NRC: News Release - 2004-021 - NRC Considering Request by Utah to Amend its Agreement with Agency

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NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Office of Public Affairs	Telephone: 301/415-8200
Washington, DC 20555-0001	E-mail: opa@nrc.gov
www.nrc.gov

No. 04-021

February 12, 2004

NRC CONSIDERING REQUEST BY UTAH
TO AMEND ITS AGREEMENT WITH AGENCY
Printable Version

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering a request from Utah to amend its agreement under Section 274 of the Atomic Energy Act to assume regulatory authority over 11e.(2) byproduct material within the state. If the request is accepted, Utah will be the sixth state to assume this authority. The other five states are Colorado, Illinois, Ohio, Texas and Washington.

Under the proposed amendment to the Utah Agreement, the NRC would transfer to the state the responsibility for licensing, inspection, enforcement and rulemaking activities for uranium mill tailings and uranium milling operations. If the amendment to the agreement is approved, four NRC licenses would be transferred to Utah’s jurisdiction.

Before entering into the amended agreement, NRC would ensure that the state’s program is adequate to protect the public health and safety. It also will ensure that the program is compatible with NRC’s program for regulating the materials covered in the amendment to the agreement.

An announcement of the proposed amendment to the Utah Agreement, along with a summary of the NRC draft assessment of the Utah 11e.(2) byproduct material program, will be published for public comment for four consecutive weeks in the Federal Register. Interested persons are invited to provide comments to Michael T. Lesar, Chief, Rules Review and Directives Branch, Division of Freedom of Information and Publication Services, Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

Copies of the proposed amendment to the Utah Agreement, the Governor of Utah’s request and supporting documents, as well as the NRC staff assessment are available on the NRC’s Agency-wide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). Help in using ADAMS is available by contacting the NRC Public Document Room at 301-415-4737, or 1-800-397-4209, or by sending an e-mail message to pdr@nrc.gov. These documents are also available for public inspection at the NRC Public Document Room at 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Md.