UNITED STATES

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

REGION I 

2100 RENAISSANCE BLVD., SUITE 100 

KING OF PRUSSIA, PA 19406-2713 

July 1, 2014 

Sheila Pinette, D.O., Director 

Maine Center for Disease Control 

 and Prevention 

286 Water Street 

11 State House Station 

Augusta, ME 04333-0011 

Dear Dr. Pinette: 

A periodic meeting with your staff was held on June 3, 2014. The purpose of this meeting was 

to review and discuss the status of the Maine Agreement State Program. The U.S. Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission (NRC) was represented by James Clifford, Joe O’Hara, and me. 

I have completed and enclosed a general meeting summary, including any specific actions 

resulting from the discussions. A Management Review Board (MRB) meeting to discuss the 

outcome of the periodic meeting has been scheduled for September 23, 2014 at 1:00pm. Call 

in information for the MRB will be provided in a separate transmission. 

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 (610) 337-5214 or 

via e-mail at Monica.Ford@nrc.gov to discuss your concerns. 

 Sincerely, 

 /RA/ 

 Monica Lynn Ford 

 Regional State Agreements Officer 

 Division of Nuclear Materials Safety 

 U.S. NRC Region I 

Enclosure: 

Periodic Meeting Summary for Maine 

cc w/encl.: Jay Hyland, Manager 

 Maine Radiation Control Program 

 

 
July 1, 2014 

Sheila Pinette, D.O., Director 

Maine Center for Disease Control 

 and Prevention 

286 Water Street 

11 State House Station 

Augusta, ME 04333-0011 

Dear Dr. Pinette: 

A periodic meeting with your staff was held on June 3, 2014. The purpose of this meeting was 

to review and discuss the status of the Maine Agreement State Program. The U.S. Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission (NRC) was represented by James Clifford, Joe O’Hara, and me. 

I have completed and enclosed a general meeting summary, including any specific actions 

resulting from the discussions. A Management Review Board (MRB) meeting to discuss the 

outcome of the periodic meeting has been scheduled for September 23, 2014 at 1:00pm. Call 

in information for the MRB will be provided in a separate transmission. 

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 (610) 337-5214 or 

via e-mail at Monica.Ford@nrc.gov to discuss your concerns. 

 Sincerely, 

 /RA/ 

 Monica Lynn Ford 

 Regional State Agreements Officer 

 Division of Nuclear Materials Safety 

 U.S. NRC Region I 

Enclosure: 

Periodic Meeting Summary for Maine 

cc w/encl.: Jay Hyland, Manager 

 Maine Radiation Control Program 

Distribution: 

M. Beardsley, FSME L. Dimmick, FSME K. Meyer, FSME D. White, FSME 

P. Henderson, FSME L. Dudes, FSME J. Clifford, RI D. Collins, RI 

D. Janda, RI M. Ford, RI J. O’Hara, FSME S. Abraham, FSME 

SUNSI Review Complete: MLF (Reviewer’s Initials) 

S:\State Agreement Files\Maine\June 4, 2013 Periodic meeting Summary and Transmittal letter.docx

After declaring this document “An Official Agency Record” it will be released to the Public. 

To receive a copy of this document, indicate in the box: "C" = Copy without attachment/enclosure "E" = Copy with 

attachment/enclosure "N" = No copy ML14182A780 

OFFICE DNMS/RI E 

NAME MFord/mlf 

DATE 07/01/14 

 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
AGREEMENT STATE PERIODIC MEETING SUMMARY FOR 

MAINE DIVISION OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH 

 RADIATION CONTROL PROGRAM 

DATE OF MEETING: June 3, 2014 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

(NRC) Attendees 

Maine Division of Environmental Health 

Attendees 

Monica Ford, RSAO, Region I Jay Hyland, Manager 

James Clifford, Division Director, 

Region I 

Jean Geslin, Radioactive Materials Inspector 

Joe O’Hara, Project Manager, Office of 

Federal and State Materials and 

Environmental Management Programs 

(FSME) 

Tom Hillman, Radioactive Materials Inspector 

DISCUSSION: 

During the May 2011 Integrated Materials Performance Evaluation Program (IMPEP) review of 

the Maine Agreement State Program (the Program), the review team found the State’s 

performance satisfactory for all performance indicators reviewed. The review team made three 

recommendations. On July 21, 2011, the Management Review Board (MRB) met to consider 

the proposed final IMPEP report on the Program. The MRB determined that Maine’s 

performance for the indicator Technical Staffing and Training was satisfactory but needs 

improvement and all other indicators were found to be satisfactory. The MRB found the 

Program adequate to protect public health and safety and compatible with the NRC’s program. 

Based on the results of the IMPEP review, the review team recommended, and the MRB 

agreed, that the next full IMPEP review take place in four years and that a periodic meeting be 

held in approximately two years. 

A periodic meeting was held with the Program on June 4, 2013. Subsequent to the periodic 

meeting the MRB met on July 9, 2013 to consider the findings of the periodic meeting. The 

MRB directed that the Program be placed on monitoring, that the Program submit a program 

improvement plan (PIP), that quarterly calls be conducted between the NRC and the Program, 

that a periodic meeting be held in one year, and that the IMPEP be conducted as scheduled in 

fiscal year 2015. The Program submitted a PIP on October 28, 2013 (ML13302C098) and 

submitted an updated PIP on February 20, 2014 (ML14051A451). 

TOPICS COVERED DURING THE MEETING INCLUDED:

Program Strengths

The Program noted two strengths. The Program is fully staffed with two fully qualified 

inspectors. The Program’s staff has extensive knowledge in radiation protection.
Maine Periodic Meeting Summary 2 

Program Weaknesses

The program manager stated that the Program’s weakness is a law that was passed in 2009 

which became effective March 1, 2014. This law required properties that were leased for more 

than 100 days to be tested for radon. The amount of work brought on by this law is prohibiting 

the Program from cross training another employee, who is currently in the radon program, to 

help with licensing and inspection activities. 

Feedback on the NRC’s Program

The Program commented that both the overall relationship and communications with the NRC 

are good. The Program also expressed its appreciation for the NRC training classes. Last, the 

program manager discussed Maine’s appreciation for the IMPEP process. 

Agreement State Program Staffing and Training

At the time of the June 2013 periodic meeting the Program had one staff vacancy. Since that 

periodic meeting the vacancy has been eliminated from the Program’s staffing plan. The 

Program currently consists of two technical staff positions and a program manager and is 

considered fully staffed with approximately 2.4 full time equivalents (FTE). The program 

manager and both technical staff are fully qualified license reviewers and inspectors. 

Support for staff training exists in the Program. Maine has been utilizing NRC’s training courses 

to support the qualifications of the technical staff. One of the inspectors has also accompanied 

a New Hampshire inspector to gain additional inspection experience. 

The 2011 IMPEP had one recommendation in this indicator. The recommendation and status 

are below. 

Recommendation 1: The review team recommends that the State develop and implement a 

strategy to address current and future staffing vacancies in order to maintain the effectiveness 

and efficiency of the Program. 

Status: During the June 2013 periodic meeting, the program manager stated that in order to 

address the recommendation, the Program’s original plan was to move the staff member over 

from the State’s low level radioactive waste program to the radioactive materials program when 

the individual returned from military duty in order to try and address this recommendation. This 

staff member was moved to the program in September 2011. The program manager stated that 

by doing this, the hope was to increase the Program’s FTE from 2.4 to 3.2 when the vacant staff 

position left unfilled by the hiring freeze was finally able to be filled. The Program was able to fill 

that vacant position in June 2012 and increase the Program’s FTE to 3.2. However, the 

unexpected departure of a staff member in September 2012 has caused the Program to return 

to 2.4 FTE. The vacant position created by the September 2012 retirement has since been 

removed from the Program’s staffing plan and the Program is considered fully staffed with 

approximately 2.4 FTE. Per the Program’s PIP the goal is to maintain two inspectors to support 

the program. The Program has also created a staff development plan to cross train additional 

radiation control program staff to help support licensing and inspection activities in the Program 
Maine Periodic Meeting Summary 3 

and hopes to send one of the staff to the inspection procedures course scheduled for October 

2014. This will help the Program in their cross training efforts. 

Organization

The Program is located in the Radiation Control Program which is located in the Division of 

Environmental Health in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention under the Department 

for Health and Human Services. 

Program Budget/Funding

The Program is 100 percent fee funded. Maine increased its fees in 2010 and now charges 50 

percent of NRC fees from 2009. This increase was put into place to help pay off a deficit that 

occurred in the Program. The deficit has since been resolved and the Program’s budget is 

currently in the positive. The funds are placed into a dedicated fund for the Radioactive 

Materials Program. Although the money is placed into a dedicated fund money can be taken 

out of the fund by one of three ways: 1) stacap, which is a 3.45% tax that is assessed monthly 

on the account and goes into the general fund, 2) dicap, which allows the Maine Department of 

Health and Human Services to take money out of the account every month based on FTE, it 

amounts to approximately $8,000.00 per FTE per year, and 3) a change in legislation, which is 

rare. 

Licensing and Inspection Programs

The Program currently has approximately 110 specific licenses. The Program completed 50 

licensing actions in calendar year 2013 and so far has completed 45 licensing actions in 

calendar year 2014. The increase in licensing action for calendar year 2014 is due to an 

increase of license renewals coming due this year. The technical staff has signature authority 

for all types of licensing actions. All completed licensing actions undergo a peer or managerial 

review before being signed and issued. The Program currently has a backlog of six licensing 

actions. The longest action, which is a renewal, has been with the Program since February 

2014. 

All of the Program’s inspection frequencies are performed at the same frequency as the NRC’s. 

The Program’s licensees are composed largely of Priority 5 licensees and less than half of the 

licensees fall into the Priority 1, 2, and 3 categories. 

During the June 2013 periodic meeting the Program reported that it had 14 overdue Priority 1, 2, 

and 3 inspections by more than 25 percent of the inspection frequency since the last IMPEP 

review. The program manager stated that it was decided that the Program would take a hit in 

the area of overdue inspections in order to allow the two technical staff to become fully qualified 

inspectors. At the time of this periodic meeting both technical staff are fully qualified inspectors 

and the Program has no inspections overdue by more than 25 percent of their assigned 

inspection frequency. The Program has not had any initial inspections since the last periodic 

meeting since no new licenses have been issued. 
Maine Periodic Meeting Summary 4 

In calendar year 2014 the Program has received 10 reciprocity requests, of which, eight have 

actually come in to the State to perform work. The Program has completed inspections on two 

of the eight reciprocity licensees. 

The 2011 IMPEP review generated one recommendation in this indicator. The recommendation 

and its status are below. 

Recommendation 2: The review team recommends that annual supervisor accompaniments 

be performed for each radioactive materials staff member to ensure quality and consistency 

within the program. 

Status: The program manager stated and recorded on the PIP that both annual supervisory 

accompaniments for calendar year 2013 had been completed. The program manager also 

stated that he has already completed one supervisory accompaniment for 2014. The other 

supervisory accompaniment is expected to be completed by the end of July 2014. 

Regulations and Legislative Changes

The Program is designated as the State's radiation control agency. No legislation affecting the 

Program was passed since the last IMPEP review and the Program is not subject to sunset 

requirements. 

The Maine Regulations for Control of Radiation, found in Maine Administrative Rules 10-144A 

CMR 220, apply to all ionizing radiation. Maine requires a license for possession and use of all 

radioactive material, including naturally occurring materials, and accelerator produced 

radionuclides. Maine also requires registration of all equipment designed to produce X-rays or 

other ionizing radiation. 

At the time of the periodic meeting, there were no NRC amendments overdue for adoption. 

However, it was noted by the May 2011 IMPEP review team that the final published rules 

submitted for NRC review in March 2010 generated 22 NRC comments. The review team made 

a recommendation based on this finding. The recommendation and its status are listed below. 

Recommendation 3: The review team recommends that the State expedite action to address 

the comments identified in NRC letters dated August 31, 2006, and June 18, 2010, to 

promulgate and complete changes to the State regulations. 

Status: The Program manager stated that the comments made by the NRC in its letters dated 

August 31, 2006 and June 18, 2010 have been addressed in a draft rulemaking. The Program 

is in the process of seeking approval from the Governor’s office to start rulemaking proceedings. 

Once approval is received, there is a 150 day window for the Program to solicit for and address 

public comments. The Program plans to allow for a 30 day public comment period. The 

Program will also send the rules to NRC for review. The Program hopes to have the rules 

through final adoption by the end of calendar year 2014. Once these rules become final the 

Program will start working on a time frame to adopt other regulatory changes required for 

compatibility. 
Maine Periodic Meeting Summary 5 

Event Reporting

The Program has had two reportable events and several non-reportable events since the 2011 

IMPEP review. Both reportable events have been reported to the NRC accordingly. The 

Program stated that all staff is aware of event reporting criteria. 

Response to Incidents and Allegations

The Program is aware of the need to maintain an effective response to incidents and 

allegations. When notified of an incident, the radioactive materials staff in the Program will be 

assigned to investigate and document the incident and determine if the event requires a call to 

the NRC Headquarters Operations Center. The inspector is responsible for recording the event 

in the Nuclear Materials Events Database (NMED) local incident database and transferring 

updates to the NRC’s contractor responsible for maintaining NMED. 

Since the last IMPEP review, the Program has received no allegations. The Program stated 

that when they do receive an allegation they are able to protect the alleger’s identity. When 

asked if there was a procedure available for handling of allegations, the program manager 

stated that the procedure had not been looked at since the last IMPEP review and would work 

on updating it before the IMPEP review scheduled in June 2015. 

Sealed Source and Device Evaluation (SS&D)

At the time of the May 2011 IMPEP review, no SS&D certificates had been issued by the 

Program and there were no manufacturers of SS&Ds in the State. Accordingly, the IMPEP 

team did not review this indicator. During the June 2013 periodic meeting the program manger 

stated that a manufacturer and distributor (M&D) had located itself in Maine and had submitted 

an SS&D sheet for approval to the Program on May 31, 2013. The program manager stated 

that the New England States have signed the New England Radiological Health Compact so the 

Program is able to utilize expertise in another State to help perform the SS&D review and 

approval. The Program used experienced staff in Massachusetts to perform the SS&D review. 

The Program issued the completed SS&D registration sheet in November 2013. The Program 

plans to work on qualifying technical staff as time allows so that they will be able to perform 

SS&D reviews in the future. 

CONCLUSIONS: 

The Maine Agreement State Program has shown improved performance since the June 2013 

periodic meeting. Since the last IMPEP two new technical staff members have joined the 

Program and both are now fully qualified license reviewers and inspectors. The Program has 

no inspections of priority 1, 2, and 3 overdue by more than 25 percent of their inspection due 

date. Additionally, the Program has a minimal licensing backlog and has no regulations overdue 

for adoption. The Program has taken the feedback received at the June 2013 periodic meeting 

and has successfully corrected the issues that were found at that time. Based on the above, 

NRC staff recommends that the Maine Agreement State Program be removed from monitoring 

and that the next IMPEP review of the Maine Agreement State Program be conducted as 

scheduled in June 2015.