[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 81 (Friday, April 27, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 20962-20963]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-8094]


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 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. 72, No. 81 / Friday April 27, 2007 / Proposed 
Rules  

[[Page 20962]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 71

[Docket No. PRM-71-13]


Christine O. Gregoire, Governor of the State of Washington; 
Receipt of Petition for Rulemaking

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Petition for rulemaking; notice of receipt.

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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is publishing for 
public comment a notice of receipt of a petition for rulemaking, dated 
January 25, 2007, which was filed with the Commission by Christine O. 
Gregoire, Governor of the State of Washington. The petition was 
docketed by the NRC on March 15, 2007, and has been assigned Docket No. 
PRM-71-13. The petitioner requests that the NRC adopt the use of global 
positioning satellite (GPS) tracking as a national requirement for 
mobile or portable uses of highly radioactive sources. The petitioner 
states that another alternative is for the Commission to grant states 
the flexibility to impose more stringent requirements than those 
required under current NRC regulations.

DATES: Submit comments by July 11, 2007. Comments received after this 
date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the Commission 
is able to assure consideration only for comments received on or before 
this date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this petition by any one of the 
following methods. Please include PRM-71-13 in the subject line of your 
comments. Comments on petitions submitted in writing or in electronic 
form will be made available for public inspection. Because your 
comments will not be edited to remove any identifying or contact 
information, the NRC cautions you against including any information in 
your submission that you do not want to be publicly disclosed.
    Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings 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 at (301) 415-1966. You may also submit comments via the NRC's 
rulemaking Web site at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov. Address questions 
about our rulemaking Web site to Carol Gallagher (301) 415-5905; e-mail 
[email protected]. Comments can also be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal http://www.regulations.gov.
    Hand deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 
20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. 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 petition may be viewed 
electronically on the public computers located at the NRC's Public 
Document Room (PDR), Room O1 F21, 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 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 Document 
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 documents located in ADAMS, 
contact the PDR Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737 or by 
e-mail to [email protected].
    A copy of the petition can be found in ADAMS under accession number 
ML070810940. A paper copy of the petition may be obtained by contacting 
Betty Golden, Office of Administration, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone 301-415-6863, toll-free 1-800-368-
5642, or by e-mail [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael T. Lesar, Chief, Rulemaking, 
Directives and Editing Branch, Division of Administrative Services, 
Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, Telephone: 301-415-7163 or toll-free: 1-800-
368-5642.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Petitioner's Request

    The petitioner requests that the NRC adopt the use of global 
positioning satellite (GPS) tracking as a national requirement for 
mobile or portable uses of highly radioactive sources. The petitioner 
also states that an alternative is for the Commission to grant states 
the flexibility to impose more stringent requirements than those 
required under current NRC regulations. The petitioner believes that 
allowing states to do so would clear the way for individual states to 
set GPS requirements as needed.

Background

    The petitioner believes that GPS technology is an effective and 
relatively inexpensive tool that will help when a vehicle with 
radioactive material is missing. The petitioner stated that a source in 
a portable gauge was quickly recovered because the licensee had 
provided a cellular phone with a GPS tracking feature to its operator. 
When the operator did not return with the portable gauge, the licensee 
was able to locate the cell phone, the operator, the truck, and the 
portable gauge. The petitioner further states that if a device as small 
as a cell phone can be GPS-enabled, certainly a truck or even a 
radiography device can be similarly equipped.
    The petitioner states that in August 2006, a truck containing an 
industrial radiography source was stolen in Everett, Washington. The 
truck and its highly radioactive contents were recovered quickly, but 
it took significant efforts by Federal, state and local law enforcement 
agencies. The petitioner further states that this event and a similar 
occurrence in Garland, Texas, illustrate that better systems are needed 
to recover stolen vehicles that transport highly radioactive materials. 
The petitioner notes that the State of Washington cannot require 
licensees or any other out-of-state licensee to install GPS devices in 
its vehicles because of

[[Page 20963]]

the NRC rules on compatibility and the potential effect on interstate 
commerce. Therefore, the petitioner requests that NRC consider adopting 
the use of GPS tracking as a national requirement for mobile or 
portable uses of highly radioactive sources. The petitioner further 
notes that a possible alterative would be to grant states the 
flexibility to impose more stringent requirements than those required 
under current NRC regulations.
    The petitioner acknowledges that requiring a GPS on these vehicles 
does not ensure that the radiological source will be found. However, 
the petitioner believes that these suggestions would give law 
enforcement a significant advantage.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 20th day of April 2007.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Andrew L. Bates,
Acting Secretary of the Commission.
 [FR Doc. E7-8094 Filed 4-26-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P