April 10, 2013

MarySue Semerena, Administrator

Environmental Health Unit

Department of Health and Human Services

301 Centennial Mall South

P.O. Box 95026

Lincoln, Nebraska 68509-5026

Dear Ms. Semerena: 

A periodic meeting with you and your staff was held on March 7, 2013. The purpose of this 

meeting was to review and discuss the status of the Nebraska Agreement State Program. The 

NRC was represented by Vivian Campbell and Linda Gersey from the Division of Nuclear 

Materials Safety (DNMS) in NRC Region IV, Janine Katanic from the Office of Federal and State 

Materials and Environmental Management Programs (FSME), and me. I have completed and 

enclosed a general meeting summary, including any specific actions resulting from the 

discussions. 

If you feel that our conclusions do not accurately summarize the meeting discussion, or have 

any additional remarks about the meeting in general, please contact me at (817) 200-1143 or 

e-mail Randy.Erickson@nrc.gov to discuss your concerns.

Sincerely,

Randy Erickson

Regional State Agreements Officer

Enclosure:

Periodic Meeting Summary for Nebraska

cc w/enclosure:

Julia A. Schmitt, Program Manager

UNITED STATES

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

REGION IV

1600 EAST LAMAR BLVD

ARLINGTON, TEXAS 76011-4511
ENCLOSURE

AGREEMENT STATE PERIODIC MEETING SUMMARY FOR THE 

NEBRASKA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

DATE OF MEETING: MARCH 7, 2013

NRC Attendees Nebraska Attendees

Randy Erickson, RSAO Julia A. Schmitt, Program Manager

Vivian Campbell, DNMS Howard Schuman, Health Physicist

Linda Gersey, RSAO Jim DeFrain, Health Physicist

Janine Katanic, FSME Bryan Miller, Health Physicist

Trudy Hill, Health Specialist

DISCUSSION:

The Nebraska Agreement State program (the Program) is administered by the Office of 

Radiological Health consisting of four program areas all under the direction of the Program 

Manager. These include Radioactive Materials, Materials Security, X-Ray and Emergency 

Response. The Program reports to the Environmental Health Unit of the Health Licensure and 

Investigations Section of the Division of Public Health (Division). The Chief Medical Officer 

leads the Division and reports to the Chief Executive Officer of the Department of Health and 

Human Services. At the time of the meeting, the Nebraska program regulated approximately 

150 specific licenses.

The previous IMPEP review was conducted the week of October 4-7, 2010. At the conclusion 

of the review, the team recommended that Nebraska’s performance for all performance 

indicators reviewed be found satisfactory, and made no recommendations regarding the 

performance of the Program. 

Other topics covered at the meeting included.

Program Strengths: The Nebraska Program is a stable program that has not 

experienced any staff losses since 2000. Their dedicated staff is very experienced and 

works together cohesively. Both the Program Manager and the Unit Administrator are

supportive of the staff’s activities, and the staff is supportive of each other. The Program 

is very proactive in addressing health, safety and security of radioactive materials within 

the State. The staff meets bi-weekly where a comprehensive review of all licensing, 

inspection, and incident and allegation activities are conducted. They also assign new 

work at these meetings based on the current workload of the staff. Goals are discussed 

and benchmarked, and schedules are adjusted as necessary. Peer reviews are 

conducted on all licensing actions and inspection reports which have resulted in a high 

degree of consistency within the Program.

Program Weaknesses: The Program noted what they believe to be their biggest 

weakness, and that is in the area of knowledge management. They have begun to plan 

for retirements that may begin within the next few years and have found this to be a real 
Nebraska Periodic Meeting Summary

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challenge for them. They also noted that they only have one individual in rule 

development which could cause issues for them if this person were to leave.

Feedback on NRC’s Program:

The Program questioned the necessity for NRC to call for updates on licensees who 

may have been affected by fires, floods, etc. The Program reported that in most cases, 

they are unaware of issues from natural disasters unless the licensee reports back to 

them. 

The Program reported that they enjoy their working relationship with the NRC and the 

SAO. They noted that they receive help quickly when it’s requested. 

The Program noted that the NUREG 1556 series is outdated. 

The Program requested Agreement State training on Safety Culture, possibly through a 

webinar or similar delivery vehicle. This was requested so that Agreement State staff 

and management can hear the same message on Safety Culture and be able to provide 

a consistent message to their licensees. 

Staffing and training:

The Program has a total of three Health Physicists dedicated to the radioactive materials 

program. They are supported by one Health Specialist and one Staff Assistant. The 

Program is managed by the Program Manager. Currently the Program has no vacant 

technical positions. 

Program reorganizations:

The Program reported no major reorganizations since the last IMPEP review. 

Changes in Program budget/funding.

The Program has not experienced problems with budgeting or funding. 

Materials Inspection Program:

The Program reported that they currently have no overdue inspections. Routine 

inspections are generally performed by the due date and initial inspections are typically 

performed within 12 months of issuance. They have identified and located approximately 

350 general licensees and issue annual certifications of possession to each of them.

The Program reported that while performing reciprocity inspections is always a challenge, 

they have been keeping up with them. 
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Annual supervisory accompaniments were defined by the Program Manager as 

performance based accompaniments. Because the three health physicists are all long 

term, seasoned inspectors; the Program Manager will either accompany each inspector 

through the year on investigations or special inspections then evaluate their performance 

on this work, or an accompaniment is performed by a peer. They also perform peer 

reviews on all inspection reports generated. They believe this model is a more effective 

way to comprehensively evaluate staff performance rather than one supervisor 

accompaniment each year.

Regulations and Legislative changes:

The Program reported that since the last IMPEP review a new law was passed in the State 

that has resulted in an increase in the time it takes for the Program to process and 

complete rulemaking packages. The Program reported that the new law requires that all 

State rules that are legislatively mandated must be adopted within 12 months and that 

these rules have priority and are processed before rules that are not legislatively 

mandated. Other rules, such as those rules required by NRC as a matter of compatibility, 

must wait in the queue for the legislatively mandated rules to be processed first. If during 

the waiting period another legislatively mandated rule is passed, it will be processed 

before other non-legislatively mandated rules that are waiting in the queue. Prior to the 

new law, the Program’s rulemaking process took an average of 12 months from the 

beginning of the rulemaking process to when the rules became final. 

The Program illustrated the impact of the new law with the most recent rulemaking

package that they sent through the process. This rulemaking package took almost 900 

days (nearly 2.5 years) to be processed and finalized. Of those nearly 900 days, the 

Program was responsible for 152 days, of which 67 were required for notice for public 

notice of hearing. The remainder of time, approximately 740 days, was spent waiting in 

the queue behind legislatively mandated rules and being processed through legal reviews

and those reviews required by the Attorney General and Governor’s office. The Program 

expressed that these delays occurred outside of their Division and were beyond their 

control. The Program began the most recent rulemaking process on July 14, 2010, and 

the rules were made effective on February 24, 2013. As a result of this recent rulemaking 

experience, the Program believes this new law may impede their ability to remain 

compatible with NRC requirements for timely rule adoption. Additionally, the Program 

noted that per the Governor’s office, they are only allowed to process one rulemaking 

package per year.

The rulemaking package that was finalized on February 24, 2013, included regulations 

that were previously reviewed by NRC as final but NRC had comments on the State’s 

proposed changes to the final rules; the Program reported that they addressed NRC’s 

comments. The other regulations in the rulemaking package were previously reviewed by 

NRC as proposed regulations. The Program addressed NRC’s comments on the 

proposed regulations in the final regulations. The Program noted that they were going to 

submit the final regulations to NRC for review in the near future.
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The following amendments were part of the recent rulemaking package and were 

adopted as final on February 24, 2013: 

The following regulations were previously reviewed by NRC as final but the NRC had 

comments on the proposed revisions to the final rules. The Program reported that they 

addressed NRC’s comments in the February 24, 2013, revision to the final rules.

• “Financial Assurance for Materials Licensees,” 10 CFR parts 30, 40, and 70 

amendments (68 FR 57327), that was due for Agreement State Adoption on 

December 3, 2006. 

• “Compatibility with IAEA Transportation Safety Standards and Other Transportation 

Safety Amendments,” 10 CFR 71 amendment (69 FR 3697), that was due for 

Agreement State Adoption on October 1, 2007. 

The following regulations were previously reviewed by NRC as proposed and the NRC 

had comments on the proposed rules. The Program reported that they addressed NRC’s 

comments in the in the February 24, 2013, final rules.

• “Medical Use of Byproduct Material – Minor Corrections and Clarifications,” 10 CFR

Parts 32 and 35 amendments (72 FR 45147, 72 FR 54207), that was due for

Agreement State adoption by October 29, 2010. 

• “Exemptions from Licensing, General Licenses, and Distribution of Byproduct Material:

Licensing and Reporting Requirements,” 10 CFR Parts 30, 31, 32, and 150

amendments (72 FR 58473), that was due for Agreement States adoption by

December 17, 2010. 

• “Requirements for Expanded Definition of Byproduct Material,” 10 CFR Parts 20, 30, 

31,32, 33, 35, 61, and 150 amendments (72 FR 55864), that was due for Agreement 

State adoption by November 30, 2010. 

• “Occupational Dose Records, Labeling Containers, and Total Effective Dose 

Equivalent,” 10 CFR Parts 19 and 20 amendments (72 FR 68043), that was due for 

Agreement State adoption by February 15, 2011.

• “Medical Use of Byproduct Material – Authorized User Clarification,” 10 CFR Part 35 

amendment (74 FR 33901), that was due for Agreement State adoption by September 

28, 2012. 

The State will need to address the following amendments in the future: 

• “Decommissioning Planning,” 10 CFR Parts 20, 30, 40, and 70 amendments (76 FR

35512), that is due for Agreement State adoption by December 17, 2015.
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• “Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Materials Licensees,” 10 CFR Parts 30, 36,

39, 40, 70, and 150 amendments (76 FR 56591), that is due for Agreement State 

adoption by November 14, 2014. 

• “Change of Compatibility of 10 CFR 31.5 and 31.6 (See RATS ID: 2001-1 for Rule 

Text),” 10 CFR Part 31 amendment (77 FR 3640), that is due for Agreement State 

adoption by January 25, 2015. 

• “Advance Notification to Native American Tribes of Transportation of Certain Types of 

Nuclear Waste,” 10 CFR Part 71 amendment (77 FR 34194), that is due for 

Agreement State adoption by August 10, 2015.

• “Technical Corrections,” 10 CFR Parts 30, 34, 40, and 70 amendments (77 FR 39899), 

that is due for Agreement State adoption by August 6, 2015.

• “Requirements for Distribution of Byproduct Material,” 10 CFR Parts 30, 31, 32, 40, 

and 70 amendments (77 FR 43666), that is due for Agreement State adoption by 

October 23, 2015.

Event reporting, including follow-up and closure information in NMED.

 The Program reported that all NMED information is up to date. All items are closed.

Response to incidents and allegations.

The Program continues to be sensitive to notifications of incidents and allegations. 

Incidents are quickly reviewed for their affect on public health and safety. Staff is 

dispatched to perform onsite investigations when necessary. The Program Manager has 

placed a high emphasis on maintaining an effective response to incidents and allegations.

Status of allegations and concerns referred by the NRC for action.

No allegations were referred to the Program by NRC. The Program reported that no 

allegations were reported directly to them since the previous IMPEP review. 

Significant events and generic implications.

The Program reported no significant events with generic implications.

Current State Initiatives.

The Program stated they have completed limiting possession limits on all licenses 

including Increased Controls licenses. 
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Emerging Technologies.

None noted.

Large, complicated, or unusual authorizations for use of radioactive materials.

None noted.

State’s mechanisms to evaluate performance.

As noted above the Program identified their process for performing peer reviews on 100 

percent of all licensing and inspection activities as one mechanism for evaluating 

performance. They also noted their biweekly staff meetings as another method for 

ensuring that performance is continuously evaluated. 

Current NRC initiatives:

Several NRC initiatives and items of interest were discussed with the Program. Topics of 

discussion included: the status of 10 CFR Part 37 “Physical Protection of Category 1 and

Category 2 Quantities of Radioactive Material;” the issuance of NUREG-2155 

“Implementation Guidance for 10 CFR Part 37, Physical Protection of Category 1 and 

Category 2 Quantities of Radioactive Material;” the pending direct final rule that will amend

the regulations to remove the SGI-M categorization; and the activities of the NRC/OAS 

Part 37 Implementation Working Group. Other items discussed with the Program 

included: the ongoing efforts to revise NUREG-1556 licensing guidance series; NRC’s 

safety culture activities; Web-Based Licensing; and several recently issued FSME and 

RCPD letters.

Schedule for the next IMPEP review:

 It is recommended that the next IMPEP review to be held as scheduled in 2015.