UNITED STATES

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

REGI ON IV

611 RYAN PLAZA DRIVE, SUITE 400

ARLINGTON, TEXAS 76011-4005

June 3, 2009 

Terry O’Clair, Director 

Division of Air Quality 

North Dakota Department 

 of Health 

918 E. Divide Avenue, 2nd Floor 

Bismarck, ND 58501-1947 

Dear Mr. O’Clair: 

A periodic meeting with your State office was held on May 5, 2009. The purpose of this meeting 

was to review and discuss the status of the North Dakota Agreement State Program. The NRC 

was represented by Michelle Beardsley and Lucieann Vechioli from NRC’s Office of Federal and 

State Materials and Environmental Management Programs and me. I have completed and 

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

discussions. 

In addition to the regular one-day Periodic Meeting agenda, we included a second day for 

discussions and training on performance based, well logging, and increased controls 

inspections. 

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) 860-8116 or 

e-mail Linda.McLean@nrc.gov to discuss your concerns. 

 Sincerely, 

 /RA/ 

 Linda McLean 

 Regional State Agreements Officer 

cc: 

Mr. Daniel Harman 

Division of Air Quality 

North Dakota Department 

 of Health 

918 E. Divide Avenue, 2nd Floor 

Bismarck, ND 58501-1947 

Enclosure: 

Periodic Meeting Summary for North Dakota 
North Dakota Department of Health 

 

- 2 -

Internal distribution via E-mail: 

A. Howell, D:DNMS 

C. Cain, DD:DNMS 

R. Erickson, SAO 

L. McLean, SAO 

D. White, FSME 

A. McCraw, FSME 

M. Beardsley, FSME 

L. Vechioli, FSME 

 ML091540648 

S:\DNMS\!SAO\PeriodicMeetings\2009\ND\North Dakota 2009 Periodic Meeting Summary.doc 

ADAMS 9 Yes  No ; SUNSI Review 

Complete

Reviewer Initials: MLM 

Publicly Available 9 Yes  No Nonsensitive 

RIV: RSAO:DNMS 

MLMcLean;dlf 

 /RA/ 

6/3/09 

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY T=Telephone E=E-mail F=Fax
ENCLOSURE 

AGREEMENT STATE PERIODIC MEETING SUMMARY FOR NORTH DAKOTA 

NRC Attendees State of North Dakota Attendees 

Linda McLean, RSAO Terry O’Clair, Director 

Michelle Beardsley, FSME Daniel Harman, Program Manager 

Lucieann Vechioli, FSME 

Introduction: 

The North Dakota Agreement State program is administered by the Division of Air Quality. 

The Radiation Control and Indoor Air Branch (the Branch), which administers the licensing 

and inspection portion of the Agreement State Program, is under the supervision of the 

Manager of the Branch. The Branch is a part of the Division, which is one of several 

environmental divisions located within the North Dakota Department of Health. The Branch 

regulates approximately 69 specific licenses. 

The last IMPEP review was conducted the week of April 17-19, 2007. At the conclusion of 

the review, the team recommended that North Dakota’s performance be found satisfactory 

but needing improvement for the indicator Status of the Material’s Inspection Program and 

satisfactory for all remaining performance indicators reviewed. The review team made no 

recommendations regarding the performance of the Branch. Therefore the on June 25, 

2007, the NRC’s Management Review Board (MRB) agreed that the Branch was adequate 

to protect public health and safety and compatible with NRC's Branch. 

Periodic Meeting Discussion: 

Date of Meeting: May 5, 2009 

Status of State=s actions to address all open previous IMPEP review findings and/or open 

recommendations: 

o There were no recommendations from the 2007 IMPEP Review. 

Strengths and/or weaknesses of the State’s program as identified by the State or NRC,

including identification of actions that could diminish weaknesses: 

o Strengths: Currently, the Branch has no overdue inspections or licensing actions. This 

achievement can be credited to the staff’s strong commitment to maintaining a good 

safety program. 

o Weaknesses: Turnover has been a problem for several years. Conducting reciprocity 

inspections is still a challenge for the Branch. The staff’s lack of experience in some 

types of inspections was also identified as a program weakness. 

Staffing and training: 

o The Branch is currently fully staffed with a total of three positions: the Branch Manager, 

a senior health physicist (fully qualified), and one health physicist (in position 6 months). 
North Dakota Periodic Meeting Summary 

-2- 

ENCLOSURE 

Turnover has been affecting the Branch for several years. Once the Branch has two 

fully qualified inspectors, two inspectors should be sufficient. 

o The staff needs additional practice and training in conducting performance based 

inspections. Currently, staff members use checklists. Ms. Beardsley provided a brief 

review for conducting performance based inspections. 

Program reorganizations: 

o The Branch has not experienced any program reorganizations since the last periodic 

meeting in 2008. 

Changes in program budget/funding: 

o The Branch has not experienced any budget or funding changes since the 2007 review. 

Materials inspection program: 

o At the time of this periodic meeting, no inspections were overdue. During the 2007 

IMPEP review, it was noted that the inspection program generally performed most 

inspections between the due date and the overdue date. The Branch Manager indicated 

that the Branch is currently working to eliminate this practice of routinely performing 

inspections by the due date. Presently, none exceed the 25 percent overdue limit and 

nine inspections are within the 0 to 25 percent range. 

o The Branch continues to complete as many reciprocity inspections as possible, although 

with some difficulty. Reciprocity licensees frequently perform work a far distance from 

the location of the Branch offices and often outside the inspectors’ normal duty hours. 

o The Branch is making an effort to inspect well-logging and radiography activities in the 

field. 

Feedback on NRC’s Branch as identified by the State, including identification of any action

that should be considered by NRC: 

o The Branch said that the NSTS needs to be improved and suggested that small 

radiography companies not be required to use the system. 

Regulations and legislative changes: 

o There have been no legislative changes that would affect the Branch’s activities. The 

Branch has decided to adopt NRC regulations by reference and is currently working to 

separate the X-ray regulations from the currently combined regulations. The Branch is 

considering regulating TENORM. 
North Dakota Periodic Meeting Summary 

-3- 

ENCLOSURE 

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

o Since the last periodic meeting, the Branch has had two events that were reportable to 

the NRC. All NMED information is up to date. 

Response to incidents:

o Although, the Branch has few events, the Branch Manager has placed a high emphasis 

on the Branch’s response to incidents and allegations. 

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

o No allegations were referred by NRC to the Branch since the 2007 review. 

Significant events and generic implications: 

o A radiography camera source disconnect was investigated and reported to the NRC 

Operations Center. No generic issues were identified. 

Current State initiatives: 

o The State may start regulating TENORM. 

State’s mechanisms to evaluate performance: 

o The Branch Manager performs accompaniments of the inspection staff to ensure they 

are performing at the expected level. 

Current NRC initiatives: 

o In addition to the regular one-day periodic meeting agenda, a second day was included 

for discussions and training on performance based, well logging, and increased controls 

inspections. Ms. Beardsley also discussed the status of NRC initiatives regarding webbased licensing, security, and NSTS, along with other current items of interest. 

Summary: Even with having only one qualified inspector, the Branch has continued to 

maintain public health and safety and continue an effective safety program. 

Next IMPEP review: FY2011