INFORMATION REPORT 

November 23, 2007 SECY-07-0205

For: The Commissioners 

From: Vonna L. Ordaz, Assistant for Operations, Office of the EDO 

Subject: WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING 

NOVEMBER 16, 2007 

Contents Enclosure

Nuclear Reactor Regulation A 

New Reactors B 

Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards C* 

Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs D 

Nuclear Regulatory Research E 

Nuclear Security and Incident Response F* 

Administration G 

Information Services H 

Chief Financial Officer I* 

Human Resources J* 

Small Business and Civil Rights K* 

Enforcement L* 

Public Affairs M* 

International Programs N* 

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/ 

Vonna L. Ordaz 

Assistant for Operations, OEDO 

Contact: 

A.C. Ridge, OEDO 
November 23, 2007 SECY-07-0205

For: The Commissioners 

From: Vonna L. Ordaz, Assistant for Operations, Office of the EDO 

Subject: WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING 

NOVEMBER 16, 2007 

Contents Enclosure

Nuclear Reactor Regulation A 

New Reactors B 

Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards C* 

Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs D 

Nuclear Regulatory Research E 

Nuclear Security and Incident Response F* 

Administration G 

Information Services H 

Chief Financial Officer I* 

Human Resources J* 

Small Business and Civil Rights K* 

Enforcement L* 

Public Affairs M* 

International Programs N* 

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/ 

Vonna L. Ordaz 

Assistant for Operations, OEDO 

Contact: 

A.C. Ridge, OEDO 

DISTRIBUTION: 

EDO R/F 

AO R/F Document Name: G:\Melissa\WIR\Week1116.WPD 

OEDO AO/OEDO 

ACRidge VLOrdaz 

11/21/07 11/23/07 
WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 16, 2007

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

Headquarters and Regional Office activities. 

Contact: A.C. Ridge, OEDO by E-mail: acr1@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 OE * 

NRO * OPA 17 

NMSS 4 OIP * 

FSME 6 SECY 19 

RES * Region I 20 

NSIR 10 Region II 21 

ADM 11 Region III 22 

OIS 12 Region IV 23 

CFO * EDO * 

HR 16 OCA 24 

SBCR * 

*No input this week 
November 16, 2007 ENCLOSURE A 

 Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) 

 Items of Interest 

 Week Ending November 16, 2007 

Susquehanna Steam Electric Plant Extended Power Uprated (EPU) presentation 

On November 14, 2007, the Division of Safety Systems staff participated in a presentation to the 

Power Uprate Subcommittee of the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) 

regarding the Susquehanna Steam Electric Plant Extended Power Uprate safety evaluation. 

Based on the meeting results, it is expected that the subcommittee will recommend the review 

proceed to the ACRS full committee. 

Staff Meeting With Representatives of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) 

North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC)

On November 15, 2007, Division of Engineering staff met with representatives of the Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation 

(NERC). NERC provided an overview and the status of their Situational Awareness Tool, which 

will provide a high level view of the North American grid. This tool will provide information on 

grid parameters (e.g. transmission loading, voltage, frequency, load mismatch) and on grid 

reliability. Currently, NERC is receiving data from the Pennsylvania, Jersey, Maryland grid 

operator (PJM) and will add data from 5 more Reliability Councils in 2008. In addition, FERC 

and NERC discussed the process of writing and approving standards. Of particular interest are 

the Critical Infrastructure Standards, pertaining to grid security. 
November 16, 2007 ENCLOSURE B 

 Office of New Reactors (NRO) 

 Items of Interest 

 Week Ending November 16, 2007 

Staff Performed Readiness Assessment Visit at River Bend Site

On November 6 and 7, 2007, staff visited River Bend Station in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, 

the proposed site for the upcoming combined license (COL) application that Entergy has 

indicated that it will submit in mid-2008. The purpose of the visit was to familiarize the staff with 

the proposed site and to begin establishing working relationships with the applicant and local 

agencies. Topics discussed during the visit included hydrology, meteorology, ecology, radiation 

protection, socioeconomics, and alternative sites. This visit is part of the pre-application 

readiness assessment activities planned by the staff for all COL sites. Future visits for this site 

are already being planned, with the next visit likely to take place in February 2008. 

Staff Readiness Assessment Visit to Comanche Peak Alternative Sites

On November 6 to 8, 2007, staff visited the alternative sites for the Comanche Peak COL 

application that Luminant (TXU) has indicated that it will submit in mid-2008. The purpose of the 

visit was to familiarize the staff with the applicant’s proposed alternative sites. The team focused 

on familiarization with site hydrological features, aquatic and terrestrial environment, 

demography, transportation infrastructure, and electrical transmission infrastructure. This visit is 

part of the pre-application readiness assessment activities planned by the staff for all COL sites. 

The next visit for the Comanche Peak site is tentatively planned to take place in March 2008. 

Exelon Nuclear Selects General Electric Hitachi - Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor 

(GEH - ESBWR) Technology for Texas Site

Exelon Nuclear issued a News Release on November 12, 2007, indicating that it had selected 

the GEH - ESBWR technology for a new nuclear power plant that is being considered for 

construction and operation in either Matagorda or Victoria counties in Texas. Exelon Nuclear 

indicated in its letter that its selection of reactor technology does not imply that it has made a 

commitment to build a plant. Exelon identified fuel disposal and community acceptance of a new 

nuclear plant as issues to be resolved prior to any formal decision to build. Exelon Nuclear 

expects to submit its COL application to the NRC in November 2008. 

Bellefonte Combined License Application

On November 13, 2007, the staff met with the Tennessee Valley Authority to discuss the 

Bellefonte COL application. The purpose of the meeting was to orient the staff on the 

components and contents of the Bellefonte COL application that was submitted to the NRC on 

October 30, 2007. On November 14, 2007, the staff completed the Sensitive Unclassified NonSafeguards Information (SUNSI) review of the Bellefonte COL application, which was made 

publicly available in the Agencywide Document Management System (ADAMS) on November 

16, 2007. The Bellefonte COL application is the reference COL application for the AP1000 

design. 
November 16, 2007 ENCLOSURE B 

Public Meeting on Proposed Rule on Consideration of Aircraft Impacts in New Nuclear Power 

Reactor Designs

On November 15, 2007, staff from NRO and the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation held a 

public meeting to discuss the requirements and underlying bases for the proposed rule on 

Consideration of Aircraft Impacts in New Nuclear Power Reactor Designs (70 FR 50442), dated 

October 3, 2007. The staff provided an overview of the proposed rule and the method for 

performing an aircraft impact assessment. Discussions at the meeting focused on the scope of 

designs to which the proposed rule would apply and the process which an applicant might use to 

meet the rule. The public comment period for the proposed rule closes on December 17, 2007. 

Unistar Nuclear Energy Press Release

On November 16, 2007, Unistar Nuclear Energy issued a press release announcing that it plans 

to submit an application to the Maryland Public Service Commission for a Certificate seeking 

approval for a third reactor at the Calvert Cliffs site. 
November 16, 2007 ENCLOSURE D 

 Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs (FSME) 

 Items of Interest 

 Week Ending November 16, 2007 

National Source Tracking System Testing

During the week ending November 16, FSME staff delivered data from the U.S. Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission Interim Database for use by the development contractor, LockheedMartin, in testing data conversion processes for the National Source Tracking System. This is a 

major step in the contractor’s development of the system. 
November 16, 2007 ENCLOSURE E 

 Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) 

 Items of Interest 

 Week Ending November 16, 2007 

Meeting with Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) on Potential Collaborative Research on 

Digital Instrumentation and Control (DI&C) and Human Factors (HF)

On November 14 and 15, 2007, staff met with EPRI to discuss DI&C diversity and defense in 

depth, highly integrated control rooms, DI&C system risk assessment, human factors (including 

manual operator actions, computerized procedures, and a graded approach to HF reviews), 

human performance metrics and criteria, the assessment of graphical display techniques, 

instrumentation and control obsolescence management, and remote integrated work 

environments. After prioritization of these issues, a proposed addendum to the EPRI/NRC 

Memorandum of Understanding will be developed. 
November 16, 2007 ENCLOSURE G 

 Office of Administration (ADM) 

 Items of Interest 

 Week Ending November 16, 2007 

Clarification of NRC Civil Penalty Authority Over Contractors and Subcontractors Who 

Discriminate Against Employees for Engaging in Protected Activities (RIN 3150-AH59)

On November 14, 2007, the NRC published a final rule in the Federal Register (72 FR 63969) 

amending its employee protection regulations to clarify the Commission's authority to impose a 

civil penalty upon a non-licensee contractor or subcontractor of a Commission licensee, or 

applicant for a Commission license who violates the NRC's regulations by discriminating against 

employees for engaging in protected activity. The rule also amends the employee protection 

regulations related to the operation of Gaseous Diffusion Plants. The effective date of this final 

rule is December 14, 2007. 

State of California; Supplement to a Petition for Rulemaking (PRM-51-12)

On November 14, 2007, the NRC published a document in the Federal Register (72 FR 64003) 

acknowledging receipt of a supplement to a petition for rulemaking filed with the Commission by 

Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General for the State of California. In this supplement to 

PRM-51-12, the petitioner provides clarification to the original petition for rulemaking. This 

document is being noticed for information only and not for public comment. 
November 16, 2007 ENCLOSURE H 

 Office of Information Services (OIS) 

 Items of Interest 

 Week Ending November 16, 2007 

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

of November 3 through November 15, 2007: 

NUREG-1338, “Preapplication Safety Evaluation Report for the 

Modular High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor” FOIA/PA-2008-0038 

Carlyle Group, contracts associated with Carlyle-owned firms from 

2004 to present, all records (listing of firms provided) FOIA/PA-2008-0039 

Office of Investigations (OI) Special Agents that actually carried 

firearms during investigations, 1992 to present FOIA/PA-2008-0040 

Radioactive materials license for named individual FOIA/PA-2008-0041 

OI Report 4-2007-006, regarding actions of instrumentation and control 

technicians including transcript of named individual FOIA/PA-2008-0042 

St. Lucie, Florida Power & Light, all communications regarding 

incidental capture of threatened and endangers species, 2003, 2004, 

2005, 2006 and to current date 2007 (Referral by NOAA, Department of 

Commerce) FOIA/PA-2008-0043 

NRC and Department of Labor documents regarding named individual, 

2000-2003, all records (Referral by Council on Environmental Quality, 

Executive Office of the President) FOIA/PA-2008-0044 
November 16, 2007 ENCLOSURE O 

 Office of the Secretary (SECY) 

 Items of Interest 

 Week Ending November 16, 2007 

Document Released to 

Public 

Date Subject 

Information Papers

1. SECY-07-0195 11/05/07 Weekly Information Report – Week Ending 

October 26, 2007 

2. SECY-07-0191 10/31/07 Implementation and Update of the RiskInformed and Performance-Based Plan 

Memoranda

1. M071024B 11/13/07 Periodic Briefing on New Reactor Issues 

Commission Correspondence

1. Letter to Dr. Ulrich Schmocker, Switzerland, dated November 8, 2007, expresses 

appreciation for hosting lunch. 

2. Letter to Dr. Hans Issler, Switzerland, dated November 8, 2007, expresses appreciation for 

hosting lunch. 

3. Letter to Congresswoman Lowey, dated November 8, 2007, responds to letter regarding the 

failure of Entergy to comply fully with the requirements of NRC’s July 30, 2007, Order 

concerning operability of the new Alert and Notification system for the Indian Point nuclear 

power plant. 

4. Letter to Congress, dated November 6, 2007, provides NRC’s quarterly report on the status 

of its licensing and other regulatory activities. 

Federal Register Notices Issued

1. Southern Nuclear Operating Company Supplementary Notice of Hearing and Opportunity to 

Petition for Leave to Intervene on an Early Site Permit (ESP) for the Vogtle ESP Site. 

2. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards Meeting of the Advanced Boiling-Water Reactor 

Subcommittee (December 5, 2007). 

3. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards Meeting on Planning and Procedures 

(December 5, 2007). 

4. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards - Meeting Notice (December 6 to 8, 2007). 

5. Alternate Fracture Toughness Requirements for Protection Against Pressurized Thermal 

Shock Events; Reopening of Comment Period for Information Collection. 
November 16, 2007 ENCLOSURE P 

 Region II (RII) 

 Items of Interest 

 Week Ending November 16, 2007 

Chairman Dale E. Klein Visits the Region II Office

On November 16, 2007, the Chairman visited the Region II office, met with the senior managers 

and toured the regional office. 
November 16, 2007 

 Office of Congressional Affairs (OCA)  Items of Interest  Week Ending November 16, 2007 

CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS SCHEDULE, NO. 37 

OCA Contact 

Date & Place Time Committee Subject Witnesses 

Sahm 11/13/07 

406 Dirksen 

11:00 Senate Environment and Public 

Works (Senators Boxer / Inhofe) 

S 2191 – America’s Climate Security Act 

• David Hawkins – Direc

Resources Defense C

• David Greene – Corpo

Environmental EngineLaboratory 

• Robert Baugh – Execu

Council, AFL-CIO 

• Andrew Sharkey – Pre

Iron and Steel Institute 

• Donald R. Rowlett – D

Compliance, OGE En

Powell 11/14/07 

366 Dirksen 

10:00 Senate Energy and Natural 

Resources (Senators Bingaman / Domenici) 

Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) related to US policy on Nuclear Fuel Management 

• Dennis Spurgeon – As• Peter Orszag – Direct

Office 

• Terry Wallace – Los A• Neil Todreas – Massa

Technology 

• Matthew Bunn – Belfe

International Affairs 

• Seshadri Pattabi – Th

Sahm 11/14/07 

2318 Rayburn 

10:00 House Select Energy 

Independence and Global Warming (Representatives Markey / Sensenbrenner) 

Low-Carbon Energy Future 

• Governor Eliot Spitzer • Governor Janet Napo
November 16, 2007 

Sahm 11/15/07 

406 Dirksen 

10:00 Senate Environment and Public 

Works (Senators Boxer / Inhofe) 

S 2191 – America’s Climate Security Act 

• Fred Krupp – Presiden• Eileen Claussen – Pre

Climate Change 

• Ron Sims – County Ex• Kevin Book – Senior A

Friedman Billings Ram

• Christopher Berendt – 

Markets and Policy, P

Decker 11/15/07 

342 Dirksen 

10:00 Senate Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs, Subcommittees on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce and the District of Columbia and State, Local and Private Sector Preparedness and Integration (joint subcommittee hearing) (Senators Akaka / Voinovich) (Senators Pryor / Sununu) 

“Not a Matter of ‘If,’ But of ‘When’: The Status of US Response Following an RDD Attack” 

• TBD 

Powell 11/15/07 

366 Dirksen 

10:00 Senate Energy and Natural 

Resources (Senators Bingaman / Domenici) 

S 2203 – Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund Reauthorization Act of 2007 

• Jim Rispoli – Assistan

Environmental Manag

• Robin Nazzaro – Direc

Environment Issues, G

• Marvin Fertel – NEI • Wesley Warren – Nat

Council 

• John Longenecker – L

Sahm 12/05/07 

406 Dirksen 

TBD Senate Environment and Public 

Works (Senators Boxer / Inhofe) 

Markup of S 2191 – America’s Climate Security Act 

• N/A