November 9, 2015 

The Honorable Shelley Moore Capito 

Chairman, Subcommittee on Clean Air 

 and Nuclear Safety 

Committee on Environment and Public Works 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

Dear Madam Chairwoman: 

On behalf of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), I am pleased to submit 

the NRC’s semiannual report on the status of our licensing and other regulatory activities. 

The enclosed report covers activities conducted by the NRC during the period from April 

through September 2015. 

During this reporting period, the NRC was actively reviewing nine license renewal 

applications for a total of 16 reactors. On May 1, 2015, the NRC issued a combined license 

authorizing DTE Electric to build and operate an Economic Simplified Boiling-Water Reactor at 

the Fermi site, adjacent to the company’s existing reactor near Newport, Michigan. The staff 

also continued reviewing six new reactor combined license applications for 10 proposed new 

reactors. 

In early September, the NRC issued mid-cycle assessment letters to the nation’s 99 

operating commercial nuclear power plants regarding their performance through the first half of 

2015. The mid-cycle assessment period concluded on June 30, 2015, with 96 plants in the two 

highest performance categories. Seventy-five of those plants fully met all safety and security 

performance objectives and will continue to receive baseline inspections. The other 21 reactors 

need to resolve one or two items of low safety significance and will receive supplemental NRC 

inspection to follow up on corrective actions. Three reactors, Arkansas Nuclear One 1 and 2 

(Arkansas) and Pilgrim (Massachusetts), were in the fourth performance category as of the end 

of the mid-cycle assessment period and require the highest level of regulatory oversight. 

Arkansas Nuclear One 1 and 2 were in this category because of two safety findings of 

substantial significance. Pilgrim was placed in this category because of long-standing 

performance issues of low-to-moderate significance. NRC oversight of these reactors will 

include several additional inspections and frequent NRC management involvement to confirm 

the reactors are addressing the performance issues. 

The NRC continues to address post-Fukushima safety enhancements and lessons 

learned. Our actions during this reporting period are provided in the attached report. 

Other Noteworthy Activities and Accomplishments of the Past Six Months

On June 8, 2015, the Commission approved recommendations presented by the staff’s 

Project Aim 2020 report to improve agency efficiency and meet the challenges of an evolving 

workload while achieving the agency’s public health and safety mission. As a key part of its 
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decision, the Commission directed the staff to undertake a “re-baselining” effort toward making 

the agency more efficient. This effort will review the agency workload and identify work that 

could be shed as no longer needed or justified, or able to be performed with fewer resources. 

The Commission also approved a reduced staff utilization target of 3,600 employees for fiscal 

year 2016. A wide range of Program Aim 2020-related implementation activities are currently 

underway and are being tracked as 19 discrete tasks. In fiscal year (FY) 2015, staff completed 

2 of the 19 tasks, with substantial progress on four additional tasks. 

Also in June, the NRC received an “A” from the Small Business Administration for its FY 

2014 efforts to meet the Federal contracting goal for small businesses. This marks the fourth 

consecutive year that the NRC has earned this recognition. In 2014, approximately 35.5 

percent of eligible contracting dollars went to small businesses—exceeding the agency’s goal of 

31.5 percent. 

On August 11, 2015, the agency issued a revised guidance for the Differing Professional 

Opinion (DPO) Program. The revision reflected insights from a comprehensive assessment of 

the program, including feedback from NRC employees. The DPO Program has existed since 

1980 as a vehicle for employees to express differing views and complements our NonConcurrence Process and Open Door Policy. These processes help support the agency’s 

policy of maintaining an environment that encourages employees to raise concerns and differing 

views promptly, without fear of reprisal. 

On August 13, 2015, the Commission approved a final rule intended to enhance the 

consistency, timeliness, efficiency, and transparency of its process for addressing petitions for 

rulemaking. These revisions will clarify the agency’s policies and practices at each stage of the 

petition-for-rulemaking process, including how the staff evaluates petitions and how it 

communicates information about both the status of petitions and rulemaking activities that 

address them. It also improves the process for resolving a rulemaking petition and for closing 

the petition docket. 

On August 27, 2015, the Commission approved publication of the draft proposed rule 

notice in the Federal Register on the mitigation of beyond-design-basis events. This rulemaking 

will codify the majority of nuclear industry actions taken in response to the March 2011 

Fukushima event in Japan, through implementation of Order EA-12-049, “Mitigation Strategies 

for Beyond-Design-Basis External Events.” In August 2015, the Commission also made its final 

decision on the Containment Protection and Release Reduction (CPRR) Rulemaking. The 

Commission approved Alternative 1, to implement Order-EA-109, “Order Modifying Licenses 

with Regard to Reliable Hardened Containment Vents Capable of Operation under Severe 

Accident Conditions,” without additional regulatory actions. 

Also in August, the NRC released a draft supplement to the environmental impact 

statement for a permanent repository for spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste at Yucca 

Mountain. The supplement addresses potential impacts on groundwater and from groundwater 

discharges. After considering public comments received on the draft, the staff will revise the 

supplement, as appropriate, before issuing a final supplement in early 2016. 

In September, the NRC awarded $16.6 million in grants to academic institutions for FY 

2015. The grants are used for fellowships, faculty development, and scholarships, including 
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trade school and community college scholarships. Grants were awarded to more than 30 higher 

education institutions, including Minority Serving Institutions. 

Finally, from April through September 2015, the agency conducted approximately 

500 public meetings—in the Washington, DC, area and around the country—addressing a full 

range of NRC issues. The meetings included Commission, Advisory Committee, Licensing 

Board, and staff-sponsored events. Also during this time, the NRC received 355 new Freedom 

of Information Act (FOIA) requests and closed 380 pending FOIA requests. 

Please feel free to contact me or Eugene Dacus, Director of the Office of Congressional 

Affairs, at (301) 415-1776, if you have any questions or need additional information. 

 Sincerely, 

 /RA 

 Stephen G. Burns 

Enclosure: 

As stated 

cc: Senator Thomas R. Carper
Identical letter sent to: 

The Honorable Shelley Moore Capito 

Chairman, Subcommittee on Clean Air 

 and Nuclear Safety 

Committee on Environment and Public Works 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

cc: Senator Thomas R. Carper 

The Honorable James Inhofe 

Chairman, Committee on Environment 

 and Public Works 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

cc: Senator Barbara Boxer 

The Honorable Fred Upton 

Chairman, Committee on Energy 

 and Commerce 

United States House of Representatives 

Washington, DC 20515 

cc: Representative Frank Pallone, Jr. 

The Honorable Ed Whitfield 

Chairman, Subcommittee on Energy and Power 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

United States House of Representatives 

Washington, DC 20515 

cc: Representative Bobby L. Rush 

The Honorable John Shimkus 

Chairman, Subcommittee on Environment 

 and the Economy 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

United States House of Representatives 

Washington, DC 20515 

cc: Representative Paul Tonko 

The Honorable Mike Simpson 

Chairman, Subcommittee on Energy 

 and Water Development 

Committee on Appropriations 

United States House of Representatives 

Washington, DC 20515 

cc: Representative Marcy Kaptur 

The Honorable Lamar Alexander 

Chairman, Subcommittee on Energy 

 and Water Development 

Committee on Appropriations 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

cc: Senator Dianne Feinstein