May 23, 2014 

Evita Lagard, Administrator 

Assessment Division 

Office of Environmental Compliance 

Louisiana Dept. of Environmental Quality 

P.O. Box 4312 

Baton Rouge, LA 70821-4312 

Dear Ms. Lagard: 

A periodic meeting was held on April 24, 2014 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 Anton Vegel, Director of the Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, and 

me. 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 817-200-1116 or 

email me at Binesh.Tharakan@nrc.gov to discuss your concerns. 

 Sincerely, 

 /RA/ 

 Binesh K. Tharakan, CHP 

 Regional State Agreements Officer 

Enclosure: 

Periodic Meeting Summary for Louisiana 

 

 UNITED STATES

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

REGION IV

1600 E. LAMAR BLVD. 

ARLINGTON, TX 76011-4511
E. Lagard - 2 - 

bcc: (via e-mail distribution): 

Anton Vegel, DNMS 

Binesh Tharakan, RSAO 

Duncan White, FSME 

John Moses, FSME 

Michelle Beardsley, FSME 

Karen Meyer, FSME 

Laura Dudes, FSME 

Linda Howell, DNMS 

Lisa Dimmick, FSME 

Pamela Henderson, FSME 

Randy Erickson, RSAO 

S:\DNMS\!SAO\Periodic Meetings\2014\Louisiana\ 2014 Louisiana Periodic Mtg. ACCESSION ML: 

X SUNSI Review 

By: 

ADAMS 

X Yes  No 

X Publicly Available 

 Non-Publicly Available 

 Non-Sensitive 

 Sensitive 

Keyword: 

OFFICE DNMS 

NAME BKTharakan 

SIGNATURE /RA/ 

DATE 05/23/2014 

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY 
- 1 - Enclosure 

AGREEMENT STATE PERIODIC MEETING SUMMARY FOR THE 

LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY 

DATE OF MEETING: APRIL 24, 2014 

NRC Attendees Louisiana Attendees 

Binesh Tharakan, RSAO Cheryl Nolan, Assistant Secretary, Office of 

Environmental Compliance 

Tony Vegel, Director, DNMS Evita Lagard, Administrator, Assessment Division 

 Judith Schuerman, Manager, Radiation 

 Scott Blackwell, Supervisor, Licensing and 

Registration 

 Dwayne Stepter, Supervisor, Surveillance and 

Enforcement 

 Joseph Noble, Staff 

 James Pate, Staff 

 Melanie Bauder, Staff, Licensing 

 Karen Burgard, Staff, Licensing 

DISCUSSION: 

The Louisiana Agreement State Program is administered by the Assessment Division (the 

Division), which is one of four Divisions under the Office of Environmental Compliance (the 

Office) located within the Department of Environmental Quality (the Department). 

The previous IMPEP review was conducted the week of April 23-27, 2012. At the conclusion of 

the IMPEP review, the review team found Louisiana’s performance to be satisfactory, but needs 

improvement, for the non-common performance indicators of Compatibility Requirements and 

Sealed Source and Device Evaluation Program. Louisiana’s performance was found to be 

satisfactory for all of the other indicators reviewed. The review team made two new 

recommendations regarding Louisiana’s performance during the review period and kept one 

recommendation open from the 2008 IMPEP review. 

The review team also recommended, and the Management Review Board (MRB) agreed, that 

the Louisiana Agreement State Program be found adequate to protect public health and safety 

and compatible with NRC's program. 

The current status of the recommendations documented in the 2012 Louisiana final IMPEP 

report is summarized below. 

• The review team recommends that the Department evaluate its review processes and 

develop appropriate actions to ensure that products issued are of high technical quality 

and meet the standard expectations of the Department. 

Status: The Division stated that the program has provided training to staff and has reemphasized the use of standard operating procedures to ensure products issued by the 

Division are of high technical quality. Prior to issuance of licensing documents and 

sealed source device evaluations, the Division performs several reviews to ensure the 
- 2 - 

product is of high quality. The review process includes peer reviews, subject matter 

expert technical reviews, as well as, supervisory and management reviews prior to 

issuance. At a minimum, five levels of review are performed on a document before it is 

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

• The review team recommends that all of the active sealed source and device registration 

commitments be located and made readily accessible by the State. 

Status: The Division conducted an extensive search of hard copy and electronic records 

to ensure that all supporting documentation and commitments associated with sealed 

source and device registrations were located and readily accessible in the appropriate 

case file. The Division created individual folders for all 61 sealed source device 

registration evaluations. Each case file was reviewed and updated with hard copy 

documentation or were supported by electronic document references. Going forward, 

the Division implemented a peer review process to ensure that the supporting 

documentation is contained in the individual folder before issuing the registration and 

incorporates the guidance in NUREG-1556, Volume 3, “Application for Sealed Source 

Device Evaluation and Registration.” This recommendation should be verified and 

closed at the next IMPEP review.

• The review team recommends that the State adhere to the document format and content 

guidance in current version NUREG-1556, Volume 3. (Section 4.2.2) (Kept open from 

the 2008 IMPEP review). 

Status: The Division reviewed and updated all 61 of its Sealed Source and Device 

Nationwide Registry (SSDRs). The Division uses the format and content guidance in the 

current version of NUREG-1556, Volume 3. According to the Division, this 

recommendation was kept open from the 2008 IMPEP review because the Division did 

not review inactive sealed source and device registrations prior to the 2012 IMPEP 

review. Since the 2012 review, the Division has completed review of 61 device 

registrations including ones that were inactive and have updated all evaluations such 

that the files are current with NUREG-1556, Volume 3. This recommendation should be 

verified and closed at the next IMPEP review.

Other topics covered at the meeting included: 

Program Strengths

The Division has a stable workforce with experienced inspectors. The Division is able to 

travel again after recent budget constraints and they have relatively little turnover. The 

Division has very little difficulty in replacing staff that have left the program with well 

qualified candidates to be inspectors or license reviewers. The level of experience 

within the workforce is increasing as newly hired staff rapidly gain experience through 

mentoring, accompaniments, and attending NRC training courses. The ability to attend 

training classes at the rate with which staff in the Division have been attending them is a 

significant strength. In this review period, most of the staff has been able to attend 

multiple NRC training classes. As a result of the knowledge gained by new staff 

attending training and performing inspections, and the experience of senior staff, there is 
- 3 - 

currently no backlog of inspections and licensing actions. Communications between the 

NRC and the Division continue to be effective and provide the level of assistance that 

the Division needs to ensure the program is meeting its obligations under the 

Agreement. 

Program Weaknesses

The Division stated that losing one senior technical advisor position has impacted their 

ability to efficiently manage the workload in the Division and had a significant impact on 

rulemaking activities. 

Feedback on NRC’s Program

The Division stated they greatly appreciated the training provided to their staff at NRC 

expense. They have not had any difficulties enrolling staff in training classes and hopes 

that this will continue into the future. 

Staffing and Training

The Division currently has a total of 23 staff positions and one administrative position, 

with one vacancy out of six positions in the licensing staff. The Division has plans to fill 

the vacancy in the near term and has adequate succession planning in place should 

they lose additional staff due to retirements. The inspection staff is comprised of 12 

inspectors, who also investigate incidents that are reported to the Division. The staff are 

maintaining qualifications and continuing to receive training courses sponsored by the 

NRC or other equivalent courses. The Division maintains an adequate level of full time 

employees to accomplish their health and safety mission. 

Program Reorganizations

The Assessment Division Administrator is new to the position but a long term employee 

of the Department of Environmental Quality and is familiar with the Louisiana program’s 

operations. Escalated enforcement cases are now handled out of the Enforcement 

Division under a different administrator. No other significant program reorganizations 

have occurred in the review period. 

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. The budget has been stable during the review 

period and it’s unlikely the legislature will allow the Division to raise fees in the near 

term. However, the Division is allowed to hire new employees to maintain staffing at 

the current level. 

Materials Inspection Program 

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

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

are committed to by legislative mandate. 

Materials Licensing Program 
- 4 - 

Currently, the Division licenses 496 radioactive materials users. During the 2012 

IMPEP, the review team identified some deficiencies in the technical quality of licensing 

actions. The specific deficiencies identified in the 2012 IMPEP report have all been 

corrected. In 2010, the NRC issued a letter to all Agreement States, RCPD-10-007, 

“Requesting Implementation of a Policy on Maximum Possession Limits for Radioactive 

Material Licenses.” At the periodic meeting, the Division reported that the requested 

actions were completed for all materials licensees in September 2013. Currently, there 

is no backlog of licensing actions within the Division. 

Regulations and Legislative Changes 

The 2012 IMPEP review team found that Compatibility Requirements were Satisfactory 

but needs improvement. Four amendments were considered overdue and 6 comments 

generated from previous NRC reviews of Louisiana’s regulations still needed to be 

addressed in upcoming rulemaking activities. Louisiana’s rulemaking process normally 

takes approximately two to three months, if the proposed State regulations are identical 

to Federal regulations, and about six months if they are not identical. Current NRC 

policy requires that Agreement States adopt certain equivalent regulations or legally 

binding requirements no later than three years after the effective date of NRC’s 

regulations. 

As noted in the Staffing and Training section of this summary, one of the duties of the 

vacated Senior Technical Staff position included the development of regulations. The 

Program Manager has recently completed the process of identifying overdue regulation 

amendments, submitting them for NRC review, reviewing the NRC comments on the 

final regulation amendments submitted during this review period, and addressing the 

comments in upcoming rulemaking. Upon completion of these activities Louisiana will 

be current on all RATS IDs listed on the State Regulation Status Summary Sheets. The 

following is the current status of Louisiana’s rulemaking activities. 

The 2012 IMPEP review team noted that the following four amendments were not submitted 

and were overdue at the time of the review. 

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

CFR Parts 32 and 35 amendments (72 FR 45147, 72 FR 54207) became effective on 

October 29, 2007, and were due for Agreement State adoption on October 29, 

2010, (RATS ID 2007-1). 

These amendments were addressed in RP051ft, which was submitted to NRC as a final 

rule on May 1, 2012. NRC responded with one comment. Louisiana addressed the 

comment in RP055ft, which was published as a final rule in the Louisiana Register on 

February 20, 2014, and was submitted to the NRC on March 19, 2014 for approval. 

• “Exemptions From Licensing, General Licenses, and Distribution of Byproduct 

Material: Licensing and Reporting Requirements,” 10 CFR Parts 30, 31, 32, and 

150 amendments (72 FR 58473) became effective on December 17, 2007, and were 

due for Agreement State adoption by December 17, 2010, (RATS ID 2007-2). 

These amendments were addressed in RP052ft, which was published as a final rule in 

the Louisiana Register on November 20, 2012, and was submitted to the NRC on 
- 5 - 

November 27, 2012. NRC responded with six comments. These comments were 

addressed in RP056ft, which was published in the Louisiana Register on April 20, 2014, 

and was submitted to the NRC on May 2, 2014, for approval. 

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

32, 33, 35, 61, and 150 amendments (72 FR 55864) became effective on November 

30, 2007, and were due for Agreement State adoption by November 30, 2010, 

(RATS ID 2007-3). 

These amendments were addressed in RP055ft, which was published as a final rule in 

the Louisiana Register on February 20, 2014, and submitted to the NRC on March 19, 

2014 for approval.

• “Occupational Dose Records, Labeling Containers, and Total Effective Dose 

Equivalent,” 10 CFR Parts 19 and 20 amendments (72 FR 68043) became effective 

February 15, 2008; and were due for Agreement State adoption by February 15, 

2011, (RATS ID 2008-1). 

These amendments were addressed in RP053ft, which was published as a final rule in 

the Louisiana Register on November 20, 2012, and was submitted to the NRC on 

November 27, 2012. NRC responded with one comment. The comment was addressed 

in RP056ft, which was published in the Louisiana Register on April 20, 2014, and was 

submitted to the NRC on May 2, 2014, for approval. 

The 2012 IMPEP review team noted that the following two amendments were submitted 

overdue. 

• “Energy Compensation Sources for Well Logging and Other Regulatory 

Clarifications,” 10 CFR Part 39 amendment (65 FR 20337) that was due for 

Agreement State adoption on May 17, 2003, (RATS ID 2000-1). 

The NRC accepted this as a final rule on April 14, 2008, with no comments. No further 

action is required. 

• “Minor Amendments,” 10 CFR Parts 20, 32, 35, 40 and 70 amendments (71 FR 

15005) that was due for Agreement State adoption on March 27, 2009, (RATS ID 

2006-1). 

The NRC accepted this as a final rule on January 26, 2010. NRC responded with six 

comments. The comments were addressed in final rule RP051ft and proposed rule 

RP056ft. The final rule was submitted to the NRC on May 1, 2012. The proposed rule 

was published in the Louisiana Register on April 20, 2014, and was submitted to the 

NRC on May 2, 2014, for approval. 

The 2012 IMPEP review team noted that the following eight amendments were not reviewed as 

final regulations and were overdue: 

• “Standards for Protection Against Radiation” 10 CFR Part 20 amendment (56 FR 

23360) (56 FR 61352) (57 FR 38588) (57 FR 57877) (58 FR 67657) (59 FR 41641) (60 
- 6 - 

FR 20183) became effective on January 1, 1991, and was due for Agreement State 

adoption by January 1, 1994, (RATS ID 1991-3).

The NRC accepted this rule (NE003) as a proposed rule on October 15, 1998. They had 

no comments at that time; however, it was never submitted as a final rule. This final rule 

was submitted to the NRC on December 21, 2012. The NRC had four comments, which 

were addressed in RP056ft. The proposed rule was published in the Louisiana Register 

on April 20, 2014, and was submitted to the NRC on May 2, 2014, for approval. 

• “Notification of Incidents,” 10 CFR Parts 20, 30, 31, 34, 39, 40, and 70 amendments 

(56 FR 64980) that became effective on October 15, 1991, and was due for 

Agreement State adoption by October 15, 1994, (RATS ID 1991-4). 

The final rule (NE017) was submitted to the NRC on December 21, 2012. The NRC had 

no comments. No further action is required. 

• “Decommissioning Recordkeeping and License Termination: Documentation 

Additions,” 10 CFR Parts 30 and 40 amendments (58 FR 39628) that became 

effective on October 25, 1993, and was due for Agreement State adoption by 

October 25, 1996, (RATS ID 1993-1). 

The NRC accepted this rule (NE020) as a proposed rule on April 4, 1997, with no 

comments at that time; however, it was never submitted as a final rule. The final rule 

was submitted to the NRC on December 21, 2012. The NRC had no comments. No 

further action is required. 

• “Termination or Transfer of Licensed Activities: Recordkeeping Requirements,” 

10 CFR Parts 20, 30, 40, 61, and 70 amendments (61 FR 24669) that became 

effective on June 17, 1996, and was due for Agreement State adoption by June 17, 

1999, (RATS ID 1996-3). 

The NRC accepted this rule (NE022) as a proposed rule on June 29, 2000, with no 

comments. The final rule was submitted to NRC on December 21, 2012. NRC had no 

comments on the final rule. No further action is required. 

• “Licenses for Industrial Radiography and Radiation Safety Requirements for 

Industrial Radiography Operations,” Parts 30, 34, 71, and 150 amendments (62 FR 

28947) that became effective on June 27, 1997, and was due for Agreement State 

adoption by June 27, 2000, (RATS ID 1997-5). 

The NRC accepted this as a final rule on February 15, 2002, with 3 comments. The 

comments were addressed in final rules RP028and RP032, and proposed rule RP056ft. 

The proposed rule was published in the Louisiana Register on April 20, 2014, and was 

submitted to the NRC on May 2, 2014, for approval. 

• “Minor Corrections, Clarifying Changes, and a Minor Policy Change,” 10 CFR 

Parts 20, 35, and 36 amendments (63 FR 39477, 63 FR 45393) that became effective 

on October 26, 1998, and was due for Agreement State adoption by October 26, 

2001, (RATS ID 1998-5). 
- 7 - 

The NRC accepted this as a final rule on November 15, 2001. The NRC responded with 

two comments which were addressed in proposed rule RP056ft and final rule RP030. 

• “Requirements for Certain Generally Licensed Industrial Devices Containing 

Byproduct Material,” 10 CFR Parts 30, 31, and 32 amendments (65 FR 79162) that 

became effective on February 16, 2001, and was due for Agreement State adoption 

on February 16, 2004, (RATS ID 2001-1). 

The NRC accepted this as a final rule on July 27, 2006. The NRC responded with three 

comments, which were addressed in final rules RP055ft and RP043ft. 

• “Minor Amendments”, 10 CFR Parts 20, 30, 32, 35, 40 and 70 amendments (71 FR 

15005) that became effective on March 27, 2006, and was due for Agreement State 

adoption on March 27, 2009. (RATS ID 2006-1). 

The NRC accepted this as a final rule on January 26, 2010. The NRC responded with 

six comments that were addressed in final rule RP051ft and proposed rule RP056ft. The 

final rule was submitted to NRC on May 1, 2012. The proposed rule was published in 

the Louisiana Register on April 20, 2014, and was submitted to the NRC on May 2, 

2014, for approval. 

The 2012 IMPEP review team noted that the following amendments will need to be addressed 

in upcoming rulemaking or by adopting alternate legally binding requirements. 

• “Medical Use of Byproduct Material – Authorized User Clarification,” 10 CFR Part 

35 amendment (74 FR 33901) that became effective on September 28, 2009, and is 

due for Agreement State adoption by September 28, 2012, (RATS ID 2009-1). 

These amendments are addressed in RP054ft, which was published as a final rule in the 

Louisiana Register on November 20, 2012, and were submitted to the NRC on 

November 27, 2012. The NRC responded with 11 comments. These comments were 

addressed in RP056ft, which was published in the Louisiana Register on April 20, 2014, 

and was submitted to the NRC on May 2, 2014, for approval. 

• “Decommissioning Planning”, 10 CFR Parts 20, 30, 40 and 70 (76 FR 35512) that 

became effective on December 17, 2012, and is due for Agreement State adoption 

by December 17, 2015, (RATS ID 2011-1). 

This will be addressed in RP058ft, which has yet to be published at the time of the 

periodic meeting. 

• “Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Materials Licensees”, 10 CFR Parts 

30, 36, 39, 40, 70 and 150 (76 FR 56951) that became effective on November 14, 

2011, and is due for Agreement State adoption by November 14, 2014, (RATS ID 

2011-2). 

This change was addressed in RP057ft, and was submitted to the NRC as proposed on 

March 14, 2014, for approval. 
- 8 - 

• “Change of Compatibility of 10 CFR 31.5 and 31.6”, (77 FR 3640) became effective 

on January 25, 2012, and is due for Agreement State adoption by January 25, 

2015, (RATS ID 2012-1). 

This change was addressed in RP057ft, and was submitted to the NRC as proposed on 

March 14, 2014. 

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

The Division reported 25 events to the Nuclear Material Events Database (NMED) 

since the 2012 IMPEP review. At the periodic meeting, the Division stated that the 

events were appropriately reported to the NRC and were properly entered and updated 

in NMED. The Division stated that they are following their standard operating 

procedures and there are no outstanding events that are being tracked at the time of 

the meeting. 

Response to Incidents and Allegations 

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

Incidents and allegations are immediately reviewed to assess the potential impact 

to public health and safety. Inspectors are dispatched to the incident location when 

necessary. No significant events during the review period were noted. 

Status of Allegations and Concerns Referred by the NRC for Action 

NRC referred one allegation to Louisiana during the review period, which was addressed 

by the Division the same day it was received. 

Emerging Technologies 

The Division is currently reviewing emerging technologies for radiography of underwater 

pipelines using a Cesium-137 source using a multi-leaf collimator, and a revolving 

therapy device for head and neck cancers using Co-60 sources that is similar to gamma 

knife technology. 

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

None noted 

Current State Initiatives 

None noted 

State’s Mechanisms to Evaluate Performance 

The Division reviews standard operating procedures annually to ensure they contain the 

most current guidance. The Division reviews quarterly performance reports to ensure 

the Division is on track to meet performance goals for the year, which are subsequently 

reported to the Louisiana legislature. 
- 9 - 

The Division uses supervisory and peer reviews of inspection reports, licensing actions, 

and sealed source device evaluations to ensure that high quality regulatory products are 

issued. Inspectors are accompanied at least two times a year by a supervisor or staff 

scientist. The records of the accompaniments are maintained by the supervisor. 

Inspection and licensing records are maintained in the Division’s database for easy 

access to queries and reports about any of the Division’s safety programs 

Current NRC Initiatives 

NRC staff discussed the status of ongoing initiatives with the Louisiana 

representatives. The discussion included national source tracking system, web-based 

licensing, 10 CFR Part 37 implementation, IMPEP process improvement reviews, and 

concerns about recent radiography events. 

Schedule for the Next IMPEP Review 

The NRC staff recommends that the next IMPEP review be held in two years.