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POLICY ISSUE
(Notation Vote)

SECY-06-0137

June 9, 2006

• PURPOSE
• BACKGROUND
• DISCUSSION
• RESOURCES
• RECOMMENDATIONS
• NOTE
• COORDINATION

PURPOSE:

To obtain Commission approval to accept the State of Rhode Island’s relinquishment of its sealed source and device (SS&D) evaluation and approval authority and assumption of this authority by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to be effective July 1, 2006.

BACKGROUND:

In Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM) dated June 30, 1995, in response to SECY-95-136, "Options to Improve and Standardize the Evaluation and Approval of Sealed Sources and Devices Manufactured in Agreement States,” the Commission approved a process for the voluntary return of the SS&D evaluation authority from Agreement States to NRC. The process

indicates that a letter from the Governor of the State requesting relinquishment of the SS&D evaluation and approval authority and assumption of the authority by the NRC should be submitted to the Chairman. The request from the Governor would serve as the basis of NRC action and no detailed supporting basis or rationale is required for relinquishment of SS&D evaluation and approval authority and assumption by the NRC.

In an SRM dated April 10, 1996, in response to SECY-96-050, "To Seek Authorization to Accept Relinquishment of Sealed Source and Device Evaluation Authority from the Agreement States of Iowa, North Dakota, and Utah,” the Commission approved the assumption of regulatory authority by NRC for SS&D evaluations in these three States.

DISCUSSION:

In a letter dated May 16, 2006, from Rhode Island Governor Donald L. Carcieri to Chairman Diaz (Enclosure 1), the State requested relinquishment of SS&D evaluation authority. In his letter, the Governor indicated that Rhode Island has one manufacturer of devices and the last SS&D evaluation performed by the State was approximately in 2001. Governor Carcieri stated that, based upon this information, it would not be cost effective to fund and maintain trained staff to conduct SS&D evaluations.

The NRC acknowledged the Rhode Island request in a letter dated May 25, 2006, to Governor Carcieri from Janet R. Schlueter, Director, Office of State and Tribal Programs. The staff has also drafted a proposed response to Governor Carcieri from Chairman Diaz (Enclosure 2), accepting the State's request with an effective date of July 1, 2006. The staff believes this proposed date will provide for an orderly transfer of authority. Following the process established in SECY-95-136, the staff is providing the letter from the Governor of Rhode Island; a proposed response to Governor Carcieri from Chairman Diaz, accepting the Governor's request; and a proposed notice to be published in the Federal Register announcing NRC's intention to assume SS&D evaluation authority in the State of Rhode Island effective July 1, 2006 (Enclosure 3).

RESOURCES:

The State of Rhode Island became an Agreement State on January 1, 1980. Since becoming an Agreement State, the staff notes that the State has submitted two SS&D sheets to the national registry. These sheets were initially issued January 1, 1980, and last amended in November 2001. Since only a small number of SS&D evaluations were conducted by Rhode Island in the past and no recent applications have been received, NRC resumption of regulatory authority will have essentially no resource impacts at this time.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

The staff recommends that the Commission approve:

1. Assumption of regulatory authority in the State of Rhode Island for SS&D evaluation authority.
2. The approval letter to the Governor of Rhode Island and the proposed Federal Register Notice.

NOTE:

Upon Commission approval of the above actions, the staff will recommend to the Rhode Island Agreement Program that they provide public notice of this action to their licensees.

COORDINATION:

The Office of General Counsel has no legal objection to this paper. Additionally, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer has reviewed this Commission Paper for resource implications and has no objections.

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