[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 191 (Tuesday, October 4, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60212-60213]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-21443]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2022-0149]
Placement of the Mississippi Agreement State Program on Probation
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of the Mississippi Agreement State Program being placed
on probation.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is announcing the
placement of the Mississippi Agreement State Program (Mississippi
Program) for the regulation of certain Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as
amended, materials on Probation. The NRC is further increasing its
oversight of the Mississippi Program and will oversee implementation of
a Program Improvement Plan developed by the Mississippi Program's
staff. The NRC Chairman notified the Governor of Mississippi of this
decision in a letter dated September 26, 2022. Depending on the
progress of the Agreement State in meeting the commitments in the
Program Improvement Plan and demonstration of significant and sustained
improvements in program performance, the Management Review Board (MRB)
Chair will make a recommendation to the Commission on the probationary
status. The NRC will make further announcements regarding the status of
the Mississippi Program, as appropriate.
DATES: October 4, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2022-0149 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-2022-0149. Address
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann;
telephone: 301-415-0624; email: [email protected]. For technical
questions, contact the individuals 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 Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS
Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public
Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or
by email to [email protected].
NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's PDR, Room P1 B35, One White
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make
an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between
8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Johnson, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555, telephone: 301-415-7314, email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under section 274 of the Atomic Energy Act
of 1954, as amended, the Commission retains the authority and the
responsibility to assure that Agreement State programs continue to
provide adequate protection of public health and safety, and to be
compatible with the NRC's program with respect to the regulation of the
materials and uses authorized under the Agreement. Agreement States are
States that have assumed regulatory authority from the NRC over the
possession and use of certain radioactive materials. The Commission
Policy Statement, ``Agreement State Program Policy Statement''
established the option of placing an Agreement State radiation control
program on Probation for program weaknesses that require increased NRC
oversight.
Section 274j of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, requires
that the NRC periodically review each Agreement State to ensure that
the Agreement State's regulatory programs are adequate and compatible.
It is the policy of the NRC to evaluate the radiation control programs
performance in an integrated manner, using performance indicators, to
ensure that public health and safety is being adequately protected. The
periodic review process for an Agreement State regulatory program and
the NRC radioactive materials program is called the Integrated
Materials Performance Evaluation Program (IMPEP).
The MRB Chair makes the final determination regarding a radiation
control program's overall performance. The MRB Chair makes this
determination in a public meeting. Information considered by the MRB
Chair includes the proposed final IMPEP report which presents suggested
performance indicator ratings and recommendations prepared by the team,
input from MRB members, and information provided by the radiation
control program at the MRB meeting. For most IMPEP reviews, no action
other than issuance of the final IMPEP report is needed. For those
infrequent reviews where additional action is needed, the MRB Chair may
consider
[[Page 60213]]
Monitoring, Heightened Oversight, and recommendations for Probation,
Suspension, or Termination. The most significant actions--Probation,
Suspension, or Termination--require Commission approval.
The MRB Chair found the Mississippi Program's overall performance
adequate to protect public health and safety, but needs improvement,
and not compatible with the NRC's program. The MRB Chair found the
Mississippi Program satisfactory, but needs improvement, for two
performance indicators: Technical Staffing and Training and
Legislation, Regulations, and Other Program Elements. The MRB Chair
found the Mississippi Program unsatisfactory for four performance
indicators: Status of Materials Inspection Program, Technical Quality
of Licensing Actions, Technical Quality of Inspections, and Technical
Quality of Incident and Allegation Activities. The MRB Chair
recommended that the Mississippi Program be placed on Probation due to
the significant performance issues identified. The Commission
considered the Mississippi Program's performance and agreed that the
Mississippi Program should be placed on Probation.
In cases where program weaknesses exist regarding the adequacy or
compatibility of an Agreement State's program, yet the weaknesses do
not require immediate action to protect public health and safety, one
of the options available to ensure continued protection of public
health and safety is to place the Agreement State on Probation. The
Mississippi Program's progress in addressing the program weaknesses
will be evaluated in February 2023 by an IMPEP review team. Depending
on the progress of the Agreement State in meeting the commitments in
the Program Improvement Plan and demonstration of significant and
sustained improvements in program performance, the MRB Chair will make
a recommendation to the Commission on the probationary status.
If the Commission determines that the probationary status will be
lifted, notification of discontinuance of Probation will be made to the
Governor of Mississippi, the Mississippi Congressional delegation, and
all other Agreement and Non-Agreement States. The NRC will also publish
a Federal Register notice and a press release announcing the
discontinuance of the Mississippi Program's Probation.
Dated: September 28, 2022.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Kevin Williams,
Director, Division of Materials Safety, Security, State, and Tribal
Programs, Office of Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2022-21443 Filed 10-3-22; 8:45 am]
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