INFORMATION REPORT

June 29, 2007 SECY-07-0106

For: The Commissioners

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

Subject: WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING

JUNE 22, 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 by Georgette M. Price Acting For/

Vonna L. Ordaz 

Assistant for Operations, OEDO

Contact:

U. Shoop, OEDO
June 29, 2007 SECY-07-0106

For: The Commissioners

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

Subject: WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING

JUNE 22, 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 by Georgette M. Price Acting For/

Vonna L. Ordaz

Assistant for Operations, OEDO

Contact:

U. Shoop, OEDO

DISTRIBUTION:

EDO R/F

AO R/F Document Name: C:\WIR\week622.WPD

OEDO AO/OEDO

UShoop:paa VLOrdaz GMP for

06/29/07 06/29/07
WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING JUNE 22, 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 3 OPA 17

NMSS 4 OIP *

FSME * SECY 19

RES 5 Region I *

NSIR 10 Region II *

ADM 11 Region III *

OIS 12 Region IV *

CFO * EDO *

HR 16 OCA 24

SBCR *

*No input this week
June 22, 2007 ENCLOSURE A

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending June 22, 2007

2007 Primary Water Stress Corrosion Cracking of Alloy 600 International Conference

On June 11-13, 2007, the NRC staff attended the 2007 Primary Water Stress Corrosion

Cracking of Alloy 600 International Conference in Atlanta, GA. At the meeting, the staff made

presentations discussing regulatory activities related to reactor pressure vessel head

inspections and a status report on the activities surrounding the findings of primary water stress

corrosion flaws in reactor coolant system butt welds. 

NRC Hosts Digital Instrumentation and Control Meeting for Foreign Representatives

On June 18, 2007, the NRR, New Reactors, and Nuclear Regulatory Research hosted an

all-day meeting with multiple foreign representatives to discuss diversity and defense-in-depth

related to digital instrumentation and control issues. The countries participating were France,

Japan, Sweden, Germany, and Canada. The discussion was informative in sharing similar

unresolved issues throughout the international community in defining what is acceptable

diversity and defense-in-depth in digital systems. 

License Renewal Application Acceptance Review for Indian Point Nuclear Generating Unit

Nos. 2 and 3

On June 18, 2007, the NRC staff issued a letter to Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Entergy)

regarding the acceptance review of the license renewal application (LRA) for Indian Point

Nuclear Generating Unit Nos. 2 and 3. In its letter, the NRC staff informed the applicant that

certain information is needed for the staff to complete its acceptance review, specifically, the

current licensing basis for Unit 2 was not fully represented. In this regard, the LRA did not

include information on the gas turbines currently credited as an alternate power supply for the

safe shutdown requirements and station blackout (SBO) requirements. The letter requested

Entergy to respond within 14 days of receipt of the NRC's letter and inform the staff of how it

plans to resolve the acceptance issue.

Meeting with Nuclear Energy Institute

On June 19, 2007, representatives of the NRR and RES staffs met with representatives of the

Nuclear Energy Institute, the PWR Owners Group, and PWR licensees regarding Generic

Safety Issue (GSI)-191, “Assessment of Debris Accumulation on PWR Sump Performance.” 

The staff communicated results of two systematic efforts to identify and disposition remaining

technical questions regarding GSI-191, and brought up 11 specific technical issues licensees

need to address. With respect to chemical effects, industry testing remains a work in progress. 

The staff also reported on a proposal for NRC-sponsored scoping analyses intended to

disposition issues raised by an NRC-sponsored peer review report on chemical effects. Finally,

the staff discussed concerns with licensees' progress in learning from and addressing repeat

open items identified in NRC audits of licensee corrective actions for sump performance. The

staff stated that improved licensee performance is expected in the future, to be verified by the

staff in future audits and in review of licensee submittals to address GSI-191.
June 22, 2007 ENCLOSURE B

Office of New Reactors (NRO)

Items of Interest

Week Ending June 22, 2007

Safeguards Protection Orders

On June 15, 2007, the staff issued an Order to General Electric imposing Safeguards

Information (SGI) protection requirements and fingerprinting and criminal history records check

requirements for access to SGI. This Order was issued in preparation of the sharing of the

Commission-specified aircraft impact characteristics as directed in SECY-06-0204. Orders to

the remaining new reactor vendors will be issued as they are prepared. 

On June 15, 2007, the staff received Westinghouse’s response to the Order issued on June 8,

2007. The staff is in the process of reviewing the response. If the response is found

acceptable, the SGI-level Commission-specified aircraft characteristics will be provided to

Westinghouse.
June 22, 2007 ENCLOSURE C

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS)

Items of Interest

Week Ending June 22, 2007

Observation Audit of Yucca Mountain Groundwater Infiltration Model

On June 18, 2007, the staff completed observation of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE),

Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management's quality assurance audit of the current

groundwater infiltration model for Yucca Mountain. This latest model was done by Sandia

National Laboratory for the Yucca Mountain Project. Staff provided its observations on the

audit to DOE. An NRC observation report will be published after the staff reviews the DOE

audit report.

Quarterly Management Meeting on Yucca Mountain

On June 14, 2007, NRC and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) staff members held a

“Quarterly Management Meeting,” in Las Vegas, Nevada, on the Yucca Mountain project. The

meeting was open to the public. It focused: on project-schedule updates; the availability of

reference material supporting a license application; certification of DOE documents in the

Licensing Support Network; the status of recent Appendix 7 meetings; future technical

exchanges; and DOE quality assurance activities.

Structural Steel Samples from Remnants of I-580 Overpass Accident/Fire Obtained

On June 13, 2007, staff from the NRC and the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory

Analyses/Southwest Research Institute (CNWRA/SwRI) traveled to a California Department of

Transportation (CALTRANS) storage site, in Oakland, California, to meet with CALTRANS

representatives, and obtain structural steel samples from remnants of the I-580 overpass that

was damaged by a gasoline tanker accident fire, on April 29, 2007. The samples are now at

CNWRA/SwRI laboratories, for metallurgical testing, with the objective being to identify the

upper range of temperatures that the samples may have been subjected to during the fire

event. This data will be used to help assess the performance of spent fuel shipping containers

under similar real-life accident conditions.

Meeting with NAC International on MAGNASTOR Dry Cask Storage System

On June 20, 2007, staff met with representatives of NAC International (NAC), to discuss NAC’s

plans for the resubmittal of the MAGNASTOR dry cask storage system application. The

application for a Certificate of Compliance, under 10 CFR Part 72, had been withdrawn by NAC

on January 26, 2007, in order to address several open issues identified by the U.S. Nuclear

Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff.

At the meeting, NAC described its revised methods and analyses, and proposed revisions to

the MAGNASTOR safety analysis report (SAR). NAC has revised its analysis for the structural

stability of the spent fuel basket assembly, in response to specific staff comments on the

methods and assumptions previously used. NAC also described its planned approach for

analyzing and controlling thermal cycling of the spent fuel cladding, during cask preparation

activities. It plans to submit a revised thermal analysis for the transfer cask, to demonstrate
June 22, 2007 ENCLOSURE C

that component temperatures will remain within acceptable limits. NAC further described its

plans for the format of the revised SAR and the submittal of a supplemental document, to

identify all changes made to the previous application. NAC indicated its intent to resubmit the

application for NRC review and approval by July 31, 2007.
June 22, 2007 ENCLOSURE E

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES)

Items of Interest

Week Ending June 22, 2007

Public Meeting of the Task Working Group (TWG) to Address Digital System Communications

that Involve Equipment Assigned to Different Safety Divisions in New and Operating Nuclear

Power Plants and Fuel Facilities

On June 14, 2007, the subject TWG met with stakeholders to discuss issues related to

licensing digital instrumentation and control (I&C) systems and to address the use of nonsafety

control stations for control of safety-related equipment and human factors considerations. 

During a closed session, a proprietary prioritization module used to establish priority among

multiple controls addressing a single safety-related actuator was discussed. Oak Ridge

National Laboratories presented an overview and background information concerning a report

that they prepared for the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research concerning safety/nonsafety

interactions. 

American Nuclear Society (ANS) Fire Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) Methodology

Standard Meeting

On June 11-15, 2007, staff from RES and NRR participated in the subject meeting to address

public comments on the revised draft of the fire PRA methodology standard. The standard had

been recently released by the ANS for public review and comment for a second time, due to

extensive changes from the previously-released 2006 version. The standard will support

analyses and reviews relevant to the risk-informed, performance-based fire protection rule,

10CFR50.48c, endorsing National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 805. The

current schedule calls for the standard to be issued for use in October 2007. 

Publication of Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.206, “Combined License Applications for Nuclear Power

Plants (LWR Edition)”

On June 20, 2007, the staff issued the subject RG. The RG, prepared by the Office of New

Reactors, provides guidance regarding the information to be submitted in a combined license

(COL) application for a nuclear power plant. This guide addresses many of the application

options promulgated in the proposed amendment to 10 CFR Part 52. Although a COL applicant

is not required to conform to this guidance, its use will facilitate both the preparation of a COL

application by the applicant and the timely review of the application by the NRC staff. The RG

is available in the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS; package

ML070720184) and on the NRC website at

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/reg-guides/power-reactors/active/01-206/.
June 22, 2007 ENCLOSURE F

Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending June 22, 2007

Preliminary Notifications

1. PNO-II-07-005, BRUNSWICK STEAM ELECTRIC PLANT, ONSITE SURFACE WATER

AND GROUND WATER TRITIUM CONTAMINATION

2. PNO-III-07-008, POINT BEACH UNIT 1, UNIT 1 REACTOR SHUTDOWN

3. PNO-IV-07-006, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON, UNIT 2 REACTOR SHUTDOWN

(EVENT NOTIFICATION EN 43435)
June 22, 2007 ENCLOSURE G

Office of Administration (ADM)

Items of Interest 

Week Ending June 22, 2007

Administrative Changes (AI18 - 10 CFR Chapter I)

On June 18, 2007, the NRC published a final rule in the Federal Register (72 FR 33386) that

updates a telephone number and Web site location for the Office of Information Services. The

final rule became effective June 18, 2007. 
June 22, 2007 ENCLOSURE H

Office of Information Services (OIS)

Items of Interest

Week Ending June 22, 2007

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

of June 15 through June 21, 2007:

Tuba City Uranium Mill, Tuba City, AZ, policies, guidance to

designate “vicinity properties:” investigations, inspections or

assessments of environmental conditions; remediation, reclamation,

decommissioning, or dismantlement; hazardous waste

FOIA/PA-2007-0231

Split Rock Mill, Phelps Dodge, Inc., Jeffrey City, Fremont Co., WY, all

records not publicly available from January 1, 2003 to present

FOIA/PA-2007-0232

Long-term aging issues/problems in nuclear power plants, all records;

all research and development (R&D) related documents re:

technologies to optimize power output, effects on pressure vessels

and vessel internals, steam generators, electric cables, system

piping, etc.

FOIA/PA-2007-0233

Booz Allen Hamilton, all documents re: contracts awarded under

solicitation OIS07374, Enterprise Architecture Program Support

Services

FOIA/PA-2007-0234

Indian Point 2, docket 50-247, audit referenced in letter to

Consolidated Edison (ConEd) on January 1, 1982, discusses an audit

letter from ConEd on February 11, 1980, all documents supporting

this audit

FOIA/PA-2007-0235
June 22, 2007 ENCLOSURE J

Office of Human Resources (HR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending June 22, 2007

Arrivals

BROWN, KEYA SECRETARY (OA) NRR

CALDERON, CHRISTINA STUDENT COMMUNICATIONS

SPECIALIST

OCA

CANOVA, MICHAEL PROJECT MANAGER NRO

CHERRY, BRANDON SECRETARY (OA) RES

COCHRAN, JULIA STUDENT PUBLIC AFFAIRS

SPECIALIST

OPA

CUADRADO DE JESUS, SAMUEL GENERAL ENGINEER (NSPDP) NRR

GOOD, BENJAMIN STUDENT ENGINEER RII

HEINLY, JUSTIN REACTOR ENGINEER (NSPDP) RI

MARTIN, DAVID TECHNICAL LIBRARIAN OIS

MCCABE, WILLIAM CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER CFO

MOISE, AMY STUDENT ENGINEER NRR

MOORE, ROSS REACTOR ENGINEER (NSPDP) RI

MURRY, MAISHA STUDENT ENGINEER RI

OBERSON, PAUL MATERIALS ENGINEER (NSPDP) NMSS

PRUETT, TIMOTHY IT SPECIALIST OIS

REISI-FARD, MEHDI GENERAL SCIENTIST (NSPDP) RES

ROMANO, MICHELLE MC&A PHYSICAL

SCIENTIST/STATISTICIAN

RII

SHUFFELTON, DAVID CRIMINAL INVESTIGATOR OIG

STAHL, ERIC STUDENT CLERK NSIR

SYDNOR, RUSSELL BRANCH CHIEF RES

VALENTINE, NICHOLEE PROGRAM ANALYST NRR
June 22, 2007 ENCLOSURE J

Departures

GALLAGHER, BRONWYN IT SPECIALIST (INFOSEC) OIS

LARSON, HOWARD CONSULTANT ACRS

OTERO-GONZALEZ, LAURA SUMMER HIRE HR

WEIL, CHARLES ENFORCEMENT SPECIALIST RIII
June 22, 2007 ENCLOSURE M

Office of Public Affairs (OPA)

Items of Interest

Week Ending June 22, 2007

OPA received significant media inquiries on the following:

Tritium contamination at the Brunswick nuclear power plant in North Carolina.

Pennsylvania’s plans to become an Agreement State.

Forbes inquiry about the licensing process for new reactors.

The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board panel decision on the Oyster Creek Plant’s license

renewal application that will likely result in a hearing in September.

NRC’s request to Entergy for additional information on the Indian Point nuclear power plant

license renewal.

Other Public Affairs Items:

OPA facilitated an interview between the Office of New Reactors (NRO) and the Office of

Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) staff and a reporter from Nikkei Publication in Japan on new

reactor licensing, the record of purchase (ROP), and how the agency shares operational

experience with the public, industry and internationally.

Press Releases

Headquarters:

07-077 NRC Names William McCabe Chief Financial Officer (6/20)

07-078 NRC Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards to Meet in Rockville,

Maryland, July 11-13 (6/21)

07-079 NRC Recognized for Diversity (6/21)

Regions:

I-07-036 NRC Names New Senior Resident Inspector at Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant

(6/21)

III-07-021 NRC Begins Special Inspection of Pump Issue at the Point Beach Plant

(6/18)

IV-07-020 NRC to Discuss 2006 Performance Assessment for Cooper Nuclear Station

(6/18)

IV-07-021 NRC to Discuss 2006 Performance Assessment for Arkansas Nuclear One

(6/18)
Regions:

June 22, 2007 ENCLOSURE M

IV-07-022 NRC to Hold Two Public Meetings about the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant

on June (6/20)

IV-07-023 NRC Issues Confirmatory Action Letter on Palo Verde Nuclear Plant (6/21)
June 22, 2007 ENCLOSURE O

Office of the Secretary (SECY)

Items of Interest

Week Ending June 22, 2007

Document Released

to Public

Date Subject

Decision Documents

1. COMSECY-07-0018 04/20/07 Cost Estimate for Davis-Besse Reactor

Vessel Head Degradation Display

SRM on 07-0018 06/14/07 (same)

Commission Voting

Record on 07-0018

06/14/07 (same)

2. SECY-07-0091 (w/o

enclosure)

06/05/07 Integrated Regulatory Review Service SelfAssessment Results and Recommendation

to Invite an Integrated Regulatory Review

Service Mission to the United States

3. SRM-SECY-07-0066 6/20/07 Annual Report to Commission on Licensee

Performance in the Materials and Waste

Programs - Fiscal Year 2006

Voting Record on

SECY-07-0066

6/20/07 (same)

Information Papers

1. SECY-07-0090 06/4/07 Status Report on Power Uprates

2. SECY-07-0099 6/14/07 Weekly Information Report - Week Ending

June 1, 2007

3. SECY-07-0100 6/15/07 Weekly Information Report - Week Ending

June 8, 2007

4. SECY-07-0095 6/6/07 Staff Actions Taken in Response to the

National Academy of Sciences’ Study on

Transportation of High-Level Waste and

Spent Nuclear Fuel in the United States

5. SECY-07-0096 6/7/07 Possible Reactivation of Construction and

Licensing Activities for the Watts Bar

Nuclear Plant Unit 2
June 22, 2007 ENCLOSURE O

Memoranda

- M070607 6/22/07 Meeting with Advisory Committee on

Reactor Safeguards (ACRS)

Commission Correspondence

1. Letter to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, dated June 8, 2007, responding to letter

requesting that civil penalty funds related to Entergy’s non-compliance with a Commission

order be distributed to counties surrounding Indian Point Plant, for use in local emergency

planning activities.

2. Letter to Congressman Peter J. Visclosky, dated June 8, 2007, provides an invitation to

tour Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Plant.

3. Letter to Richard Blumenthal, Attorney General, Connecticut, dated June 8, 2007,

responds to letter expressing concerns about the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action

Program at the Windsor, CT site.

4. Letter to Peter Souza, Town Manager, Windsor, CT, dated June 8, 2007, responds to

letter commenting on NRC’s role in ensuring the public’s safety through the overall

remediation of the ABB Windsor site in Windsor, CT.

5. Letter to Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone, National Research Council, dated June 8, 2007,

requesting that the Council share the draft report prepared by the Radiation Source Use

and Replacement Study Committee with the NRC staff before finalizing.

6. Letter to Paul Schmidt, Organization of Agreement States, dated June 7, 2007, responds

to letter expressing concerns regarding the proposed implementation of Section 652 of

the EPAct of 2005 relating to fingerprinting and criminal history checks.

Federal Register Notices Issued

1. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS), notice of 544th

meeting (7/11-13/2007).

2. ACRS, Subcommittee Meeting on Regulatory Policies and Practices, notice of meeting

(7/10/2007). 

3. ACRS, Subcommittee Meeting on Planning and Procedures, notice of meeting

(7/10/2007). 
June 22, 2007 

Office of Congressional Affairs (OCA)

Items of Interest

Week Ending June 22, 2007

CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS SCHEDULE, NO. 20

OCA

Contact

 DATE &

 PLACE

TIME COMMITTEE SUBJECT 

Decker 06/19/07

215 Dirksen

10:00 Senate Finance Committee 

(Senators Baucus / Grassley)

Markup of pending legislation -the Energy Advancement andInvestment Act of 2007 - thatwould provide tax incentives forthe development of clean andgreen power, alternativevehicles, biofuels, and improveduses for coal

N/A

Powell 06/21/07

2154

Rayburn

2:00 House Oversight and Government

Reform Committee(Representatives Waxman / Davis)

“Ensuring a Merit-BasedEmployment System: AnExamination of the MeritSystems Protection Board andthe Office of Special Counsel”

TBD

Decker 06/21/07

2167

Rayburn

10:00 House Transportation and

Infrastructure CommitteeSubcommittee on EconomicDevelopment, Public Buildings andEmergency Management(Representatives Norton / Graves)

“The Responsibility of theDepartment of HomelandSecurity and Federal ProtectiveService to Ensure ContractGuards Protect FederalEmployees and Workplaces”

TBD