INFORMATION REPORT

February 1, 2007 SECY-07-0025

For: The Commissioners

From: Michael R. Johnson, Assistant for Operations, Office of the EDO

Subject: WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING

JANUARY 19, 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 Chris Miller Acting For/

Michael R. Johnson 

Assistant for Operations, OEDO

Contact:

U. Shoop, OEDO
February 1, 2007 SECY-07-0025 

For: The Commissioners

From: Michael R. Johnson, Assistant for Operations, Office of the EDO

Subject: WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING

JANUARY 19, 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 Chris Miller Acting For/

Michael R. Johnson

Assistant for Operations, OEDO

Contact:

U. Shoop, OEDO

DISTRIBUTION:

EDO R/F

AO R/F Document Name: C:\WIR\week119.WPD

OEDO AO/OEDO

UShoop:paa CMiller for MRJohnson

02/01/07 02/01/07
WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING JANUARY 19, 2007

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

Headquarters and Regional Office activities. 

Contact: U. Shoop, OEDO by E-mail: USS@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 4 OPA 11

NMSS 5 OIP 12

FSME 6 SECY 13

RES 7 Region I *

NSIR * Region II *

ADM 8 Region III *

OIS 9 Region IV *

CFO * EDO *

HR 10 OCA *

SBCR *

*No input this week
January 19, 2007 ENCLOSURE A

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending January 19, 2007

American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Code for Operation and Maintenance (OM)

of Nuclear Power Plants Motor-Operated Valve (MOV) Subgroup, and MOV and Air-Operated

Valve (AOV) Users’ Group Meetings

On January 9-10, 2007, the NRC staff made presentations at the MOV and AOV Users’ Group

meetings. In particular, the staff discussed regulatory activities related to MOVs, the recent

NRC reorganization as related to the oversight of MOV and AOV issues, participation of NRC

staff at users group meetings, and the NRC staff recent ballot on the proposed ASME OM Code

appendix that would allow replacement of the quarterly AOV stroke-time IST requirement with

periodic exercising and diagnostic testing. In addition, on January 10, 2007, the staff

participated in a meeting of the ASME Subgroup on Motor-Operated Valves. The committee

members of the Subgroup reached agreement on resolution of OM Main Committee comments

related to a proposed mandatory appendix to the ASME OM Code that would replace quarterly

MOV stroke-time testing with periodic exercising and diagnostic testing. The proposed Code

appendix will be returned to the OM Main Committee for completion of the ballot process. 

Meeting with Representatives of ASME Code Committee Members

On January 10-11, 2007, the staff hosted a public meeting with ASME Code Committee

members and interested industry representatives. Discussions were held regarding ASME

Code technical and regulatory issues associated with welding, NDE, and pressure testing

technologies and practices. One of the significant outcomes of the meeting was a path forward

to streamline relief request submittals for weld overlays, thus potentially reducing staff and

industry resources in the preparation, review, and approval of relief requests.

Risk Management Technical Specifications Meeting

On January 18, 2007, the staff met with the Nuclear Energy Institute and industry owner group

representatives to discuss the status of Risk Management Technical Specifications initiatives. 

The Risk Management Technical Specifications initiatives are significant agency efforts to riskinform the Standard Technical Specifications. These include Initiative 1 to modify plant

Technical Specifications Required Action end states; Initiative 4b to allow licensee use of risk to

calculate Completion Times for Technical Specifications Required Actions; and Initiative 6 to

allow risk-informed Technical Specifications Required Action Completion Times to restore

system Operability prior to starting a Technical Specifications 3.0.3 plant shutdown. The

Nuclear Energy Institute submitted their recommendations to Chairman Klein in a letter dated

December 21, 2006.

Renewed Operating License for the Palisades Nuclear Plant Issued

On January 17, 2007, the operating license for the Palisades Nuclear Plant was extended for

an additional 20 years. The expiration date for the renewed license is March 24, 2031. Nuclear

Management Company, LLC, submitted the license renewal application to the NRC by letter,

dated March 22, 2005. The staff completed its review in less than 22 months, as documented
January 19, 2007 ENCLOSURE A

in a safety evaluation report (SER), NUREG-1871, issued in January 2007, and Supplement 27

to the Generic Environmental Impact Statement, dated October 2006.

Regulatory Issue Summary (RIS) 2007-01, “Clarification of NRC Guidance for Maintaining a

Standard Emergency Action Level Scheme”

On January 10, 2007, the staff issued the subject RIS. The purpose of this RIS is to clarify the

regulatory requirement that licensees have a standard emergency classification and action level

scheme in use, to ensure classification of events in a logical manner.
January 19, 2007 ENCLOSURE B

Office of New Reactors (NRO)

Items of Interest

Week Ending January 19, 2007

Site Visit and Audit of Vogtle Early Site Permit (ESP) Application

During the week of January 8, 2007, the staff conducted an audit of the Vogtle ESP application

in the areas of hydrology, health physics, geology, seismology, and geo-technical engineering. 

While at the site, the staff was given a tour of the ESP proposed facility boundary and also a

tour of some key areas at the Savannah River Site in support of the review of the Vogtle ESP

application. The multiple audits that have been conducted at the Vogtle ESP site will help to

focus the staff’s review and shape the requests for additional information that will be issued

next month. 

Public Meeting on Tsunami Hazards for New Reactors

On January 17, 2007, the staff conducted a public meeting with industry representatives to

discuss tsunami guidance related to future reactor siting in coastal areas and to allow for early

public dialogue regarding the planned update to NUREG-0800, Standard Review Plan 2.4.6,

“Probable Maximum Tsunami Hazards.” The meeting was attended by the Nuclear Energy

Institute, several utility companies, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and the general

public. In addition, the NRC and industry expressed interest in participating in pre-application

meetings concerning detailed applications for specific coastal sites.
January 19, 2007 ENCLOSURE C

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS)

Items of Interest

Week Ending January 19, 2007

BWX Technologies, Inc.

On January 17, 2007, the staff issued an Order containing Additional Security Measures for

BWXT’s Lynchburg Technology Center which is co-located with the Category I facility at its site

in Lynchburg, Virginia. The Order and Additional Security Measures ensure the protection of

the spent reactor fuel located in the underground storage facility.

NAC International on MAGNASTOR Meeting

On January 12, 2007, the staff met with representatives of NAC International (NAC) to discuss

the staff review of NAC’s application for a Certificate of Compliance (CoC) for the

MAGNASTOR dry cask storage system under 10 CFR Part 72. The initial application was

submitted in August 2004 and has been supplemented a number of times. The NRC staff

informed NAC that the information submitted to date is not sufficient in certain areas for the

staff to make the necessary safety findings to support issuance of a CoC at this time. The

calculational methods to support structural stability of the storage canister internal fuel basket is

the primary outstanding issue. The NRC staff indicated that it would consider the information

presented by NAC at the meeting in determining whether to reconsider our decision to suspend

review of the application, and that we would inform NAC promptly of our decision.
January 19, 2007 ENCLOSURE D

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

Items of Interest

Week Ending January 19, 2007

Proposed Rule Signed by EDO

On January 19, 2007, the Executive Director for Operations approved a proposed rule which

modifies 10 CFR Part 72.214, “List of approved spent fuel storage casks,” to revise the

Transnuclear, Inc., Standardized NUHOMS® System listing within the “List of approved spent

fuel storage casks.” This amendment will modify the Certificate of Compliance by revising

Technical Specifications 1.2.1 and 1.2.14 to add the Framatome-ANP, Version 9x9-2 fuel

assemblies as approved contents for storage in the NUHOMS®-61BT dry shielded canister.
January 19, 2007 ENCLOSURE E

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES)

Items of Interest

Week Ending January 19, 2007

Eighth Bilateral Meeting Between the NRC and the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board of India

(AERB) on Nuclear Safety Projects

On January 8-12, 2007, the staff met with technical staff and managers from AERB, the

Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd., and the Bhabha Atomic Research Center. As a result

of the meetings, the parties agreed to investigate opportunities for future cooperation in the

areas of software testing and digital system reliability analysis and to discuss these areas

during the November 2007 meeting in Mumbai, India. On January 15-16, 2007, the delegation

visited the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station and the Massachusetts Institution of Technology 

Center for Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems.
January 19, 2007 ENCLOSURE G

Office of Administration (ADM)

Items of Interest 

Week Ending January 19, 2007

Export and Import of Nuclear Material; Exports to Libya Restricted (AIO2 - Part 110)

On January 12, 2007, the NRC published a final rule in the Federal Register (72 FR 1426) that

amended its export/import regulations to move Libya from the list of embargoed destinations to

the list of restricted destinations. This means that exports of small quantities of certain nuclear

materials may qualify for the general license specified in NRC regulations in accordance with

current U.S. law and policy. The final rule became effective January 12, 2007.

Massachusetts Attorney General; Reopening of Public Comment on Petition for Rulemaking

(PRM-51-10)

On January 19, 2007, the NRC published a document in the Federal Register (72 FR 2464) that

reopened the public comment period on a petition for rulemaking submitted by Diane Curran on

behalf of the Massachusetts Attorney General (PRM-51-10). The petitioner requested that the

NRC revoke certain regulations in their entirety, and revoke other regulations to the extent that

these regulations, in the petitioner's view, state, imply, or assume that the environmental

impacts of storing spent nuclear fuel in high-density pools are not significant; issue a generic

determination to clarify that the environmental impacts of high-density pool storage of spent

fuel, will be considered significant; and require that any NRC licensing decision concerning

high-density pool storage of spent nuclear fuel be accompanied by an environmental impact

statement that addresses the environmental impacts of this storage and alternatives for

avoiding or mitigating any environmental impacts. The comment period on this action now

closes March 19, 2007.
January 19, 2007 ENCLOSURE H

Office of Information Services (OIS)

Items of Interest

Week Ending January 19, 2007

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

of January 12 through January 18, 2007:

Report of the DOE/NRC Interagency Working Group on Radiological

Dispersal Devices, drafted in early 2003

FOIA/PA-2007-0078

Licenses for named facilities in Philadelphia, PA area FOIA/PA-2007-0079

Indian Point leaks of water containing tritium & strontium-90, all

correspondence between NRC & Entergy Nuclear Northeast from

9-21-06 and 1-11-07

FOIA/PA-2007-0080

Tennessee Valley Authority, all settlement agreements in DOL whistle

blower cases reviewed/approved by RII counsel from 1-1-06 thru

present

FOIA/PA-2007-0081

Indian Point charger to assess the reactor oversight process (ROP),

all correspondence between Commission and NRC staff,

ML062840464 and COM-SECY 06-0068

FOIA/PA-2007-0082

Contract RSA ADM-07-0412, Service & Maintenance for Industrial

Machinery

FOIA/PA-2007-0083

Allegation OIG-3699, all documents including correspondence

between NRC & named individual

FOIA/PA-2007-0084

Security clearance records on named individual FOIA/PA-2007-0085

Argo Tech, TRW, or Thompson Air Products Co., 23555 Euclid Ave.,

Euclid, OH 44117, environmental significant events, all records

FOIA/PA-2007-0086

Civil & administrative violations for which a monetary penalty was

assessed, CY2006

FOIA/PA-2007-0087
January 19, 2007 ENCLOSURE J

Office of Human Resources (HR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending January 19, 2007

Arrivals

ABID, MOHAMMED MATERIALS ENGINEER NRR

AISSA, MOURAD SR CRIT SAFETY & RX PHYSICS

ENGINEER

RES

ARROYO, DAMARIS CHEMICAL ENGINEER (ENTRYLEVEL)RES

BERRY, JOSHUA SECURITY SPECIALIST NSIR

DANIEL, TYRA SECRETARY FSME

DELCASTILLO, NANCY PARALEGAL SPECIALIST OGC

DEVASER, NISHKA GENERAL ENG/SCIENTIST ENTRY

LEVEL

FSME

FLORES, MARY REGINA IT SPECIALIST RIV

GAUDREAU, ADAM SECURITY SPECIALIST NSIR

GIBSON, LAUREN MANAGEMENT ANALYST RES

KOLCUM, GREGORY REACTOR ENGINEER RIII

LAFLAMME, PAUL REACTOR ENGINEER RIII

MARTIN, MARK PHYSICAL SECURITY INSPECTOR RIII

PARRA, SABRINA STUDENT ENGINEER (COOP) RII

Retirement

FORBES, DONALD PHYSICAL SECURITY INSPECTOR RII

Departures

KOLLATH-ROMANO, PAUL STUDENT ENGINEER NSIR

MACKENZIE, AMBER ATTORNEY OGC

ROBINSON, CHAUNDRA VICTORIA SECRETARY (OA) CFO
January 19, 2007 ENCLOSURE M

Office of Public Affairs (OPA)

Items of Interest

Week Ending January 19, 2007

The OPA received significant media inquiries on the following:

The Supreme Court’s decision not to review the 9th Circuit’s ruling that NRC should consider the

environmental impacts of potential terrorist attacks on nuclear facilities during licensing reviews.

Oyster Creek’s license renewal application.

The effects of the federal budget crunch and a “continuing resolution” on the NRC.

NRC’s regulatory oversight of the Palo Verde nuclear plant.

An outage at Monticello and its potential ramifications for other plants.

Other Public Affairs Items:

Chairman Klein was interviewed by the Associated Press.

Press Releases

Headquarters:

07-006 NRC, FERC Commissioners to Discuss Grid Reliability January 23 in Rockville,

Maryland (1/17)

07-007 NRC Renews Operating License for Palisades Nuclear Power Plant for an

Additional 20 Years (1/17)

07-008 NRC Finds No Significant Environmental Impacts from Extended Operation of

Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Plant (1/19)

Regions:

I-07-003 NRC to Hold Public Meetings on Draft Environmental Impact Report for Vermont

Yankee Nuclear Plant License Renewal Application (1/17)
January 19, 2007 ENCLOSURE N

Office of International Programs (OIP)

Items of Interest

Week Ending January 19, 2007

License Issued to Export High-Enriched Uranium to Canada

On January 17, 2007, the Office of International Programs issued to the Department of

Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration, Y-12 National Security Complex a license to

export 15.5 kilograms of high-enriched uranium (enriched up to 93% uranium-235) to Chalk

River Laboratories in Canada. The material will be used by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited

to fabricate targets which will be irradiated in the National Research Universal Reactor to

produce medical isotopes.
January 19, 2007 ENCLOSURE O

Office of the Secretary (SECY)

Items of Interest

Week Ending January 19, 2007

Document Released

to Public

Date Subject

Decision Documents

1. SRM-SECY-06-0231 01/16/07 NRC Implementation Plan for the Radiation

Source Protection and Security Task Force

Report

Commission Voting

Record on 06-0231

01/16/07 (same)

2. SECY-07-0001 01/03/07 Proposed Rule: Regulatory Improvements to

the Nuclear Materials Management and

Safeguards System (RIN 3150-AH85)

SRM on 07-0001 01/17/07 (same)

Commission Voting

Record on 07-0001

01/17/07 (same)

3. COMSECY-06-0060 11/28/06 NRC Policy for Preventing and Eliminating

Harassing Conduct in the Workplace

SRM on 06-0060 01/18/07 (same)

Commission Voting

Record on 06-0060

01/18/07 (same)

Information Papers

1. SECY-06-0248 12/27/06 Results of Staff Actions to Identify Problems in

Authorizing Medical Physicists Under 10 CFR

Part 35 in Response to Staff Requirements

Memorandum SECY-06-0069

2. SECY-07-0012 01/12/07 Weekly Information Report - Week Ending

January 5, 2007

Memoranda

1. M061214C 01/16/07 Staff Requirements - Meeting with Advisory

Committee on Nuclear Waste

2. M070110 01/16/07 Staff Requirements - Briefing on Browns Ferry

Unit 1 Restart
January 19, 2007 ENCLOSURE O

3. M061211 01/17/07 Staff Requirements - Briefing on Status of

Decommissioning Activities

Commission Correspondence

1. Letter to Michael Rose, Chairman, Interjurisdictional Planning Committee, dated January 11,

2007, responds to requested approval of proposed emergency plan (E-Plan) change to

Protection Action Recommendation structure for San Onofre. 

2. Letter to James Wells, GAO, dated January 10, 2007, provides comments on the proposed

draft report "Retirements and Anticipated New Reactor Applications Will Challenge NRC's

Workforce" (GAO-07-105).

3. Letter to Governor Edward G. Rendell, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, dated January 9,

2007, responds to request for an Agreement between NRC and the State of Pennsylvania. 

Federal Register Notices Issued

1. PRM-51-10, Diane Curran; Receipt of Petition for Rulemaking; Reopening of Public

Comment Period. 

2. Exemption from the requirement for a specific license to import radioactive waste (AREVA

NP Inc.). 

3. Establishment of Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, PPL Susquehanna LLC

(Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Units 1 and 2). 

4. Final rule. 10 CFR Part 73, FIN: 3150-AH90, Secure Transfer of Nuclear Materials.