[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 238 (Wednesday, December 13, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 86386-86387]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-27250]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2022-0149]


Discontinuation of the Mississippi Agreement State Program's 
Probationary Period

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has discontinued 
Mississippi's Probationary period.

DATES: December 12, 2023.

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, at 301-415-4737, 
or by email to [email protected]. The ADAMS accession number for 
each document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the 
first time that it is mentioned in this document.
     NRC's PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies 
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. 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 
a.m. and 4 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 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-7314; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 274b of the Atomic Energy Act of 
1954, as amended, (AEA) provides the statutory basis by which the NRC 
may enter into an agreement with the governor of a State to discontinue 
portions of its regulatory authority to license and regulate byproduct 
materials, source materials, and certain quantities of special nuclear 
materials. States may assume the authority to regulate those materials 
after the NRC determines that a perspective State's radiation control 
program is adequate to protect public health and safety and compatible 
with the NRC's regulatory program. Through the Agreement State program, 
39 States have signed agreements with the NRC. The NRC retains an 
oversight role for adequacy to protect public health and safety, and 
compatibility with the NRC's regulatory program.
    Section 274j of the AEA, 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 program's 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's regulatory program and the NRC's radioactive 
materials program is called the Integrated Materials Performance 
Evaluation Program (IMPEP).
    The IMPEP review team presents the findings to a Management Review 
Board (MRB). The MRB Chair then makes the final determination regarding 
a radiation control program's overall performance 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 IMPEP 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 Monitoring, 
Heightened

[[Page 86387]]

Oversight, and recommendations for Probation, Suspension, or 
Termination. The most significant actions--Probation, Suspension, or 
Termination--require Commission approval.
    In 2022, the MRB Chair recommended, and the Commission agreed, to 
place Mississippi on Probation, due to a significant decline in Program 
performance (87 FR 60212). The MRB Chair directed staff to conduct a 
follow-up IMPEP review in approximately 1 year from the 2022 IMPEP 
review.
    During the 2023 IMPEP review, the team found that the changes made 
by Mississippi in response to the 2022 IMPEP review resulted in 
significant performance improvements across the Program and improved 
its performance findings relative to five indicators. The team found 
Mississippi's performance to be satisfactory for the following four 
performance indicators: Status of Materials Inspection Program; 
Technical Quality of Inspections; Technical Quality of Incident and 
Allegation Activities; and Legislation, Regulations, and Other Program 
Elements. The team found Mississippi's performance to be satisfactory 
but needs improvement for the following two performance indicators: 
Technical Staffing and Training and Technical Quality of Licensing 
Actions. The performance finding for the indicator Technical Staffing 
and Training remained the same, as satisfactory but needs improvement.
    On June 29, 2023, the MRB met to discuss the results of the 2023 
IMPEP review. Based on the results of the 2023 IMPEP review, the MRB 
Chair closed the 2017 IMPEP review recommendation, closed 9 of the 10 
recommendations made during the 2022 IMPEP, and opened one new 
recommendation. The MRB Chair also found Mississippi's performance 
adequate to protect public health and safety but needs improvement and 
compatible with the NRC's program. The MRB Chair directed staff to 
conduct a periodic meeting take place in approximately 1 year with the 
next IMPEP review taking place in approximately 2 years. On July 27, 
2023, the staff issued the final IMPEP report documenting the bases for 
these findings (ADAMS Accession No. ML23188A186).
    As a result of improved performance seen during Mississippi's 2023 
IMPEP review and the significant progress made on completing the 
actions in the Program Improvement Plan, the MRB Chair requested that 
the Commission discontinue Mississippi's Probationary period and be 
placed on a period of Heightened Oversight. The Commission agreed with 
the recommendations to discontinue Mississippi's Probationary Period 
and the Governor of Mississippi has been notified of this decision.

    Dated: December 7, 2023.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Kenneth T. Erwin,
Acting Director, Division of Materials Safety, Security, State, and 
Tribal Programs, Office of Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2023-27250 Filed 12-12-23; 8:45 am]
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