July 6, 2011 

Michael Ortiz, Bureau Chief 

Radiation Control Bureau 

New Mexico Environment Department 

P.O. Box 5469 

Santa Fe, NM 87502-5469 

SUBJECT: SUMMARY OF PERIODIC MEETING WITH NEW MEXICO ENVIRONMENT 

DEPARTMENT HELD ON JUNE 7, 2011 

Dear Mr. Ortiz: 

A periodic meeting was held on June 7, 2011, with you, Mr. Santiago Rodriguez, Program 

Manager, and Mr. Butch Tongate, Director Environmental Protection Division. The purpose of 

this meeting was to review and discuss the status of the New Mexico Agreement State 

Program. The NRC was represented by Janine Katanic, FSME, 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 if you 

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: 

New Mexico Periodic Meeting Summary 

UNITED STATES

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

REGION IV

612 EAST LAMAR BLVD, SUITE 400

ARLINGTON, TEXAS 76011-4125
New Mexico Radiation Control Bureau 

 

- 2 -

Internal distribution via e-mail: 

Roy Caniano, D:DNMS 

Vivian Campbell, DD:DNMS 

Charles Cain, SMA 

Robert Lewis, FSME 

Terry Reis, FSME 

James Luehman, FSME 

Mark Delligatti, FSME 

Duncan White, FSME 

Lisa Dimmick, FSME 

Rachel Browder, RIV 

Randy Erickson, RIV 

Janine Katanic, FSME 

Karen Meyer, FSME 

Michelle Beardsley, RI 

 ML11187A225 

S:\DNMS\!SAO\PeriodicMeetings\2011\NM\NM Periodic Mtg Summary 060711.docx 

ADAMS: 
 No ⌧ Yes ⌧ SUNSI Review Complete Reviewer Initials: rsb 

⌧ Publicly Available ⌧ Non-Sensitive 


 Non-publicly Available 
 Sensitive 

RIV:RSAO:DNMS 

RSBrowder;dlf 

 /RA/ 

 7/6/11 

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY 
Enclosure 

NEW MEXICO PERIODIC MEETING SUMMARY 

Date of Meeting: June 7, 2011 

Attendees 

NRC NEW MEXICO 

Rachel Browder, RSAO Butch Tongate, Director, Environmental Protection Division 

Janine Katanic, FSME Michael Ortiz, Chief, Radiation Control Bureau 

 Santiago Rodriguez, Program Manager 

DISCUSSION: 

The New Mexico Agreement State program is administered by the Radiation Control Bureau, 

under the Environmental Protection Division within the New Mexico Environment Department 

(NMED). The Bureau was recently moved to the Environmental Protection Division. 

Mr. Tongate was appointed by the recently-elected Governor as the Director of the Division. 

NMED was recently reorganized into four divisions, the Environmental Protection Division, 

Resource Protection Division, Operations & Infrastructure Division, and Information Technology 

Division. During the reorganization, the radioactive materials program continued to be executed 

by the Radiation Control Bureau. During the past 2 years, the NRC sent two letters of support 

for the program to two different Secretaries of the Environment Department. During these 

communications and as part of this periodic meeting, we understand that the State of New 

Mexico is taking steps to ensure the Radiation Control Bureau has sufficient resources and 

oversight to protect public health and safety. More specific information on staffing and training 

is discussed below. 

At the time of the periodic meeting, the Bureau regulated approximately 200 licenses 

authorizing the use of byproduct, source, and special nuclear material. The Bureau does not 

regulate 11.e.2 material and does not license a low level waste facility. 

The last IMPEP Review was conducted July 20-24, 2009. The review team recommended, and 

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

was found satisfactory for five of the six performance indicators reviewed and satisfactory, but 

needs improvement for the performance indicator Technical Quality of Incident and Allegation 

Activities. There was one recommendation regarding updating information to NMED. Overall, 

the New Mexico Agreement State Program was found adequate to protect public health and 

safety and compatible with NRC's program. 

Based on the results of the 2009 IMPEP Review, the MRB concurred that the next full review of 

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

review, and a periodic meeting would be tentatively scheduled for July 2011. 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. 
New Mexico Periodic Meeting Summary Page 2 

Enclosure 

The status of the recommendations from the 2009 Final New Mexico IMPEP Report is 

summarized below: 

• The review team recommends that the State develop and implement a process to 

ensure appropriate notification to the NRC Headquarters Operations Center for 

reportable events, to ensure all required information is submitted to NMED, and to 

promote timely closure of NMED entries. 

Status: The Bureau stated that they utilize a database to track all NRC reportable and 

non-reportable events. A staff member has been designated as the primary point of 

contact (POC) for the database. In reviewing NMED as part of this periodic meeting, it 

appears that the State is updating the information appropriately in NMED. This 

recommendation should be verified and closed at the next IMPEP review.

Other topics covered during the periodic meeting included: 

Program Strengths: Although not all of the Environmental Scientist positions are filled, 

the Bureau has five seasoned inspectors with over 80 years combined experience in a 

wide array of radiological areas that benefit the program. The inspectors have received 

the core training courses that reflect MC 1246 training requirements. As a result of the 

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

inspection or licensing actions. 

The Bureau was moved under the Environmental Protection Division as a result of 

reorganization within the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED). The Bureau 

indicated it was a beneficial move and that the responsibilities of the Bureau are 

congruent with the Division’s. In addition, the budget appropriations coding under the 

Division allows the Director to move funds between the major budget segments as 

needed, which is beneficial for the overall Division. 

Program Weaknesses: The loss of personnel over the last review period is considered a 

program weakness. The salary within the State is considered good for the area; 

however, the budget restraint within the State limited the Bureau in quickly filling two 

supervisor vacancies and several Environmental Scientist positions during the review 

period. At the time of this periodic meeting, the Bureau Chief and the Program Manager 

positions had been filled. However, there remain five Environmental Scientist position 

vacancies. Additional information is provided in the Staffing and Training section. 

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. The State requested to 

participate in the current FSME initiative to share a web-based licensing (WBL) software 

version with the Agreement States. The state is working with their internal information 

technology department to install the WBL software version on their own server. The 
New Mexico Periodic Meeting Summary Page 3 

Enclosure 

State indicated that they appreciate NRC’s efforts on the WBL and believe that the 

software will help to streamline the process for sharing pertinent license information. 

Staffing and Training

The Bureau has 15 positions of which 10 positions are responsible for the Agreement 

State program activities. The 10 positions represent the Bureau Chief, Program 

Manager, and eight Environmental Scientist positions. Of the 8 Environmental Scientist 

positions, there are 3 filled positions and 5 vacancies. It’s noteworthy to recognize that 

of the eight Environmental Scientist positions, 6 are classified as “advanced” and 2 are 

classified as “operational.” This classification allows the State to bring in a highlyqualified candidate initially, in lieu of training someone at an entry level position. 

Since May 2010, the NRC has sent two letters of support to the Secretary of New 

Mexico Environment Department (NMED). The letters did not question the State’s ability 

to protect public health and safety, but encouraged the State to take steps as necessary 

to fill the vacancies in a timely manner. The State initiated steps to ensure the Bureau 

had sufficient resources and oversight to protect public health and safety. This included 

filling the Bureau Chief and Program Manager positions within this review period. In 

addition, the State was anticipating making an offer during June and two offers were 

awaiting the Governor’s approval. In addition, the Bureau is expecting to post the other 

vacancies in the near future. 

The Bureau is anticipating rehiring a staff member as a rehired annuitant to focus on 

licensing actions. This would alleviate the Bureau Chief from performing licensing 

actions and allow him to focus primarily on managing the program and performing 

inspections, as necessary. 

Program Reorganizations

NMED reorganized its structure into three divisions. As a result of the reorganization, 

the Environmental Health Division was dissolved and the Bureau was placed under the 

newly organized Environmental Protection Division. As stated previously, the Bureau 

indicated it was a beneficial move and the responsibilities of the Bureau mirror the 

functions of this particular Division’s purpose. The Division’s bureaus and programs 

include the Air Quality Bureau, Occupational Health & Safety Program, Solid Waste 

Bureau, and Radiation Control Bureau. 

Changes in Program Budget/Funding

The Bureau receives general funds from the State. There have been changes in the 

general fund which have contributed to distribution reductions. For example, in 2008 the 

general fund was approximately 40 percent of the Bureau’s budget, 2010 was 

approximately 12 percent of the Bureau’s budget and the projection for 2012 is 

approximately 9.5 percent of the Bureau’s budget. The program is moving towards 
New Mexico Periodic Meeting Summary Page 4 

Enclosure 

being fully fee funded. It is also important to note that, within the Environmental 

Protection Division, the Director is able to move funds around within the Division as 

appropriate. 

Materials Inspection Program 

At the time of this periodic meeting, the Bureau reported that they were meeting their 

Quarterly Performance Measures, which were more conservative than the inspection 

criteria established in NRC Manual Chapter 2800. Therefore, there were no overdue 

inspections for health and safety or for security inspections, which are tracked 

separately. 

Materials Licensing Program

At the time of this periodic meeting, the Bureau indicated there was no backlog in 

licensing actions. The Bureau stated that renewals were typically completed within 

3 weeks, new applications were completed within 45 days, and amendments were 

completed in less than 1 week. 

Regulations and Legislative Changes

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

The Bureau indicated that they have addressed the final comments for one regulatory 

package (RATS ID 2008-1), with an effective date of June 30, 2011. The Bureau will 

provide the final regulations to the NRC for review. A second package (RATS-ID 1993-

2) was previously not addressed because the State did not license a Part 36 irradiator. 

However, now that the State regulates a Part 36 irradiator, the pertinent final regulations 

will be submitted to the NRC for review. 

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

The Bureau reported two events to the Nuclear Material Events Database (NMED) since 

the 2009 IMPEP review. Both events were medical events and they were appropriately 

reported to the NRC and properly entered into, and updated within, NMED. One of the 

events is closed and the second event, which also meets the AO criteria, remains open 

pending further legal action. 

Response to Incidents and Allegations

The Bureau tracks all incidents and events in the Bureau’s new event tracking database. 

The Bureau indicated that they respond to all events, including non-reportable events. 

The purpose of their response is to assess and document the event as a reference point 

of information for any potential trends or occurrences in the future. Incidents are quickly 

reviewed for their affect on public health and safety. The State has one medical event 

that meets the AO criteria that remains open. The enforcement action taken in this case 

includes a proposed civil penalty. The case is with the Office of General Counsel. 
New Mexico Periodic Meeting Summary Page 5 

Enclosure 

Status of Allegations and Concerns Referred by the NRC for Action

NRC did not refer any allegations to New Mexico during the review period. 

Emerging Technologies

The Bureau did not identify any emerging technologies. 

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

The state has two large decommissioning sites. These two sites are Eberline, which has 

Pu and Am-241 soil contamination, and IBA Molecular, who is decommissioning a 

cyclotron with activated concrete. The State did not authorize restricted release for IBA 

Molecular, and the company is subsequently removing the concrete. 

Current State Initiatives

The Bureau has been closely involved with the response to the Las Conchas fire, which 

started after this periodic meeting. Their involvement includes installing and monitoring 

air samples. The Bureau is also coordinating with other agencies and federal partners, 

such as the EPA and FBI, in preparing and responding to any potential event involving 

radioactive material during the Albuquerque International Balloon Festival in October 

2011. 

State’s Mechanisms to Evaluate Performance

The Bureau performs quarterly self-audits on approximately 10 percent of the 

inspections performed. This includes ensuring the inspection files are complete, the 

deficiencies are documented appropriately, and a formal corrective action response 

letter from the licensee is in the file, as appropriate. Historically, the Bureau Chief has 

performed the inspection accompaniments for all of the inspection staff. Since the 

Program Manager position has been filled, the Program Manager will perform the 

inspection accompaniments for all inspection staff. These accompaniments are 

documented and maintained in the files. 

Current NRC Initiatives

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

Management Programs (FSME) initiatives with the New Mexico representatives. This 

included recently issued FSME and RCPD letters, proposed regulatory rulemaking, and 

new training procedures and applicable forms for the State to follow when requesting 

NRC training courses. In addition, FSME discussed WBL, in which New Mexico is a 

participant. 
New Mexico Periodic Meeting Summary Page 6 

Enclosure 

CONCLUSION: 

 Based on the discussions during the periodic meeting and throughout this review period, 

it appears that the Bureau is continuing to implement a program that protects the health 

and safety of the public and the environment. The NRC is supportive of the continuing 

efforts by the Bureau and NMED to fill the vacancies within the Bureau, which would 

allow the Bureau Chief and Program Manager to focus on managing the program. 

Schedule for the Next IMPEP Review 

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

FY 2013.