INFORMATION REPORT

November 4, 2005 SECY-05-0204

For: The Commissioners

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

Subject: WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING

OCTOBER 28, 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.

/RA/

William M. Dean

Assistant for Operations, OEDO

Contact:

U. Shoop, OEDO
November 4, 2005 SECY-05-0204

For: The Commissioners

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

Subject: WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING

OCTOBER 28, 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.

/RA/

William M. Dean

Assistant for Operations, OEDO

Contact:

U. Shoop, OEDO

DISTRIBUTION:

Central File

Public Document Name: C:\WIR\week1028.WPD

OEDO AO/OEDO

UShoop:paa WMDean

11/09/05 11/09/05
WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 28, 2005

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 STP *

NMSS 4 OPA 17

RES 8 OIP *

NSIR 9 SECY 19

OGC * Region I *

ADM 10 Region II 21

OIS 11 Region III *

CFO * Region IV 23

HR 15 EDO *

SBCR * OCA 24

OE *

*No input this week
October 28, 2005 ENCLOSURE A

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending October 28, 2005

Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) and Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) New Plant Seismic

Initiatives Meeting

On October 19-20, 2005, the staff met with NEI and EPRI to discuss new ground motion

models, more accurate representations of structural response to dynamic loads, and a new

risk-based approach for determining the safe shutdown earthquake ground motion. Industry

has committed to submit topical reports for each new approach by February 2006 and has

asked for NRC approval by June 2006 to stimulate early site permit (ESP) and combine license

(COL) submittals. The staff will consider updating the appropriate Regulatory Guides and

Standard Review Plans, to include these new approaches.

Draft Generic Letter "Post-Fire Safe-Shutdown Circuit Analysis Spurious Actuations" Issued for

Public Comment

On October 19, 2005, the NRC published a draft generic letter "Post-Fire Safe-Shutdown

Circuit Analysis Spurious Actuations in the Federal Register. The public comment period closes

on December 18, 2005.

Meeting with French Delegation

On October 26, 2005, the staff met with four inspectors from the Autorite De Surete Nucleaire,

France, to discuss how their respective countries regulate radiation protection. Topics

discussed included methods for licensee performance assessment in the occupational radiation

area, including identified performance indicators, scope and depth of the inspection program,

ALARA (as low as is reasonably achievable) implementation, and agency response to technical

issues.

Nuclear Power Plant License Renewal Safety Review Guidance Documents Updated

On October 18, 2005, the staff published NUREG-1833, the Technical Bases for Revision to

the License Renewal Guidance (LRG) Documents. This NUREG provides the staff's

documentation and justification for the technical changes to the Generic Aging Lessons

Learned Report and Standard Review Plan for License Renewal since the original 2001

publication. A total of five documents were revised or created during this project. The other

four documents which were issued at the end of September, include: (1) NUREG-1800, Rev. 1,

Standard Review Plan for Review of License Renewal Applications for Nuclear Power Plants,

(2) NUREG-1801, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, Rev. 1, Generic Aging Lessons Learned Report,

(3) Regulatory Guide 1.188, Rev. 1, Standard Format and Content for Applications to Renew

Nuclear Power Plant Operating Licenses, and (4) NUREG-1832, Analysis of Public Comments

on the Revised License Renewal Guidance Documents. These five documents contain

interrelated technical and programmatic information. The documents will provide the NRC and

the nuclear industry with current guidance that can be used by the remaining plants that apply

for license renewal. All documents are publicly available on NRC's website.
October 28, 2005 ENCLOSURE A

Staff Holds Public Meetings on the Draft Brunswick Environmental Impact Statement in Support

of License Renewal

On October 18, 2005, the staff conducted two public meetings at the City Hall in Southport,

North Carolina, to solicit comments from the public on the draft supplemental environmental

impact statement (SEIS) for the Brunswick Steam Electric Plant, Units 1 and 2 (BSEP), which

was issued on August 30, 2005. The draft SEIS is a plant-specific supplement to the "Generic

Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants" (NUREG-1437)

and supports the BSEP license renewal application. The staff held an open house for one hour

prior to each meeting to provide members of the public with an opportunity to talk informally

with NRC staff and view informational displays and brochures. Approximately 30 people

attended the two meetings, including members of the public and representatives of the NRC

staff, Earth Tech (a new NRC environmental contractor), and Carolina Power and Light

Company. No comments were received from the public during these meetings.

The public comment period for the draft SEIS expires on December 2, 2005. At the conclusion

of the comment period, the staff will evaluate the comments received and revise the SEIS as

appropriate. The staff’s final SEIS is currently scheduled to be issued in April 2006.
October 28, 2005 ENCLOSURE B

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS)

Items of Interest

Week Ending October 28, 2005

Participation in Nuclear Energy Agency Sorption Workshop

On October 10–11, 2005, staff from NRC and the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory

Analyses (CNWRA) participated in a Sorption Workshop sponsored by the Nuclear Energy

Agency (NEA) of the Organization for Economic Co-Operation (OECD) and Development in

Paris, France. This workshop is part of a series of cooperative international exchanges that

began in 1991 to support the development and application of thermodynamic sorption models in

performance assessment. The purpose of the workshop was to summarize the most recent

modeling exercises completed by teams of scientists from 13 countries who bench-marked

thermodynamic sorption models against seven separate test cases. Strengths and

weaknesses of the different modeling approaches chosen by the teams were discussed, and

future modeling needs were identified. Approximately 45 scientists and engineers from eight

different European countries, Australia, Japan, and the United States attended the meeting.

Participation in the 7th Meeting of Integration Group for the Safety Case

On October 12–14, 2005, staff from CNWRA participated in the subject NEA meeting in Paris,

France. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss methods for integrating geologic

information in the safety case and methods for handling different time scales in assessments of

repository performance. Representatives of the participating countries summarized the status

of their respective waste management programs.

Staff Initiates Level 2 Consultation under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

On October 18, 2005, NMSS issued a letter to EPA initiating a Level 2 Consultation per the

MOU, Consultation and Finality on Decommissioning and Decontamination of Contaminated

Sites, between NRC and EPA for the Kerr-McGee Cushing Refinery Decommissioning Site in

Oklahoma. The consultation is necessary because groundwater contamination in a small area

of the site exceeds the Maximum Contamination Levels for Uranium promulgated by EPA under

the Safe Drinking Water Act.

NRC Meeting with the Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes (ACMUI)

On October 25-26, 2005, ACMUI held its fall meeting at NRC headquarters. ACMUI members,

NRC staff, and medical stakeholders presented topics of interest including: (1) the

unauthorized injections of radiopharmaceuticals; (2) revision of Form 313A; (3) NRC regulation

of accelerator-produced isotopes as a result of FY05 Energy Policy Act; (4) review of the

medical events definition Commission paper; (5) guidance on I-125 seeds as markers for breast

cancer tumors; (6) electronic signatures in written directives; and (7) recognition of foreigntrained physicians and physicists. The next meeting will be held in April 2006.
October 28, 2005 ENCLOSURE B

Interagency Coordinating Committee (ICC) for National Source Tracking System (NSTS)

Meeting

On October 27, 2005, NRC staff participated in the subject meeting. The NRC staff provided

information on the NSTS Proposed Rule, the NSTS Contract and System Development, the

Import-Export Rule, and the possible inclusion of Category 3 sources in the NSTS. U. S.

Department of Energy (DOE) staff presented information on DOE Sealed Source Terminology

and the Transhipment Transit Security Working Group. The group also discussed several

related issues, particularly the impact of the FY05 Energy Policy Act.
October 28, 2005 ENCLOSURE C

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES)

Items of Interest

Week Ending October 28, 2005

Chemical Effects Peer Review Group Initial Meeting

On October 18-19, 2005, the staff held the initial meeting of a chemical effects peer review

group at Argonne National Laboratory. The chemical effects peer review group was

established to evaluate the technical adequacy of NRC sponsored activities related to chemical

effects in pressurized-water reactor (PWR) sump pool environments including the Integrated

Chemical Effects Testing (ICET) program. The group consists of five reviewers representing

academia, industry, and government laboratories, and varied technical specialties including gel

product formation, corrosion processes, speciation prediction, filtration processes, and fluid

treatment processes.

Enlarged Halden Program Group Meeting

On October 17-20, 2005, the staff participated in the subject meeting in Lillehammer, Norway. 

Representatives from the Organization for Economic Corporation and Development (OECD)

Halden Reactor Project (HRP) member organizations also attended the meeting. The

objectives of the meeting was to review the HRP activities, obtain updates on work performed

at HRP and in member organizations, and to review and discuss HRP program plans. 

Commissioner Lyons gave a keynote speech on the “U.S. NRC Perspectives on the Halden

Reactor Program.” The NRC members also visited the Halden Reactor Facility and the ManTechnology-Organization Laboratories in Halden, Norway.

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) MAterial SCaling

(MASCA-2) Meeting

On October 19-21, 2005, the staff participated in the subject meeting in Belgium. The objective

of the project is to define the uncertainties in the calculation of the heat load to the reactor

vessel under postulated severe accident conditions. The results will be used to assess the

capability of severe accident codes to predict in-vessel molten corium behavior under

postulated severe accident conditions. Representatives from 16 countries attended the

meeting. 

Phebus Fission Product (FP) Meeting

On October 17-21, 2005, the staff participated in the subject meeting in France. The staff also

met with the Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (IRSN) of France at the

Cadarache Nuclear Center to discuss the IRSN-NRC collaboration on severe accident

modeling. Experimental results from the Phebus-FP tests have provided data to confirm the

source term specified in NUREG-1465 and to validate the NRC MELCOR severe accident

code. The MELCOR code and NUREG-1465 are used in the risk assessment calculations of

domestic operating nuclear power plants and the new reactor designs certifications.
October 28, 2005 ENCLOSURE D

Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending October 28, 2005

Preliminary Notifications

1. PNO-II-05-009, Florida Power and Light Company, St. Lucie Nuclear Plant Units 1 and 2

- REGION II RESPONSE TO HURRICANE WILMA. 

2. PNO-II-05-009, Florida Power and Light Company, Turkey Point Nuclear Plant Units 3

and 4 - REGION II RESPONSE TO HURRICANE WILMA.

3. PNO-II-05-008, Florida Power and Light Company, St. Lucie Nuclear Plant Units 1 and 2

- REGION II RESPONSE TO HURRICANE WILMA.

4. PNO-II-05-008A, Florida Power and Light Company, St. Lucie Nuclear Plant Units 1 and

2 - REGION II RESPONSE TO HURRICANE WILMA.

5. PNO-II-05-009A, Florida Power and Light Company, Turkey Point Nuclear Plants Units 3

and 4 - REGION II RESPONSE TO HURRICANE WILMA.
October 28, 2005 ENCLOSURE F

Office of Administration (ADM)

Items of Interest 

Week Ending October 28, 2005

Price-Anderson Act Financial Protection Regulations and Elimination of Antitrust Reviews

(Parts 2, 50, 52, and 140)

On October 27, 2005, the NRC published a final rule in the Federal Register (70 FR 61885) that

amended its regulations to conform with the requirements of the Energy Policy Act of 2005

(AH78-Parts 2, 50, 52, and 140). The amended regulations include the prescribed increase in

the amount of required financial contributions from nuclear power reactors in the event of a

nuclear accident and the permission to define a combination of modular reactors as a single

reactor for the determination of financial obligations under the Price-Anderson Act. The

amendments also reflect the termination of NRC’s authority and responsibility to conduct

antitrust reviews of future applications to construct or operate a nuclear reactor. The final rule

becomes effective November 28, 2005. 
October 28, 2005 ENCLOSURE G

Office of Information Services (OIS)

Items of Interest

Week Ending October 28, 2005

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

October 21 through October 27, 2005

Vermont Yankee safety evaluation report re: power uprate, October

2005

FOIA/PA-2006-0013

Westinghouse letter NS-CE-1352 proposing an alternate method of

compliance with Reg Guide 1.54, dated 2-1-1977 and NRC response,

dated 4-27-1977

FOIA/PA-2006-0014

Idaho Spent Fuel facility, preliminary Safety Evaluation Report (SER),

7-29-04, & final SER, if available

FOIA/PA-2006-0015
October 28, 2005 ENCLOSURE I

Office of Human Resources (HR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending October 28, 2005

Arrival

CRLENJAK, RICHARD V. CONSULTANT EDO

LEE, BERTUS LAW LIBRARIAN OGC

PRETZELLO, ANDREW J. SECURITY SPECIALIST NSIR

TONACCI, MARK REACTOR OPERATIONS ENGINEER NRR

Retirements

BISMARCK, MARIANNE B. IT SPECIALIST (SYSANALYSIS) OIS

DEWOODY, ELIZABETH C. IT SPECIALIST (SYSANALYSIS) OIS

DONATELL, LOREN F. REACTOR TECHNOLOGY INSTRUCTOR HR

GREEN-BATES, KATHERINE S. RESIDENT INSPECTOR (PWR) R-II

HARRIS, JOHN A. SECTION CHIEF OIS

LEE, LATRAVETTA M. RECORDS MANAGEMENT ANALYST OIS

LEWIS, NATHAN J. TECHNICAL TRAINING PROGRAM

SPECIALIST

HR

LOHAUS, PAUL H. DIR, OFFICE OF STATE & TRIBAL

PROGRAMS

STP

MACK, BARBARA A. TRAINING PROGRAM SPECIALIST HR

MCMILLION, JOSEPH O. REACTOR TECHNOLOGY INSTRUCTOR HR

MILLER, RAYMOND M. BINDERY WORKER/COPY MACHINE

OPERATOR

OIS

SCATTOLINI, LYNN B. SR. ADV FOR INFO MGT BUS PROC (TL) OIS

SHIELDS, FRED W. SR. LABOR & EMPLOYEE RELATIONS

SPEC

HR

SPECTOR, AUGUST K. SR. ORG DEVELOPMENT & TRAINING

SPEC

HR

WHITE, EUGENE J. SR. LEVEL ADVISOR ON SECURITY NSIR

YANEZ, VICKI E. PROGRAM ANALYST OIS
October 28, 2005 ENCLOSURE I

Departures

BELL, JOHN F. IT SPECIALIST (SYSANALYSIS) OIS

GROSMAN, LOUIS H. IT SPECIALIST (INFOSEC) OIS

HAMMER, KIM E. NUCLEAR PROC ENGR (CRIT) NMSS

HERRERA, JEFFREY RESIDENT INSPECTOR (BWR) R-I

LANIER, JEANETTE A. PROGRAM ASSISTANT OIS

MATHEWS, GEORGE M. BRANCH CHIEF OIS

NORMAN, ROBERT C. CRIMINAL INVESTIGATOR OIG
October 28, 2005 ENCLOSURE M

Office of Public Affairs (OPA)

Items of Interest

Week Ending October 28, 2005

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

The Department of Energy’s proposal to use a “standardized” canister design at the proposed

Yucca Mountain repository.

NRC’s “lessons learned” review from the Davis-Besse reactor head corrosion incident.

The Commission’s reaffirmation of its previous ruling that emergency preparedness plans are

not to be considered in license renewal proceedings. 

Atomic Safety and Licensing Board hearings on a proposed uranium enrichment plant in New

Mexico.

Other Public Affairs Items:

OPA staff assisted at a public outreach meeting in Inyo County, California regarding Yucca

Mountain.

Press Releases

Headquarters:

05-144 NRC Seeks Public Comment on Implementation of Reactor Oversight Process

(10/25)

Regions:

I-05-054 NRC Seeks Public Input on Environmental Impact Statement for Oyster Creek

Nuclear Plant License Renewal Application (10/24)

II-05-041 NRC Schedules Regulatory Conference to Discuss Turkey Point Nuclear Plant

Concern (10/26)

II-05-042 Note to Editors (10/28)

III-05-041 NRC Licensing Board to Hear Oral Argument and Receive Public Comments

Nov. 3 in Palisades License Renewal Proceeding (10/28)
October 28, 2005 ENCLOSURE O

Office of the Secretary (SECY)

Items of Interest

Week Ending October 28, 2005

Document Released

to Public

Date Subject

Decision Documents

SECY-05-0172 9/27/05 Duke Power Company’s Request to

Incorporate the Oconee Emergency

Operations Facility into the EOF Shared by

Catawba and McGuire Nuclear Stations

Information Papers

SECY-05-0193 10/26/05 Weekly Information Report - Week Ending

October 14, 2005

Memoranda

M051026A 10/26/05 Affirmation Session: I. SECY-05-0168 - U.S.

Army (Jefferson Proving Ground

Site)(Materials License Amendment); II.

SECY-05-0169 - Dominion Nuclear

Connecticut, Inc. (Millstone Nuclear Power

Station, Unit 2 and 3), Docket Nos. 50-336-

LR & 50-423-LR, LBP-05-16 (July 20,

2005); III. SECY-05-0175 - AmerGen

Energy Co. (Three Mile Island Nuclear

Station, Unit 1), Docket No. 50-289-LT02;

IV. SECY-05-0176 - Exelon Generation

Company, LLC & PSEG Nuclear, LLC

(Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units

2 and 3), Docket Nos. 50-277-LT & 50-278-

LT

Commission Correspondence

Letter to Samuel Bodman, Secretary of Energy, dated October 19, 2005, responds to the

President’s request to report to DOE on actions taken to conserve energy and fuel.

Federal Register Notices Issued

1. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS), Subcommittee Meeting on Power

Uprates, notice of meeting (11/15-16/05). 

2. ACRS, Subcommittee Meeting on Reliability and Probabilistic Risk Assessment, notice of

meeting (11/17-18/05). 
October 28, 2005 ENCLOSURE O

3. Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste, notice of Planning and Procedures meeting

(11/16/05). 
October 28, 2005 ENCLOSURE P

Region II (RII)

Items of Interest

Week Ending October 28, 2005

Watts Bar Regulatory Conference

On October 25, 2005, the staff conducted a regulatory conference with Tennessee Valley

Authority staff to discuss the risk significance of an inspection finding on a low temperature over

pressure (LTOP) system challenge performance deficiency at Watts Bar. During the

conference, the licensee identified additional information that is relevant to the significance

determination. The staff is evaluating information the licensee provided at the conference and

expects to receive additional information. 

Hurricane Wilma

On October 23-24, 2005, the staff responded to Hurricane Wilma. On October 23, 2005,

Region II activated its Incident Response Center and dispatched inspectors to St. Lucie and

Turkey Point. Region II staff also supported the Florida Power and Light Emergency

Operations Facility in Miami and the State Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee,

Florida.
October 28, 2005 ENCLOSURE P

Region IV (RIV)

Items of Interest

Week Ending October 28, 2005

Pre-decisional Enforcement Conference (PEC) with Bayou Inspection Services, Inc.

On October 25, 2005, the staff conducted a closed PEC with Bayou Inspection Services, Inc.,

to discuss three apparent violations of NRC requirements. The apparent violations involved

failures to: (1) properly secure radiographic devices; (2) wear an alarming rate meter during

radiographic operations; and (3) have at least two qualified individuals present at all times

during radiographic operations. 

Executive Director for Operations (EDO) Visits Columbia Generating Station

On October 24, 2005, the EDO and the Region IV Regional Administrator (RA) visited the

Columbia Generating Station. The EDO and RA met with the NRC resident inspectors and

licensee management personnel and toured the facility. Topics discussed included equipment

reliability, human performance, and knowledge transfer.

Public Meeting with Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD)

On October 24, 2005, staff conducted a public meeting in Brownville, Nebraska, with NPPD

representatives to discuss ongoing licensee efforts to improve performance at Cooper Nuclear

Station. Topics discussed included the results of a recent engineering team inspection, a

corrective action team inspection, and equipment reliability and human performance initiatives.
October 28, 2005 

Office of Congressional Affairs (OCA)

Items of Interest

Week Ending October 28, 2005

CONGRESSIONAL HEARING SCHEDULE, NO. 36

 OCAContact

 DATE & PLACE

TIME WITNESS SUBJECT 

Shane 10/27/05

SH-216

10:00 Secretary Norton, Interior,

Secretary Bodman, Energy

Hurricane Recovery and EnergyPolicy

Senators Energy a

Kim 10/27/05

HR-2200B

1:00 National Nuclear Security

Administration, FBI

Nuclear Incident Response Teams Reps. Lin

PreventioAttackHomeland 

Combs 11/02/05

SD-406

9:30 Panel 1: NRC, GSA,

Economic DevelopmentAdministration, Fish andWildlife; Panel 2: LouisianaState and locals

Hurricane Katrina Disaster Senators 

Environm

Schmidt/Keeling

TBA TBA Conference FY 2006 Energy and Water

Development Appropriations

House/SeCommitte