ML20205J938
| ML20205J938 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 03/25/1999 |
| From: | Blaha J NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO) |
| To: | |
| References | |
| SECY-99-089, SECY-99-089-R, SECY-99-89, SECY-99-89-R, WIR-990319-01, WIR-990319-1, NUDOCS 9904120269 | |
| Download: ML20205J938 (20) | |
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~i Mar'ch 25.1999 INFORMAT10N REPORT seCY 99-089 fp.r: The Commissioners From: James L. Blaha, Assistant for Operations, Office of the EDO
Subject:
WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING MARCH 19,1999 Contents Enclosure Nuclear Reactor Regulation A Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards B Nuclear Regulatory Research C incident Response Opcations D General Counsel E*
Administration F Chief information Officer G Chief FinancialOfficer H*
Human Resources l*
Small Business & Civil Rights J' Enforcement K*
State Program L*
Public Affairs M Intemational Program N Office of the Secretary O Region l P Region il P Region til P Region IV P Executive Director for Operations O*
Congressional Affairs R
- No input this week. '
T g James L. B!aha ;
V Assistant for Operations, OEDO g
Contact:
12 M. Evans, OEDO Q M ..h ~ h }I b4 -
y M. ;
O 9904120269 990325 PDR COMMS NRCC (
WEEKLYINFOREPT PDR
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c Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation items of Interest Week Ending March 19,1999 Meetino with EPRI on Risk-Informed ISI (RI-ISI) Methodolooy On March 2 and 3,1999, representatives of EPRI and its ce ntractors met with the NRC staff at the NRC's offices in Rockville, Maryland to discuss the EPRI RI-ISI Topical Report. EPRI presented technical details of its RI-ISI methodology and addressed staff's questions and comments. Two pilot applications, Vermont Yankee and ANO-2, which were based on an earlier version of EPRI Topical Report, have been reviewed and approved by the oiaff. EPRI will incorporate the lessons leamed from these pilots into its revised Topical Report. The staff anticipates that the generic assessment of the revised methodologies and techniques that have ,
been demonstrated throu0h the pilots will be straightforward. However, EPRI has presented l alternative niethodologies to be included in the topical that were not utilized as part of the pilot ;
reviews. For example, EPRI will propose that applicants that change the Section XI inspection i program on Class 1 piping only, need not perform a plant specific change in risk evaluation. The supporting generic risk evaluation and associated screening inethodology to demonstrate that the generic evaluation is applicable to an individual plant has not yet been submitted to the staff for review. Also, since the RG and SRP explicitly exclude changes to a plant's current augmented program, the staff and industry have begun to investigate how the augmented inspection programe can be risk informed and improved.
The meeting was productive and concluded in establishing some major milestones to complete the final staff safety evaluation ( September,1999), including schedules for ACRS and CRGR presentations.
Meetino with NEl The Director, Division of Inspection Program Management and members of the Operator Licensing and Human Performance Branch staff, met with members of the Nuclear Energy Institute's (NEI) Initial l_icensed Operator Task Force at the NEl offices on March 11,1999. The public meeting was convened to update the industry on the status of the operator licensing rule ;
change and the associated implementation guidance in Revision 8 of NUREG-1021, " Operator l Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors." It was agreed that the NRC and NEl would establish a working group to promote the consistent and efficient implementation of Revision 8 and to consider long-term enhancements for the initial examination format.
March 19,1999 ENCLOSURE A J
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Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards >
Items of interest Week Ending March 19,1999 l 10 CFR Part 70 Website l All of the draft proposed 10 CFR Part 70 rule language has been posted on the Part 70 Website.
The nuclear criticality safety and decommissioning Standard Review Plan (SRP) chapters have also been posted on the Website. The draft proposed rule and SRP were revised to address public comments. Work on the SRP to address public comments received to date is continuing.
There will be a public meeting held at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on March 23-24, 1999, to discuss the draft proposed Part 70 rule, and sections of the associated draft SRP.
Meetino with Oak Ridae National Laboratory
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On March 10-11,1999, staff from the Spent Fuel Project Office met with Oak Ridge National '
Laboratory (ORNL) to discuss revisions to the schedula for the Private Fuel Storage (PFS)
- Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). PFS submitted a license application to operate an indepeadent Spent Fuel Storage Installation on the reservation of the Skuli Valley Band of Goshute Indians. ORNL is providing technical assistance to the staff for the preparation of the EIS. The staffis revising the schedule to include additional activities required by the Bureau of l Land Management (BLM) and Bureau of Indian Affairs, cooperating agencies in the preparation l
of the EIS. This includes an additional EIS scoping meeting requested by BLM as a result of an amendment which proposes the construction and use of a railline on BLM property. At this time, l the staff does not believe that the schedule changes willimpact either the completion of the EIS i or the hearing schedule.
Meetino with British Nuclear Fuels. Limited. Fuel Solutions On March 9,1999, a meeting was heid between the Spent Fuel Project Offica and British Nuclear Fuels, Limited, (BNFL) Fuel Solutions (FS) to discuss the BNFL FS Transtor Storage and Shipping Cask applications. The discussion focused on the current status of the application submittals and the Nuciear Regulatory Commission staff review. In addition, BNFL FS management discussed improvements made over the past year to its quality assurance program.
i Meetino with Transnuclear. Inc.. on the TN-68 Dry Cask Storace Desian l
On March 17,1999, members of the Spent Fuel Project Office (SFPO) and Pacific Northwest l National Laboratory (PNNL) met with Transnuclear, Inc., (TN) to discuss the on-going review of the TN-68 dry storage cask application. SFPO staff and PNNL presented their remaining issues l in the review, anr' TN provided its proposed solutions to these issues. Specific details of the l solutions were discussed among the respective team members. TN stated that it would provide c letter of commitments to staff within two working days. The TN-68 is planned for use at Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station. Philadelphia Electric Company representatives were present at the meeting.
March 19,1999 . ENCLOSURE B f
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International Atomic Enerav Aaency Meetino on Conductina Peer Reviews of National Reaulatory Proararp_s On IVlarch 8-12,1999, a staff member of the Division of Industnal and Medical Nuclear Safety (IMNS) participated in an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Technical Committee meeting to develop a document on conducting peer reviews of national programs that regulate the use of radioactive materials and sources. The meeting was attended by technical staff or managers from Byellarus, Czech Republic, Cuba, Germany, Japan, Lithuania, and Mexico, as well as the U.S. The participants formed two working groups to review and revise portions of the previously-drafted document, and the IMNS representative led one of the working groups.
During the week, the meeting participants finished writing the document, which will be prasented for approval and publication at the next IAEA Radiation Safety Advisory Committee meeting.
IAEA envisions that, once approved, the document will provide a model for review (upon request) of member and non-member states' nuclear materials regulatory programs and national radiation protection infrastructures, often by independent technical reviewers from other nations.
The peer review model in the document is adapted from and based loosely on the Nuclear ,
Regulatory Commission's Integrated Materials Performance Evaluation Program, with I substantial modifications. IAEA hopes to use peer reviews, especially, to assess the progress of l countries in the "Model Project" with developing regulatory programs. l Meetina with Nuclear Enerav Institute on Hiah-Ley _el Waste l
On March 15,1999, management from the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) met with representatives of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI). The purpose of the meeting was to discuss items of interest to NEl. At the meeting, NEl discussed how it would be ;
working with the Department of Energy (DOE) to address quality assurance issues for the high-level waste rapository program. In addition, NEl and NMSS discussed the status of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staffs review of DOE's Viability Assessment and the NRC's role in the DOE site suitability recommendation. Finally, NEl presented several comments on the proposed 10 CFR Part 63. Topics discussed included: (1) an informal hearing process; (2) the NEl view that requirements for multiple barriers are not needed; (3) consistency of Part 63 with the Energy Policy Act of 1992; and (4) the biosphere concept in Part 63. Some issues identified by NEl included: (1) NEl's view that NRC is overly conservative on human intrusion; (2) a recommendation that Part 63 provide for staged licensing; and (3) consideration of a 1000-year performance period. In particular, NEl wanted to know if the surface facilities could be licensed separate from the underground repository. NRC staff recommended that NEl provide these comments and their bases in writing as public comments on proposed Part 63.
Nuclear Reaulatory Commission Issues Fina! Environmental Impact Staterbent for Atlas Site
, On March 12,1999, Division of Waste Management staff issued the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) related to reclamation of the Uranium Mill Tailings at the Atlas Site in Moab, Utah. Atlas's proposal for on-site reclamation of its uranium mill tailings pile wcs found environmentally acceptable if the company neets e number of specific requirements from the Nuclear Regulatorv Commission (NRC) and if it can show, by gathering additional data and performing more detailed analyses, that the proposed actions will meet ammonia concentration ;
requirements for the Colorado River specified in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service final biological :
opinion of July 1998. I March 19,1999 ENCLOSUREB I
Based on the conclusions in the FEIS, the NRC is prepared to amend the Atlas license to approve its proposal for reclamation with the conditions that were identified in a letter dated March 2,1999, to the licensee. However, before NRC can revise the Atlas 1. cense, the licensee must agree to accept the conditions. In addition, before the amendment can be granted, there is a 30-day waiting period after publication by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of a Federal Register notice stating that the FEIS has been filed with EPA.
March 19,1999 ENCLOSURE B
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research items of interest Week Ending March 19,1999 MARSSIM Team Wins Hammer Award Several NRC staff members (Robert Meck, George Powers, and Cheryl Trottier from RES, and Anthony Huffert from NMSS) will be recipients of Vice President Gore's Hammer Award on April 16,1999, for developing the Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual (MARRSIM). This award is presented to teams of Federal employees who have made significant contributions in support of reinventing government principles. The full team was comprised of staff from NRC, DOD, EPA, and DOE. The MARSSIM team took the initiative to develop a single guidance document to be used by all Federal agencies so that there would be a consistent approach for planning, performing and assessing final status surveys used to meet release enteria.
Environmental Qualification (EO) of Electric Eouipment On Friday, March 19,1999, Division of Engineering Technology staff held a public meeting to discuss the results from the first three of a planned six Environmental Qualification tests of electric cables. This meeting w one of several that the staff has held with the public regarding the test plans and the initial rest s, and marked the mid-point of the planned testing program.
The meeting participants included representatives from twenty electric utilities, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), consultants, private sector contractors, RES and NRR and Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) staff. The results from the tests will contribute to the resolution of Generic Safety issue (GSI) 168 on Environmental Qualification (EQ) of Electric Equipment.
The staff and their contractor, BNL, discussed the results of three completed LOCA tests, the planned test program for the remaining three LOCA tests, and the merits and limitations of various condition monitoring methods (cms). The industry participants provided comments and observations on several aspects of the LOCA tests and the evaluation of the CM techniques.
They committed to provide written recommendations and comments in the next two weeks for the staffs consideration. It is anticipated that further meetings will be held as the testing progresses.
Meetino With Industry on Pressurized Thermal Shock RES held a meeting with industry representatives on March 16,1999, to discuss a RES initiative to develop the technical basis for revising the Pressurized Thermal Shock Rule (PTS),10 CFR 50.61. Participants in the meeting included staff from RES and NRR, and representatives Pom the Materials Reliability Project (MRP), NEl, EPRI,.NSSS vendors, and individual licensees.
RES staff presented the overall program plan for,dev' eloping the technical basis for a major revision to the PTS rule. The program builds on significant developments stemming from the research program over the last 10 years, with particular emphasis on major advances made 'n the last 5 years in the areas of initial flaw distributions and embrittlement trends. It is anticipated that this effon will lead to a significant burden reduction for the industry while maintaining the March 19,1999 ENCLOSURE C l
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currently accepted level of safety by basing tM rule on specific research results rather than on excessively conservative engineering judgerr.ents.
The staif had p eviously invited the industry to participate in this effort as a cooperative program.
The staff intends to approach developing the technical basis as a fully participative activity, and is seeking to formalize the industry participation through the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between RES and EPRI.
The industry representatives indicated their continuing interest in participating in this program, and specific actions were identified that will lead to an addendum to the RES/EPRI MOU addressing this effort. Additionally, specific points of contact for both the staff and the industry are being identified to coordinate the activities related to (1) probabilistic fracture mechanics, (2) thermal hydraulics, (3) identification and categorization of transients, and (4) determining an allowable frequency of pressure vessel failure consistent with current risk-informed initiatives.
The next meeting will be held on April 20 and 21,1999, to initiate specific activities in each of these areas. It is anticipated that the effort to develop the technical basis for revising the PTS rule will be completed by December 2001.
ASME Workshop on PRA Standard A public workshop, sponsored by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), was hosted by the Probabilistic Risk Analysis Branch (PRAB), Division of Systems Technology in the NRC auditorium on Tuesday, March 16,1999. The ASME has issued a draft " Standard for Probabilistic Risk Assessment for Nuclear Power Plant Applications" for public review and comment. The purpose of the ASME workshop was to present the scope, format and appach taken in writing the standard. The Standard, written by a project team which represented nuclear l licensees, industry consultants, and NRC interests, is intended to provide criteria and methodology which will help ensure an acceptable level of quality and confidence in nuclear industry PRAs to be used in risk-informed applications. The Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research has worked closelj with the ASME in this effort. Chairman Shirley Ann Jackson provided opening remarks stating that " ..a standard that ensures the quality and consistency of a PRA will be of key importance in helping to ensure an effective and efficient risk-informed regulatory system. This is our goal- to have a standard that defines PRA quality.. " The public review and comment period ends April 30,1999; comments should be submitted to Jess Moon at the ASME (email address: moonj@asme.org).
l March 19,1999 ENCLOSURE C t-
l Incident Response Operations items of Interest Week Ending March 19,1999 STATE OUTREACH TRAINING SESSION An IRO staff member conducted a State Outreach training session on March 3 and 4,1999 at the Cooper facility in Brownville, Nebraska. Attendees included emergency services and radiation health officials from the States of Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri. The utility, county and other Federal agencies had representatives attend. The session included a Tabletop exercise in the post-plume phase, presentations on the NRC and Federal response and participation as NRC in the Cooper EOF exercise with the States of Missouri and Nebraska. It was well received.
PRELIMINARY NOTIFICATIONS:
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- 1. PNO-1-99-014, Construction Engineering Consultants, Inc. OVEREXPOSED j PERSONNEL DOSE MONITOR l
- 3. PNO-lil-99-012, Washington University Madical Center, MEDICAL MISADMINISTRATION !
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Office of Administration items of Interest Week Ending March 19,1999 Electronic Commerce On March 17,1999, a staff member from the Division of Contracts and Property Management participated in a meeting of the Procurement Executive Council's Electronic Commerce (EC)
Subcommittee. The group discussed EC data gathering requirements for preparation of annud l EC reports for the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP). As a result of the discussion.
the group will sponsor with OFPP a baselining of EC information currently collected to identify which agency EC initiatives worked well. OFPP also submitted a copy of draft legislation which would permit further streamlining of solicitation posting through an alternate single Govemment-wide point of entry to the Commerce Business Daily.
Use of Attemative Source Terms at Operatina Reactors (Parts 21. 50. and 54)
A proposed rule that would allow holders of nuclear power plant operating licenses to voluntarily replace the traditional source term used in design basis accident cnalyses with altemative source l terms was published in the Federal Register on March 11,1999 (64 FR 12117). The proposed l
rule would allow interested licensees to 4 cost beneficial licensing actions to reduce unnecessary regulatory burden without a.'veting the margin of safety. The comment period on this action closes May 25,1999.
OWFN Front Extension Construction of the OWFN front vestibule extension continued with the erection of the structural steel on Wednesday, March 17,1999. Installation of the terrazzo floor is scheduled for Friday, March 19,1999, through Wednesday, March 24,1999. The installation of the enclosure and doors is scheduled to begin immediately after the terrazzo floor is finished. The entire project is scheduled to be completed the first week in April.
Security Support The Division of Facilities and Security is coordinating security support for a public demonstration scheduled for the morning of March 23,1999, outside OWFN. The demonstration is related to the uranium mhing 'icense at Crownpoint, New Mexico, and is expected to be limited to 10 people with posters. The demonstrators are in town to lobby Congress and have pcheduled the stop at NRC while in town. -
March 19,1999 ENCLCSURE F 1
Chief Information Officer Items of interest Week Ending March 19,1999 Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Reouests received durina the 5-Day Period of March 12.1999 throuah March 18.1999:
Farley plant, FOIA/PA 99-093, investigation of 11/11/98 incident involving Joseph D. LeBlanc.
(FOIA/PA 99-142)
Millstone, Ol report 1-93-047R. (FOIA/PA 99-143)
Small Break LOCA, test data for ROSA-IV series. (FOIA/PA 99-144)
Vanadium Corp. of America, Hite, UT, uranium processing facility,8/49 through 12/53.
(FOIA/PA 99-145) 01 criminal investigator 1811 classification, IG investigation. (FOIA/PA 99-146)
PRM-50-64, " Potential Liability of Non-Operating Co-Owners of Nuclear Power Plants."
(FOIA/PA 99-147)
NRC organizationalinformation. (FOIA/PA 99-148) l Named individual, radiation exposure record. (FOIA/PA 99-149)
! Millstone, Ol report 193-047R exhibits. (FOIA/PA 99-150) l Hazardous materials storage'in LA parishes of Jefferson, Orleans, and Plaquemines.
(FOIA/PA 99-151) i Sacramento Municipal Utility District, discrimination complaint by named individual.
(FOIA/PA 99-152)
Reports,011-94-021,1-95-040,1-95-046 & OlG 95-771. (FOIA/PA 99-153) l March 19,1999 ENCLOSURE G
Office of Public Affairs Items of interest Week Ending March 19,1999 Media Interest Hub Miller, Region I, was interviewed by two radio stations in Philadelphia regarding the TMl accident, Y2K, NRC's changing regulatcry environment, and the schocls program.
Frank Congel, incident Response Operations, will be interviewed next week by Fox News on the TMI accident.
ABC and CNN news bureaus have visited Oconee and Sequoyah to prepare for separate reports dealing with nuclear power plants operating in a deregulated environment.
The Virginian-Pilot in preparing a story this weekend regarding NRC inspectors at Surry.
There was high media interest (TV, print, radio) in the first of three restart meetings for Clinton.
Press Releases Headquarters:
99-50 NRC issues Draft Plan for Reviewing Future License Application for Enrichment Facility 99-51 Commission Publishes ' White Paper' Report on Risk-Informed, Performance-Based Regulation 99-52 NRC issues Draft Guidance for Reviewing Future License Application for Hanford Tank Waste Remediation 99 53 NRC Receives Two Awards for Procurement Reform Efforts l 99-54 NRC Seeks Comment on Performance-Based Regulatory Oversight Report 99-55 Note to Editors: ACRS meetings April 6-7 99 56 NRC issues License to DOE for Storage of Tift-2 Fuel in Idaho Regions:
11 99-8 Radioactive Material Removed From Site in Puerto Rico 111- 9 9 - 8 NRC, Wisconsin Electric to Meet to Discuss Apparent Violation at !
Point Beach Nuclear Plant March 19,1999 ENCLOSURE M
Office of International Programs Items of interest i
Week Ending March 19,1999 CEA Deleoation from France i
A six-person delegation from the French Atomic Energy Administration (CEA) met with Bill Brach and other managers of the Spent Fuel Project Office on March 15. Mr. Brach briefed the team on NRC's role and involvement in the storage of spent fuel. The delegation was headed by Dr.
Christophe Poinssot, Coordinator for the CEA spent fuel research program. Recently, the government of France decided to investigate the storage of spent nuclear fuel for up to 300 years. Because of their reliance on recycling light water fuel, they have little experience with spent fuel behavior over long periods. The delegation is making an extended tour of appropriate parties in the U.S. to become familiar with the state of knowledge and to learn the technical issues here.
March 19,1999 ENCLOSURE N i
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1 Office of the Secretary items of Interest Week Ending March 19,1999 Documents Released Date Subject to Public Decision Documents
- 1. SECY-98-273 11/20/98 Potential Funding Assistance for Agreement States for Closure of Formerly Terminated NRC Licenses SRM on 98-273 3/15/99 (same)
Commission Voting 3/15/99 (same)
Record on 98-273
- 2. SECY-99-046 2/10/99 Radiological Criteria for License Termination of Uranium Recovery Facilities SRM on 99-046/ 3/17/99 Staff Requirements - Affirmation Session, M9903178 Wednesday 17,1999: 1. SECY-99-046 -
Radiological Criteria for License Termination of Uranium Recovery Facilities Commission Voting 3/17/99 Radiological Criteria for License Termination Record on 99-046 of Uranium Recovery Facilities
- 3. SECY-99-042 2/5/99 Denial of a Petition for Rulemaking: Nuclear Energyptitute (NEI) (PRM-30-61)
SRM on 99-042 3/19/99 dame)
Commission Voting 3/19/99 (same)
Record on 99-042
- 4. SECY-99-022 1/20/99 Rulemaking to Modify Reporting Requirements for Power Reactors SRM on 99-022 3/19/99 (same)
Commission Voting 3/19/99 (same)
Record on 99-022 Negative Consent Documents
- 1. SECY-99-063 3/2/99 The Use by Industry of Voluntary Initiatives in the Regulatory Process information Papers
- 1. SECY-99-062 3/1/99 Nuclear Byproduct Material Risk Review March 19,1999 ENCLOSURE O
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- 2. SECY-99-064 3/2/99 Core Research Capabilities j 3. SECY-99-066 3/4/99 Weekly information Report - Week Ending
, February 26,1999
- 4. SECY-99-067 3/4/99 Litigation Report - 1999 -1
- 5. SECY 99-068 3/4/99 Update on U.S. Department of Energy
' Funding for U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Material Protection, Control, and Accounting Assistance to the Republics of the Former Soviet Union l
l Commission Correspondence l 1. Letter to President of the U.S. Senate Albert Gore and Speaker of the House Hastert, dated March 5,1999, provides the NRC's Annual Report of the Administration of the Government in the Sunshine Act for CY 1998.
- 2. Letter to Senators James Inhofe and Pete Domenici and Representatives Joe Barton and l Ron Packard, dated March 5,1999, provides the monthly report for the month of February l
1999 on the status of licensing activities and regulatory duties of the NRC.
- 3. Letter to Ms. Ga y Jones, GAO, dated March 5,1999, provides comments on a draft report,
- Nuclear Regulation: Strategy Needed to Regulate Risk-Significant issues" (incoming dated February 24,1999 also released).
- 4. Letter to Dr. Kevin Crowley, National Research Council, dated March 5,1999, concerns l funding to support a study of the National Academy of Sciences entitled Civilian Low-Level l
Radioactive Waste Disposal: Challenges and Opportunities Ahead" (incoming dated January 29,1999 also released).
- 5. Letter to Representative Joe Barton, dated March 11,1999, provides responses to questions from the February 10,1999 Subcommittee hearing to discuss the important issues regarding H.R. 45, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1999 (incomi9 dated February 19,19999 also released).
Federal Reoister Notices Issued
- 1. State of Ohio: NRC Staff Assessment of a Proposed Agreement Between the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the State af Ohio
- 2. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards; Joint Meeting of the Subcommittees on Reliability and Probabilistic Risk Assessment and on Regulatory Policies and Practices; Notice of Meeting on April 7,1999
- 3. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards; Subcommittee Meeting on Planning and Procedures; Notice of Meeting on April 6,1999 March 19,1999 ENCLOSURE O
1 Region I ltems of Interest
. Week Ending March 19,1999 Meetina to Discuss Farm Problems in the Area of Bovertown. PA At the request of EPA Region Ill, NRC Region I sent a representative to a meeting held on March 1,1999, at the offices of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP). The meeting was held to discuss problems reported by farmers in the area of Boyertown, Pennsylvania. Farmers in the area claim that, since 1992, environmental pollution in the area has harmed crops, livestock and farm workers. Although radiation surveys by the EPA have thus far demonstrated otherwise, some of the farmers believe that an NRC licensee, Cabot Corporation, which is located near the f arms, is to blame.
Region I staff attended the meeting to provide information related to activities involving the use of radioactive material at CaDot Corporation. Other attendees included representatives from the EPA, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, the University of Pennsylvania - New Bolton Large Animal Veterinary facility, the Montgomery County Health Department and the Pennsylvania State Universit y.
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March 19,1999 ENCLOSURE P l
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Region ll Items of Interest i Week Ending March 19,1999 South Carolina Electric & Gas Company On March 15, representatives from South Carolina Electric and Gas Company met in the Regional Office to discuss the V. C. Summer upcoming refueling outage. The licensee also presented an overview of 1998 plant performance and discussed the status of several technical issues.
Tennessee Valley Authority - Watts Bar On March 18, the Regional Administrator, accompanied by a Branch Chief, toured the Watts Bar facility, observed the ice basket servicing, and discussed results of the ice basket coupling screw testing.
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March 19,1999 ENCLOSURE P
Region lli items of Interest Week Ending March 19,1999 Manaaement Meetina with Illinois Power Company - Clinion On March 18,1999, a management meeting was conducted in Clinton, Illinois, between management representatives from Illinois Power Company and members of the NRC staff. The meeting discussion focused on the current status of performance improvement activities at the Clinton Nuclear Power Plant. The plant has been shut down since September of 1996. NRC Region Ill Regional Administrator Jim Dyer participated in the meeting.
Reactor Operator Licensina - Bvrcn On March 13,1999, NRC Region ill Regional Administrator Jim Dyer presented certificates in Rockford, lilinois, to one reactor operator and three senior reactor operators who were administered the NRC licensing examination at the Byron Nuclear Power Station the week of September 14,1998.
March 19,1999 . ENCLOSURE P
t Region IV Items of Interest Week Ending March 19,1999 Visit by Reaional Administrator to the Callaway Plant On March 17,1999, the Regional Administrator visited the Callaway Plant to tour the facility and present license certificates to operators who
- ad recently completed the operator licensing process.
Predecisional Enforcement Conference with International Radicaraohv & Inspection Services (IRIS)
The Regional Administrator and members of t Jaff held a predecisional enforcement conference with the President and Radiation Safety Officer of IRIS to discuss apparent violations. The closed meeting, conducted on March 18,1999, in the Region IV office, was transcribed.
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Office of Public Affairs items of Interest Week Ending March 19,1999 Media Interest Hub Miller, Region 1, was interviewed by two radio stations in Philadelphia regarding the TMl accident, Y2K, NRC's changing regulatory environment, and the schools program.
Frank Congel, Incident Response Operations, will be interviewed next week by Fox News on the l TMI accident.
ABC and CNN news bureaus have visited Oconee and Sequoyah to prepare for separate reports dealing with nuclear power plaras operating in a deregulated environment.
The Virginian-Pilot is preparing a story this weekend regarding NRC inspectors at Surry.
There was high media interest (TV, print, radio) in the first of three restart meetings for Clinton.
Press Releases Headquarters:
99-50 NRC issues Draft Plan for Reviewing Future License Application for Enrichment Facility 99-51 Commission Publishes ' White Paper' Report on Risk-informed, Performance-Based Regulation 99 52 NRC lssues Draft Guidance for Reviewing Future Ucense Application for Hanford Tank Waste Remediation 99-53 NRC Receives Two Awards for Procurement Reform Efforts 99-54 NRC Seeks Comment on Performance-Based Regulatory Oversight Report 99-55 Note to Editors: ACRS meetings April 6-7 I 99-56 NRC issues License to DOE for Storage of Tifl-2 Fuel in Idaho Regions-11- 9 9 - 8 Radioactive Material Removed From Site in Puerto Rico lll-99-8 NRC, Wisconsin Electric to Meet to Discuss Apparent Violation at Pclot Beach Nuclear Plant March 19,1999 ENCLOSURE M