[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 162 (Tuesday, August 20, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43091-43092]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-21163]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Training Requirements for Agreement State Personnel; Working 
Group

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Establishment of Working Group on Training for Materials 
Licensing and Inspection.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: A working group consisting of representatives from Agreement 
States and from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has been formed 
to evaluate the ongoing evolution of training programs for Agreement 
State personnel, the criteria for evaluation of Agreement State 
programs in the area of training qualification, and the possible 
training options for Agreement State personnel.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dennis M. Sollenberger, Office of 
State Programs (OSP), U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
D.C. 20555, Telephone: 301-415-2819.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: By letter dated November 14, 1995, Mr. 
Richard Ratliff, Chair, Organization of Agreement States (OAS), 
presented OAS concerns to the NRC including concerns in the area of 
training and requested that an operational committee or working group 
be established to consider identification of core courses, 
identification of additional training requirements for Agreement State 
personnel, and identification of acceptable alternate training options. 
The NRC responded to the letter on December 28, 1995, agreeing to the 
proposal to establish a working group to address the training issues of 
the OAS.
    Over the last several years the training program conducted by NRC 
for Agreement State personnel has gone through an evolution in which 
the training developed and conducted for Agreement States has been 
merged with the training program for NRC staff. The overall 
coordination of this combined program is the responsibility of the 
Technical Training Division (TTD), Office for Analysis and Evaluation 
of Operational Data (AEOD). Other NRC offices and Regions provide input 
to the course content and training needs. The Office of State Programs 
(OSP) has collected and provided input on the Agreement State training 
needs.
    The NRC has recently revised its training requirements for 
materials licensing and inspection staff. The requirements are now in 
one document, Inspection Manual Chapter 1246. The NRC has proposed that 
the Agreement State staff meet similar training requirements and that 
the Agreement State radiation control program directors formally 
establish staff qualification criteria and document that staff are 
qualified to independently perform work as they complete various 
training levels. The qualifications and training of Agreement State 
personnel have also been identified as one of the common performance 
indicators under the Integrated Materials Performance Evaluation 
Program (IMPEP) for evaluating Agreement State and NRC Regional 
materials regulatory programs. Specific criteria to benchmark this 
evaluation are needed to ensure uniformity for this program. This 
proposal was presented at the October 1995 All Agreement States 
meeting, which resulted in the above referenced letter from the OAS.
    The Commission will discontinue the funding for Agreement State 
staff travel and contractor costs associated with Agreement State staff 
training beginning in fiscal year 1997. This action has prompted 
Agreement States to investigate alternate training methods to those 
made available by the NRC. The working group will not address the 
funding issue but will address possible alternate training methods.

Scope of Work

    The NRC/OAS Training Working Group will address the Agreement State 
training issues as identified in the OAS letter of November 14, 1995 
and other issues identified to the group by OAS or the NRC.

Tasks

    In evaluating the potential training necessary for Agreement State 
personnel to have equivalent qualifications as NRC

[[Page 43092]]

materials licensing and inspection personnel, the Working Group will be 
performing the following tasks:
    1. To evaluate the proposed training courses and training subject 
areas for the Agreement State staff that are necessary to assure 
equivalency with NRC requirements and forward a recommendation to the 
OAS and the NRC.
    2. To evaluate the NRC policy for passing/failing courses and 
determine an acceptable policy and methods to implement a policy for 
the Agreement States.
    3. To identify acceptable alternative training options, including 
the evaluation of technology and training methods that could be used to 
lower the cost of NRC training courses.

Working Group Organization and Operations

    Initially the following personnel will be on the working group.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Dennis Sollenberger, Office of State Programs
Catherine Haney, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
John Ricci, Office for Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data
Organization of Agreement States
Kathy Allen, Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety
Marilyn Kelso, Texas Department of Health
William Sinclair, Utah Department of Environmental Quality

    The working group selected Dennis M. Sollenberger and Kathy Allen 
to be co-chairs for the working group.

Working Group Meetings

    Working Group meetings will be announced in advance through the NRC 
Public Meeting Announcement System. Maximum use will be made of other 
appropriate media for facilitating interaction with the Working Group, 
e.g., conference calls, facsimiles, and electronic mail. Working Group 
meetings will be open to the public and will be held in the Washington, 
DC area, or other locations as agreed upon by the Working Group 
members. Persons attending Working Group meetings will be welcome to 
provide comments to the Working Group for its consideration in either 
written form or orally at times specified by the Working Group co-
chairs.
    A telephonic organizational meeting of the Working Group was held 
on Tuesday, July 23, 1996. All future meetings will also be announced 
through the NRC Public Meeting Announcement System. The Working group 
expects to meet at approximately monthly intervals. Information on 
future meetings will be available to the public:
     By telephone recording on toll-free NRC Public Meeting 
Announcement System, 1-800-952-9674;
     By electronic bulletin board on the toll-free NRC bulletin 
board, 1-800-952-9676;
     By posting in the NRC Public Document Room at the Gelman 
Building, 2120 L St., N.W. (Lower Level), Washington, D.C. 20037 and 
Local Public Document Rooms; and
     By internet on the toll-free NRC at FedWorld, 1-800-303-
9672, access through the GATEWAY option.
    Meeting minutes and draft and final documents produced by the 
Working Group will be publicly available from the NRC Public Document 
Room, Gelman Building, 2120 L St., N.W. (Lower Level), Washington, D.C. 
20037.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 12th day of August, 1996.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Richard L. Bangart,
Director, Office of State Programs.
[FR Doc. 96-21163 Filed 8-19-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P