October 13, 2000

The Honorable James T. Walsh, Chairman 

Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs, HUD, and 

Independent Agencies 

Committee on Appropriations 

United States House of Representatives 

Washington, D.C. 20515 

Dear Mr. Chairman: 

I am writing to report on the status of the development of a Memorandum of Understanding 

(MOU), between the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA) concerning the remediation of sites under NRC regulatory authority 

and the avoidance of dual regulation. In my July 14, 2000 letter to you, I indicated that some 

progress was being made on development of an MOU and committed to provide a further 

status report by October 15, 2000. 

Since July, agency representatives have met several times to discuss each agency's policies 

and processes related to site decommissioning and proposed language for an MOU. The last 

meeting occurred on August 24, 2000, at which time the NRC staff, pursuant to Commission 

direction, made significant concessions in the spirit of reaching agreement on a final MOU. 

Although it previously appeared that significant progress was being achieved during the staff-to

staff discussions, the most recent draft of the MOU submitted to the NRC by EPA on 

September 28, 2000, contains passages that, from the NRC's perspective, undermine the 

purpose of the MOU by continuing to foster the potential for dual regulation for the vast majority 

of NRC licensees intended to be covered by the MOU. Discussions between agency 

representatives are continuing to determine whether specific, unambiguous language 

acceptable to both agencies can be identified. The Commission is disappointed that the "AOU 

has not already been finalized, but we are willing to commit to further discussions with EPA to 

determine if an agreement is possible. 

I plan to provide you with another report by January 19, 2001, as to the status of the efforts to 

adopt an MOU with EPA. If you desire additional information or clarification, please contact me. 

Sincerely, 

IRA/ 

Richard A. Meserve 

cc: Representative Alan B. Mollohan
IDENTICAL LETTERS SENT TO:

The Honorable James T. Walsh, Chairman 

Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs, HUD, and 

Independent Agencies 

Committee on Appropriations 

United States House of Representatives 

Washington, D.C. 20515 

cc: Representative Alan B. Mollhan 

The Honorable James M. Inhofe, Chairman 

Subcommittee on Clean Air, Wetlands, 

Private Property and Nuclear Safety 

Committee on Environment and Public Works 

United States Senate 

Washington, D.C. 20510 

cc: Senator Bob Graham 

The Honorable Joe Barton, Chairman 

Subcommittee on Energy and Power 

Committee on Commerce 

United States House of Representatives 

Washington, D.C. 20515 

cc: Representative Rick Boucher 

The Honorable Tom Bliley, Chairman 

Committee on Commerce 

United States House of Representatives 

Washington, D.C. 20515 

cc: Representative John D. Dingell 

The Honorable Bob Smith, Chairman 

Committee on Environment and Public Works 

United States Senate 

Washington, D.C. 20510 

cc: Senator Max Baucus 

The Honorable Ron Packard, Chairman 

Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development 

Committee on Appropriations 

United States House of Representatives 

Washington, D.C. 20515 

cc: Representative Peter J. Visclosky 

The Honorable Pete V. Domenici, Chairman 

Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development 

Committee on Appropriations 

United States Senate 

Washington, D.C. 20510 

cc: Senator Harry Reid
-2

The Honorable Christopher S. Bond, Chairman 

Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs, HUD, and 

Independent Agencies 

Committee on Appropriations 

United States Senate 

Washington, D.C. 20510 

cc: Senator Barbara A. Mikulski
Accession Number ML003754261 

Estimated Page Count 3 

Document Date 10/13/2000 

Availability Non-Publicly Available 

Title Ltr to Representative James T. Walsh re EPA Proposed 

Language for an MOU with NRC and Status of Staff Initiative 

to Develop a Protocol on Decommissioning Activities 

Author Name Meserve R A 

Author Affiliation NRC/Chairman 

Addressee Name Walsh J T 

Addressee Affiliation US HR 

Docket Number 

License Number 

Case/Reference Number WITS 199900110 

Document/Report Number 

Media Type Electronic 

Physical File Location ADAMS 

Microform Addresses