[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 159 (Wednesday, August 18, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44966-44969]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-21397]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Summary of Workshop on Redefining the Role of NRR Projects

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: On July 23, 1999, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission sponsored 
a public workshop involving NRR Division of Licensing Project 
Management, licensing officials representing the nuclear industry, and 
other stakeholders. The purpose of the meeting was to provide a forum 
for constructive dialogue on the agency's efforts to redefine the 
responsibilities of the Division of Licensing Project Management. The 
discussion focused on three program areas: Licensing Authority, 
Interface, and Regulatory Improvements. A brief version of the meeting 
summary is attached. The complete summary of the July 23, 1999, meeting 
with all attachments dated August 9, 1999, is available for public 
inspection at the Commission's public document room located at the 
Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sheri Peterson, Mail Stop O-8-G-9, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 
20852-2738; Telephone: (301) 415-1193; Internet:[email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, the 10th day of August 1999.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Suzanne Black,
Deputy Director, Division of Licensing Project Management Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

Summary--July 23, 1999, Meeting With Stakeholders on Redefining the 
Role of the Division of Licensing Project Management in the Office 
of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

    On July 23, 1999, representatives of various licensees and members 
of the public met in a public meeting with members of the U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff at NRC Headquarters in Rockville, 
Maryland. The NRC invited representatives of various nuclear utilities, 
other groups, and the public to participate in a workshop to discuss 
the responsibilities of the Division of Licensing Project Management 
(DLPM) and solicit feedback on the Division's ongoing redefinition 
process from interested stakeholders. A list of attendees is provided 
as Attachment 1. The workshop agenda is provided as Attachment 2. The 
Division's re-invention report provided during the meeting is included 
as Attachment 3. The feedback obtained from the meeting participants 
during the breakout sessions is included as Attachment 4. The written 
comments received to date on the role of DLPM are included as 
Attachment 5.
    DLPM is in the process of redefining its responsibilities. Previous 
audits and reviews had indicated that the function of operating reactor 
licensing project managers needed to be reevaluated, clearly defined, 
and communicated. In addition, the staff is attempting to correlate the 
functions of DLPM with the four strategic objectives of maintaining 
safety, reducing unnecessary regulatory burden, increasing public 
confidence, and increasing efficiency and effectiveness of key NRC 
processes. DLPM shared the results of its redefinition process with 
external stakeholders to solicit feedback so that the responsibilities 
can be further refined.
    After introductory remarks, the meeting participants broke into 
four groups to discuss the questions summarized in Attachment 4 (also 
published in the Federal Register, Volume 64, Number 133 dated July 13, 
1999). Discussions focused on the project manager being the primary NRC 
interface for licensees and the public on operating plant licensing 
matters, the need for consistency, cost and schedular control of 
licensing actions, and the importance of maintaining staff with the 
required knowledge, skills and abilities for effectively carrying out 
the project manager function. The feedback presented by the various 
participants during the breakout sessions, and included as Attachment 
4, was very extensive and will be useful to the NRC in DLPM's 
initiatives involving the project manager function within the Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
Attachments:
    1. Attendance List
    2. Agenda (available in PDR)
    3. DLPM Re-invention Report (available in PDR)
    4. Feedback from breakout sessions
    5. Written comments on the role of DLPM (available in PDR)

ATTACHMENT 1

PURPOSE: Redefining the Role of the Division of Licensing Project 
Management
    Date: July 23, 1999.
    Location: TWFN Auditorium.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   Name                              Affiliation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Wideman.............................  WCNOC
Pat Nugent................................  PGBE
Roger DeWolfe.............................  TXU
Kenneth Russell...........................  First Energy
John A. Zwolinski.........................  NRR-DLPM
Philip A. Rose............................  SCE&G
Jeff Sobotka..............................  NAFISCO
George Wrobel.............................  RG&E
Mike Krupa................................  Entergy
Mike Brandon..............................  Entergy W3
Paul Blanch...............................  Millstone
Mark J. Ajluni............................  Southern Nuclear Oper. Co.
Joe Sheppard..............................  STPNOC
Jon Hopkins...............................  NRC/NRR/DLPM
Patrick Sekerak...........................  NRC/NRR/DLPM
Alan Wang.................................  NRC/NRR/DLPM
Helen Pastis..............................  NRC/NRR/DLPM
Jack Cushing..............................  NRC/NRR/DLPM
Marsha Gamberoni..........................  NRC/NRR/DLPM
Lee Berry.................................  NRC/NRR/DLPM
James Perselter...........................  North Atlantic
Mike Runchark.............................  AEP
Norm Peterson.............................  Detroit Edison
R. M. Kruch...............................  ConEd
Jerry Roberts.............................  Entergy Ops GGRS
Roger Huston..............................  Licensing Support Services

[[Page 44967]]

 
James Priest..............................  PSE&G
Nate Haskell..............................  Consumers Energy
Stuart Richards...........................  NRC/NRR/DLPM
Ram Subbaratnam...........................  NRC/NRR/DLPM
Chris Jozwick.............................  NRC/NRR/DLPM
L. N. Olshan..............................  NRC/NRR/DLPM
Bob Martin................................  NRC/NRR/DLPM
Harold Chirnoff...........................  CP&L
Rich Laufer...............................  NRC/NRR/DLPM
Byran Ford................................  Millstone 1
William Heyser............................  EPU Nuclear
Sheri Peterson............................  NRC/NRR/DLPM
Steve Bethay..............................  Entergy-Pilgrim
Bill Reckley..............................  NRC/NRR/DLPM
Jim Clifford..............................  NRC/NRR/DLPM
Al Passwater..............................  AmenemVE
Johnny Eads...............................  CP&L
Glenn Michael.............................  Arizona Public Service Co.
Merrill Atkins............................  Yankee Atomic/DE&S
S. Singh Bajwa............................  NRC/NRR/DLPM
C. Stephen Brennigan......................  Entery, PNPS
John Hufnagel.............................  PECO Energy
Don Palmrose..............................  NUSIS
George W. Busch...........................  GPU Nuclear Inc.
Suzanne Black.............................  NRC/NRR/DLPM
Frank Rinaldi.............................  NRC/NRR/DLPM
Duke Wheeler..............................  NRC/NRR/DLPM
Gordon Edison.............................  NRC/NRR/DLPM
Claudia Craig.............................  NRC/NRR/DLPM
Paul Inserra..............................  Energy Northwest
Gene Eckholdt.............................  NSP
C. Jeff Thomas............................  Duke Energy
Paul Pace.................................  TVA
Steve Bennett.............................  Entergy-ANO
Paul Willoughby...........................  Northeast Nuclear
Mike Schoppman............................  NEI
Tom Elwood................................  Illinois Power
Marc Koth.................................  Northern States Power
Bob Gramm.................................  NRC/NRR/DLPM
Scott Hega................................  STP Nuclear Op.
Elaine Chobanan...........................  Northeast Utilities
Donna Skay................................  NRC/NRR/DLPM
John Harrison.............................  NRC/NRR/DLPM
John Kelly................................  NYPA
Kathy Harvey Gibson.......................  NRC/RII
Eileen McKenna............................  NRC/NRR
Thomas Shaub..............................  VA Power
Bill Gleaves..............................  NRC/NRR/DLPM
Tom Elwood................................  Illinois Power
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Region I

Attachment 4

    1. Principal role of projects.
    General comment: 72 tasks are too many to expect an individual to 
perform well.
    (1) Support/Process licensing actions
    (a) Make it happen (authority)

--Active, up-front planning with licensees to facilitate NRC and 
licensee resource planning.
--Effective use of RAI process.

    (2) Serve as the conscience of the staff.
    (3) Be the advocate for the project.
    (4) Focal point for resolving staff and licensee concerns (and 
other stakeholders).
    (5) Balancing/accomplishing NRC and licensee priorities.
    2. Five activities most important.
    (1) Timely completion of licensing actions (on agreed-upon 
schedule).
    (2) Communicate, manage difficulties with licensing actions 
effectively.
    (3) Tasks 1-4, 8, 22, 37, 19, 26, 29, 59.--most important overall 
are tasks 1 through 12 (all licensing actions).
    3. Reasons these activities are important (2).
    (1) Keep plants safe.
    (2) Allow efficient operation of the plant.
    4. Other activities projects should perform.
    (1) Manage public documents (ensuring incoming and outgoing 
documents are rapidly and readily available to the public and to 
licensees.
    (2) Ensure timely notification of meetings.
    (3) Communication clearing house (timely transmittal to licensee, 
particularly for those requiring responses).
    (4) Manage/Control potential Violations during resolution of 
ongoing generic reviews.
    (5) Cost management (fee billing)/Communicate targets up front, PM 
monitor during review (hold both staff and licensee accountable).
    (6) Development/training/qualifications in project management 
skills and communication skills.
    5. Reasons these activities are important (4).
    (1) Reduce licensee burden (efficiency).
    (2) Improve public confidence.
    6. What types of performance indicators would be useful?
    (1) Age of licensing actions.
    (2) Accuracy of product.

--number of correction letters
--rework

    (3) Stakeholder approval rating (including PM evaluation).
    (4) Number of teleconferences per action.
    (5) Number of review hours vs. complexity of item.
    (6) Performance to schedule (specific tasks).
    7. Five activities least important.
    (1) Task #39 (from attachment 3 available in PDR)--Enforcement 
actions.
    (2) #28--Transition of assignments.
    (3) #70--Future rule changes.
    (4) #57--Section meetings.
    (5) #23--Petitions and requests from non-licensees.
    (6) #60--Web page management.
    (7) #64--Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests post-ADAMS 
(Agencywide document access and management system).
    8. Reasons these activities (7) are less important.
    (1) Not role of PM in meeting licensee priorities.
    9. Any activities projects organization should not perform?
    (1) see response to 7.
    10. Additional input.
    (1) Periodic face to face feedback sessions.
    (2) Planning for peak periods.
    (3) PMs need guidance of how much authority they have and when.
    (4) Training of PMs (including behavioral skills).
    (5) Ensure consistency with prior NRC approvals.
    (6) PM should facilitate, coordinate, and manager accomplishment of 
licensing actions.
    (7) Allow PM to focus on licensees as customers, maintaining his 
other obligations.
    (8) Does PM have the authority commensurate with his 
responsibilities?
    11. Other issues.
    (1) None.

Region II

    1. Principal role of projects.
    (1) Process Technical Specification changes/licensing actions.
    (2) Deliverer of licensee information for licensing actions.
    (3) Primary interface with licensee and region (single point of 
contact).
    (4) Coordinate/ensure communication (filter out unnecessary 
interactions)--requires PM knowledge of submittal and licensing basis.
    (5) Coordinate meetings.
    (6) Source of information on NRC policy/procedures (important for 
``filter'' mentioned in 4 above).
    (7) Contact on plant issues.
    (8) Facilitate licensing work/streamline process.
    (9) Owner of licensing basis.
    2. Five activities most important.
    (1) Process licensing actions [Federal Register notice, processing 
Requests for Additional Information, Environmental Assessments]; 
including all actions that require prior NRC approval before the 
licensee implements--[10 CFR 52.90; 50.54]; Determine review method, 
schedule [work planning], and be responsible for implementation--
Project Manager; Writing Safety evaluations, and other licensing tasks.

(2) Interface with licensee.
    (a) Headquarter interfaces (provide filter for unnecessary 
regulatory burden)
(3) Administrative /Coordinator of NRC business functions;
    (a) Review fees (billing licensee for staff review effort/cost 
control and administrative oversight).

[[Page 44968]]

    (b) Manage to Office Letter 803 staff review time estimates/hours 
(for all licensing actions and other licensing tasks beyond amendments) 
and communicate with licensees/ensure accountability for hours charged 
to a review

    (4) Other licensing tasks: Conflict resolution, ensuring consistent 
treatment of licensing actions/licensees, provide feedback on quality 
of licensee's submittals, and maintaining licensing basis.
    (5) Interface with Office of General Counsel/Hearings.
    3. Reasons these activities are important (2)
(1) Licensing actions

    -Reduce unnecessary burden
    -Maintain safety
    (a) Project managers writing Safety evaluations

-Effectiveness and Efficiency, maintain safety.
    (2) Interface with Licensee (as well as, NRC headquarters and 
Region)

-Efficiency and effectiveness
-Public confidence (accuracy of information).

    (3) Administration/Cost control

-Reduce unnecessary burden
-Effectiveness and efficiency

    (4) Other licensing tasks
-Public confidence (lack of ``open'' safety issues)
-Maintain safety
-Reduce unnecessary burden

    4. Other activities projects should perform
    (1) Cost control (look at Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) talking 
points in enclosure 5).
    (2) Task-oriented project management, i.e., license renewal, SG 
issues/replacement, Power uprates, etc.
    (3) Skill development/maintenance for effective project management.
    5. Reasons these activities are important (4).
    (1) Cost control

-Reduce burden
-Safety (best use of $$)

    (2) Task-oriented Project Managers
-Effectiveness and efficiency

    (3) Skills/Development
-Effectiveness and efficiency

    6. What types of performance indicators would be useful?
    (1) Supported NEI proposal (provided in enclosure 5)
    (2) Overall timeliness, schedule adherence
    (3) Average median ages (encourage staff to post data on the Web, 
including comparisons between NRC groups)
    (4) NRC staff should conduct Benchmarking
    (5) Customer surveys and feedback at the individual level (up to 
performance appraisal input on effectiveness of being the focal point.)
    (6) Comparison of actual performance compared to a work plan vs. 
averages (ages, etc.)
    7. Five activities least important.
    (1) Maintaining licensing documents (need to do but shouldn't 
interfere with work).
    (2) 50.59 reviews of annual report.
    (3) Conducting surveys.
    (4) Collateral duties/LPMs.
    8. Reasons these activities are less important (7).
    (1) Do not contribute to the four goals.
    9. Any activities projects organization should not perform?
    (1) As determined by priorities above.
    10. Additional input.
(1) NRC budget process should be more timely and in advance.

(2) Role of Project Manager supervisor
    -budget control
    -conflict resolution (various staff and licensees)
    -schedule adherence

    (3) Customer orientation (NRR-licensee, NRR-region, NRR-public; 
watch out for escalating cost of public interaction).
    (4) Redefining--Reprioritizing for current effort.
    (5) Move toward approaches like inspection/oversight process

-define need to do/safety significance.
    (6) Maintain separation of licensing and oversight.
    11. Other issues.

Region III

    1. Principal role of projects.
    (1) PMs should run interference to ensure reviewers are being 
consistent.
    (2) PMs need decision authority to actively manage their issues.
    (3) PMs need knowledge of licensing basis--tools--i.e., use a 
``licensing notebook,'' evaluate a plant against its licensing basis 
vs. Standard review plan (SRP should not be imposed on non-SRP plants).
    (4) Still need to work on Office Letter 803 implementation. Some 
PMs read requests for additional information (RAI) questions instead of 
faxing them to licensee. Some PMs don't review RAI questions to ensure 
they are appropriate (e.g., consistent with design basis) before 
sending them to licensee.
    (5) PMs need to work with licensee for most efficient way to do 
review.
    (6) Proactive PM/``advocate'' of efficient/effective review.
    (7) PMs should provide for timely Technical Specification 
interpretations/commitments/regulation.
    (8) ``DLPM'' should initiate ``Task Interface Agreement-like'' 
process for questions from licensee.
    (9) Continue daily interface with region
    (10) Improvement with PM doing own reviews.
    (11) Staff should be consistent with past decisions.
    2. Five activities most important (only 4 were selected).
    (1) Management of licensing issues (including notices of 
enforcement discretion).
    (2) Routine interface during licensing action reviews.
    (3) Reduce regulatory burden through reduced reporting 
requirements.
    (4) Communications--bring balance and perspective to regulation of 
power plant.
    3. Reasons these activities are important (2)
    (1) Maintains safety, improves efficiency and effectiveness and 
enhances public confidence.
    (2) Reduce unnecessary regulatory burden.
    (3) Reduce unnecessary regulatory burden, improve safety by 
allowing licensees to concentrate on safety significant issues.
    (4) Improve public confidence, improve efficiency and effectiveness 
and decrease unnecessary regulatory burden.
    4. Other activities projects should perform
    (1) Maintain a licensing notebook for licensing basis reference.
    (2) Develop a standard process for PM turnover, etc.
    (3) Communication/plant visits on open item (i.e, TAC list, etc.). 
Include reviewers on a case-by-case basis.
    (4) Prioritize generic issues by risk significance so licensee's 
don't have to work them all at once.
    5. Reasons these activities are important (4).
    (3) Improves efficiency and effectiveness and improves safety 
(through better PM knowledge of plant).
    (4) Improves efficiency and effectiveness.
    (5) Improves efficiency and effectiveness, decreases regulatory 
burden and increases public confidence.
    (6) Improves safety, decreases regulatory burden and increases 
public confidence.
    6. What types of performance indicators would be useful?
    (1) Rating PM behaviors, attributes and leadership
    (2) Formal feedback mechanism--surveys, errors in safety evaluation 
reports (SERs).
    (3) Self assessments.

[[Page 44969]]

    (4) Schedule vs. priority
    (5) Measure percentage of closed activities as a multiple of how 
fast they were requested to be closed out.
    (6) Internal review to ensure quality; develop a standard. SERs 
should be reviewed by independent group.
    (7) At licensing workshops, get attributes for quality submittals 
and SERs.
    7. Five activities least important.
    (1) Use of PMs as acting resident.
    (2) Collateral duties (e.g., lead PM assignments).
    (3) Requirement to submit routine reports that don't appear to 
receive NRC review.
    (4) Should review 10 CFR 50.54 changes on audit basis instead of 
reviewing and approving each change.
    (5) PMs should not be responsible for ensuring accuracy of 
licensing basis. That's the licensee's responsibility.
    8. Reasons these activities are less important (7).
    (1) Not efficient or effective use of PM.
    (2) Not efficient or effective use of PM, could harm safety by 
distracting PM from primary responsibility.
    (3) Regulatory burden with no benefit.
    (4) Regulatory burden with no benefit.
    (5) Not efficient or effective use of PM.
    9. Any activities projects organization should not perform?
    (1) DLPM should not be doing technical specifications bases reviews 
in some cases (Distinguish between improved technical specifications 
(ITS) and non-ITS plants for TS bases changes (bases control program)).
    10. Additional input/Other Issues.
    (1) ``Cherry picking''--NRC should issue Generic Letter identifying 
what new improved technical specifications items they can get.
    (2) Administrative support

--OGC--work of OGC should be better controlled to improve process
--Concurrence chain ``empowerment''--concurrences should be minimized
--There should be enough administrative support to prevent typing/
distribution causing delays in the licensing process.

    (3) Clarify role of PM/NRR in new oversight process

--ensure consistency
--role in 50.59 inspection
--SDP--NRR may need to support regional Senior Risk Analysts/others
--Plant performance reviews

    (4) NRR should have input to new process (PMs)
    (5) Need more informal ways of taking advantage of generic 
resolutions
    (6) Need to define role of PM in license renewal and 
decommissioning. Need to retain same PM.
    (7) Need the Infrastructure to support PM.
    (8) For informal surveys, need to ensure consistency; timeliness; 
NRC expectations;
    (9) TIA process should be more open to allow licensee input.

Region IV

    There was a fair bit of discussion about the need to distinguish 
between what PMs should do, and what DLPM/NRR should do when the group 
considered the following questions. In some cases, the group has 
delineated their responses accordingly.
    1. Principal role of projects.
    (1) Coordination.
    (2) Interface with NRR/Licensee.

--advocate for licensee
--(or) representative of licensee
--on schedule

    (3) Screening Requests for additional information (RAIs) and staff 
decisions for regulatory basis/achieve burden reduction.
    Advance reactor safety by providing a knowledgeable interface 
between NRC and licensees and ensuring licensing actions are processed 
efficiently.
    2. Five activities most important.
    The following items are important for PMs:
    (1) Licensing action coordination (true project management role).
    (1a) licensing action review/approval performed by PM (personal 
approval).
    (2) Communication with licensees--explain what is needed/required 
by the staff, and why it is needed (regulatory basis).
    (3) Screening RAIs, and guarding the licensing basis.
    (4) Keep senior NRC management informed of activities at that 
plant.
    The following items are important for DLPM:
    (5) Coordination/prioritization with other divisions.
    (6) NRR/region interface.
    (7) Regulatory improvements.
    3. Reasons these activities are important (2).
    (1) PM should evaluate licensing actions, RAIs, work priorities, 
etc. against outcome goals and reject those that don't conform with 
outcome goals.
    4. Other activities projects should perform.
    (1) Relationship with media, and maintain sensitivity when 
providing information that has financial or commercial consequences.
    (2) Participate in site inspections.
    (3) Be more involved with enforcement.
    (4) Be more involved with new performance assessment process.
    5. Reasons these activities are important (4).
    (1) Relationship to outcome goals.
    6. What types of performance indicators would be useful?
    (1) Number of days deviation from project schedule (joint agreement 
between staff and licensee on schedule).
    (2) Current goals, e.g., 95% < 1 year, not appropriate for all 
licensing actions.
    (3) Number of RAIs.
    (4) Quality of licensing action, e.g., number of errors.
    (5) Percentage of licensing actions performed by project manager.
    7. Five activities least important.
    (1) 2.206, other Federal agency interface (this is important for 
DLPM, not PM).
    (2) 50.59 evaluation reviews.
    (3) Review of inspection reports.
    (4) Maine Yankee, Millstone lessons learned.
    (5) Support for Congressional Affairs.
    8. Reasons these activities are less important (7).
    (1) Not supportive of outcome goals and primary licensing action 
work.
    9. Any activities projects organization should not perform?
    (1) None identified.
    10. Additional input.
    See 11.
    11. Other issues.
    (1) Dedicated project manager for plant is key ingredient for 
success.

--In some cases 1 PM could handle more than 1 plant (if plants were 
similar)
--is billing an issue?
--varies by commonality of licensing tasks
--varies with workload
--decision to assign PM to more than 1 plant, and assignment of 
significant co-lateral duties should include licensee input
--NRR needs to have flexibility.

    (2) TIA process.

--need licensee involvement to provide information for NRR 
consideration.
--currently little communication with licensee until decision is made.

    (3) Better coordination of generic issues--need for generic issue 
project managers, not necessarily plant PMs.
    (4) Should review 72 items against the priorities in Question 2.

[FR Doc. 99-21397 Filed 8-17-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P