Declaration of the basic technical characteristics
1. Operators shall declare to the Commission the basic technical characteristics of their installations.
For installations referred to in Article 2, point (27)(c), the provisions of Articles 27 and 28 apply.
For installations referred to in Article 2, point (29), the provisions of Article 37 apply.
For new installations referred to in Article 2, point (27)(a), a preliminary declaration shall be submitted to the Commission and the Member State concerned as soon as the main design options are defined to enable the inclusion of safeguards considerations early in the installation’s planning stage.
2. Whenever basic technical characteristics are declared for the first time (‘initial declaration of the basic technical characteristics’) or updated, the relevant questionnaire in Annex I shall be used in order to fill in the relevant information applicable to the installation.
3. The declaration of the basic technical characteristics shall be submitted electronically.
4. The Commission’s inspectors shall transmit initial observations including on essential equipment, where applicable, or request additional initial information within 6 months of the operator’s declaration of the basic technical characteristics. If requested, further explanations in connection with the information submitted in the declaration of the basic technical characteristics shall be provided to the Commission within 30 days, or within a different agreed timeframe.
Time-limits for the initial declaration of the basic technical characteristics
1. The complete declaration of the basic technical characteristics of new installations shall be submitted to the Commission in accordance with Article 3(1) at least 200 days before the first consignment of nuclear material is due to be received.
2. For new installations referred to in Article 2, point (27)(a), all available information relating to the owner, operator, location, installation purpose and type, capacity as well as pre-operation information shall be communicated to the Commission as soon as the information is available or within a different timeframe agreed upon by the operator, the Member State and the Commission based on the preliminary declaration of the basic technical characteristics referred to in Article 3(1), fourth subparagraph, which shall not be later than the first submission of the application for a construction licence.
To facilitate the inclusion of safeguards considerations early in the design process of installations, the type, form and expected throughput and inventories of nuclear material as well as drawings indicating expected flows and storage of nuclear materials may also be provided to the Commission as part of the information referred to in the first subparagraph.
3. Any operator of an installation planning to use techniques for the chemical processing of irradiated materials shall provide, at the same time as the information referred to in paragraph 2, any additional information needed to enable the Commission to approve those techniques as required by Article 78 of the Treaty.
4. Information required under paragraphs 2 and 3 shall be provided in the dedicated fields of the relevant questionnaire in Annex I.
5. Any operator of an installation in the territory of a State acceding to the European Union shall declare to the Commission the basic technical characteristics of that installation within 30 days of the date of entry into force of this Regulation in that State, or within a different agreed timeframe.
Declaration of changes to the basic technical characteristics
1. Significant changes in the information referred to in Article 4(2) and (3) shall be declared to the Commission and the relevant Member State whenever the notified design of the installation is modified, or within a different agreed timeframe.
2. Significant changes in the basic technical characteristics regarding the purpose, type or layout of the installation and in particular changes affecting the access routes to areas where nuclear materials are used or stored shall be declared as soon as the decision on their implementation is taken, and not later than 20 days before the work on the modification is scheduled to commence. Additional requirements regarding changes in the basic technical characteristics to be declared in advance may be specified in the particular safeguard provisions referred to in Article 8.
3. Changes in the basic technical characteristics for which advance declaration is not required under paragraph 2 shall be declared within 30 days after the modification is complete.
Decommissioning plans and timeframes for their implementation shall be declared using the dedicated fields of the relevant questionnaire in Annex I when they have been adopted or decided, respectively. Any update shall be declared whenever the information provided in the questionnaire changes.
4. Changes in the basic technical characteristics resulting from decommissioning activities shall be declared monthly, by the end of the following month, but only if the information in the relevant questionnaire in Annex I has changed during the month.
Declaration of a general description of the site
1. Each Member State which is a party to Additional Protocol 1999/188/Euratom shall designate a site representative for each site on its territory, who shall submit to the Commission a declaration containing a general description of the site, in accordance with Annex II of this Regulation.
The declaration of a general description of the site shall be submitted within 120 days of the date of entry into force of Additional Protocol 1999/188/Euratom in the Member State concerned and an update shall be submitted by 1 April of each year. The declaration of a general description of the site and its update shall be submitted electronically.
The declaration of a general description of the site shall fulfil the requirements of Article 2, point (a) (iii), of Additional Protocol 1999/188/Euratom and shall be separate from the declaration of the basic technical characteristics.
2. While the site representative carries the responsibility for the timely collection of the relevant information and the submission of the declaration of a general description of the site to the Commission, the responsibility for the correctness and the completeness of that declaration remains with the persons or undertakings setting up or operating the installation; for buildings on a site which do not involve nuclear material, that responsibility remains with the Member State concerned.
3. If requested, further details or explanations in connection with the information submitted in the declaration of a general description of the site shall be provided to the Commission within 15 days.
Programme of activities
1. To enable the Commission to plan its safeguards activities, operators shall communicate electronically to the Commission the following information:
(a)
an outline programme of activities on the basis of Annex XI, indicating, in particular, provisional dates for taking a physical inventory;
(b)
at least 40 days before taking a physical inventory, the programme for such work.
For installations referred to in Article 2, point (27)(b), as a minimum the provisional dates for taking a physical inventory shall be provided.
Changes affecting the outline programme of activities and, in particular, the taking of physical inventories shall be communicated to the Commission without delay.
2. Unless otherwise specified in the particular safeguard provisions referred to in Article 8, the programme of activities shall be communicated annually, at the latest on 15 November of the preceding year.
Particular safeguard provisions
1. Acting on the basis of the declaration of the basic technical characteristics, the Commission adopts particular safeguard provisions relating to the matters set out in paragraph 2.
Those particular safeguard provisions may be revised at the request of the Member State concerned.
For installations referred to in Article 2, point (27)(a), the particular safeguard provisions shall be drawn up by means of a Commission decision addressed to the operator concerned, taking account of operational and technical constraints and after close consultation with the operator concerned and the relevant Member State.
For installations referred to in Article 2, point (27)(b), a single Commission decision addressed to several or all operators concerned may be drawn up, setting out the particular safeguard provisions. These particular safeguard provisions shall be set out after close consultation with the operators concerned and the relevant Member State.
The operator to whom a decision of the Commission is addressed shall be notified thereof, and a copy of such notification shall be transmitted to the relevant Member State.
2. For installations referred to in Article 2, point (27)(a), the particular safeguard provisions shall include the following:
(a)
the material balance areas and the selection of key measurement points for determining the flow and stocks of nuclear materials;
(b)
the changes in basic technical characteristics for which advance notification is required;
(c)
the procedures for keeping records of nuclear materials for each material balance area and for drawing up reports;
(d)
the frequency of, and procedures for, taking physical inventories for accounting purposes as part of safeguards measures;
(e)
the containment and surveillance measures, in accordance with the arrangements agreed upon with the operator concerned;
(f)
the arrangements for sample-taking by the operator solely for safeguards purposes;
(g)
the list of essential equipment for the installation.
For installations referred to in Article 2, point (27)(b), the particular safeguard provisions may be limited to points (a), (c) and (d) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph.
3. The particular safeguard provisions may also specify:
(a)
the content of subsequent communications required under Article 7 or 16;
(b)
the conditions under which the provisions of this Regulation apply, in particular the conditions under which shipments and receipts of nuclear material require advance notification;
(c)
other agreed safeguards measures considered necessary to ensure that nuclear materials are not diverted from their intended uses, in accordance with the arrangements with the operator concerned.
4. The Commission shall reimburse the operator concerned the cost of special services which are provided for in the particular safeguard provisions or which are provided as the result of a special request by the Commission or its inspectors, exclusively based on an agreement defining those costs and the conditions of their reimbursement. Works executed by the operator before the signature of the agreement shall not be reimbursable. The reimbursement shall be limited to the amount necessary to balance the costs incurred by the operator for the special services and shall not include any profit. The procedure to be followed for the operator to claim reimbursement of the cost related to the inspections shall be described in the guidelines referred to in Article 42.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
