EA-99-104 - Waterford 3 (Entergy Operations, Inc.)

June 15, 1999

EA 99-104

Charles M. Dugger, Vice President
Operations, Waterford-3
Entergy Operations, Inc.
P.O. Box B
Killona, Louisiana 70066

SUBJECT:   NOTICE OF VIOLATION (NRC INSPECTION REPORT 50-382/99-08)

Dear Mr. Dugger:

This refers to your letter dated June 3, 1999, in which you responded to an apparent violation described in NRC Inspection Report 50-382/99-08, dated May 3, 1999. The apparent violation, which was identified by Entergy Operations, Inc. personnel at Entergy's Waterford-3 Steam Electric Station, involved mistakenly granting unescorted access to the facility to an individual whose background investigation indicated he had recently failed another employer's pre-employment drug screening.

In Attachment 1 to your June 3, 1999 letter, you described and clarified Entergy's corrective actions. Entergy's corrective actions included revoking the individual's access, conducting a review of the individual's work, retraining and counseling Waterford-3 personnel who mistakenly granted access, conducting additional training for all access authorization personnel, revising procedures to emphasize the need to perform a comprehensive review of all information in an applicant's folder and to assure that all derogatory information has been adjudicated, and reviewing approximately 800 access authorization files for workers granted access during Refuel Outage 09. You reported that no similar errors were found.

Based on its review of all information in this case, and after consideration of the information you provided in your letter, the NRC has concluded that a violation of NRC requirements occurred. Specifically, information regarding illegal use of a controlled substance without adequate evidence of rehabilitation is required to be considered in making access authorization determinations. In this case, derogatory information of this nature was missed and was not considered until 30 days after temporary unescorted access was granted. This violation has been classified at Severity Level III because it involved granting unescorted access to an individual who would not have been granted access had the derogatory information been considered (Supplement III, NRC Enforcement Policy).

Since the Waterford-3 facility has received escalated enforcement action in the past two years ⁽¹⁾, the NRC considered both identification and corrective actions in determining whether a civil penalty should be assessed for this violation (Section VI.B.2, NRC Enforcement Policy). As already noted, Entergy identified this violation and took comprehensive corrective actions. Thus, the NRC has determined that credit for both factors is warranted, resulting in no civil penalty being assessed.

The NRC also has concluded that no further response to this violation is warranted since information regarding your corrective actions is already described in your June 3, 1999 letter and in Security Incident Report 99-SO2-00 which Entergy submitted to the NRC on April 22, 1999.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice," this letter and its enclosure will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room.

		Sincerely,
		Ellis W. Merschoff Regional Administrator

 

Docket No. 50-382
License No. NPF-38

Enclosure:  Notice of Violation

cc w/Enclosure:

Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Entergy Operations, Inc.
P.O. Box 31995
Jackson, Mississippi 39286-1995

Vice President, Operations Support
Entergy Operations, Inc.
P.O. Box 31995
Jackson, Mississippi 39286-1995

Wise, Carter, Child & Caraway
P.O. Box 651
Jackson, Mississippi 39205

General Manager, Plant Operations
Waterford 3 SES
Entergy Operations, Inc.
P.O. Box B
Killona, Louisiana 70066

Manager - Licensing Manager
Waterford 3 SES
Entergy Operations, Inc.
P.O. Box B
Killona, Louisiana 70066

Chairman
Louisiana Public Service Commission
One American Place, Suite 1630
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70825-1697

Director, Nuclear Safety & Regulatory Affairs
Waterford 3 SES
Entergy Operations, Inc.
P.O. Box B
Killona, Louisiana 70066

Ronald Wascom, Administrator
Louisiana Radiation Protection Division
P.O. Box 82135
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70884-2135

Parish President
St. Charles Parish
P.O. Box 302
Hahnville, Louisiana 70057

Winston & Strawn
1400 L Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20005-3502

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NOTICE OF VIOLATION
Entergy Operations, Inc. Waterford-3 Steam Electric Station		Docket No. 50-382 License No. NPF-38 EA 99-104

During an NRC inspection completed April 22, 1999, a violation of NRC requirements was identified. In accordance with the "General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions," NUREG-1600, Rev. 1, the violation is listed below:

10 CFR 73.56(b)(1) states, in part, that the licensee shall establish and maintain an access authorization program granting unescorted access to protected and vital areas with the objective of providing high assurance that individuals granted unescorted access are trustworthy and reliable. 10 CFR 73.56(a)(1) required the licensee to incorporate the access authorization program into the site Physical Security Plan and implement it. Paragraph 2.3.1 of the licensee's Physical Security Plan commits to Regulatory Guide 5.66, Access Authorization Program For Nuclear Power Plants, in its entirety. Paragraph 7.1 of Regulatory Guide 5.66 states, in part, that in its decision to grant unescorted access, the utility shall consider information obtained during the background investigation. Paragraph 7.1 also states, "In making a determination of trustworthiness and reliability, the following must be considered: .... b. Illegal use or possession of a controlled substance or abuse of alcohol without adequate evidence of rehabilitation." Paragraph 6.8.1 of Entergy Corporate Security Departmental Procedure CS-DP-104, Revision 0, states that the licensee's decision to grant unescorted access authorization shall be based upon review of all information developed during the completion of a background investigation and psychological evaluation. In addition, paragraph 6.8.3 states that the licensee must consider illegal use or possession of a controlled substance or abuse of alcohol without adequate evidence of rehabilitation. Contrary to the above, on February 23, 1999, the licensee failed to consider information obtained during a background investigation before granting temporary unescorted access to a contractor employee. The licensee failed to consider information obtained during the employee's background investigation which indicated use of a controlled substance without adequate evidence of rehabilitation. Specifically, the background investigation for this employee revealed that the employee had recently failed another employer's pre-employment drug screening by testing positive for drugs. (01013) This is a Severity Level III violation (Supplement III).

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 Entergy's June 3, 1999 letter to the NRC and in Security Incident Report 99-SO2-00 which Entergy submitted to the NRC on April 22, 1999. However, you are required to submit a written statement or explanation pursuant to 10 CFR 2.201 if the description in these documents 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," and send it to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN:  Document Control Desk, Washington, DC 20555 with a copy to the Regional Administrator, Region IV, 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400, Arlington, Texas 76011, 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 contest this enforcement action, you should also provide a copy of your response, with the basis for your denial, to the Director, Office of Enforcement, United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

If you choose to respond, your response will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room (PDR). Therefore, to the extent possible, the response should not include any personal privacy, proprietary, or safeguards information so that it can be placed in the PDR without redaction. If personal privacy or proprietary information is necessary to provide an acceptable response, then 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 material, 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 2.790(b) to support a request for withholding confidential commercial or financial information). If safeguards information is necessary to provide an acceptable response, please provide the level of protection described in 10 CFR 73.21.

Dated this 15th day of June 1999

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^1. Entergy received a Severity Level III violation on January 7, 1999, for a violation which involved losing control of a copy of the Waterford-3 physical security plan.