ML20236S168
| ML20236S168 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 04/23/1996 |
| From: | Paperiello C NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS) |
| To: | NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS) |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20236S154 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9807240169 | |
| Download: ML20236S168 (6) | |
Text
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ATTACHMENT A cua
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i UNITED STATES g
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION D
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April 23, 1996 MEMORANDUM TO:
Division Directors, Deputy Directors, and Branch Chiefs, NMSS FROM:
Carl J. Paperiello, Director Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
SUBJECT:
NMSS POLICY AND PROCEDURES LETTER l-51, POLICY AND CRITERIA FOR INITIAL PROCESSING OF INCOMING LICENSING ACTIONS I
Policy and Procedures Letter 1-51 (attached) provides the policy and criteria for the procedures to expedite the processing of incoming licensinc actions in all Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) program areas.
The policy and procedures have been developed:
(1) to ensure that licensing actions receive, at a minimum, an administrative review within an established time frame; (2) to ensure that licensees are informed, in a timely manner, of any administrative deficiencies in their incoming requests, so that any additional information can be submitted pr. tor to the request being forwarded for technical review; and (3) to identify actions where licensees have requested an expedited review based on safety-significant concerns or business reasons.
The generic nature of the guidance for the procedurec recognizes the fact that HMSS encompasses a diverse range of licensing and related program areas, and should provide the flexibility to develop procedures that are suitable for the types of licensing, registration, or certification performed by each review group.
In addition, these procedures should allow all NMSS program areas to continue to use their full-time equivalent positions to complete licensing actions, with only limited impact on the administrative staff. All addressees should review the attached policy and criteria, use them to develop specific procedures for each type of licensing action in their program area, and disseminate the information to the staff, as appropriate.
The development and implementation of procedures to expedite the process 4'g of incoming licensing actions are to be assigned a very high priority and will remain in effect until further notice.
Attachment:
Policy and Criteria for Initial Processing of Incoming Licensing Actions l
CONTACT: Donald A. Cool, HMSS (301) 415-7197
[a 9807240169 900714 PDR COMMS NRCC CORRESPONDENCE PDR I
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,.s NMSS Policy and Procedures Letter 1-51 March 1996 POLICY AND CRITERIA FOR INITIAL PROCESSING OF INCOMING LICENSING A 38M311 l
The Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) program areas often receive more actions for routine review than staff can address completely at the time of receipt.
l These include such items as applications for various types of l
licenslag actions for materials and fuel cycle licensees, requests.for licensing or certification of storage and transportation casks, requests for sealed source and/or i
device registration, and decommissioning plans.
Failure to perform timely reviews can result both in NMSS being unaware of actions that require an expedited review because of sa'ety-significant or business reasons and in licensees not being informed in a timely manner of the receipt, status, and estimated review schedules for their requests.
The main HMSS goal should continue to be completing.the review of the licensing actiens in accordance with the policy and procedure letters and policy and guidance directives appropriate for the different program areas. However, in those cases where it is anticipated that neither the action can be completed nor the deficiency letter can be issued within 30 days, an administrative review of the request is to be performed and an acknowledgement letter documenting the receipt of the action and the results of this review is to be provided to the licensee within 30 days.
This ensures that some tvoe of action takes olace on all incomina licensina reauests within 30 days.
To this end, all NMSS program areas are to develop specific procedures for the initial processing of incoming actions for each type of U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission licensing action and implement them imediately. The procedures should remain in effect until'further notice.
POLICY AND CRITERIA:
All procedures for processing licensing actions in NMSS program areas are to remain as' set out in previous policy and guidance directives, with one exception. procedure letters or policy and For those requests where the licensing action will not be completed nor a deficiency letter sent to ths licensee within 30 days of receipt of the request, procedures are to be followed that meet the criteria outlined below.
It is expected that these procedures can be perfomed by administrative staff or a licensing assistant.
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2 Within 30 days' of receipt of a request for any licensing, certification, or registration action, the headquarters office should perform an administrative review of the request to:
Detemine that all necessary sections of the application fom are completed and the form has been signed by the applicant's certifying official.
If the applicant has identified that certain documents are attached as part of the ap211 cation, verify that, in fact, those attachments are included in the submittal.
Identify any requests for expedited review for safety-significant concerns (e.g., change in the radiation safety officer or amendment requests resulting from identification of safety-significant violations) or business reasons (e.g.,
change in ownership or other financial concerns).
For license renewals, identify if the licensee requests any amendments or new authorizations that may need to be expedited by a license amendment rather than being delayed for review of.the renewal application.
After the review, an acknowledgment letter (attached) is to be sent to the
, applicant to:-
Acknowledge that the request for a licensing action has been received.
1 Clearly inform the licensee that the submittal has undergone an initial processing which is an administrative review.
Note any administrative deficiencies / omissions that were identified during the initial review and that could delay the complete review of the licensee's action by the technical l
reviewer.
Inform the licensee that the technical review may identify l
l additional omissions in the submitted infomation, technical
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issues that require additional information, or policy / technical issues that require coordination with other NRC offices.
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'This deadline may be other than 30 days if a different time were previously agreed upon between an NMSS licensing program area and a specific group of licensees (e.g., the current agreement between NRC staff and the U.S.
Department of Energy that acceptance reviews for high-level waste repository applications will be completed in less than 90 days).
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3 Provide the licensee with an estimated time for completion of the licensing action. These estimates need only be estimates for types of licensing actions (i.e., a specific date does not have to be estimated for each licensing action). The estimated time for completion should account for any request for an expedited review and be in accordance with policy.and procedure letters, policy and guidance directives, or previously agreed on times for specific program areas.
Inform the licensee that a copy of its correspondence has been forwarded to the License Fee and Accounts Receivable Branch for fee processing.
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7 SAMPLE ACKNOWLEDGMENT LETTER Nail control No.
License No.
Name Address
SUBJECT:
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF REQUEST FOR LICENSING ACTION REF:
Otetter OAppiscation Ooat.d OReceived
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/
Dear Sir or Madam:
1.
We have completed the initial processing, which is an administrative review, of your application for a(an):
One.
Damendment Orenewai Termination i
Orogistration Ocartificationiicensingaction.
I 2.
During the initial processing, Ono Osame omissions /defici.ncies were identified. These deficiencies include I
The identified information should be provided within 30 days of the date of this'1etter, so that your request can be fomarded for technical review.
Please note that the complete technical review may identify additional omissions in the submitted infomation or technical issues that require additional
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information.
i 3.
If applicable, insert one of the following statements regarding the estimated time for completion.of the licensing action:
I a.
New and amendment actions are normally processed within 90 days, unless the technical review identifies major deficiencies, or policy issues requiring input and coordination with other offices.
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b.
Renewal actions are nomally processed within 180 days.
However, under timely filing (before expiration) your license l
will not expire until final action has been taken by this
- office, c.
Temination' actions are normally processed within 90 days,
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unless confirmatoi-y surveys after decontamination /
j decommissioning activities are involved.
I In addition, the letter should acknowledge any request for an excedited review for safety-significant concerns or business reasons.
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A copy of your correspondence has been forwarded to our License Fee and Accounts Receivable Bratich, Office of the Controller, who will contact you separately if the appropriate license fee has not been submitted for your request, or for billing if your request is subject to full cost fee recovery.
Any correspondence about this application should reference the control number.
Sincerely, Q
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