Department of Energy 

Washington, DC 20585 

April 5, 2002 

Mr. Martin J. Virgilio, Director 

Office of Nuclear Materials Safety 

and Safeguards 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

Two White Flint North 

Rockville, MD 20852 

Dear Mr. Virgilio: 

During the September and December 2001 Quarterly Quality Assurance (QA) Meetings, the 

development of the Performance Improvement Transition Plan (currently, the OCRWM 

Management Improvement initiatives IOMII]) was presented and discussed with you and your 

staff. Based on subsequent discussions with your staff, it is clear that the OMIT. as submitted on 

January 3 1, 2002, did not meet NRC expectations. As you are aware, I have just been confirmed 

as the Director of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management. I am ini the process of 

reviewing and evaluating all aspects of the Program. I assure you that QA is one of my highest 

priorities. It is a key to assuring the credibility and success of the licensing application for the 

Yucca Mountain Project. Therefore, I have decided to submit a totally revised OMIT in the near 

future. 

The revised OMIT is being developed by a joint DOF/Bechtcl SAIC Company, LLC management 

team and will be reissued to include relevant, comprehensive action summaries. In addition to 

Dr. J. Russell Dyer, Yucca Mountain Project Manager, I have assigned Gene E. Runkle of my 

Transition Team to support the OMI effort and provide direct input to me from the process. The 

OMII will be developed and administered as a plan and implemented under the QA program 

procedure AP-5.1 Q. 

In developing the revised OMIU, we arc taking the following actions: 

" Identify deficiencies and recommendations from various assessments performed regarding 

our program and define a comprehensive set of actions to address the assessment results, 

including those from the eight sources discussed at the September 6, 2001, Quarterly 

QA Meeting. 

"* Revise the OMil to directly incorporate a comprehensive list of remedial and corrective 

actions previously incoqrorated only by reference to the relevant Corrective Action Reports 

(CAR). 

", Incorporate relevant action summaries directly in the OMIT and submit the complete OMIT to 

the NRC. 

F nt od w th s o y in k( c n r oc y c 1 p a p a r C0 , 7
2

Action summaries will include: 

I. Description of specific actions planned 

2. Schedule for accomplishing the actions 

3. Metrics for tracking completion status and measuring effectiveness of the actions 

4. Identification of management and scaff accountable for completion of the actions 

5. Clear identification of actions including: 

"* Remedial actions and actions to preclude recurrence for the Model and Software 

CARs 

" Other planned actions that are not directly part of CAR corrective actions but are 

within NRC regulatory purview and subject to the DOE QA Requirements and 

Dcscription 

"* Additional improvements from our business practices that are appropriate to support 

overall performance improvement. 

Specific actions from management assessments, self-assessments, and OQA oversight will bc an 

integral part of OMII. More importantly, OMIT performance measures and results will be 

monitored by my Office to ensure timely and continuous improvements in the QA proccss. 

If you require additional information or would like to further discuss our planned activities, 

please do not hesitate to call me. 

Sincerely, 

Dr. Margaret S.Y. Chu, Director 

Office of Civilian Radioactive 

Waste Management 

Enclosure: 

DOE Commitments
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY COMMITMENTS:

I. Revision I to the OCRWM Management Improvement Initiativcs will include 

relevant, comprehensive action summaries that are fully developed and incorporated 

into the document. The OCRWM Management Improvement Initiatives will be 

developed and administered as a plan and implemented under our Quality Assurance 

(QA) Program procedure AP-5.1 Q. 

2. Action summaries in the OCRWM Management Improvement Initiatives will include 

description of actions, schedule for the actions, metrics for completion status and 

measuring effectveness, and identification of accountable management and staff. 

3. Specific actions for management assessments, self-assessments, and QA oversight 

will be an integral part of OCRWM Management Improvement Initiatives and the 

success of its implementation. OCRWM Management Improvement Initiatives 

performance measures and results will be monitored by management and made 

widely available to all program participants.