ML22252A173
| ML22252A173 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 09/09/2022 |
| From: | Baxter B NRC/NSIR/DPCP/RSB |
| To: | |
| Baxter B | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML22252A169 | List: |
| References | |
| 20220770 | |
| Download: ML22252A173 (2) | |
Text
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Public Meeting Summary
September 9, 2022
Title:
Public Meeting on a draft Regulatory Issue Summary (RIS) related to Clarification o f Personnel Access Authorization Requirements for Non-Immigrant F oreign Nationals Working at Nuclear Power Plants
Meeting Identifier: 20220770
Date of Meeting: August 9, 2022
Location: Webinar - Microsoft TEAMS
Type of Meeting: Information Meeting with a Question and Answer (Q&A) Session. The purpose of the meeting was for the NRC staff to meet directly w ith individuals to discuss regulatory and technical issues. Attendees had the opportunity to ask questions of the NRC staff or make comments about the issues discussed throughout the meet ing, but the NRC did not actively solicit comments towards regulatory decisions at this meeting.
Purpose of the Meeting(s): The NRC Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR), Division of Physical and Cyber Security Policy (DPCP) s taff held a public meeting on a draft RIS 2022-XX Personnel Access Authorization Requirements for Non-Immigrant Foreign Nationals Working at Nuclear Power Plants dated May 27, 2022. This draft RIS reminds licensees of the requirement in 10 CFR 73.56(d)(3), Verificati on of true identity, that prior to granting or reinstating unescorted access or certifying unescor ted access authorization to non-immigrant foreign nationals for the purpose of performing work, licensees shall validate that the foreign nationals claimed non-immigration status is correct an d that verifying employment eligibility is an important component of the required validatio n. The NRC requested public comment on this draft RIS in a June 13, 2022, Federal Register Notice (87 FR 35798). The public comment period for this draft RIS closed on August 12, 2 022.
General Details: The meeting began at 10 a.m. EDT. Following introductory rema rks provided by the Director of DPCP, a slide presentation on the draft RIS was provided by the DPCP technical staff. After the DPCP staff presentation, a Q&A sessi on was held with interested stakeholders, industry representatives, and members of the publ ic. Comments were provided by several stakeholders and the staff answered participant questio ns on the draft RIS. The meeting was attended by over 40 individuals, including staff from the N uclear Energy Institute (NEI),
access authorization personnel from licensee sites, law firms, and NRC headquarters and regional staff. The meeting was transcribed. The meeting ended at 11:18am EDT.
Summary of Presentations: The NRC staff slide presentation provided a regulatory histor y, operating experience, and Commission actions on the verificatio n of true identity, and presented information on the draft RIS. No stakeholders or members of the public made formal presentations, but engagement with the attendees did occur duri ng the Q&A Session.
Public Participation Themes:
- NEI reiterated its previously stated position that the NRC was reinterpreting the intent of the regulation (i.e., determining the true identity of an indiv idual) by now requiring the
1 validation of a foreign nationals visa. NEI asserted that this change in position is a backfit.
- A staff member from a licensee asked if verification of employ ment eligibility was a regulatory requirement.
- Several attendees expressed the concern that the Systematic Al ien Verification of Entitlements (SAVE) database was not reliable and if use of suc h a database was required by the NRC to determine the validity of a foreign nati onals visa, then industry needed to be provided with a reliable tool to accomplish this t ask.
- A representative from the Breakthough Institute raised a conce rn regarding the use of the term high assurance in the NRCs regulatory documents gov erning nuclear security (in general) and in the draft RIS (specifically).
Action Items/Next Steps:
- Any written comments received by the NRC in response to the June 3, 2022, Federal Register Notice will be reviewed, summarized, and responded to in a response to comments document that will be publicly available in the Agency wide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS). If appropriate, the NRC staff wi ll revise the RIS.
- As appropriate, the NRC staff will consult with the NRCs Comm ittee to Review Generic Requirements (CRGR) should it receive formal public comment exp ressing backfit concerns on the NRC staff position on 10 CFR 73.56 (d)(3) descr ibed in the draft RIS.
- DPCP staff will contact the staff member from a licensee who e xpressed concern about a specific instance were the reliability of the SAVE database i nformation received on a foreign national was inconclusive on employment eligibility.
Attachments: ADAMS Accession Nos.
- ML22214A186 - 08/09/2022 Notice of meeting to discuss NRCs draft Regulator y Issue Summary (RIS) related to Clarification of Personnel Access Auth orization Requirements for Non-Immigrant Foreign Nationals Working at Nuclear Power Pl ants
- ML22157A366 - Draft NRC Regulatory Issue Summary 2022-XX Personnel Access Authorization Requirements for Non-Immigrant Foreign Nationals Working at Nuclear Power Plants
- ML22217A114 - Draft Regulatory Issue Summary on Personnel Access Authoriza tion Requirements for Non-Immigrant Foreign Nationals Working at Nuc lear Power Plants, Aug 9, 2022, Public Meeting Presentation
- ML22252A174 - Transcript of August 9, 2022, Public Meeting - Draft Regulatory Issue Summary on Personnel Access Authorization Requirements for Non-Immigrant Foreign Nationals Working at Nuclear Power Plants
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