UNITED STATES 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

REGION I 

2100 RENAISSANCE BLVD., SUITE 100 

KING OF PRUSSIA, PA 19406-2713 

August 7, 2015 

David J. Allard, CHP, Director 

Bureau of Radiation Protection 

Pennsylvania Department of 

 Environmental Protection 

Rachel Carson State Office Building 

P.O. Box 8469 

Harrisburg, PA 17105-8469 

Dear Mr. Allard: 

A periodic meeting with you and your staff was held on June 2, 2015. The purpose of this 

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

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was represented by Daniel Collins, 

Lisa Dimmick, 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 (610) 337-5371 or via e-mail at Donna.Janda@nrc.gov to discuss your concerns. 

 Sincerely, 

 /RA/ 

 Donna M. Janda 

 Regional State Agreements Officer 

 Division of Nuclear Materials Safety 

 U.S. NRC Region I 

Enclosure: 

Periodic Meeting Summary for Pennsylvania 

 
August 7, 2015 

David J. Allard, CHP, Director 

Bureau of Radiation Protection 

Pennsylvania Department of 

 Environmental Protection 

Rachel Carson State Office Building 

P.O. Box 8469 

Harrisburg, PA 17105-8469 

Dear Mr. Allard: 

A periodic meeting with you and your staff was held on June 2, 2015. The purpose of this 

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

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was represented by Daniel Collins, 

Lisa Dimmick, 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 (610) 337-5371 or via e-mail at Donna.Janda@nrc.gov to discuss your concerns. 

 Sincerely, 

 /RA/ 

 Donna M. Janda 

 Regional State Agreements Officer 

 Division of Nuclear Materials Safety 

 U.S. NRC Region I 

Enclosure: 

Periodic Meeting Summary for Pennsylvania 

Distribution: 

L. Dimmick, NMSS J. Piccone, NMSS C. Einberg, NMSS 

P. Henderson, NMSS M. Ford, RI DNMS D. Janda, RI DNMS 

D. Collins, RI DNMS J. Nick, RI DNMS 

SUNSI Review Complete: DMJ (Reviewer’s Initials) 

\\nrc.gov\nrc\R1\Shared\State Agreement Files\Pennsylvania\PA June 2015 Periodic Meeting Summary and 

Transmittal Letter corr version.docx ML15225A588 

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 

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OFFICE DNMS/RI 

NAME DJanda/dmj 

DATE 08/07/15 
 

AGREEMENT STATE PERIODIC MEETING SUMMARY FOR 

PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

BUREAU OF RADIATION PROTECTION 

DATE OF MEETING: June 2, 2015 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

(NRC) Attendees 

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental 

Protection (Department) Attendees 

Donna Janda, State Agreements 

Officer, Region I 

David J. Allard, Director, Bureau of Radiation 

Protection (Bureau) 

Daniel Collins, Director, Division of 

Nuclear Materials Safety, Region I 

Keith Salador, Assistant Counsel 

Lisa Dimmick, Senior Health Physicist, 

Agreement State Programs Branch, 

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 

Safeguards 

Joseph Melnic, Radiation Protection Program 

Manager, Radiation Control Division 

 Bryan Werner, Radiation Protection Program 

Manager, Decommissioning & Surveillance Division 

 Kristine Hoffman, Program Analyst, Bureau of 

Radiation Protection 

DISCUSSION: 

During the 2014 Integrated Materials Performance Evaluation Program (IMPEP) review of the 

Pennsylvania Agreement State Program (Program), the review team found the 

Commonwealth’s performance satisfactory for all six indicators reviewed. The review team did 

not make any new recommendations regarding program performance. The review team 

determined that the recommendation from the 2009 IMPEP review, regarding the strengthening 

of Pennsylvania’s incident response program, should be kept open. 

 

On April 3, 2014, the Management Review Board (MRB) met to consider the proposed final 

IMPEP report on the Program. The MRB found the Program adequate to protect public health 

and safety and compatible with the NRC’s program and determined that the next IMPEP review 

should take place in approximately five years. Based on a discussion of concerns regarding 

potential impacts of budget constraints on staffing in the Agreement State Program, the MRB 

directed that a periodic meeting be performed in one year with special emphasis on reviewing 

the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s staffing and hiring status. This summary is a reflection of 

that periodic meeting. 

TOPICS COVERED DURING THE MEETING INCLUDED:

Program Strengths

• Experienced and well-trained staff 

• Good senior management support from Department administration 

• Size of staff compared to other Agreement States of similar size 

• Program fees are placed in a restricted fund which carries over each fiscal year
Pennsylvania Periodic Meeting Summary 2 

 

• Incorporation of NRC regulations by reference which enables the Program to focus 

resources on other priorities and keeps the Commonwealth’s regulations current with 

NRC’s regulations 

Program Challenges

• Retirements and staff turnover continue to impact the Program 

• Salary freezes for management (approximately 4.5 years) which affects “pay parity” 

between management and technical staff positions 

• Availability of NRC training courses for new staff; currently have several staff on waiting 

lists for courses; the Program may conduct its own training courses if needed 

• All out-of-state travel requests must be approved by the Governor’s office (has not yet 

been a problem) 

Feedback on the NRC’s Program

The Program noted that there is good communication and support from NRC. The Program 

also appreciates the training courses and opportunities provided by NRC. 

Organization

The Commonwealth has a new governor, new Department Secretary and an Acting Deputy 

Secretary. The Program has not been reorganized since the 2014 IMPEP review. The 

Pennsylvania Agreement State Program is administered by the Bureau, which is part of the 

Department. The Bureau is managed from the Central Office by the Bureau Director. The 

Bureau consists of four Divisions, three of which have responsibilities for radioactive materials 

under the Agreement: the Radiation Control Division, the Decommissioning and Surveillance 

Division, and the Nuclear Safety Division. On occasion, the Radon Division is called upon to 

support Agreement State activities or other radioactive materials work. Within the Radiation 

Control Division, the Radioactive Materials Section Chief directly supervises radioactive 

materials licensing activities. Inspection and compliance activities are conducted out of three 

Regional Offices located across the Commonwealth. Each Regional Office has a Radiation 

Protection Program Manager and Supervisor who directly supervise inspection and compliance 

activities in the Commonwealth. 

Program Budget/Funding

The program is 100 percent fee funded. The money is placed into a restricted fund which is 

dedicated for Program use. The funds carry over each fiscal year. 

Technical Staffing and Training (2014 IMPEP: Satisfactory)

At the time of the periodic meeting, there were 48 individuals with various degrees of 

involvement in the radioactive materials program. The Regional Offices devote approximately 

19.5 full-time equivalents (FTE) to inspection, compliance and emergency response duties. In 

the Central Office, the Radioactive Materials Section devotes approximately 5.1 FTE to 

licensing activities, including supervisory duties. This does not include clerical or other 

administrative support staff. At the time of the periodic meeting, the Program had four technical 

staff vacancies, including two in the radioactive materials licensing area and one each in 
Pennsylvania Periodic Meeting Summary 3 

 

radioactive materials inspection and compliance areas. Two additional vacancies include a 

Program Analyst position and the Decommissioning Section Chief position. 

The Bureau Director noted that, at the time of the periodic meeting, the Commonwealth did not 

have a hiring freeze and that the number of staff was currently sufficient to complete work. 

The meeting participants discussed the potential for retirements within the next four years for 

Department staff. The Department has projected that 17 out of 43 Bureau staff members in the 

Central Office are eligible to retire within the next 4 years. Eight of these staff members are 

currently eligible to retire. The number of eligible retirees includes all programs within the 

Bureau, not just the Agreement State program. The Regional Offices project that 13 staff 

members are eligible to retire within the next 4 years. Ten of these staff members are currently 

eligible to retire. The number of Regional staff eligible to retire includes both X-ray and 

radioactive materials staff members. Considering the potential retirements and other possible 

future vacancies due to attrition, the Program is concerned about knowledge management and 

succession planning and is working on options to address potential staff vacancies. 

Status of Materials Inspection Program (2014 IMPEP: Satisfactory)

The Program reported it has conducted 392 Priority 1, 2, and 3 inspections since the last IMPEP 

review. None of these inspections were completed overdue. No inspections are currently 

overdue. The Program has completed 26 initial inspections, none of which were completed 

overdue. In addition, the Program has conducted 33 reciprocity inspections since the 2014 

IMPEP review. 

Technical Quality of Inspections (2014 IMPEP: Satisfactory)

The Program uses inspection procedures that are consistent with the inspection guidance 

outlined in IMC 2800. Inspection findings are routinely sent to licensees within 30 days of 

completing an inspection. 

The Program has a policy to accompany all staff performing radioactive materials inspections on 

an annual basis. The Program reported that they are on target to complete supervisory 

inspection accompaniments for each materials inspector by the end of the calendar year. 

Technical Quality of Licensing Actions (2014 IMPEP: Satisfactory)

At the time of the periodic meeting, the Program reported having 665 specific licensees. The 

Program has not received any complex licensing actions since the 2014 IMPEP review and 

reported no backlog in licensing actions. The Program noted that unconventional gas well 

drilling and pipeline construction activities in Pennsylvania have accounted for increased 

workload in addressing reciprocity requests. The Program discusses hydro-fracturing and 

technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM) issues with the 

States of West Virginia, Ohio, Maryland, North Dakota, New York and Michigan on a regular 

basis. 

 
Pennsylvania Periodic Meeting Summary 4 

 

Technical Quality of Incidents and Allegations (2014 IMPEP: Satisfactory)

One recommendation in this indicator remains open from the 2009 IMPEP review: 

Recommendation: The review team recommends that the Commonwealth strengthen its 

incident response program to ensure that incidents are appropriately investigated and are 

promptly reported to NRC, as appropriate. 

Status: The Program has reported 24 events since the 2014 IMPEP review. All reportable 

events were conveyed to the NRC in the appropriate manner. The Program indicated it 

conducts reactive inspections for all events reportable to the NRC within 24 hours. The 

Program ensures that root causes are determined for each event. Monthly meetings are held to 

review open incidents and allegations. Since the 2014 IMPEP review, the Program has made 

revisions to their internal event tracking spreadsheet to include the Nuclear Materials Event 

Database Item Number, the licensee’s corrective actions, and root cause documentation. 

The Program uses procedures equivalent to the NRC’s allegation procedures for processing 

allegations. The Program tracks allegations in their Complaint Tracking System. The Program 

received and responded to 10 allegations since the last IMPEP review, including 1 allegation 

that was transferred by NRC. 

Regulations and Legislative Changes (2014 IMPEP: Satisfactory)

Pennsylvania adopts NRC regulations by reference and uses Orders or other legally binding 

requirements such as license conditions as appropriate. Pennsylvania regulations “point” to the 

NRC regulations in Title 10 CFR and incorporate by reference appropriate Parts and Sections. 

If NRC develops a new regulation section, such as the requirements for physical protection of 

byproduct material in 10 CFR Part 37, Pennsylvania must create a new section in its regulations 

which points to the NRC part. The Program is working on creating a pointer to Part 37 as part 

of a larger amendment package. Pennsylvania plans to have final regulations implemented by 

the due date of March 19, 2016; however, if needed, the Program plans to use an NRCapproved license condition to adopt the NRC’s Part 37 by reference until final regulations are 

promulgated. 

The Program’s administrative rulemaking process takes approximately two years from the 

development stage to the final approval stage. This process includes two rounds of review and 

public comment. 

CONCLUSIONS: 

The Program continues to be an effective, well maintained Agreement State program. There 

are five staff level vacancies at this time. The Program continues to address the one 

recommendation held open from the 2009 IMPEP review. The Program is effectively managing 

its licensing and inspection activities and responds to incidents and allegations as appropriate. 

NRC staff recommends that the next IMPEP review be conducted as scheduled in 

January 2019.