HPPOS-205 PDR-9111210351

Record Retention at Ex-Licensee After a License has been Terminated

See the memorandum from P. Jehle to C. L. Miller dated February 27, 1989. The memo states that once a license is terminated by the NRC, the former licensee is no longer required to retain records. If the NRC believes record retention should continue for a term of years, its termination order could be conditioned on expiration of the term.

On May 27, 1988, the Commission issued a final rule on the Retention Periods for Records that affects 10 CFR Parts 4, 11, 25, 30-35, 40, 50, 60, 61, 70, 71, 73, 74, 75, 95, and 110. These parts contain all the regulatory provisions referring to NRC requirements for retaining records (with the exception of 10 CFR Part 20). The Commission’s regulations refer only to a “Licensee” or an “Applicant.” There are no references to the applicability of the regulations to an ex-licensee or former licensee. Because of the absence of references to ex-licensees, by inference, record retention regulations do not apply to ex-licensees. Therefore, once a license is terminated by the NRC, the former licensee is no longer required to retain records. This does not suggest that the Commission is without authority to require the retention of necessary records. The Commission may place conditions on an order of termination to be fulfilled before decommissioning is complete. If the Commission believes record retention should continue for a term of years, its termination order could be conditioned on the expiration of the term.

The recordkeeping requirements of 10 CFR Part 20 are the subject of proposed rulemaking. The proposed rules, in all but two sections, state that the licensee shall retain records until the Commission terminates the license requiring the record. The notice of the proposed rule did not state that the regulations have been changed to require that records be maintained until the license is terminated. Therefore an ex-licensee is not required to retain records under 10 CFR Part 20 of current or proposed NRC regulations.

Regulatory references: 10 CFR 20.401, 10 CFR 20.2102, 10 CFR 20.2103

Subject codes: 2.1, 11.4

Applicability: All