ML20137C222
| ML20137C222 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 03/14/1997 |
| From: | Shirley Ann Jackson, The Chairman NRC COMMISSION (OCM) |
| To: | Rao P INDIA |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9703240184 | |
| Download: ML20137C222 (2) | |
Text
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UNITED STATES po g
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION o
WASHINGTON, D.C. ;0555-0001 j
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March 14, 1997 CHAIRMAN l
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j Dr. P. Rama Rao Chairman i
Atomic Energy Regulatory Board 4th Floor, North Wing Vikram Sarabhai Bhavan Anushakti Nagar, Mumbai 400 094 India
Dear Chairman Rao:
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I would li'Ke to Congratulate you on your recent appointment as Chairman of the i
Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).
It is my hope that our agencies will i
work together to build upon the nuclear safety dialogue begun by our predecessors within the framework of our respective governments' policies.
During the February 1995 visit to India of my predecessor, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Chairman Ivan Selin, NRC-AERB agreement was reached on pursuing three joint nuclear safety projects in fire cafety, symptom-based emergency procedures, and design issues (backfits and modifications).
These projects were chosen based on NRC/AERB/ Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) agreement that the NRC could provide useful information to
,1 AERB staff relative to recent regulatory developments in these areas and the NRC could learn best from Indian experience in the three project areas while in India.
1 In September 1995 these projects were approved by the U.S. Executive Branch for U.S.-India Fund (USIF) funding. We understand that you were a former Chairman of the committee which screens the USIF research projects from a scientific and technical perspective, and thus may have some insights which 3
4 will prove valuable in securing Government of India (GOI) approval of these j
projects.
In November 1996 AERB Acting Chairman Kumar wrote to the American Embassy in New Delhi approving the project descriptions.
However, delays in seeking Government of India approval of USIF funds for these important i
projects have arisen, based on three iacorrect assumptions.
These are, first, that projects would include visits by Indian officials to the U.S.; second, that the NRC would bear that expenditure in dollars; and third, that the NRC could undertake these projects without USIF funding.
The NRC is a one hundred percent fee recovery domestic regulatory agency.
The NRC's international activities can be conducted in most cases only by securing other sources of funding, such as the USIF.
Thus, if NRC cannot draw upon
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m USIF monies, we cannot undertake these projects.
NRC-AERB projects as originally conceived by NRC Chairman Selin and then-AERB Chairman Gopalakrishnan were to be carried out by NRC staff travelling to India. USIF f0g W,jh
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funds which, as you know, can be used only in India and are expended in rupens, would be used for I-4 NRC staff's travel to India to conduct workshops and t.ther exchanges of information at AERB or other locations as appropriate (i.e., Tarapur Nuclear Power Plant), for duplicating publicly available NRC standard materials as references during discussion, and for NRC per diem in i
India.
I hope you will be able to expedite this application process along the lines discussed above, to take advantage of the one-year extension of the U.S-India t-Fund.
If the monies set aside for these projects are not approved and j
obligated during this calendar year,'NRC will not have access to resources to l
implement these basic bridge-building activities.
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I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.
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Sincerely, a
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