June 24, 2009 

EA-09-012 

Mr. Larry Meyer 

Site Vice President 

NextEra Energy Point Beach, LLC 

6610 Nuclear Road 

Two Rivers, WI 54241 

SUBJECT: NOTICE OF VIOLATION – POINT BEACH NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT, 

UNITS 1 AND 2, NRC INSPECTION REPORT NOS. 05000266/2009009(DRS); 

05000301/2009009(DRS) 

Dear Mr. Meyer: 

This refers to the inspection conducted on November 25, 2008 through March 9, 2009, to review 

your request to medically condition a Point Beach Nuclear Generating Plant operator’s senior 

reactor operator (SRO) license. During the inspection, two apparent violations of 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requirements were identified. Details regarding 

the apparent violations were provided in NRC Inspection Report Nos. 05000266/2009008(DRS); 

05000301/2009008(DRS) dated April 8, 2009. 

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

the apparent violations identified in the report by either attending a Predecisional Enforcement 

Conference or by providing a written response before we made our final enforcement decision. 

In a letter dated May 7, 2009, you provided your response to the apparent violations. 

Based on the information developed during the inspection and the information that you provided 

in your response, the NRC has determined that two violations of NRC requirements occurred. 

The violations are cited in the enclosed Notice of Violation (Notice) and the circumstances 

surrounding them are described in detail in the subject inspection report. 

On January 23, 2008, you submitted NRC Form 396 for renewal of an SRO’s license certifying 

that the applicant met the medical requirements of American National Standards Institute/ 

American Nuclear Society (ANSI/ANS) 3.4-1983. We renewed the SRO’s license without any 

restrictions on February 22, 2008, based on the NRC Form 396. On October 20, 2008, we 

received a license change request for the same SRO to add a “Must Take Medication as 

Prescribed to Maintain Medical Qualifications” license restriction. During our review of the 

second licensing action, we determined that the individual had notified your medical staff in 

February 1993, that he began taking medication for a potentially disqualifying medical condition. 

In May 1999, the individual applied for his initial reactor operator license which was issued on 

August 27, 1999. 
L. Meyer -2- 

Your failure to notify the NRC of the change in the operator’s medical condition within 30 days of 

May 1999 was a violation of 10 CFR 50.74(c), which requires the licensee to notify the 

appropriate NRC Regional Administrator within 30 days of a permanent disability or illness of a 

licensed operator. Additionally, as a result of inaccurate information in the renewal request, we 

renewed the operator’s license on February 22, 2008, without a restriction for the medical 

condition. The incomplete and incorrect information in the renewal application was material to 

the NRC because it had the ability to and did incorrectly influence an NRC licensing action. 

This was a violation of 10 CFR 50.9. You determined that the reason for the 10 CFR 50.9 

violation was that NextEra had not changed its NRC licensed operator medical condition 

reporting practices in 2006 when the NRC clarified its expectations to meet regulatory medical 

reporting requirements. As a result, available operating experience had not been reviewed and 

incorporated into applicable station procedures. Additionally, the NRC Operator Licensing 

webpage frequently asked questions (FAQs) had not been monitored for relevant changes nor 

had the applicability of recent revisions of NUREG-1021 been incorporated into site processes, 

procedures, and training programs. 

The NRC entrusts licensed operators with the safe operation of nuclear power plants and these 

individuals must be capable of performing their assigned duties under normal, abnormal, and 

emergency conditions. The NRC requires facility licensees to closely monitor the physical 

condition and general health of licensed operators in an effort to minimize the potential for the 

sudden incapacitation of a licensed operator. Minimum medical qualification requirements for 

licensed operators are provided in the ANSI standard and are used by the NRC, in part, to 

determine if specific restrictions should be included in an operator’s license. A licensee’s failure 

to notify the NRC of medical conditions, which may require the inclusion of specific restrictions 

in an operator’s license, may result in an unnecessary risk to safe plant operations. The NRC 

also expects licensees to provide information in a timely and prompt manner. With regard to 

licensed operators, the NRC requires that licensees provide information regarding changes to 

the medical condition of a licensed operator within 30 days. 

The inspection results indicated that you had information regarding the operator’s change in 

medical condition as early as May 1999 and did not provide that information to the NRC in a 

prompt and timely manner. The inspection results further indicated that you did not provide 

complete and accurate information regarding the operator’s medical condition in January 2008, 

when you requested renewal of the operator’s license. As a result, the NRC did not have an 

opportunity to include restrictions on the operator’s license in August 1999 and issued an 

incorrect renewal of the operator’s license in February 2008. Therefore, the violations have 

been collectively categorized, in accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy, as a Severity 

Level III problem. 

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

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

escalated enforcement actions within the last two years, the NRC considered whether credit 

was warranted for Corrective Action in accordance with the civil penalty assessment process in 

Section VI.C.2 of the Enforcement Policy. The NRC determined that credit was warranted for 

your corrective actions which included, but were not limited to: (1) providing the correct 

information to the NRC and requesting an amendment to the SRO’s license; (2) performing an 
L. Meyer -3- 

extent of condition evaluation which identified 12 additional licensed operators having medical 

conditions that required their licenses be amended; (3) reviewing the NRC Operator Licensing 

FAQ webpage and NUREG-1021, Revision 9, Supplement 1; (4) revising procedures 

associated with licensed operator recordkeeping and submittal of applications; (5) conducting a 

series of information sharing sessions with licensed operators; (6) revising the administrative 

procedure defining licensed operator application requirements; and (7) performing periodic 

self-assessments of the operator license medical condition reporting program. 

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, to not 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 violations, the corrective 

actions taken to correct the violations and prevent recurrence and the date when full compliance 

was achieved is already adequately addressed on the docket in your letter L-2009-115 dated 

May 7, 2009. 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. 

As noted above, you performed an extent of condition evaluation for the cited violation as part of 

your corrective actions. During the evaluation, you identified 12 additional examples of licensed 

operators having medical conditions that you were required to report and for which we 

subsequently amended their licenses. During our review of the additional examples, we 

determined that the additional examples of the cited violation: (1) were licensee identified; 

(2) had the same root cause as the cited violation; and (3) will be corrected, including 

implementation of immediate and long term corrective actions to prevent recurrence, as a part 

of your corrective actions for the cited violation. Therefore, in accordance with Section VII.B.4 

of the NRC Enforcement Policy, the NRC is refraining from issuing a Notice of Violation for the 

additional examples of the cited violation. 

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/readingrm/adams.html. To the extent possible, your response, if you choose to respond, 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, 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 information, 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 
L. Meyer -4- 

required by 10 CFR 2.390(b) to support a request for withholding confidential commercial or 

financial information). The NRC also includes significant enforcement actions on its Web site at 

(http://www.nrc.gov/reading rm/doc collections/enforcement/actions/). 

Should you have any questions, please contact Mr. Hironori Peterson, Chief, Operations 

Branch, at (630) 829-9707. 

Sincerely, 

 

/RA/ 

Mark A. Satorius 

Regional Administrator 

Docket Nos. 50-266; 50-301 

License Nos. DPR-24; DPR-27 

Enclosure: 

Notice of Violation 

cc w/encl: M. Nazar, Senior Vice-President and Chief Nuclear Officer 

 Khanpour, Vice-President, Engineering Support 

M. Warner, Vice-President, Nuclear Plant Support 

 Licensing Manager, Point Beach Nuclear Plant 

 R. Hughes, Director, Licensing and Performance Improvement 

 M. Ross, Managing Attorney 

A. Fernandez, Senior Attorney 

T. O. Jones, Vice-President, Nuclear Operations, 

 Mid-West Region 

P. Wells, Vice-President, Safety Assurance 

J. Bjorseth, Plant General Manager 

 K. Duveneck, Town Chairman, Town of Two Creeks 

 Chairperson, Public Service Commission of Wisconsin 

 J. Kitsembel, Electric Division, Public Service Commission of Wisconsin 

 P. Schmidt, State Liaison Officer 

 D. Lauterbur, Training Manager 
L. Meyer -4- 

required by 10 CFR 2.390(b) to support a request for withholding confidential commercial or 

financial information). The NRC also includes significant enforcement actions on its Web site at 

(http://www.nrc.gov/reading rm/doc collections/enforcement/actions/). 

Should you have any questions, please contact Mr. Hironori Peterson, Chief, Operations 

Branch, at (630) 829-9707. 

Sincerely, 

/RA/ 

Mark A. Satorius 

Regional Administrator 

Docket Nos. 50-266; 50-301 

License Nos. DPR-24; DPR-27 

Enclosure: 

Notice of Violation 

cc w/encl: M. Nazar, Senior Vice-President and Chief Nuclear Officer 

 Khanpour, Vice-President, Engineering Support 

M. Warner, Vice-President, Nuclear Plant Support 

 Licensing Manager, Point Beach Nuclear Plant 

 R. Hughes, Director, Licensing and Performance Improvement 

 M. Ross, Managing Attorney 

A. Fernandez, Senior Attorney 

T. O. Jones, Vice-President, Nuclear Operations, 

 Mid-West Region 

P. Wells, Vice-President, Safety Assurance 

J. Bjorseth, Plant General Manager 

 K. Duveneck, Town Chairman, Town of Two Creeks 

 Chairperson, Public Service Commission of Wisconsin 

 J. Kitsembel, Electric Division, Public Service Commission of Wisconsin 

 P. Schmidt, State Liaison Officer 

 D. Lauterbur, Training Manager 

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To receive a copy of this document, indicate in the box: "C" = Copy w/o att/encl "E" = Copy w/att/encl "N" 

OFFICE RIII RIII RIII D: OE D: NRR RIII RIII 

NAME Pelke Peterson Jackson 

for West 

Gulla for 

Hilton1

Ashley for 

Salgado2

O’Brien Satorius 

DATE 06/16/09 06/19/09 06/19/09 06/16/09 06/16/09 06/22/09 06/24/09 

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY 

 

1 OE concurrence by G. Gulla received via e-mail from G. Gulla on June 16, 2009. 

2 NRR concurrence per M. Ashley received via e-mail from G. Gulla on June 16, 2009. 
Letter to Mr. Larry Meyer from Mr. Mark A. Satorius dated June 24, 2009 

SUBJECT: NOTICE OF VIOLATION – POINT BEACH NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT, 

UNITS 1 AND 2, NRC INSPECTION REPORT NOS. 05000266/2009009(DRS); 

05000301/2009009(DRS) 

DISTRIBUTION: 

Tamara Bloomer 

RidsNrrDorlLpl3-1 Resource 

RidsNrrPMPointBeach 

RidsNrrDirsIrib Resource 

Patrick Hiland 

Kenneth O’Brien 

Jared Heck 

Carole Ariano 

Linda Linn 

DRPIII 

DRSIII 

ROPreports@nrc.gov 

ADAMS (PARS) 

RidsSecyMailCenter.Resource 

OCADistribution 

Bill Borchardt 

Bruce Mallett 

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Marvin Itzkowitz 

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Allan Barker 

James Lynch 

Viktoria Mitlyng 

Prema Chandrathil 

Paul Pelke 

Patricia Lougheed 

Magdalena Gryglak 

OEMAIL Resource 

OEWEB Resource
NOTICE OF VIOLATION 

NextEra Energy Point Beach, LLC Docket Nos. 50-266; 50-301 

Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant License Nos. DPR-24; DPR-27 

Units 1 and 2 EA-09-012 

During a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) inspection conducted on 

November 25, 2008 through March 9, 2009, violations of NRC requirements were identified. 

In accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy, the violations are listed below: 

1. Title 10 CFR 50.74(c) requires that each licensee notify the appropriate NRC Regional 

Administrator within 30 days of a permanent disability or illness, as described in 

10 CFR 55.25, of a licensed operator or a senior operator. 

Contrary to the above, from May 1999 until October 20, 2008, a period greater than 

30 days, the licensee failed to notify the NRC Region III Regional Administrator of a 

permanent disability or illness of a licensed operator. Specifically, the licensee was 

informed in February 1993 that the non-licensed operator was taking prescribed 

medication for hypertension, a permanent disability or illness. The non-licensed 

operator applied for an NRC operating license in May 1999. The NRC issued the 

operator a reactor operator license August 27, 1999, and a senior reactor operator 

license on February 22, 2002, with no restrictions. The licensee did not inform the NRC 

of the operator’s medical condition until October 20, 2008. 

2. Title 10 CFR 50.9 requires, in part, that information provided to the Commission by an 

applicant for a license or by a licensee or information required by statute or by the 

Commission’s regulations, Orders, or license conditions to be maintained by the 

applicant or the licensee shall be complete and accurate in all material respects. 

Title 10 CFR 55.23 requires, in part, that to certify the medical fitness of the applicant, 

an authorized representative of the facility licensee shall complete and sign 

NRC Form-396, "Certification of Medical Examination by Facility Licensee." 

The NRC Form-396, when signed by an authorized representative of the facility 

licensee, certifies that a physician conducted a medical examination of the applicant and 

that the guidance contained in American National Standards Institute/American Nuclear 

Society (ANSI/ANS) Standard 3.4-1996, “Medical Certification and Monitoring of 

Personnel Requiring Operator Licenses for Nuclear Power Plants” was followed in 

conducting the examination and making the determination of medical qualification. 

The ANSI/ANS 3.4-1996, Section 5.3, provides, in part, that the presence of certain 

medical conditions, unless adequately compensated by the methods specified in 

Subsections 5.3.1 through 5.3.9, shall disqualify the individual. 
Notice of Violation -2- 

Contrary to the above, on January 28, 2008, the facility licensee provided information to 

the NRC that was not complete and accurate in all material respects. Specifically, the 

licensee submitted an NRC Form-396 for renewal of a senior reactor operator’s license 

and the NRC Form-396 certified that the applicant met the medical requirements of 

ANSI/ANS 3.4-1996 with no restrictions. However, In February 1993, the operator was 

prescribed medication to adequately compensate for a disqualifying medical condition. 

The certification by the senior licensee facility representative was material to the NRC 

because the NRC relied upon this certification to renew the senior reactor operator’s 

license pursuant to 10 CFR Part 55 when the license should have been modified with a 

restriction that the senior reactor operator was required to take medication as prescribed 

to maintain his qualification. 

This is a Severity Level III problem (Supplement VII). 

The NRC has concluded that information regarding the reason for the violations, the corrective 

actions taken and planned to correct the violations and prevent recurrence and the date when 

full compliance was achieved is already adequately addressed on the docket in your letter 

L-2009-115 dated May 7, 2009. However, you are required to submit a written statement or 

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," include the EA number, and send it to the 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Document Control Desk, Washington, DC 20555-

0001 with a copy to the Regional Administrator, Region III, 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 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, the response 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 24th day of June 2009