[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 198 (Friday, October 13, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60587-60590]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-16996]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[EA-06-242]


In the Matter of All Licensees Identified in Attachment 1 to 
Order EA-06-241 and All Other Persons Who Seek or Obtain Access to 
Safeguards Information Described Herein; Order Imposing Fingerprinting 
and Criminal History Records Check Requirements for Access to 
Safeguards Information (Effective Immediately)

I

    The Licensees identified in Attachment 1 \1\ to Order EA-06-241 
hold licenses issued in accordance with the Atomic Energy Act (AEA) of 
1954, as amended, by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or 
Commission) or Agreement States, authorizing them to engage in an 
activity subject to regulation by the Commission or Agreement States. 
On August 8, 2005, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) was enacted. 
Section 652 of the EPAct amended Section 149 of the AEA to require 
fingerprinting and a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) 
identification and criminal history records check of any person who is 
to be permitted to have access to Safeguards Information (SGI).\2\ The 
NRC's implementation of this requirement cannot await the completion of 
the SGI rulemaking, which is underway, because the EPAct fingerprinting 
and criminal history records check requirements for access to SGI were 
immediately effective upon enactment of the EPAct. Although the EPAct 
permits the Commission by rule to except certain categories of 
individuals from the fingerprinting requirement, which the Commission 
has done (see 10 CFR Part 73.59, 71 FR 33,989 (June 13, 2006)), it is 
unlikely that licensee employees or others are excepted from the 
fingerprinting requirement by the ``fingerprinting relief'' rule. 
Individuals relieved from fingerprinting and criminal history records 
checks under the relief rule include Federal, State, and local 
officials and law enforcement personnel; Agreement State inspectors who 
conduct security inspections on behalf of the NRC; members of Congress 
and certain employees of members of Congress or Congressional 
Committees, and representatives of the International Atomic Energy 
Agency (IAEA) or certain foreign government organizations. In addition, 
individuals who have a favorably-decided U.S. Government criminal 
history records check within the last five (5) years, or individuals 
who have active Federal security clearances (provided in either case 
that they make available the appropriate documentation), have satisfied 
the EPAct fingerprinting requirement and need not be fingerprinted 
again. Therefore, in accordance with Section 149 of the AEA, as amended 
by the EPAct, the Commission is imposing additional requirements for 
access to SGI, as set forth by this Order, so that affected licensees 
can obtain and grant access to SGI. This Order also imposes 
requirements for access to SGI by any person, from any person,\3\ 
whether or not a Licensee, Applicant, or Certificate Holder of the 
Commission or Agreement States.
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    \1\ Attachment 1 to Order EA-06-241 contains sensitive 
information and will not be released to the public.
    \2\ Safeguards Information is a form of sensitive, unclassified, 
security-related information that the Commission has the authority 
to designate and protect under section 147 of the AEA.
    \3\ Person means (1) any individual, corporation, partnership, 
firm, association, trust, estate, public or private institution, 
group, government agency other than the Commission or the Department 
of Energy, except that the Department of Energy shall be considered 
a person with respect to those facilities of the Department of 
Energy specified in section 202 of the Energy Reorganization Act of 
1974 (88 Stat. 1244), any State or any political subdivision of, or 
any political entity within a State, any foreign government or 
nation or any political subdivision of any such government or 
nation, or other entity; and (2) any legal successor, 
representative, agent, or agency of the foregoing.
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II

    The Commission has broad statutory authority to protect and 
prohibit the unauthorized disclosure of SGI. Section 147 of the AEA 
grants the Commission explicit authority to issue such Orders as 
necessary to prohibit the unauthorized disclosure of SGI. Furthermore, 
Section 652 of the EPAct amended Section 149 of the AEA to require 
fingerprinting and an FBI identification and a criminal history records 
check of each individual who seeks access to SGI. In addition, no 
person may have access to SGI unless

[[Page 60588]]

the person has an established need-to-know the information and 
satisfies the trustworthy and reliability requirements described in 
Attachment 3 to Order EA-06-241.
    In order to provide assurance that the Licensees identified in 
Attachment 1 to Order EA-06-241 are implementing appropriate measures 
to comply with the fingerprinting and criminal history records check 
requirements for access to SGI, all Licensees identified in Attachment 
1 to Order EA-06-241 shall implement the requirements of this Order. In 
addition, pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202, I find that in light of the common 
defense and security matters identified above, which warrant the 
issuance of this Order, the public health, safety and interest require 
that this Order be effective immediately.

III

    Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 81, 147, 149, 161b, 161i, 161o, 
182 and 186 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the 
Commission's regulations in 10 CFR 2.202, 10 CFR Parts 30 and 73, it is 
hereby ordered, effective immediately, that all licensees identified in 
attachment 1 to order EA-06-241 and all other Persons who seek or 
obtain access to safeguards information, as described above, shall 
comply with the requirements set forth in this order.
    A. 1. No person may have access to SGI unless that person has a 
need-to-know the SGI, has been fingerprinted or who has a favorably-
decided FBI identification and criminal history records check, and 
satisfies all other applicable requirements for access to SGI. 
Fingerprinting and the FBI identification and criminal history records 
check are not required, however, for any person who is relieved from 
that requirement by 10 CFR 73.59 (71 FR 33989 (June 13, 2006)), or who 
has a favorably-decided U.S. Government criminal history records check 
within the last five (5) years, or who has an active Federal security 
clearance, provided in the latter two cases that the appropriate 
documentation is made available to the Licensee's NRC-approved 
reviewing official.
    2. No person may have access to any SGI if the NRC has determined, 
based on fingerprinting and an FBI identification and criminal history 
records check, that the person may not have access to SGI.
    B. No person may provide SGI to any other person except in 
accordance with Condition III.A. above. Prior to providing SGI to any 
person, a copy of this Order shall be provided to that person.
    C. All Licensees identified in Attachment 1 to Order EA-06-241 
shall comply with the following requirements:
    1. The Licensee shall, within twenty (20) days of the date of this 
Order, establish and maintain a fingerprinting program that meets the 
requirements of Attachment 1 to this Order.
    2. The Licensee shall, within twenty (20) days of the date of this 
Order, submit the fingerprints of one (1) individual who (a) the 
Licensee nominates as the ``reviewing official'' for determining access 
to SGI by other individuals, and (b) has an established need-to-know 
the information and has been determined to be trustworthy and reliable 
in accordance with the requirements described in Attachment 3 to Order 
EA-06-241. The NRC will determine whether this individual (or any 
subsequent reviewing official) may have access to SGI and, therefore, 
will be permitted to serve as the Licensee's reviewing official.\4\ The 
Licensee may, at the same time or later, submit the fingerprints of 
other individuals to whom the Licensee seeks to grant access to SGI. 
Fingerprints shall be submitted and reviewed in accordance with the 
procedures described in Attachment 1 of this Order.
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    \4\ The NRC's determination of this individual's access to SGI 
in accordance with the process described in Enclosure 5 to the 
transmittal letter of this Order is an administrative determination 
that is outside the scope of this Order.
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    3. The Licensee shall, in writing, within twenty (20) days of the 
date of this Order, notify the Commission, (1) if it is unable to 
comply with any of the requirements described in this Order, including 
Attachment 1 to this Order, or (2) if compliance with any of the 
requirements is unnecessary in its specific circumstances. The 
notification shall provide the Licensee's justification for seeking 
relief from or variation of any specific requirement.
    Licensee responses to C.1., C.2., and C.3. above shall be submitted 
to the Director, Office of Federal and State Materials and 
Environmental Management Programs, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555. In addition, Licensee responses shall be marked 
as ``Security-Related Information--Withhold Under 10 CFR 2.390.''
    The Director, Office of Federal and State Materials and 
Environmental Management Programs, may, in writing, relax or rescind 
any of the above conditions upon demonstration of good cause by the 
Licensee.

IV

    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.202, the Licensee must, and any other 
person adversely affected by this Order may, submit an answer to this 
Order, and may request a hearing on this Order, within twenty (20) days 
of the date of this Order. Where good cause is shown, consideration 
will be given to extending the time to request a hearing. A request for 
extension of time in which to submit an answer or request a hearing 
must be made in writing to the Director, Office of Federal and State 
Materials and Environmental Management Programs, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, and include a statement of 
good cause for the extension. The answer may consent to this Order. 
Unless the answer consents to this Order, the answer shall, in writing 
and under oath or affirmation, specifically set forth the matters of 
fact and law on which the Licensee or other person adversely affected 
relies and the reasons as to why the Order should not have been issued. 
Any answer or request for a hearing shall be submitted to the 
Secretary, Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
ATTN: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, Washington, DC 20555. Copies 
also shall be sent to the Director, Office of Federal and State 
Materials and Environmental Management Programs, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, and to the Assistant 
General Counsel for Materials Litigation and Enforcement at the same 
address, and to the Licensee if the answer or hearing request is by a 
person other than the Licensee. Because of possible delays in delivery 
of mail to United States Government offices, it is requested that 
answers and requests for hearing be transmitted to the Secretary of the 
Commission either by means of facsimile transmission to 301-415-1101 or 
by e-mail to [email protected] and also to the Office of the 
General Counsel either by means of facsimile transmission to 301-415-
3725 or by e-mail to [email protected]. If a person other than the 
Licensee requests a hearing, that person shall set forth with 
particularity the manner in which his/her interest is adversely 
affected by this Order and shall address the criteria set forth in 10 
CFR 2.309.
    If a hearing is requested by the Licensee or a person whose 
interest is adversely affected, the Commission will issue an Order 
designating the time and place of any hearing. If a hearing is held, 
the issue to be considered at such hearing shall be whether this Order 
should be sustained.

[[Page 60589]]

    Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202(c)(2)(i), the Licensee may, in addition to 
demanding a hearing, at the time the answer is filed or sooner, move 
the presiding officer to set aside the immediate effectiveness of the 
Order on the ground that the Order, including the need for immediate 
effectiveness, is not based on adequate evidence but on mere suspicion, 
unfounded allegations, or error. In the absence of any request for 
hearing, or written approval of an extension of time in which to 
request a hearing, the provisions as specified above in Section III 
shall be final twenty (20) days from the date of this Order without 
further order or proceedings. If an extension of time for requesting a 
hearing has been approved, the provisions as specified above in Section 
III shall be final when the extension expires if a hearing request has 
not been received.
    An answer or a request for hearing shall not stay the immediate 
effectiveness of this order.

    Dated this 4th day of October 2006.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Charles L. Miller,
Director, Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental 
Management Programs.

Attachment 1--Requirements for Fingerprinting and Criminal History 
Records Checks of Individuals When Licensee's Reviewing Official is 
Determining Access to Safeguards Information

General Requirements

    Licensees shall comply with the requirements of this attachment.
    A. 1. Each Licensee subject to the provisions of this attachment 
shall fingerprint each individual who is seeking or permitted access 
to Safeguards Information (SGI). The Licensee shall review and use 
the information received from the Federal Bureau of Investigation 
(FBI) and ensure that the provisions contained in the subject Order 
and this attachment are satisfied.
    2. The Licensee shall notify each affected individual that the 
fingerprints will be used to secure a review of his/her criminal 
history record and inform the individual of the procedures for 
revising the record or including an explanation in the record, as 
specified in the ``Right to Correct and Complete Information'' 
section of this attachment.
    3. Fingerprints need not be taken if an employed individual 
(e.g., a Licensee employee, contractor, manufacturer, or supplier) 
is relieved from the fingerprinting requirement by 10 CFR Part 
73.59, has a favorably-decided U.S. Government criminal history 
records check within the last five (5) years, or has an active 
Federal security clearance. Written confirmation from the Agency/
employer which granted the Federal security clearance or reviewed 
the criminal history records check must be provided. The Licensee 
must retain this documentation for a period of three (3) years from 
the date the individual no longer requires access to SGI associated 
with the Licensee's activities.
    4. All fingerprints obtained by the Licensee pursuant to this 
Order must be submitted to the Commission for transmission to the 
FBI.
    5. The Licensee shall review the information received from the 
FBI and consider it, in conjunction with the trustworthy and 
reliability requirements included in Attachment 3 to this Order, in 
making a determination whether to grant access to SGI to individuals 
who have a need-to-know the SGI.
    6. The Licensee shall use any information obtained as part of a 
criminal history records check solely for the purpose of determining 
an individual's suitability for access to SGI.
    7. The Licensee shall document the basis for its determination 
whether to grant access to SGI.
    B. The Licensee shall notify the NRC of any desired change in 
reviewing officials. The NRC will determine whether the individual 
nominated as the new reviewing official may have access to SGI based 
on a previously-obtained or new criminal history check and, 
therefore, will be permitted to serve as the Licensee's reviewing 
official.

Prohibitions

    A Licensee shall not base a final determination to deny an 
individual access to SGI solely on the basis of information received 
from the FBI involving: An arrest more than one (1) year old for 
which there is no information of the disposition of the case, or an 
arrest that resulted in dismissal of the charge or an acquittal.
    A Licensee shall not use information received from a criminal 
history check obtained pursuant to this Order in a manner that would 
infringe upon the rights of any individual under the First Amendment 
to the Constitution of the United States, nor shall the Licensee use 
the information in any way which would discriminate among 
individuals on the basis of race, religion, national origin, sex, or 
age.

Procedures for Processing Fingerprint Checks

    For the purpose of complying with this Order, Licensees shall, 
using an appropriate method listed in 10 CFR Part 73.4, submit to 
the NRC's Division of Facilities and Security, Mail Stop T-6E46, one 
completed, legible standard fingerprint card (Form FD-258, 
ORIMDNRCOOOZ) or, where practicable, other fingerprint records for 
each individual seeking access to Safeguards Information, to the 
Director of the Division of Facilities and Security, marked for the 
attention of the Division's Criminal History Check Section. Copies 
of these forms may be obtained by writing the Office of Information 
Services, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, by calling (301) 415-5877, or by e-mail to [email protected]. 
Practicable alternative formats are set forth in 10 CFR Part 73.4. 
The Licensee shall establish procedures to ensure that the quality 
of the fingerprints taken results in minimizing the rejection rate 
of fingerprint cards due to illegible or incomplete cards.
    The NRC will review submitted fingerprint cards for 
completeness. Any Form FD-258 fingerprint record containing 
omissions or evident errors will be returned to the Licensee for 
corrections. The fee for processing fingerprint checks includes one 
re-submission if the initial submission is returned by the FBI 
because the fingerprint impressions cannot be classified. The one 
free re-submission must have the FBI Transaction Control Number 
reflected on the re-submission. If additional submissions are 
necessary, they will be treated as initial submittals and will 
require a second payment of the processing fee.
    Fees for processing fingerprint checks are due upon application. 
Licensees shall submit payment with the application for processing 
fingerprints by corporate check, certified check, cashier's check, 
money order, or electronic payment, made payable to ``U.S. NRC.'' 
[For guidance on making electronic payments, contact the Facilities 
Security Branch, Division of Facilities and Security, at (301) 415-
7404]. Combined payment for multiple applications is acceptable. The 
application fee (currently $27) is the sum of the user fee charged 
by the FBI for each fingerprint card or other fingerprint record 
submitted by the NRC on behalf of a Licensee, and an NRC processing 
fee, which covers administrative costs associated with NRC handling 
of Licensee fingerprint submissions. The Commission will directly 
notify Licensees who are subject to this regulation of any fee 
changes.
    The Commission will forward to the submitting Licensee all data 
received from the FBI as a result of the Licensee's application(s) 
for criminal history records checks, including the FBI fingerprint 
record.

Right to Correct and Complete Information

    Prior to any final adverse determination, the Licensee shall 
make available to the individual the contents of any criminal 
records obtained from the FBI for the purpose of assuring correct 
and complete information. Written confirmation by the individual of 
receipt of this notification must be maintained by the Licensee for 
a period of one (1) year from the date of the notification.
    If, after reviewing the record, an individual believes that it 
is incorrect or incomplete in any respect and wishes to change, 
correct, or update the alleged deficiency, or to explain any matter 
in the record, the individual may initiate challenge procedures. 
These procedures include either direct application by the individual 
challenging the record to the agency (i.e., law enforcement agency) 
that contributed the questioned information, or direct challenge as 
to the accuracy or completeness of any entry on the criminal history 
record to the Assistant Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation 
Identification Division, Washington, DC 20537-9700 (as set forth in 
28 CFR Part 16.30 through 16.34). In the latter case, the FBI 
forwards the challenge to the agency that submitted the data and 
requests that agency to verify or correct the challenged entry. Upon 
receipt of an official communication directly from the agency that 
contributed the original information, the FBI Identification 
Division makes any changes necessary in accordance with the 
information supplied by that agency. The Licensee must provide at 
least ten (10) days for an

[[Page 60590]]

individual to initiate an action challenging the results of an FBI 
criminal history records check after the record is made available 
for his/her review. The Licensee may make a final SGI access 
determination based upon the criminal history record only upon 
receipt of the FBI's ultimate confirmation or correction of the 
record. Upon a final adverse determination on access to SGI, the 
Licensee shall provide the individual its documented basis for 
denial. Access to SGI shall not be granted to an individual during 
the review process.

Protection of Information

    1. Each Licensee who obtains a criminal history record on an 
individual pursuant to this Order shall establish and maintain a 
system of files and procedures for protecting the record and the 
personal information from unauthorized disclosure.
    2. The Licensee may not disclose the record or personal 
information collected and maintained to persons other than the 
subject individual, his/her representative, or to those who have a 
need to access the information in performing assigned duties in the 
process of determining access to Safeguards Information. No 
individual authorized to have access to the information may re-
disseminate the information to any other individual who does not 
have a need-to-know.
    3. The personal information obtained on an individual from a 
criminal history record check may be transferred to another Licensee 
if the Licensee holding the criminal history record check receives 
the individual's written request to re-disseminate the information 
contained in his/her file, and the gaining Licensee verifies 
information such as the individual's name, date of birth, social 
security number, sex, and other applicable physical characteristics 
for identification purposes.
    4. The Licensee shall make criminal history records, obtained 
under this section, available for examination by an authorized 
representative of the NRC to determine compliance with the 
regulations and laws.
    5. The Licensee shall retain all fingerprint and criminal 
history records received from the FBI, or a copy if the individual's 
file has been transferred, for three (3) years after termination of 
employment or determination of access to SGI (whether access was 
approved or denied). After the required three (3) year period, these 
documents shall be destroyed by a method that will prevent 
reconstruction of the information in whole or in part.

 [FR Doc. E6-16996 Filed 10-12-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P