NRC to Hold a Regulatory Conference with Empire Wireline on Feb. 20 to Discuss a Proposed Violation

Nuclear Regulatory Commission - News Release
No: IV-24-006 January 30, 2024
CONTACT: Victor Dricks, 817-200-1128
 
NRC to Hold a Regulatory Conference with Empire Wireline on Feb. 20 to Discuss a Proposed Violation
 
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a regulatory conference on Feb. 20 with officials from Empire Wireline, of Manvel, Texas, to discuss the safety significance of a proposed violation.
 
The company is licensed to use radioactive materials in well-logging activities to identify mineral, oil, or gas deposits in Louisiana and Texas, except for areas of exclusive federal jurisdiction.
 
The proposed violation, identified in a December 2023 inspection report, involves the company’s failure to file for reciprocity with the NRC prior to working in areas of exclusive federal jurisdiction in 2019 and 2020. The company, which is licensed by the states of Texas and Louisiana, should have filed with the NRC before conducting activities at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve sites at Bryan Mound and Big Hill in Texas and West Hackberry in Louisiana.
 
The enforcement conference will be held at the NRC’s Region IV Office at 1600 East Lamar Blvd., Arlington, Texas, beginning at 12 p.m. Central time.
 
Company representatives will have the opportunity to provide their perspective or additional information, including any actions planned or completed to prevent recurrence of the issues, before the agency makes its final enforcement decision.
 
The meeting notice has information detailing how the public can participate in the meeting by phone or online. Members of the public will have an opportunity to ask questions of the NRC staff or provide comments about the issues discussed following the business portion of the meeting; however, the NRC staff is not soliciting comments pertaining to regulatory decisions.
 
No decisions on the final safety significance or any potential NRC actions regarding the proposed violations will be made at the meeting.