U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Transportation Enforcement Guidance

HPPOS-151 PDR-9111220098

Title: Transportation Enforcement Guidance

See the memorandum from D. Thompson to R. Carlson (and

others) dated May 4, 1981. This memo provides enforcement

guidance for transportation violations (with and without

State actions) involving transport of low specific activity

(LSA) radwaste to a commercial disposal site. References

to Interim Enforcement Policy are outdated.

The Region should first determine whether the appropriate

State has taken any enforcement action (e.g., imposition of

a civil penalty or suspension or revocation of the

licensee's burial permit) against the licensee as a result

of the violation. If the State has taken action, the only

further NRC enforcement action is the issuance of a Notice

of Violation (NOV). If the Severity Level of the

violation, as determined by the Region, is IV, V, or VI,

the NOV is issued by the Region. If the Severity Level of

the violation determined by the Region is I, II, or III,

the enforcement package should be forwarded to IE

Headquarters for issuance of a Headquarters NOV. In either

case, the NOV and accompanying documents will require the

licensee to submit a description of the corrective action

the licensee proposes to take or has taken in order to

insure against future violations of a similar nature. The

corrective action will be reviewed by the Region and if

deemed unsatisfactory, further enforcement action to ensure

compliance with NRC regulations will be considered.

Violations categorized at Severity Levels I, II, or III and

discovered by the NRC at the licensee's facility or where

the State has not taken action will be forwarded by the

Region to Headquarters in the standard enforcement package

with recommendations for appropriate enforcement (civil

penalties, etc.). In situations where the violation is

"similar" to a previous violation committed by the

licensee, enforcement action beyond the issuance of a

Regional or Headquarters NOV will normally be taken, even

when the State itself has taken enforcement action. In

order to determine "similar" violations, previous

corrective actions undertaken by the licensee will be

examined. If previous corrective actions could have

prevented the violation from occurring, the violation will

be considered "similar" and further enforcement action is

appropriate.

For those cases where appropriate enforcement action to be

taken beyond the level of a NOV involves a civil penalty

(e.g., where the State has not taken any enforcement action

or where "similar" violations have occurred), the amount of

base civil penalty is calculated as follows. For first

time violations, penalties are assessed at 25% of the

values described in Table 1 of the Interim Enforcement

Policy (45 Fed. Reg. 66756). If the violation is "similar"

to one that previously occurred, penalties should be

assessed at 50% of the values described in Table 1 of the

Interim Enforcement Policy. For violations that have

occurred more than twice, the appropriate level of civil

penalty or other enforcement action will be determined on a

case-by-case basis.

Regulatory references: 10 CFR 2

Subject codes: 12.7, 12.9, 12.17

Applicability: All