The Commission has approved the proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Department of Energy
(DOE).
The staff should, in consultation with DOE, prepare a revised MOU that will be available for review and signature by the
Secretary of Energy and the Chairman at the time of completion of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Pilot. The
revised MOU should incorporate lessons learned and language that allows DOE and NRC to seek legislation for NRC
regulatory authority for a specific pilot facility or class of facilities based on information from the pilot program. Some of
the changes below reflect this approach. The cover letter to DOE transmitting the signed MOU should mention this need
for a revision.
The following editorial changes should be incorporated in the next revision to the MOU:
| 1. |
On the signature page, insert 'NUCLEAR' between 'DOE' and 'FACILITIES.' Also, the
signature block should be changed to 'Shirley Ann Jackson.' |
| 2. |
On page 1, line 4, insert 'should' after 'NRC.' In line 7, insert 'nuclear' after 'DOE.' |
| 3. |
On page 3, paragraph 3, line 1, add a comma after 'Jackson' and on line 2, add a comma
after 'Commission.' |
| 4. |
On page 4, last paragraph, line 2, replace 'At the end of the two years' with 'Over the
course of this pilot program,' |
| 5. |
On page 5, line 1, add a new sentence after 'facilities' which states: If deemed appropriate,
a decision to seek legislation to give NRC authority to regulate a specific facility could be
made in advance of the full two-year time frame. In the second full paragraph, line 3,
delete 'at the end of the pilot program.' |
| 6. |
On page 7, paragraph 1, line 4, insert 'of 1932' after 'Economy Act.' |
| 7. |
On page 9, paragraph 4, line 3, insert commas before and after 'as appropriate.' The comma
after the word "briefings" should be removed. Add a new sentence at the end of paragraph
4: Each report will be made available to stakeholders, including the Congress. Also on
page 9, in the last line, insert a hyphen between 'two' and 'year.' |
| 8. |
On page 9, insert a new paragraph prior to the last paragraph on this page:
Within three months after the first year of the pilot program ends, DOE and NRC
personnel will prepare and provide to the Secretary and the Commission a report on the
advantages and disadvantages of NRC regulating specific DOE nuclear facilities based on
the first year pilot program experiences. The report will include a recommendation on
which specific DOE nuclear facilities or which classes of DOE nuclear facilities should be
externally regulated by NRC as well as draft legislation to implement the recommendation.
If the Secretary and the Commission determine that particular DOE nuclear facilities or
classes of DOE nuclear facilities should be regulated by the NRC, DOE and NRC will
promptly submit draft legislation giving NRC such authority as part of the FY 2000
legislative program of the two agencies. |
| 9. |
On page 10, paragraph 1, line 1, insert 'final' before 'report.' In line 4, insert 'as well as
draft legislation to implement the recommendations' after 'NRC.' In line 6, replace 'prepare'
with 'submit.' Also in line 6, insert 'as part of the FY 2001 legislative program of the two
agencies' at the end of the sentence after 'authority.' |
| 10. |
On page 11, item C., line 2, remove the comma after 'independently.' |
