[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 48 (Friday, March 10, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13062-13063]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-5896]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Workshop Concerning the Revision of the Oversight Program for 
Nuclear Fuel Cycle Facilities

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

ACTION: Notice of public workshop.

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SUMMARY: NRC will hold a public workshop at the Nuclear Energy 
Institute (NEI), 1776 I Street, NW (Republic Place), in Washington, DC 
to provide the public, those regulated by the NRC, and other 
stakeholders, with information about and an opportunity to provide 
views on how NRC plans to revise its oversight program for nuclear fuel 
cycle facilities. This workshop follows the recent public stakeholder 
workshop held in Rockville, Maryland on February 22-23, 2000. 
Presentations and other documents provided at each workshop, together 
with a transcript of each workshop, are placed on the NRC INTERNET web 
page (http://www.nrc.gov).
    Similar to the revision of the oversight program for commercial 
nuclear power plants, NRC initiated an effort to improve its oversight 
program for nuclear fuel cycle facilities. This is described in SECY-
99-188 titled, ``EVALUATION AND PROPOSED REVISION OF THE NUCLEAR FUEL

[[Page 13063]]

CYCLE FACILITY SAFETY INSPECTION PROGRAM.'' SECY-99-188 is available in 
the Public Document Room and on the NRC Web Page at http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/COMMISSION/SECYS/index.html.

Purpose of Workshop

    To obtain stakeholder views for improving the NRC oversight program 
for ensuring licensee and certificate holders maintain protection of 
worker and public health and safety, protection of the environment, and 
safeguards for nuclear material and sensitive information and material 
in the interest of national security. The oversight program applies to 
nuclear fuel cycle facilities regulated under 10 CFR Parts 40, 70, and 
76. The facilities currently include gaseous diffusion plants, highly 
enriched uranium fuel fabrication facilities, low-enriched uranium fuel 
fabrication facilities, and a uranium hexafluoride (UF6) 
production facility. These facilities possess large quantities of 
materials that are potentially hazardous (i.e., radioactive, toxic, 
and/or flammable) to the workers, public, and environment. In revising 
the oversight program, the goal is to have an oversight program that: 
(1) Provides earlier and more objective indications of acceptable and 
changing safety and safeguards performance, (2) increases stakeholder 
confidence in the NRC, and (3) increases regulatory effectiveness, 
efficiency, and realism. In this regard, the NRC desires the revised 
oversight program to be more risk-informed and performance-based and 
more focused on significant risks and poorer performers.
    The workshop will focus on:
     Plans for communicating revision of the oversight program 
with stakeholders internal and external to the NRC;
     Objective and scope of safety and national security 
related cornerstones for meeting the NRC mission;
     Key performance attributes for achieving each cornerstone;
     Licensee performance attributes the NRC needs to monitor/
assess by means of licensee provided performance indicators and NRC 
inspections to ensure cornerstone objectives are met;
     Criteria for selection of performance indicators and risk 
informed inspections;
     Measurable parameters and measurement methods for 
performance indicators; and
     Thresholds for performance.

DATES: Members of the public and other stakeholders are invited to 
attend and participate in the workshop, which is scheduled for 9:00 
a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 22, and Thursday, March 23, 2000.

ADDRESSES: NEI, 1776 I Street (Republic Place), Washington, DC. Visitor 
parking around NEI is limited; however, the meeting site may be reached 
from Rockville by taking the Red line metro to Farragut North, and 
exiting at K Street. Farragut Park will be in front of you. Notice that 
17th Street is parallel to the park. Walk one block along 17th Street 
to I Street, turn right, walk one more block. NEI is on the left on 
corner of 18th and I Streets, NW. From Reagan National Airport, NEI may 
be reached by taking the Blue line train towards Addison Road to 
Farragut West. Exit to 18th Street, and NEI is diagonally across the 
street on the corner of 18th and I Streets, NW.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Walter Schwink, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555, telephone (301) 415-7253, e-mail [email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 6th day of March, 2000.

  For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Philip Ting,
Chief, Operations Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 00-5896 Filed 3-9-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P