ML19253C721
| ML19253C721 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 11/20/1979 |
| From: | Gossick L NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO) |
| To: | Jason West JONES, GREY & BAYLEY |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19253C722 | List: |
| References | |
| RULE-PRM-150-1, TASK-OS, TASK-TP-808-3 NUDOCS 7912120022 | |
| Download: ML19253C721 (4) | |
Text
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Contract No.
Subject:
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%**v NOV 2 01979 PRM-iS0-1 Mr. John L. West: Esquire Jones, Grey and Bayley 14th Floor Norton Building Seattle, Washington 98104
Dear Mr. West:
This responds to your letter of December 9, 1977, requesting the Commission to amend its regulation, " Recognition of Agreement State Licenses," 10 CFR 150.20 by deleting 10 CFR 150.20(b)(3).
This would amend the reciprocity general license by removing a condition stating that any person who engages in activ-ities in non-Agreement States under 10 CFR 150.20 shall not possess or use radioactive materials, or engage in activities authorized in 10 CFR 150.20(a) for more than 180 days in any calendar year.
As one basis for the request, you stated that the 180 days per calendar year limitation creates additional paperwork and expense for Chem-Nuclear Systems, Inc.
The Commission addressed the issue of administrative and financial burdens on December 20, 1969 (34 FR 19996), when it proposed amendments of the reciprocity general in 10 CFR 150.20 that would increase the time during which Agreement State specifi-licensees may engage in activities in non-Agreement States:
" Persons proposing to engage in activities in non-Agreement States under 5 150.20... are limited under the general license to 20 days in any period of 12 consecutive months.
"The limitation of 20 days in 12 consecutive months has discouraged use of the general license by Agreement State specific licensees who are engaged in transient field operations of uncertain duration, and results in the issuance by the Commission and Agreement States of multiple specific licenses for the same activity.
Thus, persons conducting transient opera-tions throughout the United States may obtain specific licenses covering the same activity from the AEC and each of the 21 Agreement States.
Under such circumstances multiple specific licenses impose an administrative and financial burden upon licensees and the license-issuing agencies without significant improvement of the health and safety aspects of the transient operations."
It should be noted that the Commission did not intend to eliminate entirely the administrative and fine.ncial burdens but rather to reduce them as much as possible consistent with protecting the public health and safety.
Accordingly, it proposed to increase the time for engaging in activities in non-Agreement States under 10 CFR 150.20:
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Mr. John L. West 2
"To facilitate use of the general license in S 150.20 and to reduce the number of specific licenses which need to be issued by the Commission and Agreement States for the same activity, the Commission has under considera-tion amendments of the general license in S 150.20 to permit Agreement State specific licensees to engage in activities in non-Agreement States up to 180 days in any calendar year."
As another basis for the request, you stated that the 180 days per calendar year limitation may in the future limit the performance of Chem-Nuclear's services to public utilities.
The issue of the performance of Chem-Nuclear's services to public utilities was resolved by NRC and Agreement State licensing actions in response to a Chem-Nuclear application dated November 10, 1977, for a byproduct materials license to use mobile solidification units and portable demineralizer units at nuclear power reactor sites throughout the U.S.
On September 14, 1978, the NRC licensing staff responded that they did not con-sider it necessary or appropriate to issue a materials license to perform waste handling operations at nuclear power facilities.
On September 25, 1978, NRC sent to all Agreement States Interpretive Letter No. 78-02 asking them to amend any existing Agreement State licenses of the radioactive waste, handling type to conform to the NRC position.
Finally, on November 15, 1978, the State of Washington amended Chem-Nuclear's materials license by adding a new condition:
"This license does not authorize the use of mobile solidification units and portable demineralizer units to perform rad waste handling operations for, and at the sites of, nuclear power facilities licensed by the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission pursuant to Part 50."
As a consequence, Chem-Nuclear cannot engage in those activities in non-Agreement States under the general license in 10 CFR 150.20(a), and the 180 days in any calendar year limitation in 10 CFR 150.20(b)(3) cannot limit the perform-ance of those activities for public utilities.
Finally, you noted that if licensed activities are appropriate and in the public interest for 180 days of the year, they would remain so for the balance of the year as well, and as a matter of public policy, all of the reasons why such activities are considered proper for a substantial portion of the year tend to argue against the limit of 180 days on such activities.
The Commission provided additional discussion of the increase in time on May 20, 1970, in the preamble to the final rule to amend 10 CFR 150.20:
"Tha amendment increases the time that persons holding specific licenses from Agreement States are permitted to engage in activities in non-Agreement States under the general license from 20 days in any period of 1534 320
l Mr. John L. West 3
12 consecutive months to 180 days in any calendar year.
This increase in time will encourage the use of the general license by Agreement States specific licensees who are engaged in transient field operations.
a a
a "The Commission expects that the amendment of the general license in 5 150.20 will permit a greater number of Agreement State specific licensees to use the general license, reduce the need for multiple specific licenses, and reduce the number of reports required of persons proposing to engage in activities under the general license.
The amendments will simplify licensing of radioactive materials without compromising health and safety."
Recently, about 130 Agreement State specific licensees per year (compared to 100 total in the first 6 years) have been conducting in non-Agreement States transient field operations such as industrial radiography, decontamination services, pickup and transportation of prepackaged radioactive wastes, well logging, tracer studies, and similar services.
Not all of the increased use of the reciprocity general license can be attributed to the increase in time to 180 days in any calendar year because the number of Agreement State specific licensees has increased significantly in the last 9 years.
In view of the above quoted statements made by the Commission when it adopted amended 10 CFR 150.20(b)(3) to increase the time to 180 days in any calendar year for the condbet of acti~ ities in non-Agreement States, the Commission v
selected a balance point between a restrictive time limitation (20 days in 12 consecutive months) that discouraged use of the reciprocity general license for transient field operations of uncertain duration and no time limitation (the effect if your petition request were granted) that would have eliminated
'the need for multiple specific licenses for transient operations conducted throughout the United States.
Long-term field operations of this type should be controlled through specific licensing either by NRC or the Agreement States.
Conversely, it is appropriate and reasonable to give weight to Agreement State licenses by general licensing of operations which are clearly of a short term and transitory nature.
The regulatory burden of processing every short-term operation to a specific license would be. prohibitive, and would not lead to any significant improvement in public health and safety.
The problem is to find the proper balance, that is, the proper breakpoint at which an operation ceases to be short term and begins to take on a more permanent character.
Regulatory experience with the 180-day breakpoint previously adopted by the Commission would indicate that it is a reasonable breakpoint even though somewhat arbitrarily arrived at.
You have not made a case to change this breakpoint nor does our reexamination of licens-ing experience lead to the conclusion that it should be changed.
Based on this background, I am denying your request to delete 10 CFR 150.20(b)(3) on the grounds that the limit of 180 days in any calendar year should not be removed from 10 CFR 150.20 because it is still appropriate to have a breakpoint between NRC's recognition of Agreement State licenses for transient field 1534 221
Mr. John L. West 4
operations in non-Agreement States and issuance of NRC licenses for longer-term activities and transient operations throughout the United States.
Enclosed is a copy of the Federal Register notice of denial of your petition for rulemaking.
Sincerely.
g
.1 4 be V. Gossick Executive Director for Operations
Enclosure:
Notice of Denial of Petition for Rulemaking e
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