SECY-21-0028, Weekly Information Report - Week Ending February 19, 2021
| ML21063A511 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 03/08/2021 |
| From: | Catherine Haney NRC/EDO/AO |
| To: | Jeff Baran, Annie Caputo, Christopher Hanson, David Wright NRC/OCM |
| Sara Mroz, OEDO | |
| References | |
| SECY-21-0028 | |
| Download: ML21063A511 (10) | |
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INFORMATION REPORT MARCH 8, 2021 SECY-21-0028 FOR: The Commissioners FROM: Catherine Haney Assistant for Operations Office of the Executive Director for Operations
SUBJECT:
WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 19, 2021 CONTENTS Enclosure Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer A Office of the Chief Information Officer B Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation C Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards D Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response E Office of Enforcement F Office of the Secretary G Signed by Haney, Cathy on 03/08/21 Catherine Haney Assistant for Operations, OEDO CONTACT: Sara Mroz, OEDO 301-415-2900
ML21063A511 OFFICE OEDO OEDO/AO NAME SMroz CHaney DATE 03/05/2021 03/08/2021 Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO)
Items of Interest Week Ending FEBRUARY 19, 2021 ARRIVALS NONE RETIREMENTS NONE DEPARTURES NONE MARCH 8, 2021 ENCLOSURE A
Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO)
Items of Interest Week Ending FEBRUARY 19, 2021 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act (PA) Requests and Appeals Received During the Period of February 12 - 19 Tracking Requesters Requesters Request Description Received Number Name Organization as submitted by requester Date 2021-000102 Derek Martin Accountable.US Requesting copies of reports 02/12/2021 regarding political appointees whom transferred over to non-political permanent positions within this agency since as early November 1, 2016 2021-000103 Michael A copy of the letter of request 02/16/2021 Ravnitzky and the letter of response and any responsive records provided for the following FOIA requests: NRC-2016-000202 and NRC-2020-000237 2021-000104 Nicole Copies of all communications, 02/16/2021 Jacques environmental impact reports, financial analyses, memos, and plans or proposals regarding the governments review and/or selection of a site for the permanent storage and disposal of High-level Radioactive Waste (HLW), to include spent nuclear fuel (SNF), in the United States, during the time period of January 2017 to the present day 2021-000105 Dr. Edwin Union of All documents related to 02/16/2021 Lyman Concerned Terrestrial Energy USA's Scientists (TEUSA's) pre-application engagement with the NRC regarding its Integral Molten Salt Reactor, including but not restricted to white papers, topical reports, and other documents submitted to the NRC, NRC staff comments and reviews of TEUSA submittals (formal and informal), meeting summaries, and internal and external staff communications, including emails MARCH 8, 2021 ENCLOSURE B
Tracking Requesters Requesters Request Description Received Number Name Organization as submitted by requester Date 2021-000106 Elana Parnall Law Any and all criteria, licenses, 02/19/2021 Varilek Firm certifications, tests, regulations, safety officer assignments and duties, or any other NRC-imposed requirement for facilities to be permitted to receive, handle, manufacture, or ship radioactive material; any and all training, guidelines, testing, test preparation materials, or other compliance-related materials provided by NRC to facilities that receive, handle, manufacture, or ship radioactive material; any and all records regarding all Core Laboratories locations, and/or its employees (past or current) under NRC jurisdiction; all dosimeter readings for Core Laboratories Albuquerque employees for the past five years; any and all materials regarding the exposure incident on 10/22/19 at Core Laboratories in Albuquerque; and any and all materials regarding ANY exposure incident, whether acute or chronic, at any Core Laboratories location under NRC jurisdiction MARCH 8, 2021 ENCLOSURE B
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR)
Items of Interest Week Ending FEBRUARY 19, 2021 NRC Participated in the Nuclear Energy Institutes Risk-Informed Forum On February 16-18, 2021, NRC staff participated in the Nuclear Energy Institutes (NEI) Risk-Informed Forum. The forum focused on various risk-related activities covering licensing, oversight, research, and other topical areas. The NRC staff presented on the Risk-Informed Process for Evaluations; lesson-learned and experiences with licensing of risk-informed initiatives, including the use of virtual audits; probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) modeling realism, including incorporation of flexible coping strategies (or FLEX) into PRA models; and progress on the NRC staffs efforts to use integrated review teams for the review of licensing actions.
NRC Hosted Public Meeting on License Renewal Term Limits On February 18, 2021, the NRC held a public meeting to gauge stakeholder views/perspectives and industry interest in renewing operating licenses for an additional 40-year term in lieu of the current 20-year term limit. Attendees included the NEI, Beyond Nuclear, and members of the public. Stakeholders provided varying perspectives from neutral to not in favor of extending the license renewal term limits. The staff will use the feedback obtained from the meeting to determine if this initiative's continued development is warranted.
Staff Approved Licensing Requests for Regulatory Relief Related to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency The NRC staff has reviewed and approved several licensing requests seeking temporary flexibilities to maintain the safe and secure operation of the U.S. nuclear fleet during the pandemic. A summary of approved licensing actions provided during this reporting period are summarized below. A complete list of licensing actions approved by the NRC in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency is available on the NRC public website at https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/covid-19/reactors/licensing-actions.html.
Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 and 2 (Vistra Operations Company, LLC)
Type Subject Incoming Request Decision Exemption Select Requirements of 10 CFR 02/08/2021 02/11/2021 Part 26, Fitness for Duty ML21039A688 ML21040A001 Programs, Section 26.205, Work hours 02/09/2021 ML21040A512 02/10/2021 ML21041A541 Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 and 2 (Exelon Generation Company, LLC)
Type Subject Incoming Request Decision Exemption Select Requirements of 10 CFR 01/21/2021 02/18/2021 Part 26, Fitness for Duty ML21022A009 ML21029A336 Programs, Section 26.205, Work hours MARCH 8, 2021 ENCLOSURE C
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS)
Items of Interest Week Ending FEBRUARY 19, 2021 Honeywell International Began Discussions with NMSS for a Potential Restart On February 19, 2021, Honeywell International notified the NRC by letter that a decision has been made to resume full operations at its uranium conversion facility located in Metropolis, Illinois, with preparation activities beginning this year. The Metropolis Works facility has been maintained in a ready-idle status since late 2017. The staff has initiated discussions with Honeywell regarding licensing and inspection activities to support restart.
MARCH 8, 2021 ENCLOSURE D
Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR)
Items of Interest Week Ending FEBRUARY 19, 2021 Staff Participated in Interagency Meeting on Supply Chain Risk On February 12, the NRC staff participated in a quarterly meeting of the Information and Communications Technology Supply Chain Risk Management Task Force, led by the Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The meeting included discussions on Task Force activities and potential areas for joint planning and collaboration during calendar year 2021, such as utilizing the Task Force to address lessons learned from SolarWinds.
Staff Participated in Emergency Preparedness Meeting On February 17, the NRC staff participated in a meeting of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI)
Emergency Preparedness (EP) Working Group. NSIR staff discussed: (1) Rev 6 of RG 1.101, Emergency Response Planning and Preparedness for Nuclear Power Plants; (2) Rev 2 of NUREG/CR-7002, Criteria for Development of Evacuation Time Estimate Studies; (3) planned 2021 pre-hurricane season Preliminary Capabilities Assessment/Disaster Initiated Review tabletop drill; (4) research on non-radiological impacts from evacuations; (5) coronavirus-related activities (EP exercise exemption requests); and (6) significant operating experience/lessons learned from inspection activities. Meeting attendees included staff from the Federal Emergency Management Agency Technical Hazards Division, and NEI and licensee EP managers.
Staff Participated in Interagency Cybersecurity Task Force Meeting On February 17, the NRC staff participated in a meeting of the Securing Energy Infrastructure Task Force (SEI TF) Senior Technical Group, led by the Department of Energy Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response. Members of the Technical Group represent government organizations, utilities, academia, and national laboratories. The SEI TFs Congressionally-mandated mission is to advise a two-year pilot program to isolate and defend critical industrial control systems from security vulnerabilities and exploits. The meeting included discussions on the SEI TFs efforts along with major milestones in support of developing the SEI TF's final report to Congress in June 2022.
MARCH 8, 2021 ENCLOSURE E
Office of Enforcement (OE)
Items of Interest Week Ending FEBRUARY 19, 2021 Decision Issued on Differing Professional Opinion (DPO) Appeal On January 28, 2021, the Executive Director for Operations (EDO) issued a decision on the appeal of a DPO submitted on May 8, 2019. The appeal pertained to a DPO submitted on October 10, 2017, regarding the staffs response to TIA 2014-04 associated with degraded voltage protection at the Oconee Nuclear Station for Units 1, 2, and 3 (Oconee). An Ad-Hoc DPO Review Panel was convened to review the DPO and presented its findings to the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) by report dated December 12, 2019. The Panel concluded that: 1) the TIA 2014-04 response was correct, but that attributes of NRCs Principles of Good Regulation (i.e., Openness and Transparency) could have been strengthened; 2 ) the Oconee degraded voltage relay (DVR) configuration is in compliance with its licensing basis; 3) the engineered safeguard buses have adequate sources of emergency power under all modes of plant operation, 4) the licensee is not required to include additional setpoints and time delays in the Technical Specifications; and 5) the issues raised in the DPO are of very low safety significance. On February 7, 2020, the NRR Office Director issued a Directors Decision to the DPO submitter.
On March 5, 2020, the DPO submitter appealed to the EDO regarding the DPO response decision. The appeal stated that the DPO response decision contained inaccurate technical and regulatory bases to conclude that Oconee meets its licensing basis. On March 30, 2020, the Director of NRR issued his Statement of Views letter in response to the DPO appeal. The EDOs decision on the DPO appeal concluded that the DVR scheme at Oconee is consistent with the sites current licensing basis and provides reasonable assurance of adequate protection of site safety. However, the EDO directed NRR to determine whether a proposed Technical Specification is required for DVR protection at Oconee under 10 CFR 50.36(c)(3), in accordance with the backfit rule. The EDO thanked the submitter for taking the time to raise his concerns and for the detailed information provided to support her review. The EDO noted that the submitters willingness to raise concerns through the DPO process is consistent with the agencys organizational values of Openness and Commitment.
The DPO Case File can be found at Agencywide Documents Management and Access System Accession No. ML21047A241.
MARCH 8, 2021 ENCLOSURE F
Office of the Secretary (SECY)
Items of Interest Week Ending FEBRUARY 19, 2021 Document Released to Public Date of Subject Document Decision Documents
- 1. Staff Requirements 02/19/21 Policy Statement on Enhancing Memorandum Participation in U.S. Nuclear SECY-18-0005 Regulatory Commission Public Meetings
- 2. Commission Voting Record 02/19/21 Policy Statement on Enhancing SECY-18-0005 Participation in U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Public Meetings Information Papers
- 1. SECY-21-0010 02/01/21 Advanced Reactor Program Status
- 2. SECY-21-0015 02/12/21 Weekly Information Report - Week Ending 01/29/2021 Memoranda
- 1. Staff Requirements 02/18/21 Affirmation Session - SECY-20-0087:
Memorandum M210218A Holtec International (HI-STORE CISF)
Sierra Club Appeal of LBP-20-6; SECY-20-0099: DTE Electric (Fermi 2)
Appeal of LBP-20-7 (Denial of Hearing Request - Spent Fuel Pool License Amendment)
Commission Correspondence
- 1. Letter to the Honorable Frank Pallone, Jr., et al., submits the December 2020 monthly status report on the NRC activities and use of unobligated carryover funds appropriated from the Nuclear Waste Fund, dated February 8, 2021.
Federal Register Notices Issued
- 1. None.
MARCH 8, 2021 ENCLOSURE G