NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Region III

2443 Warrenville Road

Lisle IL 60532

Site: www.nrc.gov

Blog: http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov

No. III-12-003

Contact: Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662

 Prema Chandrathil (630) 829-9663

January 26, 2012

E-Mail: OPA3.RegionIII@nrc.gov 

NRC ISSUES CONFIRMATORY ORDERS TO PALISADES PLANT OWNER ENTERGY AND 

PLANT OPERATOR

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a Confirmatory Order to Entergy Nuclear 

Operations, owner of Palisades, and a separate Confirmatory Order to Edward Johnson, a licensed 

operator, for a violation in which Johnson left the control room without following appropriate 

requirements. The plant is located in Covert, Mich., approximately 50 miles west of Kalamazoo.

The Confirmatory Orders stem from an incident that occurred on October 23, 2010 at the 

Palisades nuclear power plant. The NRC conducted an investigation and concluded that Johnson, who 

was one of the reactor operators in the control room, left his post without providing a turnover to a 

qualified individual to take over his position and did not obtain permission from the control room 

supervisor. 

The incident had no immediate impact on plant or public safety since the control room supervisor 

took prompt action and immediately assigned another licensed operator to the position.

As a result of separate NRC Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) meetings with Entergy and 

Johnson, they agreed to abide by the commitments documented in the Confirmatory Orders reached 

through the ADR process. ADR is a process that uses a mediator to resolve issues. The Confirmatory 

Orders are legally binding commitments that outline a number of actions Entergy and Johnson have

agreed to take to ensure the NRC’s concerns will be addressed. 

Some of the commitments for Entergy include: issuing a letter to every licensed reactor operator 

in the Entergy fleet re-emphasizing the responsibilities of their position and safety obligations to the 

public; preparing a case study of the events and incorporate it into the operator training; reviewing the 

procedures associated with the event to determine if they are adequate; retaining outside expertise to 

conduct a safety culture assessment for the operations department; ensuring potentially stressful work 

activities in the control room are properly planned for; and informing the NRC on how they plan to 

monitor and manage Johnson’s performance if Entergy decides to restore him to licensed activities.

Some of the commitments for Johnson include: completing 200 hours of successful work under 

supervision; participating in interviews with Entergy management to assess his eligibility and readiness to 

resume licensed work; and writing an article for an industry publication discussing the events, his 

personal lessons learned, the safety and legal responsibility of a licensed reactor operator, his 
responsibilities for public safety, his corrective actions and his interactions with the NRC resulting from 

the violation.

Copies of the Confirmatory Order will be posted on the Agency Documents Access And 

Management Systems (ADAMS) at the NRC website.

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