[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 90 (Monday, May 11, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25886-25887]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-12394]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-335, 50-389, 50-250, 50-251 License Nos. DPR-67, NPF-
16, DPR-31, DPR-41]
Florida Power and Light; Receipt of Petition for Director's
Decision Under 10 CFR 2.206
Notice is hereby given that by Petitions dated February 26 and 27,
March 6, 15, 17, 29, and 30, and April 4, 1998, Thomas J. Saporito, Jr.
and National Litigation Consultants (Petitioners) have requested that
the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) take action with regard to
Florida Power and Light's (FPL's) St. Lucie Plant, Units 1 and 2, and
Turkey Point Plant, Units 3 and 4.
Petitioners request that the NRC take numerous actions, including
certain immediate actions, with regard to the FPL St. Lucie and Turkey
Point facilities. These actions include that the NRC: (1) Take
escalated enforcement action, including modifying, suspending, or
revoking FPL's operating licenses until it demonstrates that there is a
work environment which encourages employees to raise safety concerns
directly to the NRC, and the issuance of civil penalties for violations
of the NRC's requirements; (2) permit Petitioners to intervene in a
public hearing regarding whether FPL has violated the NRC's employee
protection regulations and require FPL to allow the National Litigation
Consultants to assist its employees in understanding and exercising
their rights under these regulations; (3) conduct investigations
[[Page 25887]]
and require FPL to obtain appraisals and third-party oversight in order
to determine whether its work environment encourages employees to
freely raise nuclear safety concerns; (4) inform all employees of their
rights under the Energy Reorganization Act and NRC's regulations to
raise such concerns; and (5) establish a website on the Internet to
allow employees to raise concerns to the NRC. As grounds for these
requests, Petitioners assert that there is a widespread hostile work
environment at FPL's facilities and that certain employees have been
subjected to discrimination for raising nuclear safety concerns, and
that the NRC's process for handling allegations and responding to
concerns of discrimination has been ineffective. In addition, the
Petition requests that the NRC immediately investigate concerns that
contamination occurred and remains uncorrected because of the flow of
water from a radioactive contaminated area at St. Lucie into an unlined
pond, that FPL is improperly grouping work orders, thereby reducing the
number of work open orders, that an excessive amount of contract labor
remains onsite, and that, because NRC inspectors are only assigned to
the day shift, many employees do not have access to the NRC onsite and
inspectors cannot monitor safety-related work functions outside the day
shift. As grounds for these requests, Petitioners assert that the storm
drains from FPL's radioactive contaminated area flow into the pond and
that FPL is aware of the problem but has failed to identify or correct
this and directs its Health Physics personnel to survey the pond by
sampling only surface water.
The requests are being treated pursuant to 10 CFR 2.206 of the
Commission's regulations. The requests have been referred to the
Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. The Petitioners'
requests for immediate action were denied by letter dated May 4, 1998.
Copies of the Petitions are available for inspection at the
Commission's Public Document Room at 2120 L Street, NW, Washington, DC
20555.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 4th day of May 1998.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
[FR Doc. 98-12394 Filed 5-8-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
