NRC Coordination Meeting With Standards Development Organizations

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 4, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23880-23881]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-11118]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


NRC Coordination Meeting With Standards Development Organizations

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: The NRC has committed through its Strategic Plan to utilize 
consensus standards to increase the involvement of licensees and others 
in the NRC's regulatory development process, consistent with the 
provisions of Public Law (P.L.) 104-113, the National Technology and 
Transfer Act of 1995, and Office of Management and Budget (OMS) 
Circular A-119, ``Federal Participation in the Development and Use of 
Voluntary Consensus Standards and Conformity Assessment.'' As part of 
this commitment, periodic coordination meetings with key standards 
development organizations (SDOs) and other stakeholders will be held to 
foster better communication of SDOs' ongoing activities, and NRC needs 
regarding standards development and their use.

    Date: May 26, 1999-Registration will be from 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 
a.m. The meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. and will last approximately 
four hours.
    Location: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Headquarters, Two 
White Flint North Auditorium, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 
Maryland 20852-2738.
    Contact: Wallace E. Norris, USNRC, Telephone (301) 415-6796; 
Fax: (301) 415-5074; Internet: wen@nrc.gov.
    Attendance: This meeting is open to the general public. All 
individuals planning to attend, including SDO representatives, are 
requested to preregister with Mr. Norris by telephone or e-mail and 
provide their name, affiliation, phone number, and e-mail address.
    Program: The purpose of the meeting is to foster better 
communication between SDOs and NRC regarding standards development 
and use. By holding periodic coordination meetings, the SDOs will be 
able to describe their on-going and planned activities, and the NRC 
will be able to discuss activities and issues related to specific 
standards that are being developed or revised to meet its regulatory 
needs. The meeting will be coordinated by the NRC Standards 
Executive. The NRC anticipates holding these meetings annually.
    A number of issues were identified at the September 1, 1998, 
external stakeholders meeting with regard to NRC communication with 
SDOs; see SECY-99-029. These issues will be discussed which include 
the following:
    (1) NRC should be more proactive in communicating with SDOs on 
technical and planning issues. Regular interaction with SDOs is 
critical to minimizing differences between the scope of standards 
and NRC's needs.

[[Page 23881]]

    (2) Regulatory burden is a serious issue that requires active 
dialogue between SDOs and regulators.
    (3) What is a good SDO, and how does a good SDO interact with 
the NRC?
    (4) There should be a periodic meeting to discuss industry and 
regulatory needs.
    (5) There should be more proactive action by the NRC staff in 
terms of direct communication with the SDOs on standards 
implementation problems, needs, priorities, justifications. The SDOs 
should provide a timely response and update status on their 
standards activity.
    (6) To what extent should there be public involvement in the 
SDOs, and how would that best be accomplished?

    Dated in Rockville, Maryland this 23rd day of April, 1999.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John W. Craig,
NRC Standards Executive.
[FR Doc. 99-11118 Filed 5-3-99; 8:45 am]
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