45688 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 167 / Thursday, August 28, 1997 / Notices

Agenda: To site visit the RADIUS project

and review and evaluate its request for

additional funding.

Reason for Closing: The activity being

reviewed includes information of a

proprietary or confidential nature, including

technical information, and financial and

personnel data. These matters are within

exemptions (4) and (6) of 5 U.S.C. 552b(c),

the Government in the Sunshine Act.

Dated: August 22, 1997.

M. Rebecca Winkler,

Committee Management Officer.

[FR Doc. 97–22892 Filed 8–27–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7555–01–M

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[IA 97–033]

Order Prohibiting Involvement in NRCLicensed Activities (Effective

Immediately)

In the Matter of Robert J. Nelson.

I

Robert J. Nelson was employed by

Duke Power Company (DPC) (Licensee)

as an electrical systems support valve

maintenance technician at the McGuire

Nuclear Station. DPC holds License Nos.

NPF–9 and NPF–17 (Licenses) for

McGuire Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2,

issued by the Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC or Commission)

pursuant to 10 CFR part 50 on July 8,

1981 and May 27, 1983, respectively.

The Licenses authorize DPC to operate

the McGuire facility in accordance with

the conditions specified therein. The

facility is located on the Licensee’s site

in Huntersville, North Carolina.

II

During the McGuire Unit 1 refueling

outage in January 1996, maintenance

was being performed to replace valve

1NV233, a safety-related check valve in

the mini-flow path for the 1B charging

pump. On January 3, 1996, Mr. Robert

J. Nelson initialed Step 11.4.5 of

Procedure MP/O/A/7600/04, Kerotest

‘‘Y’’ Type Check Valve Corrective

Maintenance, which stated: ‘‘Install

NEW body to cover gasket in body.’’ On

the evening of January 3, 1996, valve

1NV233 was disassembled and DPC

technicians identified that the gasket

was not new, as it had been previously

torqued. McGuire Technical

Specification (TS) 6.8.1.c requires that

written procedures be established,

implemented and maintained covering

the activities recommended in

Regulatory Guide 1.33, Revision 2,

February 1978. Regulatory Guide 1.33

states, in part, that maintenance which

can affect performance of safety-related

equipment should be performed in

accordance with written procedures.

The failure to perform Step 11.4.5 of

Procedure MP/O/A/7600/04 as

prescribed is a violation of TS 6.8.1.c.

Following an investigation, DPC

terminated Mr. Nelson’s employment on

January 18, 1996, based on a finding

that he had falsified Procedure MP/O/A/

7600/04.

Between March 22, 1996, and March

31, 1997, the NRC Office of

Investigations conducted an

investigation and concluded that Mr.

Nelson had purposely decided to use

the old gasket and intentionally signed

the procedure step falsely indicating

that the gasket had been replaced with

a new gasket. The Commission’s

regulation, 10 CFR 50.9(a) provides, in

part, that information required by the

Commission’s regulations, orders, or

license conditions to be maintained by

the licensee shall be complete and

accurate in all material respects. The

failure of DPC to maintain complete and

accurate required records of

maintenance activities performed on

safety-related equipment is a violation

of 10 CFR 50.9. Furthermore, during the

investigation, Mr. Nelson was not

forthright in providing information

regarding the failure to follow

procedures and intentional falsification

of the record as evidenced by statements

made by Mr. Nelson to the OI

investigator.

On May 27, 1997, the NRC sent a

certified letter to Mr. Nelson advising

him that his actions appeared to have

violated 10 CFR 50.5, ‘‘Deliberate

Misconduct,’’ and offering him the

opportunity to attend a predecisional

enforcement conference. The letter was

returned to the NRC by the U.S. Postal

Service with a note that the letter was

unclaimed. The NRC also

unsuccessfully attempted to contact Mr.

Nelson by telephone on July 16 and 21,

1997.

III

Based on the above, it appears that

Mr. Nelson engaged in deliberate

misconduct when he intentionally

signed a procedure step claiming that a

gasket in a safety-related valve had been

replaced with a new gasket when it had

not been replaced. Mr. Nelson’s

deliberate misconduct caused the

Licensee to be in violation of McGuire

TS 6.8.1.c and 10 CFR 50.9(a), and is,

therefore, a violation of 10 CFR

50.5(a)(1) and 10 CFR 50.5(a)(2). The

NRC must be able to rely on licensees

and their employees to fully comply

with NRC requirements, including plant

procedural requirements which ensure

the operability of safety-related

equipment and requirements to

maintain records that are complete and

accurate in all material respects. Mr.

Nelson’s deliberate misconduct, in

causing the Licensee to violate TS

6.8.1.c and 10 CFR 50.9(a), raises

serious doubt as to whether he can be

relied upon to comply with NRC

requirements and to provide complete

and accurate information to the NRC.

Consequently, I lack the requisite

reasonable assurance that licensed

activities can be conducted in

compliance with Commission

requirements and that public health and

safety will be protected if Mr. Nelson

were permitted at this time to be

involved in NRC-licensed activities.

Therefore, public health, safety and

interest require that Mr. Nelson be

prohibited from any involvement in

NRC-licensed activities for a period of

one year from the date of this Order and,

if he is currently involved with another

licensee in NRC-licensed activities, he

must immediately cease such activities,

and inform the NRC of the name,

address and telephone number of the

employer, and provide a copy of this

Order to the employer. Additionally,

Mr. Nelson is required to notify the NRC

of his first employment in NRC-licensed

activities for one year following the

prohibition period. Furthermore,

pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202, I find that the

significance of Mr. Nelson’s conduct

described above is such that the public

health, safety and interest require that

this Order be immediately effective.

IV

Accordingly, pursuant to Sections

103, 161b, 161i, 161o, 182 and 186 of

the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as

amended, and the Commission’s

regulations in 10 CFR 2.202, 10 CFR

50.5 and 10 CFR 150.20, it is hereby

ordered, effective immediately, that:

A. Mr. Robert J. Nelson is prohibited

for one year from the date of this Order

from engaging in or exercising control

over individuals engaged in NRClicensed activities. If Mr. Nelson is

currently involved in NRC-licensed

activities, he must immediately cease

such activities, inform the NRC of the

name, address and telephone number of

the employer, and provide a copy of this

Order to the employer. For purposes of

this Order, NRC-licensed activities are

those activities that are conducted

pursuant to a specific or general license

issued by the NRC, including, but not

limited to, those activities of Agreement

State licensees conducted pursuant to

the authority granted by 10 CFR 150.20.

B. For a period of one year following

the period of prohibition set forth in
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 167 / Thursday, August 28, 1997 / Notices 45689

Paragraph IV.A. above, Mr. Robert J.

Nelson shall, within 20 days of his

acceptance of his first employment offer

involving NRC-licensed activities as

defined in Paragraph IV.A above,

provide notice to the Director, Office of

Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555, of

the name, address, and telephone

number of the employer or the entity

where he is, or will be, involved in

NRC-licensed activities. The notice shall

include a statement of his commitment

to compliance with regulatory

requirements and the basis for why the

Commission should have confidence

that he will now comply with

applicable NRC requirements.

The Director, Office of Enforcement,

may relax or rescind, in writing, any of

the above conditions upon

demonstration by Mr. Nelson of good

cause.

V

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.202, Mr.

Nelson must, and any other person(s)

adversely affected by this Order may,

submit an answer to this Order, and

may request a hearing on this Order,

within 20 days of the date of this Order.

Where good cause is shown,

consideration will be given to extending

the time to request a hearing. A request

for extension of time must be made in

writing to the Director, Office of

Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission Washington, DC 20555,

and include a statement of good cause

for the extension. The answer may

consent to this Order. Unless the answer

consents to this Order, the answer shall,

in writing and under oath or

affirmation, specifically admit or deny

each allegation or charge made in this

Order and shall set forth the matters of

fact and law on which Mr. Nelson or

other person(s) adversely affected relies

and the reasons as to why the Order

should not have been issued. Any

answer or request for a hearing shall be

submitted to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear

Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Chief,

Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff,

Washington, DC 20555.

Copies also shall be sent to the

Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

Washington, DC 20555, to the Assistant

General Counsel for Hearings and

Enforcement at the same address, and to

the Regional Administrator, NRC Region

II, Atlanta Federal Center, 61 Forsyth

Street, SW Suite 23T85, Atlanta, Georgia

30303 and to Mr. Nelson if the answer

or hearing request is by a person other

than Mr. Nelson. If a person other than

Mr. Nelson requests a hearing, that

person shall set forth with particularity

the manner in which his interest is

adversely affected by this Order and

shall address the criteria set forth in 10

CFR 2.714(d).

If a hearing is requested by Mr.

Nelson or a person whose interest is

adversely affected, the Commission will

issue an Order designating the time and

place of any hearing. If a hearing is held,

the issue to be considered at such

hearing shall be whether this Order

should be sustained.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202(c)(2)(i), Mr.

Nelson, may, in addition to demanding

a hearing, at the time the answer is filed

or sooner, move the presiding officer to

set aside the immediate effectiveness of

the Order on the ground that the Order,

including the need for immediate

effectiveness, is not based on adequate

evidence but on mere suspicion,

unfounded allegations, or error.

In the absence of any request for

hearing, or written approval of an

extension of time in which to request a

hearing, the provisions specified in

Section IV above shall be final 20 days

from the date of this Order without

further order or proceedings. If an

extension of time for requesting a

hearing has been approved, the

provisions specified in Section IV shall

be final when the extension expires if a

hearing request has not been received.

An answer or a request for hearing shall

not stay the immediate effectiveness of

this order.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 18th day

of August 1997.

Ashok C. Thadani,

Acting Deputy Executive Director for

Regulatory Effectiveness.

[FR Doc. 97–22939 Filed 8–27–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL

MANAGEMENT

Proposed Collection; Comment

Request

AGENCY: Office of Personnel

Management.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub.

L. 104–13, May 22, 1995), this notice

announces that the Office of Personnel

Management intends to submit to the

Office of Management and Budget a

request for the clearance of an

information collection. The questions

are intended to elicit from Federal

contractors descriptions of successes in

hiring workers directly off the welfare

rolls. The submissions are entirely

voluntary.

DATES: Comments on this proposal

should be received on or before October

27, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Send or deliver comments

to—Donna Beecher, Director, Office of

Contracting and Administrative

Services, U.S. Office of Personnel

Management, 1900 E St., NW, Room

1340, Washington, DC 20415.

For information regarding

administrative coordination, contact—

Kent Bailey, Publications Services

Division, 202–606–2260.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March

8, 1997, the President called for the

Federal Government to support welfare

reform by joining with other employers

in offering jobs to welfare recipients. On

April 10, 1997, the Office of

Management and Budget’s Office of

Federal Procurement Policy asked

Federal Agencies to emphasize to their

contractors the importance of hiring

people off the welfare rolls.

Federal agencies regularly report their

welfare-to-work hires and related

experiences. They would like to include

in their reports success stories from

their contractors. Success stories

provide examples that help to inform

the public and encourage additional

hiring by other non-Federal employers.

This information collection is entirely

voluntary and can be submitted

whenever the contractor chooses to do

so. The information requested and

reporting instructions will be posted on

the Acquisition Reform Network home

page on the Internet (www.arnet.gov) for

a period of approximately four (4) years.

A listing of agency contacts will be

included in the posting. Government

contractors will be invited to send their

responses directly, via Internet e-mail,

to their primary agency contact.

The information collection consists of

a set of questions. Some of the questions

are narrative and some statistical. The

purpose of the statistical questions is

not to gather statistically valid data but

to provide a context for narrative

descriptions of success. The responses

should cover activity since March 8,

1997, and should apply to adults and

teen heads of household who

immediately prior to hiring were

receiving assistance under the

Temporary Assistance for Needy

Families (TANF) program, Aid to

Families with Dependent Children

(AFDC), or Tribal Temporary Assistance

for Needy Families program

administered by an eligible Indian tribe.

The proposed information collection

will consist of the following questions: