INFORMATION REPORT

July 5, 2005 SECY-05-0116

For: The Commissioners

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

Subject: SECY-05-0116 - “WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK 

ENDING JUNE 24, 2005”

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

Office of Information Services 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.

William M. Dean

Assistant for Operations, OEDO

Contact:

T. Kim, OEDO
July 5, 2005 SECY-05-0116

For: The Commissioners

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

Subject: SECY-05-0116 - “WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK 

ENDING JUNE 24, 2005”

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

Office of Information Services 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.

William M. Dean

Assistant for Operations, OEDO

Contact:

T. Kim, OEDO

DISTRIBUTION:

Central File

Public Document Name: C:\WIR\week624.WPD

OEDO AO/OEDO

T. Kim:jva WMDean

07/01/05 07/05/05
WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING JUNE 24, 2005

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 11

RES 6 OIP *

NSIR * SECY 12

OGC * Region I 14

ADM 8 Region II 15

OIS 9 Region III 16

CFO * Region IV 17

HR 10 EDO *

SBCR * OCA 18

OE *

*No input this week
June 24, 2005 ENCLOSURE A

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending June 24, 2005

Annual Nuclear Utilities Procurement Issues Committee (NUPIC)/Vendors Meeting

On June 14-16, 2005, NRR staff attended the subject meeting held in Omaha, Nebraska. 

During the meeting, the staff presented issues identified in recent vendor audits concerning

commercial grade item dedication, status of the staff’s safety evaluation report on commercial

grade calibration services provided by the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program,

and its observations of NUPIC’s audit of Enertech. The staff also participated in a question and

answer session on topics related to NRC rules and regulations regarding procurement of

safety-related and commercial grade components and services. Approximately 180 vendors

and utility representatives, including several international utilities, attended the meeting.

Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)-Sponsored Maintenance Rule Users Group Meeting

On June 15, 2005, NRR staff attended the subject meeting held in Cleveland, Ohio. The staff’s

presentation during the meeting included the risk-informed Technical Specification initiatives, 

10 CFR 50.65(a)(4) risk assessments, 10 CFR 50.59 evaluations, maintenance-preventable

functional failures, structural condition monitoring, structures, systems, and components in 10

CFR 50.65(a)(1) as a Performance Indicator, and the status of the Mitigating System

Performance Index implementation. Recent revisions to inspection program guidance were

also discussed. An extensive question and answer session on current industry maintenance

rule issues and recent maintenance rule enforcement followed the presentation. 

NRC Information Notice (IN) 2005-16: “Outage Planning and Scheduling - Impacts on Risk”

On June 20, 2005, NRC issued the subject IN to inform all commercial power reactor licensees

on the importance of managing shutdown risk during a plant outage. The IN provides four

recent examples of refueling outage events that led to a loss of shutdown cooling or other

potentially significant events. The IN requires no specific action nor written response; however,

licensees are expected to review the information for applicability to their facilities and consider

taking actions, as appropriate.

Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI)-Sponsored Workshop on Mitigating System Performance Index

(MSPI) Performance Indicator Implementation

On June 21-22, 2005, NRR staff attended the subject workshop. The workshop was widely

attended with approximately 190 participants representing the Institute of Nuclear Power

Operations (INPO), NEI, the Owners Groups, and nuclear power plant licensees. The purpose

of the workshop was to introduce the industry participants to the data requirements needs of

the MSPI, provide an opportunity to exercise the Consolidated Data Entry program which is

available for trial use, and to discuss the results of the industry’s cross-comparison of plant

probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) data to address, in part, MSPI PRA quality requirements. 

The MSPI is a more risk-informed performance indicator that addresses many of the concerns

with the current Safety System Unavailability performance indicator used as part of the

Agency’s Reactor Oversight Process.
June 24, 2005 ENCLOSURE A

North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC)’s Operating and Planning Meeting

On June 7-10, 2005, staff from the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) and NRR

participated in the subject meeting held in Montreal, Canada. The purpose of the meeting was

to continue discussions on improving grid reliability standards and operating procedures in

response to the August 14, 2003, blackout event in the US Northeast and Midwest. The NERC

Standards Authorization Committee has authorized the development of a new standard for

nuclear plant offsite power reliability. New standards that are under development and

improvements on the existing NERC procedures are being approved in a balloted process to

reach consensus. To date, 91 standards on reliability have been approved. Regional councils

adopt NERC standards as mandatory for transmission system operators. NRR plans to

continue its participation in these meetings to ensure that the development of NERC

procedures reflect NRC regulatory perspective for reliable offsite power to nuclear stations. 
June 24, 2005 ENCLOSURE B

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS)

Items of Interest

Week Ending June 24, 2005

Louisiana Energy Services' National Enrichment Facility - Issuance of Safety Evaluation Report

(SER) and Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)

On June 15, 2005, NMSS staff issued the subject SER (NUREG-1827) and FEIS (NUREG1790) for the proposed National Enrichment Facility (NEF) to be constructed and operated by

Louisiana Energy Services (LES). NEF is a gas centrifuge uranium enrichment facility

proposed to be located in Lea County, New Mexico. The SER provides the staff’s conclusion

that LES has adequate safety programs to construct and operate the proposed facility. The 

FEIS provides the staff’s analysis of potential environmental impacts from the proposed NEF. 

In preparing the final EIS, the staff addressed nearly 4200 comments received from

approximately 400 individuals and groups on the draft Environmental Impact Statement that

was issued on September 17, 2004. Currently, the staff is in the process of responding to a

petition filed by Nuclear Information and Resource Service and Public Citizen requesting the

Commission review of the recent Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) decision on

environmental contentions. The ASLB is planning to hold a separate hearing in October -

November 2005 on the contentions related to the safety review. 

Quarterly Management Meeting with USEC Inc.

On June 17, 2005, management and staff from the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and

Safeguards, Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection, and the Office of

the General Counsel (OGC) met with USEC Inc., (USEC) to discuss the status and schedule of

the NRC staff’s ongoing safety, safeguards, and environmental reviews of USEC’s license

application dated August 23, 2004, for the proposed American Centrifuge Plant (ACP) to be

constructed in Piketon, Ohio. This was the third quarterly management meeting between NRC

and USEC. NRC staff stated that, because of the unavailability of the non-sensitive portions of

the ACP application for about 2 months in late 2004, compounded by USEC’s delay in

submitting some of its responses to the staff’s requests for additional information, the staff’s

schedule to prepare its draft and final environmental impact statements had slipped by about 2

months, to September 2005 and April 2006, respectively. NRC staff also stated that it would be

restoring the “screened” information concerning the ACP application based on results of the

NRC’s Sensitive Information Screening Project. 

Meeting with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Radiation and Indoor Air

On June 21, 2005, NMSS staff and a representative from OGC met with EPA representatives of

the Office of Radiation and Indoor Air and the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water. The

purpose of the meeting was to exchange information about EPA’s rule for removal of uranium

from drinking water and considerations related to NRC’s responsibilities under the Atomic

Energy Act and 10 CFR Part 40. Attendees also discussed the status of EPA’s Advanced

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) for disposal of low-activity radioactive material at

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act landfills. EPA representatives offered to provide any

information relative to water treatment facilities impacted by the EPA rule and any background

technical information. With respect to further work on the ANPR, EPA representatives reported
June 24, 2005 ENCLOSURE B

that no new progress had been made other than continued work on the supporting technical

documents, due to the higher priority work on high-level waste rule. NRC committed to keep

EPA staff informed of NRC activities related to the EPA water treatment rule.
June 24, 2005 ENCLOSURE C

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES)

Items of Interest

Week Ending June 24, 2005

Agreement on the OECD-ROSA Project

On June 16, 2005, the NRC’s Executive Director for Operations signed the multilateral

international Agreement regarding NRC’s participation in the Organization for Economic

Cooperation and Development (OECD)/Nuclear Energy Agency’s (NEA’s) new ROSA Project. 

Eleven additional organizations in eleven countries will participate in this research project.

This project will provide experimental data that will enhance NRC’s knowledge base of thermalhydraulic safety issues for light water reactors in areas such as: 1) thermal stratification during

emergency core cooling system injection; 2) natural circulation with superheated steam; and 3)

primary cooling through secondary depressurization. The project will provide integral and

separate effects experimental data which will be used to validate NRC’s TRACE code predictive

capability and accuracy. The TRACE code is used by the staff to make risk-informed regulatory

decisions and to perform independent assessments of reactor safety issues under postulated

transients in licensing reviews.

Letter of Agreement Between NRC and OECD/NEA Relating to the Piping Failure Data

Exchange (OPDE) Project

On June 16, 2005, the Executive Director for Operations signed the subject Letter of

Agreement which defines the terms and conditions by which NRC and OECD/NEA will continue

to cooperate in the exchange of international nuclear power plant piping event data on the basis

of mutual benefit and reasonable equity and reciprocity. Participation in the project gives the

NRC access to proprietary foreign data that would not otherwise be available. These data

augment the NRC’s piping failure information with foreign experience, and enable the NRC to

compare domestic operating experience with that of other countries to glean insights for use in 

quantitative risk studies, development of piping failure frequency estimates, and risk-informed

inspections. This Agreement became effective upon signature and will remain in effect for 3

years.

Joint Public NRC/EPRI Fire Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) Workshop

On June 14-16, 2005, RES staff, in conjunction with the Electric Power Research Institute

(EPRI), held a public workshop on draft NUREG/CR-6850, “EPRI/NRC-RES Fire PRA

Methodology for Nuclear Power Facilities.” NUREG/CR-6850 supports implementation of the

risk-informed, performance-based rule (10 CFR Part 50.48(c)), as well as other risk-informed

fire protection activities such as the fire protection Significance Determination Process.

Approximately 90 people attended this workshop. Based on the level of technical discussions

held during the workshop and stakeholder interest in this research, the staff is tentatively

planning to hold a second fire PRA workshop in 2006. Additionally, the staff has completed an

evaluation of comments received on draft NUREG/CR-6850 and expects to publish the final

NUREG/CR in August 2005. 
June 24, 2005 ENCLOSURE C

Issuance of Draft NUREG/CR-6870, “Consideration of Geochemical Issues in Groundwater

Restoration at Uranium In-Situ Leach Mining Facilities,” for Public Comment 

On June 16, 2005, RES issued the subject NUREG/CR for public comment. The U.S.

Geological Survey prepared this report in collaboration with the RES staff, and in coordination

with staff from the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards. After the comment period

ends on August 31, 2005, staff will revise the report as appropriate based on comments

received and issue it as a final report. The report summarizes the application of a geochemical

model to the restoration process to estimate the degree to which a licensee has

decontaminated a site where a leach mining process has been used. Toward that end, the

report analyzes the respective amounts of water and chemical additives pumped into the mined

regions to remove and neutralize the residual contamination using different restoration

strategies. On the basis of those analyses, this report also summarizes the conditions under

which various restoration strategies will prove successful. This, in turn, will allow more accurate

estimates of restoration and decommissioning costs.
June 24, 2005 ENCLOSURE F

Office of Administration (ADM)

Items of Interest 

Week Ending June 24, 2005

Contract Awards

On June 16, 2005, a non-competitive (8a) cost reimbursement contract (No. NRC-04-05-068)

was awarded to Advanced Systems Technology and Management, Inc. The contractor will

assist in developmental assessment of thermal-hydraulic capabilities of the Transient Reactor

Analysis Code/Reactor Excursion and Leak Analysis Program computational code to calculate

thermal-hydraulic phenomena simulated in the Boucle de Etudes Thermohydraulique Systeme

test facility. The total estimated cost is $216,964.23 for seven months.

On June 21, 2005, a competitive cost reimbursement contract (No. NRC-07-05-154) was

awarded to Athey Consulting, Inc. The contractor will provide qualified personnel to support the

enhancement of the technical assessment tools for the NRC’s Operations Center. The total

estimated cost is $982,887.00. The period of performance is for five years, a base year plus

four 1-year options.
June 24, 2005 ENCLOSURE G

Office of Information Services (OIS)

Items of Interest

Week Ending June 24, 2005

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

June 17 through June 23, 2005:

MFG Inc., 1044 Northwest Blvd., Ceour de’Alene, ID, current status FOIA/PA-2005-0272

Yucca Mt. Review Plan (NUREG-1804, Final Rev. 2) & Reg. Guide

3.69, Topical Guidelines for the licensing support system,

correspondence to and from OGC & any legal assistant to the

Commissioner

FOIA/PA-2005-0273

IMPAC card holders FOIA/PA-2005-0274
June 24, 2005 ENCLOSURE I

Office of Human Resources (HR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending June 24, 2005

Arrivals

Kenneth Armstrong Mechanical Engineer (NSPDP) NMSS

Molly Barkman Student Law Clerk (Summer) OGC

Jeffrey A. Borowitz Student Engineer (Summer) NMSS

Steven P. Burris Resident Inspector - NFS R-II

David Curtis IT Specialist (SYSANALYSIS) OIS

Peter Eselgroth Consultant EDO

William Holland Consultant EDO

Ruth C. Morrison Secretary (OA) R-II

Dat T. Nguyen Student Engineer (Summer) NRR

Timothy Hennessey IT Specialist (NSPDP) R-I

Rolonda Jackson Secretary (OA) NMSS

William Johnson Consultant EDO

Timothy Pruett IT Specialist (INET) OIS

Mohammad Saba Health Physicist NMSS

Margaret Sewell Secretary (OA) NSIR

Valerie M. Whipple Sr. Contract Specialist ADM

Robert K. Wild Sr. Management Analyst OIG

Departures

Jose Arroyo-Rivera Project Engineer NRR

Jean Simons Attorney OGC
June 24, 2005 ENCLOSURE M

Office of Public Affairs (OPA)

Items of Interest

Week Ending June 24, 2005

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

The decision to issue a notice of violation for Vermont Yankee’s misplaced fuel.

The Commission decision on the proposed Private Fuel Storage facility in Utah.

New York Congresswoman Nita Lowey’s proposed legislation on license renewal.

President Bush’s speech on energy policy at the Calvet Cliffs nuclear plant.

Other Public Affairs Items:

OPA supported an interview with Chairman Diaz for Voice of America.

Press Releases

Headquarters:

05-094 NRC Completes Restoration of Additional Documents to Public Access via its

On-Line Library (6/20)

05-095 NRC Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards to Meet July 6-8 in

Rockville, Maryland (6/22)

Regions:

I-05-035 NRC Issues Notice of Violation for Misplaced Vermont Yankee Spent Fuel

Pieces (6/22)

I-05-036 NRC, Virginia Company to Discuss Results of Inspection

I-05-037 New Resident Inspector Named at Indian Point 3

I-05-038 NRC Terminates License for Pennsylvania Irradiator

II-05-030 NRC Staff to Hold Public Meeting with Progress Energy June 24 to Discuss

Initial Brunswick Plant License Renewal Application (6/21)

III-05-032 NRC Seeks Public Input on Monticello Nuclear Plant Environmental Issues

for License Renewal (6/22)
June 24, 2005 ENCLOSURE O

Office of the Secretary (SECY)

Items of Interest

Week Ending June 24, 2005

Document Released

to Public

Date Subject

Decision Documents

1. SRM-SECY-05-0097 6/24/05 Options for Permitting Visitors of

Hospitalized Patients to Receive Doses in

Excess of Currently Permitted Levels

Commission Voting

Record on 05-0097

6/24/05 (same)

Information Paper

1. SECY-05-0108 6/22/05 Weekly Information Report - Week Ending

June 10, 2005

Memoranda

M050620 6/20/05 Staff Requirements - Affirmation Session: I.

SECY-05-0076 - Private Fuel Storage

(Independent Spent Fuel Storage

Installation) Docket No. 72-22-ISFSI; II.

SECY-05-0079 - U.S. Army (Jefferson

Proving Ground Site) (Possession-only

License for Depleted Uranium Munitions);

III. SECY-05-0088 - Duke Energy Corp.

(Catawba Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2),

Commission Sua Sponte Review of the

Licensing Board's March 10, 2005 Final

Decision on Security Contention

M050602A 6/21/05 Briefing on Office of International Programs

(OIP) Programs, Performance, and Plans

Commission Correspondence

1. Letter to Congress, dated June 7, 2005, provides response to the recommendations

made by the GAO in its report entitled “Nuclear Regulatory Commission - NRC Needs to

Do More to Ensure That Power Plants Are Effectively Controlling Spent Nuclear Fuel”

(GAO-05-339).
June 24, 2005 ENCLOSURE O

2. Letter to Congressman Mark Udall, dated June 9, 2005, responds to letter expressing

concerns about an application by Clean Harbors Deer Trail for disposal of radioactive

materials in Colorado.

3. Letter to Matt Blunt, Governor of Missouri, dated June 19, 2005, request State to appoint

a single person to act as liaison to the NRC for the purpose of Federal/State cooperation.

4. Letter to The President and Congress, dated June 19, 2005, concerning the Presidential

appointment reduction plan.

Federal Register Notices Issued

1. DOE/NNSA - Y12 Application for a License to Export High-Enriched Uranium.

2. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Meeting of the Subcommittee on Reactor

Fuels, notice of meeting (7/27-28/05). 

3. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Subcommittee Meeting on ThermalHydraulic Phenomena, notice of meeting (7/20-21/05).
June 24, 2005 ENCLOSURE P

Region I (RI)

Items of Interest

Week Ending June 24, 2005

Vehicle And Cargo Inspection System (VACIS)

On June 21, 2005, staff members from the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards

and Region I visited the Port of Baltimore to observe a Vehicle And Cargo Inspection System

(VACIS) operated by the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection. 

The VACIS system uses a cobalt-60 source to produce “X-ray like” pictures of the contents of

cargo containers and is becoming more widely used by Customs, the military and other

organizations. NRC personnel discussed the operation of the equipment and the radiation

safety procedures used by the Customs Officers.
June 24, 2005 ENCLOSURE P

Region II (RII)

Items of Interest

Week Ending June 24, 2005

Meeting with Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency

On June 20, 2005, the Regional Administrator, accompanied by the Regional State Liaison

Officer, met with the Acting Regional Director, Department of Homeland Security/Federal

Emergency Management Agency, Region IV, in Atlanta to discuss matters of mutual interest.

BWX Technologies - License Performance Review Meeting

On June 23, 2005, the Regional Administrator attended the License Performance Review

Meeting for BWX Technologies held in Lynchburg, VA. 
June 24, 2005 ENCLOSURE P

Region III (RIII)

Items of Interest

Week Ending June 24, 2005

Predecisional Enforcement Conference with Westinghouse

On June 22, 2005, Region III management held a predecisional enforcement conference with

representatives of Westinghouse Electric Company to discuss apparent violations of NRC

criticality safety requirements at the company’s former fuel fabrication facility in Hematite,

Missouri.
June 24, 2005 ENCLOSURE P

Region IV (RIV)

Items of Interest

Week Ending June 24, 2005

Waterford - Completion of On-site Portion of Special Inspection

On June 24, 2005, the on-site portion of a special inspection was completed at the Waterford 3

nuclear power plant in Louisiana. The inspection reviewed the circumstances regarding an

event that occurred on April 19, 2005, while draining the reactor coolant system to a reduced

inventory condition. Inspection findings will be documented in an inspection report.
June 24, 2005 

Office of Congressional Affairs (OCA)

Items of Interest

Week Ending June 24, 2005

CONGRESSIONAL HEARING SCHEDULE, NO. 25

 OCAContact

 DATE & PLACE

TIME WITNESS SUBJECT 

Shane June 28

SD-562

10:00 DoD, GAO, & OPM Security Clearance Process

Overhaul

Senators Oversight  Managem and the DHomeland  Affairs

Combs June 28

2128RHOB

10:00 D. Albright, Institute for

 Science and International Security R. Gottmoeller, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Pathways to the Bomb: Security ofFissile Materials Abroad

Reps LindPreventio Attack Homeland 

Combs June 29

2247RHOB

10:00 J. Hevesi, U.S. Geological

 Survey W. J. Arthur, Yucca Mountain Project

Yucca Mountain Project: Digging forthe Truth

Reps PorFederal W OrganizaGovernm
CONGRESSIONAL HEARING SCHEDULE, NO. 25

 OCAContact

 DATE & PLACE

TIME WITNESS SUBJECT 

June 24, 2005 

Shane June 29

2203RHOB

2:00 R. Johnson, Department of

 Energy D. Baldwin, General Atomics R. Rowntree, University of California, Berkeley D. Lochbaum, Union of Concerned Scientists

The Next Generation of NuclearPower

Reps IssaEnergy aGovernm

Combs TBA

SD-366

TBA DOE, NRC Status of Yucca Mountain Senators 

Energy a