[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 202 (Friday, October 19, 2007)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 59162-59163]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-20591]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 20

RIN 3150-AI22


National Source Tracking of Sealed Sources; Revised Compliance 
Dates

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its 
regulations to revise the compliance dates for licensees to begin 
reporting source transactions and initial source inventory information 
to the National Source Tracking System for nationally tracked sources. 
No other requirements related to the National Source Tracking System 
are being revised by this rule.

DATES: Effective Date: This final rule is effective October 19, 2007. 
Compliance Dates: Compliance with the reporting provisions in 10 CFR 
20.2207 is required by January 31, 2009 for both Category 1 sources and 
Category 2 sources.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Merri Horn, Office of Federal and 
State Materials and Environmental Management Programs, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone (301) 415-
8126, e-mail, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Discussion and Need for the Rule

    The President signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109-58, 
119 Stat. 594) into law on August 8, 2005. It contains a provision on 
national source tracking that requires the NRC to issue regulations 
establishing a mandatory tracking system for radiation sources in the 
United States. The NRC issued the final rule for the National Source 
Tracking System on November 8, 2006 (71 FR 65686).
    The National Source Tracking System rule requires licensees to 
report information on the manufacture, transfer, receipt, disassembly, 
and disposal of nationally tracked sources. This information will be 
entered into a computerized data base. The National Source Tracking 
System will capture information on the origin of each nationally 
tracked source (manufacture or import), all transfers to other 
licensees, all receipts of nationally tracked sources, and endpoints of 
each nationally tracked source (disassembly, disposal, decay, or 
export). Ultimately, the National Source Tracking System will be able 
to provide a domestic life history account of all nationally tracked 
sources.
    The compliance dates for licensees to report initial source 
inventories was November 15, 2007, for Category 1 sources and November 
30, 2007, for Category 2 sources. These were also the dates to start 
reporting source transactions for entry into the system. The NRC 
anticipated that system development and all testing would be complete 
and the National Source Tracking System would be operational by 
November 2007. However, system development has taken longer than 
anticipated and the system will not be ready to accept data by November 
2007. Therefore, the NRC is revising the compliance dates for which 
reporting is to start.
    The requirements for Category 1 nationally tracked sources will now 
be implemented by January 31, 2009. This means that by this date any 
licensee that possesses a Category 1 level source must have reported 
its initial inventory and must begin reporting all transactions 
involving Category 1 sources to the National Source Tracking System. 
The requirements for Category 2 nationally tracked sources will also be 
implemented by January 31, 2009. By this date, all licensees must have 
reported their initial inventories of Category 2 nationally tracked 
sources and begin reporting all transactions to the National Source 
Tracking System.

II. Section by Section Analysis of Substantive Changes

Section 20.2207--Reports of Transactions Involving Nationally Tracked 
Sources
    Paragraph (h) is revised to require a licensee to report its 
initial inventory of Category 1 nationally tracked sources by January 
31, 2009, and the inventory of Category 2 nationally tracked sources by 
January 31, 2009.

III. Bases and Findings for Dispensing With Notice and Comment and for 
Making Rule Immediately Effective

    Generally, NRC rulemaking involves issuing rules using the public 
notice and comment procedures set forth in the Administrative Procedure 
Act (APA). Typically, a proposed rule is issued for comment and any 
comments submitted are evaluated in the agency's development of the 
final rule. But under 5 U.S.C 553(b)(3)(B), a Federal agency such as 
the NRC may dispense with those procedures where it finds for ``good 
cause'' that notice and public procedures thereon are ``impracticable, 
unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest.'' In this case, 
notice-and-comment procedures are not required because the usual public 
rulemaking procedures are impracticable. The National Source Tracking 
System will not be ready to accept data received from licensees by the 
original compliance dates in the final rule. Compliance with the rule 
by those dates is not feasible, and no purpose would be served by 
seeking public comment on whether to extend the compliance dates. 
Therefore, under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B), good cause exists to dispense 
with notice and comment procedures.
    In addition, this rule is immediately effective upon publication in 
accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1) because it is a substantive rule 
granting or recognizing an exemption or relieving a restriction. 
Specifically, the rule

[[Page 59163]]

relieves licensees from the requirement to report initial source 
inventories and source transactions for entry into the National Source 
Tracking System by the dates for compliance specified in the final 
rule.

IV. Criminal Penalties

    For the purpose of Section 223 of the Atomic Energy Act (AEA), the 
Commission is amending 10 CFR part 20 under one or more of Sections 
161b, 161i, or 161o of the AEA. Willful violations of the rule will be 
subject to criminal enforcement.

V. Agreement State Compatibility

    Under the ``Policy Statement on Adequacy and Compatibility of 
Agreement State Programs'' approved by the Commission on June 30, 1997, 
and published in the Federal Register on September 3, 1997 (62 FR 
46517), Sec.  20.2207 in the final rule on National Source Tracking is 
classified as Compatibility Category ``B.'' The NRC program elements in 
this category are those that apply to activities that have direct and 
significant transboundary implications. An Agreement State should adopt 
program elements essentially identical to those of NRC. Agreement State 
and NRC licensees would report their transactions to the National 
Source Tracking System. The data base would be maintained by NRC. The 
Agreement States are expected to adopt legally binding requirements on 
their licensees such that all licensees, both NRC and Agreement States, 
will begin reporting at the same time.

VI. Voluntary Consensus Standards

    The National Technology Transfer Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-113) 
requires that Federal agencies use technical standards that are 
developed or adopted by voluntary consensus standards bodies unless the 
use of such a standard is inconsistent with applicable law or otherwise 
impractical. In this final rule, the NRC is revising the compliance 
dates for licensees to begin reporting information on source 
transactions and initial source inventories of nationally tracked 
sources to the National Source Tracking System. This action does not 
constitute the establishment of a standard that contains generally 
applicable requirements.

VII. Environmental Impact: Categorical Exclusion

    The NRC has determined that this final rule is the type of action 
described as a categorical exclusion in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(3)(iii). 
Therefore, neither an environmental impact statement nor an 
environmental assessment has been prepared for this final rule.

VIII. Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

    This final rule does not contain new or amended information 
collection requirements that are 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, approval numbers 3150-0014, 
3150-0001, and 3150-0202.

Public Protection Notification

    The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to 
respond to, a request for information or an information collection 
requirement unless the requesting document displays a currently valid 
OMB control number.

IX. Regulatory Analysis

    A regulatory analysis has not been prepared for this final rule 
because it relieves restrictions and does not impose any regulatory 
burdens on licensees.

X. Backfit Analysis

    The NRC has determined that the backfit rule (Sec. Sec.  50.109, 
70.76, 72.62, or 76.76) does not apply to this final rule because this 
amendment does not involve any provisions that would impose backfits as 
defined in the backfit rule. Therefore, a backfit analysis is not 
required.

XI. Congressional Review Act

    In accordance with the Congressional Review Act of 1996, the NRC 
has determined that this action is not a major rule and has verified 
this determination with the Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs of Office of Management and Budget.

List of Subjects in 10 CFR Part 20

    Byproduct material, Criminal penalties, Licensed material, Nuclear 
materials, Nuclear power plants and reactors, Occupational safety and 
health, Packaging and containers, Radiation protection, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Source material, Special nuclear material, 
Waste treatment and disposal.
    For the reasons set out in the preamble and under the authority of 
the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended; the Energy Reorganization 
Act of 1974, as amended; and 5 U.S.C. 552 and 553, the NRC is adopting 
the following amendments to 10 CFR part 20.

PART 20--STANDARDS FOR PROTECTION AGAINST RADIATION

0
1. The authority citation for part 20 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: Secs. 53, 63, 65, 81, 103, 104, 161, 182, 186, 68 
Stat. 930, 933, 935, 936, 937, 948, 953, 955, as amended, sec. 1701, 
106 Stat. 2951, 2952, 2953 (42 U.S.C. 2073, 2093, 2095, 2111, 2133, 
2134, 2201, 2232, 2236, 2297f), secs. 201, as amended, 202, 206, 88 
Stat. 1242, as amended, 1244, 1246 (42 U.S.C. 5841, 5842, 5846); 
sec. 1704, 112 Stat. 2750 (44 U.S.C. 3504 note), Energy Policy Act 
of 2005, Pub. L. 109-58, 119 Stat. 594 (2005).


0
2. Section 20.2207 is amended by revising paragraph (h) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  20.2207  Reports of transactions involving nationally tracked 
sources.

* * * * *
    (h) Each licensee that possesses Category 1 nationally tracked 
sources shall report its initial inventory of Category 1 nationally 
tracked sources to the National Source Tracking System by January 31, 
2009. Each licensee that possesses Category 2 nationally tracked 
sources shall report its initial inventory of Category 2 nationally 
tracked sources to the National Source Tracking System by January 31, 
2009. The information may be submitted by using any of the methods 
identified by paragraph (f)(1) through (f)(4) of this section. The 
initial inventory report must include the following information:
    (1) The name, address, and license number of the reporting 
licensee;
    (2) The name of the individual preparing the report;
    (3) The manufacturer, model, and serial number of each nationally 
tracked source or, if not available, other information to uniquely 
identify the source;
    (4) The radioactive material in the sealed source;
    (5) The initial or current source strength in becquerels (curies); 
and
    (6) The date for which the source strength is reported.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day of October, 2007.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
William F. Kane,
Acting Executive Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. E7-20591 Filed 10-18-07; 8:45 am]
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