ML20244B992
| ML20244B992 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 01/12/1983 |
| From: | Dircks W NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO) |
| To: | |
| References | |
| TASK-PINV, TASK-SE SECY-83-014, SECY-83-14, NUDOCS 8301260106 | |
| Download: ML20244B992 (16) | |
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i SECY-83-14 January 12, 1983 POLICY ISSUE (Notation Vote)
For:
The Commissioners From:
William J. Dircks Executive Director for Operations
Subject:
DRAFT POLICY STATEMENT ON REGIONALIZATION To obtain Commission approval to ptblish for comment
Purpose:
a draft policy statement on regionawization of certain MRC operations.
Discussion:
In a memorandum dated October 8,1981, the Chairman notified the Executive Director for Operations that the Commission had approved the basic features of a proposed reorganization that would enlarge the role of regional offices and establish new controls on reactor requirements. The initial steps to implement this policy were taken in November 1981 by transferring control of the regional offices from the Office of Inspection and Enforcement to the Executive Director for { perations and by creating the position of Deputy Executive Director for Regional Operations and Generic Requirements.
Also in November 1981, the headquarters' program offices were asked to identify by February 1982, those activities in their respective program areas that they believed could be transferred to the regions. Working with the regions, the program offices proposed a set of functions that became the planning basis for regionalization and from which were developed resource estimates and schedules for transfer. The Commission was briefed on these plans during an open meeting on May 11,1982. The Chairman discussed regionalization during a meeting of Chief Executive Officers of nuclear utilities at INP0 in October 1982, and he indicated that a policy statement on regiona112ation would be published for comment.
The enclosed draft policy statement responds to the Chairman's proposal to provide for public comment.
The policy statement explains the development of the Ofoh
Contact:
Edward B. Blackwood, DEDROGR 492-4359
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Commission's goals and regionalization initiatives.
The expected benefits of decentralizing selected regulatory functions are discussed, and the resident inspector program is cited as an example of successful decentralization. The policy statement includes details on the selection criteria and planning process that were used in identifying activities transferred to the regions. The functions that were transferred to regions in 1982 are covered briefly and plans for future transfers are included in the text and an attached table. The interaction of headquarters program oversight offices and regional offices is discussed. The policy also acknoAidges the nc ed to maintain in headquarters the core of technical expertise needed to resolve generic safety issues and to conduct review of applications for nuclear power plant construction permits, operating licenses and standard plant approvals. Staff will arrange to have public meetings in each region during the next few months in order to explain regionalization to licensees and interested parties.
. Recommendations:
That the Commission:
1.
Approve for publication in the Federal Register for a 30-day comment geriod the enclosed proposed policy statement on regionalization.
2.
Note that comments in response to the proposed policy statement will be evaluat?f) and that appropriate recommendations resu'.'cing from the comments will be presented to the Commission.
M_
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William J. Dircks Executive Director for Operations
Enclosure:
Draft Policy Statement
Commissioners' comments or consent should be provided directly to the Office of the Secretary by c.o.b. Friday, January 28, 1983.
Commission' Staff Office comments, if any, should~be submitted to'the Commissioners NLT' Friday, January 21, 1983, with an information copy to the Office of the Secretary.
If-the paper is of such a nature that it requires additional time for analytical review and comment, the Commissioners and the Secretariat should be apprised of when comments may be expected.
DISTRIBUTION:
Commissioners OGC CPE OCA OIA OPA' REGIONAL OFFICES EDO ELD ACRS ASLBP ASLAP SECY
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POLICY STATEMENT ON REGIONALIZATION
Background
l The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public comment on initiatives that would enlarge the role of its regional offices in l
implementing national programs in the areas' of. selected licensing and support functions that historically have remained centralized in NRC's headquarters j
organizations. The Commission's intent, which is embodied in the goals, plans and implementation strategy.provided in the following discussion, has 1
been to improve the quality of nuclear regulation by making regulation more i
effective and efficient in terms of service necessary to protect the health l
and safety of the public and responsiveness to the needs of NRC licensees.
l l
For several years, NRC has conducted pilot programs to decentralize regulatory activities on a limited basis.
Examples of such programs include resident inspection, selected materials licensing, reactor operator i
licensing, emergency planning, state liaison, and some operating reactor licensing actions. These pilot programs have been successful.
The pilot program for resident inspection showed that the benefits to be gained from using resident inspectors, instead of using only region-based inspectors, would be the increased knowledge and effectiveness of resident inspectors and the improved quality of interaction between NRC and licensees at the inspector level.
Since the pilot program was completed, the resident
d.
inspection program has been fully implemented. Although the resident program is an example of decentralizing inspection from the regions to reactor sites, it is believed that similar benefits could be achieved by decentralizing some regulatory activities from headquarters to the regions. The pilot programs in licensing areas have shown that similar benefits can be achieved by regional implementation.
Goals As a result of these pilot programs and the recognition that NRC could improve the quality of regulation, the Commission developed in October 1981, basic policy goals for enlarging the role of NRC regional offices in regulatory activities beyong the scope of the pilot programs.
The Commission's decision was intended to:
improve its coordination of licensing, inspection and enforcement activities.
bring NRC nearer to state and local governments and the public by formalizing the role of regional offices to represent NRC in their regions.
strengthen incident response capability by delegating certain responsibilities and authorities to the regions.
i
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The' initiatives associated with decentralizing certain headquarters regula-
' tory activities to achieve-the Commission goals have become identified as regionalization. Tht-se initiatives do not imply radical changes in nucle.ar regulation, but rather a.new approach in internal management of NRC activities.
Plans and Implementation--
To enlarge the role of regional offices, NRC first reorganized the Office of Inspection and Enforcement and transferred its five regional offices to direct control of the Executive Director for Operations (ED0). The position-of. Deputy Executive Director for Regional Operations and Generic Requirements
-(DEDROGR) was created simultaneously. The DEDROGR provides support to the
- ED0's managerial and supervisory responsibility for the regions..
Early in 1982,. headquarters and regional offices developed planning assumptions and began to identify regulatory activities that could be decentralized. The planning assumptions centered on whether national regulatory programs could be more effective in serving the public and the regulated industry if some activities were implemented at the regional level.
~
Based on the assumptions, the following criteria were used to identify activities to be proposed for transfer, for example, from the Office of i
Nuclear Reactor Regulation to the regions:
Regionalization of the activity would enable closer coordination between inspection and licensing activities and better
______-.-._____-.__-_t____-,
u communication with the licensees which, in turn, should produce-more effective licer, ing and inspection programs.
Regional staff is sufficient in number and expertise, or can be i
made sufficient within budget constraints, for effective program dmpleaentation.
Sufficient written guidance exists, or can be developed, to assure uniform program implementation.
The activities require frequent interaction with licensees or local i-government representatives.
Transfer of the activity can be accomplished under existing legislation, or enabling-legislation could be enacted.
l The changing nature of the nuclear reactor regulation workload was also considered. The major effort associated with nuclear power plant regulation is projected to shift from licensing new plants to maintaining the licenses of operating reactors..
After the candidate activities were identified, deliberations within NRC resulted in a list of activities and estimates of dates by which they could be transferred to the regions. At a meeting open to the public in May 1982, the Commission was briefed on these plans and progress to date.
_____m_______
Pilot programs for both materials licensing and reactor operator licensing have been implemented.in some regions in recent years.
In 1982 the licensing activities for several categories of nuclear materials licenses were transferred from headquarters to Regi:ns I and III.
Regions 11 and III were delegated'the authority to license reactor operators, and 351 operating reactor licensing actions were transferred to the regions for technical review and safety evaluation.
In October 1982, NRC opened a Denver Field Office in Region IV that is responsible for uranium recovery licensing.
In December 1982, limited authority for issuing amendments to the operating license for tb Fort St. Vrain reactor was transferred to Region IV.
The progress of these transfers in 1982 reflects a carefully weighed decision to proceed with the decentralization policy in a deliberate, phased manner.
The activities in this area in.1982 represent an expansion of former NRC pilot programs and additional planning to accommodate further transfers of the regulatory activities that were identified in 1982. Gradual expansion of regional operations will enable NRC to learn from continuing experience in administering regionalized programs, to be sensitive to the humanitarian needs of its employees whose functions will be transferred, and to receive feedback from the public and the regulated industry on whether the intended benefits are being achieved.
In its effort to bring about more effective regulation, the Commission welcomes comment so that its regional programs may be designed to provide optimum benefits.
l l;
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L, -
y In the gradual expansion of agency programs in the regions, NRC plans call L
for the transfer of additional activities to the regions. The tentative transfers are described in the following paragraph. More detailed. schedules for transfers of these activities are included in Enclosure 1.
l During fiscal year 1983 (FY83), NRC plans to transfer license amendments for l
nonpower reactors to Regions I, IV, and V, and additional administrative and.
emergency preparedness duties to all regions. Additional operating power reactor licensing actions are planned for transfer to the regions, depending on the type of actions and the regional capabilities.
In FY84, licensing authority for eighteen operating power reactors are planned for transfer to Regions I, II, and III (six per region), licensing authority for new and renewal applications for nonpower reactors are planned for Regions I, IV, and V, and materials and reactor operator licensing to the remaining regions.
In FY85, licensing authority for all nonpower reactors and for six additional operating power reactors per region is planned to be transferred. Use of.
this phased approach will enhance smooth transition of activities and resources to the regions as they build up their licensing capabilities and the opportunity for feedback on the effectiveness of the realignments.
Management Controls NRC management controls will change as the preceeding functions are decentralized.
In accordance with the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, the responsibility for the licensing programs is assigned to the directors of NRC
x program offices. This responsibility will not be transferred, b'ut the-authority to implement certain licensing activities will be delegated to Regional Administrators. The headquarters program offices will remain
' responsible for their overall programs, will continue to establish broad, unifonn policies and guidance based on Commission and EDO direction, and will audit regional activities to assure consistent implementation of policy guidance and consistency in interpreting NRC requirements.
If decisions at the regional level appear to be inconsistent in the application of regulatory requirements, licensees may appeal them through the program offices, the Office of the EDO, and the Commission.
It is essential that NRC maintain effective program oversight of decen-tralized decisionmaking to ensure consistency among regions. As such, the regions will become agents of the headquarters offices and will implement a variety of agency programs.
For example, IE historically has established policy, defined the inspection and enforcement programs, and monitored their implementation in the regions. This management approach would continue and program offices with selected activities now being transferred to the regions would maintain responsibility for policy formulation, program development, and control of implementation. NRC intends to ensure consistency in regional operations. The management oversight actions are complemented by other mechanisms to maintain effective coordination, feedback, and information exchange among regions and headquarters. These include:
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g p o quarterly management meetings with the EDO, Office Directors, and Regional Administrators.
frequent meetings of Regional Division Directors and appropriate.
headquarters staff on a variety of issues.
l weekly conference calls with the DEDROGR, Office Directors, and Regional Administrators.
development of EDO policy guidance, procedures and implementation instructions to the regions,
development of operating plans for each region.
continuing oversight of the regions in implementing national programs NRC recognizes the need to maintain expert technical staff in headquarters for resolving complex generic issues, such as pressurized thermal shock and steam egnerator tube integrity, and for conducting the highly specialized reviews of nuclear power plant applications for standard plant approvals, construction permits and operating licenses and licensing of high level waste repository systems.
Such activities are planned to be retained by the headquarters offices. As reactor license review activities decrease over the next several years, the activities of technical review organizations in
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headquarters will shift toward technical review in support of the regions.
Thus, headquarters wili maintain the technical expertise necessary to accommodate the changing character of its workload.
The Commission solicits public comment on both the scope'and approach outlined in this Draft Policy Statement on Regionalization as well as the specific items included for possible implementation in the future.
Comments received will be reviewed and carefully considered by the Commission in connection with the development of the final policy statement on regional-ization. Separately from development and issuance of the final policy statement, NRC staff will shortly schedule public meetings in each region in order to explain the newly developing role of the Regions to licensees and interested persons. Written comments should be addressed to the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555, Attention: Docketing und Service Branch.
Comments should be submitted by FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Edward B. Blackwood, Executive Coordinator for Regional Operations, Office of the Executive Director for Operations, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555 (301/492-4359).
Samuel J. Chilk Secretary of the Commission
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