February 9, 2004

Fay Boozman, M.D., M.P.H.

Director

Arkansas Department of Health

4815 West Markham Street, Slot 30

Little Rock, Arkansas 72205-3867

Dear Dr. Boozman :

A periodic meeting was conducted with your Division of Radiation Control and Emergency

Management staff on January 22, 2004. The purpose of this meeting was to review and

discuss the status of Arkansas’ Agreement State Program. I have completed and enclosed a

general meeting summary, including any specific actions that will be taken as a result of the

meeting.

If you, or your staff, 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) 860-8143 or e-mail VHC@NRC.GOV to discuss your concerns.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Vivian H. Campbell

Regional State Agreements Officer

Enclosure:

Agreement State Periodic Meeting

 Summary for Arkansas

cc w/enclosure:

Paul Lohaus, Director, OSTP

Jared Thompson, Program Leader

Radioactive Materials Section

Bernard Bevill, Team Leader

Radiation Control and Emergency

 Management Program
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bcc via e-mail ADAMS distribution:

B. Mallett

E. Collins

L. McLean

V. Campbell

A. Mauer, OSTP

K. Schneider, OSTP

L. Rakovan, OSTP

W. Maier

C. Cain

DOCUMENT NAME: s:\dnms\sao\periodic meetings\2004\Arkansas summary.wpd final: s:\dnms\ltrs-memos\ 

To receive copy of document, indicate in box: "C" = Copy without enclosures "E" = Copy with enclosures "N" = No copy

OFFICE RIV:RSAO

NAME VHCampbell

/RA/

DATE 2/09/04

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY T=Telephone E=E-mail F=Fax
Enclosure 1 

AGREEMENT STATE PERIODIC MEETING SUMMARY FOR ARKANSAS

DATE OF MEETING: January 22, 2004

ATTENDEES:

NRC

Vivian Campbell, Regional State Agreements Officer

Andrew Mauer, Office of State and Tribal Programs

State of Arkansas

Bernard Bevill, Team Leader, Radiation Control and Emergency Management 

Program

Jared Thompson, Program Leader, Radioactive Materials Section

Kim C. Wiebeck

Gary Bortz

Cathey Bradley

David D. Snellings

Steve Mack

Lynn Davis

DISCUSSION:

The following is a summary of the meeting held in Little Rock, Arkansas, on January 22, 2004,

between representatives of the NRC and the State of Arkansas. During the meeting, the topics

suggested in the letter dated October 21, 2003, from Ms. Campbell to Mr. Jared Thompson

were discussed. The discussion pertaining to each topic is summarized below.

1. Action on Previous IMPEP Review Findings

The previous Integrated Materials Performance Evaluation Program (IMPEP) review

was conducted during the period September 9-13, 2002. The status of the

recommendations outlined in Section 5.0 of the final IMPEP report was discussed. The 

status of the recommendations for Arkansas is summarized below.

a. Recommendation: The team recommends that Department management review

the current staffing plan to achieve a more effective balance between licensing and

inspection activities (Section 3.3).

Current Status: After the 2002 IMPEP, the Department staff evaluated the workload

distribution and developed a plan for reducing the renewal backlog. The Department

staff are qualified in both licensing and inspection. Two staff members were

designated to function primarily as license reviewers. Three staff members were

designated to function primarily as inspectors. In addition, the Department uses the

services of a retired employee on a consultant basis to complete licensing actions. 

It is recommended that this item be reviewed at the next IMPEP review.
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b. Recommendation: The review team recommends that Department management

develop and implement an action plan to reduce the licensing renewal backlog

(Section 3.4). 

Current Status: The Department has implemented an action plan to reduce the

renewal backlog. The licensing staff are expected to begin six new renewals each

quarter and the inspection staff are expected to dedicate two weeks each quarter to

working on licensing actions and begin one new renewal each quarter. The

consultant also works on renewal actions.

It is recommended that this item be closed at the next IMPEP review.

c. Recommendation: The review team recommends completion of revisions to update

licensing guidance documents and checklists (this item was identified in the 1998

IMPEP review).

Current Status: In addition to completing licensing actions, the consultant works on

updating licensing guidance. The portable gauge guidance was finalized in

September 2003. The fixed gauge guidance is currently in draft and undergoing

peer review. Department management stated that the industrial radiography and

well logging guidance was the next priority to be completed. The Department does

not plan to update medical guidance until their regulations are updated. In the

interim for other disciplines, Department staff rely on NRC’s NUREG 1556 guidance.

It is recommended that this item be reviewed at the next IMPEP review.

2. Strengths and Weaknesses of the Program

Program strengths: The Department has well trained, experienced and dedicated staff

members. The licensing and inspection staff are highly skilled. The Department has

excellent emergency response and investigation capabilities. 

Program weaknesses: Department management stated that program funding was a

weakness. Currently, the Division is 60 percent funded by General Revenue and

40 percent funded by licensee fees. The Division did not receive an increase in the

General Revenue budget for this fiscal year. They were also not allowed to increase 

licensee fees. The Department has been collecting fees from licensees since 1988;

however, there has been only one license fee increase since 1988. Department

management expects this constraint to impact their ability to send staff to out-of-state

training courses.

Department management informed the NRC staff that the Division has had a vacancy

since October 2003 which has impacted their ability to reduce license renewal backlog. 

One of the licensing staff was promoted into a newly created position to manage the

General License program. The Department was able to post the vacancy, interview

applicants, and make a selection in November 2003. However, because of an

administrative issue, the Department has been unable to fill the position. Department
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management plans to discuss this subject with the Legislative Personnel Committee in

February 2004.

3. State Feedback on NRC’s Program

The State suggested that NRC consider hosting more training courses in NRC’s

regional offices. With the State’s current budget constraints, Department management

stated they could readily justify sending staff to courses hosted in the regional offices

because staff could drive a State vehicle to the course site as opposed to the costly air

fare to a distant location.

While Department management does not agree with NRC’s view of additional security

measures as part of common defense, they acknowledged that NRC’s interaction with 

States on this subject has improved. Department management considered the

Homeland Security Workshop conducted in June 2003 a success.

4. Recent or Pending State Program Changes

There are no pending State program changes with regard to budget or distribution of

responsibilities. Some organizational changes have occurred within the Department. A

copy of the new organization chart was provided during the periodic meeting, copy

attached. In July 2003, the Division was moved from Health Systems under Statewide

Services to the Office of Public Health Preparedness with Bioterrorism. The Division

reports to a member of the Agency Leadership Team, who reports to the Director of the

Arkansas Department of Health. 

On April 7, 2003, during the regular session of the 84th General Assembly, Act 1119

House Bill 2489 passed approving the registration program of general licensed devices. 

As discussed earlier, a licensing staff member was promoted to implement and manage

the General License program creating a vacancy in the Division.

Department management informed the NRC staff about two significant

decommissioning activities that will be occurring this year at the University of Arkansas

campus located in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The University is planning to begin

decommissioning legacy waste stored on campus in February 2004. In addition, they

are planning to decommission a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)

waste burial site located at Harmon Road. Department management anticipates a

significant increase in program workload associated with these decommissioning

activities. 

Department management also discussed the potential challenges resulting from an

Arkansas Supreme Court case. A group of school districts had filed a law suit against

the State for inequity of funding school districts. Fourteen months ago, the Court had

ordered the State to develop a proposal to resolve this inequity by January 1, 2004. The

State did not meet the deadline and had to appear in Court on January 22, 2004, for oral

arguments. 
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The NRC staff met with the Director of the Department of Health to discuss the potential

impact on the Division. The Director informed the staff that the Governor had instructed

department directors to identify essential functions in the event that the Court ordered

State Government to shut down. The staff learned that no activities performed by the

Division had been identified as essential functions. The staff questioned that

emergency response and radioactive materials functions had not been identified as

essential functions. The Director indicated that the likelihood of a State-wide shut down

was remote and that in the event of a shut down essential functions would be reexamined. 

 5. NRC Program or Policy Changes That Could Impact Agreement States

Ms. Campbell and Mr. Mauer discussed the Region IV organization, security issues and

NRC rulemaking and guidance development, specifically Part 35 and IMC 2800. In

addition, Mr. Mauer expressed NRC’s appreciation for the Department’s cooperation in

providing information for the national interim database of possible sources of concern. 

6. Internal Program Audits or Self Assessments

Department management assesses the status of the program on a routine basis through

management reports generated from the licensing and inspection database. The

Department currently has no backlogs in inspection, new license applications, or

amendments to existing licenses. Management periodically performs inspector

accompaniments, and reviews licensing and compliance actions. 

7. Status of Allegations Referred by NRC to the State

No allegations were referred to the State by Region IV during the period. 

8. Compatibility of Arkansas Rules and Regulations

Arkansas’ rules and regulations are for the most part up to date, with the exception of

their medical regulations. In a letter dated February 20, 2003, the Department

submitted final regulations to satisfy the requirements of 29 NRC amendments. The

NRC reviewed these final regulations by comparison to equivalent NRC regulations and

generated comments on Arkansas’ final regulations. During discussions at the 2003

Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors meeting, the Department and NRC

agreed that the majority of these comments would be resolved when the State

promulgates regulations equivalent to NRC’s amendment of Part 35 (Medical Use of

Byproduct Material with a due date for State implementation of April 24, 2005). 

During this periodic meeting, the Department was made aware of one NRC amendment

which is past due (New Dosimetry Technology with a due date for State implementation

of January 8, 2004) and one amendment which is due February 16, 2004,

(Requirements for Certain Generally Licensed Industrial Devices Containing Byproduct

Material). The State plans to draft all necessary rule changes by the end of calendar

year 2004 and expects that the changes would be effective by October 2005. 
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9. Nuclear Material Events Database (NMED)

The State appears to be reporting significant events to NRC’s Operations Center and

providing updated information to NMED according to procedure. The Department has

installed and used the latest version of the NMED software. Department staff expressed

concern about a recent change in data entry into the reporting requirement’s field of the

NMED report. The NRC staff discussed this concern with the NMED project manager

and was able to address the State’s issue. This information has been provided to

Department staff. 

10. Schedule for next IMPEP Review

The next IMPEP is scheduled for fiscal year 2006.