[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 54 (Wednesday, March 20, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10338-10340]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-05230]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2019-0069]
Memorandum of Understanding Between the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission and the Mississippi State Department of Health
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Memorandum of understanding; issuance.
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SUMMARY: This notice is to advise the public of the issuance of a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) and the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH),
an agency of the State of Mississippi. The MOU provides the basis for
mutually agreeable procedures whereby the Mississippi State Department
of Health may utilize the NRC Emergency Response Data System (ERDS) to
receive data from a commercial nuclear power plant, for which any part
of the plant's 10-mile Emergency Planning Zone lies within the State of
Mississippi.
DATES: The final MOU is available on March 20, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2019-0069 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-2019-0069. Address
questions about NRC dockets IDs 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 https://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 Public Document
Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by email
to [email protected]. The Memorandum of Understanding is available
under ADAMS Accession No. ML17334A203.
NRC's PDR: You 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.
[[Page 10339]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bezakulu Alemu, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-287-
3731, email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The MOU defines the way in which the NRC and
MSDH intend to cooperate in planning and maintaining the capability to
transfer reactor plant data via ERDS. The ERDS data will be transmitted
to the State of Mississippi only during emergencies classified at the
Alert level or above, during scheduled tests, or during plant exercises
when the data is available.
The NRC and the MSDH are entering into the MOU under the authority
of Section 274i of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended. The State
of Mississippi recognizes the Federal government, primarily the NRC, as
having the exclusive authority and responsibility to regulate the
radiological and national security aspects of the construction and
operation of nuclear production or utilization facilities under the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, except for certain authority
over air emissions granted to States by the Clean Air Act. Nothing in
the MOU is intended to restrict or expand the scope of regulatory
authority of either the NRC or the State of Mississippi.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 15th day of March 2019.
For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Silas R. Kennedy,
Chief, Operations Branch, Division of Preparedness and Response,
Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response.
Attachment--Memorandum of Understanding Pertaining to the Emergency
Response Data System Between the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and
the Mississippi State Health Department
Memorandum of Understanding Pertaining to the Emergency Response Data
System Between the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the
Mississippi State Department of Health
I. Authority
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Mississippi
State Department of Health (MSDH), an agency of the State of
Mississippi, enter into this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) under
the authority of Section 274i of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as
amended.
The State of Mississippi recognizes the Federal government,
primarily the NRC, as having the exclusive authority and responsibility
to regulate the radiological and national security aspects of the
construction and operation of nuclear production or utilization
facilities under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, except for
certain authority over air emissions granted to States by the Clean Air
Act. Nothing in this MOU is intended to restrict or expand the scope of
regulatory authority of either the NRC or the State of Mississippi.
In the State of Mississippi, MSDH, through its Division of
Radiological Health (DRH), is the State radiation control agency and
implements the program regulating sources of radiation, not otherwise
regulated by the NRC, for the protection of public health and safety.
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) administers
emergency services and disaster preparedness programs in the State of
Mississippi.
II. Background
A. The Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Energy
Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended, authorize the NRC to license
and regulate, among other activities, the manufacture, construction,
and operation of utilization facilities (nuclear power plants) in order
to assure common defense and security and to protect the public health
and safety. Under these statutes, the NRC is the agency responsible for
regulating nuclear power plant safety and security.
B. The NRC's mission to protect public health and safety can be
served by a policy of cooperation with State governments and has
formally adopted a policy statement on ``Cooperation with States at
Commercial Nuclear Power Plants and Other Nuclear Production or
Utilization Facilities'' (54 Federal Register 7530, February 25, 1992).
The policy statement provides that the NRC will consider State
proposals to enter into instruments of cooperation for certain programs
when these programs have provisions to ensure close cooperation with
the NRC. This MOU is intended to be consistent with, and implement the
provisions of, the NRC's policy statement.
C. The NRC fulfills its statutory mandate to regulate nuclear power
plant safety by, among other things, monitoring the status of power
reactor facilities and assessing the adequacy of licensees' responses
to emergency situations.
D. The State of Mississippi fulfills, through MEMA, its statutory
mandate to provide for preparedness, response, mitigation, and recovery
in the event of an accident at a nuclear power plant through its
statutes located in Mississippi Code Ann. Sec. 33-15 (1972).
III. Scope
A. This MOU defines the way in which the NRC and MSDH intend to
cooperate in planning and maintaining the capability to transfer
reactor plant data via the Emergency Response Data System (ERDS) during
emergencies at commercial nuclear power plants that have implemented an
ERDS interface, and for which any portion of the plant's 10-mile
emergency planning zone (EPZ) lies within the State of Mississippi.
B. It is understood by the NRC and MSDH that ERDS data will only be
transmitted to the State of Mississippi during emergencies classified
at the Alert level or above, during scheduled tests, or during
exercises when available.
C. Nothing in this MOU is intended to restrict or expand the
statutory authority of the NRC, the State of Mississippi, MSDH, or
MEMA, or to affect or otherwise alter the terms of any agreement in
effect under the authority of Section 274b of the Atomic Energy Act of
1954, as amended; nor is anything in this MOU intended to restrict or
expand the authority of the State of Mississippi, MSDH, or MEMA, on
matters not within the scope of this MOU.
D. Nothing in this MOU confers upon the State of Mississippi, MSDH,
or MEMA, the authority to (1) interpret or modify NRC regulations and
NRC requirements imposed on the licensee; (2) take enforcement actions;
(3) issue confirmatory letters; (4) amend, modify, or revoke a license
issued by the NRC; or (5) direct or recommend nuclear power plant
employees to take, or not take, any action. Authority for all such
actions is reserved exclusively to the NRC.
E. This MOU does not confer any binding obligation or right of
action on either party. This MOU does not obligate any funds and is
subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
IV. NRC's General Responsibilities
Under this MOU, the NRC will maintain ERDS. ERDS is a system
designed to receive, store, and retransmit data from in-plant data
systems at nuclear power plants during emergencies. The NRC will
provide the State of Mississippi up to 10 digital certificates for use
by designated personnel within the MSDH and MEMA in accessing ERDS data
during emergencies at nuclear power plants that have implemented an
ERDS interface and for which any portion of a plant's 10-mile EPZ lies
within the
[[Page 10340]]
State of Mississippi. The NRC reserves the right to revoke digital
certificates at any time.
V. MSDH General Responsibilities
A. MSDH, through its DRH, will, in cooperation with the NRC,
establish a capability to receive ERDS data. To this end, MSDH will
provide the necessary computer hardware and commercially licensed
software required for ERDS data transfer to users.
B. MSDH will provide the NRC with an initial, and periodically
updated, list of designated persons serving as holders of ERDS digital
certificates.
C. MSDH will use ERDS only to access data, at the Alert level or
higher, from nuclear power plants for which all or a portion of the 10-
mile EPZ falls within the boundaries of the State of Mississippi.
D. For the purpose of minimizing the impact on plant operators, the
State of Mississippi will seek clarification of ERDS data through the
NRC.
VI. Implementation
A. MSDH and the NRC agree to work in concert to assure that the
following communications and information exchange protocol regarding
ERDS are followed:
a. MSDH and the NRC agree in good faith to make available to each
other information within the intent and scope of this MOU.
b. The NRC and MSDH agree to meet as necessary to exchange
information on matters of common concern pertinent to this MOU. Unless
otherwise agreed, such meetings will be held in the NRC Headquarters
Operations Center. The affected utilities will be kept informed of
pertinent information covered by this MOU.
c. The NRC will protect sensitive information to the extent
permitted by the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552, Title 10 of
the Code of Federal Regulations, Section 2.390, and all other
applicable authority. MSDH and its DRH will protect sensitive
information to the extent permitted by the Mississippi Freedom of
Information Act Mississippi Code Ann. Sec. 25-61, and all other
applicable authority.
d. The NRC will conduct periodic tests of licensee ERDS data links.
The NRC will provide a copy of the test schedule to the MSDH through
its DRH. The DRH may test its ability to access ERDS data during these
scheduled tests, or may schedule independent tests of the State link
with the NRC.
e. The NRC will provide MSDH with access to ERDS for emergency
exercises at nuclear power plants that have implemented an ERDS
interface, for which any portion of a plant's 10-mile EPZ lies within
the State of Mississippi, and that are capable of transmitting exercise
data to ERDS. For exercises in which the NRC is not participating, the
MSDH, through its DRH, will coordinate with the NRC in advance to
ensure ERDS availability. The NRC reserves the right to preempt ERDS
use for any exercise in progress in the event of an actual event at any
licensed nuclear power plant.
VII. Contacts
A. The principal senior management contacts for this MOU will be
the Director, Division of Preparedness and Response (DPR), Office of
Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR) for the NRC, and the
Director, Division of Radiological Health, for MSDH. These individuals
may designate appropriate staff representatives for the purpose of
administering this MOU.
B. Identification of these contacts is not intended to restrict
communication between the NRC and MSDH staff members, in particular
those within the DRH, on technical and other day-to-day activities.
VIII. Resolution of Disagreements
A. If disagreements arise about matters within the scope of this
MOU, the NRC and MSDH will work together to resolve these differences.
B. Differences between MSDH and the NRC staff over issues arising
out of this MOU will, if they cannot be resolved in accordance with
Section VIII.A, be resolved by the Director of the NRC's DPR, NSIR.
C. Differences which cannot be resolved in accordance with Sections
VIII.A and VIII.B will be reviewed and resolved by the Director of
NRC's NSIR.
D. The NRC's General Counsel has the final authority to provide
legal interpretation of the Commission's regulations.
IX. Effective Date
This MOU will take effect after it has been signed by both parties.
X. Duration
This MOU will be subject to periodic reviews and may be amended or
modified upon written agreement by both parties, and may be terminated
upon 30 days written notice by either party.
XI. Separability
If any provision(s) of this MOU, or the application of any
provision(s) to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the
remainder of this MOU and the application of such provisions to other
persons or circumstances will not be affected.
For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Dated: November 2, 2018.
Margaret M. Doane,
Executive Director for Operations.
For the State of Mississippi, Mississippi State Department of Health
Dated: January 11, 2019.
Thomas E. Dobbs III, MD, MPH,
State Health Officer.
[FR Doc. 2019-05230 Filed 3-19-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P