INFORMATION REPORT

January 25, 2002 SECY-02-0015

For: The Commissioners

From: John W. Craig, Assistant for Operations, Office of the EDO

Subject: SECY-02-0015 WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK 

ENDING JANUARY 18, 2002

Contents Enclosure

Nuclear Reactor Regulation A

Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards B

Nuclear Regulatory Research C*

Incident Response Operations D

General Counsel E*

Administration F

Chief Information Officer G

Chief Financial Officer H*

Human Resources I

Small Business & Civil Rights J*

Enforcement K*

State and Tribal Programs L*

Public Affairs M

International Programs N*

Office of the Secretary O

Region I P

Region II P

Region III P

Region IV P*

Executive Director for Operations Q*

Congressional Affairs R

*No input this week.

/RA/

John W. Craig

Assistant for Operations, OEDO

Contact:

S. Rosenberg, OEDO
January 25, 2002 SECY-02-0015

For: The Commissioners

From: John W. Craig, Assistant for Operations, Office of the EDO

Subject: SECY-02-0015 WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK 

ENDING JANUARY 18, 2002

Contents Enclosure

Nuclear Reactor Regulation A

Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards B

Nuclear Regulatory Research C*

Incident Response Operations D

General Counsel E*

Administration F

Chief Information Officer G

Chief Financial Officer H*

Human Resources I

Small Business & Civil Rights J*

Enforcement K*

State and Tribal Programs L*

Public Affairs M

International Programs N*

Office of the Secretary O

Region I P

Region II P

Region III P

Region IV P*

Executive Director for Operations Q*

Congressional Affairs R

*No input this week.

John W. Craig

Assistant for Operations, OEDO

Contact:

S. Rosenberg, OEDO

DISTRIBUTION:

Central File

Public Document Name: C:\WIR\WEEK118.WPD

OEDO AO/OEDO

SRosenberg:paa JWCraig

01/ /02 01/ /02
WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING JANUARY 18, 2002

The Weekly Information Report is compiled by the Office of the EDO and includes highlights of

Headquarters and Regional Office activities. 

Contact: S. Rosenberg, OEDO by E-mail: slr1@nrc.gov. 

Use GO TO (Ctrl+Home) to advance to the page number for a specific Office.

PgDn and PgUp can also be used to advance through the text.

OFFICE Page OFFICE Page

NRR 3 STP *

NMSS 6 OPA 11

RES * IP *

IRO 7 SECY 12

OGC * Region I 13

ADM 8 Region II 14

CIO 9 Region III 15

CFO * Region IV *

HR 10 OEDO *

SB/CR * OCA 16

OE *

*No input this week
January 18, 2002 ENCLOSURE A

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Items of Interest

Week Ending January 18, 2002

Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2 and 3

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), a federal agency, is seeking public comment on the

draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) that they prepared. The SEIS

considers the environmental impacts of a proposal to extend the operation of Browns Ferry

Units 2 and 3 and, potentially, Unit 1. It also examines the potential environmental impacts of

restarting Unit 1 and increasing the power output for all three units by up to 20 percent. 

Information from the environmental review process and other evaluations will be used by TVA

to decide whether to pursue restarting Unit 1 and whether to seek license renewals for all three

units.

NFPA 805 Rulemaking Implementation Guidance Meeting

On January 16, 2002, the staff met with the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) and industry

representatives to discuss the content of the future implementation guidance document for the

ongoing National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 805 performance-based, risk-informed fire

protection rulemaking. The topics for the January 16 meeting were guidance language for

quality assurance, configuration management, change control, and records retention, and the

status of NEI 00-01 (on circuit analysis methodology) within the implementation guidance

document. 

Tritium Production Program

The NRCís technical review of TVAís Tritium Production Program license amendment requests

continue on schedule. The proposed amendments would change Technical Specifications to

allow Watts Bar (WBN) and Sequoyah (SQN) nuclear plants to provide incore irradiation

services for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). These amendments, if approved, would

permit TVA to insert up to 2304 tritium-producing burnable absorber rods (TPBARs) in the WBN

reactor and up to 2256 TPBARs in the SQN reactor to support DOE in maintaining the nationís

tritium inventory for national defense purposes.

The NRC published Federal Register Notices of Consideration of Issuance of Amendments to

Facility Operating Licenses, Proposed No Significant Hazards Consideration Determinations,

and Opportunity for Hearings for TVAís WBN and SQN requests on December 17, 2001, for a

30-day comment period (period expires January 16, 2002). 

SBO Scoping for License Renewal

In a letter to NEI and Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) dated November 14, 2001, the NRC

staff proposed a position on the scope of station blackout (SBO) for the purpose of license

renewal. The proposed position would add the structures and components involved in the

recovery from SBO to the scope of license renewal, specifically the equipment needed for

restoration of off-site power, to the current scope, which includes the structures and

components needed for coping with a SBO event. 
January 18, 2002 ENCLOSURE A

This issue was subsequently discussed during a December 12, 2001, public meeting between

the staff and industry on a number of emerging issues, as well as the License Renewal

Steering Committee meeting with the NEI License Renewal Working Group on January 8,

2002. A public meeting was held on January 10, 2002, specifically to discuss SBO scoping for

license renewal. During that meeting, the industry representatives argued that they believe that

the SBO rule only requires procedures for recovery from an SBO event and does not

specifically identify equipment that is relied on to recover offsite power. This is currently an

open issue for those license renewal applications that are currently under review and, therefore,

is being aggressively worked by the staff and industry. In addition, depending on the outcome,

previously approved license renewal applications may need to be revisited.

License Renewal Complete

On January 15, 2002, the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation signed the 

licenses extending operation of the Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2, for an

additional 20 years. The renewed license for Unit 1 expires on August 6, 2034, and the

renewed license for Unit 2 expires on June 13, 2038. Both units, located in Appling County,

Georgia and operated by the Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc., are boiling water

reactors licensed to operate up to power levels of 2,763 megawatts thermal. The Hatch

application submitted by Southern Company was the first boiling water reactor to apply for

renewal. The application was received on March 1, 2000; thus, the review was completed in

221⁄2 months.

Fort Calhoun Station, License Renewal Application

In a letter dated January 1, 2002, Omaha Public Power District (OPPD), the licensee for the

Fort Calhoun Station (FCS), submitted its license renewal application for an additional 20 years

beyond their current 40-year operating license term, pursuant to 10 CFR Parts 51 and 54.

The application includes a technical report describing how the effects of aging will be managed

during the renewal term for the systems, structures, and components within the scope of 

10 CFR Part 54. Additionally, the application includes an environmental report.

FCS has a nuclear steam supply system designed by Combustion Engineering. It was licensed

for commercial operation in 1973. The current operating license for FCS expires on August 9,

2013.

Public Meeting to Discuss Draft Rule Language For Risk-informing the Scope of Special

Treatment For Structures, Systems, and Components (10 CFR 50.69)

On January 9, 2002, the staff held a public meeting to discuss comments the industry and other 

stakeholders had submitted in response to the draft rule language, and to gather additional

information to facilitate the preparation of the proposed rule. The staff also informed the

meeting attendees that it does not plan to endorse guidance associated with the treatment of

risk-informed safety class 3 (RISC-3) structures, systems, and components (SSCs), which are

safety-related SSCs with low safety significance. Rather, the staffís approach is to include

program requirements in the new 10 CFR 50.69 to maintain the design basis function of RISC-3

SSCs. Some stakeholders commented that wording in some subsections of the draft rule
January 18, 2002 ENCLOSURE A

language could introduce new and different interpretations about terms and processes already

in use. Industry representatives also suggested that the staff include 10 CFR 50.55a (codes

and standards), Part 100 (equipment seismic qualification testing), and 10 CFR 54

(requirements for renewal of operating licenses for nuclear power plants) within the scope of 

10 CFR 50.69. Industry stakeholders also questioned the need for a license amendment to

implement 10 CFR 50.69, and believe that the approval process should be more like that for

quality assurance program revisions or a letter of approval. They also stated that commitment

management should be sufficient to handle possible changes regarding the implementation of

Part 50.69 rather than establishing new change control mechanisms. The staff agreed to

consider all stakeholder comments as it prepares the next version of the draft rule language

and the proposed rulemaking package. The staff plans to post the revised draft rule language

for information in February 2002.

Meeting with the Nuclear Energy Institute to Discuss Issues Associated 

With 10 CFR Part 52 Implementation

The staff met with the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) on January 10, 2002, to discuss

10 CFR Part 52 issues associated with inspections, tests, analyses, and acceptance criteria,

(ITAAC) and early site permits (ESP). The meeting was heavily attended with representatives

from Entergy, Exelon, Dominion and Southern Nuclear present. The staff provided preliminary

feedback to NEI on their white paper for ITAAC dated November 20, 2001. The staff stated

that they have questions and concerns with many of the issues contained in NEIís paper and

that detailed written comments would be provided to NEI by May 2002. Based on the detailed

comments, a resolution path would be adopted. With regard to ESP issues, the staff and NEI

discussed several questions that NEI submitted to the staff prior to the meeting. The staff

provided their feedback to NEI on the questions and the staff and NEI agreed to meet regularly

during the next several months because some organizations are in the process of scoping the

work associated with an ESP application. NEI and the staff agreed that early interaction is

mutually beneficial to resolve problems promptly.
January 18, 2002 ENCLOSURE B

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards

Items of Interest

Week Ending January 18, 2002

Fansteel, Inc.

On January 15, 2002, Fansteel, Inc., and most of its U.S. subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy under

Chapter 11 in the Federal Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Formal notification of

the filing pursuant to 10 CFR 40.41(f) was sent by letter dated January 15, 2002. The Nuclear

Regulatory Commission Bankruptcy Response Team will handle all upcoming issues.

Private Fuel Storage Documents Released in Unredacted Form

On January 11, 2002, Supplement 2 to the Private Fuel Storage (PFS) Safety Evaluation

Report and the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for PFS were released in

unredacted form to the public. The FEIS was also filed with the Environmental Protection

Agency on January 11, 2002.
January 18, 2002 ENCLOSURE D

Incident Response Operations

Items of Interest

Week Ending January 18, 2002

Preliminary Notifications

1. PNO-III-02-001, Exelon Generation Co. (Quad Cities 1), SHUTDOWN DUE TO JET

PUMP FAILURE.

2. PNO-III-02-002, Stora Enso North America Corp., LOST CESIUM-137 SOURCE.

3. PNO-IV-01-002, Southern California Edison (San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station

Units 2 and 3), ARREST ASSOCIATED WITH ALLEGED THREATS AGAINST

EMPLOYEES AT SAN ONOFRE NUCLEAR GENERATING STATION.

4. PNO-IV-02-003, Raba-Kistner Consultants, Inc., STOLEN PORTABLE GAUGE.

5. PNO-IV-02-004, Fansteel, Inc., FILING OF BANKRUPTCY.
January 18, 2002 ENCLOSURE F

Office of Administration 

Items of Interest 

Week Ending January 18, 2002

Regional A-76 Training

On January 17 and 18, 2002, the Division of Contracts and Property Management sponsored a

course, ìA-76: Performance of Commercial Activities.î The course was offered to assist the

NRC regional office representatives in meeting the policies and procedures outlined in Office of

Management and Budget Circular A-76, ìPerformance of Commercial Activities.î This OMB

Circular requires Federal agencies to compare the cost of contracting and the cost of in-house

performance to determine whether commercial activities should be performed with commercial

services or performed in-house using Government facilities and personnel. The course was

held at Region IV in Arlington, Texas as part of the Regional Counterpart Meeting and was

attended by 12 individuals from the Regional Offices.
January 18, 2002 ENCLOSURE G

Chief Information Officer

Items of Interest

Week Ending January 18, 2002

Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Requests received during the Period of

January 11, 2002 through January 17, 2002:

Pittsburgh Testing Laboratories, April 1975 incident involving misplaced Cobalt Iridium 192. 

(FOIA/PA-2002-0090)

Power reactors, total accounting of inspection efforts for 1999, 2000 and 2001. 

(FOIA/PA-2002-0091)

Power reactors, enforcement data for 1999, 2000 and 2001. (FOIA/PA-2002-092)

Power reactors, photographs of all U.S. power plants. (FOIA/PA-2002-0093)

Referral by Dept. of Commerce, Bush Administration energy task force. (FOIA/PA-2002-0094)

Regulatory Guide 1.151 Instrument Sensing Lines. (FOIA/PA-2002-0095)

Site assessment, NY-2nd Avenue and 6th Street, 92 Second Avenue, New York, NY. 

(FOIA/PA-2002-0096)

Site assessment, 565 Broadway, Hastings-on-Hudson, Westchester County, New York. 

(FOIA/PA-2002-0097)

Site assessment, NY-Henry & Pike Street, 105 Henry Street, New York, NY. 

(FOIA/PA-2002-0098)

Site assessment, NY-Travis Corners, 1924 Route 9, Garrison, Putnam County, NY. 

(FOIA/PA-2002-099)

Trijicon, Inc., Wixom, MI, all records related to applications and licenses. (FOIA/PA-2002-0100)

Catawba power plant, Rock Hill, SC, 9/16/01 duty officerís report. (FOIA/PA-2002-0101)
January 18, 2002 ENCLOSURE I

Office of Human Resources

Items of Interest

Week Ending January 18, 2002

Arrivals

LAFAVE, William CONSULTANT NRR

THOMAS, Eric PROJECT MANAGER NRR

Departures

NGUYEN, Nathalie STUDENT IT SPECIALIST RI

SALAAM, Fatima STUDENT ENGINEER RI
January 18, 2002 ENCLOSURE M

Office of Public Affairs

Items of Interest

Week Ending January 18, 2002

Media Interest

Chairman Meserve made a nationally broadcast speech about nuclear power plant security at

the National Press Club.

Political wrangling and divisions over the adequacy of evacuation plans for residents near the

Indian Point nuclear plant continue to receive media interest.

An NRC exit meeting following a special inspection on the fate of two spent fuel rods missing

from the Millstone nuclear plant drew media attention.

Press Releases

Headquarters:

S-02-001 ìNuclear Security In The Post-September 11 Environmentî remarks

delivered by Chairman Richard Meserve at the National Press Club

02-005 NRC Schedules Three-day Conference to Discuss Regulatory

Issues with Nuclear Industry

02-006 NRC Releases Complete Final Environmental Statement on

Proposed Facility near Tooele, Utah

02-007 NRC Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste to meet in Rockville,

MD on February 7-8

Regions:

I-02-003 NRC Issues Finding of Low to Moderate Safety Significance To

Limerick Unit 2 Nuclear Power Plant

I-02-004 NRC To Meet With New Jersey Company To Discuss Site Cleanup 

III-02-001 NRC Begins Special Inspection of Pump Problem at Quad Cities 

IV-02-001 NRC Staff to Hold Regulatory Conference With Txu Electric
January 18, 2002 ENCLOSURE O

Office of the Secretary

Items of Interest

Week Ending January 18, 2002

Document Released

to Public

Date Subject

Decision Documents

1. Revised SRM on SECY01-02091/14/02 Framework Document for International

Activities

Negative Consent Documents

1. SECY-01-0207 11/20/01 Legal and Financial Issues Related to

Exelonís Pebble Bed Modular Reactor

(PBMR)

Commission Correspondence

1. Letter to Dr. J. H. Marburger, Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy, OEOB,

dated January 9, 2002, provides invitation to deliver the keynote address at the NRCís

International Conference on Wire System Aging. 

2. Letter to Senator Charles E. Schumer, dated January 9, 2002, concerns the vulnerability

of terrorist attacks of nuclear facilities located in close proximity to highly populated areas. 

3. Letter to Jeanne Shaheen, Governor of New Hampshire, dated January 4, 2002,

concerns NRCís State Liaison Officer Program. 

4. Letter to Robert E. Wise, Jr., Governor of West Virginia, dated January 4, 2002, concerns

NRCís State Liaison Officer Program. 

Federal Register Notices Issued

1. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards; Notice of Meeting.

2. Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste; Notice of Meeting.

3. ACRS Subcommittee on Planning and Procedures; Notice of Meeting.
January 18, 2002 ENCLOSURE P

Region I

Items of Interest

Week Ending January 18, 2002

NRC, FEMA, and NY State Meeting (1/17/02) with Congressional Representatives on EP and

Evacuation Plans

NRC, FEMA, and NY State representatives attended a meeting on January 17, 2002, in White

Plains, NY, arranged by U.S. Representatives Lowey, Gilman, and Kelly on emergency

preparedness (EP) and the evacuation plans for the four counties that are within the 10-mile

emergency planning zone (EPZ) for Indian Point Unit 2. Also present at the meeting were staff

members from other Congressional offices. Representatives of Dutchess County, although not

within the EPZ, were also present. Mr. Bill Borchardt, NRR, led the group of NRC

Headquarters and Region I representatives at the meeting. The discussions were to inform the

members of Congress about the workings of EP and the evacuation plans. 

Special Inspection Public Exit Meeting

Region I held a public meeting on January 15, 2002, at the Millstone Station simulator building

to discuss the results of the special NRC inspection of the licenseeís investigation into the two

irradiated fuel rods missing from the Millstone 1 spent fuel pool. The exit portion of the

meeting with the licensee was open for public observation only, but was followed by a questionand-answer period for members of the public. All members of the inspection team were

present, as was Region I management and public affairs staff. Initial feedback was positive

from meeting attendees, and public meeting feedback forms were available, with attendees

invited to use them to provide written comments.

Approximately 50 people, including media representatives, were in attendance at the meeting,

which lasted approximately 11⁄2 hours. Local television and newspaper coverage was noted.
January 18, 2002 ENCLOSURE P

Region II

Items of Interest

Week Ending January 18, 2002

Commission Meeting on Briefing of Status of Nuclear Materials Safety

On January 15, 2002, the Acting Regional Administrator participated in the Commission

Meeting on Briefing of Status of Nuclear Materials Safety in Headquarters. Topics included the

issues to be considered in this Arena over the next year, including challenges the Regions will

be facing.

Commissioner Diaz Visits the Florida Power and Light Companyís Crystal River

On January 17, 2002, Commissioner Diaz, accompanied by the Acting Regional Administrator,

visited the Crystal River Nuclear Plant to tour the facility, meet with licensee management, and

the NRC resident inspectors. On the evening of January 17, Commissioner Diaz participated

in a Town Hall Meeting in the City of Crystal River, Florida.

Tennessee Valley Authority - Browns Ferry Management Meeting

On January 16, 2002, representatives from Tennessee Valley Authority were in the Region II

office to attend a management meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the

Browns Ferry plant status and the licenseeís assessment of challenges and proposed activities

for the site.
January 18, 2002 ENCLOSURE P

Region III

Items of Interest

Week Ending January 18, 2002

Terrorism-Based Table Top Exercise at Davis-Besse

Region III and Headquarters staff members participated in a table top exercise on January 15,

2002, in Port Clinton, Ohio, involving a terrorism-based scenario at the Davis-Besse Nuclear

Power Station. Other participants included the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal

Emergency Management Agency, and the Coast Guard; various State of Ohio agencies and

county officials; and representatives from the Davis-Besse, Perry, and Beaver Valley plants

operated by FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company.

Meeting with Consumers Energy on Big Rock Decommissioning

Region III staff members met January 15, 2002, in the Regional Office with Consumers Energy

Co. officials to discuss decommissioning activities completed at the Big Rock Nuclear Power

plant during 2001 and the utilityís plans for work to be performed in 2002.

Spent Fuel Removed from Dresden 1 Spent Fuel Pool

On January 15, 2002, Exelon Generation Corp. completed the removal of all fuel from the

Dresden Unit 1 spent fuel pool. The spent fuel has been loaded into twelve dry cask storage

units. A Region III inspector observed the loading activities for the twelfth cask, which will be

moved to the dry cask storage pad later in the month. The Dresden Unit 1 decommissioning

project will continue in 2002 with spent fuel rack removal, processing and disposing of pool

water, and pool decontamination.
January 18, 2002 

Office of Congressional Affairs

Items of Interest

Week Ending January 18, 2002

CONGRESSIONAL HEARING SCHEDULE, NO. 40

OCA

Contact

DATE

&

PLACE

TIME WITNESS SUBJECT 

Combs 01/23/02

SD-406

10:00 Bill Kane and others Price-Anderson Act Senators 

Transp, InEnvironm

NOTE: Congress is adjourned until January 23, 2002