[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 110 (Tuesday, June 9, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31535-31536]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-15266]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Public Meeting on NRC Regulatory Oversight of DOE Facilities

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the U.S. 
Department of Energy (DOE) will hold a public meeting on Thursday, June 
25, 1998, in Aiken, South Carolina, to address issues related to pilot 
program for NRC's external regulation of certain DOE facilities. The 
Receiving Basin for Offsite Fuels (RBOF) at DOE's Savannah River Site 
(SRS) has been selected at the third pilot project within the program.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of Energy and the Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission will hold a joint public meeting to provide 
information on this pilot project on Thursday, June 25, 1998, at 6:30 
p.m. at the City of Aiken Conference Center, City Municipal Building, 
215 The Alley, Aiken, South Carolina.
    In June 1997, DOE and NRC agreed to pursue NRC external regulation 
of certain DOE facilities on a pilot program basis. A pilot program of 
NRC simulated regulation has been established to collect information on 
the desirability of NRC oversight and on whether to seek legislation to 
authorize such oversight. The DOE and the NRC expect to evaluate six to 
ten DOE facilities during the two year pilot program which began in 
November 1997. The RBOF at the SRS has been chosen as one of the pilot 
facilities.
    The major areas of discussion at this meeting will be:
     The overall pilot program and background information.
     The RBOF Work Plan.
     Major issues affecting NRC oversight (generic and site-
specific).
    One of the main purposes of the meeting is to describe the process 
through which stakeholders may participate in the pilot program. 
Stakeholders will be invited to ask questions and submit comments 
relevant to the objectives of the pilot program and the process by 
which those objectives are proposed to be addressed at the RBOF. Issues 
raised by stakeholders will be addressed in the final report following 
the pilot evaluation at RBOF.
    Since 1994, DOE has been considering whether there are advantages 
to be gained from external regulation of existing DOE facilities. Two 
advisory groups recommended that the NRC be considered as the external 
regulator of nuclear and radiological safety at DOE sites. External 
regulation by the NRC may improve the efficiency and effectiveness of 
DOE's radiological safety programs. DOE facilities would be regulated 
consistent with other facilities of the same type engaged in similar 
activities, and the NRC could maintain complete independence because it 
has no responsibility for operating the facilities.
    A number of background documents pertaining to the issue of NRC 
oversight

[[Page 31536]]

of DOE facilities are available or will be made available prior to the 
meeting. These include:
     A draft Pilot Program Work Plan for the Receiving Basin 
for Offsite Fuel at the Savannah River Site.
     A Memorandum of Understanding between NRC and DOE, dated 
November 21, 1997.
     An NRC Commission Paper entitled, ``Status Report of the 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Task Force On Oversight of the Department 
of Energy, In Response to COMSECY-96-053--DSI 2 (SECY-98-080) dated 
April 14, 1998.
     NRC Staff Requirements Memorandum: COMSECY-96-053, 
``Oversight of the Department of Energy (DSI 2),'' dated March 28, 
1997.
     NRC Direction Setting Issue Paper ``Oversight of the 
Department of Energy'' (DSI 2) dated September 16, 1996.
     Report of the DOE Working Group on External Regulation, 
dated December 1996.
     Report of the DOE Advisory Committee on External 
Regulation of DOE Nuclear Safety, dated December 1995.
    You may obtain copies of these documents by contacting Jim Giusti 
at (803) 725-2889. These documents are also available on the joint DOE/
NRC Web Site at http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/NMSS/doepilot.html. As 
additional documents are completed, they will be added to the web site. 
If you would like more information about this meeting, or need special 
accommodations to attend, please contact Jim Giusti at (802) 725-2889.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day of June, 1998.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Malcolm R. Knapp,
Acting Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 98-15266 Filed 6-8-98; 8:45 am]
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