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U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

AGENCY E-GOVERNMENT ACT IMPLEMENTATION UPDATE 

October 14, 2010 

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is pleased to submit its fiscal year (FY) 2010 

E-Government report to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The report reflects the 

guidance provided in Mr. Vivek Kundra’s September 21, 2010, memorandum to Chief 

Information Officers, “FY 2010 E-Government Act Reporting Instructions.” 

The NRC’s report highlights accomplishments in the two topic areas requested in Mr. Kundra’s 

guidance: (1) innovation and transparency and (2) compliance with goals and provisions of the 

E-Government Act.

Section 1: Innovation and Transparency 

The NRC has a longstanding practice of conducting its regulatory responsibilities in an open 

and transparent manner to keep the public informed of the agency’s regulatory, licensing, and 

oversight activities. Through the use of information technology (IT), the NRC is furthering its 

goal to maintain an open and transparent regulatory environment. 

As requested, the top three E-Government IT accomplishments for FY 2010 related to Open 

Government and innovation are described below: 

(1) the NRC’s flagship initiative 

(2) publication of high-value datasets 

(3) near-term focus on transparency and Open Government 

1. The NRC’s Flagship Initiative 

In response to OMB’s, December 8, 2009 Open Government Directive, the NRC defined its 

flagship initiative, Enhancing Stakeholder Engagement, with the goal of expanding the agency’s 

stakeholder community and engaging a broader public audience. 

The NRC has embraced a long-term commitment to ensuring openness in Government. 

Recognizing the need to continually expand and improve its Open Government efforts in 

support of the agency’s public mission, the NRC has embarked on new and innovative ways to 

engage members of the public as stakeholders in its regulatory processes. The NRC’s flagship 

initiative will focus on how the agency will further the goal of Open Government using the 

Internet as an innovative medium to foster public engagement and implement incremental 

improvements as part of a continuous improvement cycle. Features to be included and 

evaluated for this flagship initiative include subscription-based services, expanded use of Web 

event and virtual meeting technologies, expanded use of Web conferencing technologies, 

adoption of crowd sourcing technology, evaluating potential use of new Web-friendly 

technologies such as Web and mobile widgets and “mashups,” and exploring the use of social 

networking and collaboration technologies. Key elements of the flagship initiative include the 

following: 

• Implement new subscription-based services to allow stakeholders to keep abreast of the 

most current news and information based on topics of interest. Stakeholders will be able 
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to select their preferred method for receiving NRC updates via notification services such 

as e-mail, Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds, and enhanced list service capabilities. 

• Enhance outreach and stakeholder involvement in public meetings by continuing to 

expand the use of Web event and virtual meeting technologies such as Web streaming 

and Web conferencing. The NRC will streamline the publication of public meeting 

notices and summaries and will explore ways to share stakeholder feedback on 

meetings via the NRC Web site or through other means. The agency will evaluate 

methods to increase citizen engagement before, during, and after public meetings. The 

NRC will continue to post information on upcoming meetings and provide access to 

meeting archives on the NRC Web site. 

 

• Foster greater collaboration within industry and government workgroups by using Web 

conferencing technologies that enable work to occur regardless of the participant’s 

physical location. The NRC will explore incorporating the use of other collaborative tools 

such as the OMB Max.gov portal or wikis that increase workgroup efficiency and 

improve results by enabling easy access to reference materials, online brainstorming, 

and development of collaborative work products. The agency will consider the use of 

targeted community portals when registered and secured access is required to 

participate in discussions and exchanges of nonpublic information. 

• Increase public engagement and cultivate creative ideas to improve the NRC’s Open 

Government efforts through crowd sourcing technology. The agency will consider 

forming a catalyst team to foster the solicitation of new ideas, moderate innovation 

processes, and collaborate with agency stakeholders to further evaluate and develop 

promising concepts. 

• Enable NRC stakeholders to easily incorporate NRC information and tool resources into 

their own Web sites or onto their mobile devices through the use of new Web-friendly 

technologies such as Web and mobile widgets and “mashups.” A mashup is a Web site 

or Web application that seamlessly combines content from more than one source into an 

integrated user experience. Widgets are Web tools such as news feeds that can be 

incorporated directly into an individual’s own Web site or onto a mobile device. These 

technologies provide an innovative way to engage public stakeholders by allowing them 

to personalize how they want to receive, use, and process information. 

• Enhance relationships between the NRC and stakeholders by promoting a sense of 

common community though social networking technologies. The NRC will explore the 

use of social networking and collaboration technologies available through apps.gov, 

such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and blogging, to foster engagement through 

interactive online dialogues and information exchanges. These media would be used to 

meet specific transparency, participation, and collaboration objectives such as 

collaborating on special topics of interest to foster information exchange. 

To support these Open Government activities, the NRC seeks and uses partners who can 

contribute expertise and best practices in usability and user-centered Web design; current Web 

technologies and social media; and Federal standards, policies, and principles for information 

quality, security, privacy, and management control. Phases of this initiative that were not previously 

planned will be pursued using NRC’s Planning, Budgeting, and Performance Management process. 
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2. Publication of High-Value Datasets 

The Open Government Directive defines high-value information as “information that can be 

used to increase agency accountability and responsiveness; improve public knowledge of the 

agency and its operations; further the core mission of the agency; create economic opportunity 

or respond to need and demand as identified through public consultation.” 

In response to OMB’s request that agencies identify and publish their high-value datasets in 

open format, the NRC formed a working group to collaborate on developing an inventory of its 

high-value information based on several sources, including the most popular information at the 

agency’s public Web site, data most frequently requested under the Freedom of Information Act 

(FOIA), the agency’s systems inventory, and its records schedules. The working group selected 

an initial group of high-value datasets based on the five OMB criteria provided in its Open 

Government Directive. 

The NRC’s Open Government Plan, dated April 7, 2010, identified 16 datasets for publication in 

FY 2010; through the end of FY 2010, the NRC has published 23 datasets. To provide 

guidance to its offices, the NRC developed a submission process for Open Government highvalue datasets. Because of the nature of the NRC’s mission and the potential use of some 

types of agency information for malevolent purposes, information security screening of all 

datasets is of high importance. This includes applying administration guidance to screen for 

potential risks from combining NRC information with information published by other Federal 

agencies. In some cases, security concerns may limit the publication of agency information. 

To foster the public’s use of NRC high-value datasets to increase public knowledge and 

promote transparency, the NRC publicized the availability of its datasets at its annual 

Regulatory Information Conference on March 9–11, 2010, and will do so at other conferences 

and public meetings as appropriate, as well as through the NRC’s Open Government Web page 

(http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/open.html). Additionally, stakeholders can receive notification 

whenever the agency adds a new dataset by subscribing to the updates section on the NRC’s 

Open Government Web page (select “Subscribe to Updates” at the top right). This will result in 

an e-mail notification whenever the NRC adds a new dataset or makes other changes to its 

Open Government Web page. 

3. Near-Term Focus on Transparency and Open Government 

As noted under the discussion of the NRC’s flagship initiative, the NRC has embraced a longterm commitment to ensuring openness in Government, recognizing the need to continually 

expand and improve its Open Government efforts in support of the agency’s public mission. 

While the flagship initiative defined in FY 2010 lays the foundation for further progress, in 

FY 2010 the NRC made effective use of IT through a number of important initiatives. 

To set the tone for Open Government at the NRC, on March 24, 2010, the agency began 

publishing a list of Chairman Gregory B. Jaczko’s meetings and other events that may be of 

interest to the public. This list includes meetings and events that the Chairman has participated 

in with various external stakeholders. The NRC took the following other actions in FY 2010 to 

improve its transparency and openness: 

• Launch of Open Government Web Page: On February 4, 2010, the NRC launched its 

Open Government Web site, including links to the NRC’s high-value datasets; quick 

access to key information resources; information on the NRC’s longstanding Open 
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Government philosophy; pages on transparency, participation, and collaboration; and an 

online brainstorming tool through which the public can provide its ideas about how the 

NRC can improve transparency, participation, and collaboration. 

• Enhanced Facility Information Finder: In the spirit of Open Government, the NRC has 

revamped its Web site for each operating nuclear power plant to make it easier for site 

visitors to find plant information more quickly. The agency has consolidated additional 

information for each plant in a single location through the Facility Info and the Nuclear 

Reactors links on the home page. This improvement makes the information more 

transparent and eliminates the need for members of the public to search the Web site to 

find certain plant information. Each plant page now identifies the names and contact 

information for key personnel should a user have a question or need assistance in 

understanding plant data posted on the Web site. 

In addition to providing basic information about the plant’s location, owner, operator, 

reactor type, plant safety assessments, inspections, and daily plant status, the Web site 

provides plant diagrams and identifies relevant NRC press releases, key 

correspondence, fact sheets, briefings, past and planned meetings, and links to related 

information and resources, including the Agencywide Documents Access and 

Management System (ADAMS) for direct online connection to additional plant 

documents. Another useful feature is a link on each page where users can subscribe to 

e-mail notices for reactor correspondence. The expanded Web site gives site visitors a 

more comprehensive view of nuclear plant oversight as well as some practical 

information focused on the areas of interest to citizens. 

• Improved Web-Based Document Search Capability: As part of the NRC’s work to 

modernize its electronic document management system, the agency has begun 

significant improvements to search capabilities, with the planned introduction of a 

Google search capability by year-end 2010. 

• Introduction of Citizen Engagement Tools: In FY 2010, the NRC established a working 

group to develop guidelines for NRC use of social media sites to expand communication 

to the public and stakeholders. The NRC also completed a pilot evaluation of a citizen 

engagement tool used to solicit stakeholder input in support of the development of the 

NRC’s Open Government Plan. As a follow-on activity, the NRC has begun to evaluate 

social media Internet technologies, such as blogs and discussion forums, with plans to 

launch an NRC blog in early 2011. 

Section 2: Compliance with Goals and Provisions of the Act 

This section responds to the specific provisions given in the E-Government Act. 

A. Your agency’s Information Resources Management Strategic Plan and Enterprise 

Architecture (EA) Plan: 

The NRC’s IT Roadmap, most recently revised in March 2010, is the EA transition 

strategy for the agency. The agency is in the process of updating this document to 

better reflect the current and planned modernization initiatives as well as other relevant 

OMB E-Government priorities. The NRC expects to complete the new revision of the IT 

Roadmap by the end of December 2010. 
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The NRC’s IT/Information Management (IM) Strategic Plan represents the foundation for 

directing and assessing the performance and results of the NRC’s IT/IM program over a 

5-year period. The IT/IM Strategic Plan for FYs 2008–2013 is available on the agency’s 

public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1614/

v4/sr1614v4.pdf. The NRC is updating this document and expects to complete the 

revision by the end of March 2011. The agency is coordinating the IT Roadmap and the 

IT/IM Strategic Plan to reflect the same themes aimed at meeting agency objectives. 

B. For each E-Government initiative, provide final determinations, priorities, and schedules. 

Also include your agency’s information dissemination product catalogs, directories, 

inventories, and any other management tools used to improve the dissemination of and 

access to your agency’s information by the public: 

• Get Copies of Documents (http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/copies-docs.html) 

• FOIA Guide (http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/foia/foia-request.html)

• NUREG/BR-0010, Revision 4, “Citizen’s Guide to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission Information,” issued August 2003 (http://www.nrc.gov/readingrm/doc-collections/nuregs/brochures/br0010/index.html) 

• Government Information Locator Service (http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/gils/index.html) 

• Privacy Act Systems of Records (http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/foia/privacysystems.html) 

• Privacy Impact Assessments (http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/plans/privacy-impcatasess.html) 

• Public Meeting Schedule (http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/publicmeetings/index.cfm) 

C. Identify improved performance (e.g., outcome measures) by tracking performance 

measures supporting agency objectives and strategic goals: 

• NRC Web site “Our Plans, Budget, and Performance”: 

http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/plans-performance.html

• NRC Web site “Performance and Accountability Report—Fiscal Year 2009”: 

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1542/v15/

D. Your agency’s FOIA handbook, the URL of your agency’s primary FOIA Web site, and 

the URL where frequent requests for records are made available to the public: 

• FOIA Guide (http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/foia/foia-request.html) 

• Primary FOIA Web site (http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/foia/foia-privacy.html) 
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• Records Frequently Requested under FOIA (http://www.nrc.gov/readingrm/foia/records.html) 

• Recent FOIA Requests (http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/foia/recent-request.html)

• Index of Closed FOIA/Privacy Act Requests by Subject (http://www.nrc.gov/

reading-rm/foia/closed-request.html)

E. A list of your agency’s public Web sites disseminating research and development (R&D) 

information to the public, describing for each whether the Web site provides the public 

information about federally funded R&D activities and/or provides the results of Federal 

research: 

The NRC’s public Web site as a whole (http://www.nrc.gov) disseminates R&D 

information to the public, specifically through the following pages: 

• NUREG-series contractor reports (http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/nuregs/contract/index.html) 

• research activities (http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/research.html) 

The Web site provides information about Federally funded R&D as well as the results of 

Federal research. 

F. An inventory describing formal agency agreements (e.g., contracts, memoranda of 

understanding) with external entities (e.g., partnerships with State and local 

governments, public libraries, industry and commercial search engines) complementing 

your agency’s information dissemination program, briefly explaining how each 

agreement improves the access to and dissemination of Government information to the 

public: 

The NRC has formal agency agreements with several external entities that complement 

the NRC’s information dissemination program. The NRC uses the U.S. Government 

Printing Office’s agreement in place to participate in the Federal Depository Library 

Program and its sales program. The NRC also is required to send to the Library of 

Congress File Center 15 copies of all its published NUREGs. The agency also supplies 

publications to the National Technical Information Service, which provides another point 

of public access for users. 

The U.S. Department of the Interior/Federal Consulting Group provides an online 

customer satisfaction survey for users of the NRC public Web site. The NRC uses the 

results of this survey in planning for and prioritizing improvements to the site. 

The agency also contracts with Online Video Service for Web streaming of all 

Commission meetings and some public meetings. 

G. An inventory that describes your agency’s National Archives and Records Administration 

(NARA)-approved records schedules(s) or the link to the publicly posted records 

schedules(s), and a brief explanation of your agency’s progress to implement NARA 

Bulletin 2006-02. For the brief explanation please report the number of systems for 
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which a record schedule was submitted to NARA in FY 2010 and the number of systems 

still requiring records schedules. 

NUREG-0910, Revision 4, “NRC Comprehensive Records Disposition Schedule,” issued 

March 2005, describes records (in any format) that had a NARA-approved records 

retention schedule as of March 2005. This document as well as any new NRC records 

disposition schedules approved after the publication of NUREG-0910 are posted on the 

NRC public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/records-mgmt/disposition.html. 

NRC Management Directive 3.53, “NRC Records and Document Management 

Program,” dated March 15, 2007, available at, 

http://adamswebsearch2.nrc.gov/idmws/ViewDocByAccession.asp?AccessionNumber=

ML071160026 does not report on the actual transfer of electronic records but does 

include instructions on implementation requirements for format and media. 

 

The NRC submitted two records retention schedules to NARA in FY 2010, covering 

electronic records for the Financial Accounting and Integrated Management Information 

System (FAIMIS) and paper and electronic records for the Office of the Inspector 

General (OIG). NARA approved the FAIMIS schedule in August 2010. Fifteen retention 

schedules for electronic record systems are pending approval at NARA; the OIG records 

schedule submitted in 2010 and 14 submitted in prior years. The NRC develops 

additional records schedules as needed based on information derived from a biannual 

data call and privacy impact assessments. 

H. Describe how your agency has implemented use of electronic signatures for 

appropriately secure electronic transactions with Government and established a 

framework to allow efficient interoperability. 

The NRC launched an electronic signature program in 1999 to support electronic 

submittals under Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50, 

“Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities.” The electronic signatures 

were an enhancement to the NRC’s existing electronic communications program and in 

response to the Government Paperwork Elimination Act of 1998 that required agencies 

to accept electronic signatures by 2003. For its electronic signature program, the NRC 

implemented Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) digital signatures using X.509 standardsbased digital certificates. The NRC selected an outsourced PKI hosting and 

management service from VeriSign, Inc., to supply the digital certificates. In 2004, the 

General Services Administration adopted this model of PKI service delivery to Federal 

agencies for its PKI Shared Service Provider program that was mandated by OMB for all 

agencies implementing PKI, in its December 20, 2005 Memorandum M-05-05, 

“Electronic Signatures: How to Mitigate the Risk of Commercial Managed Services”. 

For its electronic signature program, the NRC elected to fund the PKI service and 

provide the digital certificates free of charge to approved participants in the regulatory 

process. Persons who desired to submit forms and documents electronically used their 

digital certificate to authenticate to the NRC Electronic Information Exchange (EIE) 

system and to digitally sign their electronic submittal form. To accomplish this PKI digital 

signature in 1999, the NRC used a proprietary forms application from IBM, also provided 

to participants without charge. The digital signature added data integrity to each 

electronic submittal, allowing NRC staff and administrative judges to have full confidence 

that submitted content was not modified during transit or processing. Both the EIE and 

the original PKI service, although modified and expanded, are still in regular use at the 
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NRC today. As of August 2010, 707 external individuals have active NRC digital 

certificates that use this digital signature process. 

In pursuit of efficient interoperability between Federal agencies, the NRC has engaged in 

ongoing dialogue with the Government Printing Office and the Office of the Federal 

Register to participate in the program for electronic submission of notices for publication. 

The Federal Register program accepts electronic submissions that are digitally signed 

using the RSA PKCS #7 format only. To date, the NRC has not had the capability to 

produce digital signatures that meet this Federal Register specification and so has been 

unable to participate in a valuable program. We continue to search for a way to comply 

with the Federal Register requirements. The recent release of a PKCS #7 signature 

application developed by the Federal Identity, Credential, and Access Management 

project offers some promise. 

I. Describe how your agency has enhanced public participation in Government by 

electronic means for development and issuance of regulations (e.g., regulations.gov): 

The NRC fully participates in the Federal e-Rulemaking Initiative at 

http://www.regulations.gov. The NRC has created dockets on this Web site for all 

documents it has published in the Federal Register since December 2007. The NRC 

has migrated data from its legacy system to Regulations.gov to provide access to more 

than 10 years of NRC rulemaking dockets, including all public submissions. The NRC 

also posts to Regulations.gov all stakeholder comments on guidance and other 

nonrulemaking documents requesting comment that are published in the Federal 

Register, as well as supplemental background information and supporting documents for 

high-interest agency actions. 

To increase public awareness of new NRC rulemaking actions, the NRC provides a 

listserv on its Web site that alerts subscribers when a new NRC rulemaking docket has 

been opened on Regulations.gov.

J. Describe how your agency has linked performance goals to key stakeholders, private 

sector, other agencies, and internal operations in delivering information and services 

though use of IT. 

The NRC is highlighting the National Source Tracking System (NSTS) to illustrate how 

the NRC has linked performance goals to key stakeholders, the private sector, other 

agencies, and internal operations in delivering information and services though the use 

of IT. 

The NSTS tracks the transfer of responsibility of sealed sources of radioactive materials. 

This tracking spans the life cycle of the source from manufacture through shipment 

receipt, decay, and burial. It supports controlled authorizations and accountability for 

licensed suppliers and licensed recipients of sealed sources. The successful 

implementation of the NSTS satisfies the NRC’s commitment to Congress to develop 

source tracking capabilities and satisfies the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Code 

of Conduct’s call for a national, central database of high-risk sources. 

The NSTS helps the NRC do the following: 
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• Monitor the location, possession, and disposal of radioactive sources of concern 

throughout the country. 

• Improve accountability and give better information to decisionmakers. 

• Detect and act on tracking discrepancies. 

• Conduct inspections and investigations. 

• Communicate radioactive source information among Government agencies. 

• Respond in the event of an emergency. 

• Verify legitimate import, export, ownership, and use of radioactive sources. 

• Further analyze hazards attributable to the possession and use of radioactive 

materials. 

In January 2009, all users of Category 1 and Category 2 radioactive sources in the 

United States began reporting their source inventories and transactions, as required by 

10 CFR Part 20, “Standards for Protection against Radiation,” or equivalent Agreement 

State regulation. The regulations state that each licensee who manufactures, transfers, 

receives, disassembles, or disposes of a nationally tracked source must complete and 

submit a National Source Tracking Transaction Report. 

K. Describe how your agency has reduced errors through use of electronic submissions. 

The NRC has enhanced its electronic submittal capability to facilitate the electronic 

transmission process. This has been highly effective in reducing errors through the use 

of electronic submissions. 

NRC initiated its electronic submission capability to provide the means to receive and 

manage complex electronic document submittals in anticipation of major license 

applications for new nuclear power plants, license renewals for existing nuclear power 

plants, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s high-level waste repository license 

application for Yucca Mountain. 

The electronic submittal process is invaluable to managing the interaction among 

internal organizations and external organizations. 

Electronic submission has been instrumental in allowing the NRC to achieve significant 

operating goals for the receipt, possession, and distribution of high volumes of complex 

documents. The electronic submittal capability ensures the optimum flow of documents 

into the NRC, efficient processing of documents according to NRC policy, and effective 

distribution of the information to NRC business units, thus enabling the agency to 

achieve its mission of protecting people and the environment in a more efficient manner. 

L. Briefly describe your agency efforts to comply with Section 508. 

The NRC does have service provisions for people without access to the Internet. The 

NRC maintains a Public Document Room (PDR) where copies of NRC publicly available 
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records can be read. Copies can be ordered in person, through e-mail, or by telephone. 

The PDR has a toll-free telephone number (800-397-4209) and staff to assist members 

of the public who do not have Internet access. The PDR staff can also provide 

bibliographies based on subject searches of the public databases to give users an idea 

of the documents that are available. The PDR has a fee-based copy service. The PDR 

staff may also refer people to the nearest public library for further assistance since most 

public libraries now have Internet access. 

The NRC has further enhanced the accessibility of its public Web site by offering site 

visitors the BrowseAloud assistive technology solution. This customizable software 

allows site visitors to listen to the contents of a Web page, highlighting the words and 

sentences as they are read aloud. Unlike other available screen readers, which are 

designed exclusively for the blind, BrowseAloud provides a range of options to 

accommodate the broader needs of print-disabled stakeholders who have visual 

impairments, learning disabilities (such as dyslexia), or literacy challenges (including 

English as a second language). BrowseAloud is available free of charge for NRC Web 

site visitors to download and use. 

M. Quantify the cost savings and cost avoidance achieved through implementation of IT 

programs. 

The following illustrates cost savings and cost avoidance achieved through the NRC’s 

implementation of IT programs: 

• NSTS: Over the 5-year period ending in FY 2015, the projected cost avoidance 

and cost saving for the NSTS is $47 million. 

. 

• ECM System: Through 2012, the ECM System will accomplish document 

processing turnaround service level commitments with estimated cost avoidance 

of $2 million dollars in document processing contractor full-time equivalent staff. 

• e-Travel: In FY 2009, the NRC successfully implemented the e-Travel system, a 

Presidential Priority Initiative under OMB’s E-Government program. e-Travel 

provides a common, automated, and integrated approach to manage the travel 

function of the Federal Government’s civilian agencies. Over the 4-year period 

ending in FY 2013, the NRC projects cost avoidance and cost savings through its 

use of e-Travel of $1.6 million dollars.