[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 167 (Monday, August 28, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 52049]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-21887]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 167 / Monday, August 28, 2000 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 52049]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 40


Rulemaking and Jurisdictional Working Groups; Uranium and Thorium

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of working group formation.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is announcing the 
formation of two working groups regarding its regulatory activities 
concerning the distribution of source materials and the jurisdictional 
and technical issues relating to the regulation of materials with low 
concentrations of uranium and thorium.

DATES: Working group meetings which are open to the public will be 
announced on the NRC web site, http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/PUBLIC/meet.html.

ADDRESSES: Meetings will be held at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Two White Flint North, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Anthony J. DiPalo; e-
mail:[email protected], telephone (301) 415-6191, Office of Nuclear Material 
Safety and Safeguards, USNRC, Washington DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NRC is creating two joint NRC/Agreement 
State regulatory working groups. One working group will focus on the 
development of a rulemaking plan to address the distribution of source 
material \1\ to persons exempt from licensing and to general licensees, 
in a manner intended to make Part 40 more risk-informed. The other 
working group will focus on jurisdictional and technical issues 
regarding the regulation of materials with low concentrations of 
uranium and thorium.
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    \1\ Source Material (10 CFR 40.4): (1) Uranium or thorium, or 
any combination thereof, in any physical or chemical form or (2) 
ores which contain by weight one-twentieth of one percent (0.05%) or 
more of (i) Uranium, (ii) thorium or (iii) any combination thereof. 
Source material does not include special nuclear material.
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    The Rulemaking Working Group will also be considering options to 
resolve issues raised in a Petition for Rulemaking (PRM-40-27) 
submitted to NRC by the State of Colorado and the Organization of 
Agreement States. The petitioner requested that NRC regulations 
governing small quantities of source material be amended to eliminate 
the exemption for source-material general licensees from the 
requirements that specify standards of protection against radiation and 
notification and instruction of individuals who participate in licensed 
activities. This working group will be composed of NRC and State 
representatives. A rulemaking plan is currently scheduled to be 
submitted to the Commission no later than March 2001.
    The Jurisdictional Working Group will explore, along with the 
States, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Occupational 
Safety and Health Administration, the best approach to delineate the 
responsibilities of NRC and other agencies regarding materials with low 
concentrations of uranium and thorium [10 CFR 40.13(a)]. The 
Jurisdictional Working Group will consult with the Departments of 
Energy, Interior, and Transportation, and the Army Corps of Engineers. 
This Working Group will develop a charter describing its activities and 
the approach that it will use to work toward delineating future Agency 
regulatory responsibilities. A status report of the working group 
activities and a plan for how to proceed are currently scheduled to be 
submitted to the Commission no later than March 2001.
    Working group meetings will begin in early September and continue 
through November. Meeting dates and times, for those meetings which are 
open to the public, will be announced on the NRC public meeting web 
site, http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/PUBLIC/meet.html. In general, these 
meetings will be open for observation but, opportunity for public 
statements will be provided, as time permits. For planning purposes, 
observers from the public are requested to notify Roberta Gordon at 
(301) 415-7555, if they plan to attend.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd day of August 2000.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Patricia K. Holahan,
Chief, Rulemaking and Guidance Branch, Division of Industrial and 
Medical Nuclear Safety, NMSS.
[FR Doc. 00-21887 Filed 8-25-00; 8:45 am]
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