INFORMATION REPORT

February 17, 2006 SECY-06-0040

For: The Commissioners

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

Subject: WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING

FEBRUARY 10, 2006

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

Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards/

Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste S*

*No input this week.

/RA/

William M. Dean

Assistant for Operations, OEDO

Contact:

L. Rakovan, OEDO
February 17, 2006 SECY-06-0040

For: The Commissioners

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

Subject: WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING

FEBRUARY 10, 2006

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

Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards/

Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste S*

*No input this week.

/RA/

William M. Dean

Assistant for Operations, OEDO

Contact:

L. Rakovan, OEDO

DISTRIBUTION:

Central File

Public Document Name: C:\WIR\week210.WPD

OEDO AO/OEDO

LRakovan:paa WMDean

02/16/06 02/17/06
WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 10, 2006

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

Headquarters and Regional Office activities. 

Contact: L. Rakovan, OEDO by E-mail: LJR2@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 16

RES 8 OIP *

NSIR 9 SECY 19

OGC * Region I *

ADM * Region II 21

OIS 11 Region III 22

CFO * Region IV 23

HR 15 EDO *

SBCR * OCA 24

OE * ACRS/ACNW *

*No input this week
February 10, 2006 ENCLOSURE A

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending February 10, 2006

Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) Coating Aging Task Group & American Society of

Testing and Standards (ASTM) Coating Annual Meeting

The staff attended the subject meetings held in Tampa, Florida during the week of January 30,

2006. The intent of the EPRI Task Group meeting was to discuss results from EPRI’s industry

survey on containment coating degradation and identify future actions necessary to understand

and address the potential degradation of containment coatings. The ASTM Annual Coating

Standards meeting followed the EPRI Meeting and included a breakout session intended to

address coating assessment. The staff reinforced its position, at both meetings, that coating

condition monitoring needs to demonstrate and ensure that the original qualification

requirements continue to be met.

Meeting of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Board of Nuclear Codes and

Standards (BNCS)

On February 1-2, 2006, the NRR staff member on the BNCS participated in the periodic

meetings. The BNCS meets to discuss broad issues related to strategic planning for and the

development and use of ASME nuclear codes. The NRC representative provided information

relative to ongoing regulatory endorsement actions, NRC perspectives on risk-informed

standards, and other regulatory activities of interest to BNCS, such as primary water stress

corrosion cracking and the proposed revision to 10 CFR 50.46.

American Nuclear Society (ANS) ANS 3.2 Working Group

On February 1, 2006, the NRR staff participated in an ANS 3.2 working group meeting in

Clearwater, Florida. ANS 3.2, “Administrative Controls and Quality Assurance for the

Operational Phase of Nuclear Power Plants,” was approved by the ANS Nuclear Facilities

Standards Committee (NFSC) in November 2005. The working committee is scheduled to

meet with the NFSC in June 2006 to discuss additional public comments. The standard is

expected to be issued in the fall of 2006.

Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) subcommittee meeting presentation -

Brunswick’s license renewal application

On February 8, 2006, the NRC staff presented the results of staff’s evaluation of Brunswick

license renewal application to the ACRS subcommittee. Progress Energy Carolinas, Inc. 

submitted the renewal application for the Brunswick Steam Electric Plant on October 18, 2004. 

The staff has completed its safety review and determined that there are no open items or

issues to be followed. The Regional Administrator’s letter dated December 22, 2005, also

determined that based on inspections conducted at Brunswick, the programs and activities

related to license renewal have been or will be completed in substantial agreement with

docketed commitments. The current schedule for the ACRS full committee meeting is May

2006, and issuance of the renewed license by June 25, 2006.
February 10, 2006 ENCLOSURE A

Staff Meets with NuStart Energy to discuss the Bellefonte Combined Operating License (COL)

On February 7, 2006, the NRC staff held a public meeting with NuStart to discuss the

Bellefonte Combined Operating License (COL) pre-application activities. NuStart stated that it

is planning to use some of the existing structures at the Bellefonte site, such as the cooling

towers, intake structure, switchyard and tower. During the meeting, the NRC staff and NuStart

discussed the concept of the design-centered approach, including one issue - one review - one

position, and standardization of COL applications among other applicants referencing the

AP1000 design. The COL application is scheduled to be submitted during the fourth quarter of

2007.

Duke Energy Corporation - Corporation Restructuring

By application dated August 5, 2005, as supplemented by letters dated September 16,

November 28, and December 14, 2005, and February 6, 2006, Duke Energy Corporation

requested approval of indirect license transfers that would be effected by the indirect transfer of

control of Duke Energy’s ownership and/or operating interests in Oconee Nuclear Station, Units

1, 2, and 3, McGuire Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2 and Catawba Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2. 

This action is being sought as a result of a corporate merger involving the creation of a new

holding company which will become the parent of the current licensee. The new holding

company, to be named Duke Energy Corporation, will be created in connection with the merger

of Duke Energy with Cinergy Corporation. Duke Energy, will convert its corporate form to a

limited liability company (LLC) without interruption of its legal existence and be renamed Duke

Power Company LLC. Duke Energy is the sole owner of the Oconee and McGuire units, a 25

percent owner of Catawba Unit 1, and a non-owner operator of Catawba Unit 2. The colicensees of Catawba holding ownership shares of the Catawba units not held by Duke Energy

will not be affected by the Duke Energy merger, and the proposed transfers will not affect their

financial qualifications. Duke Energy presently operates the Catawba units for itself and other

owners under operating agreements. Duke Energy’s operating responsibilities under these

operating agreements with the owners of Catawba will continue to be borne by the renamed

Duke Power Company LLC entity.

By letter dated February 7, 2006, the NRC issued an order which approved the indirect license

transfers. The order also approved conforming amendments to reflect the change in name of

the licensee from Duke Energy Corporation to Duke Power Company LLC. The amendments

will be issued and made effective at the time the corporate restructuring is complete. The

licensee estimates completion of the corporate restructuring by April 2006.

Palisades - Plans to Remove Trisodium Phosphate from Containment

On February 2, 2006, Nuclear Management Company (NMC) met with members of the NRC

staff to discuss removing trisodium phosphate (TSP) from the containment at Palisades during

its spring 2006 refueling outage, or shortly thereafter. NMC plans to submit a license

amendment request in March 2006 to remove the TSP from containment for one operating

cycle. This will reduce the risk from the chemical effects of TSP on calcium silicate insulation in

containment. TSP/calcium silicate testing at Argonne National Laboratory, as part of the

resolution of Generic Safety Issue 191, “Assessment of Debris Accumulation on PWR Sump
February 10, 2006 ENCLOSURE A

Performance,” has shown adverse effects on containment sumps during design-basis

accidents.
February 10, 2006 ENCLOSURE B

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS)

Items of Interest

Week Ending February 10, 2006

Meeting with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Regarding Incidental Waste Review

On February 1, 2006, staff from the Division of Waste Management and Environmental

Protection hosted a public meeting with DOE at NRC Headquarters. This meeting covered a

wide range of technical issues related to the current incidental waste review for the Idaho

National Laboratory Tank Farm Facility. NRC is reviewing this waste determination consistent

with its responsibilities under the Ronald Reagan National Defense Authorization Act of FY

2005, Section 3116.
February 10, 2006 ENCLOSURE C

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES)

Items of Interest

Week Ending February 10, 2006

Fission Product Burnup Credit Meeting with the Department of Energy (DOE), Electric Power

Research Institute, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)

On February 7, 2006, staff from RES and NMSS participated in the subject meeting in

Washington, DC, to discuss the status of DOE’s acquisition of French fission product burnup

credit data, which will be used to validate the NRC’s criticality safety code. ORNL has received

experimental data needed to develop a technical basis for fission product burnup credit for

loading spent nuclear fuel assemblies in high-capacity casks. 

Publication of NUREG/CR-6889, “Seismic Analysis of Simplified Piping Systems for the NUPEC

Ultimate Strength Piping Test Program”

RES has published the subject report, which documents the collaborative efforts between the

NRC and the Nuclear Power Engineering Corporation of Japan (NUPEC) under the NRCNUPEC agreement in the area of seismic engineering research. This is one of a series of

large-scale seismic testing programs of nuclear power plant structures, systems and

components conducted by NUPEC which has provided enhanced understanding of seismic

safety margins in current piping design codes. The research conducted under this collaborative

agreement has allowed the NRC to obtain valuable seismic data from large-scale test programs

that are not available anywhere else.
February 10, 2006 ENCLOSURE D

Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending February 10, 2006

Preliminary Notifications

1. PNO-I-06-001, Unison Industries, Inc. - AGREEMENT STATE REPORT.

2. PNO-I-06-001A, Unison Industries, Inc. - AGREEMENT STATE REPORT (UPDATE).

3. PNO-III-05-016C, Braidwood 1 and 1, Exelon Generation Co. - POTENTIAL OFF-SITE

MIGRATION OF TRITIUM CONTAMINATION (3RD UPDATE).

4. PNO-III-06-003, Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, Nuclear Management Company

- TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION REQUIRED SHUTDOWN OF PRAIRIE ISLAND UNIT 2

FOR GREATER THAN 72 HOURS.
February 10, 2006 ENCLOSURE G

Office of Information Services (OIS)

Items of Interest

Week Ending February 10, 2006

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act Requests Received During the Period of

February 3, 2006 through February 9, 2006:

SES & SLS merit awards, 2005, 2004 & 2003 FOIA/PA-2006-0097

Personnel Access Data Systems (PAD) - Referral by FBI FOIA/PA-2006-0098

Allegation NRR-1997-A-0094, include all correspondence between

NRC & named individual

FOIA/PA-2006-0099

Radiation Safety Officer for Rutgers University license FOIA/PA-2006-0100

International Business Machines Corp., 180 Kost Rd.,

Mechanicsburg, PA 17055, license 37-23773-01, license history,

inspections, contamination at site

FOIA/PA-2006-0101

MLTS database, active & retired facilities FOIA/PA-2006-0102

NRC Exhibit 300s, business case for major IT investments listed in

FY07 “Report of Information Technology (IT) Spending for the

Federal Government for FY2005, 2006 & 2007"

FOIA/PA-2006-0103

SECY-05-0067 FOIA/PA-2006-0104

Security file on named individual FOIA/PA-2006-0105

Mailing list - Referral by GSA FOIA/PA-2006-0106
February 10, 2006 ENCLOSURE I

Office of Human Resources (HR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending February 10, 2006

Arrival

HILLEY, ASHLEY SECRETARY (OA) NRR

SUN, ROBERT GENERAL ENGINEER (NSPDP) NRR
February 10, 2006 ENCLOSURE I

Office of Public Affairs (OPA)

Items of Interest

Week Ending February 10, 2006

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

Braidwood potential tritium contamination.

Early Site Permits and Combined Site Licenses (Part 52).

Oyster Creek shut-down and restart.

NRC FY 2007 Budget Request.

Release of NAS Spent Fuel Transport Study.

Potential submittal of COL in South Carolina.

Other Public Affairs Items:

Press Releases

Headquarters:

06-016 NRC FY 2007 Budget Reflects Anticipated New Nuclear Power Plant

License Applications (2/6/06)

06-017 NRC Invites Applicants for Director of Nuclear Regulatory Research

(2/7/06)

06-018 NRC’s Public Document Room Marks 50 Years of Answering Public’s

Queries on Nuclear Energy (2/7/06)

06-019 NRC Names Otto L. Maynard to Advisory Committee on Reactor

Safeguards (2/8/06)

06-020 NRC Welcomes National Academies Study Conclusion that Transport of

Spent Nuclear Fuel is Safe (2/9/06)

06-021 NRC Proposes to Amend Licensing, Inspection and Annual Fees Rule

(2/10/06)

06-022 NRC Requests Additional Information on Application for North Anna Permit

(2/10/06)

06-023 Media Advisory: Attention: Assignment Desk, Editors, Reporters (2/10/06)

Regions:

I-06-005 New NRC Resident Inspector Assigned to Salem Nuclear Plant (2/10/06)
February 10, 2006 ENCLOSURE I

I-06-006 New NRC Resident Inspector Assigned to Hope Creek Nuclear Plant

(2/10/06)

I-06-007 NRC Cites NASA for Violations of NRC Requirements (2/10/06)
February 10, 2006 ENCLOSURE O

Office of the Secretary (SECY)

Items of Interest

Week Ending February 10, 2006

Document Released

to Public

Date Subject

Decision Documents

1. COMSECY-05-0064 12/20/05 Fiscal Year 2006 and 2007 Action Plan for

the ACNW

SRM on COMSECY-05-

0064

02/07/06 (same)

Voting Record on

COMSECY-05-0064

02/07/06 (same)

2. SRM on SECY-06-0010 02/08/06 Withdraw Proposed Rulemaking - Fire

Protection Program Post-Fire Operator

Manual Actions (RIN 3150-AH54)

Voting Record on 

SECY-06-0010

02/08/06 (same)

3. COMEXM-06-0003 01/30/06 Regulation of Reprocessing Facilities

Information Papers

1. SECY-06-0023 02/02/96 Weekly Information Report - Week Ending

January 27, 2006

2. SECY-06-0016 02/24/06 Agencywide Documents Access and

Management System: Semi-Annual

Progress Report for July-December 2005

Memoranda

1. M06011B 02/09/06 SRM - Meeting with Advisory Committee on

Nuclear Waste (ACNW)

Commission Correspondence

1. Letter to Tim Pawlenty, Governor of Minnesota, dated February 3, 2006, responds to

request for an Agreement between the NRC and the State of Minnesota.

2. Letter to Congressman Senator Voinovich, dated February 2, 2006, concerns meeting to

discuss the NRC’s human capital needs.
February 10, 2006 ENCLOSURE O

3. Letter to Timothy Kaine, Governor of Virginia, dated January 31, 2006, response to

former Governor Warner’s request that NRC and the Commonwealth of Virginia establish

an Agreement.

Federal Register Notices Issued

Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) Subcommittee Meeting on ThermalHydraulic Phenomena, notice of meeting (2/14-16/06).
February 10, 2006 ENCLOSURE P

Region II (RII)

Items of Interest

Week Ending February 10, 2006

Oconee Regulatory Conference

On February 6, 2006, staff conducted a Regulatory Conference with representatives from Duke

Energy Corporation to discuss the risk significance of an inspection finding at Oconee regarding 

tornado protection of a control room wall.

Surry Emergency Preparedness Exercise

On February 7, 2006, Region II participated in the Surry Emergency Preparedness Exercise in

Surry, Virginia. The Region II participation included a Region II Base Team and Site Team. 

Commissioner Merrifield Visits McGuire Nuclear Power Plant

On February 10, 2006, Commissioner Merrifield and staff visited the McGuire Nuclear Power

Plant for a site tour. 
February 10, 2006 ENCLOSURE P

Region III (RIII)

Items of Interest

Week Ending February 10, 2006

Meeting on Tritium Contamination at Godley

On February 8, 2006, Region III staff attended a meeting at Godley, Illinois, between members

of the public, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) and the NRC to discuss the

elevated tritium levels in groundwater on and near the Braidwood site. The purpose of the

meeting was to answer the public’s questions about the tritium contamination from the

Braidwood plant and how it affects the safety of drinking water in the area.
February 10, 2006 ENCLOSURE P

Region IV (RIV)

Items of Interest

Week Ending February 10, 2006

New Site Director Position at Fort Calhoun Station

Effective February 8, 2006, Mr. Jeff Reinhart will assume the position of Fort Calhoun Station

Site Director, a new position. Mr. Reinhart will be responsible for all site activities needed to

support operation of the facility and will report directly to the Fort Calhoun Station Vice

President and Chief Nuclear Officer.
February 10, 2006 

Office of Congressional Affairs (OCA)

Items of Interest

Week Ending February 10, 2006

CONGRESSIONAL HEARING SCHEDULE, NO. 5

 OCAContact

 DATE & PLACE

TIME WITNESS SUBJECT 

Decker 02/09/06

SD-366

10:00 DOE Secretary Bodman Fiscal Year 2007 Budget: DOE Senator D

Energy a

Decker 02/09/06

SD-366Postponed

2:30 Energy Information

Administration

Energy Outlook and Trends Senator D

Energy a

Combs March 8

TentativeSD-406

TBA DOE, EPA, NRC, NEI,

NWTB, NAS, State of NV

Status of Yucca Mountain licenseapplication and radiation standards

Senator IEnvironm

Shane March 9

SD-406

TBA NRC NRC Oversight Senator V

Clean Air

 and NuEnvironm

Combs March 14

Tentative

TBA DOE Status of Yucca Mountain license

application

Senator DEnergy a