INFORMATION REPORT

May 9, 2006 SECY-06-0105

For: The Commissioners

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

Subject: WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING

APRIL 28, 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:

R. Taylor, OEDO
May 9, 2006 SECY-06-0105

For: The Commissioners

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

Subject: WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING

APRIL 28, 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:

R. Taylor, OEDO

DISTRIBUTION:

Central File

Public Document Name: C:\WIR\week428.WPD

OEDO AO/OEDO

RTaylor:paa WMDean

05/ /06 05/ /06
WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING APRIL 28, 2006

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

Headquarters and Regional Office activities. 

Contact: R. Taylor, OEDO by E-mail: rxt2@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

OIS 11 Region III 22

CFO * Region IV 23

HR 15 EDO *

SBCR 16 OCA 24

OE * ACRS/ACNW 25

*No input this week
April 28, 2006 ENCLOSURE A

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 28, 2006

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Briefing

On April 24, 2006, the staff briefed both the NRC and FERC Commissioners on the

interrelationship between the nation’s electricity grid and the operation of U.S. commercial

nuclear power plants. The staff discussed issues including the concept of adding new reactors

to the grid and the recently issued Generic Letter 2006-02 on grid reliability. The FERC staff

discussed issues including the agency’s recent Interpretive Order related to the Generic Letter. 

The meeting between the NRC and FERC Commissioners was held at FERC’s headquarters in

Washington, D.C.

Public Meeting on the Oyster Creek Generating Station License Renewal Audit

On April 20, 2006, the staff conducted a public meeting at the Lacey Township Municipal

Building in Forked River, New Jersey, to discuss the results of the audit team’s portion of the

aging management programs and aging management reviews used in developing the license

renewal application. The meeting was well attended by members of the public and

representatives of the NRC staff, AmerGen Energy Company LLC, Exelon Corporation, local

elected officials, local citizen organizations, and local news media. Based on the audit and

review, as well as the additional commitments the applicant made during the audit, the audit

team found that the applicant has demonstrated that the effects of aging will be adequately

managed so that the intended functions will be maintained during the period of extended

operation, as required by 10 CFR 54.21(a)(3). The team did identify three aging management

programs that needed further review: ASME Section XI, Subsection IWE for Mark I

containment; protective coating monitoring and maintenance program for drywell and torus

corrosion; and metal fatigue of the reactor coolant pressure boundary. 

Issuance of Browns Ferry Nuclear (BFN) Units 1, 2, and 3 License Renewal Supplement

On April 21, 2006, the staff issued a supplement to the safety evaluation report (NUREG-1843)

for the BFN Units 1, 2, and 3 License Renewal Amendment. This supplement addressed the

Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards’ comments from its full committee meeting held on

March 9, 2006.

Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant License Renewal Activities

The staff plans to issue the draft Safety Evaluation Report (SER) related to the license renewal

of the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant during the week of April 24, 2006. By letter dated

March 16, 2005, Nuclear Management Company, LLC (NMC) submitted, for the NRC’s review,

an application pursuant to 10 CFR Part 54, to renew the operating license for an additional 20

years. The staff has identified no open or confirmatory items in its review. The final SER is

scheduled to be issued on or before October 4, 2006.
April 28, 2006 ENCLOSURE A

General Electric Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR) Technical Specifications

(TS) Meeting

On April 19, 2006, a follow-up public meeting to the March 23, 2006, meeting on the subject

topic was held with General Electric (GE) and the NRC staff. The meeting was held to provide

background information on the Chapter 6 Loss of Coolant Accident analysis and Chapter 15

anticipated operational occurrences, and the application of these safety analyses to the

development of the ESBWR TS. GE discussed how TS meet the criteria for establishing TS

limiting conditions for operation as specified in 10 CFR 50.36(c)(2)(ii). GE and NRC staff

agreed that future meetings should be held to discuss additional areas of the proposed ESBWR

TS. 

ESBWR Applicant and Staff Meet with ACRS Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA)

Subcommittee

On April 20 and 21, 2006, the staff along with GE and NRC contractor Energy Research, Inc.

(ERI) met with the ACRS PRA Subcommittee. The development of GE’s ESBWR PRA, ongoing work on the PRA, the NRC staff’s requests for additional information concerning GE’s

PRA, and the severe accident confirmatory analysis were discussed during the meeting.

Withdrawal of Transportation Safeguards Advisories SA-01-01, Rev. 1 and SA-03-02

On April 20, 2006, the NRC staff issued RIS 2006-05, “Withdrawal of Transportation

Safeguards Advisories SA-01-01, Rev. 1 and SA-03-02,” to notify affected parties that the

subject advisories are withdrawn.
April 28, 2006 ENCLOSURE B

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS)

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 28, 2006

NRC Staff Attends 7th Annual Knowledge Management Conference and Exhibition

From April 19 to 21, 2006, NMSS and Office of Human Resources staff working on improving

knowledge management attended the 7th Annual Knowledge Management Conference and

Exhibition in Washington, DC. Representatives from industry, government, and academia

provided presentations on the following developing and implementing knowledge management

strategies. These strategies included: (1) moving toward knowledge-based operations;

(2) improving workforce development with knowledge management tools and tactics;

(3) integrating information delivery and collaboration strategies; and (4) e-learning solutions. 

Staff also attended tutorials on issues such as building a defensible knowledge management

enterprise environment and developing successful communities of practice. Specific talks

included topics on the following: (1) knowledge transfer; (2) data and text mining; (3) social

networks; (4) integrating knowledge management and e-learning technologies; (5) the

psychology of knowledge management and organization culture; and (6) lessons learned from

the implementation of organization-wide approaches to knowledge management.
April 28, 2006 ENCLOSURE C

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES)

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 28, 2006

Audit of Consolidated Data Entry Program for the Mitigating Systems Performance Index

(MSPI) at the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) Offices

On April 19-20, 2006, the staff performed the subject audit of the Consolidated Data Entry

(CDE) 3.0 program in Atlanta, Georgia. The CDE program will perform the detailed MSPI

calculations for all licensees as input to the quarterly performance indicators for the NRC’s

Reactor Oversight Process beginning in July 2006. 
April 28, 2006 ENCLOSURE D

Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 28, 2006

Preliminary Notifications

1. PNO-I-06-007, Team Industrial Services, Inc., - RADIOGRAPHY SOURCE FAILED TO

RETRACT.

2. PNO-III-06-004b, Byron Units 1 and 2 - RESUMPTION OF EFFLUENT DISCHARGES.
April 28, 2006 ENCLOSURE G

Office of Information Services (OIS)

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 28, 2006

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

April 21 through April 27, 2006:

EA-05-098, potential chilled work atmosphere at FitzPatrick Nuclear

Power Station, all records

FOIA/PA-2006-0185

All correspondence between U. S. Senator Mitch McConnell, R-KY, &

the NRC from 01-01-98 to present

FOIA/PA-2006-0186

Allegation RII-2005-A-0056 & RII-2005-A-0115; 2004 event at St.

Lucie re: spilled radioactive containment water; 2005 event at St.

Lucie re: electrical power outage; configuration of east wall of St.

Lucie Unit 2 spent fuel pool

FOIA/PA-2006-0187

Allegation NRR-1998-A-0003, including all correspondence between

named individual & the NRC

FOIA/PA-2006-0188

SmartPay task order(s) to provide purchase, travel and fleet card

services

FOIA/PA-2006-0189

Tritium exit signs purchased or installed in Lebanon County, PA, last

40 years

FOIA/PA-2006-0190

Innovative Machining Inc., 2104 Graves Mill Rd., Forest, VA 24551,

all records re: qualifications & certification as a contractor for NRC

FOIA/PA-2006-0191
April 28, 2006 ENCLOSURE I

Office of Human Resources (HR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 28, 2006

Arrival

BAZIAN, SAMUEL Y. STUDENT IT TRAINEE (CO-OP) RES

BURKHART, LAWRENCE J. PROJECT MANAGER NRR

EDWARDS, DENISE NSPDP GENERAL ENGINEER RES

FRANKLIN, CALVIN D. HUMAN RESOURCES ASSISTANT (OA) HR

GARRY, STEVEN M. HEALTH PHYSICIST NRR

KEYES- SMITH, ERIKA CRIMINAL INVESTIGATOR OIG

LORDS, DAVID J. REACTOR ENGINEER /RESIDENT

INSPECTOR

R-III

LUU, ANDREW GENERAL SCIENTIST NRR

MARTIN, SHANNAN CRIMINAL INVESTIGATOR OIG

RIVERA-DIAZ, CARMEN NSPDP GENERAL ENGINEER RES

RUSSELL, WILLIAM H. REACTOR TECHNOLOGY INSTRUCTOR HR

SAVOY, CARMEL SECRETARY (OA) RES

TRAN, FRANK REACTOR ENGINEER (NSPDP) R-III

Retirements

KLEENE, PAUL E. TECHNICAL WRITER EDITOR ADM

VELEZ, CARLOS A. SENIOR PROGRAM ANALYST NRR

Departures

BARTO, JULIA M. TRANSPORTATION & STORAGE PROJECT

MGR

NMSS

DESAI, TORAL SECRETARY (OA) OCFO

HALL, CLIFFORD H. SECURITY SPECIALIST NSIR

PRIBLE, AMY INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SPEC IP

SAUDER, PATRICIA A. SECRETARY (OA) R-I
April 28, 2006 ENCLOSURE J

Office of Small Business and Civil Rights (SBCR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 28, 2006

Bring Your Children To Work Day

On April 27, 2006, the Office of Small Business and Civil Rights, along with the Employee

Welfare and Recreation Association and Federal Women's Program Advisory Committee,

sponsored a very successful Bring Your Children To Work Day. The event gave children an

opportunity to observe their parents at work and to motivate their interest in technical,

professional, and administrative careers. 

The presenters and the exhibitors did an outstanding job providing captivating information

regarding NRC and its safety mission. Over 150 children participated, and each child will

receive a special edition of the "NR&C" that includes their picture and some information about

them. 
April 28, 2006 ENCLOSURE M

Office of Public Affairs (OPA)

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 28, 2006

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

President Bush’s nomination of Dale Klein to be a new Commissioner and future Chairman.

Vermont Yankee ascension to its full power uprate.

NRC’s special inspection at Kewaunee following an alert at the plant.

NRC’s hiring efforts in preparation for new reactor licensing reviews.

Other Public Affairs Items:

OPA staff assisted at several end-of-cycle meetings for various nuclear plants and at the

agency’s workshop on a possible avian influenza pandemic.

Press Releases

Headquarters:

06-058 NRC to Hold Public Meetings May 10-11 in Georgia to Discuss Review of

Possible Early Site Permit Application (4/25)

06-059 NRC Plans for Possible Avian Flu Pandemic; Holds Workshop to Discuss Issues

(4/28)

Regions:

II-06-027 NRC Special Inspection Team to Hold Public Meeting May 3 to Review

Honeywell Fuel Plant Leak (4/27)

III-06-019 NRC to Discuss 2005 Performance Assessment of Davis-Besse Nuclear Power

Plant (4/25)

III-06-020 Nuclear Regulatory Commission Begins Special Inspection at Kewaunee

Nuclear Plant Following Shutdown (4/27)

IV-06-004 NRC to Discuss 2005 Performance at Comanche Peak Nuclear Plant (4/25)

IV-06-005 NRC to Discuss 2005 Performance at Callaway Nuclear Plant (4/27)
April 28, 2006 ENCLOSURE O

Office of the Secretary (SECY)

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 28, 2006

Document Released

to Public

Date Subject

Decision Documents

1. SRM on SECY-06-0041 04/21/06 Proposed Strategy to Support

Implementation of the New-Reactor

Construction Inspection Program

Voting Record on SECY06-004104/21/06 (same)

2. COMGBJ-06-

0003/COMPBL-06-0001 03/31/06

Public Participation in Adjudications

3. SRM-SECY-06-0075 04/26/06 Transfer of Mississippi to NRC Region IV

Commission Voting

Record on 06-0075

04/26/06 (same)

4. SECY-06-0049 03/02/06 Actions Related to Regulation of Maximum

Contamination Levels for Uranium in

Drinking Water

SRM on 06-0049 04/28/06 (same)

Commission Voting

Record on 06-0049

04/28/06 (same)

Information Papers

- SECY-06-0093 04/24/06 Weekly Information Report - Week Ending

April 14, 2006

Commission Correspondence

- Letter to Senator George Voinovich, dated April 19, 2006, provides response to posthearing questions submitted by the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Federal Register Notices Issued

1. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, meeting of the subcommittee on Plant

License, notice of meeting (5/30/06). 

2. Notice of Hearing, In the Matter of Pa’ina Hawaii, LLC (Material License Application). 
April 28, 2006 ENCLOSURE P

Region I (RI)

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 28, 2006

Commonwealth of Virginia Meeting

On April 25, 2006, the Region I State Agreements Officer met with the Virginia Department of

Health to discuss: (1) the process for becoming an Agreement State; (2) the NRC organization;

and (3) what occurs once the Agreement becomes effective. This meeting, held in Richmond,

was led by the Director, Office of State and Tribal Programs. In December 2005, the

Commonwealth notified NRC of its intent to become an Agreement State. The Director of the

Virginia Bureau of Radiological Health also gave an overview of the Bureau and provided a tour

of the State offices, equipment and emergency response capabilities.
April 28, 2006 ENCLOSURE P

Region II (RII)

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 28, 2006

Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) Annual Assessment Meetings

During the week of April 24-28, 2006, the staff conducted the NRC ROP Annual Assessment

Meetings for the McGuire and Catawba Nuclear Power Plants. The meetings were held at or

near the nuclear plants and were open to the public. 
April 28, 2006 ENCLOSURE P

Region III (RIII)

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 28, 2006

Special Inspection at Kewaunee

On April 27, 2006, Region III began a special inspection at the Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant

to review the circumstances around the failure of the turbine to trip and be followed by a reactor

trip when one feedwater pump was shut down and the second feedwater pump tripped. The

licensee declared an Alert because the reactor failed to automatically shut down.

Dresden End-Of-Cycle Meeting

On April 26, 2006, members of the Region III staff met with representatives of Exelon Nuclear

Generation Co. in Morris, Illinois, to discuss the end-of-cycle performance assessment for the

Dresden Nuclear Power Station. A Chicago Tribune reporter attended the meeting.
April 28, 2006 ENCLOSURE P

Region IV (RIV)

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 28, 2006

New Plant Manager at Comanche Peak Steam Electric Station

On April 26, 2006, the Comanche Peak licensee, TXU Power, announced that Mr. Mark

Kanavos will relieve Mr. Phil Polefrone, an INPO loaned executive, as the Plant Manager for

Comanche Peak. The effective date of this change was not announced. Mr. Kanavos has over

25 years of experience with Stone & Webster, Tennessee Valley Authority, South Texas, and

most recently Dresden. Currently, he is the Director of Engineering at Dresden.
April 28, 2006 

Office of Congressional Affairs (OCA)

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 28, 2006

CONGRESSIONAL HEARING SCHEDULE, NO. 16

 OCAContact

 DATE & PLACE

TIME WITNESS SUBJECT 

Combs 04/25/06

2154 RHOB

2:00 NRC, GAO, DOE/OCRWM,

DOE/IG, Bechtel

Yucca Mountain Project: PersistentManagement and Quality Assurance

Reps. PoFederal WOrganizaGovernm

Decker 04/26/06

SD-419

9:30 Robert Gallucci,

Georgetown University,Ashton Carter, Harvard,Ronald Lehman, LawrenceLivermore, Robert Einhorn,Center for Strategic andInternational Studies, GaryMilhollin, Wisconsin Projecton Nuclear Arms Control

U.S.-India Atomic EnergyCooperation

Senators Foreign R

Shane 04/26/06

2154 RHOB

2:00 TBA Allowing Federal Employees to

Invest Retirement Savings in REITs

Reps. PoFederal W OrganizaGovernm

Combs May TBA DOE Status of Yucca Mountain license

application

Senators Energy a

Shane 05/22/06

SD-366

2:30 NRC, DOE, and others Nuclear Plant Development Senators 

Energy a
CONGRESSIONAL HEARING SCHEDULE, NO. 16

 OCAContact

 DATE & PLACE

TIME WITNESS SUBJECT 

April 28, 2006 

Shane late May

TBA

TBA TBA New Nuclear Power Plants Reps. Ba

Energy a

Shane 06/22/06

TBA

9:30 NRC, GAO, NEI, Public

Interest Groups

GAO Report on Reactor OversightProcess

Senators Clean Air

Nuclear SEnvironm
April 28, 2006 ENCLOSURE S

Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS)/

Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste (ACNW)

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 28, 2006

As a result of its 531th meeting (April 6-8, 2006), the ACRS issued letters and reports on

the following subjects. 

Date

April 21, 2006 Application of the TRACG Computer Code to Evaluate the Stability

of the Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor

April 21, 2006 NRC Staff’s Proposed Approach to Enhance the Reactor Oversight

Process to Address Safety Culture Issues