[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 32 (Wednesday, February 18, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8222-8223]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-3978]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

ACTION: Notice of pending NRC action to submit an information 
collection request to OMB and solicitation of public comment.

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SUMMARY: The NRC is preparing a submittal to OMB for review and 
approval of information collections under the provisions of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).
    Information pertaining to the requirement to be submitted:
    1. The title of the information collection: ``An Approach for Using 
Probabilistic Risk Assessment in Risk-informed Decisions on Plant-
Specific Changes to the Current Licensing Basis,'' Regulatory Guides 
RG-1.174 through RG-1.178
    2. Current OMB approval number: 3150-0011
    3. How often the collection is required: Use of the new risk-
informed

[[Page 8223]]

methodology for making changes in the licensing basis of operating 
plants in the areas of inservice inspection (ISI), inservice testing 
(IST), graded quality assurance (GQA), and technical specifications 
(TS), is available to all licensees but is not required. Licensees may 
make voluntary submittals when, and if, in their judgment, it is to 
their advantage to do so (for example, to improve plant safety, reduce 
costs, gain operating flexibility).
    4. Who is required or asked to report: Licensees of nuclear power 
plants may report when, and if, in their judgment, it is to their 
advantage to do so.
    5. The number of annual respondents: ISI: 6, IST: 3, QA: 1, TS: 20
    6. The number of hours needed annually to complete the requirement 
or request (per respondent): ISI: 6,200, IST: 5,200, QA: 4,000, TS: 
1,060
    7. Abstract: In the specific areas of ISI, IST, GQA, and TS, a new 
series of Regulatory Guides provides a risk-informed method for 
licensees to use in requesting changes to their current licensing bases 
(CLB). No changes or additions have been made to any rules or 
regulations in conjunction with the issuance of this series of guides. 
The new method will be a voluntary alternative to the 
deterministically-based CLB change method previously used (which will 
remain acceptable as an alternative to the new risk-informed method).
    The new risk-informed alternative method will allow licensees to 
concentrate on plant equipment and operations that are most critically 
important to plant safety so as to achieve a savings in total effort 
and greater operating flexibility with an insignificant change in 
overall safety. The guides specify the records, analyses, and documents 
that licensees are expected to prepare in support of risk-informed 
changes to their CLB in the specified areas.
    Submit, by April 20, 1998, comments that address the following 
questions:
    1. Is the proposed collection of information necessary for the NRC 
to properly perform its functions? Does the information have practical 
utility?
    2. Is the burden estimate accurate?
    3. Is there a way to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected?
    4. How can the burden of the information collection be minimized, 
including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology?
    A copy of the draft supporting statement may be viewed free of 
charge at the NRC Public Document Room, 2120 L Street, NW (lower 
level), Washington, DC. OMB clearance requests are available at the NRC 
worldwide web site (http://www.nrc.gov) under the FedWorld collection 
link on the home page tool bar. The document will be available on the 
NRC home page site for 60 days after the signature date of this notice.
    Comments and questions about the information collection 
requirements may be directed to the NRC Clearance Officer, Brenda Jo. 
Shelton, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, T-6 F33, Washington, DC, 
20555-0001, or by telephone at 301-415-7233, or by Internet electronic 
mail at [email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 11th day of February, 1998.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brenda Jo. Shelton,
NRC Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 98-3978 Filed 2-17-98; 8:45 am]
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