[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 2 (Monday, January 5, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 385-386]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-54]


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

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NUREG-1600]


Revision of NRC Enforcement Policy; Packaging and Transportation 
of Radioactive Material

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Policy statement: revision.

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

SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is publishing a 
revision to its Enforcement Policy (NUREG-1600, ``General Statement of 
Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions'') to clarify that 
enforcement action may be taken against non-licensees for violations of 
the Commission's regulations governing the packaging and transportation 
of radioactive material.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2004.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods. 
Comments submitted in writing or in electronic format will be made 
available to the public in their entirety on the NRC rulemaking web 
site. Personal information will not be removed from your comments. Mail 
comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff.
    E-mail comments to: [email protected]. If you do not receive a reply e-
mail confirming that we have received your comments, contact us 
directly (301) 415-1966. You may also submit comments via the NRC's 
interactive rulemaking Web site at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov. Address 
questions about our rulemaking Web site to Carol Gallagher at (301) 
415-5905 (e-mail: [email protected]).
    Hand deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 
Maryland, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. on Federal workdays. 
(Telephone (301) 415-1966).
    Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission at 
(301) 415-1101.
    Publicly available documents related to this action may be viewed 
electronically on the public computers located at the NRC's Public 
Document Room (PDR), O1F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville 
Pike, Rockville, Maryland. The PDR reproduction contractor will copy 
documents for a fee. Selected documents, including comments, may be 
viewed and downloaded electronically via the NRC's interactive 
rulemaking Web site at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov.
    Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC after 
November 1, 1999, are available electronically at the NRC's Electronic 
Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this 
site, the public can gain entry into the NRC's Agencywide Documents 
Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image 
files of NRC's public documents. If you do not have access to ADAMS or 
if there are problems in accessing the document located in ADAMS, 
contact the NRC PDR Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or 
e-mail to [email protected].
    The NRC maintains the current Enforcement Policy on its Web site at 
http://www.nrc.gov, select What We Do, Enforcement, then Enforcement 
Policy.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Frank J. Congel, Director, Office of 
Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, (301) 415-2741, e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission's Enforcement Policy 
primarily addresses violations by licensees and certain non-licensed 
persons, including certificate holders, as discussed further in 
footnote 3 to Section I, Introduction and Purpose, and in Section X, 
Enforcement Action Against Non-licensees. In 10 CFR Part 71, the NRC's 
regulations address licensing requirements for packaging and transport 
of radioactive material. For several years, the Commission has observed 
problems with the performance of some certificate holders and their 
contractors and subcontractors in the packaging and transport of 
radioactive material. The Commission has concluded that additional 
enforcement sanctions (e.g., issuance of Notices of Violations (NOVs) 
and Orders), are required to address the performance problems which 
have occurred in the packaging and transportation of radioactive 
material. Therefore, concurrent with publication of this change to the 
Enforcement Policy, the Commission is amending 10 CFR Part 71 to expand 
its applicability to holders of, and applicants for, Certificates of 
Compliance (CoCs). While CoCs are legally binding documents, 
certificate holders or applicants for a CoC had not clearly been 
brought within the scope of certain Part 71 requirements, and the NRC 
has not had a clear basis to cite these persons for violations of Part 
71 requirements in the same way it treats licensees. When the NRC has 
identified a failure to comply with Part 71 requirements by these 
persons, it has taken administrative action by issuing a Notice of 
Nonconformance (NON) or a Demand for Information rather than an NOV. 
With these changes to Part 71, the Commission will be in a position to 
issue NOVs and Orders to certificate holders and applicants.
    An NOV is a written notice that sets forth one or more violations 
of a legally binding requirement. The NOV effectively conveys to both 
the person violating the requirement and the public that a violation of 
a legally binding requirement has occurred and permits use of graduated 
severity levels to convey more clearly the safety significance of the 
violation. Therefore, in addition to the changes to 10 CFR Part 71, the 
Commission is amending Part X of the Enforcement Policy, Enforcement 
Action Against Non-Licensees, to make clear that non-licensees who are 
subject to specific regulatory requirements (e.g., Part 71), will be 
subject to enforcement action, including NOVs and Orders. The final 
Part 71 rule does not provide authority for issuing civil penalties to 
non-licensees other than that already provided under the Deliberate 
Misconduct Rule (January 13, 1998; 63 FR 1890 ) in Sec.  71.8.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This policy statement does not contain a new or amended information 
collection requirement subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). Existing requirements were approved by the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), approval number 3150-0136. The 
approved information collection requirements contained in this policy 
statement appear in Section VII.C.

Public Protection Notification

    The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to 
respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently 
valid OMB control number.

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act

    In accordance with the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 
Fairness Act of 1996, the NRC has determined that this action is not a 
major rule and has verified this

[[Page 386]]

determination with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of 
OMB.
    Accordingly, the NRC Enforcement Policy amended by revising the 
last paragraph of section X to read as follows:
General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions
* * * * *
X. Enforcement Action Against Non-Licensees
* * * * *
    When inspections determine that violations of NRC requirements have 
occurred, or that contractors have failed to fulfill contractual 
commitments (e.g., 10 CFR Part 50, appendix B) that could adversely 
affect the quality of a safety significant product or service, 
enforcement action will be taken. Notices of Violation and civil 
penalties will be used, as appropriate, for licensee failures to ensure 
that their contractors have programs that meet applicable requirements. 
Notices of Violation will be issued for contractors who violate 10 CFR 
Part 21. Civil penalties will be imposed against individual directors 
or responsible officers of a contractor organization who knowingly and 
consciously fail to provide the notice required by 10 CFR 21.21(b)(1). 
Notices of Violation or Orders will be used against non-licensees who 
are subject to the specific requirements of Parts 71 and 72. Notices of 
Nonconformance will be used for contractors who fail to meet 
commitments related to NRC activities but are not in violation of 
specific requirements.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 29th day of December, 2003.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette L. Vietti-Cook,
Secretary for the Commission.
[FR Doc. 04-54 Filed 1-2-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P