UNITED STATES 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

REGION III 

2443 WARRENVILLE ROAD, SUITE 210 

LISLE, IL 60532-4352 

October 27, 2009 

EA-09-193 

Mr. Mark A. Schimmel 

Site Vice President 

Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant 

Northern States Power Company, Minnesota 

1717 Wakonade Drive East 

Welch, MN 55089 

SUBJECT: NOTICE OF VIOLATION – PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT 

UNITS 1 AND 2; NRC INSPECTION REPORT 050000282/2009014(DRS); 

05000306/2009014(DRS) 

Dear Mr. Schimmel: 

This refers to the inspection conducted on May 1, 2009, through August 10, 2009, to review 

your request to medically condition a Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant operator’s senior 

reactor operator (SRO) license. During the inspection, an apparent violation of U.S. Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission (NRC) requirements was identified. Details regarding the apparent 

violation were provided in NRC Inspection Report Nos. 050000282/2009012(DRS); 

05000306/2009012(DRS) dated September 3, 2009. 

In the letter transmitting the inspection report, we provided you with 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 made our final enforcement decision. 

In a letter dated September 30, 2009, you provided your response to the apparent violation. 

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

in your response, the NRC has 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. 

On May 11, 2007, you requested the NRC to condition an SRO’s license with a “Corrective 

Lenses Must Be Worn When Performing Licensed Duties” restriction. On May 22, 2007, we 

renewed the SRO’s license with a corrective lenses restriction. On May 1, 2009, you requested 

the NRC to condition the SRO’s license with a “Must Take Medication as Prescribed to Maintain 

Medical Qualifications” restriction. While reviewing the medical information supporting the 

requested license restriction, we identified that the SRO had been taking medication for a 

potentially disqualifying medical condition since July 1998. The May 2007 renewal request did 

not include a request to have the SRO’s license conditioned with a “Must Take Medication as 
M. Schimmel -2- 

Prescribed to Maintain Medical Qualifications” restriction. 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. 

Your failure to provide complete and accurate information regarding the medical condition of the 

SRO and failure to request that a medical restriction to be included in the SRO’s license in the 

NRC Form 396 provided to the NRC on May 11, 2007, is a violation of 10 CFR 50.9. As a result 

of inaccurate information in the renewal request, the NRC renewed the SRO’s license 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. You determined that the reason for the violation was that in 2007 the 

station had not yet incorporated the revised NRC Form 396 reporting requirements into the 

applicable processes and procedures. 

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 by the American National Standards Institute 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 provide complete and accurate information to the NRC regarding 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. Therefore, the violation has been 

categorized, in accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy, as a Severity Level III violation. 

In accordance with the NRC 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 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 correcting the NRC Form 396 for 

the SRO license on May 1, 2009, initiating Action Request No. 1184252, incorporating the 

revised 2006 NRC Form 396 requirements into Procedure FP-T-SAT-74, “NRC Operator 

License Application and Renewal Requirements,” validating that all operator license renewals 

submitted after the 2006 change had appropriate restrictions placed on their licenses, and 

validating that all operator license amendments submitted after the 2006 change included all 

appropriate restrictions. 

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. In addition, issuance 

of this Severity Level III violation constitutes escalated enforcement action, which may subject 

you to increased inspection effort. 
M. Schimmel -3- 

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

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

was achieved is already adequately addressed on the docket in your letter L-PI-09-104 dated 

September 30, 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. 

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 Agencywide 

Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), accessible from the NRC Web site at 

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/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 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. 50-282; 50-306 

License Nos. DPR-42; DPR-60 

Enclosure: 

Notice of Violation 

cc: Distribution via Listserv 
Letter to Mr. Mark A. Schimmel from Mr. Mark A. Satorius dated October 27, 2009 

SUBJECT: NOTICE OF VIOLATION – PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT 

UNITS 1 AND 2; NRC INSPECTION REPORT 050000282/2009014(DRS); 

05000306/2009014(DRS) 

DISTRIBUTION: 

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Daniel Holody 

Carolyn Evans 

Steven Orth 

William Jones 

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Carole Ariano 

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DRPIII 

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ROPreports Resource 
NOTICE OF VIOLATION 

Northern States Power Company Docket No. 50-282; 50-306 

Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant License No. DPR-42; DPR-60 

 EA-09-193 

During an NRC inspection conducted on May 1, 2009, through August 10, 2009, a violation of 

NRC requirements was identified. In accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy, the 

violation is listed below: 

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. 

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." 

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 3.4-1983, “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. 

ANSI/ANS 3.4-1983, 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. 

Contrary to the above, on May 11, 2007, 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 

which certified that the applicant met the medical requirements of ANSI/ANS 3.4-1983 

with only a restriction for corrective lenses. However, in July 1998, the senior reactor 

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 and renewed the 

senior reactor operator’s license pursuant to 10 CFR Part 55 without a restriction that the 

senior reactor operator was required to take medication as prescribed to maintain his 

qualification. 

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

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 your letter 

L-PI-09-104 dated September 30, 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 Agencywide Documents 

Access and Management 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 27th day of October 2009
M. Schimmel -3- 

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

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

was achieved is already adequately addressed on the docket in your letter L-PI-09-104 dated 

September 30, 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. 

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 Agencywide 

Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), accessible from the NRC Web site at 

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/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 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. 50-282; 50-306 

License Nos. DPR-42; DPR-60 

Enclosure: 

Notice of Violation 

cc: Distribution via Listserv 

DISTRIBUTION:

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OFFICE RIII RIII RIII D: OE RIII RIII 

NAME Pelke Palagi for 

Peterson 

O’Brien 

for Boland

Bowman for 

Carpenter1

Orth Satorius 

DATE 10/23/09 10/23/09 10/26/09 10/23/09 10/26/09 10/27/09 

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY 

 

1 OE concurrence received via e-mail from G. Bowman on October 23, 2009.