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INFORMATION REPORT SECY-08-0119 August 15, 2008
Contact: Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) Petitions for Rulemaking (PRM) 51-10 and 51-12 On August 6, 2008, the staff phoned the Massachusetts Assistant Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General of the State of California (petitioners) to say that the Commission denied PRMs 51-10 and 51-12 concerning the environmental impacts of storing high-density spent nuclear fuel in spent fuel pools. The staff then emailed and mailed the cover letters and the Federal Register notice (FRN) to the petitioners and explained that the Commission's basis for denying the petitions was contained in the Supplementary Information section of the FRN. The notice was published in the Federal Register on Friday, August 8, 2008. Other stakeholders were also being notified in accordance with the Communication Plan for Denial of Petitions for Rulemaking 51-10 and 51-12. Office of New Reactors (NRO) Staff Readiness Assessment (C-3) Visit to Proposed Bell Bend New Reactor Site in Northeastern Pennsylvania On July 29 and 30, 2008, staff visited the PPL Nuclear Development (PPL) offices in Salem Township, Pennsylvania to discuss the upcoming combined license (COL) application for the proposed Bell Bend Nuclear Power Plant. PPL has indicated that it will submit the COL application in October 2008. The purpose of the visit was to assess the applicant's progress in developing records and products (Environmental Report and other supporting information). Topics discussed during the visit included alternatives, need for power, cultural resources, hydrology, ecology, land use, socioeconomics, environmental justice, air quality, health physics, meteorology, fuel cycle, and accidents. This visit is part of the pre-application readiness assessment activities planned by the staff for all COL sites. Issuance of Acceptance Letter for V.C. Summer COL Application On July 31, 2008, the staff issued a letter to notify the South Carolina Electric and Gas Company that the acceptance review had been completed and that the COL application for 2 Westinghouse AP1000 pressurized reactors to be located at the V.C. Summer site was found acceptable for docketing. As discussed with the applicant, the staff has been evaluating alternative review approaches that might be applied to subsequent-COL applications submitted after their selected design has been certified and the related reference-COL issued. From this effort, a 4-phase review process was developed requiring additional time beyond the estimated 30-day commitment in the staff's scheduling system. Therefore, the staff intends to prepare a schedule for review of this application from approximately 60 days of the date of its acceptance letter. Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) Delivery of Hanford Review to Congress and the U.S. Department of Energy The review of the DOE Regulatory Processes for the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) was delivered on August 5, 2008, to the Appropriations Committee and the Secretary of Energy. This report was requested by the Appropriations Committee as specified in a Conference Report for the Omnibus Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2008. NRC conducted a high-level review of DOE's regulatory processes for the WTP, to compare DOE's regulatory approach to NRC's process for nuclear-safety regulation. The review found DOE's regulatory processes to be similar to NRC's processes. The review did identify issues that are provided in the report and suggested for further consideration by DOE. The report was made publicly available on August 11, 2008. Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs (FSME) Medical Use of Byproduct Material – Amendments/Medical Event Definitions The proposed rule, titled, "Medical Use of Byproduct Material – Amendments/Medical Event Definitions," amending 10 CFR Part 35 were published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, August 6, 2008. The public comment period for this proposed rule ends on October 20, 2008. Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR) PNO-III-08-007A – Prairie Island Unit 1 On July 31, 2008, the Prairie Island Unit 1 reactor tripped due to a spurious over-temperature delta temperature (OTΔT) signal concurrent with reactor trip system testing. After the reactor trip, the turbine driven auxiliary feedwater pump tripped on low discharge pressure. The reactor trip was due to a failed card in the reactor trip system during the system testing. The card was replaced and the system was returned to service. The turbine-driven auxiliary feedwater pump failure was due to an incorrect valve lineup associated with the pump discharge pressure instrumentation. Subsequently, the auxiliary feedwater pump lineup was corrected, and both the auxiliary feedwater pump and the installed card in the reactor trip system were successfully tested. A Special Inspection Team was dispatched to review the cause of the reactor trip and the auxiliary feedwater pump failure. The team also reviewed the licensee's corrective actions prior to restart and found them appropriate PNO-III-08-008- Palisades Nuclear Plant On August 5, 2008, Palisades Nuclear Plant shut the reactor down using normal shutdown procedures to replace several leaking Control Rod Drive (CRD) seals. Public Meeting on Openness Held in Morris, Illinois On August 6, 2008, NRC staff conducted the second of four public meetings in Morris, Illinois, to solicit stakeholder comment on options to enhance the level of openness and transparency associated with security-related information concerning NRC security inspections and licensee performance assessment. The meeting was attended by the public and reactor licensee representatives. The next meeting will be held in Lynchburg, Virginia, on August 27. Table-Top Drill at H.B. Robinson Nuclear Plant On August 6, 2008, NRC emergency preparedness (EP) staff observed a table-top drill at the H.B. Robinson Nuclear Plant, which included participation by State and local response organizations. The table-top drill was used to enhance coordination among organizations. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Dam Security Exercise On August 7, 2008, NRC staff attended a DHS Dam Security Exercise. This exercise consisted of an Emergency Action Plan Workshop and a Security Table Top exercise. Other participants included; Ameren Services Company, US Army Corps of Engineers, Missouri State Emergency Management Agency and multiple state and local agencies. Office of Administration (ADM) Price-Anderson Act Financial Protection Regulations and Elimination of Antitrust Reviews; Correction (RIN 3150-AH78, 10 CFR Part 2) On July 31, 2008, the NRC published a correcting amendment (73 FR 44619) in the Federal Register to remove references to the NRC's authority and responsibility to conduct antitrust reviews of future applications to construct or operate a nuclear reactor. The removal of these references was inadvertently omitted in the final rule implementing the provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that terminated the NRC's responsibility and authority to conduct these reviews. The final rule was effective July 31, 2008. Petition for Rulemaking; Denial (PRM-54-5) On July 31, 2008, the NRC published a document (73 FR 44671) in the Federal Register denying a petition for rulemaking (PRM-54-5) submitted by Eric Epstein (petitioner). The petitioner requested that NRC amend its regulations governing renewal of operating licenses for nuclear power plants to stipulate that the NRC conduct a comprehensive review of licensees' emergency planning during license renewal proceedings. NRC is denying the petition because it has already considered the types of issues raised in the petition when the license renewal rule was adopted and again in its consideration of two previous petitions for rulemaking. License and Certificate of Compliance Terms (RIN 3150-AI09, 10 CFR Part 72) On August 4, 2008, the NRC published a document (73 FR 45173) making available preliminary draft rule language and seeking public comment on draft amendments to the NRC's regulations concerning licensing requirements for the independent storage of spent nuclear fuel. Public comments are due August 31, 2008. Contract Award for Budget Formulation System Upgrade On August 4, 2008, As a result of a competition under General Services Administration Federal Supply Schedule, a labor hour Delivery Order, NRC-DR-09-08-332, was awarded to Deloitte Consulting LLP of Reston, Virginia, to upgrade to the Hyperion System 9 and Disaster Recovery for the Budget Formulation System. The period of performance for this order is August 4, 2008, through November 3, 2009. The total estimated value of the delivery order is $392,448.32. Office of Information Services (OIS) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act (PA) Requests Received During the Period of August 1, 2008 through August 7, 2008:
Office of Human Resources (HR)
Office of Public Affairs (OPA) OPA Received Significant Media Inquiries on the Following: Trace amounts of strontium-90 found in an off-site well near Indian Point (IP) nuclear power plant (New York); press briefing and public meeting regarding new emergency notification system around the IP plant Demise of the Mixed Oxide Lead Test Assemblies program at Catawba nuclear power plant (South Carolina) Pending 7-percent power uprate for Millstone 3 nuclear power plant (Connecticut) Senator McCain's visit to the Fermi nuclear power plant (Ohio); new reactor licensing and construction process Browns Ferry nuclear power plant (Alabama) loss of cooling tower transformers Other Public Affairs Items: OPA Region II participated in a radio talk show broadcast by National Public Radio, answering a number of questions about NRC oversight of nuclear plants and the process for reviewing new license applications. OPA set up an interview with the Federal Times on the NRC's recruitment and hiring tactics for its Nuclear Safety Professional Development Program. As a result of NRC follow up to a story in the Washington Post, a correction was printed to indicate no one was harmed in the Three Mile Island nuclear plant accident in 1979.
Office of the Secretary (SECY)
Federal Register Notices Issued
Region
I (RI) Initial Examination Development Workshop On August 5-6, 2008, Region II hosted the 2008 U.S. NRC Initial Examination Development workshop in Atlanta, Georgia. The purpose of the meeting was to present details and share experiences on how to efficiently develop valid and discriminatory written examination questions and operating tests in accordance with NUREG 1021, Rev. 9 and Supplement 1. |
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