ML23038A113

Final Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Performance Plan and Report

ML23038A113
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Issue date:	03/13/2023
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Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Performance Plan and Report U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission March 2023

Annual Performance Plan and Report Table of Contents Overview ...................................................................................................................................... 3 Mission Statement ...................................................................................................................... 4 Vision and Values ....................................................................................................................... 4 Organizational Structure ............................................................................................................ 4 Be riskSMART Framework ......................................................................................................... 6 Using Evidence for Decision-Making ........................................................................................ 7 Strategic Goals and Objectives for Fiscal Years 20222026 .................................................. 7 Strategic Goals and Performance Measures ............................................................................ 8 Strategic Goal 1: Ensure the Safe and Secure Use of Radioactive Materials ........................... 9 Strategic Goal 2: Continue to Foster a Healthy Organization ................................................. 33 Strategic Goal 3: Inspire Stakeholder Confidence in the NRC ................................................ 39 Other Performance Indicators ................................................................................................. 44 Corporate Support Business Line ........................................................................................... 44 Fiscal Year 2022 Discontinued Indicators .............................................................................. 46 Office of the Inspector General Performance Measures and Results.................................. 53 Major Management Priorities and Challenges ....................................................................... 54 Data Validation and Verification .............................................................................................. 55 Lower Priority Program Activities ........................................................................................... 55 Key Terms.................................................................................................................................. 55 Page l2

Annual Performance Plan and Report OVERVIEW The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the agency) was created as an independent Federal agency by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 and began operations in 1975. The NRCs overall responsibility is to protect public health and safety in the civilian uses of radioactive materials. It has the following main regulatory functions:

• Establish standards and regulations.

• Issue licenses, certificates, and permits.

• Ensure compliance with established standards and regulations.

• Issue adjudicatory decisions.

• Conduct research and risk and performance assessments to support regulatory decisions.

The NRC carries out these functions to regulate nuclear power plants, fuel cycle facilities, and other civilian uses of radioactive materials, such as nuclear medicine programs at hospitals and academic activities at educational and research institutions. The agency also uses these functions to regulate industrial applications like gauges, irradiators, and other devices that contain radioactive material. The NRC also licenses the import and export of radioactive materials and works closely with its international counterparts to enhance global nuclear safety and security.

In performing its regulatory activities, the NRC complies with Federal laws and mandates, including the National Environmental Policy Act and other environmental laws that require the agency to assess the environmental impacts of its proposed licensing and regulatory activities.

Specific areas the NRC staff considers include potential human health and socioeconomic impacts and potential impacts on endangered species, air quality, water quality, environmental justice, historic properties, and Tribal cultural resources. As part of the agencys licensing activities, rulemaking, or policy development, the NRC consults with Tribes and interacts with Tribal governments as required by the National Historic Preservation Act and consistent with the Commissions Tribal Policy Statement.

The NRC Annual Performance Plan and Report combines the performance reporting and planning requirements from the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA)

Modernization Act of 2010. The Annual Performance Plan and Report provides a comprehensive overview of the NRCs plans and progress toward achieving the goals and objectives described in the agencys Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years (FYs) 202220261 and the agencys performance goals. The Annual Performance Plan and Report also monitors progress toward the agencys performance measures and provides historical performance results and upcoming targets.

1 The NRCs Strategic Plan for FYs 20222026 is available at https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/plans-performance/strategic-planning.html.

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Annual Performance Plan and Report MISSION STATEMENT The NRC licenses and regulates the Nations civilian use of radioactive materials to provide reasonable assurance of adequate protection of public health and safety, to promote the common defense and security, and to protect the environment.

The NRC's regulatory mission covers three main areas:

(1) Reactors - Commercial reactors for generating electric power and research and test reactors used for research, testing, and training.

(2) Materials - Uses of nuclear materials in medical, industrial, and academic settings and that produce nuclear fuel.

(3) Waste - Transportation, storage, and disposal of nuclear materials and waste and decommissioning of nuclear facilities from service.

VISION AND VALUES In performing the agency mission, the NRC demonstrates the Principles of Good Regulation through effective, responsive, realistic, and timely regulatory actions, consistent with our organizational values and our open, collaborative work environment. The Commission established the NRCs Principles of Good Regulation in 1991 to focus the agency on its safety and security mission while appropriately considering the interests of the NRCs stakeholders, including the public and licensees. The NRCs Principles of Good Regulation and other organizational values are described at https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/values.html#principles.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE The NRC Commission has up to five members nominated by the President of the United States, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, for 5-year terms. The President designates one of the Commissioners to serve as Chair. The Chair is the principal executive officer and spokesperson for the Commission. As a collegial body, the Commission formulates policies and regulations governing the safety and security of nuclear reactors and materials, issues orders to licensees, and adjudicates legal matters brought before it. The Executive Director for Operations carries out the policies and decisions of the Commission and directs the activities of the program and regional offices.

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Annual Performance Plan and Report Page l5

Annual Performance Plan and Report The NRC is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland. The agency has four regional offices, located in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania (Region I); Atlanta, Georgia (Region II); Lisle, Illinois (Region III); and Arlington, Texas (Region IV). The major program offices within the NRC include the following:

• The Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation licenses and oversees existing nuclear power reactors and research and test reactors -and the design, siting, licensing, and construction of new commercial nuclear power reactors advanced reactor technologies, and non-power production and utilization facilities.

• The Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research provides independent expertise and information for making timely regulatory judgments, anticipating potentially significant safety problems, and resolving safety issues. It supports the development of technical regulations and standards and collects, analyzes, and disseminates information about the safety of commercial nuclear power plants and certain nuclear materials activities.

• The Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards licenses and oversees the production of commercial nuclear fuel; uranium recovery activities; decommissioning of nuclear facilities; and the use of radioactive materials in medical, industrial, academic, and commercial applications. It regulates the safe storage, transportation, and disposal of high- and low-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. The office also works with other Federal agencies and State, Tribal, and local governments on regulatory matters.

• The Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response supports the program offices in overseeing the implementation of agency security policy for nuclear facilities and users of radioactive material and coordinates with other Federal agencies and international organizations on security issues. This office also maintains the NRCs emergency preparedness and incident response programs.

• The regional offices conduct inspections and investigations (in conjunction with the Office of Investigations); take enforcement actions (in coordination with the Office of Enforcement); and maintain emergency response programs for nuclear reactors, fuel facilities, and materials licensees. In addition, the regions carry out licensing for certain materials licensees.

BE RISKSMART FRAMEWORK The NRC is on a transformation journey to become a modern, risk-informed regulator. To achieve our vision, the Be riskSMART initiative focuses on how the agency will continue to use risk information, across all of our regulatory programs, to make sound decisions. The Be riskSMART framework gives the staff confidence to consistently apply and communicate risk information for all NRC decisions without compromising our mission.

The Be riskSMART framework combines traditional risk-informed concepts into a plain language framework to apply and communicate risk insights for all kinds of NRC decisions, whether they are in the technical, corporate, or legal arena. The framework ensures the staffs basic understanding of how risk information is applied across the different program areas and allows Page l6

Annual Performance Plan and Report the agency to effectively communicate how it uses risk information to make sound regulatory decisions.

The Be riskSMART framework includes guidance and steps for identifying and managing risk information (for issues where there is no predetermined answer in a law, regulation, or policy);

performance metrics for how well the agency considers risk information; and training to ensure a common understanding of how risk information is applied across NRC program areas. In March 2021, the NRC issued NUREG/KM-0016, Be riskSMART: Guidance for Integrating Risk Insights into NRC Decisions, to provide detailed guidance on using the Be riskSMART framework and case studies from across a series of disciplines.

USING EVIDENCE FOR DECISION-MAKING The Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (Evidence Act), signed into law on January 14, 2019, emphasizes collaboration and coordination to advance data and evidence-building functions in the Federal Government. The Evidence Act statutorily mandates Federal evidence-building activities, open Government data, confidential information protection, and statistical efficiency. Evidence includes fact finding, performance measurement, policy analysis, and program evaluation used to make critical decisions about program operations, policy, and regulations, and to gain visibility into the impact of resource allocation on achieving program objectives.

The evidence-building plan is a systematic approach for identifying and addressing priority questions relevant to an agencys programs, policies, and regulations. More broadly, it is a coordination tool to engage stakeholders in evidence planning and building to help achieve an agencys mission. The evidence-building plan is intended to emphasize and foster an agency culture of learning and continuous improvement. Once an evidence-building plan is implemented, decision-makers can use the resulting evidence to guide choices to improve the agency programs, policies, and regulations.

The NRC is committed to meeting the intent of the Evidence Act by evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of its programs and their contributions to achieving the agencys mission.

Evaluations and other evidence-building activities conducted by the NRC are expected to adhere to the standards discussed in the NRCs Evidence-Building and Evaluation Policy Statement (86 FR 29683; June 3, 2021). The NRCs priority questions in the Evidence-Building Plan include key areas to support agency needs and the strategic goals and objectives for FYs 2022-2026.

STRATEGIC GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR FISCAL YEARS 2022 2026 The NRCs Strategic Plan for FYs 20222026 sets the strategic direction and aligns priorities for the agency over the next 4 years. Each strategic goal has supporting objectives and strategies that reflect the desired outcome and the NRCs role in achieving it. The NRC has established three strategic goals that are supported by eight strategic objectives.

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Annual Performance Plan and Report Strategic Goal 1: Ensure the safe and secure use of radioactive materials.

Safety and Security Provide quality licensing and oversight of nuclear facilities and Objective 1.1: radioactive materials.

Safety and Security Ensure regulatory requirements adequately support the safe and Objective 1.2: secure use of radioactive materials.

Safety and Security Maintain emergency preparedness and response capabilities for Objective 1.3: NRC and NRC-licensed facilities.

Strategic Goal 2: Continue to foster a healthy organization.

Organizational Health Foster an organizational culture in which the workforce is engaged, Objective 2.1: adaptable, and receptive to change and makes data-driven and evidence-based decisions.

Organizational Health Enable the workforce to carry out the agencys mission by Objective 2.2: leveraging modern technology, innovation, and knowledge management to support data-driven decisions in an evolving regulatory landscape.

Organizational Health Attract, develop, and maintain a high-performing, diverse, Objective 2.3: engaged, and flexible workforce with the skills needed to carry out the NRCs mission now and in the future.

Strategic Goal 3: Inspire stakeholder confidence in the NRC.

Stakeholder Confidence Engage stakeholders in NRC activities in an effective and Objective 3.1: transparent manner.

Stakeholder Confidence Uphold an NRC decision-making process that is data driven and Objective 3.2: evidence based while ensuring information is available and accessible to interested stakeholders.

STRATEGIC GOALS AND PERFORMANCE MEASURES In conjunction with the development of the agencys Strategic Plan for FYs 2022-2026, the NRC developed performance goals and indicators for each strategic objective. Performance goals and indicators for Strategic Goal 1, which focus on safety and security, are output based and describe the level of product or activity that will be provided over time. The NRC works to prevent or minimize the outcomes tracked by the safety and security performance indicators.

Therefore, performance indicators demonstrating progress on meeting the agencys strategic goal and objectives for safety and security are to be at either zero or very low levels. Strategic Goals 2 and 3 focus on organizational health and stakeholder confidence, respectively. These goals use outcome-based performance indicators, which describe the progress toward achieving the intended result.

The memorandum Formation of the Programmatic Senior Assessment Team, dated March 31, 2016 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System Accession No. ML16067A159), discusses output-based performance indicators that are out of standard to Page l8

Annual Performance Plan and Report ensure mitigating strategies and determines whether the outcome-based performance indicators are achieving progress toward the intended results. The Programmatic Senior Assessment Team will make this determination during the agencys Quarterly Performance Review or Strategic Alignment Meetings. Outcome-based performance indicators use targets of heading in the right direction and can also produce results of opportunity for improvement or heading in the wrong direction.

Strategic Goal 1: Ensure the Safe and Secure Use of Radioactive Materials The NRC is tasked with providing reasonable assurance of adequate protection of public health and safety, promoting the common defense and security, and protecting the environment. The agency accomplishes this through day-to-day activities such as reviewing, issuing, and renewing power reactor licenses and amendments; overseeing the safety and security of power reactor facilities, including the storage and transportation of spent fuel; and licensing and regulating non-power uses of radioactive materials, such as industrial and medical applications of radionuclides. Although licensees and certificate holders have the primary responsibility for the safe and secure use of licensed radioactive material that they possess, the NRC establishes regulatory requirements, develops guidance, maintains continuing regulatory oversight, and, when necessary, enforces compliance with agency requirements throughout the license term.

Safety and Security Objective 1.1 Provide quality licensing and oversight of nuclear facilities and radioactive materials.

Summary of FY 2022 Progress The NRC continues to provide quality licensing and oversight of nuclear facilities and radioactive materials in a manner that protects public health and safety, promotes the common defense and security, and protects the environment.

Nuclear Reactor Safety Program The NRCs Nuclear Reactor Safety Program encompasses licensing and overseeing civilian nuclear power reactors and non-power production or utilization facilities in a manner that adequately protects public health and safety. It also provides reasonable assurance of the security of such facilities and protection against radiological sabotage. This program contributes to the NRCs safety and security strategic goals through the activities of the Operating Reactors and New Reactors Business Lines, which regulate operating and new nuclear reactors to ensure they meet applicable requirements.

Operating Reactors Business Line The Operating Reactors Business Line encompasses the regulation of operating civilian nuclear power reactors and non-power production or utilization facilities in a manner that provides for reasonable assurance of adequate protection of public health and safety and promotes the common defense and security. The NRC establishes regulatory requirements for the design, construction, operation, and security of nuclear power plants, research and test reactors and non-power production or utilization facilities, in accordance with the provisions of the Atomic Page l9

Annual Performance Plan and Report Energy Act of 1954, as amended (AEA). Through the activities of this business line, the NRC implements programs to meet its safety and security strategic goals in protecting both the public and workers from the radiation hazards of nuclear reactors. To ensure that plants and facilities are operating safely, the NRC licenses the plants to operate and the personnel who operate them.

The NRC provides continuing oversight of civilian nuclear reactors and verifies operator adherence to the agencys rules and regulations. The Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) is the NRCs program used to inspect, measure, and assess the safety and security performance of operating commercial nuclear power plants and to respond to any decline in their performance.

The FY 2022 significant accomplishments within the Operating Reactors Business Line include the following:

• Successfully implementing the ROP baseline inspection program and special inspections to follow up on safety-significant events, performing operator licensing, providing incident response coverage for hurricanes, and conducting all planned vendor inspections despite continued Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic challenges.

• Providing ongoing oversight following the National Institute of Standards and Technology Center for Neutron Research fuel damage event, including completion of the special inspection report, alternative dispute resolution and Confirmatory Order.

• Continuing preparations for the licensing of accident tolerant fuel (ATF) by issuing a revised communication plan; Research Information Letter 2021-13, Interpretation of Research on Fuel Fragmentation, Relocation, and Dispersal at High Burnup, issued December 2021; the NRCs Regulatory Framework Applicability Assessment; and a letter to the industry to provide transparency in the generic review schedule for topical reports and licensing actions for the deployment of ATF concepts, higher burnup, and increased enrichment. The agency also redesigned the ATF public website and hosted two workshops on licensing of higher burnup and increased enrichment fuel.

New Reactors Business Line The New Reactors Business Line encompasses the review, licensing, and oversight of the design, siting, and construction of new nuclear power reactors, including small modular reactors and advanced non-light-water reactors (non-LWRs). The new reactor activities ensure that new civilian nuclear power facilities are developed and regulated in a manner consistent with the NRCs public health and safety mission.

The NRC reviews new nuclear power reactor design certification, combined license, standard design approval, and early site permit applications, consistent with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 52, Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants. The NRC also reviews construction permits and operating license applications for new nuclear power reactors, consistent with 10 CFR Part 50, Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities. The application process under 10 CFR Part 50, which was used for all currently operating reactors, involves separate applications for a construction permit and an operating license.

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Annual Performance Plan and Report The NRC conducts oversight of construction activities through inspections of facilities under construction. The NRC also updates its new reactor regulatory infrastructure to account for lessons learned, as well as interactions with all stakeholders during its licensing and oversight activities.

The FY 2022 significant accomplishments within the New Reactors Business Line include the following:

• Performing the final assessment and completing all inspections under the construction ROP for Vogtle Unit 3 to support the issuance of the first-of-its-kind 10 CFR 52.103(g),

Operation under a combined license finding, which authorized Southern Nuclear Operating Company to load nuclear fuel and begin operations.

• Issuing NUREG-2246, Fuel Qualification for Advanced Reactors, Final, in March 2022; a draft regulatory guide on alternative evaluation of risk insights; and a draft regulatory guide on technology-inclusive identification of licensing events.

• Completing substantial preapplication activities with 12 vendors on 14 topical report reviews and 25 white paper reviews, to support timely and efficient future licensing reviews.

• Developing a streamlined draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for licensing the proposed Kairos Hermes test reactor project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The draft EIS achieved governmentwide targets for a streamlined EIS including page length and schedule, which will serve as a template for preparing EISs for future small, advanced reactor projects.

Nuclear Materials and Waste Safety Program The Nuclear Materials and Waste Safety Program encompasses the NRCs licensing and oversight of nuclear materials in a manner that adequately protects public health and safety.

This program provides assurance of the physical security of the materials and waste and protection against radiological sabotage, theft, or diversion of nuclear materials. Through this program, the NRC regulates uranium processing and fuel facilities, research and pilot facilities, nuclear materials users (medical, industrial, research, and academic), spent fuel storage, spent fuel material transportation and packaging, decontamination and decommissioning of facilities, and low-level and high-level radioactive waste. The program contributes to the NRCs safety and security strategic goals through the activities of the Nuclear Materials Users, Decommissioning and Low-Level Waste, Fuel Facilities, and Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation Business Lines.

Nuclear Materials Users Business Line The Nuclear Materials Users Business Line activities support licensing and oversight of industrial, medical, and academic uses of radioactive materials. These activities include licensing, inspection, oversight, source security, import and export authorizations, the Integrated Materials Performance Evaluation Program (IMPEP), and programmatic assistance to Agreement States. Agreement States are those States that have signed an agreement with the NRC in accordance with section 274.b of the AEA, which authorizes the NRC to discontinue, and the State to assume, regulatory authority over certain materials cited in the AEA. With P a g e l 11

Annual Performance Plan and Report respect to Agreement States, the NRC has oversight responsibility to periodically review the State programs to ensure adequacy and compatibility. There are currently 39 Agreement States. Additionally, Connecticut, Indiana, and West Virginia have submitted letters of intent to become Agreement States.

This business lines activities also include intergovernmental communication and coordination, implementation of the Tribal Policy Statement and coordination with other Federal agencies on Tribal matters, and maintenance of major information technology (IT) systems to support the regulatory safety and security infrastructure needed to track the possession and use of nuclear materials.

The FY 2022 significant accomplishments within the Nuclear Materials Users Business Line include the following:

• Facilitating consistent nationwide licensing for medical uses of radioactive materials through guidance for emerging technologies, including a revised training approach and new model for the NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes, LLC RadioGenix Molybdenum-99/Technetium-99m Generator System and initial licensing guidance for Alpha DaRT manual brachytherapy sources (first issued under a streamlined process).

• Completing a first-of-a-kind evaluation of NRC-recognized medical specialty boards to support their continued qualification of authorized users of radioactive materials.

• Completing 13 IMPEP reviews of Agreement States. This included extensive coordination and problem-solving efforts to address unsatisfactory performance indicators in tow states and the first consolidated IMPEP of NRC licensing and oversight programs.

• Issuing 10 new inspection procedures under the Materials Inspection Program, for the inspection process for approximately 70 percent of the more than 18,000 materials licensees across the National Materials Program.

Decommissioning and Low-Level Waste Business Line The Decommissioning and Low-Level Waste Business Line activities support the licensing reviews and oversight of uranium recovery facilities and sites undergoing decommissioning.

Decommissioning is the safe removal of a nuclear facility from service and the reduction of residual radioactivity to a level that permits the termination of the NRC license. The NRC regulates the decommissioning of complex materials sites, fuel cycle facilities, uranium recovery facilities, power reactors, and non-power production or utilization facilities, with the goal of license termination.

This business line also oversees the national low-level waste program and monitors the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) waste incidental to reprocessing activities at the Savannah River Site and the Idaho National Laboratory, consistent with the NRCs responsibilities under the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005. Other business line activities include interfacing with licensees, applicants, Federal and State agencies, Tribal governments, and the public.

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Annual Performance Plan and Report The FY 2022 significant accomplishments within the Decommissioning and Low-Level Waste Business Line include the following:

• Completing a total of 53 licensing actions, including license terminations for Humboldt Bay Power Plant, Unit 3; the Sigma Aldrich Complex Material facility; and two licenses for the General Atomic TRIGA research test reactor.

• Supporting licensing and oversight activities for decommissioning programs with guidance updates and public outreach activities, including issuing NUREG-1757, Consolidated Decommissioning Guidance, Volume 2, Revision 2, Characterization, Survey, and Determination of Radiological Criteria, in July 2022.

• Participating in a Congressional field hearing near the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station site.

• Conducting two postshutdown decommissioning activities report public meetings.

• Issuing the long-term care fee determination for Western Nuclear, Inc. Split Rock uranium mill tailings site to prepare for license termination and transfer to DOE for long-term care.

• Issuing two technical evaluation reports for the Hanford site: (1) U.S. NRC Technical Evaluation Report for the Draft Waste Incidental to Reprocessing Evaluation for Vitrified Low-Activity Waste and (2) U.S. NRC Technical Evaluation Report for the Draft Waste Incidental to Reprocessing Evaluation for the Test Bid Initiative.

Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation Business Line The Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation Business Line activities support the safe and secure storage of spent nuclear fuel and the transport of radioactive materials. These activities include conducting safety, security, and environmental reviews of license applications for spent nuclear fuel storage casks and independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSIs), as well as performing safety and security reviews of radioactive material transportation packages. This work also includes reviewing storage system and ISFSI renewal applications, developing and updating related regulations and guidance, conducting safety inspections of transportation packages and storage cask vendors and fabricators, observing ISFSI operations, and performing security inspections of ISFSIs.

The FY 2022 significant accomplishments within the Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation Business Line include the following:

• Completing 45 licensing reviews of transportation package designs and storage cask and facility licenses, including the technical safety review of one storage renewal application.

• Conducting 16 inspections of activities related to radioactive material package certificate holders and spent fuel storage cask certificate holders to ensure the casks are being designed, fabricated, and used according to approved safety requirements.

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Annual Performance Plan and Report

• Conducting 58 ISFSI core inspections, including construction, preoperational testing, canister loading, and placement in a dry fuel storage system.

• Issuing the final EIS, and Supplement, related to the Holtec Consolidated Interim Storage Facility in New Mexico.

Fuel Facilities Business Line The Fuel Facilities Business Line encompasses the licensing and oversight of fuel cycle facilities in a manner that adequately protects public health and safety and promotes the common defense and security. The uranium fuel cycle begins with uranium ore that is mined and then milled to extract uranium from the ore. The conversion of the uranium changes it into a form suitable for enrichment. The enrichment process makes uranium suitable for use as nuclear fuel. The Fuel Facilities Business Line includes licensing and oversight activities related to fuel conversion, enrichment, and fuel fabrication. The Fuel Facilities Business Line also provides licensing and oversight support for a number of additional licensees that possess greater than critical mass quantities of special nuclear material (SNM), such as universities and research and test facilities.

The FY 2022 significant accomplishments within the Fuel Facilities Business Line include the following:

• Completing three licensing reviews for existing fuel facilities with plans to increase uranium enrichment and manufacture fuel with high-assay low-enriched uranium.

• Issuing a renewed license and final EIS for Westinghouse Electric Companys Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility in Hopkins, South Carolina that authorizes operations for an additional 40 years.

• Issuing a renewed SNM license to Oregon State University for an additional 10 years.

The license will allow for continued research on fuel rods for research and test reactors.

• Completing all core inspections for all fuel facilities, performed two Special Inspections in response to safety-significant events, and began development of a comprehensive construction inspection program for new types of facilities licensed under 10 CFR Part 70.

Setting the Strategic Direction for FY 2023 and 2024 Performance Using information gained from domestic and international operating experience, changes to the threat environment, climate change impacts, research, and lessons learned, the NRC maintains technically sound and rigorous licensing and oversight processes commensurate with the risk of the regulated activity. The NRC monitors the performance of licensees to ensure consistency with its safety and security mission. As part of its regulatory responsibilities, the NRC must protect classified and sensitive unclassified information related to U.S. Government programs for the physical protection and safeguarding of nuclear materials and facilities from unauthorized disclosure.

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Annual Performance Plan and Report The NRC must make strategic decisions and ensure the following strategies remain a priority to successfully provide quality licensing and oversight of nuclear facilities and radioactive materials.

• Promote risk-informed decision-making to result in effective and efficient oversight, rulemaking, and licensing and certification activities.

• Maintain material safety and security through the National Materials Program in partnership with Agreement States.

• Uphold high quality standards and technical proficiency.

• Ensure that programs for the handling and control of classified and sensitive unclassified information are effectively implemented at the NRC and at licensed facilities.

• Ensure that licensees have measures to address the potential for increased risk due to climate change.

Performance Measures Performance Goal 1.1.1: Prevent radiation exposures that significantly exceed regulatory limits.

Performance Indicator: Number of radiation exposures that meet or exceed Abnormal Occurrence (AO) Criteria I.A.1 (unintended radiation exposure to an adult), I.A.2 (unintended radiation exposure to a minor), or I.A.3 (radiation exposure that has resulted in unintended permanent functional damage to an organ or physiological system).2 FY FY FY FY FY FY FY Business Line 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Target 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Operating Reactors Actual 0 0 0 0 0 Target 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 New Reactors Actual 0 0 0 0 0 Target 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Fuel Facilities Actual 0 0 0 0 0 Decommissioning and Target 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Low-Level Waste Actual 0 0 0 0 0 Spent Fuel Storage Target 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 and Transportation Actual 0 0 0 0 0 Nuclear Materials Target 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 Users Actual 1 1 2 0 13 2

All references to the AO criteria in this section refer to the criteria approved by the Commission in SRM-SECY-17-0019, Staff RequirementsSECY-17-0019Final Revision to Policy Statement on Abnormal Occurrence Reporting Criteria, dated August 24, 2017.

3 The event description can be found at the Event Notifications Reports website, under event number 55920.

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Annual Performance Plan and Report Performance Goal 1.1.2: Prevent releases of radioactive materials that significantly exceed regulatory limits.

Performance Indicator: Number of releases of radioactive materials that meet or exceed AO Criterion 1.B (discharge or dispersal of radioactive material from its intended place of confinement).

FY FY FY FY FY FY FY Business Line 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Target 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Operating Reactors Actual 0 0 0 0 0 Target 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 New Reactors Actual 0 0 0 0 0 Target 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Fuel Facilities Actual 0 0 0 0 0 Decommissioning and Target 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Low-Level Waste Actual 0 0 0 0 0 Spent Fuel Storage Target 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 and Transportation Actual 0 0 0 0 0 Nuclear Materials Target 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Users Actual 0 0 0 0 0 Performance Goal 1.1.3: Prevent the occurrence of any inadvertent criticality events.

Performance Indicator: Number of instances of unintended nuclear chain reactions involving NRC-licensed radioactive materials.

FY FY FY FY FY FY FY Business Line 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Target 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Operating Reactors Actual 0 0 0 0 0 Target 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Fuel Facilities Actual 0 0 0 0 0 Decommissioning and Target 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Low-Level Waste Actual 0 0 0 0 0 Performance Goal 1.1.4: Prevent significant unauthorized disclosures of classified or safeguards information.

Performance Indicator: Number of significant unauthorized disclosures of classified or Safeguards Information by licensees as defined by AO criterion 1.C.5 (significant unauthorized disclosure of classified information or Safeguards Information by NRC employees or contractors, as defined by NRC internal criteria.

FY FY FY FY FY FY FY Business Line 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Target 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 All Business Lines Actual 0 0 0 0 0 P a g e l 16

Annual Performance Plan and Report Agencywide Performance Indicators The NRC developed the following agencywide performance indicators, which cover the overall performance of the licensing and oversight program areas for the agency.

Percentage of Timely Completion of Final Safety Evaluations by the Generic Milestone Date for All Requested Activities of the Commission, as Identified by the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (NEIMA), from a Licensee or Applicant (AW-02)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2022 100% 100% New indicator in FY 2022.

FY 2023 100%

FY 2024 100%

This indicator includes all requested activities of the Commission from licensees or applicants that involve the issuance of a final safety evaluation accepted after July 13, 2019 (associated business line indicators include OR-27, NR-21, SF-12, DL-10, and FF-13). This includes design certifications, licenses, permits, license amendments, license renewals, certificates of compliance, power uprates, and any other requested activity, as applicable, that involves the issuance of a final safety evaluation processed for the agency. This is measured per the generic milestone schedules. Additional information on generic milestone schedules is available at https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/generic-schedules.html.

Operating Reactors Business Line (OR-27)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2021 100% 100% New indicator in FY 2021.

The staff continues to (1) conduct monthly workload management meetings to monitor and assess potential schedules at risk, utilizing advance data tools to identify hot spots in a large licensing portfolio, (2) capture improvements in the reactor program system to enhance milestone tracking FY 2022 100% 99.8% and identify schedule challenges early (e.g., updated work aids and training), (3) evaluate project-specific schedules and identify those potential cases extending beyond the generic milestone schedules, and (4) review existing licensing inventory to identify other requested actions that may impact this indicator.

FY 2023 100%

FY 2024 100%

New Reactors Business Line (NR-21)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2021 100% 100% New indicator in FY 2021 FY 2022 100% 100%

FY 2023 100%

FY 2024 100%

Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation Business Line (SF-12)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2021 100% 100% New indicator in FY 2021 FY 2022 100% 100%

FY 2023 100%

FY 2024 100%

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Annual Performance Plan and Report Percentage of Timely Completion of Final Safety Evaluations by the Generic Milestone Date for All Requested Activities of the Commission, as Identified by the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (NEIMA), from a Licensee or Applicant (AW-02)

Decommissioning and Low-Level Waste Business Line (DL-10)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2021 100% 100% New indicator in FY 2021 FY 2022 100% 100%

FY 2023 100%

FY 2024 100%

Fuel Facilities Business Lines (FF-13)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2021 100% 100% New indicator in FY 2021 FY 2022 100% 100%

FY 2023 100%

FY 2024 100%

Average Percentage of Time Allotted Used in the Established Schedule for All Requested Activities of the Commission, as Identified by NEIMA, from a Licensee or Applicant (AW-03)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2022 115 or 75 88.1%

FY 2023 115 or 75 FY 2024 115 or 75 This indicator includes all requested activities of the Commission from licensees or applicants that involve the issuance of a final safety evaluation accepted after July 13, 2019 (associated business line indicators include OR-29, NR-22, SF-14, DL-11, and FF-14). This includes design certifications, licenses, permits, license amendments, license renewals, certificates of compliance, power uprates, and any other requested activity, as applicable, that involves the issuance of a final safety evaluation processed for the agency. This is measured per the established schedule issued to a licensee or applicant for the requested activity. A result of 100 percent indicates that, on average, actions within the reporting period were completed on the established schedule completion date. A result above or below 100 percent indicates that actions were completed after or before the established schedule completion date on average (e.g., a result of 90 percent indicates that the actions within the reporting period were completed, on average, 10 percent earlier than the established schedule completion date).

Operating Reactors Business Line (OR-29)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2022 115 or 75 81% New indicator in FY 2022.

FY 2023 115 or 75 FY 2024 115 or 75 New Reactors Business Line (NR-22)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2022 115 or 75 86% New indicator in FY 2022.

FY 2023 115 or 75 FY 2024 115 or 75 Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation Business Line (SF-14)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2022 115 or 75 92% New indicator in FY 2022.

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Annual Performance Plan and Report Average Percentage of Time Allotted Used in the Established Schedule for All Requested Activities of the Commission, as Identified by NEIMA, from a Licensee or Applicant (AW-03)

FY 2023 115 or 75 FY 2024 115 or 75 Decommissioning and Low-Level Waste Business Line (DL-11)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2022 115 or 75 93.4% New indicator in FY 2022 FY 2023 115 or 75 FY 2024 115 or 75 Fuel Facilities Business Line (FF-14)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2022 115 or 75 88% New indicator in FY 2022 FY 2023 115 or 75 FY 2024 115 or 75 Percentage of Required Inspections Completed in Accordance with the Applicable Inspection Manual Chapters for the Fiscal Year (AW-04)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2022 98% 100%

FY 2023 98%

FY 2024 98%

This indicator includes the completion of required inspections under applicable inspection manual chapters agencywide (associated business line indicators include OR-12.1, SF-15, NM-05, DL-12, and FF-15). The target for this indicator is not 100 percent, due to the potential deferral of inspections based on licensee requests.

Operating Rectors Business Line: Percentage of All Required Baseline Inspection Procedures Completed for All Plants (OR-12.1)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2018 99% 100% New target in FY 2018 (replacing OR-12).

FY 2019 99% 100%

FY 2020 99% 100%

FY 2021 99% 100%

FY 2022 99% 100%

FY 2023 99%

FY 2024 99%

Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation Business Line: Percentage of Inspections Completed in Accordance with Inspection Manual Chapter 2690 (SF-15)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2022 98% 100% New indicator in FY 2022.

FY 2023 98%

FY 2024 98%

Nuclear Materials Users Business Line: Percentage of Safety Inspections of Materials Licensees Completed on Time (NM-05)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2018 98% 99%

FY 2019 98% 100%

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Annual Performance Plan and Report Percentage of Required Inspections Completed in Accordance with the Applicable Inspection Manual Chapters for the Fiscal Year (AW-04)

FY 2020 98% 99%

FY 2021 98% 99%

FY 2022 98% 100%

FY 2023 98%

FY 2024 98%

Decommissioning Low-Level Waste Business Line: Percentage of Required Inspections Completed in Accordance with the Applicable Inspection Manual Chapter* (DL-12)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2022 98% 100% New indicator in FY 2022.

FY 2023 98%

FY 2024 98%

• Includes the completion of required inspections under Inspection Manual Chapter (IMC) 2561, Decommissioning Power Reactor Inspection Program, for decommissioning power reactors; IMC 2602, Decommissioning Oversight and Inspection Program for Fuel Cycle Facilities and Materials Licensees, for decommissioning materials sites; and inspections of uranium recovery facilities under IMC 2641, In-Situ Leach Facilities Inspection Program, and IMC 2801, Uranium Recovery and 11e.(2) Byproduct Material Facility Inspection Program.

Fuel Facilities Business Line: Inspection Manual Chapter 2600 (FF-15)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2022 98% 100% New indicator in FY 2022.

FY 2023 98%

FY 2024 98%

Other Performance Indicators The NRC developed the following performance indicators, which cover the overall performance of the licensing and oversight program areas for operating reactors, nuclear materials users, and fuel facilities business lines for the agency.

Operating Reactors Business Line Licensing Percentage of Reviews Completed within Resource Estimate* (OR-28)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2022 80 96.5 New indicator in FY 2022 FY 2023 80 FY 2024 80

• Percentage of reviews, including issuance of final safety evaluations, completed within 125 percent of resource estimates issued to licensees or applicants for all requested activities of the Commission, as identified by NEIMA.

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Annual Performance Plan and Report Oversight Number of Final Significance Determinations Issued More Than 255 Days from the Start Date for All Potentially Greater-Than-Green Findings* (OR-13.1)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment This is a new indicator for FY 2021. Three significance determinations were finalized beyond the 255-day FY 2021 <1 3 timeline. This delay was primarily attributed to additional time required to establish the appropriate risk significance of the findings.

Three significance determinations were finalized beyond the 255-day timeline. Delays associated with

>10 then these findings are attributed to a first-of-a-kind FY 2022 10% or 3 cybersecurity issue, added time deliberating the 10 then 1 appropriate performance deficiency or risk significance, and additional time required to review licensee-provided information.

>10 then FY 2023 10% or 10 then 1

>10 then FY 2024 10% or 10 then 1

• Applies to all findings for which a preliminary determination that the finding is potentially greater than Green (e.g., to be determined, apparent violation, or preliminary greater-than-Green finding) is transmitted to the licensee, regardless of final significance. The 255-day timeframe is based on the identification date of the issue of concern (i.e., the date an issue of concern was self-revealed or the date the NRC became aware of the underlying condition leading to the issue of concern) and is the target the agency strives for when conducting significance determination process reviews. If there are more than 10 greater-than-Green findings in the FY, the target is less than or equal to 10 percent. If there are 10 or fewer greater-than-Green findings in the FY, the target is less than or equal to one finding.

Percentage of Technical Allegation Reviews Completed in 360 Days or Less* (OR-16)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2018 100 % 100 %

FY 2019 100 % 100 %

FY 2020 100 % 100 %

FY 2021 100 % 100 %

FY 2022 100 % 100 %

FY 2023 100 %

FY 2024 100%

• Includes the calculations for the New Reactors Business Line for the same indicator and is reported under the Operating Reactors Business Line.

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Annual Performance Plan and Report Percentage of Enforcement Actions Where Investigation Is Involved Completed in 330 Days or Less* (OR-18)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2018 100% 100%

FY 2019 100% 100%

FY 2020 100% 100%

FY 2021 100% 100%

FY 2022 100% 100%

FY 2023 100%

FY 2024 100%

• Includes calculations for the New Reactors Business Line for the same indicator and is reported under the Operating Reactors Business Line.

Percentage of Investigations That Developed Sufficient Information to Reach a Conclusion on Wrongdoing Completed in 12 Months or Less (OR-19)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2018 80% 95%

FY 2019 85% 92%

FY 2020 85% 97%

FY 2021 85% 96%

FY 2022 85% 100%

FY 2023 85%

FY 2024 85%

Percentage of Investigations Completed in Time to Initiate Civil and/or Criminal Enforcement Action (OR-20)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2018 100% 100%

FY 2019 100% 100%

FY 2020 100% 100%

FY 2021 100% 100%

FY 2022 100% 100%

FY 2023 100%

FY 2024 100%

Percentage of Force-on-Force Inspections Performed as Scheduled within the Calendar Year (OR-30)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2023 100% New indicator in FY 2023.

FY 2024 100%

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Annual Performance Plan and Report Nuclear Materials Users Business Line Licensing Percentage of Licensing Application Reviews for New Materials Licenses and License Amendments (Excluding Change of Control Amendments)* Completed in 90 Days or Less (NM-01)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2018 92% 96%

FY 2019* 92% 97%

FY 2020* 92% 95%

FY 2021* 92% 93%

FY 2022* 92% 94%

FY 2023* 92%

FY 2024* 92%

• Beginning in FY 2019, this indicator description excludes change of control amendments. The process for reviewing change of control amendments involves public notification and legal steps that are more complex and require more time than for other typical amendment reviews. Change of control amendments are now captured under NM-03.

Percentage of Licensing Application Reviews for Materials License Renewals and Sealed Source and Devices Reviews and Associated Licensing Actions, and Change of Control Amendments* Completed in 180 Days or Less (NM-03)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2018 92% 100%

FY 2019* 92% 99%

FY 2020* 92% 97%

FY 2021* 92% 94%

FY 2022* 92% 92%

FY 2023** 94%

FY 2024** 94%

• Change of control amendments were added to this indicator description beginning in FY 2019.

As of FY 2019, change of control amendments that were being captured in NM-01 are captured under NM-03.

• • Beginning in FY 2023, the target will be increased to 94 percent. The use of data analytical techniques will improve the efficiency of internal processes to monitor workload and to predict and manage schedules.

Oversight Percentage of Technical Allegation Reviews Completed in 360 Days or Less*(NM-08)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2018 100% 100%

FY 2019 100% 100%

FY 2020 100% 100%

FY 2021 100% 100%

FY 2022 100% 100%

FY 2023 100%

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Annual Performance Plan and Report Percentage of Technical Allegation Reviews Completed in 360 Days or Less*(NM-08)

FY 2024 100%

• This target also includes the calculations for the Decommissioning and Low-Level Waste Business Line for the same indicator and is reported under the Nuclear Materials Users Business Line.

Percentage of Enforcement Actions in which Investigation Is Involved Completed in 330 Days or Less* (NM-10)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2018 100% 100%

FY 2019 100% 100%

FY 2020 100% 100%

FY 2021 100% 100%

FY 2022 100% 100%

FY 2023 100%

FY 2024 100%

• This indicator also includes calculations for the same indicator for the Decommissioning and Low-Level Waste, Fuel Facilities, and Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation Business Lines.

Percentage of Investigations that Developed Sufficient Information to Reach a Conclusion on Wrongdoing Completed within 12 Months or Less* (NM-11)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2018 85% 87%

FY 2019 85% 94%

Investigations are unpredictable; complex issues, Department of Justice (DOJ) involvement, or standards for conducting thorough investigations can cause them to go beyond the self-imposed timeliness standard. During FY 2020, only 12 investigations were closed in this FY 2020 85% 58% category of which 4 were delayed in closing in order to resolve unforeseeable issues. However, this did result in a comprehensive review of the investigation timeliness standards and the Office of Investigations has updated policy and guidance, increased operational oversight, and updated performance standards.

FY 2021 85% 95%

FY 2022 85% 100%

FY 2023 85%

FY 2024 85%

• This indicator also includes calculations for the same indicator for the Decommissioning and Low-Level Waste, Fuel Facilities, and Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation Business Lines.

Percentage of Investigations Completed in Time to Initiate Civil Enforcement and/or Criminal Prosecution Action* (NM-12)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2018 100% 100%

FY 2019 100% 100%

FY 2020 100% 100%

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Annual Performance Plan and Report Percentage of Investigations Completed in Time to Initiate Civil Enforcement and/or Criminal Prosecution Action* (NM-12)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2021 100% 100%

FY 2022 100% 100%

FY 2023 100%

FY 2024 100%

• This indicator also includes calculations for the same indicator for the Decommissioning and Low-Level Waste, Fuel Facilities, and Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation Business Lines.

State, Tribal, and Federal Programs Percentage of Materials Programs with More Than One Unsatisfactory Performance Indicator (NM-23)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment New indicator in FY 2022. Two programs (Mississippi and Washington) had more than one unsatisfactory performance indicator, and the NRC is engaging to support those State programs, consistent with their performance FY 2022 0% 14% improvement plans. To address broader contributing issues, the NRC has formed a joint working group with Agreement States to assess potential enhancements to ensure the effective and proactive assessment of performance across the National Materials Program.

FY 2023 0%

FY 2024 0%

Fuel Facilities Business Line Oversight Percentage of Technical Allegation Reviews Completed in 360 Days or Less* (FF-08)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2018 100% 100%

FY 2019 100% 100%

FY 2020 100% 100%

FY 2021 100% 100%

FY 2022 100% 100%

FY 2023 100%

FY 2024 100%

• This target also includes the calculations for the Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation Business Line for the same indicator and is reported under the Fuel Facilities Business Line.

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Annual Performance Plan and Report Percentage of Force-on-Force Inspections Performed as Scheduled within the Calendar Year (FF-16)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2023 100% New indicator in FY 2023 FY 2024 100%

Safety and Security Objective 1.2 Ensure regulatory requirements adequately support the safe and secure use of radioactive materials.

Summary of FY 2022 Progress The NRC continues to ensure that the agencys regulatory requirements adequately support the safe and secure use of radioactive materials. The NRCs regulations impose requirements that licensees must meet to obtain or retain a license or certificate to use nuclear materials or operate a nuclear facility. These regulations govern the use of materials at such nuclear facilities as power plants, research reactors, uranium mills, fuel facilities, and waste repositories; the use of materials for medical, industrial, and academic purposes; and the transportation of materials.

The NRC initiates a new rule or a change to an existing rule when, for example, there is a need to do so to protect public health and safety. Additionally, any member of the public may petition the NRC to develop, change, or rescind a rule. The Commission directs staff to begin work on a new rulemaking activity through approval of a staff rulemaking plan. During FY 2022, the NRC pursued substantial rulemaking activities within the Nuclear Reactor Safety Program and the Nuclear Materials and Waste Safety Program Business Lines. The current status of the agencys rulemaking activities are available at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/rulemaking-ruleforum/active/ruleindex.html.

Within the Operating Reactors Business Line, the agency completed four rulemaking plans, three petitions for rulemaking, and the final rule for the Approval of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Code Cases, Revision 39. The NRC issued the proposed rule Regulatory Improvements for Production and Utilization Facilities Transitioning to Decommissioning that amends regulations related to the decommissioning of nuclear power reactors. For this rulemaking, the NRC staff completed outreach activities, including six public meetings and presentations at conferences.

Within the New Reactors Business Line, the NRC staff developed and shared preliminary proposed rule language and guidance and held multiple public meetings regarding the draft safety and security requirements for the 10 CFR Part 53, Licensing and Regulation of Advanced Nuclear Reactors, rulemaking on a risk-informed, performance-based, and technology-inclusive regulatory framework for advanced reactors.

Within the Nuclear Materials Users Business Line, the agency supported timely and effective rulemaking activities, related to two petitions for rulemaking on Tribal notification of radioactive material shipments and nuclear medicine injection extravasations, the proposed rule on Items Containing Byproduct Materials Incidental to Production, and a draft regulatory basis on a flexible approach to emerging medical technologies.

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Annual Performance Plan and Report Within the Decommissioning and Low-Level Waste Business Line, the NRC staff provided the proposed rule on the alternatives to the use of credit ratings to the Commission for consideration. In the Spent Fuel and Transportation Business Line, the agency issued five rules to codify the Certificates of Compliance for spent nuclear fuel storage cask designs. The NRC also issued the proposed rule regarding the Harmonization of Transportation Safety Requirements with International Atomic Energy Agency Standards, for public comment.

The agency reviewed 12 license applications requests to adopt risk-informed operational programs that afforded licensees increased operational flexibility to focus on risk-significant activities and issued the associated safety evaluations. All operating reactors now have an approved risk-informed surveillance frequency control program.

The agency applied the BeriskSMART principles to complete the first Risk-Informed Process for Evaluations (RIPE) exemption review ahead of schedule; expand RIPE to license amendment requests involving technical specifications, evaluate high-energy arc fault risk, and expand the very low safety-significance issue resolution process to issues that could be identified in traditional enforcement.

The NRC continued to develop several types of documents that contain guidance for applicants and licensees, as well as internal and external stakeholders. The agencys FY 2022 significant accomplishments include the following:

• Publishing guidance NUREG-2159, Acceptable Standard Format and Content for the Fundamental Nuclear Material Control Plan Required for Special Nuclear Material of Moderate Strategic Significance, in July 2022, to facilitate compliance with NRC regulations applicable to the fundamental nuclear material control plans required of certain types of licensees.

• Issuing the Enforcement Guidance Memorandum 22-001, Enforcement Discretion for Noncompliance of Tornado Hazards Protection Requirements at Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installations, in April 2022, to allow for enforcement discretion when licensees have implemented administrative controls to protect the cask against tornado hazards.

• Issuing the 2022 Radiation Source Protection and Security Task Force Report. This report, which is written every 4 years, reflects the input of 14 Federal agencies and the Organization of Agreement States, was transmitted to the President and Congress ahead of schedule.

Setting the Strategic Direction for FY 2023 and 2024 Performance The NRC continues to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of its safety and security regulatory framework through application of lessons learned, historical and contemporary data, and institutional knowledge. The NRCs regulatory framework will be strengthened as it incorporates risk-informed, performance-based approaches and revises regulatory requirements based on insights gained from the use of risk-analysis tools while fulfilling its mission.

The NRC must make strategic decisions and ensure the following strategies remain a priority to successfully ensure that regulatory requirements adequately support the safe and secure use of radioactive materials.

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Annual Performance Plan and Report

• Maintain and further risk-inform the current regulatory framework using information gained from operating experience, lessons learned, external and internal assessments, technology advances, research activities, and changes in the threat environment.

• Proactively identify, assess, and address safety issues, threats, vulnerabilities, and security risks.

• Leverage institutional knowledge, including that of Agreement States, to identify key areas of regulatory improvement.

Performance Measures Performance Goal 1.2.1: Prevent accident precursors and reductions of safety margins at commercial nuclear power plants that are of high safety significance.

Performance Indicator: Number of malfunctions, deficiencies, events, or conditions at commercial nuclear power plants (operating or under construction) that meet or exceed AO Criteria II.A-II.E (commercial nuclear power plant licensees).

FY FY FY FY FY FY FY Business Line 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Operating Target 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 Reactors Actual 0 0 0 0 0 Target 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 New Reactors Actual 0 0 0 0 0 Performance Goal 1.2.2: Prevent accident precursors and reductions of safety margins at non-reactor facilities or during transportation of nuclear materials that are of high safety significance.

Performance Indicator: Number of malfunctions, deficiencies, events, or conditions at nonreactor facilities or during transportation of nuclear materials that meet or exceed AO Criteria III.A or III.B (events at facilities other than nuclear power plants and all transportation events).

FY FY FY FY FY FY FY Business Line 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Target 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Fuel Facilities Actual 0 0 0 0 0 Decommissioning Target 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 and Low-Level Actual 0 0 0 0 0 Waste Spent Fuel Target 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Storage and Actual 0 0 0 0 0 Transportation Performance Goal 1.2.3: Prevent sabotage, theft, diversion, or loss of risk-significant quantities of radioactive material.

Performance Indicator: Number of instances of sabotage, theft, diversion, or loss of risk-significant quantities of radioactive material that meet or exceed AO Criteria I.C.1 (stolen, P a g e l 28

Annual Performance Plan and Report abandoned, or unrecovered lost), I.C.2 (radiological sabotage), or I.C.3 (substantiated case of actual theft, diversion, or loss of a formula quantity of SNM or inventory discrepancy).

FY FY FY FY FY FY FY Business Line 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Target 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 All Business Lines Actual 0 14 0 0 0 Agencywide Performance Indicator The NRC developed the following agencywide performance indicator, which covers the overall performance of the research program areas for the agency.

Combined Score on a Scale of 1 to 5 for the Technical Quality of Agency Research Technical Products (AW-05)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2022 4.0 4.62 FY 2023 4.0 FY 2024 4.0 This indicator includes the average technical quality score of all research products (associated business line indicators include OR-23 and NR-18). The NRC has developed a process to measure the quality of research products on a five-point scale using surveys of end users to determine the usability and added value of the products.

Operating Reactors Business Line: Combined Score on a Scale of 1 to 5 for the Technical Quality of Agency Research Technical Products* (OR-23)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2018 Discontinued Indicator tracked internally.

Reintroduced in FY 2019. The Technical Quality Survey was discontinued in FY 2018 because of the low response rate. The agency reexamined its performance indicators and believes the Technical Quality Survey FY 2019 4.0 4.26 indicator provides the best quality measure for research products. The agency is focused on improving the response rate for the surveys and will explore revising the survey questions to enhance the value of this tool.

FY 2020 4.0 4.64 FY 2021 4.0 4.58 FY 2022 4.0 4.6 FY 2023 4.0 FY 2024 4.0

• As appropriate, the NRC will develop and add other mechanisms to this process to measure the quality of research products.

4 In 2019, an NRC Agreement State reported the theft of three industrial radiography cameras that were recovered by law enforcement within hours. The event description can be found at the Event Notifications Reports website, under event number 54033.

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Annual Performance Plan and Report Combined Score on a Scale of 1 to 5 for the Technical Quality of Agency Research Technical Products (AW-05)

New Reactors Business Line: Acceptable Technical Quality of Agency Research Technical Products* (NR-18)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2018 Discontinued Indicator tracked internally.

Reintroduced in FY 2019. The Technical Quality Survey was discontinued in FY 2018 because of the low response rate. The agency reexamined its performance indicators and believes the Technical Quality Survey FY 2019 4.0 4.68 indicator provides the best quality measure for research products. The agency is focused on improving the response rate for the surveys and will explore revising the survey questions to enhance the value of this tool.

FY 2020 4.0 4.41 FY 2021 4.0 4.44 FY 2022 4.0 4.68 FY 2023 4.0 FY 2024 4.0

• As appropriate, the NRC will develop and add other mechanisms to this process to measure the quality of research products.

Safety and Security Objective 1.3 Maintain emergency preparedness and response capabilities for NRC and NRC-licensed facilities.

Summary of FY 2022 Progress The NRC continues to maintain an incident response program that oversees required emergency response activities for the NRC, NRC-licensed facilities, and radioactive materials licensees. The NRCs incident response program relies on the agencys Headquarters Operations Center (Rockville, Maryland) and four Regional Incident Response Centers (Region I in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania; Region II in Atlanta, Georgia; Region III in Lisle, Illinois; and Region IV in Arlington, Texas). The agency's response provides expert consultation, support, and assistance to State and local public safety officials responding to an event.

Activating the NRC incident response program brings teams of specialists, as needed, to the Headquarters Operations Center and Regional Incident Response Centers. These teams obtain and evaluate event information, assessing the event's potential impact on public health and safety and the environment. The NRC staff and management at the Headquarters Operations Center coordinate with the NRC Chair, Commission, Office of Public Affairs, and Office of Congressional Affairs any needed communications with the news media, State government, Federal agencies, members of Congress, and the White House.

The NRC ensures that all licensees have effective preparedness and response programs in place to address an emergency. Every 2 years, each operating nuclear power plant performs a full-scale emergency preparedness exercise inspected by the NRC and evaluated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Operating nuclear power plants conduct additional P a g e l 30

Annual Performance Plan and Report emergency drills between full-scale exercises to maintain their preparedness and proficiency in responding to emergencies.

The NRC enhanced its cybersecurity posture in the face of evolving threats and new federal mandates by authorizing all agency information systems and subsystems under Federal Information Security Management Act requirements. The agency was recognized as the only agency to have earned a higher Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) score on the most recent FITARA score card due to Chief Information Officer Authority Enhancements and Portfolio Review Savings categories.

During FY 2022, the NRC conducted several bilateral, multilateral, and International Atomic Energy Agency engagements with regulators on topics such as cybersecurity for operating reactors and advanced reactors, including small modular reactors; security by design; and novel approaches to security for these advanced facilities. The NRC also engaged in international cooperation and assistance activities in the areas of radiation protection, international radiation safety standards, and radioactive source security, These activities included providing U.S.

leadership in the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, engagement at the 2022 International Conference on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources, and preparations to co-chair the 2023 triennial meeting regarding the Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources.

Nuclear power plants must be able to successfully defend against a set of hypothetical threats that the agency refers to as the design-basis threat. These hypothetical threats challenge a plants physical security, personnel security, and cybersecurity. The agency continuously evaluates this set of hypothetical threats against real-world intelligence to ensure safety and security. The NRC verifies that licensees are complying with security requirements through its baseline inspection program. This includes force-on-force inspections designed to test a facilitys defenses against the design-basis threat. Force-on-force inspections are held at each nuclear power plant once every 3 years, employing a highly trained mock adversary force to attack a nuclear facility. In FY 2022, a 100% of the scheduled force-on-force inspections were completed using the revised Inspection Procedure 71130.03, Contingency Response - Force-on-Force Testing" that provided COVID19 mitigation.

Setting the Strategic Direction for FY 2023 and 2024 Performance Readiness to respond to an incident or emergency and reduce the consequences if one occurs is a key element in achieving the NRCs goal of safe and secure use of radioactive materials.

The NRC emphasizes the integration of safety, security, and emergency preparedness as the basis for the agencys primary mission of adequately protecting public health and safety. The NRC uses risk-informed and performance-based approaches to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the regulatory framework that appropriately considers defense in depth and risk insights. These approaches ensure that multiple layers of defense protect against accidents and their effects to ensure that the risk to the public is acceptably low. In this approach, the NRC does not rely solely on preventing emergencies but also recognizes that provisions in approved emergency plans are included to mitigate the effects of emergencies, should they occur.

The NRC must make strategic decisions and ensure the following strategies remain a priority to successfully maintain emergency preparedness and response capabilities for the NRC and NRC-licensed facilities.

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Annual Performance Plan and Report

• Ensure that the NRC maintains its readiness to respond to incidents and emergencies involving NRC-licensed facilities and radioactive materials, other events of domestic and international interest, and public health emergencies or other emergencies involving NRCs facilities and workforce.

• Ensure that licensees have programs and plans in place to enable an NRC finding of reasonable assurance that adequate protective measures can and will be taken in the event of a radiological emergency.

Performance Measures Performance Goal 1.3.1: Prevent substantial breakdowns of physical security, cybersecurity, or material control and accountability.

Performance Indicator: Number of substantial breakdowns of physical security, cybersecurity, or material control and accountability that meet or exceed AO Criteria I.C.4 (substantial breakdown in physical security, cybersecurity, or material control and accountability) or I.C.3 (substantiated case of actual theft, diversion, or loss of a formula quantity of SNM or an inventory discrepancy).

FY FY FY FY FY FY FY Business Line 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Target 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 All Business Lines Actual 0 0 0 0 0 Agencywide Performance Indicator The NRC developed the following agencywide performance indicator, which covers the overall performance of the emergency response program areas for the agency.

Emergency Response Performance Index (ERPI) (AW-01)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2022 100% 100%

FY 2023 100%

FY 2024 100%

This indicator includes the percentage assessment of the agencys readiness to respond to a nuclear or terrorist emergency situation or other events of national interest. Includes specific subindicators for the agency (associated business line indicators include OR-26, SF-13, NM-22, and FF-12) that will be assessed and updated on an annual basis to reflect the agencys readiness to respond. Examples may include (1) training and qualifications of the different incident response teams are sufficient to ensure enough personnel are trained and qualified for different incident response positions, (2) communications systems at NRC Headquarters and in the backup location are properly maintained and tested to ensure licensees and other stakeholders can report incidents consistent with the NRCs regulatory requirements, and (3) facility/functional availability at NRC Headquarters and in the backup location is properly maintained to ensure availability for notification and response for licensee events.

Operating Reactors ERPI (OR-26)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment New for FY 2021. This indicator is being added because a FY 2021 100% 100%

new internally tracked subindicator, Critical Incident P a g e l 32

Annual Performance Plan and Report Emergency Response Performance Index (ERPI) (AW-01)

Response Positions, is being included as part of the rollup to the ERPI, which provides a more accurate measure for monitoring the NRCs readiness.

FY 2022 100% 100%

FY 2023 100%

FY 2024 100%

Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation ERPI (SF-13)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment New for FY 2022. This indicator is being added because a new internally tracked subindicator, Critical Incident FY 2022 100% 100% Response Positions, is being included as part of the rollup to the ERPI, which provides a more accurate measure for monitoring the NRCs readiness.

FY 2023 100%

FY 2024 100%

Nuclear Materials Users ERPI (NM-22)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment New for FY 2021. This indicator is being added because a new internally tracked subindicator, Critical Incident FY 2021 100% 100% Response Positions, is being included as part of the rollup to the ERPI, which provides a more accurate measure for monitoring the NRCs readiness.

FY 2022 100% 100%

FY 2023 100%

FY 2024 100%

Fuel Facilities ERPI (FF-12)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment New for FY 2021. This indicator is being added because a new internally tracked subindicator, Critical Incident FY 2021 100% 100% Response Positions, is being included as part of the rollup to the ERPI, which provides a more accurate measure for monitoring the NRCs readiness.

FY 2022 100% 100%

FY 2023 100%

FY 2024 100%

Strategic Goal 2: Continue to Foster a Healthy Organization The health of an organization is a vital factor that can affect its capacity and capability to continuously improve. Focusing on organizational health provides opportunities to strengthen the workforce, culture, technology, and decision-making, which in turn enhances performance.

Organizational Health Objective 2.1 Foster an organizational culture in which the workforce is engaged, adaptable, and receptive to change and makes data-driven and evidence-based decisions.

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Annual Performance Plan and Report Summary of FY 2022 Progress The NRC strives for a successful outcome of this goal by facilitating continuous learning and innovation, knowledge management, diversity, and inclusion; promoting and sustaining a strong safety culture; fostering creativity and innovation; connecting vision with action; and continuously adapting and striving to be a healthy organization. The NRC continued implementing the agencys culture improvement strategy with a focus on coaching and empowerment, recognizing and sharing different viewpoints, taking innovative approaches and discussing risk, showing mutual support and shared responsibility, and bringing the whole self to work.

The NRC continued implementing innovative solutions to enable and promote a risk-informed mindset within the Nuclear Reactor Safety Program and other business lines. Using the innovation platform, called IdeaScale, the NRC collected more than 48 agency innovation success stories and hosted approximately 36 total innovation challenge campaigns, comprised of 11 agencywide campaigns and 25 office-specific campaigns.

In the 2022 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, the NRC achieved 70 percent participation with a positive employee engagement index score of 76 percent. To promote staff engagement, the NRC held quarterly Executive Director for Operations town hall meetings to broadly share information with the staff about emergent topics of wide interest. Over 1,600 staff members participated in each town hall meeting.

To promote staff collaboration, the NRC (1) developed various data analysis initiatives to enhance and modernize workload and financial management across all business lines, (2) identified all analog records for transfer to U.S. National Archives and Records Administrations Federal Records Centers in accordance with directive M-19-21, Transition to Electronic Records, ahead of schedule, and (3) completed the renovation of one floor at the NRCs HQ facility and moved one of four regional facilities to a new location.

Setting the Strategic Direction for FY 2023 and 2024 Performance As the NRC adapts to new technologies, changes in the industry, workspace changes, and agency innovation, the agency continues to invest in its staff with a focus on inclusion and excellence. The NRC strives for an environment in which everyone is engaged and accountable for creating a healthy and inclusive culture that embraces diversity and enables everyone to excel. The NRC encourages its staff to look for opportunities to implement transformative and innovative ideas and remain agile in its work.

The NRC must make strategic decisions and ensure the following strategies remain a priority to successfully foster an organizational culture in which the workforce is engaged, adaptable, and receptive to change and makes data-driven and evidence-based decisions.

• Maintain a high-performing, diverse, engaged, and agile workforce supported by a healthy organizational culture with a focus on safety, security, and continuous improvement to meet mission needs.

• Continue to achieve mission excellence as a modern, risk-informed regulator that keeps pace with technological innovations.

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Annual Performance Plan and Report

• Promote innovation and development of new ideas by the NRC workforce.

• Promote an organizational culture that embraces inclusion by recognizing the importance of a diverse workforce.

• Inform the agencys decisions by weighing diverse and competing staff perspectives, having respect for self and others, being open-minded and inquisitive, and using all available processes to address differences of opinion.

Performance Measures5 Performance Goal 2.1.1: Foster an organizational culture that represents shared values, assumptions, beliefs, and behaviors.

Performance Indicator: Measures, milestones, or deliverables established on an annual basis to foster a desired organizational culture.

Business FY FY FY FY FY FY FY Line 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Heading in Heading in All Business Target N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A the right the right Lines direction direction Actual N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Performance Goal 2.1.2: Empowering decision-making across the agency.

Performance Indicator: Measures, milestones, or deliverables established on an annual basis that empower staff decision-making.

Business FY FY FY FY FY FY FY Line 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Heading in Heading in All Business Target N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A the right the right Lines direction direction Actual N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Organizational Health Objective 2.2 Enable the workforce to carry out the agencys mission by leveraging modern technology, innovation, and knowledge management to support data-driven decisions in an evolving regulatory landscape.

Summary of FY 2022 Progress The NRC continues to carry out the agencys mission by leveraging modern technology, innovation, and knowledge management to support data-driven decisions in an evolving 5

Several of the performance indicators below show N/A, as these are associated with goals newly added for FY 2023 and lack available data for previous years.

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Annual Performance Plan and Report regulatory landscape. The NRCs approach focuses on modernizing IT tools and systems, improving business processes, enhancing access to data for more risk-informed decision-making, modernizing the agencys network, and improving stakeholder experience.

The NRC implemented several enhancements to the IT infrastructure to ensure an effective work environment. This included upgrading the intranet; simplifying and modernizing time and labor tracking through the update to the Human Capital Management Cloud; implementing federated sharing in Microsoft Teams as a more efficient method to contact colleagues in other Federal agencies.

The agency expanded the use of data and tools to inform licensing and oversight decisions through initiatives such as the Operating Experience Hub, Mission Analytics Portal and the external Mission Analytics Portal programs, as well as the Standardized Plant Analysis Risk dashboard. In addition, the NRC published the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategic Plan for FYs 2023-2027 to better enable staff readiness to review and evaluate AI applications in NRC-regulated activities effectively and efficiently. To leverage modern technology, the NRC (1) facilitated the installation and configuration of server and storage equipment at Equinix, paving the future for the NRCs physical system and server footprint outside of the Three White Flint datacenter; (2) expanded the NRC Multi-Factor Authentication across all systems, providing for strong authentication as well as end-user benefits such as a single sign-on function; and (3) developed, implemented, and obtained executive approval on launching the NRCs Digital Service Center its engagement process for assessing software development, modernization, and enhancement requests to support agency prioritization decision-making and create a more effective NRC IT portfolio.

Setting the Strategic Direction for FY 2023 and 2024 Performance Modernizing the agencys technology and increasing staff access to information are central to maximizing the capability of the workforce, expanding the agencys ability to attract the best talent, and facilitating timely and high-quality regulatory decisions. Technologies will enhance the NRCs ability to capture critical insights and more effectively transfer important regulatory knowledge.

The NRC must make strategic decisions and ensure the following strategies remain a priority to successfully enable the workforce to carry out the agencys mission by leveraging modern technology, innovation, and knowledge management to support data-driven decisions in an evolving regulatory landscape.

• Recognize and act on current and future IT needs to effectively carry out the NRCs mission.

• Ensure that the NRCs data strategy is effective in enhancing access and using internal and external data for decision-making.

• Introduce new technologies to enhance decision-making, improve knowledge management, and accelerate innovation in the agencys regulatory activities.

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Annual Performance Plan and Report Performance Measures Performance Goal 2.2.1: Enhance innovation, knowledge management, and data-driven and evidence-based decision-making.

Performance Indicator: Measures, milestones, or deliverables established on an annual basis for the development, modernization, and enhancement of agency operational and information technologies to support the mission.

Business FY FY FY FY FY FY FY Line 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Heading in Heading in All Business Target N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A the right the right Lines direction direction Actual N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Organizational Health Objective 2.3 Attract, develop, and maintain a high-performing, diverse, engaged, and flexible workforce with the skills needed to carry out the NRCs mission now and in the future.

Summary of FY 2022 Progress The NRC continues to promote strong employee engagement and to attract, develop, and maintain a high-performing, diverse, engaged, and flexible workplace with the skills needed to carry out the NRCs mission. The NRC is also taking steps to implement recommendations to strengthen the hybrid work environment and ensure that its workforce has the tools and resources to affectively achieve its mission.

The agency continues to demonstrate a strong commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and awareness. In FY 2022, the agency issued a policy allowing Special Emphasis Groups to make administrative requests, such as flag raising, that recognize approved holidays and special observances. In addition, the NRC has provided guidance to promote inclusive language and the inclusion of transgender and gender expansive individuals throughout the agency. These activities support the NRCs goal to provide a diverse, inclusive, and innovative environment with a highly skilled, adaptable, and engaged workforce.

In FY 2022, the agency established a hiring initiative to recruit and employ new hires at the NRC. Through an agencywide collaborative effort, the agency hired and onboarded 206 new employees. Included in this initiative, the agency continued to build its future workforce through implementation of the second cohort of its Nuclear Regulatory Apprenticeship Network, a robust summer hire program, and conversion of students into the Co-op Program. The agency also developed the NRCs Ambassador program to support successful onboarding and retention of these new hires.

The agency brought on board a diverse demographic workforce. For example, in FY 2022, the ethnicity and race demographic increased 3.7 percent over FY 2021, from 37.4 percent to 41.1 percent of hires self-designating as minority. In addition, the percentage of FY 2022 hires with disabilities was 23.3 percent, which is almost 15 percent above the NRCs onboard workforce of 8.4 percent.

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Annual Performance Plan and Report The NRCs University Nuclear Leadership Program aids in bolstering nuclear engineering and related programs to ensure the next generation of scientists and engineers is prepared for evolving future challenges. The NRC remains committed to sponsoring educational programs that offer college and university recipients an opportunity to advance the pursuit of careers in nuclear engineering, health physics, radiochemistry, and related sciences. The NRC awarded approximately $14.6 million in University Nuclear Leadership Program funds for 9 fellowships, 11 research and development grants, 11 faculty development grants, 4 scholarships, and 1 trade/community college award. In addition, the agency strives to include minority serving institutions as part of the program through the competitive grant selection process.

Setting the Strategic Direction for FY 2023 and 2024 Performance The NRC realizes that to attract, develop, and maintain highly skilled and educated professionals, it must be an employer of choice that provides personnel with access to the tools to perform their jobs and a workplace that promotes strong employee engagement. The agencys approach for this objective focuses on ensuring that the NRC has a highly trained workforce that is knowledgeable about the regulatory processes that govern agency actions and the regulatory principles inherent in making the agency a strong and independent regulator.

The NRC must make strategic decisions and ensure the following strategies remain a priority to successfully attract, develop, and maintain a high-performing, diverse, engaged, and flexible workforce with the skills needed to carry out the NRCs mission now and in the future:

• Ensure that the agency is an employer of choice that offers a work culture and workplace environment that attracts and retains highly motivated employees who are engaged, adaptable, high performing, and receptive to change.

• Ensure that the NRC has a workforce with the right skillsets to achieve the agencys goals now and in the future by integrating the results of strategic workforce planning into its hiring activities, enhancing recruiting efforts, and streamlining hiring practices.

• Maintain a high-performing, inclusive, and engaged workforce by rewarding high performers, enhancing career paths, promoting diversity, and creating a continual learning culture with cross-training opportunities for career advancement.

• Improve knowledge management by identifying and capturing critical information and leveraging the agencys investment in modern information management and technology to enhance information accessibility and searchability.

• Improve performance and productivity by investing in technical, professional, and management training and accountability and encouraging leadership development.

Performance Measures Performance Goal 2.3.1: Develop and maintain a high performing workforce.

Performance Indicator: Measures, milestones, or deliverables established on an annual basis to maintain an adaptable and skilled workforce through workforce planning and staff training and development.

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Annual Performance Plan and Report Business FY FY FY FY FY FY FY Line 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Heading in Heading in All Business Target N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A the right the right Lines direction direction Actual N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Performance Goal 2.3.2: Enhance the agencys decision-making through knowledge management.

Performance Indicator: Measures, milestones, or deliverables established on an annual basis to enhance knowledge management through the identification and capturing of critical information and leveraging the agencys investments in modern information management and technology.

Business FY FY FY FY FY FY FY Line 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Heading in Heading in All Business Target N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A the right the right Lines direction direction Actual N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Strategic Goal 3: Inspire Stakeholder Confidence in the NRC The NRC values building confidence with all stakeholders. Confidence is forward looking and reflects stakeholder belief in the integrity of future agency actions and decisions. To gain stakeholder confidence and trust, the agency must engage in a transparent, open, and independent manner and make data-driven and evidence-based decisions.

Stakeholder Confidence Objective 3.1 Engage stakeholders in NRC activities in an effective and transparent manner.

Summary of FY 2022 Progress The NRC continues to engage stakeholders in the agencys activities in an effective and transparent manner. To achieve this goal, the NRC promotes transparency, openness, and independence in its regulatory activities by fostering engagement and providing multiple ways for members of the public to be informed and participate in the agencys regulatory activities.

The NRC continues to publish and provide information to stakeholders through its website (www.nrc.gov); operates the agencys Public Document Room at its headquarters in Rockville, Maryland; and holds public meetings virtually and in person throughout the country.

The FY 2022 significant accomplishments include the following:

• Holding the first offsite Commission meetings in over 40 years in New Mexico, which provided the Commission with (1) an overview of the interagency actions to address the impacts of uranium contamination on the Navajo Nation, and provide updates on, and lessons learned from, remediation activities at former uranium mill sites throughout the West, including North East Church Rock Mine and United Nuclear Corporation Mill Site P a g e l 39

Annual Performance Plan and Report activities, and (2) a first-hand account from the members of the Red Water Pond Road community on the impacts of uranium contamination on the Navajo Nation.

• Hosting the all-virtual Regulatory Information Conference, bringing together thousands of participants around the world and featuring 30 technical sessions, plenaries by agency senior leaders, as well as widely attended special sessions highlighting women in nuclear and decommissioning efforts at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Japan.

• Conducting approximately 775 open public meetings addressing a full range of NRC issues to support transparency with agency stakeholders.

• The NRC conducted Tribal outreach on multiple licensing and programmatic activities, including first-of-a-kind outreach and offers of consultation on the Agreement States applications for Connecticut and Indiana. The agency also created guidance for conducting consultation under the National Historic Preservation Act and Tribal Policy Statement.

• Conducting 10 full committee hybrid meetings of the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards and 50 subcommittee hybrid meetings, as well as three virtual public meetings of the Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes. In addition, the NRC processed 219 Freedom of Information Act requests.

• Receiving a grade of "A+" from the Small Business Administration and met five of five small business goals, including the small-disadvantaged business goal that increased 440 percent in FY 2022, and more than doubled the goal for businesses owned by service-disabled veterans and women, as well as companies located in historically underutilized business zones.

• Issuing issued awards for approximately 255 new commercial contracts (including contracts, blanket purchase agreement setup and calls, purchase orders, task orders),

38 grants, 40 DOE National Laboratories Agreements (including orders), and 30 Interagency Agreements with other Federal agencies.

Setting the Strategic Direction for FY 2023 and 2024 Performance It is key to public confidence that the NRC engage with diverse stakeholders with a wide range of views and expertise, learn from them, and communicate in clear and accessible ways. The NRCs mission is carried out on behalf of the American people, which makes nuclear regulation the publics business. As such, it should be transacted openly and candidly to maintain the publics confidence.

The NRC must make strategic decisions and ensure the following strategies remain a priority to successfully engage stakeholders in NRC activities in an effective and transparent manner.

• Foster proactive and meaningful interactions with States, Tribes, other governmental and nongovernmental organizations, the regulated industry, the international regulatory community, and other members of the public.

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Annual Performance Plan and Report

• Provide a fair and timely process to allow public involvement in NRC decision-making.

Performance Measures Performance Goal 3.1.1: Enhance the effectiveness and transparency of stakeholder engagement.

Performance Indicator: Measures, milestones, or deliverables established on an annual basis to build stakeholder confidence through effective communication, by providing multiple ways stakeholders can provide feedback and input, and by ensuring the NRC staff is communicating clearly and openly.

Business FY FY FY FY FY FY FY Line 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Heading in Heading in All Business Target N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A the right the right Lines direction direction Actual N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Stakeholder Confidence Objective 3.2 Uphold an NRC decision-making process that is data driven and evidence based while ensuring information is available and accessible to interested stakeholders.

Summary of FY 2022 Progress The NRC continues to uphold a data-driven and evidence-based decision-making process while ensuring information is available and accessible to interested stakeholders to build stakeholder confidence and foster engagement. The FY 2022 significant accomplishments include the following:

• Participating in numerous virtual, hybrid, and in-person meetings with regulatory counterparts as international travel started to return to normal after being suspended due to COVID-19).

• Signing arrangements and agreement extensions with 14 countries for bilateral cooperation and assistance activities for technical exchanges, regulatory information sharing, temporary personnel exchanges, and assistance partnerships for regulatory program development.

• Coordinating the response to Russias invasion of Ukraine by leveraging relationships across the U.S. Government, coordinating with international counterparts, and working with other NRC offices to facilitate information sharing, address urgent technical questions and requests for information, and support the International Atomic Energy Agency efforts to assist our Ukrainian regulatory counterparts.

• Issuing an order suspending exports of radioactive material and deuterium for nuclear end use under the General License in Part 110 to the Russian Federation and supported an All-States letter communicating the suspension of exports to the Russian Federation under the General License.

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Annual Performance Plan and Report

• Continuing progress under the Memorandum of Cooperation with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) on Advanced Reactor Technologies and Small Modular Reactors, issued four joint NRC-CNSC summary reports supporting advanced reactor reviews including TRISO fuel qualification, and signed a charter to launch a major initiative related to collaborative reviews of General Electrics BWRX-300 small modular reactor design.

• Supporting the 7th Review Meeting of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management in Vienna, Austria, where its staff served as country group officers, presented the U.S. National Report in partnership with DOE, and served as technical experts in conducting peer reviews of other contracting parties.

• Continuing coordination with DOE under the Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act, including the signing of a technical addendum on Technologies for Advanced Fuels and Fuel Cycle Applications. This coordination supports technical readiness and facilitates sharing of expertise and knowledge on advanced reactor technologies and nuclear energy innovation related to research, development, and demonstration. The NRC also signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to improve coordination and cooperation in the regulation of the in situ recovery process of uranium extraction.

• Completing the Five-Year review of the Non-Proliferation Treaty by signatory member states as part of the U.S. delegation during the Tenth Review Conference for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

• Engaging with international counterparts on reciprocal commitments under bilateral peaceful nuclear cooperation agreements, obligation tracking, treaty compliance, and reviews under 10 CFR Part 810, Assistance to Foreign Atomic Energy Activities; conducted bilateral visits to other countries possessing or obtaining U.S.-origin SNM with regard to physical protection and material control and accounting; and provided technical assistance to the International Atomic Energy Agency and supported U.S. initiatives to enhance international safeguards and verification programs.

Setting the Strategic Direction for FY 2023 and 2024 Performance The agency strives to increase transparency in decision-making processes and decisions by increasing the quality, availability, and sharing of information.

The NRC must make strategic decisions and ensure the following strategies remain a priority to successfully uphold an NRC decision-making process that is data driven and evidence based while ensuring information is available and accessible to interested stakeholders:

• Engage stakeholders to ensure awareness and understanding of the NRCs regulatory requirements and decisions.

• Develop effective communication strategies to explain how the NRC addresses risk and uncertainty in the decision-making process.

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Annual Performance Plan and Report

• Make information about the NRCs regulatory activities available and accessible to interested stakeholders.

• Ensure that stakeholders are aware of opportunities for public engagement in the NRCs decision-making processes, particularly members of the public who may be disproportionately impacted by the agencys decision.

• Ensure that the NRC maintains and publishes accessible and comprehensive information by transforming agency information and siloed databases.

• Leverage feedback received from a broad range of stakeholders in the agencys decision-making processes.

• Maintain a high standard of quality and clarity in NRC documents to promote confidence in the agencys work.

Performance Measures Performance Goal 3.2.1: Employ and incorporate high-quality data and information to support agency decision-making processes.

Performance Indicator: Measures, milestones, or deliverables established on an annual basis that identify and disseminate data and evidence used to facilitate programmatic and organizational decision-making and policymaking.

Business FY FY FY FY FY FY FY Line 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Heading in Heading All Business Target N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A the right in the right Lines direction direction Actual N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Performance Goal 3.2.2: Provide the public timely access to information to ensure transparency and inclusiveness of the agencys decision-making process.

Performance Indicator: Measures, milestones, or deliverables established on an annual basis to enhance timeliness and access to discoverable and usable high-quality data sets and information.

Business FY FY FY FY FY FY FY Line 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Heading in Heading All Business Target N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A the right in the right Lines direction direction Actual N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A P a g e l 43

Annual Performance Plan and Report OTHER PERFORMANCE INDICATORS Corporate Support Business Line The NRCs Corporate Support Business Line involves centrally managed activities that are necessary for the agency to accomplish its mission. These activities include acquisitions, administrative services, financial management, human resource management, and IT/

information management, among others.

Acquisitions Percentage of Spend Under Management* (CS-03)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2019 38% 52% New indicator in FY 2019.

FY 2020 40% 122%

Target will be equal to the target set for Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 agencies by the Presidents FY 2021 $101.1M $116.3M Management Council for FY 2021. As of FY 2021, the target is in dollars, not percentage.

Target will be equal to the target set for Chief Financial FY 2022 83% 90.1% Officers Act of 1990 agencies by the Presidents Management Council for FY 2022.

Target will be equal to the target set for Chief Financial FY 2023 87.2% Officers Act of 1990 agencies by the Presidents Management Council for FY 2023.

Target will be equal to the target set for Chief Financial FY 2024 TBD Officers Act of 1990 agencies by the Presidents Management Council for FY 2024.

• Spend under management is a key measure of an agencys use of smart buying practices, such as strong strategic leadership and oversight and the collection and sharing of critical data, including terms and conditions, performance, and prices paid.

Administrative Services NRC Total Leased Portfolio in Usable Square Feet (USF)* (CS-20)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment New indicator in FY 2022. This indicator FY 2022 855,000 USF 842,265 USF replaces CS-18.

FY 2023 797,000 USF FY 2024 797,000 USF

• Represents the total agency portfolio, including the regions. The Technical Training Center was inadvertently included in the indicator description in the Congressional Budget Justifications for FYs 2022 and 2023.

Financial Management Percentage of Eligible Bills Issued by the Established Deadlines (CS-22)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2023 98% New indicator in FY 2023. This indicator replaces CS-06.

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Annual Performance Plan and Report Percentage of Eligible Bills Issued by the Established Deadlines (CS-22)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2024 98%

Percentage of Incorrect Invoices for Fee Recovery (CS-23)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2023 <1% New indicator in FY 2023. This indicator replaces CS-06.

FY 2024 <1%

Percentage of Collections Achieved When Compared with Projected Collections (CS-06)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2017 100% 98.1%

The target was reduced to 98 percent to comply with the FY 2018 >98% 98.9% regulatory requirement to collect approximately 90 percent of the agencys appropriation.

FY 2019 >98% 99%

Deferred issuance of invoices for 3 months due to economic FY 2020 98% 97%

disruption from the COVID-19 public health emergency.

FY 2021* 98% 98.9%

FY 2022 98% 98%

Replaced with indicators to assess the timeliness (CS-22)

FY 2023 Discontinued and accuracy (CS-23) of license fee invoices.

• Starting in FY 2021, NEIMA requires the NRC to recover 100 percent of the relevant budget authority of the Commission less the excluded activities to the maximum extent practicable.

Human Resource Management Percentage of Key Human Capital Indicators Met* (CS-16)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2018 75% 75%

FY 2019 75% 100%

FY 2020 75% 75%

FY 2021 >75% 100%

The human capital targets for benchmark customer FY 2022 >75% 50%

satisfaction and staffing levels were not met.

FY 2023 >75%

Target adjusted to better reflect actual performance in this FY 2024 >80%

area.

• The specific subindicators that will be included under this indicator will be evaluated and updated on an annual basis to reflect agency needs.

Information Technology/Information Management The NRC's Score on the Annual American Customer Satisfaction Index for Federal Websites (CS-10)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2018 73 78 FY 2019 73 80 P a g e l 45

Annual Performance Plan and Report The NRC's Score on the Annual American Customer Satisfaction Index for Federal Websites (CS-10)

FY 2020 73 81 Target adjusted to better reflect actual performance in this FY 2021 76 78 area.

FY 2022 76 80 FY 2023 76 FY 2024 76 Percentage of Projects within Schedule and within Budget Based on Information Collected for Major IT Investments Reported to the OMB IT Dashboard (CS-13)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment 80% projects on schedule and FY 2019 95% New indicator in FY 2019.

on budget 85% of projects within schedule, FY 2020 94%

and 80% of projects within budget 85% of projects within schedule, FY 2021 95%

and 80% of projects within budget 85% of projects within schedule, FY 2022 100%

and 80% of projects within budget 85% of projects within schedule, FY 2023 and 80% of projects within budget 85% of projects within schedule, FY 2024 and 80% of projects within budget Cybersecurity Threat Management Effectiveness (CS-21)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment New indicator in FY 2022. The target for this indicator is FY 2022 B B based upon a letter grade.

FY 2023 B The target for this indicator is based upon a letter grade.

FY 2024 B The target for this indicator is based upon a letter grade.

This metric combines the assessment of the agencys Inspector General and cybersecurity performance management goals. Each one is half of the letter grade.

FISCAL YEAR 2022 DISCONTINUED INDICATORS Operating Reactors Business Line Number of License Renewal Applications (Units) on Which Final Decision Has Been Made*

(OR-01)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment The target was not met as the result of the licensees decision FY 2017 7 6 to discontinue pursuit of license renewal for Diablo Canyon Power Plant.

FY 2018 1 2 FY 2019 1 3 FY 2020 2 2 FY 2021 0 0 P a g e l 46

Annual Performance Plan and Report Number of License Renewal Applications (Units) on Which Final Decision Has Been Made*

(OR-01)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment Quantity indicator is a low-value metric, and similar metrics, FY 2022 Discontinued such as OR-2, on the number of licensing actions completed, have been discontinued.

• The targets are based on the scheduled completion of the license renewal applications under review and the schedule for future applications.

Percentage of Licensing Actions Completed in 1 Year or Less* (OR-03)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2016 95% 95%

FY 2017 95% 96%

FY 2018 95% 98%

FY 2019 95% 95%

FY 2020 95% 92%

FY 2021 Discontinued

• Excludes improved standard technical specification conversions, licensing actions associated with the Fukushima Near-Term Task Force (NTTF) recommendations, and power uprates. Also excludes license amendment requests that are unusually complex.

Percentage of Licensing Actions Completed in 2 Years or Less* (OR-04)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment This target was not met as a result of the need to resolve the FY 2017 100% 99% technical adequacy of applications to risk-inform technical specifications.

FY 2018 100% 100%

FY 2019 100% 100%

FY 2020 100 % 100%

FY 2021 100% 100%

FY 2022 Discontinued This indicator has been consolidated into OR-27.

• Excludes improved standard technical specification conversions, licensing actions associated with the Fukushima NTTF recommendations, and power uprates. Also excludes license amendment requests that are unusually complex. This indicator includes only licensing actions that were accepted before July 13, 2019.

Percentage of Other Licensing Tasks Completed in 1 Year or Less* (OR-07)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2016 90% 90%

FY 2017 90% 100%

FY 2018 90% 98%

FY 2019 90% 98%

FY 2020 90% 97%

FY 2021 Discontinued This indicator was consolidated into OR-27.

• Excludes multiplant actions, licensing tasks associated with the Fukushima NTTF recommendations, and other unusually complex licensing tasks.

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Annual Performance Plan and Report Percentage of Other Licensing Tasks Completed in 2 Years or Less* (OR-08)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2017 100% 100%

FY 2018 100% 100%

FY 2019 100% 100%

FY 2020 100% 100%

The target was not met due to an administrative gap in the tracking of certain categories or types of required reports FY 2021 100% 96% submitted by licensees. The NRC implemented process and training enhancements to ensure these reports are identified and dispositioned in a timely manner.

FY 2022 Discontinued This indicator was consolidated into OR-27.

• Excludes multiplant actions, licensing tasks associated with the Fukushima NTTF recommendations, and other unusually complex licensing tasks.

Percentage of Technical Allegation Reviews Completed in 180 Days or Less* (OR-15)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2017 95% 99%

FY 2018 95% 99%

FY 2019 95% 100%

FY 2020 95% 96%

FY 2021 95% 99%

FY 2022 Discontinued This indicator was consolidated into OR-16.

• This target also includes the calculations for New Reactors for the same indicator and is reported under Operating Reactors.

Percentage of Enforcement Actions Where No Investigation Is Involved Completed in 160 Days or Less (OR-17)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2017 100% 100%

FY 2018 100% 100%

Of the three cases, one missed the metric because substantial FY 2019 100% 67% new supplemental information was provided that needed to be reviewed and considered before final disposition.

FY 2020 100% 100%

FY 2021 100% 100%

FY 2022 Discontinued This indicator was consolidated into OR-18.

New Reactors Business Line Non-LWR Licensing Application Review Timeliness and Quality* (NR-19)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment New indicator in FY 2019. There were no new non-LWR FY 2019 85 No Data licensing applications for review in FY 2019.

FY 2020 85 94 This indicator was consolidated into NR-21, which includes FY 2021 Discontinued the timeliness of all requested activities of the Commission by P a g e l 48

Annual Performance Plan and Report Non-LWR Licensing Application Review Timeliness and Quality* (NR-19)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment licensees or applicants in the New Reactors Business Line that involve a final safety evaluation for all actions accepted after July 13, 2019.

• Percentage of interim milestones supporting non-LWR regulatory engagement plans and license application reviews that are completed on time, in accordance with the schedules and quality standards agreed upon with reactor designers and applicants (within the NRCs control).

This indicator only includes non-LWR licensing applications that were accepted before July 13, 2019.

Light-Water Reactor (LWR) Application Review Timeliness and Quality* (NR-20)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment New indicator in FY 2020. Consolidated indicators NR-02, FY 2020 85 97 NR-04, NR-06, and NR-14.

FY 2021 85 100 This indicator is consolidated into NR-21, which includes the timeliness of all requested activities of the Commission by FY 2022 Discontinued licensees or applicants in the New Reactors Business Line that involve a final safety evaluation for all actions accepted after July 13, 2019.

• Percentage of LWR application review milestones (for early site permits, combined licenses, design certifications, and license amendment requests) completed in accordance with the schedules and quality standards agreed upon with the applicants (within the NRCs control). This indicator only includes LWR application reviews that were accepted before July 13, 2019.

Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation Business Line Number of Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation Inspections Completed (SF-06)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2017 16 16 FY 2018 16 17 FY 2019 16 17 FY 2020 16 16 FY 2021 16 22 FY 2022 Discontinued This indicator is superseded by SF-15.

Percentage of Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation Container and Installation Design Reviews, Renewals, and Major Licensing Actions Completed in 3 Years or Less* (SF-10)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment New indicator in FY 2020. Consolidated indicators SF-01, FY 2020 85% 100%

SF-02, SF-03, and SF-04.

FY 2021 85% 100%

FY 2022 Discontinued This indicator was consolidated into SF-14.

• This indicator will include all spent fuel storage container and installation design reviews previously captured under SF-01 and SF-02; spent fuel transportation container design reviews previously captured under SF-03 and SF-04; renewals; and major licensing actions, including the review of two consolidated interim storage facilities. This indicator includes spent fuel storage and P a g e l 49

Annual Performance Plan and Report Percentage of Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation Container and Installation Design Reviews, Renewals, and Major Licensing Actions Completed in 3 Years or Less* (SF-10) transportation container and installation design only reviews, renewals, and major licensing actions that were accepted before July 13, 2019.

Nuclear Materials Users Business Line Percentage of Licensing Application Reviews for New Materials Licenses and License Amendments (Excluding Change of Control Amendments)* Completed in 2 Years or Less (NM-02)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2017 100% 100%

FY 2018 100% 100%

FY 2019* 100% 100%

FY 2020* 100% 100%

FY 2021* 100% 100%

FY 2022 Discontinued This indicator was consolidated into NM-01.

• Beginning in FY 2019, change of control amendments are captured under NM-04.

Percentage of Licensing Application Reviews for Materials License Renewals and Sealed Source and Devices Reviews and Associated Licensing Actions, and Change of Control Amendments* Completed in 2 Years or Less (NM-04)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2017 100% 100%

FY 2018 100% 100%

FY 2019* 100% 100%

FY 2020* 100% 100%

FY 2021* 100% 100%

FY 2022 Discontinued This indicator was consolidated into NM-03.

• Change of control amendments were added to this indicator description beginning in FY 2019. As of FY 2019, change of control amendments that were being captured in NM-02 are captured under NM-04.

Percentage of Technical Allegation Reviews Completed in 180 Days or Less* (NM-07)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2017 95% 100%

FY 2018 95% 100%

FY 2019 95% 100%

FY 2020 95% 97%

FY 2021 95% 100%

FY 2022 Discontinued This indicator was consolidated into NM-08.

• This indicator also includes technical allegation reviews for the Decommissioning and Low-Level Waste Business Line.

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Annual Performance Plan and Report Percentage of Enforcement Actions in Which No Investigation Is Involved Completed in 160 Days or Less (NM-09)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2017 100% 100%

FY 2018 100% 100%

FY 2019 100% 100%

The staff identified the need for additional internal controls FY 2020 100% 94% to engage the appropriate decision-makers earlier to resolve issues, before exceeding the timeliness goal.

FY 2021 100% 100%

FY 2022 Discontinued This indicator was consolidated into NM-10.

Number of IMPEP Review Reports Not Completed within 30 Days of the Management Review Board Meeting (NM-21)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2018 <2 1 New indicator in FY 2018 FY 2019 <2 0 FY 2020 <2 0 FY 2021 <2 0 A new indicator was created (NM-23) that will track the health of the NRC and Agreement State programs at a FY 2022 Discontinued national level by focusing on the outcomes of the IMPEP reviews.

Decommissioning and Low-Level Waste Business Line Percentage of Licensing Actions Including Interim Milestones Completed as Scheduled (DL-05)

Fiscal Year Target Actual Comment FY 2017 90% 98%

FY 2018 90% 94%

FY 2019 90% 97%

FY 2020 90% 97.5%

FY 2021 90% 98.4%

FY 2022 Discontinued This indicator was consolidated into DL-10.

This indicator includes only decommissioning and low-level waste licensing actions that were accepted before July 13, 2019.

Fuel Facilities Business Line Percentage of Fuel Cycle Licensing Reviews Completed in 1.5 Years or Less* (FF-05)

Fiscal Target Actual Comment Year FY 2017 100% 100%

FY 2018 100% 100%

FY 2019 100% 100%

FY 2020 100% 100%

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Annual Performance Plan and Report Percentage of Fuel Cycle Licensing Reviews Completed in 1.5 Years or Less* (FF-05)

Fiscal Target Actual Comment Year FY 2021 100% 100%

FY 2022 Discontinued This indicator is superseded by FF-14.

• This indicator only includes fuel cycle licensing reviews that were accepted before July 13, 2019.

Percentage of Technical Allegation Reviews Completed in 180 Days or Less* (FF-07)

Fiscal Target Actual Comment Year FY 2017 95 100 FY 2018 95 100 FY 2019 95 100 FY 2020 95 100 FY 2021 95 100 FY 2022 Discontinued Indicator will be tracked internally.

• This target also includes the calculations for the Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation Business Line for the same indicator and is reported under the Fuel Facilities Business Line.

Percentage of Operating Fuel Facilities for Which the Core Inspection Program Was Completed as Planned during the Most Recently Ended Inspection Cycle (FF-09)

Fiscal Target Actual Comment Year FY 2017 100% 100%

FY 2018 100% 100%

FY 2019 100% 100%

FY 2020 100% 100%

The primary driver for missing this metric was the public health emergency, which resulted in not completing some onsite inspection procedure requirements at the Louisiana FY 2021 100% 97% Energy services enrichment facility. Strategies were put in place to address the completion of the onsite inspection requirements in each of the remaining areas in CY 2021.

All core inspections have been completed since then.

FY 2022 Discontinued This indicator is superseded by FF-15.

Corporate Support Business Line Administrative Services Percentage of NRC-Leased Space Compared to the Agencys FY 2015 Freeze the Footprint Baseline (1,079,543 USF)* (CS-18)

Fiscal Target Actual Comment Year For FY 2020, the percentage is based upon FY 2020 619,000 USF** 602,000 USF the 2015 Reduce the Footprint office space baseline of 1,033,171 USF.

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Annual Performance Plan and Report Percentage of NRC-Leased Space Compared to the Agencys FY 2015 Freeze the Footprint Baseline (1,079,543 USF)* (CS-18)

Fiscal Target Actual Comment Year FY 2021 1,005,000 USF*** 961,721 USF FY 2022 Discontinued This indicator is replaced by CS-20.

• The 1,079,543 USF referenced in the title is the total agency office and warehouse real property footprint.

• • The FY 2020 target represents only the White Flint Campus office portfolio goal.

• • • The FY 2021 target was amended to include the entire agency portfolio goal, including the regions.

OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND RESULTS The NRC Office of the Inspector General (OIG) was established as a statutory entity on April 15, 1989, in accordance with the 1988 amendments to the Inspector General Act, to provide oversight of NRC operations. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014 subsequently authorized the NRC Inspector General to exercise the same authorities concerning Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) operations. The OIGs mission is to provide independent, objective audit and investigative oversight of the operations of these agencies, in order to protect people and the environment.

The OIG carries out its mission through its Audits and Investigations programs. The NRC OIG Strategic Plan for FYs 2019-2023 features three strategic goals related to safety, security, and corporate management and guides the activities of these programs. This OIG Strategic Plan identifies the major challenges and risk areas facing the NRC and generally aligns with the agencys mission. It also includes a number of supporting strategies and actions that describe the OIGs planned accomplishments over the strategic planning period. The NRC OIG Strategic Plan can be found in its entirety at https://nrcoig.oversight.gov/planning-documents.

For FY 2022, the OIG met more than 93 percent of its audit, investigative, and human capital measures by achieving or exceeding 29 of 31 measurable items (two investigative items were not measurable because there were no investigations applicable to these measures during FY 2022). One audit-related measure was not met because the associated audit recommendation, by its nature, took longer than 2 years to complete. One investigative measure was not met due to case complexity and because competing priorities contributed to a completion time of greater than 18 months. The OIG continuously reviews its strategic plan to ensure that its goals and work strategies continue to add value to the NRC and the DNFSB in carrying out their important safety and security mission. The OIG FY 2022 Performance Report can be found in its entirety at https://nrcoig.oversight.gov/planning-documents.

The Audits Program has the following performance measures for FY 2023 and FY 2024:

• Ensure that 85 percent of OIG audit products and activities cause the NRC and the DNFSB to take corrective action to improve agency safety, security, and corporate management programs; ratify adherence to agency policies, procedures, or requirements; or identify real dollar savings or reduced regulatory burden (i.e., high impact).

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Annual Performance Plan and Report

• Obtain NRC agreement on at least 92 percent of OIG audit recommendations and DNFSB agreement on at least 50 percent of OIG audit recommendations.

• Obtain final action on 70 percent of NRC and 50 percent of DNFSB OIG audit recommendations within 2 years.

The Investigations Program has the following performance measures for FY 2023 and FY 2024:

• Ensure that 85 percent of OIG investigative products and activities identify opportunities for improvements to the NRC and the DNFSB safety, security, and corporate management programs and cause the agencies to take corrective action; ratify adherence to policies/procedures; or confirm or disprove allegations of wrongdoing (i.e., high impact).

• Obtain 90 percent of agency actions taken in response to NRC and DNFSB investigative reports.

• Complete 90 percent of NRC cases and 85 percent of DNFSB cases within 18 months.

• Refer at least 20 percent of closed NRC investigations to the DOJ or other relevant authorities.

• Ensure that at least 60 percent of closed NRC investigations result in definitive outcomes, such as indictments, declinations, convictions, civil suits or settlements, judgments, administrative actions (or decisions to not take action), monetary results, or Inspector General clearance letters.

MAJOR MANAGEMENT PRIORITIES AND CHALLENGES As stated in the NRCs Strategic Plan for FYs 2022-2026, the agencys vision is to Demonstrate the Principles of Good Regulation (independence, openness, efficiency, clarity, and reliability) in performing our mission. The agency strives to implement these principles with effective, realistic, and timely regulatory actions to meet its safety and security goals and objectives. Additionally, the NRC is committed to exercising judicious stewardship over agency resources in implementing mission support functions, such as financial management, human resources management, acquisition planning and execution, IT/information management, and administrative support services. The NRC routinely encourages and reminds all employees to identify ways of enhancing effectiveness, efficiency, and innovation in conducting their work.

The NRC is committed to developing and maintaining a highly qualified workforce and provides a variety of position-specific training for its staff. In addition, the NRC has implemented a Program Management Improvement Accountability Act community of practice where agency program and project managers share best practices and lessons learned and discuss project management tools, techniques, and methodologies to manage projects.

The NRC employs novel methods to enhance its approach to regulating civilian nuclear technology and fully realize its vision of becoming a more modern, risk-informed regulator. In practice, this means maintaining a parallel focus on fulfilling the agencys important safety and security mission while striving to embrace innovative approaches, novel and diverse ideas, and new technologies that support carrying out agency responsibilities in the most effective and efficient manner. It also requires a sustained emphasis on developing an engaged, equipped, P a g e l 54

Annual Performance Plan and Report and skilled workforce that is capable of adapting to an evolving workload and dynamic circumstances with agility and flexibility.

Finally, the NRC is committed to using data-driven and evidence-based methods to facilitate and support agency decision-making. The Evidence Act emphasizes collaboration and coordination to advance data and evidence-building functions by statutorily mandating evidence-building activities, open government data, and confidential information protection and statistical efficiency. The Evidence Acts systematic rethinking of government data management, new reporting requirements (i.e., evidence-building plan, capacity assessment, and annual evaluation plan), advancement of evaluation as an essential component of evidence building within agencies, and requirement to establish and implement an agency evaluation policy are influencing evidence-building and evaluation activities at the NRC. The NRCs evidence-building plan, capacity assessment, and annual evaluation plan will fulfill, in part, requirements of the Evidence Act in FY 2023.

DATA VALIDATION AND VERIFICATION The NRCs Programmatic Senior Assessment Team verifies, on a quarterly basis, that the performance data included in this report are complete and reliable, as required by the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010. The progress of the indicators is monitored regularly, and accomplishments, risks, and mitigation strategies are documented, reviewed, and discussed by the Programmatic Senior Assessment Team, comprising Business/Product Line leads, during quarterly review meetings (see Management Directive 6.9, Performance Management, dated August 15, 2016 (ML18073A261)). The NRC has verification and validation techniques in place that provide reasonable assurance of the completeness and reliability of all performance data contained in this Annual Performance Plan. These techniques included the following:

• Verify, on a quarterly basis, the accuracy, completeness, consistency, and availability through internal control practices that serve to determine the overall completeness and reliability of the data collected.

• Validate, on a quarterly basis, that the data are rational and acceptable by using validation techniques that check data type, format, range, and consistency.

• Review, on a quarterly basis, the accuracy, completeness, and use of all indicator data submitted by Business/Product Line leads and continuously adapt its systems and processes as needed.

LOWER PRIORITY PROGRAM ACTIVITIES The Presidents Budget identifies the lower priority program activities, where applicable, as required under the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010. The public can access the volume at https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/.

KEY TERMS Corporate Support A set of centrally managed overhead activities that are necessary for the NRC staff and agency programs to achieve mission goals. It includes both general administrative overhead P a g e l 55

Annual Performance Plan and Report (e.g., facilities management, IT, financial management, and human resource management) and agency policy support, including the Commission.

Major Program An organized set of functions, processes, and activities directed toward execution of a major element of the agencys mission and the achievement of related strategic goals and objectives.

The NRCs two major programs are Nuclear Reactor Safety and Nuclear Materials and Waste Safety.

Major Program Business Line (Business Line)

A class of functions, processes, and activities that implement a significant component of a major program. The Nuclear Reactor Safety Program is implemented through the Operating Reactors and New Reactors Business Lines. The Nuclear Materials and Waste Safety Program is implemented through the Fuel Facilities, Nuclear Materials Users, Decommissioning and Low-Level Waste, and Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation Business Lines.

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