FSME Procedure Approval

Orientation Meetings for New Agreement States 

SA-118

Issue Date: March 19, 2010 

Review Date: March 19, 2013 

Robert J. Lewis 

Director, MSSA /RA T. Reis for/ Date: 03/19/2010

A. Duncan White 

Branch Chief, MSSA /RA/ Date: 03/11/2010

Michelle R. Beardsley 

Procedure Contact, MSSA /RA K. Schneider for/ Date: 03/11/2010 

ML100491807 

NOTE

Any changes to the procedure will be the responsibility of the FSME Procedure 

Contact. Copies of the FSME procedures will be available through the NRC website. 
Procedure Title: Orientation Meetings for 

New Agreement States

Procedure Number: SA-118

Page: 1 of 8 

Issue Date: 

3/19/2010 

I. INTRODUCTION

This procedure describes the general objectives and process to be followed when 

scheduling, staffing, conducting, and documenting an orientation meeting with a new 

Agreement State radioactive materials program. 

II. OBJECTIVES

A. To designate the timing of an orientation meeting with a new Agreement State. 

B. To establish protocols for scheduling and conducting an orientation meeting with a 

new Agreement State. 

C. To identify the appropriate participants for an orientation meeting, including the 

staff responsible for conducting the meeting. 

D. To define the scope of activities and areas for discussion during an orientation 

meeting. 

E. To define the methods and the timing for documenting and communicating the 

results of an orientation meeting. 

F. To specify the appropriate actions to take when performance concerns are 

identified during an orientation meeting. 

G. To establish mechanisms to communicate orientation meeting results to the 

Management Review Board (MRB).

III. BACKGROUND

For new Agreement States, an orientation meeting will be held after the signing of the 

Agreement and prior to the first program review. This meeting will be used to gain an 

understanding of the State=s program status when evaluated against the criteria of 

Management Directive (MD) 5.6, Integrated Materials Performance Evaluation Program 

(IMPEP), and to identify any concerns or issues during the initial implementation of the 

Agreement prior to the first IMPEP review. 
SA-118: Orientation Meetings for New Agreement

States

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Issue Date: 3/19/2010

IV. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

A. IMPEP Project Manager: 

1. Coordinates and schedules the presentation of the results of the orientation 

meeting to the MRB. 

2. Leads the presentation of the results of the orientation meetings to the MRB 

when the orientation meeting attendees are not able to participate. 

B. Regional State Agreements Officer (RSAO): 

1. Schedules and coordinates orientation meetings with new Agreement States 

in his/her Region, including any NRC attendees. The RSAO should plan the 

meeting to ensure that Agreement State attendance will include at least one 

radiation control program representative who can speak on behalf of the 

Agreement State program. Agreement State staff attendance at the meeting 

will be determined by the Agreement State. 

2. Informs the IMPEP Project Manager, Division of Materials Safety and State 

Agreements (MSSA) management and appropriate Regional management of 

the meeting date. 

3. Develops a draft agenda for the meeting in coordination with the Agreement 

State’s Radiation Control Program Director (RCPD). 

4. Issues a letter to the RCPD at least 60 days before the meeting confirming the 

meeting date. The letter should include the draft agenda that was developed 

in coordination with the RCPD, as well as a request for any comments on the 

draft agenda and/or additional specific meeting discussion topics. A sample 

scheduling letter and draft agenda for an orientation meeting with an 

Agreement State can be found on the IMPEP Toolbox. 

5. Becomes familiar with the new Agreement State program prior to the meeting. 

The RSAO should review the final staff assessment of the proposed 

Agreement State program. 

6. Obtains and reviews a detailed printout of all Nuclear Materials Event 

Database (NMED) entries since the effective date of the Agreement for the 

respective Agreement State. 

7. Becomes familiar with all allegations and concerns referred to the respective 

Agreement State since the effective date of the Agreement. This information 

can be obtained from the Regional Senior Allegations Coordinator and NRC’s 

Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management 

Program (FSME) Allegations Coordinator. 
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Issue Date: 3/19/2010

8. Reviews the status of the Agreement State=s regulations as detailed in the 

State Regulation Status Sheet maintained by FSME. 

9. Serves as lead facilitator for the meeting. If the RSAO cannot serve as lead, 

the RSAO will reschedule the meeting, or request that an alternate NRC 

attendee lead the meeting. 

10. Issues the final orientation meeting summary. 

11. Identifies any meeting action items, outside of the routine RSAO/State 

interactions, that have not been resolved at the time the meeting summary 

letter is dispatched and notifies the MSSA controlled ticket coordinator to 

formally ticket and assign any necessary action items. 

12. Leads the presentation of the results of the orientation meeting to the MRB. 

C. FSME Designee: 

1. Attends and participates in assigned orientation meetings with Agreement 

States. Assignments will be made on a case-by-case basis, depending on 

expertise of an individual and/or performance issues in an Agreement State. 

2. Coordinates and assists the RSAO in meeting preparation and development of 

specific information areas to be covered during the meeting such as, event 

reporting, allegations, and the status of regulations. 

3. Leads the orientation meeting with an Agreement State, if necessary or 

requested. 

4. Leads the presentation of the results of the final orientation meeting to the 

MRB, if necessary or requested. 

D. Management Review Board (MRB): 

1. Provides a senior-level review of the results of orientation meetings. 

2. Provides direction on a course of action when performance concerns are 

identified during an orientation meeting. Any decisions regarding a course of 

action in response to performance concerns will be communicated directly to 

the RCPD either at the MRB meeting or after the meeting by correspondence. 

3. Membership, additional responsibilities, and protocols of the MRB are 

established in FSME Procedure SA-106, The Management Review Board 

(MRB). 
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Issue Date: 3/19/2010

V. GUIDANCE 

 A. Frequency of Orientation Meetings: 

Orientation meetings with new Agreement States should take place approximately 

9 months after the signing of the Agreement, unless an alternative timeframe is 

decided upon by NRC management. 

B. Scope of Discussions with Agreement States during Orientation Meetings 

 As appropriate, topic areas for discussion during the meeting should include: 

1. Strengths and/or weaknesses of the State program, as identified by the State 

or the NRC, including identification of actions that could strengthen the 

program. 

2. Feedback on the NRC=s program, as identified by the State, including 

identification of any action that should be considered by the NRC. 

3. Status of the State’s program, including: 

a. Staffing and training: 

i) Number of staff in the program and status of their training and 

qualifications; 

ii) Program vacancies; 

iii) Staff turnover; and, 

iv) Adequacy of FTEs for the materials program. 

b. Program reorganizations: 

Discuss any changes in program organization, including program/staff 

relocations and new appointments; 

c. Changes in program budget/funding; 

d. Materials inspection program: 

Discuss the status of the inspection program, including whether an 

inspection backlog exists and the steps being taken to work off that 

backlog; 

e. Regulations and legislative changes: 

Discuss status of State=s regulations and actions to keep regulations up to 

date, including the use of legally binding requirements; and, 

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Agreement States

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Issue Date: 3/19/2010

f. Discuss status of the financial assurance instruments controlled by the 

State for those licensees that required financial assurance for 

decommissioning while under the NRC=s regulatory authority. 

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

5. Response to incidents and allegations: 

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

b. Significant events and generic implications. 

6. Status of the following program areas, if applicable: 

a. Sealed Source and Device Evaluation Program; 

b. Uranium Recovery Program; and/or, 

c. Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Program. 

7. Information exchange and discussion: 

a. Current State initiatives; 

b. Emerging technologies; 

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

materials; 

d. State=s mechanisms to evaluate performance; and, 

e. NRC current initiatives. 

8. Schedule for the first IMPEP review. 

9. Action items resulting from the orientation meeting (these should be 

documented in the meeting summary report) outside the routine exchange of 

information between the RSAO and State. [Note: the meeting should not be 

used by the States to refer major policy issues to the NRC since these are 

addressed through other mechanisms]. 

10. Other topics. 

C. Evaluation of Casework during Orientation Meetings 

 1. As discussed in Section III of this procedure, orientation meetings are not 

formal evaluations of program performance. Reviews of licensing, inspection, 

or incident casework does not need to be performed. Review of some 

documents, however, may be useful to clarify points made in discussions. 
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Issue Date: 3/19/2010

 2. In some cases, casework for allegations may need to be reviewed in order to 

ensure that appropriate follow-up action was taken. All casework for 

allegations and concerns referred directly to the State by the NRC in which the 

alleger’s identity has been withheld should be reviewed. Performance 

concerns closed through FSME Procedure SA-400, Management of 

Allegations, do not need to be reviewed in depth. 

D. Documentation of Orientation Meetings 

1. The meeting lead should prepare, issue, and distribute the orientation 

meeting summary and transmittal correspondence within 30 days of the date 

of the meeting. A sample orientation meeting summary and transmittal letter 

may be found on the IMPEP Toolbox. 

2. Prior to issuance of the orientation meeting summary, the meeting lead should 

share a draft of the orientation meeting summary with the Agreement State 

RCPD and any other attendees for factual review and comment. 

3. No specific information regarding any allegations or concerns discussed at the 

orientation meeting that could potentially identify an alleger should be 

contained in the orientation meeting summary or transmittal correspondence. 

The orientation meeting summary should only state the number of allegations 

and concerns discussed and whether the casework has been handled 

adequately. (If an Agreement State is not handling allegations or concerns in 

a manner consistent with the guidance provided in Management Directive 8.8, 

Management of Allegations, the RSAO or FSME designee at the meeting 

should report this fact separately to FSME management.) 

E. Presentation of the Results of Orientation Meetings to the MRB 

1. The results of orientation meetings will be presented to the MRB in a timely 

manner. 

2. The MRB will be convened to review the results of the orientation meetings on 

an as needed basis. 

3. Agreement State representatives of programs that are being discussed will be 

invited to participate in the MRB. 

F. Performance Concerns Identified during an Orientation Meeting: 

1. If programmatic or performance concerns about a program are identified 

during an orientation meeting, the concern should be documented in the 

orientation meeting summary and presented to the MRB as part of the 

discussion of the results of the orientation meeting. 
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Agreement States

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Issue Date: 3/19/2010

2. The MRB will decide on the appropriate course of action. Possible actions 

may include any or all of the following: 

 a. altering the schedule for the next IMPEP review; 

 b. scheduling an additional meeting with the program; 

 c. conducting a special review of selected program areas; and, 

 d. placing the Agreement State on Heightened Oversight or Monitoring (See 

 FSME Procedure SA-122, Heightened Oversight and Monitoring, for 

 additional information). 

3. If the concerns have the potential to immediately affect public health and 

safety, the meeting lead should immediately inform FSME management, NRC 

Regional management, and the IMPEP Project Manager of the findings and 

propose a course of action. FSME management should notify the Chair of the 

MRB of the concerns identified and the proposed course of action. The Chair 

of the MRB may ask that the MRB convene to discuss the concerns and vote 

on the proposed course of action. 

4. If performance issues in an Agreement State are identified through day-to-day 

interactions, the RSAO will document the program’s issues in writing to 

present to the MRB. The written documentation should provide a complete 

description of the program performance issues and any other supporting 

information sufficient to allow the MRB to determine an appropriate course of 

action, as outlined in V.G.2. 

VI. REFERENCES 

1. NRC Management Directive 5.6, Integrated Materials Performance Evaluation 

Program (IMPEP). 

2. NRC Management Directive 8.8, Management of Allegations.

3. FSME Procedure SA-106, Management Review Board.

4. FSME Procedure SA-122, Heightened Oversight and Monitoring.

5. FSME Procedure SA-400, Management of Allegations. 
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Issue Date: 3/19/2010

VII. ADAMS REFERENCE DOCUMENTS

For knowledge management purposes, all previous revisions of this procedure, as well 

as associated correspondence with stakeholders, that have been entered into the 

NRC’s Agencywide Document Access Management System (ADAMS) are listed below. 

No. Date Document Title/Description Accession Number

1 5/4/04 STP-04-035, Opportunity to Comment on Draft 

Revisions to STP Procedure SA-118 

ML041320579 

2 3/9/05 STP Procedure SA-118 ML051830100 

3 3/9/05 STP Procedure SA-118, Redline/Strikeout Copy ML051830101 

4 3/9/05 Summary of Comments on SA-118 ML051830102 

5 3/8/05 STP-05-019, Final STP Procedure SA-118 ML050680563