[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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