Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards; Meeting Notice

In accordance with the purposes of Sections 29 and 182b. of the Atomic Energy Act (42 U.S.C. 2039, 2232b), the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) will hold a meeting on April 15-17, 2004, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. The date of this meeting was previously published in the Federal Register on Monday, November 21, 2003 (68 FR 65743).

Thursday, April 15, 2004, Conference Room T-2B3, Two White Flint North, Rockville, Maryland

8:30 a.m.-8:35 a.m.: Opening Remarks by the ACRS Chairman (Open)—The ACRS Chairman will make opening remarks regarding the conduct of the meeting.

8:35 a.m.-10 a.m.: Action Plan for Implementing the Phased Approach for Improving PRA Quality (Open)—The Committee will hear presentations by and hold discussions with representatives of the NRC staff regarding the staff's proposed action plan for implementing the phased approach for improving PRA quality.

10:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: SECY-04-0037, “Issues Related to Proposed Rulemaking to Risk-Inform Requirements Related to Large Break LOCA Break Size and Plans for Rulemaking on LOCA with Coincident Loss-of-Offsite Power” (Open)—The Committee will hear presentations by and hold discussions with representatives of the NRC staff regarding SECY-04-0037.

1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.: Options and Recommendations for Functional Performance Requirements and Criteria for the Containments of Non-LWRs (Open)—The Committee will hear presentations by and hold discussions with representatives of the NRC staff regarding proposed options and recommendations for functional performance requirements and criteria for the containments of non-light water reactors (LWRs).

3:45 p.m.-4:45 p.m.: Criteria for Evaluating the Effectiveness (Quality) of the NRC Research Programs (Open)—The Committee will discuss the final criteria for use by the ACRS in evaluating the effectiveness (quality) of the NRC research programs.

5 p.m.-6:30 p.m.: Preparation of ACRS Reports (Open)—The Committee will discuss proposed ACRS reports on matters considered during this meeting as well as proposed reports on Resolution of Certain Items Identified by the ACRS in NUREG-1740 Related to Differing Professional Opinion on Steam Generator Tube Integrity, and on Divergence in Regulatory Requirements Between U.S. and Several Other Countries.

Friday, April 16, 2004, Conference Room T-2B3, Two White Flint North, Rockville, Maryland

8:30 a.m.-8:35 a.m.: Opening Remarks by the ACRS Chairman (Open)—The ACRS Chairman will make opening remarks regarding the conduct of the meeting.

8:35 a.m.-10 a.m.: License Renewal Application for the R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant (Open)—The Committee will hear presentations by and hold discussions with representatives of the NRC staff and Rochester Gas and Electric Company regarding the license renewal application for the R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant and the associated final Safety Evaluation Report prepared by the NRC staff.

10:15 a.m.-12 noon: Proposed Generic Communication Regarding Pressurizer Dissimilar Metal Weld Cracking Issues (Open)—The Committee will hear presentations by and hold discussions with representatives of the NRC staff regarding the proposed NRC generic communication related to pressurizer dissimilar metal weld cracking issues.

1:15 p.m.-1:30 p.m.: Subcommittee Report on the Interim Review of the License Renewal Application for the Dresden and Quad Cities Nuclear Power Plants (Open)—The Committee will hear a report by and hold discussions with the Chairman of the ACRS Subcommittee on Plant License Renewal regarding the Subcommittee's review of the license renewal application for the Dresden and Quad Cities Nuclear Power Plants and the associated initial Safety Evaluation Report prepared by the NRC staff.

1:30 p.m.-1:45 p.m.: Subcommittee Report on Digital I&C System Matters (Open)—The Committee will hear a report by and hold discussions with the Chairman of the ACRS Subcommittee on Plant Operations regarding the Subcommittee's review of the digital instrumentation and control (I&C) system matters.

1:45 p.m.-2:30 p.m.: Future ACRS Activities/Report of the Planning and Procedures Subcommittee (Open)—The Committee will discuss the recommendations of the Planning and Procedures Subcommittee regarding items proposed for consideration by the full Committee during future meetings. Also, it will hear a report of the Planning and Procedures Subcommittee on matters related to the conduct of ACRS business, including anticipated workload and member assignments.

2:30 p.m.-2:45 p.m.: Reconciliation of ACRS Comments and Recommendations (Open)—The Committee will discuss the responses from the NRC Executive Director for Operations (EDO) to comments and recommendations included in recent ACRS reports and letters. The EDO responses are expected to be made available to the Committee prior to the meeting.

3 p.m.-4:30 p.m.: Preparation for Meeting with the NRC Commissioners (Open)—The Committee will discuss proposed topics for meeting with the NRC Commissioners, which is scheduled to be held between 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 6, 2004.

4:45 p.m.-7 p.m.: Preparation of ACRS Reports (Open)—The Committee will discuss proposed ACRS reports.

Saturday, April 17, 2004, Conference Room T-2B3, Two White Flint North, Rockville, Maryland

8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Preparation of ACRS Reports (Open)—The Committee will discuss proposed ACRS reports.

12:30 p.m.-1 p.m.: Miscellaneous (Open)—The Committee will discuss matters related to the conduct of Committee activities and matters and specific issues that were not completed during previous meetings, as time and availability of information permit.

Procedures for the conduct of and participation in ACRS meetings were published in the Federal Register on October 16, 2003 (68 FR 59644). In accordance with those procedures, oral or written views may be presented by members of the public, including representatives of the nuclear industry. Electronic recordings will be permitted only during the open portions of the meeting. Persons desiring to make oral statements should notify the Cognizant ACRS staff named below five days before the meeting, if possible, so that appropriate arrangements can be made to allow necessary time during the meeting for such statements. Use of still, motion picture, and television cameras during the meeting may be limited to selected portions of the meeting as determined by the Chairman. Information regarding the time to be set aside for this purpose may be obtained by contacting the Cognizant ACRS staff prior to the meeting. In view of the possibility that the schedule for ACRS meetings may be adjusted by the Chairman as necessary to facilitate the conduct of the meeting, persons planning to attend should check with the Cognizant ACRS staff if such rescheduling would result in major inconvenience.

Further information regarding topics to be discussed, whether the meeting has been canceled or rescheduled, as well as the Chairman's ruling on requests for the opportunity to present oral statements and the time allotted therefor can be obtained by contacting Mr. Sam Duraiswamy, Cognizant ACRS staff (301-415-7364), between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m., ET.

ACRS meeting agenda, meeting transcripts, and letter reports are available through the NRC Public Document Room at pdr@nrc.gov, or by calling the PDR at 1-800-397-4209, or from the Publicly Available Records System (PARS) component of NRC's document system (ADAMS) which is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html or http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/ (ACRS & ACNW Mtg schedules/agendas).

Videoteleconferencing service is available for observing open sessions of ACRS meetings. Those wishing to use this service for observing ACRS meetings should contact Mr. Theron Brown, ACRS Audio Visual Technician (301-415-8066), between 7:30 a.m. and 3:45 p.m., ET, at least 10 days before the meeting to ensure the availability of this service. Individuals or organizations requesting this service will be responsible for telephone line charges and for providing the equipment and facilities that they use to establish the videoteleconferencing link. The availability of videoteleconferencing services is not guaranteed.