[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 189 (Friday, September 28, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 48905-48908]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-21229]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents
having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed
to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published
under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents.
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 189 / Friday, September 28, 2018 /
Rules and Regulations
[[Page 48905]]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 150
[NRC-2018-0104]
State of Wyoming: Discontinuance of Certain Commission Regulatory
Authority Within the State; Notice of Agreement Between the NRC and the
State of Wyoming
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Final State agreement.
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SUMMARY: This document is announcing that on September 25, 2018,
Kristine L. Svinicki, Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC or Commission), and Governor Matthew H. Mead of the
State of Wyoming, signed an Agreement as authorized by Section 274b. of
the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act). Under the
Agreement the Commission discontinues its regulatory authority, and the
State of Wyoming assumes regulatory authority over the management and
disposal of byproduct material as defined in Section 11e.(2) of the Act
and a subcategory of source material or ores involved in extraction or
concentration of uranium or thorium milling in the State. As of the
effective date of the Agreement, a person in Wyoming possessing these
materials is exempt from certain Commission regulations. The exemptions
have been previously published in the Federal Register (FR) and are
codified in the Commission's regulations. The Agreement is published
here as required by Section 274e. of the Act.
DATES: The effective date of the Agreement is September 30, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2018-0104 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You
may obtain publicly-available information related to this document
using any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2018-0104. Address
questions about dockets in Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges;
telephone: 301-287-9127; email: [email protected]. For technical
questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section of this document.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Document collection at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS
Search''. For problems with ADAMS, contact the NRC's PDR reference
staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by email to
[email protected]. The ADAMS Accession numbers for the request for
an Agreement by the Governor of Wyoming, including all information and
documentation submitted in support of the request, and the NRC staff
assessment are: ML16300A294, ML17319A921, ML18094B074, and ML18192B111
(includes final staff assessment).
NRC's Public Document Room (PDR): The public may examine
and purchase copies of public documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1 F21,
One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen Poy, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555[dash]0001; telephone: 301-415-7135; e-mail:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NRC published the proposed Agreement in
the Federal Register for comment once each week for 4 consecutive weeks
on June 26, 2018 (83 FR 29828), July 3, 2018 (83 FR 31174), July 10,
2018 (83 FR 31981), and July 17, 2018 (83 FR 33257), as required by the
Act. The comment period ended on July 26, 2018. The Commission received
11 comment letters and responses--two supporting the Agreement, three
opposing the Agreement, and the remaining not stating an opinion or
providing statements related to the proposed Agreement. The comments
did not alter the NRC staff's finding that the Wyoming Agreement State
program is adequate to protect public health and safety and compatible
with the NRC's program. The Wyoming Agreement is consistent with
Commission policy and thus meets the criteria for an Agreement with the
Commission.
After considering the request for an Agreement by the Governor of
Wyoming, the supporting documentation submitted with the request for an
Agreement, and its interactions with the staff of the Wyoming
Department of Environmental Quality, the NRC staff completed an
assessment of the Wyoming program. The agency made a copy of the staff
assessment available in the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) and
electronically on the NRC's Web site. Based on the staff's assessment,
the Commission determined on September 10, 2018, that the Wyoming
program for control of radiation hazards is adequate to protect public
health and safety and compatible with the Commission's program. This
Agreement is a rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act (5
U.S.C. 801-808). However, the Office of Management and Budget has not
found it to be a major rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 25th day of September, 2018.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette L. Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.
ATTACHMENT
AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
AND THE STATE OF WYOMING FOR THE DISCONTINUANCE OF CERTAIN COMMISSION
REGULATORY AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY WITHIN THE STATE PURSUANT TO
SECTION 274 OF THE ATOMIC ENERGY ACT OF 1954, AS AMENDED
WHEREAS, The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(hereinafter referred to as ``the Commission'') is authorized under
Section 274 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42 U.S.C.
Section 2011 et seq. (hereinafter referred to as ``the Act''), to enter
into agreements with the Governor of any State providing for
discontinuance of the regulatory authority of the Commission within the
State under Chapters 6, 7, and 8, and Section 161 of the Act with
[[Page 48906]]
respect to byproduct material as defined in Section 11e.(2) of the Act
and source material involved in the extraction or concentration of
uranium or thorium in source material or ores at milling facilities;
and,
WHEREAS, The Governor of the State of Wyoming is authorized under
Wyoming Statute Section 35-11-2001 to enter into this Agreement with
the Commission; and,
WHEREAS, The Governor of the State of Wyoming certified on November
14, 2017, that the State of Wyoming (hereinafter referred to as ``the
State'') has a program for the control of radiation hazards adequate to
protect public health and safety with respect to the materials within
the State covered by this Agreement and that the State desires to
assume regulatory responsibility for such materials; and,
WHEREAS, The Commission found on September 10, 2018, that the
program of the State for the regulation of the materials covered by
this Agreement is compatible with the Commission's program for the
regulation of such materials and is adequate to protect public health
and safety; and,
WHEREAS, The State and the Commission recognize the desirability
and importance of cooperation between the Commission and the State in
the formulation of standards for protection against hazards of
radiation and in assuring that State and Commission programs for
protection against hazards of radiation will be coordinated and
compatible; and,
WHEREAS, The Commission and the State recognize the desirability of
the reciprocal recognition of licenses, and of the granting of limited
exemptions from licensing of those materials subject to this Agreement;
and,
WHEREAS, This Agreement is entered into pursuant to the Act;
NOW, THEREFORE, It is hereby agreed between the Commission and the
Governor of the State of Wyoming acting on behalf of the State as
follows:
ARTICLE I
Subject to the exceptions provided in Articles II, IV, and V, the
Commission shall discontinue, as of the effective date of this
Agreement, the regulatory authority of the Commission in the State
under Chapters, 7, and 8, and Section 161 of the Act with respect to
the following materials:
A. Byproduct material as defined in Section 11e.(2) of the Act; and,
B. Source material involved in the extraction or concentration of
uranium or thorium in source material or ores at uranium or thorium
milling facilities (hereinafter referred to as ``source material
associated with milling activities'').
ARTICLE II
A. This Agreement does not provide for the discontinuance of any
authority, and the Commission shall retain authority and
responsibility, with respect to:
1. Byproduct material as defined in Section 11e.(1) of the Act;
2. Byproduct material as defined in Section 11e.(3) of the Act;
3. Byproduct material as defined in Section 11e.(4) of the Act;
4. Source material except for source material as defined in Article
I.B. of this Agreement;
5. Special nuclear material;
6. The regulation of the land disposal of byproduct, source, or
special nuclear material received from other persons, excluding 11e.(2)
byproduct material or source material described in Article I.A. and B.
of this Agreement;
7. The evaluation of radiation safety information on sealed sources
or devices containing byproduct, source, or special nuclear material
and the registration of the sealed sources or devices for distribution,
as provided for in regulations or orders of the Commission;
8. The regulation of the construction and operation of any
production or utilization facility or any uranium enrichment facility;
9. The regulation of the export from or import into the United
States of byproduct, source, or special nuclear material, or of any
production or utilization facility;
10. The regulation of the disposal into the ocean or sea of
byproduct, source, or special nuclear material waste as defined in the
regulations or orders of the Commission;
11. The regulation of the disposal of such other byproduct, source,
or special nuclear material as the Commission from time to time
determines by regulation or order should, because of the hazards or
potential hazards thereof, not to be so disposed without a license from
the Commission;
12. The regulation of activities not exempt from Commission
regulation as stated in 10 CFR part 150;
13. The regulation of laboratory facilities that are not located at
facilities licensed under the authority relinquished under Article I.A.
and B. of this Agreement; and,
14. Notwithstanding this Agreement, the Commission shall retain
regulatory authority over the American Nuclear Corporation license
(License No. SUA-667; Docket No. 040-04492).
B. Notwithstanding this Agreement, the Commission retains the following
authorities pertaining to byproduct material as defined in Section
11e.(2) of the Act:
1. Prior to the termination of a State license for such byproduct
material, or for any activity that results in the production of such
material, the Commission shall have made a determination that all
applicable standards and requirements pertaining to such material have
been met.
2. The Commission reserves the authority to establish minimum
standards governing reclamation, long-term surveillance or maintenance,
and ownership of such byproduct material and of land used as its
disposal site for such material. Such reserved authority includes:
a. The authority to establish terms and conditions as the
Commission determines necessary to assure that, prior to termination of
any license for such byproduct material, or for any activity that
results in the production of such material, the licensee shall comply
with decontamination, decommissioning, and reclamation standards
prescribed by the Commission and with ownership requirements for such
material and its disposal site;
b. The authority to require that prior to termination of any
license for such byproduct material or for any activity that results in
the production of such material, title to such byproduct material and
its disposal site be transferred to the United States or the State at
the option of the State (provided such option is exercised prior to
termination of the license);
d. The authority to permit use of the surface or subsurface
estates, or both, of the land transferred to the United States or a
State pursuant to paragraph 2.b. in this section in a manner consistent
with the provisions of the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act
of 1978, provided that the Commission determines that such use would
not endanger public health, safety, welfare, or the environment;
e. The authority to require, in the case of a license for any
activity that produces such byproduct material
[[Page 48907]]
(which license was in effect on November 8, 1981), transfer of land and
material pursuant to paragraph 2.b. in this section taking into
consideration the status of such material and land and interests
therein and the ability of the licensee to transfer title and custody
thereof to the United States or a State;
f. The authority to require the Secretary of the United States
Department of Energy, other Federal agency, or State, whichever has
custody of such byproduct material and its disposal site, to undertake
such monitoring, maintenance, and emergency measures as are necessary
to protect public health and safety and other actions as the Commission
deems necessary; and,
g. The authority to enter into arrangements as may be appropriate
to assure Federal long-term surveillance or maintenance of such
byproduct material and its disposal site on land held in trust by the
United States for any Indian Tribe or land owned by an Indian Tribe and
subject to a restriction against alienation imposed by the United
States.
3. The Commission retains the authority to reject any State request
to terminate a license that proposes to bifurcate the ownership of
11e.(2) byproduct material and its disposal site between the State and
the Federal government. Upon passage of a revised Wyoming Statute
Section 35-11-2004(c) that the NRC finds compatible with Section
83b.(1)(A) of the Act, this paragraph expires and is no longer part of
this Agreement.
ARTICLE III
With the exception of those activities identified in Article II, A.8
through A.11, this Agreement may be amended, upon application by the
State and approval by the Commission to include one or more of the
additional activities specified in Article II, A.1 through A.7, whereby
the State may then exert regulatory authority and responsibility with
respect to those activities.
ARTICLE IV
Notwithstanding this Agreement, the Commission may from time to time by
rule, regulation, or order, require that the manufacturer, processor,
or producer of any equipment, device, commodity, or other product
containing source, byproduct, or special nuclear material shall not
transfer possession or control of such product except pursuant to a
license or an exemption for licensing issued by the Commission.
ARTICLE V
This Agreement shall not affect the authority of the Commission under
Subsection 161b. or 161i. of the Act to issue rules, regulations, or
orders to protect the common defense and security, to protect
restricted data, or to guard against the loss or diversion of special
nuclear material.
ARTICLE VI
The Commission will cooperate with the State and other Agreement States
in the formulation of standards and regulatory programs of the State
and the Commission for protection against hazards of radiation and to
assure that Commission and State programs for protection against
hazards of radiation will be coordinated and compatible. The State
agrees to cooperate with the Commission and other Agreement States in
the formulation of standards and regulatory programs of the State and
the Commission for protection against hazards of radiation and to
assure that the State's program will continue to be compatible with the
program of the Commission for the regulation of materials covered by
this Agreement.
The State and the Commission agree to keep each other informed of
proposed changes in their respective rules and regulations and to
provide each other the opportunity for early and substantive
contribution to the proposed changes. The State and the Commission
agree to keep each other informed of events, accidents, and licensee
performance that may have generic implication or otherwise be of
regulatory interest.
ARTICLE VII
The Commission and the State agree that it is desirable to provide
reciprocal recognition of licenses for the materials listed in Article
I licensed by the other party or by any other Agreement State.
Accordingly, the Commission and the State agree to develop appropriate
rules, regulations, and procedures by which reciprocity will be
accorded.
ARTICLE VIII
A. The Commission, upon its own initiative after reasonable notice and
opportunity for hearing to the State or upon request of the Governor of
the State, may terminate or suspend all or part of this Agreement and
reassert the licensing and regulatory authority vested in it under the
Act if the Commission finds that (1) such termination or suspension is
required to protect public health and safety, or (2) the State has not
complied with one or more of the requirements of Section 274 of the
Act.
1. This Agreement will terminate without further NRC action if the
State does not amend Wyoming Statute Section 35-11-2004(c) to be
compatible with Section 83b.(1)(A) of the Act by the end of the 2019
Wyoming legislative session. Upon passage of a revised Wyoming Statute
Section 35-11-2004(c) that the NRC finds compatible with Section
83b.(1)(A) of the Act, this paragraph expires and is no longer part of
the Agreement.
B. The Commission may also, pursuant to Section 274j. of the Act,
temporarily suspend all or part of this Agreement if, in the judgment
of the Commission, an emergency situation exists requiring immediate
action to protect public health and safety and the State has failed to
take necessary steps. The Commission shall periodically review actions
taken by the State under this Agreement to ensure compliance with
Section 274 of the Act, which requires a State program to be adequate
to protect public health and safety with respect to the materials
covered by this Agreement and to be compatible with the Commission's
program.
ARTICLE IX
In the licensing and regulation of byproduct material as defined in
Section 11e.(2) of the Act, or of any activity that results in
production of such material, the State shall comply with the provisions
of Section 274o. of the Act, if in such licensing and regulation, the
State requires financial surety arrangements for reclamation or long-
term surveillance and maintenance of such material.
A. The total amount of funds the State collects for such purposes shall
be transferred to the United States if custody of such material and its
disposal site is transferred to the United States upon termination of
the State license for such material or any activity that results in the
production of such material. Such funds include, but are not limited
to, sums collected for long-term surveillance or maintenance. Such
funds do not, however, include monies held as surety where no default
has occurred and the reclamation or other bonded activity has been
performed; and,
B. Such surety or other financial requirements must be sufficient to
[[Page 48908]]
ensure compliance with those standards established by the Commission
pertaining to bonds, sureties, and financial arrangements to ensure
adequate reclamation and long-term management of such byproduct
material and its disposal site.
ARTICLE X
This Agreement shall become effective on September 30, 2018, and shall
remain in effect unless and until such time as it is terminated
pursuant to Article VIII.
Done at Cheyenne, Wyoming, in triplicate, this 25th day of September,
2018.
FOR THE UNITED STATES
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION.
/RA/
Kristine L. Svinicki, Chairman
FOR THE STATE OF WYOMING.
/RA/
Matthew H. Mead, Governor
[FR Doc. 2018-21229 Filed 9-27-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P