The following is off of the NRC Y2k listserver today:
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: NRC Y2K Status Report for May 1999
From: John Voglewede
Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 17:01:20 -0400 (EDT)
A status report to the Commissioners on Agency
Year 2000 Activities by the NRC Executive
Director for Operations was issued on May 14,
1999. A copy of the report is provided below:
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United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Status Report on Year 2000 Activities for May 1999
INTRODUCTION
Over the past several months, the staff has
periodically provided the Commission with status
reports on Year 2000 (Y2K) activities. This
report is the fifth periodic report and updates the
status of agency Y2K activities. The report covers
the period from 1 April to 30 April. Additional,
more detailed, Y2K-related information and the
previous periodic reports to the Commission can be
found on NRC's Y2K website at
http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/NEWS/year2000.html.
POWER REACTORS
The staff recently completed its review of the
public comments related to the Nuclear Information
and Resource Service petitions for rulemaking
regarding Y2K issues. The public comments will be
considered as the staff completes its review of the
petitions. The staff is preparing a Federal
Register notice, Congressional letters and a
Commission paper regarding the resolution of the
petitions.
The staff provided several briefings on the status
of the nuclear industry and agency Y2K readiness
activities. These briefings included:
April 16, 1999 The President's Council Working
Group on Energy/Electric Power
April 26, 1999 Electric Power Research
Institute (EPRI) Y2K Embedded
Systems Workshop
April 28, 1999 Nuclear Utility Software
Management Group (NUSMG)
Conference on Y2K Issues
April 28, 1999 Catastrophic Disaster Response
Group meeting.
On April 28, 1999, the staff issued information
notice IN 99-12, "Year 2000 Computer Systems
Readiness Audits," to inform nuclear power plant
licensees of observations made by NRC staff during
audits conducted on the Year 2000 readiness
programs of 12 plant sites. This document is
available on the NRC's Y2K website.
The staff's proposed "Interim Policy Statement on
Enforcement Discretion for Y2K" has been drafted
and is currently undergoing management review.
This guidance, once approved by the Commission,
will provide guidelines for the staff and industry
concerning the use of enforcement discretion during
the Year 2000 transition period.
The staff commenced its site-specific Y2K reviews.
Year 2000 activities at all 66 sites (103 nuclear
power units) will be reviewed by NRC Regional
staff. These reviews are scheduled to be completed
by the end of July. Regional inspectors will use a
checklist to review licensee Y2K readiness programs
including the area of contingency planning.
Headquarters staff will participate in selected
reviews to assure the consistency of the reviews
across all four NRC Regions. The results from
these reviews will be consolidated and issued as a
single report by August, 1999. The report will be
made publically available and posted at the NRC Y2K
website.
In addition, the staff conducts periodic conference
calls to discuss review results, help assure
uniformity of the reviews, and to provide advice
and clarify implementation procedures. The staff
is developing the approach for evaluating the
results of the Y2K site reviews, as well as the
responses from the licensees to NRC Y2K generic
letters.
The staff continued planning for the contingency
plan audits. These audits will focus on Y2K
contingency planning at six sites. These six sites
will involve licensees other than those that
comprised the original 12 Y2K audits. Management
will participate in selected aspects of several of
these audits. The audits will take place between
May 17 and June 18, 1999. The six sites are:
Oconee Indian Point 2
Palo Verde Turkey Point
Duane Arnold Diablo Canyon
The staff is currently developing guidelines that
will be used to assist the staff in determining
what additional NRC oversight activities, if any,
are appropriate for those plants that will not be
Y2K ready by July 1, 1999.
Finally, although GL 98-01 was addressed to: "All
holders of operating licenses for nuclear power
plants, except those who have permanently ceased
operations and have certified that fuel has been
permanently removed from the reactor vessel," the
staff plans to evaluate the need to assess Y2K
issues and licensee readiness at decommissioned and
permanently shutdown facilities.
The industry continues to be actively engaged in
addressing the Y2K problem. On April 30, 1999, the
North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC)
released its First Quarter 1999 status report on
"Preparing the Electric Power Systems of North
America for Transition to the Year 2000." This
report is located on the NERC website at
http://www.nerc.com.
FUEL CYCLE FACILITIES AND MATERIALS LICENSEES
The staff has completed updating the materials and
fuel cycle portion of the NRC's Y2K website. The
front page has more information regarding
materials-related Y2K activities. Useful links to
other Y2K websites have been added.
The staff has drafted two materials-related Y2K
Information Notices (INs). The first IN updates
licensees on the staff's Y2K activities and
provides website addresses for Y2K information.
The second IN emphasizes the importance of Y2K
contingency plans. Both INs will be issued by mid-
May.
The staff plans to conduct follow-up Y2K reviews at
the gaseous diffusion plants. In addition, the
staff contacted the licensee for the Paducah
gaseous diffusion plant regarding participation in
the NRC's October Y2K exercise. Paducah indicated
that they are interested in participating.
CONTINGENCY PLANNING
The NRC Y2K Contingency Planning Task Force
continued to develop and refine the NRC Y2K
contingency plan based on stakeholder feedback and
the February 19, 1999 Staff Requirements Memorandum
(SRM). The final agency Y2K Contingency Plan is
currently undergoing management review and is
expected to be forwarded to the Commission by mid-
May.
A Y2K Contingency Plan table top exercise involving
NRC, Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE), the State of
Maryland and counties surrounding the Calvert
Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant is tentatively planned
for July 14, 1999. On October 15, 1999, the NRC
staff plans to exercise the agency's Y2K
Contingency Plan. Commonwealth Edison is
coordinating the exercise play from a half dozen
nuclear power plant licensees. This exercise will
also test the back-up communications systems,
including newly procured NRC satellite phones. The
staff's consultant recently completed a cost-
benefit analysis of the available satellite
communication options.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND Y2K COMMUNICATION ACTIVITIES
The staff continued to respond to inquiries
regarding Y2K activities provided comments and
input for the frequently-asked questions (FAQs)
about Y2K issues. The FAQs and answers have been
posted at the NRC Web site.
As of the end of April, the NRC Web site was
responding to approximately 3,800 page-requests per
week for Year 2000 information - down from 5,800
page-requests per week for mid-March. Currently,
the most frequently-requested pages are:
NRC Year 2000 Page (44 percent of Y2K requests)
Nuclear Reactors Y2K Page (11 percent of Y2
requests)
Y2K Contingency Planning Page (10 percent of
Y2K requests)
April 1999 EDO Y2K Status Report (7 percent of
Y2K requests)
NRC Y2K Contingency Plan (7 percent of Y2K
requests)
Y2K Frequently Asked Questions (6 percent of
Y2K requests)
February 1999 OMB Y2K Status Report (4 percent
of Y2K requests)
NRC Y2K References Page (4 percent of Y2K
requests)
A small number (less than ten requests per day) are
being received for the final version of NRC
Inspection Manual Temporary Instruction TI-2515/141
(Review of Year 2000 Readiness of Computer Systems
at Nuclear Power Plants). Requests for reports on
the twelve previously-completed Y2K audits of
nuclear power plants are also very low (5 to 7
requests per day for each report).
-- Anonymous, May 19, 1999