ML19225C997
| ML19225C997 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 06/11/1979 |
| From: | Hendrie J NRC COMMISSION (OCM) |
| To: | Kostmayer P HOUSE OF REP. |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19225C998 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 7908030475 | |
| Download: ML19225C997 (4) | |
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UNITED STATES
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION L'
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June 11, 1979 t
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CHAIRMAN
<v The Honorable Peter H. Kostmayer United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515
Dear Congressman Kostmayer:
I am replying to your letter, written with the Chairman and other members of the House Interior Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment, seeking the views of the Commissioners with respect to the action of the House Committee on Appropriations in providing 100 additional NRC employees for the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
Comissioner Bradford ys out of town for several days and I have not been able to reach him today to discuss this respcase:
the other Comissioners and I agree in it.
l It is our understanding that the additional staffing proposed by the Appropriations Committee would be authorized as a supplement to the FY 1979 budget of the agency, and would then replace the NRC-proposed El increase in staffing of 108 people in the FY 1980 budget.
As you know, 1
a large nut,ber of the most experienced people in the Office of Nuclear
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Reactor Regulation have been assigned to special tasks, investigations,
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and studies rCated to the Three Mile Island accident.
This necessary reassignment of staff has inevitably resulted in severe immediate and prospective impacts on the nonnal licensing and other workload activities of that Office.
Our ability to identify the lessons of the Three Mile Island accident, to translate those into short-term and longer tenn i
i requirements for licensed facilities and new plants, to implement those i
requirements in all of the individual licensing cases, and in addition i
to carry forward the normal workload in facility licensing is staff-limited.
Additional resources are essential if we are to deal effectively and expeditiously with the impacts of Three Mile Island, and at the same time maintain the required quality and care in our licensing actions and decisions.
Our responses to your specific questions are as follows:
QUESTION 1 Whether the NRC provides assurances that the staff increases as proposed by the House Appropriations Committee will be utilized 3
efficiently, and that they will actually contr.ibute to improving licensing activities.
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The Honorable Peter H. Kostmayer The staff increases proposed by the House Appropriations ConTaittee can indeed be utilized efficiently and will contribute to improving and continuing licensing activities.
You will recall that our FY 1980 budget request included an additional 85 people for the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
This irc rease was in recognition of the substantially increased workload which has been building up in this Office over the last several years.
This increase was detennined by the Comission to be appropriate long before the Three Mile Island accident.
Since there will be additional licensing activities following from the Three Mile Island st. "as, an increase in this number to.100 people is certainly
_j reasonabli.
I would note that in recruiting and bringing on board the kind of technical i
specialists and highly qualified people required for NRC licensing work, there is a substantial time period between initial authorization for a staffing increase and having those new people in place and fully effective in the agency.
Obviously, the sooner we can be authorized to comence the staffing increase, the sooner these resources will be in place and working effectively.
We have discussed measures to orovide temporary assistance to minimize tre impact of Three Mile Island-related activities on the normal licensing and other workload activities of the agency.
The Office of Management and Budget, with whom I have had discussions, has offered to help us in obtaining this temporary assistance.
I enclose an exchange of correspondence with the Office of Management and Budget
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on this matter for your information.
Question 2 Whether additional staff should be assigned to the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation "with the stipulation that they be used solely for the purpose of continuing to license nuclear plant construction," and whether the Cocmissioners favor or oppose such rostrir. tion or limitation.
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In principle, we have no objection to such a restriction, since a staff increase of about the proposed size has already been requested for the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation by the Conmission.
I would note that a part of the licensing activities would be implementation of
" lessons learned" from the Three Mile Island accident for operating reactors as well as for new plants.
Some flexibility in the stipulation would be helpful, however.
For instance, there are activities in the Office of Inspectier, and Enforcement and the Office of State Programs that relate directly to the licensing of facilities.
I would also 440 023
The Honorable Peter H. Kostmayer c:nnent that the reactor licensing office cannot be increased indefinitely without some additions to the administrative and legal offices that support the licensing office.
Our FY 1980 budget request included very modest increases for several of these offices and I would hope that these requests would receive faver-ble consideration in connection with the FY 1980 appropriation.
QUESTION 3 Whether the Commissioners have determined what changes in the NRC regulatory system will result from the Three Mile Island investigation, and how they will impact future staff requirements with respect to licensing, evaluations, and standards development.
No, we have not determined all of the changes in the NRC regulatory system that might result from the Three Mile Island investigation. A number of steps are already under way, or have been taken, and the resources for these are being provided by reprograming within the present agencv budget. Some other measures should be determined in the relatively near future as the result of the first report of the " lessons learned" effort now going on in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
As additional agency needs develop from these studies we will make them known to you.
It is clear that it will take some time to develop fully all of the needs that may be determined from the Three Mile Island investigation and associated studies. As I noted in the enc sed letter to Mr. White of the Office of Management and Budget, I woulc
.pect that additional resources needed as a result of these studies could be discussed as a possible FY 1980 supplemental reqJest in conjunction with discussions of the regular FY 1981 budget.
I understand that the House Appropriations Committee has indicated a willingness to consider such a supplemental request at that time.
However, I believe that tne possibility of a FY 1980 supplemental request is not a reason to delay now in obtaining the' resources for the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation proposed by the House Aopropriations Commi ttee.
It is clear that we will need those resources in any case.
As noted, 85 people had been requested pre-Three Mile Island by the Commission for that Office. The additional 15 people added by the House Appropriations Committee are a modest increment in view of the increased demands on that Office flowing from the Three Mile Island studies. As I have noted, the sooner these resources c'.n begin to be recruited and put in place, the better.
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The Honoracle Peter H. Kostmayer I nope tha
- ese esponses are helpful to you in your consideration of tr.e Appropria ;icr.s :cmmittee actions.
Please do not hesitate to call me if we can prcvice #urther information.
Sincerely,,
tom Joseph M. Hendrie Erclosure:
As stated cc:
Rep. James 'a'eaver Rep. Bruce F. ' lento Rep. Morris K. Udall Rep. Edward J. Markey t
t 440 02 5