POLICY ISSUE
(Information)
August 29, 2006 FOR: FROM: The Commissioners Luis A. Reyes Executive Director for Operations
SECY-06-0189
/RA/
SUBJECT:
SEMIANNUAL REPORT ON THE STATUS OF STAFF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY/INFORMATION MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS PROCESS ACTIVITIES IN PREPARATION FOR THE HIGH-LEVEL WASTE REPOSITORY PROCEEDINGS
PURPOSE: To inform the Commission about the status of Information Technology/Information Management (IT/IM) and business process activities in preparation for the proceeding on a license application, in an electronic environment, for the construction of a high-level waste (HLW) repository. BACKGROUND: This report is issued semiannually and covers HLW IT/IM and business process activities. The scope of the information paper includes activities from January 1, 2006, through June 30, 2006.
DISCUSSION: A. Program Management
The HLW Licensing Support Program (HLW-LSP) Project Plan continues to be maintained using an interactive process and ongoing communication with staff and management from all organizations that support the program.
CONTACT: James C. Corbett, OIS (301) 415-8719
The Commissioners B.
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Status of the High Level Waste Meta-System
Essentially all resources in the HLW IT/IM area remain focused on supporting Release 2 of the Meta-System. At this point, the major challenge is the certification and accreditation (C&A) of the component systems comprising the Meta-System. Currently all components with the exception of Electronic Information Exchange (EIE) and the Electronic Hearing Docket (EHD) have an interim authority to operate (IATO). Any upgrades and modifications of these components to enhance the functionality and operability of the Meta-System will require updating existing security documentation and will further delay the C&A process. The Office of Information Services (OIS) and the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel (ASLBP) have coordinated efforts and obtained an Enterprise Digital Data Management System (DDMS) IATO. OIS and ASLBP will now move the system into a production environment. ASLBP is working with OIS to develop a process for reporting key IT project metrics and will engage agency executives in evaluating the progress and necessity of IT investments. OIS and ASLBP also are working to develop a practical schedule to migrate the Licensing Support Network (LSN) to Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) in order to meet the Office of Management and Budget’s direction that Federal agencies begin migration by June 2008. C. Electronic Information Exchange
The staff has implemented enhancements to EIE capability in order to provide, as appropriate, priority to HLW electronic submissions. These enhancements proved to be of great value in the most recent round of testing. To obtain a current IATO, the staff plans to update the existing plan of action and milestones (POA&M) and C&A documents for EIE. D. Electronic Hearing Docket
As a result of the e-filing rulemaking for adjudications, the staff considered merging the EHD for the HLW proceeding with the EHD for general proceedings. Activities associated with expanding the EHD for general proceedings will be funded from within the program the expansion primarily supports (e.g., new reactors). The resulting EHD is intended to accommodate all proceedings, providing a protective order file and a search engine for Webbased searches. To that end, the staff prepared security documents for obtaining an IATO for the EHD as a single system. The staff has submitted the appropriate documentation to the Senior Information Technology Security Officer (SITSO) for review and subsequent transmittal to the Designated Approving Authority for approval. ASLBP, SECY and OIS agreed on a methodology that can accommodate the folder structures of both the EHD and the DDMS. This agreement, when fully implemented, will provide some flexibility in the display of folders on the EHD while also allowing the EHD servers to map to the appropriate folders in the DDMS file structure. The staff has also initiated a redesign of the NRC Web site during this period. The redesign will provide links to and between adjudicatory material so that the public, potential parties in proceedings, and parties in active proceedings have readily available tools for participating in the NRC adjudicatory process. Once the design is complete, direct links from the NRC Home Page will allow visitors to intervene in proceedings, submit proceeding documents, and view filings. Other links will provide access to adjudicatory information sites that will guide a
The Commissioners
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participant or potential participant in the steps necessary to submit an electronic filing to the official adjudicatory dockets in e-filing and the HLW proceedings. COORDINATION: The Office of the General Counsel reviewed this paper and has no legal objection. This paper has also been coordinated with the Office of the Secretary of the Commission and the Licensing Support Network Administrator.
/RA William F. Kane Acting for/ Luis A. Reyes Executive Director for Operations