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

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved a request from Utah to amend its Agreement under Section 274 of the Atomic Energy Act to assume regulatory authority over certain additional radioactive material within the state. Under its Agreement with the NRC, Utah currently regulates the medical, academic and industrial uses of radioactive material in the state as well as commercial disposal of low-level radioactive waste.

Under the amendment, the NRC will transfer to Utah the responsibility for licensing, inspection, enforcement and rulemaking activities for uranium and thorium milling operations and mill tailings and other wastes, known as 11e.(2) byproduct material. Four existing NRC licenses will be transferred to Utah’s jurisdiction. Utah becomes the sixth state to assume authority over this type of material, after Colorado, Illinois, Ohio, Texas and Washington.

The amendment also makes an administrative change to the Agreement to reflect the return to the NRC in 1996 of the regulatory authority for evaluation of sealed sources and devices.

An announcement of the proposed amendment was published earlier this year for four consecutive weeks in the Federal Register for public comment. Only one response was received, and the NRC determined that the comments did not affect the agency’s conclusion that Utah’s program for this additional material is adequate to protect public health, safety and environment, and is compatible with the NRC’s program.

The amendment to the Utah Agreement became effective August 16 upon signing by the governor and will be published soon in the Federal Register. The amendment and supporting documents will be available on the NRC’s ADAMS document management system. 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.resource@nrc.gov. These documents are also available for public inspection at the NRC Public Document Room at 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Md.

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Tuesday, December 09, 2008