Question. Recent events have demonstrated the importance of emergency planning in the licensing process. In this regard, I understand that your agency is proceeding with plans for emergency plan rulemaking and degraded core rulemaking in the next couple of years. How do you plan to incorporate the lessons learned from the accident at TMI and the TMI R&D program?

Answer. The need for orderly emergency planning was demonstrated by the TMI experience. The lessons learned were incorporated in our regulations over 3 years ago. The NRC staff has been directed by the Chairman to consider revisions to the emergency planning requirements based on experience and further studies of accident risks with current accident source terms. Later, in 1985 when revised source terms are expected to be available, we will reflect them as appropriate by changes in our regulations. The TMI R&D program is expected to make a contribution to our reassessment of source terms. (Please see the answer to the following question for a discussion of how TMI research is incorporated into NRC regulatory information base.)

Question. I understand that TMI is the only integral experiment base we have for a core disruptive accident. I understand that the actual releases of the important radionuclides, such as iodine, were substantially lower than those predicted by the theoretical accident cores of the NRC. This could mean that the implications of an accident may not be so severe as postulated by hypothetical codes. Wouldn't it be in the national interest for the NRC to direct its research program more toward the TMI experimental results to take advantage of information such as this? What plans do you have in this regard?

Answer. NRC continues to feel that TMI research data are an important source of information on severe accidents. In 1979, shortly after the accident, in an exchange of correspondence between then NRC Chairman Joseph Hendrie and DOE Under Secretary Deutch, NRC suggested a cooperative program of research on severe accident causes and consequences and urged that DOE give consideration to funding an examination of the facility. NRC has contributed to that research program and is a part of the research planning effort.

NRC launched a research program shortly after the accident to investigate the actual releases of important radionuclides, noting, as stated in the question, that the release of iodine and some other radionuclides were lower than would have been predicted by the studies then being used for regulatory decisions. This program involves some carefully controlled and well instrumented severe fuel damage experiments which have been underway in the Power Burst Facility (PBF) in Idaho, the annular core research reactor (ACRR) in New Mexico, and in out-of-pile fuel experiments in Oak Ridge, Tenn., and in Germany under a cooperative agreement. This program has proceeded expeditiously and is furnishing vital information for NRC regulatory applications during 1985.

The slow progress of the TMI-2 cleanup and the consequent delays in TMI-2 research to date have made it necessary to reschedule the incorporation of its contribution to the integrated pool of research data on radionuclide release, deposition, and transport to the latter half of this decade. Since NRC radionuclide computer codes require data from precisely defined conditions to verify their accuracy, it would have been difficult to use the TMI fuel data at this stage even if it were to be available. Thus the use of TMI fuel data will be complementary to NRC research data currently being obtained as the program moves ahead in response to regulatory requirements.

The actual temperatures, pressures, and other phenomena which occurred during the ac cident are inadequately known and involved series of overlapping events which make analysis of the resulting radioactivity release difficult to ascribe to specific occurrences as would be necessary for code verification. By the time the TMI data become available from the DOE/NRC program, the PBF, ACRR, and out-of-pile information will be available to both help understand it, and to allow its integration to provide a relatively complete understanding of severe accident radioactivity.

Question. I have heard that you have been approached by DOE to participate with them in the offsite R&D program at INEL and other national laboratories in order to maximize the assurance that all critical safety research information will be available to the NRC in a timely manner. What plans do you have in this regard?

Answer. The NRC and DOE have been cooperating in the planning and development of appropriate safety research information gathering, and specific offsite examination plans, since shortly after the accident in 1979. As stated in the answer to the preceding question, Chairman Hendrie wrote to DOE's Under Secretary Deutch in 1979 suggesting a cooperative research program on TMI and urged that DOE give strong consideration to the allocation of (DOE) funds and other resources to such research. Today the NRC continues to believe that the major source of U.S. Government funding for TMI-2 research should be channeled through the DOE.

As a consequence of the early cooperation and the NRC initiatives, a four-party agreement was developed among DOE, EPRI, GPU, and NRC toward the collection of valuable data from the damaged reactor plant. A formalized agreement was then signed by NRC with DOE, EPRI, and GPU on March 26, 1980. Since that time, members of the NRC staff have been participating in the detailed planning and implementation guidance for the various information and examination programs.

The NRC plans to continue its relationship with DOE and EPRI in the data gathering from TMI-2 and is putting all of the information to appropriate use. As soon as the data from the nuclear core become available, they will be used in checking severe accident predictive and evaluation techniques and specific isotope release models. The NRC will continue to participate with DOE, EPRI, and industry in detailed planning for the interpretation of information from the TMI-2 reactor.

Question. How much money is planned in the fiscal year 1985 and out-budgets to participate experimentally in the TMI safety R&D program with DOE?

Answer. NRC is actively participating in the TMI safety R&D program with DOE as the prime source of U.S. Government funds. The NRC has, however, set aside some funds from its research budget to assure that an NRC contractor obtains hands-on experience with the TMI-2 core debris examination. This will provide NRC a certain objectivity in understanding the results of the overall off-site core examination effort. The work thus funded is planned as part of the overall off-site examination program in a coordinated effort with DOE and other participants.

In fiscal year 1985 NRC has identified $350,000 for core debris examination. Although most of the U.S. Government funding for TMI information is being provided through DOE, the NRC effort should be considered in the context of the $25 million of NRC fiscal year 1985 funds for carefully characterized severe fuel damage and source term research into which the TMI-2 data will be integrated. The results of this research have been highly useful to NRC and DOE in understanding of the physical and chemical changes to the TMI-2 core and fission product releases during the accident. The results of the program, when correlated with data from the TMI-2 safety R&D program will characterize the TMI-2 core conditions and enable a much improved understanding of the progress of the accident and associated releases. NRC anticipates similar continued participation as an active member of the DOE-funded cooperative effort in the next several fiscal years.

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

STATEMENT OF RAYMOND J. O'CONNOR, CHAIRMAN

ACCOMPANIED BY WILLIAM G. McDONALD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

PREPARED STATEMENT

Chairman HATFIELD. Chairman O'Connor, if you wish to proceed, your full statement will be placed in the record and I would appreciate it if you will summarize and introduce Mr. McDonald, the Executive Director.

[The statement follows:]

(913)

STATEMENT OF RAYMOND J. O'CONNOR

MR. CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE:

I am

I appreciate this opportunity to discuss the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's FY 1985 budget request with you. accompanied today by William G. McDonald, the Executive Director of the Commission, and by the directors of the Commission's legal and technical offices who may assist me in answering your

questions.

This morning, after presenting you with a brief overview of the Commission's FY 1985 budget request, I would like to provide you with a status report on the managerial and programmatic initiatives taken in my first 120 days as Chairman of the Commission, relate my expectations for the remainder of fiscal year 1984, and discuss our budget request for FY 1985.

FY 1985 Budget Overview

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission FY 1985 budget request is for $100,677,000 of which $60,000,000 would be offset through the collection of annual charges and fees. At first glance, the request appears to be significantly higher than our FY 1984 appropriation of $89,582,000; however of the $11,095,000 increase, only 3 percent, or $285,000, represents program changes. The balance, $10,810,000, represents the additional resources necessary just to maintain the current level of operations. These increases include the following:

$2,362,000 to pay for the 1985 costs associated with the January 1984 pay raise;

- $2,250,000 to pay for the full year costs of new hires in FY 1984 which are primarily the result of completing the transfer of administrative support functions from the Department of Energy;

- $238,000 due to an extra compensable day in FY 1985; and,

- $5,960,000 for supporting non-discretionary increased costs of maintaining current FERC operations, including an