UNITED STATES

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

REGION III

2443 WARRENVILLE RD. SUITE 210

LISLE, IL 60532-4352

November 24, 2015

EA-15-171

Mr. Anthony Vitale

Vice President, Operations

Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

Palisades Nuclear Plant

27780 Blue Star Memorial Highway

Covert, MI 49043-9530

SUBJECT: PALISADES NUCLEAR PLANT – NOTICE OF VIOLATION

NRC INSPECTION REPORT NO. 05000255/2015012

Dear Mr. Vitale: 

This refers to the inspection completed on August 19, 2015, at the Palisades Nuclear Plant. 

The purpose of the inspection was to perform an operability determination and functional 

assessment review to ensure that activities were being performed in accordance with 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requirements. During the inspection, an apparent 

violation of NRC requirements was identified. The significance of the issue and the need for 

lasting and effective corrective actions was discussed with your staff during the exit meeting 

held on August 19, 2015. Details regarding the apparent violation were provided in NRC 

Inspection Report No. 05000255/2015012, dated September 17, 2015. This report is available 

in the NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) at 

Accession Number ML15261A576 and is accessible from the NRC Web site at 

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.

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 letters dated October 17 and October 28, 2015, you provided a response to the apparent 

violation.

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

in your responses to the inspection report, dated October 17 and 18, 2015 (ML15292A005 and 

ML15301A738), 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. The violation of Title 10 Code of 

Federal Regulations (CFR) 50.9 involves the failure to provide information to the NRC that was 

complete and accurate in all material respects in letter PNP 2014-015, “Relief Request Number 

4-18 - Proposed Alternative Use of Alternate ASME [American Society of Mechanical 

Engineers] Code Case N-770-1 Baseline Examination,” submitted to the NRC on February 25, 

2014 (ML14056A533). This issue resulted from an error in a calculation supporting the analysis 

results provided in your February 25, 2014, letter, and, once identified by your staff, was 

promptly reported to the NRC.
A. Vitale -2-

The issue is not a current safety concern because your staff subsequently demonstrated an 

adequate basis for continued operability of the nine affected primary coolant system welds. 

The failure to provide complete and accurate information is of significant safety concern to the 

NRC because the inaccurate information impacted the NRC’s ability to perform its regulatory 

function. The NRC relied on the inaccurate information to make a licensing decision approving 

Relief Request 4-18. If the information had been correct the NRC would have undertaken 

substantial further inquiry and reconsidered its regulatory position. Therefore, this violation has

been categorized in accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy at Severity Level III.

In accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy, a base civil penalty in the amount of $70,000 

is considered for a Severity Level III violation.

Because your facility has been the subject of escalated enforcement actions within the last 

2 years1 the NRC considered whether credit was warranted for Identification and Corrective 

Action in accordance with the civil penalty assessment process in Section 2.3.4 of the 

Enforcement Policy. Credit for identification was warranted since on May 22, 2015, a letter was 

submitted to the NRC identifying that a discrepancy was discovered in one of the calculations 

that supported Relief Request 4-18. The NRC considered the information provided in the 

inspection report and in your letters dated October 17 and 28, 2015. Corrective actions 

included: (1) submitting Relief Request 4-21, on May 22, 2015 (ML15147A616) correcting the 

errors in the original calculations; (2) requiring Palisades Nuclear Plant employees to compete 

training on 10 CFR 50.5 and 50.9 regulations; (3) revising procedure EN-HU-104 to require that 

pre-job briefs for complex technical work beyond Entergy Nuclear Operations capability use all 

appropriate human performance attachments to ensure a full discussion of human performance 

tool usage; and (4) the Engineering Director presenting lessons learned to engineering staff. 

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. 

The NRC has concluded that information regarding: (1) the reason for the violation; (2) the 

corrective actions that have been taken and the results achieved; and (3) the date when full 

compliance will be achieved is already adequately addressed on the docket in your letters, 

dated October 17 and 28, 2015. Therefore, you are not required to respond to this letter unless 

the description in your letters 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 any, will be made available electronically for public inspection 

in the NRC Public Document Room and in 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 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 

 1 A Confirmatory Order was issued on July 21, 2014, resulting from an ADR session involving willful 

violations by security staff (ADAMS ML14203A082). 
A. Vitale -3-

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/). 

Sincerely, 

/RA/

Cynthia D. Pederson

Regional Administrator

Docket No. 050-00255

License No. DPR-20

Enclosure:

Notice of Violation

cc: State of Michigan

 Distribution via LISTSERV®
NOTICE OF VIOLATION

Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. Docket No. 050-0255

Palisades Nuclear Plant License No. DPR-20

EA-15-171

During a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) inspection conducted from March 23 to 

August 19, 2015, a violation of NRC requirements was identified. In accordance with the NRC 

Enforcement Policy, the violation is listed below: 

Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 50.9(a) requires 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. 

Licensee Letter No. PNP 2014-015 “Relief Request Number RR 4-18 - Proposed 

Alternative, Use of Alternate ASME [American Society of Mechanical Engineers] 

Code Case N-770-1 Baseline Examination,” dated February 25, 2014, Attachment 1,

“Relief Request Number RR 4-18 Proposed Alternative,” paragraph titled “Structural 

Evaluation,” states, “ASME Code acceptance criteria are satisfied for 60 effective full 

power years for a circumferential flaw, and more than 34 years for an axial flaw 

assuming crack initiates at day one.” Attachment 3, “Structural Integrity Associates, Inc. 

Memorandum - Evaluation of the Palisades Nuclear Plant Hot Leg Drain Nozzle for 

Primary Water Stress Corrosion Cracking,” paragraph titled “Conclusions” states, “In the 

unlikely case that crack initiation were to occur, crack growth calculations considering 

PWSCC as the failure mechanism demonstrate that the hot leg drain nozzle weldment 

satisfies ASME Code acceptance criteria for 60 effective full power years for a 

circumferential flaw, and more than 34 years for an axial flaw.” 

Contrary to the above, on February 25, 2014, the licensee failed to provide information 

to the Commission that was complete and accurate in all material respects. Specifically, 

the licensee submitted Letter No. PNP 2014-015 to the NRC, which inaccurately stated 

the effective full power years for which the ASME Code acceptance criteria would be 

met. The NRC staff used this information to grant the licensee’s proposed alternative to 

regulatory requirements. On May 22, 2015, the licensee submitted Letter PNP 2015-037

with a corrected analysis that states, in part, the hot leg drain nozzle weldment satisfies 

ASME Code acceptance criteria for 20 effective full power years for a circumferential 

flaw, and 11.3 years for an axial flaw. The error in letter PNP 2014-015, and resultant 

change to the analysis results in letter PNP 2015-037, represented a significant 

reduction in the time to reach the ASME Code acceptance criteria limits and was,

therefore, information considered material to the NRC for review of the proposed 

alternative to regulatory requirements in letter PNP 2014-15. 
Notice of Violation -2-

This is a Severity Level III violation (Section 6.9). 

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 adequately addressed on the docket in letters from 

the licensee dated October 17 and 28, 2015 (ML15292A005 and ML15301A738). 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, (EA-15-171)," 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 of Violation (Notice), within 30 days of the date of the letter transmitting 

this Notice.

If you choose to respond, your response will be made available electronically for public 

inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or in 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 of receipt. 

Dated this 24th day of November, 2015.
A. Vitale -3-

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/). 

Sincerely, 

/RA/

Cynthia D. Pederson

Regional Administrator

Docket No. 050-00255

License No. DPR-20

Enclosure:

Notice of Violation

cc: State of Michigan

 Distribution via LISTSERV®

DISTRIBUTION:

See next page

ADAMS Accession Number ML15328A534

OFFICE RIII RIII RIII D:OE RIII RIII

NAME Lambert Hills O’Brien Holahan2 Skokowski Pederson

DATE 11/13/15 11/17/15 11/18/15 11/20/15 11/20/15 11/24/15

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

 2OE & NRR concurrence provided via e-mail from K. Hanley on November 20, 2015.
Letter to Mr. Anthony Vitale from Ms. Cynthia D. Pederson dated November 24, 2015

SUBJECT: PALISADES NUCLEAR PLANT – NOTICE OF VIOLATION

NRC INSPECTION REPORT NO. 05000255/2015012

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