ML23103A203
| ML23103A203 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 04/21/2023 |
| From: | Mark Franke, John Lubinski Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards |
| To: | Laura Dudes, Mirela Gavrilas, Jack Giessner, Robert Lewis, Ray Lorson NRC Region 1, NRC/RGN-II, NRC/RGN-III, NRC Region 4, Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response |
| References | |
| Download: ML23103A203 (4) | |
Text
April 21, 2023 MEMORANDUM TO: Mirela Gavrilas, Director Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response Raymond K. Lorson, Regional Administrator Region I Laura A. Dudes, Regional Administrator Region II Jack B. Giessner, Regional Administrator Region III Robert J. Lewis, Acting Regional Administrator Region IV Signed by Franke, Mark FROM: John W. Lubinski, Director on 04/21/23 Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
SUBJECT:
CANCELLATION OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC INSPECTION PROGRAM GUIDANCE FOR THE NUCLEAR MATERIALS AND WASTE SAFETY PROGRAM As stated in a Presidential policy statement dated January 30, 2023, the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) will expire on May 11, 2023. The purpose of this memorandum is to define the effects this expiration will have on COVID-related guidance issued for the Nuclear Materials and Waste Program.
As of May 11, 2023, the guidance in the November 2, 2021, memorandum, Implementation of Inspection Programs Following Re-Entry from the Public Health Emergency for the Nuclear Materials and Waste Safety Program, Agencywide Documents Access and Management Systems (ADAMS) Accession No. (ML21294A278) will be cancelled with one exception described below. In addition, a portion of the guidance in the February 19, 2021, memorandum, Actions Required to Maintain the Effectiveness of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety Inspection Programs, (ML21048A030) is cancelled, as specifically stated in the table below.
CONTACT: Leira Cuadrado, NMSS/MSST (301) 415-0324
M. Gavrilas, et al. 2 November 2, 2021, memorandum, Implementation of Inspection Programs Following Re-Entry from the Public Health Emergency for the Nuclear Materials and Waste Safety Program Cancelled Standing Guidance that allows for inspection planning With respect to the reporting requirements, for and performance flexibilities based on site inspection activities associated with the Nuclear specific conditions and the decision-making Materials Users Business Line, the regions can guiding principles for planning on-site continue to rely on data captured in the Office of inspections during the COVID-19 PHE. Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) Data Foundation dashboards. The regions should ensure that data in the Web-based Licensing (WBL) system is maintained up to date.
For programs that are not fully captured in WBL, the regions will need to report program adjustments to the business line manager if such adjustments are not addressed in manual chapter or if the manual chapter directs the region to report it.
February 19, 2021, memorandum, Actions Required to Maintain the Effectiveness of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety Inspection Programs, Cancelled Standing All references to following the guidance in the The rest of the memorandum, which provides June 1, 2020, COVID inspection guidance expectations to the Nuclear Materials and Waste memorandum (ML20143A281), including: Safety Programs business line managers for ensuring consistency in decision-making and (page 4) in inspection methods: Until the documentation related to the implementation of conclusion of the COVID-19 PHE, the the inspection programs in NMSS.
additional guidance contained in the memorandum INSPECTION GUIDANCE DURING TRANSITION FROM COVID-19 MANDATORY TELEWORK FOR THE NUCLEAR MATERIALS AND WASTE SAFETY PROGRAMS dated June 1, 2020 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System Accession Number ML20143A281), should also be followed.
Also, as noted in the memo, while IMCs direct unannounced inspections, inspection activities should be announced and coordinated with the licensee in advance as appropriate, until the conclusion of the COVID-19 PHE.
(page 4) in timeliness of inspections:
including the guidance in the June 1 memo.
(page 4) in timeliness of inspections: As noted above, the guidance in the June 1 memo should continue to be followed for scheduling inspections.
M. Gavrilas, et al. 3 (page 5) in adjustments to inspection intervals:
IMC 2561, Section 06.01; IMC 2600, Section 04.02; IMC 2690, Section 03.08; and IMC 2800, Section 06.04 contain guidance which can be construed to permit the extension of inspection intervals past due dates (or past due dates including grace periods) or to reduce inspection hours below 90 percent of targeted values due to reasons beyond the control of the NRC. This provision is suspended during performance of inspections under COVID-19 and such decision should be handled as program adjustments as defined above.
The Nuclear Materials and Waste oversight programs must be implemented in accordance with the most current and appliable inspection manual chapters (2561, 2600, 2602, 2690, 2800, and 2801) and procedures. Should any conditions arise that could impact the health and safety of inspectors, these conditions should be addressed by the cognizant regional office in coordination with the program office. Some manual chapters (2602, 2800) already incorporate certain flexibilities as a result of the NMSS assessment and recommendations1 resulting from the evaluation of inspection program implementation during the PHE. For example, these programs allow for hybrid or remote inspections when appropriate and include inspection guidance for implementing oversight programs during pandemics.
While the staff has evaluated and implemented lessons learned from the implementation of the Nuclear Materials and Waste Safety oversight programs during the PHE, it will continue to consider additional feedback to inform future oversight program enhancements. Should there be additional feedback, please provide it to the business line manager or in accordance with the guidance in the respective manual chapters.
1 Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Oversight Activities Assessment Phase B Report, dated November 24, 2021 (ADAMS Accession No. ML21294A368)
ML23103A203 OFFICE NMSS/DFM/IOB NMSS/MSST NMSS/DUWP NMSS/DFM LCuadrado-Caraballo NAME TClark TC JMarshall JM SHelton SH LC DATE Apr 14, 2023 Apr 19, 2023 Apr 18, 2023 Apr 19, 2023 OFFICE R-II/DRS NAME MFranke MF DATE Apr 21, 2023