[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 189 (Monday, September 30, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 51365-51367]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-20973]
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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. 84, No. 189 / Monday, September 30, 2019 /
Rules and Regulations
[[Page 51365]]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 150
[NRC-2019-0114]
State of Vermont: Discontinuance of Certain Commission Regulatory
Authority Within the State; Notice of Agreement Between the NRC and the
State of Vermont
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Final State agreement.
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SUMMARY: This notice is announcing that on September 9, 2019, Kristine
L. Svinicki, Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or
Commission), and on September 13, 2019, Governor Philip B. Scott of the
State of Vermont, 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 Vermont assumes regulatory authority over 11e.(1),
11e.(3), and 11e.(4) byproduct materials, source materials, and special
nuclear materials in quantities not sufficient to form a critical mass.
As of the effective date of the Agreement, a person in Vermont
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, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2019-0114 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 https://www.regulations.gov/ and search for Docket ID NRC-2019-0114. Address
questions about docket 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 ADAMS Accession numbers for the request
for an Agreement by the Governor of Vermont, including all information
and documentation submitted in support of the request, and the NRC
staff assessment are: ML19109A085, ML19107A432, ML19114A092,
ML19140A393, ML19102A130, ML19161A133, and ML19192A115 (SECY-19-0085,
includes final staff assessment).
NRC's 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: Duncan White, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-2598; email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NRC published the proposed Agreement in
the FR for comment once each week for 4 consecutive weeks on June 25,
2019 (84 FR 29811), July 2, 2019 (84 FR 31518), July 9, 2019 (84 FR
32657), and July 16, 2019 (84 FR 33864), as required by the Act. The
comment period ended on July 25, 2019. One comment was received
supporting the Agreement. The NRC staff determined that the Vermont
Agreement State program is adequate to protect the public health and
safety and compatible with the NRC's program. The Vermont 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
Vermont, the supporting documentation submitted with the request for an
Agreement, and its interactions with the staff of the Vermont
Department of Health, the NRC staff completed an assessment of the
Vermont program. The agency made a copy of the staff assessment
available in the NRC's PDR and electronically on the NRC's website.
Based on the staff's assessment, the Commission determined on September
6, 2019, that the Vermont program for control of radiation hazards is
adequate to protect the 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 23rd day of September, 2019.
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 VERMONT 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 the State of Vermont (hereinafter
referred to as ``the 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 respect to byproduct
materials as defined in Sections 11e.(1), (3), and (4) of the Act,
source materials,
[[Page 51366]]
and special nuclear materials in quantities not sufficient to form a
critical mass; and,
WHEREAS, The Governor of the State of Vermont is authorized under
VT. STAT. ANN. tit. 18, Sec. 1653 to enter into this Agreement with
the Commission; and,
WHEREAS, The Governor of the State of Vermont certified on April
11, 2019, that the State has a program for the control of radiation
hazards adequate to protect the 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 6, 2019, that the
program of the State of Vermont 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 the
public health and safety; and,
WHEREAS, The State of Vermont 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 of Vermont 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 provisions
of the Act;
NOW, THEREFORE, It is hereby agreed between the Commission and the
Governor of Vermont 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 6, 7 and 8, and Section 161 of the Act with respect to
the following materials:
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 materials as defined in Section 11e.(4) of the Act;
4. Source materials; and
5. Special nuclear materials, in quantities not sufficient to form
a critical mass.
ARTICLE II
This Agreement does not provide for the discontinuance of any
authority, and the Commission shall retain authority and
responsibility, with respect to:
A. The regulation of byproduct material as defined in Section
11e.(2) of the Act;
B. The regulation of the land disposal of byproduct, source, or
special nuclear material received from other persons;
C. 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;
D. The regulation of the construction, operation, and
decommissioning of any production or utilization facility or any
uranium enrichment facility;
E. 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;
F. The regulation of the disposal into the ocean or sea of
byproduct, source, or special nuclear material waste as defined in
regulations or orders of the Commission;
G. The regulation of the disposal of such other byproduct, source,
or special nuclear material as the Commission determines by regulation
or order should, because of the hazards or potential hazards thereof,
not be so disposed without a license from the Commission; and
H. The regulation of activities not exempt from Commission
regulation as stated in 10 CFR part 150.
ARTICLE III
With the exception of those activities identified in Article II,
paragraphs D. through H., 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,
paragraphs A. through C., 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 promote 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 the 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
The Commission, upon its own initiative after reasonable notice and
opportunity for hearing to the State or upon request of the Governor of
Vermont, 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
[[Page 51367]]
Commission finds that (1) such termination or suspension is required to
protect the public health and safety, or (2) the State has not complied
with one or more of the requirements of Section 274 of the Act.
Pursuant to Section 274j. of the Act, the Commission may, after
notifying the Governor, temporarily suspend all or part of this
Agreement without notice or hearing if, in the judgment of the
Commission, an emergency situation exists with respect to any material
covered by this agreement creating danger which requires immediate
action to protect the health or safety of persons either within or
outside of the State and the State has failed to take steps necessary
to contain or eliminate the cause of danger within a reasonable time
after the situation arose. 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 the public health and safety with respect to the
materials covered by this Agreement and to be compatible with the
Commission's program.
ARTICLE IX
This Agreement shall become effective on September 30, 2019, and
shall remain in effect unless and until such time as it is terminated
pursuant to Article VIII.
Done at Rockville, Maryland, in triplicate, this 9th day of
September, 2019.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. /RA/
Kristine L. Svinicki,
Chairman.
Done at Montpelier, Vermont, in triplicate, this 13th day of
September, 2019.
For the State of Vermont. /RA/
Philip B. Scott,
Governor.
[FR Doc. 2019-20973 Filed 9-27-19; 8:45 am]
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