SECY-22-0035, Weekly Information Report Week Ending April 8, 2022
| ML22104A258 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 04/25/2022 |
| From: | Sherri Miotla NRC/EDO/AO |
| To: | Commissioners NRC/OCM |
| References | |
| Download: ML22104A258 (14) | |
Text
__________________
INFORMATION REPORT APRIL 25, 2022 SECY-22-0035 FOR: The Commissioners FROM: Sherri Miotla Assistant for Operations (Acting)
Office of the Executive Director for Operations
SUBJECT:
WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING April 8, 2022 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 Administration E Office of Enforcement F Office of the Secretary G Sherri Miotla Assistant for Operations (Acting), OEDO CONTACT: John R. Jolicoeur, OEDO 301-415-1642 Signed by Miotla, Sherri on 04/25/22
ML22104A258 OFFICE OEDO OEDO/AO
NAME JJolicoeur SMiotla
DATE 4/14/2022 4 /25/2022 Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO)
Items of Interest Week Ending April 8, 2022
ARRIVALS
BENAVIDES, PHILIP PROJECT MANAGER NMSS
BOLES, MATTHEW PROJECT ENGINEER (RIDP) R-II
EASH, ANNALEE SENIOR ACCOUNTANT OCFO
GRICE, JOSEPH FUEL FACILITY PROJECT INSPECTOR R-II
SVRCEK, JOSEPH INTELLIGENCE ANALYST NSIR
VASUDEVAMURTHY, GOKUL REACTOR INSPECTOR R-II
RETIREMENTS
NONE
DEPARTURES
BORDEN III, WILLIAM B. SR. CRIMINAL INVESTIGATOR (SME) OIG
APRIL 25, 2022 ENCLOSURE A Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO)
Items of Interest Week Ending April 8, 2022
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act Requests, Appeals, and Consultations Received During the Period of April 4 - April 8, as submitted by requester
Tracking Requesters Requesters Request Description Received Number Name Organization Date 2022-1 04/04/2022 000116 2022-Robert Hsu Requesting information on whether 04/04/2022 000117 the named individual is a person of interest under any cases relating to your agency.
2022-Shannon M. Swanson, Complete copies of any and all 04/04/2022 000118 Luschen Martin & Bell, records, investigatory reports, LLP decisions and orders, and citations regarding any relevant incidents in connection with any environmental or health-related hazards (i.e., asbestos, silica, chemical fumes, or any other toxic or hazardous compounds) in regarding the General Electric Plant, located at 1 Progress Road, Shelbyville, Indiana.
2022-Alan West Virginia Following Reports as they pertain to 04/04/2022 000119 McCreary Department of the Parkersburg Disposal Site:
Environmental 1) AMAX, 1980. Stabilization Plan, Protection AMAZ Inc. Property, Wood County, West Virginia, Denver, Colorado;
- 2) AMAX, 1984. Stabilization Plan, Construction and Final Survey, AMAX Inc. Property, Wood County, West Virginia, volumes 1 and 2, December 1;
- 3) DOE, 1994b. Sampling and Analysis Plan/Quality Assurance Project Plan for Confirmation of Waste Containment at the AMAX Radioactive Material Storage Area, Parkersburg, West Virginia, P-GJP0-154, prepared by Rust Geotech for the Grand Junction Projects Office, Grand Junction, Colorado;
APRIL 25, 2022 ENCLOSURE B Tracking Requesters Requesters Request Description Received Number Name Organization Date 2022-Alan West Virginia 4) Frame, P.W., and J.D. Berger, 04/04/2022 000119 McCreary Department of 1985. Radiological Survey of the (continued) Environmental AMAX, 1980. AMAX Site, Protection Parkersburg, West Virginia, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Radiological Site Assessment Program, Manpower Education, Research, and Training Division, Oak Ridge, Tennessee;
- 5) NRC, 1987. Environmental Assessment for Releasing the Property for Unrestricted Use, Docket No. 40-8820, Uranium Fuel Licensing Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle and Material Safety; and
- 6) Williams, 1980. Hydrogeology of the AMAX Property in Wood County, West Virginia.
2022-Chris Stanley Functional All records held by the specified 04/04/2022 000120 Government agency officials that refer to the Initiative implementation or enforcement of Executive Order 14043, Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees (the order hereafter) as described, from September 9, 2021, to the date the agency conducts the search.
2022-Chris Stanley Functional All records held by the specified 04/04/2022 000121 Government agency officials relating to the Initiative drafting, implementation, or enforcement of contract provisions for vaccination of the employees of contractors and subcontractors developed pursuant to EO 14042 as described, from September 9, 2021, to the date the agency conducts the search.
2022-Quinn L. Please provide all records of 04/05/2022 000122 Porter named individual.
2022-Robin Ritzman Curtiss-Wright When NRC licensees make 04/05/2022 000123 prompt event notifications as required by 10 CFR 50.72, the Headquarters Operations Officer sometimes asks additional question. Starting in 2022, and it has happened on approximately a dozen times so far this year, the Headquarters Operations Officer has modified the
APRIL 25, 2022 ENCLOSURE B Tracking Requesters Requesters Request Description Received Number Name Organization Date 2022-Robin Ritzman Curtiss-Wright text provided by the licensee and 04/05/2022 000123 included the words that the (continued) following additional information was obtained from the licensee in accordance with "Headquarters Operations Officers Report Guidance."
2022-Rowland G FOIA request for all responsive 04/05/2022 000124 Hume records for the keywords "UFO, UAP, UKN UAS, Unknown radiological (or) Hazardous object(s)" or any other acronym used for UFO by the NRC.
2022-Chang Wang HCI is conducting a Phase I 04/07/2022 000125 Environmental Site Assessment for 71 Shelton Avenue (Block 0392, Lot 02700) and 89 Shelton Avenue (Block 0392, Lot 00104) properties in New Haven, Connecticut.
Please pull ALL files associated with these properties, NOT only files related to environmental matters.
2022-Oona A. Yale Law All unclassified guidance, policies, 04/08/2022 000126 Hathaway School directives, rules, or regulations that govern the Offices own internal process for making binding/nonbinding determinations, aid agencies in determining whether agreements are binding, and aid Department components and other agencies in drafting nonbinding agreements; any and all unclassified records associated with nonbinding documents, including lists, records, or descriptions of those documents; and any and all unclassified nonbinding understandings or arrangements with foreign countries or international organizations actually in the Offices possession (from the period of January 1, 1989 to December 31, 2019), as specified.
APRIL 25, 2022 ENCLOSURE B Tracking Requesters Requesters Request Description Received Number Name Organization Date 2022-Dustin Any and all records pertaining to 04/08/2022 000127 Slaughter sightings of unidentified flying objects, unidentified aerial phenomena, unidentified objects, and unidentified aircraft at or in the vicinity of the following nuclear power plants: Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station, Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Limerick Generating Station, and Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station. This request seeks, but is not limited to, the 62 pages referenced in a February 2, 2022, email from the NRC regarding FOIA requests NRC-2022-000064, -
000065, -000068, and -000069 (screen capture attached), as specified (from June 1, 1967, up to and including the date this request is officially processed).
NRC-2022-000116 - Request was incomplete; therefore, permanently deleted by NRC and requester resubmitted request.
APRIL 25, 2022 ENCLOSURE B Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR)
Items of Interest Week Ending April 8, 2022
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) held a Public Meeting with Constellation Regarding a Planned Digital Instrumentation License Request
On March 31, 2022, the NRC staff and Constellation held a partially closed public meeting concerning the planned Limerick digital instrumentation and controls (I&C) license amendment request. Specifically, the Limerick project schedule, license amendment request content, proposed technical specifications changes, proposed regulatory commitments, use of risk achievement worth defenseindepth and diversity (D3) analysis, Diverse Protection System/
Redundant Reactivity Control System architecture, sensor consolidation, I&C reliability analysis, human factors engineering (HFE) evaluation, plant power distribution, plant protection system (PPS) cabinet power distribution, PPS riskinformed completion times, and ongoing D3 review were discussed. During the meeting, Constellation informed the NRC staff that the scope of its planned license amendment request has been finalized as of this meeting. Significant progress was made on aligning on the HFE information that will be provided by the licensee. A separate meeting concerning HFE will be scheduled for late April or early May 2022. Constellation remains on schedule to submit the license amendment request in August 2022.
NRC Review of the Construction Permit Transfer Exceeds Generic Schedule Due to Litigation Between Nuclear Development, LLC and the Tennessee Valley Authority
The staffs review of the Nuclear Development, LLC (ND), application to transfer the construction permits (CPs) for Bellefonte, Units 1 and 2 (BLN) from Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has exceeded the 2-year Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act generic schedule. In November 2019, the staff accepted NDs application. In August 2020, ND was notified that the NRC could not complete its review of the transfer application until ND satisfied the requirements of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 50.80(b)(2). TVA and ND have been engaged in federal court litigation regarding possession of the BLN site. In August 2021, the court denied NDs contract claim. ND has asked that the NRC continue to hold its application pending any appeals and final resolution of the litigation. The CPs for BLN expired on October 1, 2021. The staff is evaluating options on a path forward.
NRC and Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) Sign Third Joint Report Under Memorandum of Cooperation on Advanced Reactor Technologies and Small Modular Reactors
On April 5, 2022, NRC and CNSC management signed a joint report that documents the collaborative review of a licensing topical report submitted by GE-Hitachi on the BWRX-300 Containment Evaluation methodology. This review was performed under the Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) on Advanced Reactor Technologies and Small Modular Reactors between the NRC and CNSC. This is the third report issued under the MOC. NRC and CNSC staff determined that the method described in the topical report is acceptable provided certain considerations are addressed prior to licensing.
APRIL 25, 2022 ENCLOSURE C NRC Met With Duke Energys Lighthouse Organization to Discuss Innovation and Change Initiatives
On April 4, 2022, NRR and the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research staff met with staff from Duke Energys Lighthouse organization at their facility in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Lighthouse organization is internal to Duke Energy driving innovation and modernization across all their company sectors. The two organizations discussed innovation and change initiatives, including best practices related to innovation, successes and challenges, and advancements associated with new technologies such as artificial intelligence and augmented reality.
Lighthouse staff provided a tour of their innovation facility and demonstrations of multiple technologies that Duke is exploring for use at their nuclear units. The staff and Lighthouse representatives committed to further information exchange on change initiatives of shared interest.
NRC Conducted a Public Workshop on Probabilistic Risk Assessment Configuration Control
On April 5, 2022, NRC staff conducted a follow-up public workshop to provide an update and to gather feedback from the industry and public on the staffs balanced approach to develop an oversight footprint on probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) Configuration Control. The staff discussed their proposed information gathering requests to support future recommendations for enhancements to current inspection guidance. The staff sought feedback from the external stakeholders to inform the information request to execute the effort, including ensuring that the requests were based on licensee readily available information. Staff also addressed questions and concerns from industry representatives. Staff will be considering the feedback from this meeting and will further refine the information request in support of future activities. The meeting was attended by over 80 stakeholders including members of the staff, industry, the Nuclear Energy Institute, and the public. The NRC presentation slides are available in Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) (ML22094A198).
NRC Conducted a Public Meeting on the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Lessons Learned
On April 6, 2022, staff from NRR and the Regions conducted a public meeting to gather input for the NRC COVID-19 Lessons Learned Working Group from members of industry and the public.
The purpose of this meeting was to hear information and receive perspectives from industry and external stakeholders to inform development of the conclusions and recommendations for the Working Group related to inspection practices, information technology, and long-term monitoring of impacts from activities during the pandemic.
APRIL 25, 2022 ENCLOSURE C Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS)
Items of Interest Week Ending April 8, 2022
Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality and Western Nuclear License Termination
On March 31, 2022, the NRC sent the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality and Western Nuclear, Inc. (WNI) an update to the November 30, 2021 (ML21335A006), schedule for the license termination and transition for long term care to the Department of Energy (DOE) for the WNI Split Rock uranium mill tailings site located in the Agreement State of Wyoming (ML22091A302). The schedule provided activities for the NRCs review of the DOEs final long-term surveillance plan and NRCs establishment of the long-term care fee (LTCF), which are necessary for the termination of the WNI Split Rock site license. In addition, the staff received a letter from WNI regarding the NRCs pending decision on the LTCF for their Split Rock uranium mill tailings site on April 1, 2022, that the staff will evaluate accordingly.
GE-Hitachi Plans to Terminate the Licenses for the Vallecitos Boiling Water Reactor and the Empire States Atomic Development Associates (ESADA) Vallecitos Experimental Superheat Reactor
On April 5, 2022, the NRC staff held a call with the State of California Agreement State Director and State Liaison Officer describing GE-Hitachi (GEH) plans to terminate the licenses for the two shutdown power reactors Vallecitos Boiling Water Reactor (VBWR) and the ESADA Vallecitos Experimental Superheat Reactor at the Vallecitos Nuclear Center. The staff described the nature of the combined footprint of the two power reactors, GEHs plan for terminating the VBWR license, and described the safety measures and licensing actions needed to request the NRC approval for GEHs proposed strategy. The NRC staff also explained the stakeholder outreach process for decommissioning power reactors. The State representatives indicated that the GEH proposal sounded reasonable and thanked the staff for reaching out to them.
Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes Spring Meeting
On April 5, 2022, the Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes held its 2022 Spring Meeting remotely. Topics of discussion included an overview of medical and non-medical events during fiscal year 2021; discussions on Y-90 microspheres use in nuclear medicine and clinical approaches to Y-90 microsphere procedures; an overview of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Radioisotope Measurement Assurance Program; and a presentation to Dr. Vasken Dilsizian, the nuclear cardiologist representative and Vice Chair, whose term expires in May 2022.
MARCH 25, 2022 ENCLOSURE D Triso-X Site New Fuel Fabrication Facility
On April 6, 2022, the NRC staff received a 10 CFR Part 70 special nuclear material license application from TRISO-X, LLC for the nations first High-Assay Low-Enrichment Uranium fuel fabrication facility to produce fuel for advanced and small modular reactors in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The application consists of the Safety Analysis Report, the Integrated Safety Analysis Summary, and supporting plans. The environmental report will be submitted later this year. The NRC staff will proceed with the acceptance review of the documents submitted to date.
Three Mile Island Station Emergency Plan and Emergency Action Level License Amendment
On April 7, 2022, the NRC issued an amendment to Renewed Facility License Number DPR-50 for Three Mile Island (TMI), Unit 1. The amendment revises the TMI Station Emergency Plan and Emergency Action Level scheme for the permanently defueled condition after all irradiated fuel has been transferred from the spent fuel pools to the independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI). The amendment is effective once the NRC receives a written notification from Constellation Energy Generation that all spent fuel is in dry storage located onsite at the ISFSI and shall be implemented within 90 days of the effective date. Upon implementation, the licensee is allowed to make specific reductions in the size and makeup of the Emergency Response Organization.
American Board of Radiology Intent to Terminate NRCs Recognition of Their Board Certifications
By letter dated April 6, 2022 (ML22091A272), the American Board of Radiology (ABR) informed the NRC of their intent to terminate, by December 31, 2023, NRCs recognition of their board certifications. The NRC staff is working with ABR to terminate their NRC recognition in accordance with NMSS Office Procedure MSST-70-03-2 (ML20351A389). These certifications provide eligibility for authorized users, authorized medical physicists, and radiation safety officers to conduct certain medical activities under 10 CFR Part 35. The ABRs Board of Governors determined that maintaining NRC recognition of their board certifications was outside of their primary mission and diverted resources from enhancing their exam delivery and customer service. During the Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes (ACMUI) spring meeting, the potential for this termination was raised, and ACMUI members and members of the public expressed concerns about the impact on the medical community of ABRs decision. Individuals can still become authorized users through the alternate pathway or through other recognized boards listed on the NRCs public web site.
Miscellaneous Corrections: Final Rule; 10 CFR Parts 1, 2, 20, 30, 40, 50, 55, 70, 73, and 170 [NRC-2021-0171; RIN 3150-AK72]
On April 8, 2022, the NRC published a notice in the Federal Register (86 FR 20693) amending its regulations to make miscellaneous corrections. These changes include correcting an office title, a reference, a misspelling, and two administrative errors, and updating the street address for the NRCs Region I office. This document is necessary to inform the public of these non-substantive amendments to the NRCs regulations. This final rule is effective on May 9, 2022.
MARCH 25, 2022 ENCLOSURE D Office of Administration (ADM)
Items of Interest Week Ending April 8, 2022
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEO) Multi-Services Including Counseling, Mediation, Investigative Services, and Drafting Formal Documents
On April 4, 2022, contract number 31310022C0009 was awarded to Mind Your Business, Inc.,
in Hendersonville, North Carolina. The purpose of this contract is to provide non-personnel services to conduct EEO counseling, mediation, investigation services, and draft formal documents for allegations of employment discrimination and harassment based on race, color, sex (including gender identity, pregnancy, and sexual orientation), religion, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, and reprisal raised by employees, former employees (where appropriate) and applicants for employment at the NRC. The period of performance is from April 4, 2022, through April 3, 2023, with four option periods. The total potential value of the contract can be up to $1,179,727.00.
APRIL 25, 2022 ENCLOSURE E Office of Enforcement (OE)
Items of Interest Week Ending April 8, 2022
DPO-2020-004: NuScale SER Chapter 3.8.4, Seismic Category I Structures
On February 8, 2022, the Executive Director for Operations (EDO) issued a decision on the appeal of a Differing Professional Opinion (DPO) submitted on September 17, 2020. The DPO raised concerns related to the seismic margin evaluation of the NuScale reactor building and its structural response during the review level earthquake (RLE). An ad-hoc review panel was formed and tasked by the NRC Differing Views Program to review the DPO. The review panel subsequently issued its report to the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) on April 19, 2021. On May 19, 2021, the Director of NRR issued her DPO decision to the DPO submitter. For the detailed reasons described in the decision, the Director of NRR agreed with the review panels finding that the NuScale reactor building design was complete and acceptable for the purposes of a design certification application. On June 14, 2021, the DPO submitter appealed the DPO decision to the EDO.
After careful consideration of the issues raised in the appeal, the EDO issued his decision on the DPO appeal on February 8, 2022. The EDO directed NRR to: (1) document its evaluation of the stress averaging approach used in the NuScale design certification application, including, if necessary, updating the Final Safety Evaluation Report and assess whether there are any impacts to the standard design approval, and (2) evaluate and update guidance, or create knowledge management tools, on how to assess applications that use stress averaging for structural building design. On February 14, 2022, the DPO submitter responded to the EDOs DPO appeal decision. In this response, the submitter thanked the EDO for thoughtful consideration of the concerns raised and provided clarification regarding the applicability of the Probabilistic Risk Assessment-based seismic margin analysis to the reactor building. After reviewing and carefully considering the submitters response to the DPO appeal decision, the EDO directed NRR on March 15, 2022, to review and consider the totality of the information provided by the submitter when addressing the tasks mandated in the DPO appeal decision.
The DPO Case File can be found at ML22056A017.
APRIL 25, 2022 ENCLOSURE F Office of the Secretary (SECY)
Items of Interest Week Ending April 8, 2022
Document Released to Public Date of Subject Document Decision Documents
- 1. Staff Requirements Memorandum 04/05/22 Path Forward and Recommendations for Certain SECY-20-0098 Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Rulemakings
- 2. Commission Voting Record 04/05/22 Path Forward and Recommendations for Certain SECY-20-0098 Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Rulemakings
- 3. SECY-22-0024 03/25/22 Rulemaking Plan for Renewing Nuclear Power Plant Operating Licenses - Environmental Review
- 4. Staff Requirements Memorandum 04/05/22 Rulemaking Plan for Renewing Nuclear Power SECY-22-0024 Plant Operating Licenses - Environmental Review
- 5. Commission Voting Record 04/05/22 Rulemaking Plan for Renewing Nuclear Power SECY-22-0024 Plant Operating Licenses - Environmental Review Information Papers
- 1. None Memoranda
- 1. Staff Requirements Memorandum 04/06/22 Joint Meeting of the Federal Energy Regulatory M220331A Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Commission Correspondence
- 1. Letter to the Honorable Shalanda D. Young, Director, Office of Management and Budget, et al., submits the agencys Fiscal Year 2023 Congressional Budget Justification
Federal Register Notices Issued
- 1. None.
APRIL 25, 2022 ENCLOSURE G