[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 155 (Thursday, August 12, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44061-44062]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-20910]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Reactor Safety Chapter of the Strategic Plan Workshop

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Request for public comment/notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is requesting public comment 
on the draft Nuclear Reactor Safety Chapter of the NRC Strategic Plan. 
The NRC is conducting a workshop on August 20, 1999, to give 
stakeholders an opportunity to meet with agency representatives to ask 
questions and comment on the Nuclear Reactor Safety Chapter of the 
Strategic Plan that the Commission has under consideration. This 
workshop is open to the public and all interested parties may attend.

DATES: August 20, 1999, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

ADDRESSES: One White Flint North, NRC Commission Hearing Room, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James L. Blaha, Mail Stop O16-E15, 
U.S.

[[Page 44062]]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001. Telephone: 
(301) 415-1703; FAX: (301) 415-2162; Internet: [email protected].

Background

    As part of the Government Performance and Results Act, the NRC is 
required to update its strategic plan triennially. The NRC's first 
strategic plan was issued in September 1997. Since that time, the NRC 
has implemented a Planning, Budgeting and Performance Measurement 
(PBPM) process which focuses on becoming more performance-based and 
outcome-oriented. The Nuclear Reactor Safety Chapter of the NRC 
Strategic Plan reflects this approach to long-range planning, as well 
as institutionalizing regulatory reforms that have been initiated 
within the last 18 months. The Nuclear Reactor Safety chapter has 
progressed to a point that further improvement will be enhanced by 
stakeholder input.
    In the Fall of 1997 the agency undertook an effort to review and 
revise its strategic plan to better align and link the goals and 
strategies and to improve the logic and functionality of the strategic 
plan. The revision, however, did not fully consider the issues raised 
during the NRC's July 30, 1998, hearing before the Senate Subcommittee 
on Clean Air, Wetlands, Private Property, and Nuclear Safety; the July 
17, 1998, Commission meeting with stakeholders; the Chairman's August 
7, 1998, tasking memorandum; or the progress achieved to make NRC 
planning and budgeting more outcome-oriented. Since that time, the 
agency has begun an internal review to address these issues. This has 
resulted in a draft of selected portions of the strategic plan.
    The draft of the Strategic Plan reflects revisions that focus on 
the Nuclear Reactor Safety arena and reflects the progress to date. 
Updates to this plan reflect changes in Commission policy over the past 
year, stakeholder input, as well as the development of new performance 
goals and measures. Also included in this package are edits to the 
front end sections that describe the Agency's mission, strategic goals, 
management goals, and strategic arenas. The Nuclear Reactor Safety 
Chapter reflects the new focus on four performance goals and the key 
strategies to be used to achieve these goals. Once completed, this 
chapter will be used as a model to revise and finalize the other 
program arena chapters.
    This draft of the strategic plan is intended to reflect the results 
from the change process which has occurred over the past 18 months and 
which continues at the NRC. It also describes how this paradigm shift 
will become an integral part of NRC's future planning, budgeting, and 
performance management. A schedule to facilitate dialogue among the 
Commission staff, stakeholders, and Congress is provided below:

Revisions to the Nuclear Reactor Safety (NRS) Chapter of the Strategic 
Plan

August 3: Issue draft NRS chapter to stakeholders for comment
August 20: Stakeholder Workshop on NRS chapter
Early September: Revised NRS chapter to Commission
Late September: Senate Oversight hearing

    The remaining Strategic Plan chapters (Nuclear Materials Safety, 
Nuclear Waste Safety, International Nuclear Safety Support) will be 
revised over the next year.

Stakeholder Input to the NRS Chapter of the Strategic Plan

    While NRC recognizes work is yet to be finished, further 
improvements to the draft Strategic Plan will benefit from stakeholder 
input. The NRC is particularly interested in stakeholder views on the 
four performance goals and their associated measures and strategies. 
The draft specifically identifies a number of performance measures for 
which stakeholder input will be especially useful.
    Stakeholder input is requested on the following broad areas:
     Do strategic goals, management goals, and performance 
goals address the appropriate areas requiring emphasis?
     Are the strategies to achieve these goals adequate to 
achieve success?
     Are the performance measures adequate to indicate whether 
we are achieving our goals? Are there better measures?
     Do goals and strategies reflect NRC's commitment to 
institutionalize change and become more performance based?

August 20, 1999 Workshop

    NRC will be conducting a public workshop on August 10, 1999 at 1:00 
p.m. in Rockville, Maryland, in the Commission Hearing Room to discuss 
the Nuclear Reactor Safety Chapter of the Strategic Plan. The NRC staff 
will answer questions and receive comments. Members of the public are 
invited to attend. Those wishing to participate in discussions are 
urged to contact Jim Blaha at 301-415-1703 to facilitate agenda 
planning.
    In addition to participating in the workshop, stakeholders may 
submit written comments on the draft of the Strategic Plan to the NRC. 
Comments are requested by August 27, 1999. The draft Strategic Plan, as 
well as the ability to provide comments electronically, are available 
on the NRC web site at http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/COMMISSION/INITIATIVES/
1999/index.html. Comments may also be provided in writing to the U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Debra J. Corley, Mail Stop O-
16E15, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001.
    Stakeholder comments will be considered in another update of the 
draft Nuclear Reactor Safety chapter. This update will be provided to 
the Commission and made publically available prior to our Senate 
oversight hearing planned for September 1999. Stakeholders will also 
have other opportunities to comment on the NRC Strategic Plan which is 
required to be submitted to Congress by September 2000 in accordance 
with the Government Performance and Results Act.
    The NRC is accessible to the White Flint Metro Station. Visitor 
parking near the NRC buildings is limited.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 6th day of August, 1999.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Frank J. Miraglia, Jr.,
Deputy Executive Director for Regulatory Programs, Office of Executive 
Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. 99-20910 Filed 8-11-99; 8:45 am]
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