A United States senator is urging the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to step up its efforts to support a “positive and healthy work environment” at the Tennessee Valley Authority.

In a letter dated July 24, Democratic Sen. Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts references TVA’s plan to restructure its Employee Concerns Program. Four employees affected by the changes have retained legal counsel, but no lawsuit has been filed.

A fifth member of the utility’s Employee Concerns Program (ECP) was forced to retire, according to published media reports.

One ECP manager worked at TVA’s corporate office, while the other managers were assigned to TVA’s three nuclear power plants — Sequoyah and Watts Bar in Tennessee and Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Athens.

In a June interview about changes to the ECP program, Timothy Rausch, TVA’s chief nuclear officer, said the five employees who left TVA were offered employment elsewhere or the opportunity to step away if they chose to do so.

A statement released Friday by TVA explained ECP employees affected by the changes are currently working in temporary roles while the utility helps them with job placement within the company.

“The employees have informed us that they want to remain employees of TVA,” the statement said.

‘Chilled work environment’?

In addition to Markey expressing concern over the proposed ECP changes, he referenced confirmatory orders issued by the NRC in 2009 and 2017, which detail “how TVA management has allowed a ‘chilled work environment,’” in which employees were suppressed or discouraged from raising safety concerns.

He referenced TVA’s plan to have employees take concerns to management, as opposed to independent whistleblowers. He said those changes represented an “alarming shift,” considering “31 percent of nuclear oversight employees in non-management roles did not feel free to raise concerns or problems without fear of retaliation.”

Markey submitted a list of four questions to NRC Chairman Kristine L. Svinicki and asked that NRC provide responses by Aug. 7. Those questions included:

• Has the NRC communicated or will the NRC communicate directly to TVA employees about their ability to raise concerns to the NRC, instead of going through TVA channels, if they are afraid of interference or retribution?

• Does the NRC believe that TVA’s new ECP program ensures employees have an independent channel to report concerns, without interference or retribution from TVA management?

• Is the NRC aware of any changes that TVA has made to ameliorate the chilled work environment detailed in the 2018 TVA Office of Inspector General report?

• Does the NRC believe that removing ECP employees will improve or worsen the chilled work culture repeatedly found at TVA plants?

An NRC spokesman on Friday said the agency would respond directly to Markey, “through our usual channels.”

‘Multiple, equal paths’

A TVA statement sent Friday to The News Courier said employees have “multiple, equal paths” for raising safety or quality concerns, including the ECP, reporting a concern to a supervisor or manager, using the Corrective Action Program or contacting the NRC or Office of Inspector General.

“TVA values nuclear safety and the Employee Concerns Program has not been eliminated,” Spokeswoman Malinda Hunter said in a statement. “TVA Nuclear recently implemented changes to its Employee Concerns Program to improve effectiveness based on employee feedback, regulator input and industry benchmarking.”

She explained the revised program requires a different set of skills, abilities and experience for our Employee Concerns Program representatives to ensure they can engage with workers and identify important issues earlier.

“With the new structure, our ECP staff will be spending significantly more time in the field, talking with employees, listening to feedback, gaining a deeper understanding of concerns and developing positive working relationships with employees and managers so that potential issues may be realized sooner,” Hunter said. “TVA ECP staff have been, and will remain, independent of line management.”