ML20153E860

Forwards Nov 1987 Significant Intergovernmental Activities & Issues Rept & Regional Rept

ML20153E860
Person / Time
Site:	Peach Bottom, Three Mile Island, 05000000
Issue date:	12/15/1987
From:	Kammerer C NRC OFFICE OF GOVERNMENTAL & PUBLIC AFFAIRS (GPA)
To:	Carr, Roberts, Zech NRC COMMISSION (OCM)
References
NUDOCS 8805100142
Download: ML20153E860 (10)

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c#"'8% UNITED STATES

. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMisslON I *( WASHINGTON, D. C. 20555

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....* DET 151967 ffEf!0RANDUM FOR: Chainnan Zech Comissioner Roberts Comissioner Bernthal -

Comissioner Carr Comissioner Rogers FROM: Carlton Kar:rnerer, Diry 5'#

State, Local and Indi&n T Prog a s Office of Governmental and Public ffairs

SUBJECT:

MONTHLY SLITP AND REGIONAL REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 1987 The November 1987 Significant Intergovernmental Activities and Issues Report is enclosed for your infonnation. This Report is the result of the combined efforts of NRC's Regional State Liaison Officers, Regional State Agreement Representatives and the SLITP staff.

Enclosure:

Significant Intergovernmental Activities and Issues - Novenber 1987 cc: See Distribution List Attached i

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l 8805100142 871215 PDR COMMS NRCC CORREiSPONDENCE PDR

. DISTRIBUTION LIST FOR MONTHLY SLITP/ REGIONAL REPORT H. Denton, GPA J. Fouchard, PA J. Shea, IP J. Bradburne, CA V. Stello, EDO W. Parler, OGC S. Chilk, SECY E. Jordan, AEOD H. Thompson, NMSS T. Murley, NRR E. Beckford, RES W. Russell, ROI J. N. Grace, ROII A. B. Davis, ROIII R. Martin, ROIV J. Martin, ROV F. Brenneman, NRR M. Miller, ROI R. Trojanowski, ROII R. Lickus, ROIII G. Sanborn, ROIV D. Kunihiro, ROV J. McGrath, ROI R. Woodruff, ROII W. Adam, ROIII R. Doda, ROIV R. Scarano, ROV l

CONTENTS HEADQUARTERS Page NARUC 99th Annual Convention 1 Draft Proposal from Maine for a Section 274b Agreement 1 Visit to Washington State 1 Review of Agreement State Programs 1 REGION I MARYLAND / PENNSYLVANIA 2 Continued State Involvement in Peach Bottom Restart Deliberations 2 MARYLAND 2 Technical Assistance for Evaluation of Irradiator Liner 2 PENNSYLVANIA 3 TMI-2 Advisory Panel. 3 MAINE 3 MOV Interest 3 MASSACHUSETTS 3 Low-level Maste Managenent Act 3 Claim Against Revised Emergency Planning Rule 3 NEW HAMPSt.ItE 4 Decontamination of GTE Thorium Facility 4 NEW YORK 4

NRC Consultant Evaluation of Teletherapy Misedministration 4

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CONTENTS (continued) i REGION II Page  ;

1 MISSISSIPPI / LOUISIANA 4 Emergency Preparedness 4 l i

VIRGINIA 5 Meeting with Commonwealth of Virginia Officials 5 l REGION III i

ILLIN0IS 5 ASME Code / State Resident Engineer Subagreements 5 MICHIGAN 5 Low-Level Waste 5 OHIO 5 Wright-Patterson Air Force Base 5 REGION IV IDAHO 6 Radiation Control Program 6 TEXAS 6 New Energy Advisor 6 1

CENTRAL INTERSTATE WASTE COMPACT 6 REGION V l l

No Significant Items Reported 6 i

HEAD 0VARTERS NARUC 99th Annual Convention '

Harold Denton, Director, Office of Governmental and Public Affairs, participated in a panel discussion entitled "America's Nuclear Option: Can It Be Revived?" at the 99th Annual Convention and Regulatory Symposium of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Comissioners on November 16, 1987, in New Orleans, LA. Other panelists included Comissioner Edwyna G. Anderson of the Michigan Public Service Comission and William Spratley, Director of the Ohio Office of Consumers' Counsel. The discussion focused on cost overruns, foreign experience, waste disposal and the need for continued safe and reliable operation of the current generation of nuclear power plants.

Draft Proposal from Maine for a Section 274b Agreement Maine is proceeding towards a Section 274b Agreement with NRC. The target date for the Agreement to become effective is July 1, 1988. The State has prepared a draft program narrative to support their request for the A.greement. The request will be in the form of a letter from the Governor to the Chaiman.

State Agreements Program is providing copies of the Maine draft program l narrative to NMSS, 0GC, NRR, RES and Region I for review and coment. This I will allow NRC to discuss and resolve any staff coments with Maine so that the I Governor's request, when received, can be handled exped:tiously.

Visit to Washington State  ;

l On November 17 thrcugh 20, 1987, Sheldon Schwartz, Deputy Director of SLITP, l

accompanied Comissioner Carr on his visit to the State of Washington. The j visit included meetings with the Pacific Northwest Laboratory and the Department of Energy in Richland; an in-depth tour of the Hanford reservation; meetings with two affected Indian Tribes; a tour of the U.S. Ecology low-level radioactive waste facility and meetings with the Washington State Waste Advisory Council and Governor Booth Gardner.

Review of Agreement State Programs Nevada The Nevada radiation control program was reviewed November 12-20, 1987, and was l given a finding of adequacy and compatibility. Previous reviews revealed I problems in progran operations due to shortage of staff and management I inattention. The program is now fully staffed and all levels of management have been involved in the program improvement. The persistent efforts of Jack Hornor, the Region V State Agreement Officer, contributed in a major way to the program improvement.

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• The Rhode Island radiation control program was reviewed November 2-5, 1987. No problems were identified and the State was congratulated on running an excellent program since becoming an agreement State in 1980.

North Carolina The North Carolina program was reviewed November 16-20, 1987, and was found to be adequate and compatible. A few minor reconnendations were made for program improvenent.

REGION I liARYLAND/ PENNSYLVANIA Continued State Involvement in Peach Bottom Restart Deliberations On November 5, the Maryland Congressional Delegation requested that the NRC require Philadelphia Electric Company to correct all maintenance problems at the Perch Bottom facilities prior to restart. The delegation also requested that the NRC conduct a public meeting before deciding if PEco would be permitted to restart Peach Bottom Units 2 and 3.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania filed a 10 CFR 2.206 Petition with the dRC requesting a forral public hearing to consider the safety problems and contemplated licensing changes concerning the Peach Bottom facilities. The Petition was submitted on November 20, 1987. Also, a letter to Chairman Zech requesting a public hearing is expected to be sent by Governor Casey.

Both States sent representatives to the PECo and NRC staff meeting on November 20 at Peach Bottom where the new PECo restart plan was discussed. PECo also submitted copies of their restart plan to the State for their review and connents.

MARYLAND Technical Assistance for Evaluat"on of Irradiator Liner On November 20, Region I provided the State of Maryland a report on an NRC inspection Region I staff performed as technical assistance to the State. The inspection consisted of an evaluation of the structural integrity of a stain-less steel liner for a proposed four million curie Co-60 irradiator to be built in Elkton, MD. The pool liner is an important part of the water containment and leakage detection system for the irradiator. The report concluded that notwithstanding some weaknesses in the procurement specifications, the quality of the liner fabrication, modification, and overall workmanship was acceptable and subiect to some final tests to be performed af ter installation, the liner should be acceptable.

PENNSYLVANIA THI-? Advisory Panel On December 2, William Xane, Director, Division of Reactor Projects and Dr.

William Travers, Director, TMI-2 Cleanup Project Directorate met with Arthur Morris, Mayor of Lancaster, PA, who is also Chairman of the TMI-2 Advisory Panel. The meeting was held to discuss forthcoming changes in NRC site staff-ing and oversight of the TMI-2 cleanup activities. The mayur requested that NRC staff support a public nieifing of the TMI-2 Advisory Panel on January 13, 1987 in Harrisburg, PA. The NRC staff has also contacted the EPA, DOE, the appropriate State agencies and the appropriate U. S. Congressional representa-tives to discuss these changes.

MAINE MOV Interest On November 19, representatives of NRC Region I staff met with Don Hoxie, State Liaison Officer and Clough Toppan, Radiation Control Program Director to discuss the implementation of the Maine Nuclear Safety Inspection Program. This program as required by Maine's recent legislation, includes an onsite nuclear safety engineer at the Maine Yankee facility, a nuclear safety advisor to the governor and an offsite monitoring network. The State representatives requested developing a Memorandum of Understanding (M00) and subagreements to ensure cooperation and better understanding of the authorities and responsib-ilities of each party. The meeting provided sufficient infonnation to outline a proposed M00 and Resident Engineer Subagreement. Final action on these agreements will await Cocinission policy guidance.

MASSACHUSETTS Low-Level Waste Management Act On Noveriber 30, 1987, the Low-Level Waste Management Act was enacted by both the House and Senate. The bill was signed by Governor Dukakis on December 8.

1987. The bill establishes the process for siting and licensing a low-level waste facility in the State and includes authorization for the State to seek full Agreement State status in order to regulate all aspects of low-level waste management and disposal.

Claim Against Revised Emergency Planning Rule The Massachusetts Attorney General has filed with the U. S. Court of Appeals in Boston a suit to overturn the NRC's recent amendment to its offsite emergency planning requirements, charging that it is designed to circumvent the constitutional rights and police power of State and local governments.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Decontamination of GTE Thorium Facility The NRC has received for review and coment the final work plan for the entombment of the remaining thorium contaminated areas of the GTE/Sylvania Products Corporation facil;cy. GTE fonnerly processed thorium primarily for coating electrodes for high-intensity light bulbs. Much of the facility has been decontaminated to below regulatory limits, however, there remain areas where on-site stabilization may be more cost effective than removal.

NEW YORK NRC Consultant Evaluation of Teletherapy Misadministration In August 1987, NRC was first notified by the State of New York of teletherapy misadministrations involving 22 patients at a New York hospital. Since that time Region I has been closely following developments in this situation. In October, the State requested technical assistance in the evaluation of the patient records and NMSS arranged to have an NRC consultant, Dr. James Deye, provide this evaluation. On November 2, Dr. Deye submitted his report which confirmed the significance of the misadministrations and provided possible progran deficiencies which could have contributed to the errors. These included (1) lack of a clear prescription; (2) no clear methodology for dose calculations; (3) no independent checking of dose calculations, and (4) inadequate clinical involvement in dose calculations and patient follow-up. A copy of Dr. Deye's report was sent to the State.

The State recently developed a draft "Comissioner of Health Memorandum" (which has the force of law) which would require all providers of radiation therapy  ;

services to implement a quality assurance program which would reouire, in part, greater involvement of the authorized physician in patient evaluation, a more detailed written prescription, more complete record keeping, independent audits of the therapy program, and specific requirements for misadministration reporting. NRC has provided some specific coments on the memorandum which is expected to be issued shortly. It is the State's intention to eventually add these provisions as permanent requirements in the State's regulations.

REGION II MISSISSIPPI /LCUISIANA Emergency Preparedness On November 17-18, 1987, R. E. Trojanowski, Director, State and Government Affairs Staff, participated as a member of the Regional Assistance Comittee in the full-scale exercise at the Grand Gulf facility. Emergency response personnel representing the States of Mississippi and Louisiana, and the applicable local governments also participated in this exercise. No major deficiencies were noted during the course of the exercise.

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-S-VIRGINip Meeting with Comonwealth of Virginia Officials On December 1,1987, R. E. Trojanowski, Director, State and Government Affairs Staff, met in Richmond, VA, with the Executive Director, Virginia Department of Waste fianagement, and other staff members to negotiate the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding regarding the conduct of low-level waste inspections by State inspectors at NRC licensed facilities. A follow-up meeting is tentatively scheduled for January 1988. Final action on this MOU will await Commission policy guidance.

REGION III ILLIN0IS ASME Code / State Resident Engineer Subagreements On November 5,1987, Mr. R. M. Lickus, Chief, State and Government Affairs met with members of the Office of State, Local, ana Indian Tribe Programs, Office of General Counsel, and Region I to discuss e. first draft of a proposed Illirois Department of Nuclear Safety Resident Engineer Subagreement. In addition, in November the ASME Code Subagreement was distributed for major program office concurrence. Coments have been received and are being evaluated prior to fonvarding the Subagreement to the Comission.

MICHIGAN Low-Level Waste The Michigan legislature passed two of three bills in November which would create a siting authority and mechanism for managing a low-level radioactive waste disposal facility for the Midwest Compact. The third bill was sent back to the House because the Senate removed en amendment which would have required legislative approval of the selected site. The legislation also calls for Michigan to negotiate a full Agreement State status with the NRC. An amendment so the legislation that would have required a state referendum in November of 1 M8 on whether Michigan would continue to participate in the Midwest Compact u withdraw was defeated.

OHIO Wright-Patterson Air Force Base  !

After an article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer on November 5,1987, exposed what the paper called an Air Force cover up of two Americium-241 contamination events at the base, Ohio Governor Celeste and Ohio Senators lietzenbaum and Glenn became involved in the issue. This case has been investigated by the Office of Investigations and referred to the Justice Department for possible criminal prosecution. Senators Metzenbaum and Glenn held a hearing on the

1 incident in Dayton, Ohio on November 21, 1987 at which testinony was given by the Nuclear Regulatory Comission, the State of Ohio, and the U.S. Air Force.

Governor Celeste had stated in newspaper articles that the Pentagon had failed to deal honestly with the state, particularly with regard to a letter that Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger had written to Celeste downplaying the severity of the incident.

REGION IV IDAHO Radiation Control Program Because of a staff shortage in Idaho's radiation control program (Idaho is an agreement state), the regional State Agreements Officer spent a week in November in Boise providing assistance to the state's Hazardous Materials Bureau in the form of training, licensing and inspection. NRC is urging the state to promptly fill the vacancies that necessitated this assistance and the State currently is evaluating applications for these positions.

TEXAS New Energy Advisor Auburn Mitchell, a fonner NRC attorney, was named Governor Clements' energy advisor. In this position, Mitchell also will direct the governor's Nuclear Waste Programs Office that oversees NRC and DOE activities related to a high level waste repository.

CENTRAL INTERSTATE WASTE COMPACT The Central Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact Comission announced its schedule for completing the process of selecting a host state for a waste facility. The Comission met on December 8 in Kansas City but did not reach agreement on the relative importance that ought to be placed on the selection criteria. On December 15, the Comission will neet in New Orleans to make the host state selection. This compact includes the states of Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska and Oklahoma.

REGION V No Significant Items Reported

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