Escalated Enforcement Actions Issued to Reactor Licensees - V

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Vermont Yankee
Vogtle 1 & 2
Vogtle 3 & 4

Vermont Yankee - Docket Nos. 050-00271

NRC Action Number(s) and Facility Name	Action Type (Severity) & Civil Penalty (if any)	Date Issued	Description
EA-06-253 Vermont Yankee	NOV (White)	12/20/2006	On December 20, 2006, a Notice of Violation associated with a White Significance Determination Finding was issued involving the shipment of a package containing radioactive material via an exclusive-use open transport vehicle. The violation was cited against 10 CFR 71.5, "Transportation of Licensed Material," and DOT regulation 49 CFR 173.441(a) because the package containing the radioactive material was not designed and prepared to assure, under conditions normally incident to transportation, that the radiation level on any point on the external surface of the package would not exceed 200 millirem per hour.
EA-04-174 Vermont Yankee	NOV (SL III)	06/22/2005	On June 22, 2005, a Notice of Violation was issued for a Severity Level III violation of 10 CFR 74.19 (a)(1), (b), and (c) [formerly 10 CFR 70.51 (b), (c) and (d)], citing the licensee's failure, between January 1980 and July 13, 2004, to ensure that two irradiated fuel rods were in the spent fuel pool as detailed in the licensee's inventory. The licensee also failed to conduct adequate inventories of the location of the two fuel pieces.
EA-04-173 Vermont Yankee	NOV (White)	02/02/2005	On February 2, 2005, a Notice of Violation was issued for a violation associated with a White SDP finding involving the failure to issue tone alert radios to the entire populace within the emergency planning zone (EPZ). The violation cited the licensee's failure to follow its emergency plan to establish the means to provide early notification and clear instruction to the populace within the plume exposure pathway EPZ.
EA-00-165 Vermont Yankee	NOV (SL III)	09/18/2000	A Notice of Violation for a Severity Level III violation was issued September 18, 2000. The action was based on a former mechanical maintenance manager deliberately causing a violation of the procedure implementing the requirement to control contracted services during the 1998 refueling outage.
EA-97-531 Vermont Yankee	NOVCP (SL III) $ 55,000	04/14/1998	Violations of design control, corrective actions, and reporting.
EA-96-210 Vermont Yankee	NOVCP (SL III) $ 50,000	08/28/1996	Failure to analyze ECCS equipment to be free from single failure criterion.

Vogtle 1 & 2 - Docket Nos. 050-00424; 050-00425

NRC Action Number(s) and Facility Name	Action Type (Severity) & Civil Penalty (if any)	Date Issued	Description
EA-22-108	NOV	09/05/2023	On September 5, 2023, the NRC issued a notice of violation (Notice) to Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc (licensee) for a Severity Level (SL) III violation at Vogtle Electric Generating Plant Units 1 and 2. The SL III violation involved the licensee’s failure to follow a radiological work permit (RWP) as required by licensee technical specifications. Specifically, three contract employees entered the containment building on an improper RWP.
EA-21-026	NOV (SL III)	01/04/2022	On January 4, 2022, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a severity level III Notice of Violation to Southern Nuclear Operating Company’s Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2, for a violation of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations Parts 50.9(a) and 55.27 for the failure to maintain complete and accurate medical qualification records for a senior reactor operator.
EA-19-112 Vogtle 1 & 2	NOV	03/31/2020	On March 31, 2020, the NRC issued a Notice of Violation to Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc. (SNC) for a violation of a Technical Specification surveillance requirement at Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, associated with a White significance determination process finding. Specifically, Southern failed to adequately perform periodic channel calibrations for post-accident monitoring equipment since initial startup of Vogtle Units 1 and 2.
EA-17-166 Vogtle 1 & 2	NOVCP $145,000	02/20/2018	On February 20, 2018, the NRC issued a Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty in the amount of $145,000 to Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc. for a Problem at Vogtle Units 1 and 2. At least 13 non-licensed operators entered data related to equipment status, general area inspections, and housekeeping conditions for specific areas without actually entering those areas as required by a site procedure and NRC regulations - 10 CFR 50.9, Completeness and Accuracy of Information; 10 CFR 50, Appendix B, Criterion V, Procedures; and, 10 CFR 50, Appendix B, Criterion XVII, Quality Assurance Records.
EA 17-014 Vogtle 1 & 2	NOV (White)	04/25/2017	On April 25, 2017, the NRC issued a Notice of Violation to Southern Nuclear Operating Co., Inc., for its failure to maintain the effectiveness of an emergency plan and have a standardized emergency action level scheme in use based on facility system and effluent parameters at Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2. This is a violation of 10 CFR 50.47(b)(4) and Appendix E to Part 50 and is associated with a White Significance Determination Process finding. Specifically, the emergency classifications for a General Emergency and Site Area Emergency contained effluent radiation monitor threshold values that were forty-two times different than the correct values. These radiation monitors were being relied upon to determine the magnitude of, and for continuously assessing the impact of the release of radioactive materials, as well as providing criteria for determining the need for notification and participation of local and State agencies.
EA-14-158 Vogtle Electric Generating Plant	NOV (White)	03/30/2015	On March 30, 2015, he NRC issued a Notice of Violation associated with a White Significance Determination Process finding to Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc., for the licensee's failure to maintain accurate records of radioactive waste being stored in designated areas which resulted in a violation of Vogtle Electric Generating Plant Technical Specification 5.4.1. Specifically, information regarding the location and contents of the high integrity containers was not updated when the contents of process shield #10 were changed. This failure to maintain accurate records resulted in a shipment of Type B quantity of radioactive material being shipped in a container that was not approved or tested for that purpose. The significance of this event was based on the increased risk to the public and accident hazard posed when a Type B quantity of radioactive material was shipped in a container that was not approved or tested for that purpose.
EA-14-112 Vogtle 1 & 2	NOV (White)	08/06/2014	On August 6, 2014 the NRC issued a Notice of Violation associated with a White Significance Determination Process finding to Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc. for a violation of 10 CFR Part 50.54(q)(2), Emergency Plans, involving the failure to maintain the effectiveness of their emergency plan. Specifically, the licensee failed to maintain a standard emergency classification scheme, which included facility effluent parameters, in that effluent parameter classification threshold values for RG1 (General Emergency) and RS1 (Site Area Emergency) were significantly non-conservative at Vogtle Units 1 and 2. These monitors were being relied upon to continuously assess the impact of the release of radioactive materials, as well as provide criteria for determining the need for notification and participation of local and State agencies.
EA-06-132 Vogtle 1 & 2	NOV (SL III)	09/18/2006	On September 18, 2006, a Notice of Violation was issued for a violation associated with a WHITE significance determination process finding. The violation cited emergency preparedness planning standards 10 CFR 50.47(b)(14) and 10 CFR 50.47(b)(4) as well as the requirements of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix E, Section IV.F.2.g, because the licensee failed to identify weak or deficient areas during its formal critique of an emergency preparedness exercise. Specifically, the exercise critique failed to identify that the Emergency Director's Site Area Emergency event classification was an incorrect classification.
EA-96-479 Vogtle 1 & 2	NOV (SL III)	12/31/1996	Inoperable SI pump and a degraded containment spray pump due to inadequate maintenance procedures.
EA-95-171 Vogtle 1 & 2	NOV (SL I)	05/29/1996	Discrimination against former senior manager.

Vogtle 3 & 4 - Docket Nos. 520-0025; 052-0026

NRC Action Number(s) and Facility Name	Action Type (Severity) & Civil Penalty (if any)	Date Issued	Description
EA-21-109 Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Unit 3	NOV (White)	11/17/2021	On November 17, 2021 the NRC issued a Notice of Violation associated with two White Significance Determination Process (SDP) findings to the Southern Nuclear Operating Company’s (SNC) Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Unit 3. In one finding SNC failed to (1) promptly identify and correct conditions adverse to quality associated with Class 1E cables and related raceways; (2) promptly identify widespread deficiencies in installation of seismic supports and structural components; and (3) correct these issues in a timely manner as required by 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix B, Criterion XVI, “Corrective Action.” In the other finding SNC failed to provide the required separation between Class 1E and non-Class 1E division cables for several reactor trip switchgear and reactor coolant pump switchgear cabinets as required by 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix B, Criterion V, “Instructions, Procedures and Drawings,” and specification APP-G1-V8-01, Section B2, “Separation and Segregation Spacing Requirements.”
EA-18-130 EA-18-171 Vogtle 3 & 4	ORDER	11/20/2019	On November 20, 2019 the NRC issued a Confirmatory Order to Southern Nuclear Operating Company (SNC) for two willful violations of 10 CFR 52.5, "Employee Protection." This Confirmatory Order was based on: (1) SNC directing a contract employee at the Vogtle Units 3 and 4 construction site be removed in December 2015, in part, for engaging in protected activity. The contract employee was subsequently terminated by his employer on February 3, 2016; and, (2) an SNC official removing a contract employee from the site on July 13, 2017, in part, for engaging in protected activity when he was employed by a different contractor on the site from 2014-2015. The contract employee was subsequently terminated by his employer on July 14, 2017.

Page Last Reviewed/Updated Tuesday, September 12, 2023