ML22123A083
| ML22123A083 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 03/20/2023 |
| From: | Christopher Regan NRC/NMSS/DREFS |
| To: | State Liaison Officers, State, Agreement States, State of CT, Dept of Energy and Environmental Protection, State of IN, Dept of Homeland Security, State of WV, Dept of Health, Radiological Health Program |
| Schneider S | |
| References | |
| 10 CFR Part 73, NRC-2011-0014, NRC-2011-0015, NRC-2011-0017, NRC-2011-0018, RIN 3150-AI49 STC-23-014 | |
| Download: ML22123A083 (4) | |
Text
March 20, 2023 ALL AGREEMENT STATES CONNECTICUT, INDIANA, WEST VIRGINIA STATE LIAISON OFFICERS NOTICE OF FINAL RULE: REPORTING REQUIREMENTS ON PART 73 ENHANCED WEAPONS, FIREARMS BACKGROUND CHECKS, AND SECURITY EVENT NOTIFICATIONS (STC-23-014)
Purpose:
To provide notice of: 1) implementation of the Commissions authority under Section 161A of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (AEA), as amended, authorizing the Commission to designate those classes of licensees permitted to use certain firearms, weapons, ammunition, or devices, notwithstanding local, State, and certain Federal firearms laws and regulations prohibiting such use; 2) revision of reporting requirements published by the final rule related to enhanced weapons, firearms background checks, and physical security event notifications; and
- 3) requirements for reporting suspicious activities to law enforcement agencies and the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
Background:
The NRC has amended its regulations related to enhanced weapons, firearms background checks, security event notifications, and suspicious activity reports. Earlier opportunities for stakeholder input included a request for comment on a proposed rule dated February 3, 2011 (76 FR 6200), extension of the public comment period for the proposed rule (76 FR 23515, April 27, 2011), a first supplemental proposed rule dated January 10, 2013 (78 FR 2214), and a second supplemental proposed rule dated September 22, 2015 (80 FR 57106).
Discussion: The NRC published the enclosed final rule in the Federal Register on March 14, 2023 (88 FR 15864). The NRC is also publishing three regulatory guides and a NUREG concurrent with the final rule. The Federal Register notice and documents related to this rulemaking are posted on the Federal rulemaking website, https://www.regulations.gov, under Docket ID NRC-2011-0018. Additional information about this final rule, including related documents, will be posted on the NRC public website at https://www.nrc.gov/security/domestic/reg-guide.html.
This final rule reflects the proposed changes from the 2011 proposed rule and 2013 and 2015 supplemental proposed rules. This final rule amends the NRCs regulations in 10 CFR Part 73, Physical Protection of Plants and Material, to implement the Commissions authority under Section 161A of the AEA (Section 161A authority), to provide a graded approach for physical security event notification requirements and adds new mandatory suspicious activity reporting requirements. This rule is classified as compatibility Category NRC. Compatibility is not required for Category NRC regulations. The NRC expects this final rule to impact 11 Agreement State licensees and no Agreement States.
STC-23-014 Certain Agreement State licensees possessing special nuclear material of low strategic significance (SNM-LSS) are currently subject to the physical security requirements of 10 CFR 73.67, Licensee fixed site and in-transit requirements for the physical protection of special nuclear material of moderate and low strategic significance in accordance with 10 CFR 150.14, Commission regulatory authority for physical protection. Consequently, such licensees are subject to both their Agreement States safety regulations and the NRCs security regulations. These licensees are also subject to the NRCs current physical security event notification requirements under 10 CFR Part 73. Under this final rule, Agreement State licensees possessing SNM-LSS are subject to the NRCs new regulations in 10 CFR 73.1200, Notification of physical security events, and 10 CFR 73.1205, Written follow-up reports of physical security events. However, Agreement State licensees would not be subject to any of the provisions of this final rule related to Section 161A authority under 10 CFR 73.15, Authorization for use of enhanced weapons and preemption of firearms laws, or to the suspicious activity reporting requirements under 10 CFR 73.1215, Suspicious activity reports.
Accordingly, Agreement State licensees who are subject to these new regulations in 10 CFR 73.1200 and 73.1205 are required to revise their physical security event notification procedures to address these new regulatory requirements. Affected licensees must complete any necessary revisions to their event notification procedures and conduct training on these revised procedures for licensee personnel responsible for making such event notifications by January 8, 2024. Updated guidance on these new regulations may be found under NRC Regulatory Guide (RG) 5.62, Revision 2, Physical Security Event Notifications, Reports, and Records. RG 5.62 may be found on the NRCs public website at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/reg-guides/protection/rg/index.html.
The NRC requests that Agreement State program directors forward this correspondence to any affected Agreement State licensees within their state for the licensees action. If desired, such affected Agreement State licensees may voluntarily provide their contact information to the NRC for inclusion in notification service lists for future relevant NRC generic communications and activities. Additionally, the NRC staff anticipates holding implementation workshops for affected licensees (open to both NRC and Agreement State licensees) in the near future.
If you have any questions regarding this rulemaking or this correspondence, please contact the individual named below.
POINT OF CONTACT: Stewart Schneider E-MAIL: Stewart.Schneider@nrc.gov TELEPHONE: (301) 415-4123 Sincerely, Inverso, Tara signing on behalf of Regan, Christopher on 03/20/23 Christopher M. Regan, Director Division of Rulemaking, Environmental,and Financial Support Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
Enclosure:
Enhanced Weapons Final Rule
SUBJECT:
NOTICE OF FINAL RULE: REPORTING REQUIREMENTS ON PART 73 ENHANCED WEAPONS, FIREARMS BACKGROUND CHECKS, AND SECURITY EVENT NOTIFICATIONS (STC-23-014)
DATED March 20, 2023 DISTRIBUTION:
Public HAkhavannik KCastellon IBerrios CRegan ADAMS Accession Number: ML22123A083 NMSS-005 OFFICE NMSS/REFS/RRPB NMSS/REFS/RRPB NMSS/MSST/SLPB NMSS/MSST NAME SSchneider IBerrios BCecere TClark DATE 2/27/2023 2/27/2023 3/3/2023 3/16/2023 OFFICE NMSS/REFS CRegan NAME (TInverso for)
DATE 3/20/2023 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
Ltr ML22123A083 OFFICE NMSS/REFS/RRPB NMSS/REFS/RRPB NMSS/REFS/RRPB NMSS/MSST/SALB NAME SSchneider SS IBerrios IB SSchneider SS BCecere BC DATE Feb 27, 2023 Feb 27, 2023 Feb 28, 2023 Mar 3, 2023 OFFICE NMSS/REFS/RRPB NMSS/REFS/RRPB NMSS/MSST NMSS/REFS/RRPB NAME SSchneider SS SSchneider SS TClark TC SSchneider SS DATE Mar 14, 2023 Mar 16, 2023 Mar 16, 2023 Mar 16, 2023 OFFICE NMSS/REFS NMSS/REFS CRegan CRegan NAME TInverso for TI TInverso for TI DATE Mar 16, 2023 Mar 20, 2023