[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]
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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.
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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]
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