INFORMATION REPORT 

April 29, 2008 SECY-08-0060

For: The Commissioners 

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

Subject: WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING 

APRIL 18, 2008 

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 Georgette M. Price for/ 

Vonna L. Ordaz 

Assistant for Operations, OEDO 

Contact: 

S. Bagley, OEDO 
April 29, 2008 SECY-08-0060

For: The Commissioners 

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

Subject: WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING 

APRIL 18, 2008 

. 

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 Georgette M. Price for/ 

Vonna L. Ordaz 

Assistant for Operations, OEDO 

Contact: 

S. Bagley, OEDO 

DISTRIBUTION: 

EDO R/F 

AO R/F Document Name: G:\AO\WIR\2008\Week0418.doc 

OEDO AO/OEDO 

SBagley VLOrdaz (Georgette M. Price for) ML081200847

04/29/08 04/29/08 
WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING APRIL 18, 2008

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

Headquarters and Regional Office activities. 

Contact: S. Bagley, OEDO by E-mail: shb@nrc.gov. 

Use GO TO (Ctrl+Home) to advance to the page number for a specific Office. 

PgDn and PgUp can also be used to advance through the text. 

OFFICE Page OFFICE Page

NRR 2 OE * 

NRO * OPA 17 

NMSS 4 OIP * 

FSME 6 SECY 19 

RES * Region I 20 

NSIR 10 Region II 21 

ADM 11 Region III 22 

OIS 12 Region IV 23 

CFO * EDO * 

HR 16 OCA 24 

SBCR * 

*No input this week 
April 18, 2008 ENCLOSURE A 

 Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) 

 Items of Interest 

 Week Ending April 18, 2008 

Information Exchange with Japanese Nuclear Energy Safety (JNES) Organization 

Between April 8-11, 2008, the Division of Component Integrity and the Division of Safety 

Systems staff discussed technical issues related to Pressurized Water Reactor and Boiling 

Water Reactor sump clogging with the JNES in Tokyo. Specific topics of this information 

exchange included regulatory approaches to issue resolution, chemical effects, head loss 

testing, debris loading sequences, models on head loss correlations, and JNES progress in 

development of an integrated analysis computer code. In addition to the technical discussions, 

the NRC staff traveled to a Japanese test facility in Yokasuka in order to observe 

demonstrations of chemical effects and head loss testing equipment. During the meetings and 

testing facility tours the NRC staff obtained technical information that will be beneficial for 

resolution of sump blockage issues at U.S. plants. 

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 805 Pilot Observation Visit 

On April 14-15, 2008, an NFPA 805 Pilot Observation Visit was held with Duke Energy and 

Progress Energy at Duke Energy Headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina. On April 16, 2008, 

a public meeting was held to discuss the pilot plant implementation of NFPA 805. Staff from the 

NRR Division of Risk Assessment (DRA), the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES), and 

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) assisted in conducting the Pilot Observation Visit 

and the public meeting. 

Prairie Island License Renewal 

On April 15, 2008, Nuclear Management Company, LLC (NMC) submitted an application for 

renewal of the operating licenses for Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2. The 

Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant is located within the city limits of Red Wing, Minnesota 

on the West bank of the Mississippi River in SE Minnesota. The current operating licenses for 

Prairie Island Unit 1 and Unit 2 expire at midnight, August 9, 2013, and October 29, 2014, 

respectively. By this application, NMC requests that both Prairie Island Unit 1 and Unit 2 

operating licenses be extended for 20 years beyond their current expiration dates to midnight, 

August 9, 2033 for Unit 1 and October 29, 2034 for Unit 2. The staff will perform an acceptance 

review of the application in accordance with 10 CFR Parts 51 and 54. 

Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) Monthly Meeting 

 

On April 16-17, 2008, NRR, the Division of Inspection and Regional Support held the monthly 

ROP public meeting. The purpose of this meeting was to provide a forum for discussion of staff 

initiatives and a method for industry feedback. On the first day, participants discussed the 

Mitigating Systems Performance Index, reactor assessment issues, performance indicator 

issues, reactor inspection issues, and open and new Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). 
April 18, 2008 ENCLOSURE A 

During the second day’s session on safety culture, the NRC staff provided stakeholders with 

working level thoughts and draft changes related to the ongoing safety culture assessment 

involving: 

● Inspection Manual Chapter (IMC) 0305, “Operating Reactor Assessment Program” 

● IMC 0612, “Power Reactor Inspection Reports” 

● Inspection Procedure (IP) 95003, “Supplemental Inspection for Repetitive Degraded 

Cornerstones, Multiple Degraded Cornerstones, Multiple Yellow Inputs, or One Red Input” 

● IP 71152, “Identification and Resolution of Problems” 
April 18, 2008 ENCLOSURE B 

 Office of New Reactors (NRO) 

 Items of Interest 

 Week Ending April 18, 2008 

Annual Institute of Nuclear Power Operations Coordination Meeting

On April 10, 2008, NRO management and staff participated in an annual coordination meeting 

with the Vice President, Training and Accreditation, Institute of Nuclear Power Operations 

(INPO). The purpose of the meeting was to discuss INPO and NRC initiatives and issues 

related to the training and qualification of nuclear power plant personnel. Topics discussed 

included new reactor accreditation, the National Academy for Nuclear Training electronic 

learning system, revisions to Academy and INPO documents, an update of accreditation 

activities, and the future of training in the nuclear industry. No new policy issues were identified 

during the meeting. 

Public Meeting Regarding Review Schedule of the US-APWR Design Certification Application

On April 15, 2008, NRO staff participated in a meeting with representatives from Mitsubishi 

Heavy Industries (MHI) to discuss MHI’s updated submittal plans for design information in the 

US-APWR design certification and the impact of the submittal plan on the review schedule. MHI 

indicated it had made improvements to its submittal plan for both the sump strainer design and 

stress analysis reports. MHI also discussed the contents of future technical reports and plans to 

revise the US-APWR Design Control Document. The staff will consider the information provided 

by MHI before finalizing the US-APWR review schedule. 

Public Meeting with Southern Nuclear Operating Company Regarding Vogtle Combined License 

Application

On April 17, 2008, NRO staff participated in a public meeting with representatives of Southern 

Nuclear Operating Company (SNC). The purpose of the meeting was to familiarize the staff with 

the recently-tendered Vogtle Units 3 and 4 combined license (COL) application. This meeting 

provided the initial opportunity for SNC to familiarize the staff with the overall structure and 

format of the Vogtle Units 3 and 4 COL application and address any technical questions related 

to the application. The meeting consisted of presentations by several SNC representatives who 

discussed the differences between the Vogtle subsequent COL (S-COL) application from the 

reference COL, various departures, variances and exemptions and the integration of the Vogtle 

Early Site Permit application with the Vogtle S-COL application. 
April 18, 2008 ENCLOSURE C 

 Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) 

 Items of Interest 

 Week Ending April 18, 2008 

Request to Renew the Paducah and Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plants’ (GDP) Certifications

 

By letters dated April 10, 2008, NRC staff received the applications from the United States 

Enrichment Corporation (USEC) for the renewal of the certificates of compliance, for the GDPs 

that are located near Paducah, Kentucky and Piketon, Ohio. NRC issued the initial certificates 

of compliance for the GDPs on November 26, 1996, and assumed regulatory oversight for the 

GDPs on March 3, 1997. The GDPs were last issued renewed certificates of compliance on 

December 29, 2003, and those certificates expire December 31, 2008. The USEC renewal 

requests are for a five-year period (the maximum allowed by statute), extending from the current 

expiration date to December 31, 2013. NRC regulations (10 CFR 76.43) require that the NMSS 

Office Director render a Director’s Decision, on the application within six months of receipt. That 

decision, along with a Report to Congress, required by Section 1701 of the Atomic Energy of Act 

of 1954, as amended, will be forwarded to the Commission for approval. 
April 18, 2008 ENCLOSURE D 

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

 Items of Interest 

 Week Ending April 18, 2008 

The Nuclear Energy Agency Holds 116th Session of the Steering Committee

During the week of April 14-18, 2008, FSME, participated in the Nuclear Energy Agency’s 116th

session of the Steering Committee in Paris, France. FSME led the U.S. delegation and 

participated in discussions on radioactive waste management, radiation protection, public health, 

and nuclear safety and regulation. The Executive Director for Operations also participated in the 

policy debate on “Life Management of Nuclear Power Facilities” as part of the meeting. 

Presentation to the Savannah River Site Citizen’s Advisory Board Waste Management 

Committee

On April 15, 2008, staff from FSME participated in a meeting of the Savannah River Site 

Citizen’s Advisory Board Waste Management Committee in Aiken, South Carolina. The purpose 

of the meeting was to provide the Committee a status of high-level waste tank closure activities 

at the Savannah River Site that are being conducted pursuant to Section 3116 of the Ronald W. 

Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005. The meeting included time for 

separate agency presentations by the NRC, the U.S. Department of Energy, the South Carolina 

Department of Health and Environmental Control, and Region 4 of the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency. There was also an opportunity for the Committee to question a panel 

comprised of representatives from all four agencies. The NRC staff presented the results of 

NRC monitoring activities since May 2007, when the Committee was last briefed by NRC. 
April 18, 2008 ENCLOSURE E 

 Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) 

 Items of Interest 

 Week Ending April 18, 2008 

Next Generation Nuclear Plant Phenomena Identification and Ranking Tables (PIRTs) Report 

NUREG/CR-6944

On April 14, 2008, the NRC Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research published NUREG/CR-6944, 

titled “Next Generation Nuclear Plant PIRTs. The report, posted on NRC’s public web site, 

describes in five volumes (volumes 2 through 6) the deliberations of five expert panels in the 

topical areas of: (1) accident analysis and thermal-fluids, including neutronics; (2) fission 

product transport; (3) high temperature materials; (4) graphite; and (5) process heat and 

hydrogen production. Volume 1 (Main Report) summarizes the findings. 
April 18, 2008 ENCLOSURE G 

Office of Administration (ADM) 

 Items of Interest 

 Week Ending April 18, 2008 

Expansion of the National Source Tracking System (NSTS); Proposed Rule (3150-AI29 - Parts 

20 and 32)

On April 11, 2008, the NRC published a proposed rule (73 FR 19749) to amend its regulations to 

expand the current NSTS to include certain additional sealed sources. The proposed 

amendment would require licensees to report certain transactions involving these sealed 

sources to the NSTS. These transactions would include the manufacture, transfer, receipt, 

disassembly, or disposal of the nationally tracked source. The proposed amendment would also 

require each licensee to provide its initial inventory of nationally tracked sources to the NSTS 

and annually verify and reconcile the information in the system with the licensee's actual 

inventory. Comments on the proposed rule are due June 25, 2008. 
April 18, 2008 ENCLOSURE H 

 Office of Information Services (OIS) 

 Items of Interest 

 Week Ending April 18, 2008 

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

of April 11-17, 2008: 

Program Manager position, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, 

names and comments made by individuals contacted for supervisory 

verification and reference FOIA/PA-2008-0181 

Allegation RIV-1999-A-0097, including all correspondence between 

named individual and NRC FOIA/PA-2008-0182 

OI Report 4-2008-001 FOIA/PA-2008-0183 

Staveley formerly known as Conam, 182-198 Internationale Blvd., 

Glendale Heights, DuPage County, Illinois 60139, material license and 

environmental concerns FOIA/PA-2008-0184 

Information on named individual in NRC’s personnel access data 

system (PADS) FOIA/PA-2008-0185 

Troy incident associated with the Simon test, 4-24-1953 (Operation 

Upshot-Knothole) FOIA/PA-2008-0186 

RFQ ASB 04-232 and all bids submitted FOIA/PA-2008-0187 

OI Report 4-2007-040 and copy of transcript of interview with named 

individual FOIA/PA-2008-0188 

Turkey Point, EA-07-138, all documents regarding Notice of Violation 

and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty including but not limited to OI 

Report 2-2006-013 FOIA/PA-2008-0189 

RFP HR-08-699, Employee Assistance Program, copy of proposal 

submitted by company awarded the contract FOIA/PA-2008-0190 
April 18, 2008 ENCLOSURE J 

 Office of Human Resources (HR) 

 Items of Interest 

 Week Ending April 18, 2008 

Departures 

BROWN, CAROL ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT ACRS 

MCCABE, WILLIAM CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER OCFO 

NGUYEN, NEIL IT SPECIALIST (INFOSEC) OIS 
April 18, 2008 ENCLOSURE M 

 Office of Public Affairs (OPA) 

 Items of Interest 

 Week Ending April 18, 2008 

OPA Received Significant Media Inquiries on the Following:

Earthquake in southeastern Illinois caused Palisades and DC Cook nuclear power plants, both 

in Michigan to declare an unusual event; 

Proposed rule to expand the National Source Tracking System; 

Reanalysis of metal fatigue for reactor recirculation nozzles at the Oyster Creek nuclear plant; 

Power Resource Inc. recent notice of violation from the state of Wyoming for slow groundwater 

remediation at its in-situ leaches recovery facility; 

Low-level waste imports; and 

New Jersey’s plans for a state supported new energy master plan. 

Other Public Affairs Items:

International reporters and wire services interviewed Chairman Klein during his participation at 

the Convention of Nuclear Safety in Vienna, Austria; 

OPA supported the Senate hearing on nuclear terrorism; and 

OPA Regional staff assisted in numerous end-of cycle meetings. 

Press Releases 

Headquarters: 

08-075 Deadline Extended Until April 23 to Pre-Register for Public Comment Sessions 

on Vogtle Early Site Permit (4/15) 

08-076 Vogtle Application for New Reactors Available on NRC Website (4/15) 

08-077 NRC Updates Policy on Conducting New Reactor Licensing Hearings (4/16) 

08-078 NRC Dockets Application for New Reactors at Harris Site in North Carolina 

(4/18) 

08-079 Complete Calvert Cliffs Application for New Reactor Available on NRC Website 

(4/18) 

08-080 NRC Accepts Application for New Reactor at Grand Gulf (4/18) 
April 18, 2008 ENCLOSURE M 

Regions: 

I-08-026 NRC Seeks Public Input on Environmental Impact Statement for Three Mile 

Island 1 License Renewal Application (4/15) 

I-08-027 NRC to Discuss Annual Assessment for Nine Mile Point Plant at Two Public 

Meetings Set for April 23 in Fulton, N.Y. (4/16) 

II-08-024 NRC to Discuss 2007 Performance Assessment of Vogtle Nuclear Power Plant 

(4/18) 

III-08-015 NRC to Discuss 2007 Performance Assessment for Byron Nuclear Power Plant 

(4/18) 

 
April 18, 2008 ENCLOSURE O 

 Office of the Secretary (SECY) 

 Items of Interest 

 Week Ending April 18, 2008 

Document Released 

to Public 

Date Subject 

Information Papers

SECY-08-0049 4/14/08 Weekly Information Report – Week Ending 

April 18, 2008 

SECY-08-0046 4/2/08 Reactor Oversight Process Self-Assessment 

for Calendar Year 2007 

Memoranda

M080408 4/16/08 SRM – Joint Meeting of the Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the 

(NRC) 

Commission Correspondence

1. Letter to Governor James H. Douglas, Vermont, dated April 11, 2008, responds to 

request for additional plant performance information related to Vermont Yankee. 

2. Letter to Congressman Bart Gordon, dated April 9, 2008, responds to letter 

expressing concerns about an application submitted to NRC by EnergySolutions for a 

license to import 20,000 tons of low-level radioactive waste into the U.S. 

3. Letter to Borbala Vajda, President, National Commission for Nuclear Activities 

Control (CNCAN) in Bucharest, Romania, dated April 9, 2008, expresses 

congratulations on her appointment as President of CNCAN. 

4. Letter to Congressman David Price, dated April 7, 2008, responds to letter regarding 

the NRC Inspector General report on "NRC’s Oversight of Hemyc Fire Barriers." 

Federal Register Notices Issued

1. Conduct of New Reactor Licensing Proceedings; Final Policy Statement. 

2. Dominion Virginia Power, Supplement to Notice of Hearing and Opportunity to Petition 

for Leave to Intervene on a Combined License for North Anna, Unit 3; Order Imposing 

Procedures for Access to Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards Information (SUNSI) 

and Safeguards Information (SGI) for Contention Preparation, Docket No. 52-017. 

3. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS), Meeting of the ACRS 

Subcommittee on Reliability and Probabilistic Risk Assessment, Notice of Cancellation of 

4/18/2008 Meeting. 

4. ACRS, notice of 552nd meeting (5/8-10/2008). 
April 18, 2008 ENCLOSURE P 

 Region II (RII) 

 Items of Interest 

 Week Ending April 18, 2008 

Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) Annual Assessment Meetings

On April 14-18, 2008, the Regional Office held the Annual Assessment meetings for the Browns 

Ferry and Surry Nuclear Power Plant. The meetings were held at or near the nuclear plants and 

were open to the public. The purpose of the meetings was to discuss the NRC Reactor 

Oversight Process at the sites. 

American Association of Blacks in Energy Career Fair

On April 17-18, 2008, the Acting Regional Administrator attended the American Association of 

Blacks in Energy Career Fair in Houston, Texas. 
April 18, 2008 ENCLOSURE P 

 Region IV (RIV) 

 Items of Interest 

 Week Ending April 18, 2008 

Grand Gulf Nuclear Station Public Annual Assessment Meeting

On April 16, Region IV staff conducted a Category 1 public meeting in Port Gibson, Mississippi, 

to discuss Grand Gulf Nuclear Station’s safety performance for 2007. Participants included 

Entergy managers and Region IV staff. Approximately 20 people attended the presentation, 

including several members of the public and one member of the local media. 
April 18, 2008 

 Office of Congressional Affairs (OCA)  Items of Interest  Week Ending April 18, 2008 

CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS SCHEDULE, NO. 12 

OCA Contact Date & Place Time Committee Subject Witnesses Decker 04/15/08 

342 DSOB 

10:00 Senate Homeland Security 

and Governmental Affairs Committee (Senators Lieberman / Collins) 

Nuclear Terrorism: Confronting the Challenges of the Day After 

• Ashton B. Carte

Defense ProjSchool of GovUniversity; ChInstitute for HMass DestrucGeorgia; RogResearch SciR. Gibb – DireEmergency M

Decker 04/16/08 

138 DSOB 

2:00 Senate Appropriations 

Committee Subcommittee on Energy and Water (Senators Dorgan / Domenici)

Nation's Nuclear Weapons Complex 

• Tom D'Agostino

Nuclear SecuMiller, DirectoNational LaboDirector, Los Laboratory; aSandia Nation

Shane/Dacus 05/15/08 

TBD 

TBD Senate Environment and 

Public Works Committee Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety (Senators Carper / Voinovich)

New Reactors and License Renewal 

• NRC Commissi• Others TBD 

Powell Spring 08 

TBD 

TBD House Energy and 

Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (Representatives Stupak / Whitfield) 

Inattentive Guards at Peach Bottom and other Security Related Topics 

• TBD