ML14139A320

Regulatory Analysis for Rg 3.75, Corrective Action Programs for Fuel Cycle Facilities (Proposed New Regulatory Guidance)

ML14139A320
Person / Time
Issue date:	06/27/2014
From:	Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research
To:
Burton S
Shared Package
ML14139A303	List: ML14139A320 Regulatory Guide 3.75
References
RG-3.075
Download: ML14139A320 (2)

Text

REGULATORY ANALYSIS REGULATORY GUIDE RG 3.75 CORRECTIVE ACTION PROGRAMS FOR FUEL CYCLE FACILITIES (Proposed New Regulatory Guidance)

1. Statement of the Problem This regulatory guide describes methods and procedures that the staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) considers acceptable when developing corrective action programs (CAPs) for fuel cycle facilities that are licensed under Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 40, Domestic Licensing of Source Material or 10 CFR Part 70, Domestic Licensing of Special Nuclear Material; or holders of certificates of compliance for gaseous diffusion plants under 10 CFR Part 76, Certification of Gaseous Diffusion Plants. NRC is issuing a new guide in conjunction with the withdrawal of Draft NUREG-2154, Acceptability of Corrective Action Programs for Fuel Cycle Facilities.

In the staff requirements memorandum (SRM) for SECY-10-0031, Revising the Fuel Cycle Oversight Process (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System [ADAMS] Accession No. ML102170054), the Commission directed the NRC staff to make modest adjustments to the existing oversight program to enhance its effectiveness and efficiency. The Commission further directed the staff to reflect in the NRCs Enforcement Policy that most fuel cycle licensees have voluntarily developed CAPs and that the approach provides incentives for licensees to maintain adequate CAPs. This direction was reiterated in the SRMs for SECY-09-0180 Major Revision to NRC Enforcement Policy, and SECY-11-0140, Enhancements to the Fuel Cycle Oversight Process (ADAMS Accession Nos.

ML102390327 and ML120050322, respectively). Section 2.3.2.a of the NRCs Enforcement Policy (ADAMS Accession No. ML13228A199) provides the criteria for NRC-identified Severity Level (SL) IV violations to be dispositioned as non-cited violations (NCVs), and is applicable to licensees and non-licensees with a CAP. Further, Section 2.3.2.a states the NRC will credit a formal CAP that has been inspected and found to meet regulatory guidance, industry standards, or both. In order to provide regulatory stability for fuel cycle licensees who wish to take credit for their CAPs in the Enforcement Policy, guidance should be developed describing acceptable programmatic elements when developing CAPs.

2. Objective The objective of this regulatory action is to provide guidance to fuel cycle licensees and NRC staff on acceptable methods and procedures when developing CAPs for fuel cycle facilities.

3. Alternative Approaches The NRC staff considered the following alternative approaches:

Alternative 1: Issue New Regulatory Guidance Under this alternative, the NRC would issue guidance to describe the elements and commitments that are necessary for the NRC to determine that a fuel cycle facility licensed or certified in accordance with 10 CFR Part 40, Domestic Licensing of Source Material, Part 70, Domestic Licensing of Special

Nuclear Material, or Part 76, Certification of Gaseous Diffusion Plants has an acceptable CAP. The guidance will provide a description of provisions for use by applicants and licensees and will make clear that implementation of the RG is voluntary and is not necessary in order for applicants and licensees to continue to be in compliance with NRC regulations.

Alternative 2: Issue No Regulatory Guidance Under this alternative, the NRC would not issue new guidance. If NRC does not take action, there would not be any changes in costs or benefit to the public, licensees or NRC. However, the no-action alternative would not address changes made in the current revision of the NRC Enforcement Policy which allows SL IV violations for fuel cycle facilities to be dispositioned as NCVs if the NRC determines that the applicant (non-licensee) or licensee has an adequate CAP.

4. Consequences Maintaining adequate CAPs is an important facet of sustaining high safety and security performance and is consistent with the Commissions safety culture initiatives. In other words, one of the benefits of licensees implementing adequate CAPs is that they are able to identify and correct issues outside the NRC inspection process. In addition, adequate CAPs support a safety conscious work environment because they enable employees to identify concerns that may affect facility safety and security and provide a formal mechanism for the review and resolution of such concerns.

It may also lead to an improved allocation of resources by the industry and NRC. This is because, even though a licensee is responsible for correcting an NRC-identified SL IV violation that is dispositioned as an NCV, a response to the NRC describing the corrective action would not normally be required. Therefore, the licensee and NRC can focus on important safety and security issues.

The NRC staff expects that licensees will choose to implement the guidance described in this regulatory guide only if it is perceived to be in their benefit to do so based on consideration of the voluntary nature of the RG and individual applicant and licensee circumstances.

5. Conclusion Based on this regulatory analysis, the NRC staff concludes that the issuance of a new regulatory guide is warranted. If licensees implement adequate CAPs, fuel facility safety and security would improve because licensees would be able to self-identify and correct issues, and provide the mechanism for their employees to raise safety and security concerns and the program to review and correct those concerns.

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