United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of Public Affairs

Washington, DC 20555

Phone 301-415-8200 Fax 301-415-2234

Internet:opa@nrc.gov

No. 98-103 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Friday, June 26, 1998)

NRC TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING IN CHICAGO AREA ON NUCLEAR INDUSTRY

ROLE IN REGULATION

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold a public meeting September

1 near Chicago to discuss how NRC could better use nuclear industry initiatives as

substitutes for regulatory actions and how the agency could streamline its process for

endorsement of codes and standards used to meet regulatory requirements.

The meeting will be held at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare Hotel, 9300 West Bryn

Mawr Avenue, Rosemont, Illinois, 60018.

Advance registration by August 1 is recommended. Pre-registration at the hotel

will be held August 31 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and September 1 from 7:00 a.m. to

8:00 a.m. There is no charge for registration. The hotel telephone number is (847) 696

-1234 and the facsimile number is (847) 698 -0139.

The meeting will begin at 8:00 a.m. and includes three concurrent breakout

sessions to seek public comments on: (1) Consensus Codes and Standards

Development and Endorsement/Use; (2) Industry Initiatives as Substitutes for

Regulatory Action; and (3) Improvements to the Regulatory Framework.

Session I discussions will focus on how to simplify and streamline NRC’s

process for identifying, developing and endorsing relevant codes and standards needed

to support efficient, effective and consistent performance of industry activities important

to safety. Participants in session 2 will discuss increased NRC reliance on industry

oversight of licensing, inspection, and performance monitoring of licensed nuclear

operations as an adequate substitute for NRC regulatory activities such as rules,

orders, regulatory guides, and inspections. Session 3 will explore improvements to

NRC reporting requirements for licensees, rules, standards, regulatory guidance, and

their application. A detailed agenda is attached.
A notice of this meeting will be available today in the Federal Register. For early

registration and additional information, interested persons should contact Thomas N.

Cerovski, USNRC, Telephone: (301) 415-8099; Facsimile: (301) 415-5151; Internet:

tnc@nrc.gov. Information is also available on NRC’s website at

http://www.nrc.gov/RES/dsi13.html.

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AGENDA

August 31, 1998 Pre-Registration 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

September 1, 1998

Registration 7:00 a.m. - 8:00 am.

Plenary Session - Opening and Welcome 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.

Morning Breakout Sessions (I, II, and III) 9:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Lunch 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Afternoon Breakout Sessions (I, II, and III) 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Plenary Session - Closing and Summary 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Breakout Session I: Codes and Standards Development and Endorsement/Use

Discussion Topics:

(1) Actions the NRC is taking to implement PL 104-113, “National Technology

Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995,” March 7, 1996,

(2) Options for NRC participation in the development of consensus codes and

standards organizations,

(3) Whether the NRC should make greater use of available codes and

standards in its regulations and regulatory guides,

(4) Options for endorsement/use of codes and standards, including potential

changes regarding requirements for licensees to upgrade every
120-months to the latest ASME Code edition and addenda incorporated

by reference in § 50.55a,

(5) Options for a process to interact with standards development

organizations to discuss potential needs for new codes, standards, and

guides and recommendations for areas of emphasis,

(6) Impediments to the adoption of updated codes and standards.

Breakout Session II: Industry Initiatives as Substitutes for Regulatory Action

Discussion Topics:

A. Proposed process to be used by the NRC for review of industry initiatives:

(1) Industry submittal: defines parameters of issue, schedule, resources, end

products,

(2) Acceptance review by NRC: resources, public access, fees, monitoring

activities, enforcement policy,

(3) Detailed technical review by NRC: maintenance of desired level of safety

and boundary conditions relative to agency policy.

B. Discussion of the process:

(1) Process will be used to determine whether an industry initiative can be

relied on as an adequate and effective substitute for NRC regulatory

activities:

a. Is the process workable from a conceptual perspective?

b. Should it be refined or more clearly defined?

(2) Are there similar processes which have been developed by public

agencies or the governments of other countries from which the NRC could

learn?

(3) How should NRC assure that public access is maintained in the following

areas:

a. In the agency’s review of the industry initiatives?

b. To information related to the bases for the agency’s acceptance of
the initiative?

Breakout Session III: Improvements to Regulatory Framework

Discussion Topics:

A. Reactor event reporting requirements. Sections 10 CFR 50.72,

"Immediate notification requirements for operating nuclear power

reactors," and 10 CFR 50.73, "Licensee event report system" are currently

the subject of a rulemaking effort to: (a) update the current rules, including

reducing the reporting burden associated with events of little or no safety

significance, and (b) better align the rules with the NRC's current needs,

including (I) obtaining information better related to risk and

(ii) reconsidering the required reporting times in relation to the need for

prompt NRC action.

(1) Other reporting requirements applicable to nuclear power plants.

Are there additional areas (outside of Sections 50.72 and 50.73)

where event reporting requirements can be risk-informed and/or

simplified?

(2) What changes should be made in those areas? For example, the

time limit for reporting could be adjusted based on the safety

significance of the event and the need for NRC’s immediate action.

The burden associated with reporting events or conditions with little

or no safety or risk significance should be minimized.

(3) What would be the change in reporting burden associated with such

changes?

B. Development of a systematic process and identification of candidate issues

for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of rules, standards, regulatory

guidance, and their application.

(1) NRC Process Development. The staff will discuss and seek

comments from stakeholders on the staff process of (1) candidate

issue identification utilizing a variety of readily available sources and

databases; (2) the analysis of the candidate issue for generic

applicability, risk, effectiveness and efficiency; (3) issue prioritization

and disposal, and (4) the initiative to achieve more performancebased regulation.

(2) Candidate Issue Proposals. The staff welcomes the proposal of

candidate issues for improving rules, standards, regulatory guidance,
and their application. This will include consideration of issues that

may improve safety, as well as issues that may reduce regulatory

impact. Candidate issues will be most seriously addressed if they

are provided with a discussion of (1) resource impact on the industry

and the NRC, (2) a quantitative or qualitative assessment of their

impact on risk, and (3) options of ways to address the issue.