[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 162 (Monday, August 24, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42697-42699]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-20333]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030-34325; License No. 03-23853-01VA; EA-08-353; NRC-2009-
0367]


In the Matter of National Health Physics Program, Department of 
Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, North Little Rock, 
AZ; Order Imposing Civil Monetary Penalty

I

    The Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA: Licensee) is the holder of 
Master Materials License No. 03-23853-01VA issued by the U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) pursuant to 10 CFR Part 30 on 
March 17, 2003. The license authorizes the DVA to issue permits to 
individual DVA medical centers for the possession and use of licensed 
material, and ties the Licensee to a framework of oversight consistent 
with NRC regulations, inspection, enforcement policies, procedures, and 
guidance.

II

    An inspection of the Licensee's activities was conducted on 
November 18, 2008, with continued NRC in-office review through December 
16, 2008, at the DVA Medical Center, Iowa City, Iowa (permittee). The 
results of this inspection indicated that the permittee had not 
conducted its activities in full compliance with NRC requirements. A 
written Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty 
(Notice) was served upon the Licensee by letter dated April 10, 2009. 
The Notice states the nature of the violation, the provision of the 
NRC's requirements that the Licensee violated, and the amount of the 
civil penalty proposed for the violation.
    The Licensee responded to the Notice in a letter dated May 4, 2009. 
In its response, the Licensee denied the violation and requested that 
the NRC withdraw the escalated enforcement citation, and remove the 
civil penalty. The Licensee provided a supplemental response on June 4, 
2009, to clarify information provided in the May 4, 2009, response. In 
the supplemental letter, the Licensee disputed the Severity Level of 
the violation, based upon the new information provided.

III

    After consideration of the Licensee's responses and the statements 
of fact, explanation, and argument for mitigation contained therein, 
the NRC staff determined, as set forth in the non-publicly available 
security related Appendix to this Order, that the

[[Page 42698]]

violation occurred, as modified in the Appendix, and that the penalty 
proposed for the violation designated in the Notice should be imposed. 
The results of the NRC review of the information contained in the 
Licensee's letter and the basis for the NRC taking the actions 
described in this Order are set forth in the Appendix to this Order.

IV

    In view of the foregoing and pursuant to Section 234 of the Atomic 
Energy Act of 1954, as amended (Act), 42 U.S.C. 2282, and 10 CFR 2.205, 
it is hereby ordered that:
    The Licensee shall pay, within 20 days of the date of this Order, a 
civil penalty in the amount of $6,500, in accordance with NUREG/BR-
0254. In addition, at the time payment is made, the Licensee shall 
submit a statement indicating when and by what method payment was made 
to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 
20852-2738.

V

    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.202, the Licensee must submit an answer 
to this Order within 20 days of its publication in the Federal 
Register. The answer should be sent to the Director, Office of 
Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.205, the Licensee and any other person 
adversely affected by this Order may request a hearing on this Order 
within 20 days of its publication in the Federal Register. Where good 
cause is shown, consideration will be given to extending the time to 
answer this Order and/or request a hearing. A request for extension of 
time must be directed to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and include a statement of good cause 
for the extension.
    If a person other than the Licensee requests a hearing, that person 
shall set forth with particularity the manner in which his interest is 
adversely affected by this Order and shall address the criteria set 
forth in 10 CFR 2.309(d).
    If a hearing is requested by the Licensee, the Commission will 
issue an Order designating the time and place of hearing. If a hearing 
is held, an Order will be issued after the hearing by the Commission 
dismissing the proceeding or imposing, mitigating, or remitting the 
civil penalty. If the Licensee fails to request a hearing within 20 
days of the date of this Order, or if written approval of an extension 
of time in which to request a hearing has not been granted, the 
provisions of this Order shall be effective without further 
proceedings. If payment has not been made by that time, the matter may 
be referred to the Attorney General for collection.
    In the event the Licensee requests a hearing as provided above, the 
issues to be considered at such hearing shall be:
    (a) Whether the Licensee was in violation of the Commission's 
requirements as set forth in the Notice referenced in Section II above, 
and
    (b) whether, on the basis of such violation, this Order should be 
sustained.
    A request for a hearing must be filed in accordance with the NRC E-
Filing rule, which the NRC promulgated in August 28, 2007; 72 FR 49139. 
The E-Filing process requires participants to submit and serve 
documents over the internet or, in some cases, to mail copies on 
electronic optical storage media. Participants may not submit paper 
copies of their filings unless they seek a waiver in accordance with 
the procedures described below.
    To comply with the procedural requirements associated with E-
Filing, at least ten (10) days prior to the filing deadline the 
requestor must contact the Office of the Secretary by e-mail at 
[email protected], or by calling (301) 415-1677, to request: (1) A 
digital ID certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or 
representative) to digitally sign documents and access the E-Submittal 
server for any NRC proceeding in which it is participating; and/or (2) 
creation of an electronic docket for the proceeding (even in instances 
when the requestor (or its counsel or representative) already holds an 
NRC-issued digital ID certificate). Each requestor will need to 
download the Workplace Forms Viewer\TM\ to access the Electronic 
Information Exchange (EIE), a component of the E-Filing system. The 
Workplace Forms Viewer\TM\ is free and is available at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/install-viewer.html. Information 
about applying for a digital ID certificate also is available on NRC's 
public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/apply-certificates.html.
    Once a requestor has obtained a digital ID certificate, had a 
docket created, and downloaded the EIE viewer, it can then submit a 
request for a hearing through EIE. Submissions should be in Portable 
Document Format (PDF) in accordance with NRC guidance available on the 
NRC public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. 
A filing is considered complete at the time the filer submits its 
document through EIE. To be timely, electronic filings must be 
submitted to the EIE system no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on 
the due date. Upon receipt of a transmission, the E-Filing system time-
stamps the document and sends the submitter an e-mail notice confirming 
receipt of the document. The EIE system also distributes an e-mail 
notice that provides access to the document to the NRC Office of the 
General Counsel and any others who have advised the Office of the 
Secretary that they wish to participate in the proceeding, so that the 
filer need not serve the document on those participants separately. 
Therefore, if the Licensee chooses to request a hearing, the Licensee 
(or their counsel or representative) must apply for and receive a 
digital ID certificate before a hearing request is filed so that they 
may obtain access to the document via the E-Filing system.
    A person filing electronically using the agency's adjudicatory e-
filing system may seek assistance through the ``Contact Us'' link 
located on the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html or by calling the NRC Meta-System Help Desk, which is 
available between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through 
Friday, excluding government holidays. The Meta-System Help Desk can be 
contacted by telephone at 1-866-672-7640 or by e-mail at 
[email protected].
    Participants who believe that they have good cause for not 
submitting documents electronically must file a motion, in accordance 
with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper filing requesting 
authorization to continue to submit documents in paper format. Such 
filings must be submitted by: (1) First class mail addressed to the 
Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemaking and 
Adjudications Staff; or (2) courier, express mail, or expedited 
delivery service to the Office of the Secretary, Sixteenth Floor, One 
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville, Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, 
Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff. Participants filing a 
document in this manner are responsible for serving the document on all 
other participants. Filing is considered complete by first-class mail 
as of the time of deposit in the mail, or by courier, express mail, or 
expedited delivery service upon depositing the document with the 
provider of the service.
    Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in 
NRC's electronic hearing docket which is available to the public at 
http://

[[Page 42699]]

ehd.nrc.gov/EHD--Proceeding/home.asp, unless excluded pursuant to an 
order of the Commission, an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, or a 
Presiding Officer. Participants are requested not to include personal 
privacy information, such as social security numbers, home addresses, 
or home phone numbers in their filings. With respect to copyrighted 
works, except for limited excerpts that serve the purpose of the 
adjudicatory filings and would constitute a Fair Use application, 
participants are requested not to include copyrighted materials in 
their works.

    Dated this 14th day of August 2009.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Cynthia A. Carpenter,
Director, Office of Enforcement.
[FR Doc. E9-20333 Filed 8-21-09; 8:45 am]
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