June 29, 2010 

Jeff Meyers, Administrator 

Louisiana Dept. of Environmental Quality 

Office of Environmental Compliance 

Emergency & Radiological Services Division 

P.O. Box 4312 

Baton Rouge, LA 70821-4312 

SUBJECT: SUMMARY OF PERIODIC MEETING WITH LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF 

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY HELD ON JUNE 4, 2010 

Dear Mr. Meyers: 

A periodic meeting was held on June 4, 2010, with you and your staff. The purpose of this 

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

NRC was represented by Randy Erickson and me from Region IV. 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 817-860-8116 or by 

e-mail at Rachel.Browder@nrc.gov to discuss your concerns. 

 Sincerely, 

 /RA/ 

 Rachel S. Browder, CHP 

 Regional State Agreements Officer 

Enclosure: 

Louisiana Periodic Meeting Summary 

UNITED STATES

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

REGION IV

612 EAST LAMAR BLVD, SUITE 400

ARLINGTON, TEXAS 76011-4125
Louisiana Department of Environmental 

 Quality 

 

- 2 -

Internal distribution via e-mail: 

Art Howell, D:DNMS 

Charles Cain, DD:DNMS 

Robert Lewis, FSME 

Terry Reis, FSME 

James Luehman, FSME 

Duncan White, FSME 

Antonio Dias, FSME 

Rachel Browder 

Randy Erickson 

Aaron McCraw, FSME 

Janine Katanic, FSME 

Karen Meyer, FSME 

Michelle Beardsley, RI 

 ML101800572 

S:\DNMS\!SAO\PeriodicMeetings\2010\Louisiana\LA Periodic Mtg Summary for 6-4-10.docx 

ADAMS: 
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⌧ Publicly Available ⌧ Non-Sensitive 


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RSBrowder;dlf 

 /RA/ 

6/29/10 

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY 
ENCLOSURE 

LOUISIANA PERIODIC MEETING SUMMARY 

Date of Meeting: June 4, 2010 

Attendees 

NRC LOUISIANA 

Rachel Browder, RSAO Jeffrey P. Meyers, Division Administrator 

Randy Erickson, RSAO Ann Troxler, Senior, DCL-B 

 Judith Schuerman, Manager 

 James M. Pate, III, Supervisor, Licensing 

 Dwayne, E. Stepter, Supervisor, Surveillance 

 Joseph Noble, Staff, DCL-A 

 Scott Blackwell, Staff, DCL-A 

DISCUSSION: 

The Louisiana Agreement State program is administered by the Emergency & Radiological 

Services Division (the Division), which is one of five Divisions under the Office of Environmental 

Compliance, within the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The Division 

had reorganized some of their positions since the last Integrated Materials Performance 

Evaluation Program (IMPEP) review. These changes are discussed under Staffing and 

Training, below. At the time of the meeting, the Division regulated approximately 550 licenses 

authorizing the use of byproduct, source, and special nuclear material. 

The last IMPEP Review was conducted May 12-16, 2008. The review team recommended, and 

the Management Review Board (MRB) agreed, that the Louisiana Agreement State Program 

was found satisfactory for all seven performance indicators reviewed. There were two 

recommendations and one good practice identified in the report. Overall, the Louisiana 

Agreement State Program was found adequate to protect public health and safety and 

compatible with NRC's program. 

Based on the results of the 2008 IMPEP Review, the MRB concurred that the next full review of 

the Louisiana Agreement State Program is to take place in approximately 4 years from this 

review, and a periodic meeting will be tentatively scheduled for May 2010. The purpose of this 

periodic meeting is to fulfill that requirement in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the State’s 

response to the review team’s recommendations, as well as the overall implementation of the 

Agreement State Program. 

Program items discussed: 

1. The status of the State=s actions to address the open recommendations from the 2008

IMPEP Review: 

a. The review team recommends that the State take measures to evaluate corrective 

actions of all radioactive materials incidents, ensure proper documentation of the 

review, and appropriately follow up on the corrective actions at the subsequent 

inspections (Section 3.5, “Technical Quality of Incident and Allegation Activities). 

 
ENCLOSURE 

Status: The Division stated that the program had been evaluating corrective actions 

for all material incidents; however, the evaluation and follow-up were not being 

documented. The Division is now capturing the evaluation and follow-up for all 

corrective actions in the first part of the written narrative of the respective inspection 

report. This recommendation should be verified and closed at the next IMPEP 

review. 

b. The review team recommends that the State adhere to the document format and 

content guidance in the current version NUREG-1556, Volume 3 (Section 4.2.2, 

“SSDR – Technical Quality of the Product Evaluation Program”). 

Status: The Division corrected the three specific Sealed Source and Device 

Nationwide Registry (SSDRs) that were identified as part of the IMPEP review. 

These were isolated cases. The Division uses the format and content guidance in 

the current version of NUREG-1556, Volume 3. This recommendation should be 

verified and closed at the next IMPEP review. 

 Note: In addition, the IMPEP report discussed that management should consider 

reviewing the need to inactivate SSDR registrations prior to or in unison with license 

termination and consistent with the guidance in NUREG-1556. 

 Status: The Division indicated that there was neither a fee associated with 

inactivations of sealed source and device registrations nor any fees associated with 

maintaining registrations, so there is no urgency to inactivate a registration on the 

part of a licensee. The Division indicated that they would review their processes and 

possibly discuss some options with other state programs, such as Texas, who may 

be considering the same process. 

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

identification of actions that could diminish weaknesses

Program Strengths: The Division has a stable workforce with experienced inspectors. 

The level of experience within the workforce is increasing and the Division has been able 

to promote individuals to staff technical positions. The training courses provided by the 

NRC are considered a strength because they help to ensure that the Louisiana program 

reflects the same philosophy and intentions as that of the NRC and reduces the level of 

independence that might develop without the structured training program. The Division 

has recently purchased a Berkeley Nucleonics Model 940 radioactive isotope 

identification device (RIID) for surveillance and measurement (SAM-940) and maintains 

instrumentation calibrated for offsite response and routine inspections. As a result of the 

experienced staff, planning efficiencies, and schedules, there is not a backlog of their 

inspections and licensing actions. The communications and coordination between our 

two agencies has helped the Division implement a program that received a rating of 

satisfactory for all indicators reviewed during the last IMPEP, and the Division is 

continuing to implement their program to achieve the same success in the future. 

Program Weaknesses: The budget restraints within the state have impacted some of 

the tangible assets within the Division, such as reduction of DEQ-provided vehicles from 

13 to 9 for the inspection staff. This reduction in vehicles has required additional 

planning and scheduling for efficient use of resources. One of the Division’s senior 
ENCLOSURE 

inspectors will be deployed for up to a year and the staff will have to absorb his work, 

because the agency cannot hire replacement positions, whether permanent or 

temporary. 

3. Feedback on NRC’s Program

The Division indicated that they appreciated the good support provided by NRC 

Region IV and the communications between the two agencies. This was exemplified 

during hurricane responses and the NRC’s support to the state at that time. The 

Division hires qualified staff and attempts to ensure that employment longevity with DEQ 

is equally the desire of the prospective employee. As a result of the investment made by 

DEQ for each new employee, the Division sends the new employee to a 4-week health 

physics course offered by Foxfire Scientific at Baylor College of Medicine. However, it 

would be beneficial if the NRC would consider supporting the 5-week health physics 

course, or a similar one as identified above, in a monetary way. There would be benefits 

derived from having this training course provided to a larger number of NRC and State 

employees, just as the benefits have been derived from the NRC supporting other 

training courses. 

4. Staffing and Training

The Division is currently fully staffed with a total of 26 staff positions and 1 administrative 

position. Since the last IMPEP review, the Manager moved into a Senior Technical 

position and the new Manager came from the Regulation Development Section of the 

Legal Division. In addition, one of the inspection staff members was promoted to a 

technical staff position, supporting surveillance and enforcement activities. Therefore, 

the complement in this area is four individuals. The inspection staff is comprised of 

12 inspectors and the licensing staff is comprised of 5 license reviewers. The staff are 

maintaining qualifications and continuing to receive training courses sponsored by the 

NRC or other equivalent courses. 

5. Program Reorganizations

There has not been a program reorganization since 2004 when the current Division was 

created as the Emergency & Radiological Services Division. The Division Administrator 

continues to oversee chemical and radiological emergency response, accident 

prevention, radiation surveillance and enforcement, radioactive materials licensing, and 

X-ray registration. 

6. Changes in Program Budget/Funding 

The Division is adequately funded as a self-generating State agency and does not 

receive general funds from the State. There will be no merit pay for State classified 

employees (employees below the level of a political appointee) for the foreseeable 

future. It is anticipated that overall revenues to the State will be impacted as a result of 

the BP gulf oil spill and its consequential effect to the fishing and oil/gas industry within 

the state. The Division cannot raise fees and cannot hire or replace personnel who 

leave or retire. 

 
ENCLOSURE 

7. Materials Inspection Program 

At the time of this periodic meeting, the Division reported that there were no overdue 

inspections. The Division meets the quarterly metrics that are developed and which they 

are committed to meet by legislative mandate. 

8. Materials Licensing Program

At the time of this periodic meeting, the Division indicated that all new applications and 

license amendment requests were completed within 30 days of receiving the required 

supporting documentation for the action. The Division performed prelicensing visits and 

ensured that increased controls were in place prior to issuing new licenses for 

Category 2 facilities. The Division implemented the increased controls and fingerprinting 

orders by license conditions. 

9. Regulations and Legislative Changes

The State is up to date on all regulation amendments currently required for compatibility. 

The Division has a process in place to address the final comments for three regulatory 

packages that include: (RATS ID 1997-5), (RATS ID 1998-5), and (RATS ID 2006-1). 

The latter package, (RATS-ID 2006-1), will be submitted to the NRC after final 

promulgation in the Louisiana Register, and the status of the two previous packages are 

being reviewed. The Division’s process includes the submittal of the final regulations to 

address the respective comments. 

The fourth set of comments identified is for (RATS ID 2001-1) and concerns generally 

licensed devices (GLDs). This regulation review is currently being held in abeyance as a 

result of the new rule on GLDs. Therefore, it is not incumbent upon the Division to 

address the comments associated with (RATS ID 2001-1) until the new GLD rule is 

addressed. 

The following amendments will need to be addressed by the Division in future 

rulemakings or by adopting alternate generic legally binding requirements: 

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

Parts 32 and 35 amendment (72 FR 45147, 54207) that is due for Agreement State 

adoption by October 29, 2010 

“Requirements for Expanded Definition of Byproduct Material,” 10 CFR Parts 20, 30, 31, 

32, 33, 35, 61, and 150 amendment (72 FR 55864) that is due for Agreement State 

adoption by November 30, 2010 

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

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

(72 FR 58473) that is due for Agreement State adoption by December 17, 2010 

“Occupational Dose Records, Labeling Containers, and Total Effective Dose Equivalent,” 

10 CFR Parts 19 and 20 amendment (72 FR 68043) that is due for Agreement State 

adoption by February 15, 2011 
ENCLOSURE 

10. Event Reporting, Including Follow-up and Closure Information in NMED

The Branch reported 42 events to the nuclear materials events database (NMED) since 

the 2008 IMPEP review. Based on the percentage of events reviewed and discussed 

during the periodic meeting, the events were appropriately reported to the NRC and 

were properly entered into, and updated within, NMED. The Division may want to 

consider whether they want to use the “Event Closed” field in NMED. This is not a 

required field as the “Record Complete” field is required for NMED. However, the 

Division may want to consider how they intend to use this field, if at all, and then 

consistently implement that process. Using an example of a lost source, some states 

have indicated closed for the “Record Complete” field because there are no additional 

records to be completed for the event in NMED, but the state keeps the “Event Closed” 

field open, since the source is still considered lost. 

11. Response to Incidents and Allegations

The Division continues to be responsive to notifications of incidents and allegations. 

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

12. Status of Allegations and Concerns Referred by the NRC for Action

The NRC did not refer any allegations to Louisiana during the review period. 

13. Emerging Technologies

The Division received an inquiry from a company about a potential license for Proton 

Accelerator Therapy. The Division has discussed the licensing guidance used by the 

State of Texas regarding this high-risk modality. 

14. Large, Complicated, or Unusual Authorizations for use of Radioactive Materials

None noted 

15. Current State Initiatives

The Division has sent letters to all industrial radiography companies stating that the 

State will start holding radiographers responsible for their actions and will take action 

against the radiographer for failure to take required actions or where the radiographer is 

at fault for contributing to a potential violation. The action taken against the radiographer 

does not relieve the licensee from any potential enforcement action. The Division has 

revoked radiographer certifications or banned radiographers through licensing actions 

from working in the state’s jurisdiction. The Division indicated that taking enforcement 

action against a licensed individual (radiographer) has appeared to encourage a good 

safety culture within the radiographer community and several companies have 

appreciated the actions taken by the Division. 

 
ENCLOSURE 

16. State’s Mechanisms to Evaluate Performance

The Division uses peer reviews of inspection reports and licensing actions to ensure the 

quality of regulatory products. Inspectors are accompanied twice a year by the 

supervisory staff. The staff’s training records are maintained on a spreadsheet for easy 

accountability of “completed date” and “required” training courses for review by the 

supervisors and manager. The Surveillance Supervisor hosts a “huddle” twice a year, 

where the staff discusses issues and unique activities they have observed or authorized. 

In addition, awards are presented and rapport is developed within the group. 

17. Current NRC Initiatives

NRC staff discussed ongoing Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental 

Management Programs (FSME) initiatives with the Louisiana representatives. This 

included prelicensing guidance, fingerprint orders, national source tracking, web based 

licensing, generally licensed devices, and Part 37 rule making. 

18. Schedule for the Next IMPEP Review 

NRC staff recommends that the next IMPEP review be held, as currently scheduled, in 

FY 2012.