INFORMATION REPORT

August 23, 2004 SECY-04-0152

For: The Commissioners

From: William M. Dean, Assistant for Operations, Office of the EDO

Subject: SECY-04-0152 WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK 

ENDING AUGUST 13, 2004

Contents Enclosure

Nuclear Reactor Regulation A

Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards B

Nuclear Regulatory Research C

Nuclear Security and Incident Response D*

General Counsel E*

Administration F*

Chief Information Officer G

Chief Financial Officer H*

Human Resources I

Small Business and 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/

William M. Dean

Assistant for Operations, OEDO

Contact:

T. Kim, OEDO
August 23, 2004 SECY-04-0152

For: The Commissioners

From: William M. Dean, Assistant for Operations, Office of the EDO

Subject: SECY-04-0152 WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK 

ENDING AUGUST 13, 2004

Contents Enclosure

Nuclear Reactor Regulation A

Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards B

Nuclear Regulatory Research C

Nuclear Security and Incident Response D*

General Counsel E*

Administration F*

Chief Information Officer G

Chief Financial Officer H*

Human Resources I

Small Business and 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/

William M. Dean

Assistant for Operations, OEDO

Contact:

T. Kim, OEDO

DISTRIBUTION:

Central File

Public Document Name: C:\WIR\Week813.WPD

OEDO AO/OEDO

TKim WMDean

08/23/04 08/23/04
WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING AUGUST 13, 2004

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

Headquarters and Regional Office activities. 

Contact: T. Kim, OEDO by E-mail: tjk3@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 2 STP *

NMSS 4 OPA 17

RES 8 OIP *

NSIR 9 SECY 19

OGC * Region I 20

ADM * Region II 21

CIO 11 Region III *

CFO * Region IV 23

HR 15 OEDO *

SBCR * OCA 24

OE *

*No input this week
August 13, 2004 ENCLOSURE A

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Items of Interest

Week Ending August 13, 2004

Fermi - Site Visit by U.S. Congressman

On August 11, 2004, Congressman Mike Rogers (8th District, Michigan) toured the Fermi 2

nuclear power plant. He is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and

serves on the Energy and Air Quality, Environment and Hazardous Materials, and Health and

Oversight Subcommittees. The plant tour, arranged by the licensee, provided an opportunity

for the Congressman to be briefed on plant operations and safety and security practices. The

Congressman also met with the resident inspector. 

Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station (OCNGS) - Exemption Request

On August 10, 2004, AmerGen Energy Company, LLC (AmerGen), submitted an application for

an exemption from the timely renewal provision specified in Title 10 of the Code of Federal

Regulation (10 CFR) Part 2, Paragraph 2.109(b). This provision allows the existing license to

remain effective past the expiration date until license renewal application has been finally

determinated, provided that a sufficient application for renewal of the operating license is filed

at least 5 years prior to the expiration of the existing license. The current operating license for

OCNGS expires on April 9, 2009. In its exemption application, AmerGen states that it plans to

submit a license renewal application for OCNGS in July 2005.

American Nuclear Society (ANS) 2004 Utility Working Conference

During the week of August 9, 2004, the staff participated in the ANS 2004 Utility Working

Conference held in Amelia Island, Florida. Several sessions were sponsored and/or attended

by senior NRC management, including the Executive Director for Operations, Director of Office

of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR), the Chairman’s Executive Assistant, and several the

regional managers. 

In one of the sessions, NRR staff discussed the new significance determination process (SDP)

that has been developed for fire protection inspection findings. The recently issued

risk-informed/performance-based fire protection rule received a great deal of attention, as well

as the new engineering effort being applied to fire protection circuit analysis. 

Nuclear Quality Oversight Conference

The Division of Inspection Program Management staff attended the Nuclear Quality Oversight

Conference hosted by Public Service Electric & Gas Nuclear in Philadelphia on August 3-5,

2004, during which current issues facing the quality assurance community were discussed. 

The results of an August 2, 2004, meeting of the National Directors of Oversight, a newly

formed committee of senior quality managers, were discussed as part of the conference. Of

particular interest were discussions on an ongoing assessment of the effectiveness of the

Nuclear Utility Procurement Issues Committee (NUPIC) in improving supplier performance,

development of a program by the Institute for Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) for evaluating

licensee quality processes, and coordination of industry-wide audits/evaluations of licensee
August 13, 2004 ENCLOSURE A

programs by the National Industry Evaluation Program (NIEP). The organizational structure of

NIEP is similar to NUPIC, with teams of technical specialists formed from the NIEP utility

membership on a rotating basis.

Vermont Yankee - Engineering Team Inspection

On August 9, 2004, the inspection team began its engineering design inspection at the site. 

The inspection, part of the Agency’s pilot program to enhance the Reactor Oversight Process,

will also provide information relevant to the ongoing review of the licensee’s application for an

extended power uprate. The team will be on site the weeks of August 9, 16, and 30, 2004. The

NRC expects to hold a public meeting following completion of the inspection to discuss the

inspection results.

Farley - Issuance of Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License

Renewal

On August 8, 2004, the staff issued draft NUREG-1437, “Generic Environmental Impact

Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, Supplement 18, Regarding Joseph M. Farley

Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2,” for public comment. This supplemental environmental impact

statement (SEIS) includes the staff’s preliminary analysis that considers and weighs the

environmental effects associated with the proposed license renewal, and mitigative measures

available for reducing or avoiding adverse impacts. A 75-day public comment period is

scheduled to begin on August 13, 2004. The staff has scheduled public meetings on

September 30, 2004, in Dothan, Alabama, to present its analyses and to accept public

comments on the draft SEIS.
August 13, 2004 ENCLOSURE B

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards

Items of Interest

Week Ending August 13, 2004

Drop-in Visits with the Department of Energy Yucca Mountain Project Public Affairs and

Intergovernmental Relations Personnel

On August 5, 2004, the NRC's Director of Communications and NRC’s On-Site Licensing

Representative for the Yucca Mountain Project (YMP) conducted drop-in visits with the

Department of Energy (DOE) YMP public affairs and intergovernmental relations personnel in

Las Vegas and nuclear waste project office personnel of both Nye and Clark County, Nevada. 

The discussion with DOE focused on DOE's activities with affected units of local government,

outreach efforts, and communications between NRC and DOE. The meetings with Nye and

Clark County personnel included discussions of their issues with the YMP, their outreach

efforts, and their relationship with NRC.

Observation of the DOE Regulatory Integration Team Process

On August 2-9, 2004, staff from the Division of High-Level Waste Repository Safety observed a

compliance-based surveillance of the DOE Regulatory Integration Team (RIT) process. DOE

implemented the RIT process as a result of NRC staff’s findings identified during an evaluation

of Analysis Model Reports (AMRs) performed last winter. NRC had informed DOE that the

AMRs evaluated by staff would not support a timely NRC review of a potential license

application. The NRC observers agree with the DOE surveillance team’s determination that the

revision activities performed by the RIT are adequate. This conclusion is based on a limited

sample size, and does not represent the staff’s conclusions about the technical merits of the

AMRs or the quality of any license application that may be based on those AMRs. The NRC

observers determined that the DOE surveillance team members were qualified and

independent of the areas assessed. Further, the NRC observers concluded that the DOE

surveillance team was effective in the performance of its surveillance of the RIT revision

activities.
August 13, 2004 ENCLOSURE C

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research

Items of Interest

Week Ending August 13, 2004

Implementing Agreement Between the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

and the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS)

On August 6, 2004, the NRC’s Executive Director for Operations (EDO) signed two

implementing agreements between NRC and KINS. 

The first Implementing Agreement defines the terms and conditions by which the NRC and the

KINS will cooperate in the area of reflood heat transfer model development research. In

exchange for reflood data developed at the Penn State Rod Bundle Test Facility, KINS’

contribution to the program will consist of cash contributions as well as analytical contributions

performed by two technical assignees that will be detailed to the NRC for approximately one

year each. This Implementing Agreement will enter into effect upon signature and will remain in

effect for a period of three years.

The second Implementing Agreement defines the terms and conditions by which the NRC and

KINS will continue its cooperation in the area of probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) research

and in the international cooperative probabilistic risk assessment (COOPRA) program. The

research conducted will enhance the quality of our PRA methods and insights on risk

assessment techniques through the expansion of the international user community and through

their subsequent applications and feedback. This Agreement will enter into effect upon

signature and will remain in effect for a period of five years.

Meeting at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) To Discuss High Burnup Fuel

On August 10-11, 2004, staff from the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) and the

Spent Fuel Project Office of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards participated

in a non-public meeting at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) near Chicago, Illinois to discuss

work related to the behavior of high-burnup fuel and cladding during hypothetical accidents. 

Other meeting participants are co-sponsors of the research and include the Department of

Energy (DOE), Electric Power Research Institute, Framatome ANP, Westinghouse, and Global

Nuclear Fuel. The primary focus of the discussions was testing under loss-of-coolant accident

conditions and testing spent nuclear fuel. 

Project Meeting on Integrated Chemical Effects Tests (ICET) 

On August 9, 2004, the staff held a project meeting on ICET with representatives from the

Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), and the

University of New Mexico. The ICET project is an integral part of RES work in support of

resolution of GSI-191, “Assessment of Debris Accumulation on PWR [pressurized water

reactor] Sump Performance.” The purpose of this meeting was to review the progress made

towards the design and construction of the test facility for ICET, operational readiness,

development of quality assurance and test procedures, and to finalize the draft test plan. The

parties discussed how the tests are to be conducted. The ICET tests are expected to start in

September 2004.
August 13, 2004 ENCLOSURE C

Agreement Between the NRC and the Bulgarian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (BNRA)

On August 6, 2004, the EDO signed an implementing agreement between the NRC and BNRA. 

This Implementing Agreement defines the terms and conditions by which the BNRA will

continue its participation in the Cooperative Research Program with the NRC in the ThermalHydraulic Code Applications and Maintenance Program (CAMP). This Agreement will also

extend BNRA’s research cooperation to include participation in our Cooperative Severe

Accident Research Program (CSARP). The work performed and exchanged under this

Agreement enhances the quality of the reactor safety codes through the expansion of the

international user community, and through their subsequent applications and feedback. This

agreement will remain in effect for a period of three years. 

Meeting Between NRC and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to Discuss

Approach to Risk Assessment

On August 6, 2004, a meeting between NRC and NASA was held at NRC Headquarters to

exchange information on risk assessment methods and applications. The meeting consisted of

an informal discussion of information on each agency’s approach to risk assessment in the

following areas: (1) human performance; (2) operational readiness; (3) event precursors;

(4) trends; (5) external events; and (6) model uncertainty. At the conclusion of the meeting,

both agencies agreed to continue to share information on human reliability analysis methods,

data and other risk assessment methodologies, and to explore potential opportunities for peer

review.
August 13, 2004 ENCLOSURE G

Chief Information Officer

Items of Interest

Week Ending August 13, 2004

Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act Requests Received During the Period of

August 6 through August 12, 2004:

Union Carbide Corp., U.S. Vanadium Corp., & Standard Chemical

Corp., operating licenses re: uranium, vanadium & radium milling at

mill located at Uravan, CO

FOIA/PA-2004-0324

Battelle, West Jefferson, Ohio, notice of violations for CY 2003 &

outcome

FOIA/PA-2004-0325
August 13, 2004 ENCLOSURE I

Office of Human Resources

Items of Interest

Week Ending August 13, 2004

Arrivals

Michelle Flanagan Reactor Systems Engineer (NSPDP) RES

Andrew Imboden Project Manager NMSS

Megan Thorpe-Kavanaugh General Engineer (NSPDP) NRR

Departures

Zivi A. Band Student IT Specialist (summer) RES

Stephanie Black Student Clerk (summer) R-III

Andrew Blanco Student Engineer (summer) OIG

Gregory Cameron Student Engineer (Co-Op) R-II

David Chen Student Engineer (summer) NRR

LaToya D. Cooper Student Clerk (summer) NMSS

Victoria Ford Student Law Clerk (summer) R-I

Wren Fowler Student Engineer (summer) R-II

Susan K. Hanna Student Clerk (summer) NRR

Austin Hansley Student Engineer (summer) R-IV

Mary K. Hileman Student Engineer (summer) RES

Eric C. Jacobi Student Administrative (summer) NMSS

Laura Limata Student Engineer (summer) R-I

Maria Montoya Student Engineer (summer) R-IV

Dina Moreno Student Engineer (summer) R-IV

Amanda M. Nerret Student Administrative (summer) NSIR

Jason C. Paige Student Engineer (summer) NRR

Edward W. Robinson Student Engineer (summer) NMSS

Mike Shaw Student Engineer (summer) R-IV

Meghan A. Slattery Student Clerk (summer) NSIR

Margaret Sullivan Student Clerk (summer) R-III
August 13, 2004 ENCLOSURE I

Monica Tevez Student Engineer (summer) RES

On Hou Yee Student Engineer (summer) NRR

Matthew Young Student Engineer (summer) NRR
August 13, 2004 ENCLOSURE M

Office of Public Affairs

Items of Interest

Week Ending August 13, 2004

Media Interest

The Office of Public Affairs (OPA) received significant media inquiries on the following:

A petition by various activist groups to improve security for spent fuel pools at boiling-water

reactors.

The NRC’s announcement of increased regulatory oversight for the Perry nuclear plant.

The NRC’s new policy on withholding information about security from the Reactor Oversight

Process.

Other Public Affairs Items:

OPA staff participated in two radio shows regarding security at nuclear power plants.

Press Releases

Headquarters:

04-093 NRC Issues New Strategic Plan (8/12)

04-094 NRC Revises Enforcement Policy to Include Alternative Dispute Resolution (8/12)

04-095 NRC to Hold Public Meeting August 17 on Planned Application for Advanced

CANDU Reactor Design (8/12)

04-096 NRC Confirms Nuclear Plants’ Operational Preparedness with Respect to Electric

Grid Reliability (8/13)

Regions:

I-04-038 New NRC Senior Resident Inspector Assigned to Limerick Generating Station

(8/11)

I-04-039 NRC Assigns New Senior Resident Inspector to Susquehanna Steam Electric

Station (8/11)

II-04-045 NRC Staff Seeks Input on Farley Nuclear Plant Draft Environmental Report for

License Renewal (8/12)

II-04-046 NRC Says Florida Nuclear Power Plants Prepared for Hurricane Charley (8/13)

III-04-044 NRC to Increase Regulatory Oversight of Perry Nuclear Plant (8/12)

IV-04-034 NRC Assigns New Senior Resident Inspector to Columbia Generating Station

(8/9)
August 13, 2004 ENCLOSURE O

Office of the Secretary

Items of Interest

Week Ending August 13, 2004

Document Released

to Public

Date Subject

Decision Documents

1. SECY-04-0135 7/27/04 Demonstration Test Plan for Full-Scale Spent

Nuclear Fuel Rail Transportation Cask Testing

Under the Package Performance Study

2. SRM-SECY-04-0102 7/21/04 Results of the Staff’s Evaluation of Potential

Doses to the Public from Material at the Kiski

Valley Water Pollution Control Authority Site in

Leechburg, Pennsylvania

Voting Record on

SECY-04-0102

7/21/04 (same)

Information Papers

1. SECY-04-0143 8/9/04 SECY-04-0143 - Weekly Information Report -

Week Ending July 30, 2004

2. SECY-04-0146 8/11/04 SECY-04-0146 - Weekly Information Report -

Week Ending August 6, 2004

Commission Correspondence

1. Letter to Congress, dated August 1, 2004, provides NRC’s June 2004 monthly report on

the status of its licensing and regulatory duties.

Federal Register Notices Issued

1. Dominion Nuclear North Anna, LLC (Early Site Permit for North Anna ESP Site), Docket

No. 52-008-ESP, ASLBP No. 04-822-02-ESP, Notice of Reconstitution. 

2. Exelon Generation Company, LLC (Early Site Permit for Clinton ESP Site), Docket No.

52-007-ESP, ASLBP No. 04-821-01-ESP, Notice of Reconstitution. 

3. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Subcommittee Meeting on Planning and

Procedures, notice of meeting (9/8/04). 

4. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Subcommittee Meeting on Safeguards and

Security, 8/24-26/04 meeting postponed. 

5. NUREG-1600, “General Statement of Policy and Procedures for NRC Enforcement

Action,” NRC Enforcement Policy, Policy Statement: Revision. 
August 13, 2004 ENCLOSURE P

Region I

Items of Interest

Week Ending August 13, 2004

Site Tour at Safety Light Corporation Facility

On August 12, 2004, an NRC Region 1 inspector, two representatives from the Pennsylvania

Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP), and three members from the Hazardous

Site Cleanup Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region III office toured the Safety

Light Corporation (SLC) facility in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. The SLC site is an NRC complex

decommissioning site that is also regulated by PADEP, because of radium contamination

onsite. The tour provided an opportunity for the three agencies to view the general condition of

the facility and discuss areas that have been characterized as contaminated.

Vermont Yankee - Potential for a Strike

The contract for International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 300 at Vermont Yankee

expires at midnight on August 19, 2004. The contract applies to about 30% of Entergy

employees on-site and involves individuals in operations, maintenance, radiation protection,

chemistry, and document services. Negotiations between Entergy and the Union are in

progress and are being assisted by a federal mediator. Region I has discussed with Entergy

regarding Entergy’s strike contingency plans. Entergy indicated that it has a sufficient number

of qualified Entergy-Vermont Yankee staff to establish three operating crews to operate the

plant if a strike did occur. Additionally, Entergy does not expect a strike to impact the ongoing

pilot engineering inspection. The resident inspectors are monitoring Entergy’s progress in

implementing its strike contingency plan. The Region is implementing its Regional Instruction

on strike preparation and is preparing to provide around-the-clock inspector coverage at the site

if a strike occurs.

Vermont Yankee - Special Nuclear Material (SNM) Special Inspection

The NRC Special Inspection Team to assess recent events related to SNM control at Vermont

Yankee finished the on-site portion of the inspection on August 12 and presented a preliminary

debriefing to the licensee. On August 12, the team received a final signed copy of the

licensee’s Root Cause Analysis Report and the team plans to complete an in-office review of

this document over the next few weeks. A public exit meeting is planned for the second week

of October. 

Salem and Hope Creek - Senior NRC Management Site Visit

On August 12, 2004, the Deputy Executive Director for Reactor Programs and the Director of

the Division of Reactor Safety in Region I toured the Salem and Hope Creek nuclear power

plants with the resident inspectors. They also met with licensee management. 
August 13, 2004 ENCLOSURE P

Region II

Items of Interest

Week Ending August 13, 2004

Activities in Response to Hurricane Charley

On August 13, 2004, Region II entered the monitoring mode at 8:00 a.m., in response to the

notification of a Hurricane warning. Hurricane Charley, a Category 4 storm with wind gusts of

up to 145 miles an hour was expected to pass through Florida’s west coast. Regional staff was

dispatched to the Florida sites (Crystal River, Saint Lucie, and Turkey Point) to augment the

resident inspectors and as well as the State’s Emergency Operations Center. 
August 13, 2004 ENCLOSURE P

Region IV

Items of Interest

Week Ending August 13, 2004

Arkansas Nuclear One - Meeting to Discuss Fire Protection Issue

On August 10, 2004, Region IV and NRR staff met with representatives from the Arkansas

Nuclear One facility in a Category I public meeting to discuss corrective actions being taken for

a white inspection finding and the associated notice of violation. The finding involved failure to

provide adequate physical protection to keep safe shutdown circuits free of damage in case of

a fire, in part, because of inappropriate reliance on the use of manual actions. 
August 13, 2004 

Office of Congressional Affairs

Items of Interest

Week Ending August 13, 2004

CONGRESSIONAL HEARING SCHEDULE, NO. 68

Portner TBA

SD-124

TBA Markup FY2005 Energy and Water

Development Appropriations

Senators Energy anAppropria

Keeling TBA

345 CHOB

TBA Markup Homeland Security Authorization Reps. Co

Select CoSecurity

Note: The Senate and the House of Representatives are in recess until September 7.