March 2, 2004.

Based on information developed during the OI investigation, information contained in letters

from FENOC on February 25, 2004, and March 22, 2004, and the information you provided

during the predecisional enforcement conference, the NRC has concluded that a violation of

NRC requirements occurred. In summary, on March 9, 2001, during Refueling Outage RF-08,

at least one contract technician, responsible for testing motor operated valves (MOVs) at the

Perry Nuclear Power Plant deliberately devised a plan of “creative timekeeping,” so that three

technicians worked on a regularly scheduled day off and charged that time to a day during the

following week when they had fewer hours scheduled. One technician mentioned this plan

during a regular shift turnover meeting that was attended by at least three FENOC supervisors

associated with the MOV testing program. A comment about “creative timekeeping,” was

attributed to at least one technician. Another employee reminded those attending the turnover

meeting that regardless of the number of hours the technicians planned to work, plant

procedures limited them to a maximum number of hours in a given period of time. Following

this reminder, none of the supervisors asked the technician about his comment regarding

“creative timekeeping,” sought preapproval of the overtime as required by Technical

Specification, or otherwise followed-up on the issue. As a result, two technicians worked in

excess of 72 hours in a 7-day period without a preapproved overtime deviation. One technician

worked 12 hours per day for 9 consecutive days and a second technician worked 12 hours per

day for 10 consecutive days. The time card for each technician was prepared in a manner that

indicated the technicians did not work in excess of 72 hours in a 7-day period. One FENOC

supervisor refused to sign the time cards, apparently believing the cards contained inaccurate

or incorrect information; however, that supervisor failed to take action to identify, correct, or

inform management of this information.
W. Kanda -2-

The FENOC supervisors were all aware that a deviation from the overtime guidelines needed to

be submitted and approved by plant management before the overtime could be worked. By

failing to stop the technicians’ plan to work in excess of the overtime guidelines and by failing to

submit a request for prior approval of the overtime, the FENOC supervisors allowed a violation

of the Technical Specification limiting overtime to occur. The actions of two of the supervisors

are considered willful violations, representing careless disregard of the Technical Specification

limiting overtime because they knew that the technicians planned to work in excess of the

overtime guidelines. The other supervisor was on a different shift than the technicians and was

not in direct control of their work hours. In addition, he said he believed the technician was

joking when he made the comment about creative timekeeping. The NRC concluded that his

actions did not rise to the level of careless disregard; however, he had an opportunity to prevent

the violation of Technical Specifications. The actions of at least one technician in devising the

plan to exceed the overtime guidelines is considered to be a deliberate violation of the

Technical Specification requirement. Because the violation involved willfulness, it has been

categorized in accordance with the “General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC

Enforcement Actions,” (Enforcement Policy), NUREG-1600, at Severity Level III.

In accordance with the Enforcement Policy, a base civil penalty in the amount of $60,000 is

considered for a Severity Level III violation. Because this was a willful violation, the NRC

considered whether credit was warranted for Identification and Corrective Action in accordance

with the civil penalty assessment process in Section VI.C.2 of the Enforcement Policy. The

violation was identified to FENOC by another FENOC employee; therefore, credit is warranted

for the Identification civil penalty adjustment factor. While corrective actions at the time the

violation was identified to FENOC were minimal (e.g., corrective action report did not address

the employee integrity aspect of the violation and only one of the three supervisors responsible

for the violation was counseled) broader corrective actions were taken following a subsequent

FENOC investigation of the violation. Corrective actions consisted of, but were not limited to: 

(1) sending a letter to all plant personnel on overtime management, including responsibility for

compliance with work hour limits; (2) providing training to supervisors and staff on compliance,

completeness and accuracy, including overtime deviations and time cards; (3) incorporating

training on compliance, completeness and accuracy into your plant access training;

(4) providing more detailed guidance on individual and supervisory responsibility for control of

work hours; and (5) counseling the involved supervisors. On balance, credit was warranted for

the Corrective Action civil penalty adjustment factor.

Therefore, to encourage prompt identification and comprehensive correction of violations, 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. 

You are required to respond to this letter and should follow the instructions specified in the

enclosed Notice of Violation when preparing your response. The NRC will use your response,

in part, to determine whether further enforcement action is necessary to ensure compliance with

regulatory requirements.
 1

 HQ concurrence received 3/30/04 from Frances Ramirez, OE.

W. Kanda -3-

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

enclosure 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. 

Sincerely,

/RA/

James L. Caldwell

Regional Administrator

Docket No. 50-440

License No. NPF-58

Enclosure: Notice of Violation

cc w/encl: G. Leidich, President - FENOC

K. Cimorelli, Acting Director,

 Maintenance Department

V. Higaki, Manager, Regulatory Affairs

J. Messina, Director, Nuclear

 Services Department

T. Lentz, Director, Nuclear

 Engineering Department

T. Rausch, Plant Manager, 

 Nuclear Power Plant Department

M. O’Reilly, Attorney, First Energy

Public Utilities Commission of Ohio

Ohio State Liaison Officer

R. Owen, Ohio Department of Health

FILE NAME: G:\EICS\03-208 SLIII No CP Perry FINAL.wpd

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 D:OE1 E RIII E RIII RIII N RIII N

NAME Weil Congel Caniano for

Pederson

Grobe for

Reynolds

Clayton Caldwell

DATE 3/31/04 03/30/04 3/31/04 4/1/04 4/1/04 4/1/04

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
W. Kanda -4-

ADAMS Distribution:

RidsNrrDipmIipb

WTravers, EDO

SCollins, DEDR

FCongel, OE

JDyer, NRR

DDambly, OGC

HBell, OIG

GCaputo, OI

GGrant, RIII

CPederson, RIII

SReynolds, RIII

RCaniano, RIII

PHiland, RIII

JCreed, RIII

DHills, RIII

ADunlop, RIII

CWeil, RIII

MRing, RIII

JDixon-Herrity, OE

SLewis, OGC

RPaul, OI:RIII

WFranz, OI:RIII

RFranovich, NRR

Enforcement Coordinators

 RI, RII and RIV

OE:ES

OE:EA (2)

OE:MAIL

OE:Web

RAO:RIII

OAC:RIII

SRI, Perry

DRPIII

DRSIII

PLB1

JRK1
NOTICE OF VIOLATION

FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company Docket No. 50-440

Perry Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1 License No. NPF-3

EA-03-208

During an NRC investigation concluded on October 6, 2003, a violation of NRC requirements

was identified. In accordance with the "General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC

Enforcement Actions," NUREG-1600, the violation is listed below: 

Technical Specification 5.2.2.e for the Perry Nuclear Power Plant requires, in part, that

administrative procedures shall be developed and implemented to limit the working

hours of unit staff who perform safety related functions (e.g., key maintenance

personnel). The procedures shall include guidelines on working hours that ensure

adequate staff coverage is maintained without heavy use of overtime. Any deviation

from the working hour guidelines shall be authorized in advance by the Plant Manager in

accordance with approved administrative procedures and with documentation of the

basis for granting the deviation.

Plant Administrative Procedure (PAP) 0224, “Fitness for Duty,” Revision 2, February 5,

1999, implements Technical Specification 5.2.2.e.

Section 5.13 of PAP-0224 defines key maintenance personnel as those individuals

physically performing or immediately supervising the performance of maintenance,

repair, testing, modification, or calibration of safety-related structures, systems or

components.

Section 6.14 of PAP-0224 provides, in part, that the Technical Specification overtime

guidelines will be followed in the event that substantial amounts of overtime are required

during extended periods of shutdown for refueling, major maintenance or major plant

modifications. The guidelines state that an individual should not work more than 72

hours in any 7-day period (excluding shift turnovers). Deviations from the overtime

guidelines are requested by the immediate supervisor from the Plant Manager, or

designee, using the Technical Specification Overtime Deviation Request form (PNPP

No. 7699). Section 6.15.2 of PAP-0225 designates the Technical Specification

Overtime Deviation Request form (PNPP No. 7699) as a quality assurance record. 

Contrary to the above, from March 6 to March 15, 2001, two key maintenance personnel

responsible for testing motor operated valves, a safety-related function, failed to follow

Technical Specification overtime guidelines. Specifically, during Refueling Outage RF08, the two individuals each worked in excess of 72 hours in a 7-day period and the

immediate supervisors failed to request deviations from the overtime guidelines in

advance from the Plant Manager or authorized designee. One individual worked 12

hours per day for 10 consecutive days from March 6 to March 15, 2001, and the other

individual worked 12 hours per day for 9 consecutive days from March 7 to March 15,

2001.

This is a Severity Level III violation (Supplement I).
Notice of Violation -2-

Pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 2.201, FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company is hereby

required to submit a written statement or explanation to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, ATTN: Document Control Desk, Washington, DC 20555 with a copy to the

Regional Administrator, Region III, and a copy to the NRC Resident Inspector at the Perry

Nuclear Power Plant, within 30 days of the date of the letter transmitting this Notice of Violation

(Notice). This reply should be clearly marked as a "Reply to a Notice of Violation; EA-03-208"

and should include for each violation: (1) the reason for the violation, or, if contested, the basis

for disputing the violation or severity level, (2) the corrective steps that have been taken and the

results achieved, (3) the corrective steps that will be taken to avoid further violations, and (4)

the date when full compliance will be achieved. Your response may reference or include

previous docketed correspondence, if the correspondence adequately addresses the required

response. If an adequate reply is not received within the time specified in this Notice, an order

or a Demand for Information may be issued as to why the license should not be modified,

suspended, or revoked, or why such other action as may be proper should not be taken. 

Where good cause is shown, consideration will be given to extending the response time. 

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. 

Because 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, 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. 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 2.390(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. 

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

days. 

Dated this 1st day of April 2004.