Request for Voluntary Participation in NRC Regulatory Impact Survey (Generic Letter 90-01)

				UNITED STATES
                         NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
                            WASHINGTON D. C. 20666

                               January 18, 1990
     

TO: ALL LICENSEES OF OPERATING REACTORS, APPLICANTS FOR OPERATING
LICENSES, AND HOLDERS OF CONSTRUCTION PERMITS FOR LIGHT WATER REACTOR
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

SUBJECT: REQUEST FOR VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION IN NRC REGULATORY IMPACT
SURVEY (GENERIC LETTER NO.90-01)

In 1981 the NRC conducted a survey of utility views of the impact of NRC
regulatory programs and initiatives on utility operations and resources.
As a result of that survey, the NRC made a number of changes in its
organization and practices. To assess the effectiveness of those changes
and to inquire into the impact of current NRC practices, the NRC recently
conducted Regulatory Impact Surveys at 13 utilities throughout the
country.
At each of the 13 utilities. senior managers from NRC headquarters and
regional offices held group discussion sessions with a wide spectrum of
individuals from the operator and engineer level up to senior corporate
management. The NRC is currently evaluating the information gathered from
these discussions to determine what changes, if any, should be made to the
NRC's regulatory approach to enhancing the safe operation of nuclear power
plants.

In order to augment the information gained from the survey of 13
utilities, the NRC is requesting that nuclear utilities, on a voluntary
basis, complete the questionnaire provided in the enclosure to this
letter. The purpose of this questionnaire is to provide the NRC with
insight on the time which key nuclear power plant managers spend in
responding to the various operational (or construction) inspections and
adults (including those conducted by the company itself) that are imposed
upon them.

Your voluntary submittal of the completed questionnaire by March 1, 1990
will be greatly appreciated. Input from a broad base of licensees is
needed to ensure that the results of this survey are representative of
conditions across the industry. The information provided will not be
directly associated with a particular nuclear power plant. A copy of the
final survey report will be provided to you upon completion.

This request is covered by Office of Management and Budget Clearance
Number 3150-0011 which expires January 31, 1991. The estimated average
burden hours is 60 person hours per licensee response, including searching
data sources, gathering and analyzing the information, and the requested
reports.  Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect
of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this
burden, to the Information and Records Management Branch, Division of
Information Support

.

                        -  2  -           January  18,  1990

Services. Office of Information and Resources Management, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555; and to the Paperwork
Reduction Project (3150-0011), Office of Management and Budget,
Washington, D.C. 20503.

Sincerely,


James G. Partlow
Associate Director for Projects
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Enclosures:
1. General Instructions/Questionnaire
2. List of Recently Issued Generic Letters

.

ENCLOSURE 1

                       NRC Regulatory Impact Survey
                           General Instructions

 Item Number                       Instruction

     1.        A separate Questionnaire Sheet should be completed for
               each of the following applicable types of operational/
               construction inspection, audit or evaluation:

     - NRC Team Inspections             - OSHA
     - Other NRC Resident,              - DOT
          Regional and Headquarters     - State/Local Authorities
          inspections/audits            - NRC-Required QA Audits
     - INPO Evaluations/Visits          - Other Self-Assessments
     - Insurers (ANI)                   - Other (Specify)
     - EPA

2. Based upon actual experience over the past several years, about how
often is each of the activities identified in Item #l conducted? Answers
need not be precise, but should provide general statements of recent
experience, such as "Two NRC Regional Office Inspections per Month" or
"INPO Plant and Corporate Evaluations every 18 months."

3. Provide a brief description of the operations/construction areas which
are reviewed by the various activities. These descriptions need not be
provided for NRC inspections and audits, INPO Evaluations, and
NRC-required QA audits.

4. Provide information on the extent of the inspection, audit or
evaluation in terms of the typical size of the review group and the length
of time required to conduct the review. For example "NRC Regional Office
inspections typically consist of two inspectors who are onsite for one
work week. 

5. This question seeks information on the extent to which the available 
time of key managers is necessarily devoted to dealing with each of the 
specific review activities listed in Item #1. For multiple positions, such
as Plant Department Heads, provide an average annualized percentage for
the group and the number of Department heads included.

.

                         NRC Regulatory Impact Survey 
                             Questionnaire Sheet 

1. Type of inspection, audit or evaluation:_______________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

2. Based on actual experience over the past several years, about how often
is this activity conducted?_______________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

3. Operations/Construction areas covered:_________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

4. Extent of the activity (how many people, for how long)_________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

5. Approximate percentage of total time (on an annual basis) which the
following managers must spend in direct involvement before, during, and
in response to the activity described in Item #1.

a. Plant Department Heads _____         (number involved) _____
b. Plant Manager _____
c. Corporate Department Heads _____     (number involved) _____
d. Corporate Vice Presidents _____      (number involved) _____
e. Chief Nuclear Officer _____