Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 95 / Tuesday, May 16, 2000 / Notices 31197

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

Advisory Committee on Reactor

Safeguards, Meeting of the

Subcommittee on Reliability and

Probabilistic Risk Assessment;

Revised

The meeting of the ACRS

Subcommittee on Reliability and

Probabilistic Risk Assessment

scheduled for May 19, 2000 has been

rescheduled for Wednesday, June 28

and Thursday, June 29, 2000 at 8:30

a.m. until the conclusion of business, in

Room T–2B3, 11545 Rockville Pike,

Rockville, Maryland. On June 28, 2000,

the Subcommittee will discuss the

proposed final ASME Standard for PRA

quality. On June 29, 2000, the

Subcommittee will discuss the status of

risk-informed revisions to 10 CFR Part

50, including proposed revision to 10

CFR 50.44 concerning combustible gas

control systems, issues in the Nuclear

Energy Institute letter dated January 19,

2000 (Option 3), and the public

comments related to the Advance Notice

of Public Rulemaking on 10 CFR 50.69

and Appendix T (Option 2) and

associated plans and schedules. All

other items pertaining to this meeting

remain the same as published in the

Federal Register on Monday, May 8,

2000 (65 FR 26644).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Michael T. Markley, cognizant ACRS

staff engineer (telephone 301/415–6885)

between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. (EDT).

Dated: May 10, 2000.

Howard J. Larson,

Acting Associate Director for Technical

Support, ACRS/ACNW.

[FR Doc. 00–12301 Filed 5–15–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

Memorandum of Understanding

Between the Federal Bureau of

Investigation and the Nuclear

Regulatory Commission Regarding

Nuclear Threat Incidents Involving

NRC Licensed Facilities, Materials, or

Activities

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory

Commission.

ACTION: Memorandum of Understanding

Between the Federal Bureau of

Investigation and the Nuclear

Regulatory Commission.

SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC) entered into a

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

with the Federal Bureau of Investigation

(FBI) in 1979. The MOU delineated the

responsibilities of each agency regarding

nuclear threat incidents involving NRClicensed facilities, materials, or

activities. In 1991, the NRC and FBI

revised the MOU to reflect new legal

authorities and operating experience. In

1999, the agencies reviewed the MOU

and determined additional revisions

were not required. We are currently

publishing the MOU to inform the

public of this review and staff

conclusion regarding the continuing

adequacy of the document. The text of

the MOU between the NRC and the FBI

follows.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John

Davidson, Office of Nuclear Material

Safety and Safeguards, telephone 301–

415–8130, e-mail jjd@nrc.gov.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day

of May 2000.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Michael F. Weber,

Director, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and

Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material Safety

and Safeguards.

Memorandum of Understanding Between the

Federal Bureau of Investigation and the

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regarding

Nuclear Threat Incidents Involving NRC

Licensed Facilities, Materials, or Activities

I. Purpose

In recognition of the responsibilities and

functions of the Federal Bureau of

Investigation (FBI) and the Nuclear

Regulatory Commission (NRC) under the

Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, this

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

delineates the responsibilities of each agency

regarding nuclear threat incidents involving

NRC-licensed facilities, materials, or

activities. (This agreement does not affect the

procedures and responsibilities set forth in

the November 23, 1988, Memorandum of

Understanding between the NRC and the

Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding

cooperation concerning NRC enforcement

actions, criminal prosecution by DOJ, and the

exchange of pertinent information.)

Having closely related statutory

responsibilities with regard to nuclear

materials, facilities, and activities in the

United States, the FBI and NRC must

cooperate fully in carrying out their

respective responsibilities in the interest of

achieving:

1. Effective communication and exchange

of relevant information, and

2. A timely, reliable, and effective response

to a nuclear threat incident.

II. Definitions

For the purpose of this agreement, nuclear

threat incidents are defined as threats, or acts

of theft or sabotage in the U.S. nuclear

industry, including the following:

• Theft or attempted theft of NRC-licensed

special nuclear material.

• Sabotage or attempted sabotage of NRClicensed nuclear facilities or NRC-licensed

transportation activities.

• Attacks on NRC-licensed nuclear

facilities or activities.

• Credible threats involving NRC licensed

facilities, materials, or activities.

III. Responsibilities

A. The FBI

The FBI derives the authority to investigate

criminal matters related to NRC licensed

facilities, materials, or activities from the

Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended;

Title 18, Section 831 ‘‘Prohibited transactions

involving nuclear materials,’’ and other

Federal statutes as may be applicable. The

FBI has been designated as the lead agency

for coordinating the Federal Response to acts

of terrorism within the United States by

National Security Decision Directive (NSDD)

Number 207 and the National System for

Emergency Coordination (NSEC).

It is therefore understood that the FBI

shall:

1. Provide to NRC, intelligence information

concerning possible criminal acts relative to

the security of nuclear facilities, materials,

activities.

2. Notify NRC when allegations of a serious

nature arise, or derogatory information is

developed involving licensee personnel

occupying positions considered critical to the

safety and security of nuclear facilities or

activities.

3. Investigate ongoing nuclear-related

threat situations; advise NRC regarding the

credibility and danger of such threats.

4. Establish liaison and develop

contingency response plans with pertinent

local law enforcement agencies to ensure

effective and coordinated law enforcement

response operations.

5. In accordance with the Omnibus

Diplomatic Security and Anti-Terrorism Act

of 1986, conduct identification and criminal

history records checks on individuals with

unescorted access to NCR-licensed nuclear

power plants or access to Unclassified

Safeguards Information.

6. Establish liaison with pertinent NRC

Headquarters staff, NRC regional offices, and

licensed facilities to ensure effective

information exchange, threat evaluation, and

contingency response planning.

In the event of a nuclear threat incident the

FBI shall:

7. Coordinate the Federal response to a

nuclear threat incident involving NRClicensed facilities, materials, or activities.

The FBI will rely on the NRC on matters

concerning public health and safety, as they

relate to the nuclear facility, material, or

activity.

8. Manage the law enforcement and

intelligence aspects of the responded to a

nuclear threat incident involving NRClicensed facilities, materials, or activities.

9. Establish and maintain contacts and

coordinate the incident response with other

Federal and local law enforcement agencies

and military authorities, as appropriate.

10. Ensure that all reasonable measures are

provided to ensure the physical safety and

security of all NRC personnel and equipment

to be used in support of the incident.

31198 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 95 / Tuesday, May 16, 2000 / Notices

11. Promptly provide NRC with all

information applicable to an assessment of a

perpetrator’s operational capability to carry

out a threat.

12. At the scene of a nuclear threat

incident, provide the necessary support, as

may be needed by NRC personnel, in

carrying out assigned operations and actions

to protect the public from radiological

hazards.

13. Request Department of Defense (DOD)/

Civil Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD)

resources, as appropriate.

B. The NRC

NRC shall provide, to the extent

compatible with its primary mission to

protect the public’s health and safety, as

required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954,

as amended, the Energy Reorganization Act

of 1974, and the Omnibus Diplomatic

Security Act and Anti-Terrorism Act of 1986,

scientific and technical support to the FBI

upon notification of the existence of a

nuclear threat incident.

It is therefore understood that NRC shall:

1. Review and correlate intelligence

information on possible criminal acts

received from the FBI; evaluate potential

adversary capabilities and trends as a basis

for rulemaking, evaluations, and systems

design.

2. When informed of an FBI investigation

involving an NRC-licensed nuclear facility or

activity, will promptly provide to the FBI

investigating office a list of all positions

considered critical to the safety and security

of that facility or activity.

3. Establish liaison with FBI Headquarters

staff and field office personnel to ensure

effective information exchange, threat

evaluation, and contingency response

planning.

4. Support joint operational readiness

planning between licensees and associated

local law enforcement agencies for prompt

law enforcement response assistance when

needed at licensed facilities or activities.

5. Notify the FBI of threats involving NRClicensed nuclear facilities, materials, or

activities; assist the FBI in evaluating the

nuclear aspects and the credibility of such

threats, as appropriate.

6. Disseminate, with the approval of the

FBI, to the affected licensees, alert and

warning information received from the FBI

about specific nuclear-related threats.

In the event of a nuclear threat incident,

NRC shall:

7. Plan for and manage the public health

and safety aspects of the response to a

nuclear threat incident involving NRClicensed facilities, materials, or activities.

8. Provide NRC field liaison and technical

assistance to the FBI at the scene of an

incident.

9. Evaluate the radiological hazards of the

particular incident and provide technical

assessment of any potential or actual impact

upon the public health and safety.

10. Ensure that all reasonable measures are

provided for the health and safety of all FBI

personnel and equipment involved in the

support of the incident.

11. Provide for the health and safety of the

public from radiological hazards.

C. Joint

The FBI and NRC shall:

1. Coordinate all proposed press releases

related to nuclear threat incidents involving

NRC-licensed facilities, materials, or

activities.

2. Identify individuals assigned to fulfill

the positions and responsibilities outlined in

Section III of this agreement.

3. Handle all threat incident information

with adequate security and confidentiality

commensurate with national security

guidelines and the standards for the

preservation of criminal evidence.

4. Review and evaluate the events leading

to and occurring during a nuclear threat

incident for the purpose of improving upon

future joint responses.

5. Exercise and test nuclear threat incident

management procedures, equipment, and

personnel.

IV. Standard Procedures

A. Initial Notification

1. Nuclear threat incidents involving NRClicensed facilities, materials, or activities may

be reported to either the FBI, NRC, or others.

Upon receipt of a reported threat, the agency

informed shall immediately notify the other

concerned agencies about the situation and

exact information known.

2. The FBI and NRC will notify appropriate

individuals and offices of any nuclear

emergency in accordance with current

procedures and agreements.

B. Points of Contact

1. The FBI Special Agent in Charge of the

responding FBI field office will take

command of the field operations in a nuclear

threat incident involving NRC-licensed

facilities, materials, or activities. At the

Headquarters level, a Special Agent may be

designated to act as a liaison officer with the

NRC Executive Team (ET).

2. The NRC Headquarters ET will convene

and during the initial stage of the response

will direct NRC activities. The Director may

transfer authority for managing the NRC

emergency response to the Director of Site

Operations.

3. The FBI and NRC field representatives

will coordinate and cooperate with each

other in carrying out their respective

responsibilities. The FBI and NRC

representatives will report on the situation

and make recommendations to their

respective agencies regarding the need for

additional assistance at the scene.

4. The FBI and NRC will maintain points

of contact with the other Federal agencies

involved in responding to a nuclear threat

incident involving NRC-licensed facilities,

materials, or activities.

V. Threat Assessment

1. NRC will provide scientific and

technical advice for determining the

credibility of specific nuclear threats and

potential hazards associated with those

threats.

2. NRC will endeavor to verify, with the

cooperation of the Department of Energy and/

or the Department of Defense, whether any

source material, special nuclear material, or

radioactive by-products, are missing or

unaccounted for.

VI. Funding Responsibilities

Interested parties will each fund for the

cost incurred in providing the necessary

assistance required to meet the

responsibilities defined in this MOU.

VII. Terms of Agreement

1. This Agreement will become effective

immediately upon signature by all parties

and shall continue in effect unless

terminated by any party upon 120 days

notice in writing to all other parties.

2. Amendments or modifications to this

Agreement may be made upon written notice

by all parties to the Agreement.

For the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Dated: May 29, 1991.

William S. Sessions,

Director.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Dated: March 13, 1991.

Kenneth M. Carr,

Chairman.

[FR Doc. 00–12300 Filed 5–15–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–M

RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD

Proposed Collection; Comment

Request

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

requirement of Section 3506 (c)(2)(A) of

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

which provides opportunity for public

comment on new or revised data

collections, the Railroad Retirement

board (RRB) will publish periodic

summaries of proposed data collections.

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether

the proposed information collection is

necessary for the proper performance of

the functions of the agency, including

whether the information has practical

utility; (b) the accuracy of the RRB’s

estimate of the burden of the collection

of the information; (c) ways to enhance

the quality, utility, and clarity of the

information to be collected; and (d)

ways to minimize the burden related to

the collection of information on

respondents, including the use of

automated collection techniques or

other forms of information technology.

Title and purpose of information

collection: Lag Service Reports; OMB

3220–005.

Under Section 9 of the Railroad

Retirement Act (RRA), railroad

employers are required to submit

reports of employee service and

compensation to the RRB as needed for

administering the RRA. To pay benefits

due on a deceased employee’s earnings

records or determine entitlements to,

and amount of an annuity applied for,

it is necessary at times to obtain from

railroad employers current (lag) service