1317 F Street NW Suite 350 Washington, DC 20004 Tel: 202.332-8155 www.nuclearinfrastructure.org

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR

INFRASTRUCTURE COUNCIL

April 2, 2014

Via Electronic Mail: Part810.SNOPR@hq.doe.gov

Mr. Richard Goorevich

Senior Policy Advisor

Office of Nonproliferation and International Security

National Nuclear Security Administration

U.S. Department of Energy

1000 Independence Avenue, S.W.

Washington DC 20585

Re: RIN 1994-AA02 – Re-Opening of the Comment Period on Proposed Rule on 

Assistance to Foreign Atomic Energy Activities

Re: USNIC November 29, 2013 Comments on the Supplemental Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking

Dear Mr. Goorevich:

Pursuant to the referenced “Notice of Re-Opening of the Comment Period”, the U.S. Nuclear 

Infrastructure Council (“NIC”) is pleased to submit the following general supplementary 

comments relevant to the Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNOPR) to amend 10 

CFR 810 (“Part 810”) as originally published by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in the

Federal Register on August 2, 2013, as also referenced above.

The NIC is the leading business consortium for new nuclear energy internationally and the

involvement of the U.S. supply-chain in the global marketplace. The Council, which embraces a 

broad cross-section of the global nuclear energy industry, is represented on the U.S. Department 

of Commerce’s Civil Nuclear Trade Advisory Committee and was a member of the U.S. Industry 

Delegation to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Please note that -- while these 

comments represent the consensus views of the Council -- they do not necessarily represent the 

specific views of individual member companies.

Given the Council’s focus on the involvement of the U.S. supply-chain in the rapidly emerging 

and dynamic trillion dollar global nuclear energy marketplace – and the ensuing benefits of 

nuclear energy commerce with respect to American exports, balance of trade and jobs – the NIC 

continues to be keenly interested in and concerned with export requirements and corollary trade 

agreements and their impacts on competitiveness. As we have stated previously, we appreciate 

the NNSA’s initiative via this rulemaking to seek to modernize the nearly 30-year-old export 

controls regulatory structure to effect transparency, orderliness and efficiency while committing 

to enacting process improvements to ensure surety and timeliness.
1317 F Street NW Suite 350 Washington, DC 20004 Tel: 202.332-8155 www.nuclearinfrastructure.org

Mr. Richard Goorevich

National Nuclear Security Administration

April 2, 2014

Page 2

To this end, the Council remains encouraged by the NNSA’s responsiveness to comments on the 

DOE’s initial Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) of September 7, 2011, and the resulting

significant improvements in the SNOPR, which we cited in our letter of November 29, 2013 as 

referenced above. It is critical that these SNOPR upgrades be part of any final rule.

Beyond these SNOPR changes and process improvement, it is our hope that you will move 

forward with incorporating constructive common ground suggestions with the goal of 

promulgating a final rule as soon as practically possible. For the record, we advanced seven 

SNOPR-related changes and process improvements in our earlier letter, which we trust will 

receive full consideration in the context of any final rule. As you may be aware, U.S. businesses

are presently coping with a regulatory paradox of conducting business under the current 

regulatory regime while also anticipating adjustments commensurate with the SNOPR. 

Protraction of this status quo is unacceptable in our opinion.

We also believe that publication of a final rule will lay the framework for acceleration of the 

proposed process improvement program, which has been further outlined in the public meetings 

including reforms to ensure timely, predicable and efficient regulatory review. In our view, 

these process reforms are an integral part of any modernization of the present regulatory 

paradigm and pivotal to the successful implementation of the proposed rulemaking.

Again, we greatly appreciate the responsive to issues emanating from the original NOPR and the 

opportunity to provide further input via your public meetings and the comment processes. Given 

the importance of both the nonproliferation and nuclear commerce objectives inherent in the Part 

810 process, we look forward to working with you constructively as you strive toward 

consummation of a final rule. We also look forward to participating in any endeavors to advance

the proposed process improvements toward common objectives.

Sincerely,

s/

David Blee

Executive Director