August 22, 2011 

MEMORANDUM TO: Elmo E. Collins, Administrator 

Region IV 

FROM: Terrence Reis, Acting Director /RA/

 Division of Materials Safety and State Agreements 

Office of Federal and State Materials 

 and Environmental Management Programs 

SUBJECT: JULY 12-13, 2011 PERIODIC MEETING UNDER THE 

INTEGRATED MATERIALS PERFORMANCE EVALUATION 

PROGRAM (IMPEP) 

A periodic meeting with Region IV was held on July 12-13, 2011. The purpose of the meeting 

was to review and discuss the status of the Region IV radioactive materials program. The 

Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs (FSME) was 

represented by Lisa Dimmick and myself. Specific topics and issues of importance discussed at 

the meeting included status of operating plan and performance metrics, status of staffing and 

training, licensing and inspection program changes since the last IMPEP, and a review of 

regional self-assessments. Enclosed is a copy of the meeting summary. 

Enclosure: 

Periodic Meeting Summary for Region IV 

cc w/ encl: Roy Caniano, Director 

Division of Nuclear Materials Safety 
MEMORANDUM TO: Elmo E. Collins, Administrator 

Region IV 

FROM: Terrence Reis, Acting Director /RA/

 Division of Materials Safety and State Agreements 

Office of Federal and State Materials 

 and Environmental Management Programs 

SUBJECT: JULY 12-13, 2011 PERIODIC MEETING UNDER THE 

INTEGRATED MATERIALS PERFORMANCE EVALUATION 

PROGRAM (IMPEP) 

A periodic meeting with Region IV was held on July 12-13, 2011. The purpose of the meeting 

was to review and discuss the status of the Region IV radioactive materials program. The 

Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs (FSME) was 

represented by Lisa Dimmick and myself. Specific topics and issues of importance discussed at 

the meeting included status of operating plan and performance metrics, status of staffing and 

training, licensing and inspection program changes since the last IMPEP, and a review of 

regional self-assessments. Enclosed is a copy of the meeting summary. 

Enclosure: 

Periodic Meeting Summary for Region IV 

cc w/ encl: Roy Caniano, Director 

Division of Nuclear Materials Safety 

Distribution: 

DMSSA RF DCD (SP01) 

RLewis, FSME 

MDelligatti, FSME/MSSA 

JLuehman, FSME/MSSA 

DWhite, FSME/MSSA 

ML112260005 

OFC FSME/MSSA FSME/MSSA 

NAME LDimmick LCD TReis 

DATE 8/20/11 8/22/11 

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY 
Enclosure 

PERIODIC MEETING SUMMARY FOR THE REGION IV 

RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS PROGRAM 

MEETING DATE: July 12-13, 2011 

FSME Attendees RIV Attendees

Terrence Reis, Acting Director, 

FSME/MSSA 

Roy Caniano, Director, DNMS 

Lisa Dimmick, MSSA Chuck Cain, DNMS 

 Vivian Campbell (exit only), DNMS 

 Art Howell (exit only), Deputy Regional 

Administrator 

 Jack Whitten, DNMS 

 Michael Vasquez, DNMS 

 Blair Spitzberg, DNMS 

DISCUSSION: 

The NRC Region IV radioactive materials program is administered by the Division of Nuclear 

Materials Safety (the Division). Roy Caniano is currently Director of the Division and reports 

directly to the Regional Administrator. The Division regulates approximately 600 specific 

licenses authorizing possession and use of byproduct, source, and special nuclear materials. 

The Division is composed of three branches: Nuclear Materials Safety Branch A (NMSB-A), 

Nuclear Materials Safety Branch B (NMSB-B), and Repository and Spent Fuel Safety Branch 

(RSFS). 

NMSB-A is largely responsible for materials inspections and enforcement including routine, 

reactive, and security inspections. The branch processes enforcement casework associated 

with these inspections and also processes and tracks Region IV materials event reports. 

NMSB-B primarily performs licensing activities including evaluation of financial assurance 

submittals, pre-licensing visits, and processing of reciprocity requests. RSFS conducts 

inspections of independent spent fuel storage installations and of sites and facilities under 

decommissioning. The branch also conducts routine and reactive uranium recovery 

inspections. 

The previous IMPEP review was conducted March 23 – April 3, 2009. The review team found 

Region IV’s performance satisfactory for all performance indicators reviewed. The review team 

made one recommendation for the Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental 

Management Programs (FSME). Accordingly, the review team recommended, and the MRB 

agreed, that the Region IV program is adequate to protect public health and safety. 
Region IV Periodic Meeting Summary Page 2 

The status of the recommendation from the 2009 NRC RIV Final IMPEP Report is summarized 

below: 

• The review team recommends that FSME develop and provide clarification to the NRC 

Regions on the requirements for marking of inspection and licensing correspondence. 

Status: FSME issued RCPD letter RCPD-11-005 (ML 110330345) “Additional Guidance 

and Clarification Regarding the Review of the Control of Sensitive Information During 

Integrated Materials Performance Evaluation Program Reviews.” 

TOPICS DISCUSSED 

Status of operating plan metrics: 

No issues were identified with respect to operating plan metrics. Specific areas relating 

to the status of operating plan metrics are discussed under other headings in this 

summary. 

Review of strategic plan metrics and an assessment of the quality of the data contained in the 

monthly reports on material statistics: 

No issues were identified with respect to strategic plan metrics. The quality of data 

contained in the monthly reports has been adequate. 

Status of the Region’s actions to address all open IMPEP review findings and/or open 

recommendations: 

There were no recommendations from the previous IMPEP review issued to RIV. The 

review team did recommend that FSME develop and provide clarification to the NRC 

regions on the requirements for marking of inspection and licensing correspondence. 

As noted above, FSME issued RCPD letter RCPD-11-005 (ML 110330345) “Additional 

Guidance and Clarification Regarding the Review of the Control of Sensitive Information 

During Integrated Materials Performance Evaluation Program Reviews.” 

Staffing and training: 

The attendees reviewed the Division’s staffing plan, along with status of inspector and 

license reviewer qualifications. The Division has had a relatively stable staffing since the 

last IMPEP. There were three retirements—two from NMSB-A and one State Agreement 

Officer (SAO). One vacancy in NMSB-A and the SAO position were subsequently filled. 

In January, 2011 some organizational adjustments in the Division were made as 

described below under “Program Reorganizations.” No concerns with staffing levels 

were identified. 

The Division uses the qualification program outlined in Inspection Manual Chapter (IMC) 

1246, “Formal Qualification Programs in the Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards 

Program Area,” for the inspection and licensing staff. The Division continues to cross 

train inspectors and reviewers. NMSB-A has seven inspectors: four are fully qualified, 

two were qualified within the last year, and one is pursing qualification. One inspector is 
Region IV Periodic Meeting Summary Page 3 

a qualified license reviewer. NMSB-B has four fully qualified license reviewers and one 

staff who is pursuing the license reviewer qualification. These five health physicists in 

NMSB-B have inspector qualifications. RSFS has five staff fully qualified for inspection 

and/or technical review in areas of uranium recovery, decommissioning, spent fuel, and 

high level waste. Division management is clearly committed to staff training. No 

concerns with qualifications and training were identified. 

Program reorganizations: 

The Division has not reorganized since the last IMPEP review. However, some 

organizational adjustments were made in January 2011. Uranium recovery activities 

were moved from NMSB-B to RSFR. The RSFS branch lost 2 FTE with closure of the 

Las Vegas office; however, a technical position was added to RSFS to support the 

uranium recovery activities reassigned to the branch. The Division Director is supported 

by a deputy and senior materials analyst. Vacancies created by retirements or staff 

departures to a different branch were subsequently filled. 

Changes in program budget/funding: 

The regions materials program FTE has remained flat. No concerns with budget/funding 

were identified. 

Materials inspection program: 

At the time of the periodic, the inspection program was meeting inspection performance 

metrics for report timeliness and accompaniments. A review of FY 2010 performance 

measures indicates inspection targets were overall met. The oil spill in Gulf Mexico in 

April 2010 significantly impacted the region’s ability to meet reciprocity inspection goal. 

The NRC temporarily discontinued off shore inspection program. Subsequently, the 

inability to acquire transportation services to offshore locations continues to adversely 

affect this metric. The inspection program is working on its offshore procedures and the 

re-start of the offshore inspection efforts. No concerns with the inspection program were 

identified. 

Materials Licensing Program:

Materials licensing casework for new, amendment, and renewal applications all met 

NRC operating plan (FY 2010 and FY 2011 to date) and IMPEP performance indicator 

timeliness targets. The branch added a second licensing assistant which has taken 

some of the administrative burden away from the license reviewers. In addition to 

licensing casework, the licensing program oversees the Air Force master material 

license and over 125 general licensees. The Branch commented that 30-40 reciprocity 

filings are received each week. Support for reciprocity consumes 0.5 FTE. No concerns 

with the licensing program were identified. 

Status of Spent Fuel Safety, Decommissioning, and Uranium Recovery Programs:

RFFS maintains an inspection planning and tracking system for implementing 

inspections. Review of performance measures for FY 2010 and FY 2011 to date 
Region IV Periodic Meeting Summary Page 4 

indicates inspection metrics for inspections performed and report timeliness are being 

met. The exception is noted for the timeliness of some team reports for spent fuel 

project inspections, whereby inspections may be performed assisted by another office 

and the report is issued by RSFS. 

 

Response to incidents and allegations:

Response to incidents and allegations was not discussed in detail, as FSME and the 

Division coordinate closely on these areas daily. 

Review of Regional self-assessments: 

DNMS conducts self-assessments annually. The self assessment plan is developed 

with consideration of operating plan metrics. The plan is updated periodically with the 

status of each assessment activity. Assessment activities include: reviews of FTE 

utilization, branch reports, peer reviews of licensing and inspection documents, training, 

and document marking audits to name a few. No concerns with self assessments were 

identified. 

Aside from meeting operation plan metrics, the Division has taken several initiatives to 

develop and inform staff and improve quality of work products. First, in March 2011, the 

Division implemented a weekly training seminar. The current seminar series is 

presenting the Code of Federal Regulations. The presentations not only discuss the 

rules themselves, but also include a discussion on why the rule was promulgated. The 

seminars started with 10 CFR Part 19 and the presenter is currently working through 10 

CFR Part 20. The Division Director indicated the seminars are well attended and 

anticipates ongoing support for the training. The seminars are archived as audiovisual 

files and are posted on Region IV’s website at the knowledge management portal. 

Second, the Director sends updates to staff on anything happening in the office. “DNMS 

Happenings” is yet another tool used to keep staff across the Division informed and 

engaged. 

 

The division self identified several issues with enforcement including timeliness. As a 

result of a focused effort, the Division reports it significantly reduced enforcement cases 

in backlog from approximately 20 cases six months ago to only a few at present. In 

addition, the Division implemented a quality assurance review of enforcement 

documentation for accuracy and consistency of information. 

The benefits of the licensing and inspector cross training efforts were apparent when the 

Division made adjustments to the organization in January 2011. A few inspectors and 

reviewers were reassigned to different branches following an assessment of skill sets 

and staffing needs for the Division. 

New or potential FSME initiatives that may impact the Regions: 

The attendees discussed that status of ongoing initiatives such as NUREG 1556 Series 

Update and Manual Chapters 2800, 1246 and 1248 projects; LTS/WBL; and NSTS and 

the possible change in the lower security level. The attendees commented on the status 

Part 37 and 61 rulemakings and as well as the Materials Inspection Working Group and 
Region IV Periodic Meeting Summary Page 5 

the working groups forming for the policy statements on Agreement State Programs and 

Adequacy and Compatibility. 

Other topics: 

The Region IV office will be relocating later this year between October and December. 

CONCLUSIONS: 

No performance concerns with respect to the IMPEP criteria were identified. The Region IV 

materials program is very active, strong, and stable program with excellent management 

support. The Division self-identified a number of challenges with enforcement cases for which 

action was taken. The Division has strong cross training and staff development programs. The 

Division remains committed to supporting other NRC offices as needs arise. 

Schedule for the next IMPEP review: 

For two consecutive IMPEP reviews, the RIV program was found adequate to protect 

public health and safety and all performance indicators for both reviews were found 

satisfactory. Therefore, RIV meets the criteria of a high performer and is a candidate for 

a one year extension for its next IMPEP. The staff recommends that the next IMPEP 

review be held March, 2014. 

Action items: 

None