06/08/04
Revised IMPEP Questionnaire
The revised IMPEP questionnaire was approved
by the Office of Management and Budget on May 27, 2003.
The revised IMPEP questionnaire
can be found on the main page of the IMPEP Toolbox on
the STP website. The questionnaire was revised to make
it consistent with the latest revision of Management
Directive 5.6, Integrated Materials Performance Evaluation
Program. Please note that the revised questionnaire
is the version that we will be using during IMPEP reviews
from this point on. If you have any questions or comments,
please contact me at (301) 415-1277 or ATM@NRC.GOV or
Lance Rakovan at (301) 415-2589 or LJR2@nrc.gov .
Aaron T. McCraw Health Physicist
12/16/03
Revised 2800
The revised NRC Inspection Manual Chapter (IMC)
2800, Materials Inspection Program, was finalized on
November 25, 2003. It can be found on the NRC website
at:
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/insp-manual/manual-chapter/mc2800.pdf
There were a number of changes between the previous version,
the temporary instruction, and the revised version.
We have put together a table which gives the Priorities
for each license type for all three versions of
IMC 2800. Please note that the November 25, 2003 version
is the version we will be using during IMPEP reviews
from this point on.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thank you and happy holidays,
Lance Rakovan
IMPEP Project Manager
11/04/03
NMED Reporting
I wanted to take a moment to go over a few details
about reviewing a State's reporting of incidents for inclusion
in the Nuclear Materials Event Database (NMED) system.
(1)
At least a few weeks before the onsite IMPEP review
of a State program, a team member should get in touch
with the NMED contact in either the Office of State
and Tribal Programs (STP) or Office of Nuclear Materials
Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) to check on the State's
reporting history. Currently, the STP contact is Patricia
Larkins at (301) 415-2309, pml@nrc.gov and the NMSS
contact is Michele Burgess at (301) 415-5868, mlb5@nrc.gov.
If you are assigned this indicator, coordinate with
your team leader to decide who will complete this task.
(2)
If a problem involving NMED or NMED reporting is identified
by the review team during the onsite review, the review
team should thoroughly discuss the issue with the State.
Prior to issuance of the draft report, get in touch
with the STP or NMSS NMED contact to discuss and resolve
the issue. If you have time, you can even contact one
of them while onsite. This will help determine if there
is any additional information that could resolve the
issue, and allow the knowledgeable parties to gain sufficient
details to promptly address the issue.
(3)
If there are any discrepancies involving NMED records
identified during the onsite review, the review team
should request that the State send the info to the NMED
Contractor (whether for the first time because the information
was not reported, or because the Contractor did not
capture it) so the information will be complete and
correct.
If
you have any questions, please contact Ms. Larkins or
Ms. Burgess.
-Lance
Rakovan, IMPEP Project Manager
10/06/03
List of Good Practices
A list of good practices has been added to the IMPEP Toolbox
on the STP website and will also be included on IMPEP
team member CD-ROMs. The purpose of the list is to help
IMPEP team members determine whether potential good practices
were previously approved by the MRB.
Each
practice can be found under the heading of the performance
indicator that it was originally identified. Some good
practices may apply to multiple indicators. The general
subject of the good practice is given in bold-face print
at the beginning of each listing. To minimize duplication,
we encourage you to read the full text of each good
practice that may relate to the potential good practice
you are considering. The list will be updated periodically
as more good practices are established.
If
you find this tool particularly helpful, please send
your thanks to Mr. David Fogle in Texas for the idea.
If you have questions or comments, please direct them
to Aaron McCraw at (301) 415-1277 or atm@nrc.gov.
-Lance
Rakovan, IMPEP Project Manager
09/03/03
NRC-Referred Allegations
This is a reminder to those who act as principal reviewer
for the common performance indicator, Response to Incidents
and Allegations, as well as those who participate in periodic
meetings. When evaluating NRC-referred allegations during
a State IMPEP review or periodic meeting, please ensure
that the guidance in Management Directive 8.8 is being
followed. The MD indicates that all allegations referred
to the State by the NRC will be reviewed during the IMPEP
review or periodic meeting, whichever comes first. Prior
to the IMPEP review or periodic meeting, the appropriate
Regional Allegation Coordinator should be contacted regarding
State licensee allegations, and the STP Allegations Coordinator
should be contacted regarding State performance allegations.
Allegations are tracked by Allegations Coordinators in
NRC Offices and Regions. In many instances, Allegations
Coordinators rely on information from IMPEP reviews and
periodic meetings to properly close allegation files.
Please ensure that closeout information has been provided
to the appropriate Allegation Coordinator. If you find
that the State has not handled an allegation properly,
including follow-up with the NRC and/or an alleger, discuss
with program staff and management the proper handling
of allegations, including close-out actions.
If you have any questions, please contact Cardelia
Maupin at 301-415-2312, CHM@NRC.GOV.
-Lance Rakovan, IMPEP Project Manager
07/14/03
FY 2004 IMPEP Review Schedule
Attached please find the NRC FY 2004 IMPEP Review Schedule. I
understand that some of you will be seeing this information
for the first time. If you have any questions, especially
if you have a conflict with a review that you have been
placed on, please contact me.
I look forward to working with all of you in the future,
-Lance Rakovan, IMPEP Project Manager
FY
2004 IMPEP Review Schedule
01/23/03
MRB recently approved two changes to the IMPEP process.
Change 1
The common performance indicator, "Technical
Staffing and Training" will now be the first common
performance indicator discussed in IMPEP reports and presented
at MRB meetings.
Reasons
Behind Change
There are two main reasons for this change. First, the
information conveyed through this indicator is critical
towards understanding the general state of a program under
review. This indicator "sets the stage" for
the other indicators, and thus should be discussed before
giving specific information on the program's performance.
Second, information involving the program's organization
and positions is included in this indicator. It is sometimes
necessary to use this information in the discussions of
the other indicators. Presenting this indicator first
as opposed to third alleviates this potential source of
confusion.
Change
2
Incident summaries need not be included in the incident
casework appendix unless details of the incident directly
relate to a program deficiency.
Reasons
Behind Change
Significant incidents can be found in the Nuclear Materials
Events Database (NMED) and IMPEP reports will continue
to include the NMED report number for each incident
reviewed. Comments resulting from the incident file
reviews, including comments related to what is missing
from NMED reports, will continue to be identified in
the appendix for each file reviewed. Also, none of the
other appendixes include summaries, so removing the
summaries better reflects the format of the other appendixes.
If
you have any questions about these changes, please do
not hesitate to contact me.
Also,
I have received a number of requests to receive the
presentations that were given at the recent IMPEP training,
but not handed out. I am working on getting these presentations
posted on the STP website and will let you know when
they are up.
Thank
you,
Lance
Rakovan
IMPEP Project Manager, Office of State and Tribal Programs,
US NRC
11/13/02
IMPEP Training: January 14 & 15, 2003
Attached please find the invitation for the January
14 & 15, 2003 IMPEP training. I apologize if you
have already received this information. State
team members, please follow the enclosed directions
to schedule your travel.
Hope to see you all there!
-Lance Rakovan, IMPEP Project Manager
Invitation for 2003
IMPEP Training.pdf
08/01/02
Revision to IMC 1220
On June 6, 2002, NRC issued a revised Inspection Manual
Chapter (IMC)1220. Among other things, the revision
includes formal adoption of the new goal for reciprocity
inspections: 20% of Priority 1, 2, and 3 licensees are
to be inspected each year. Teams should use this standard
when evaluating reciprocity inspections in the "Status
of the Materials Inspection Program" indicator.
The goal should be used over the course of the entire
review period.The
document can be found at:
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/insp-manual/mc1220.pdf
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to
give us a call.
Thanks,
Lance Rakovan, Health Physicist
Kathleen Schneider, Senior Project Manager
