[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 15 (Monday, January 25, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 3790]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-1592]



[[Page 3789]]

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Part IV





Nuclear Regulatory Commission





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10 CFR Parts 30, 40, et al.



Nuclear Information and Resource Service; Receipt of Petition for 
Rulemaking; Proposed Rules

  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 15 / Monday, January 25, 1999 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 3790]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Parts 30, 40, 50, and 70

[Docket No. PRM-50-65]


Nuclear Information and Resource Service; Receipt of Petition for 
Rulemaking

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Petition for rulemaking; Notice of receipt.

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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received and 
requests public comment on a petition for rulemaking filed by the 
Nuclear Information and Resource Service. The petition has been 
docketed by the Commission and has been assigned Docket No. PRM-50-65. 
The petitioner requests that the NRC amend its regulations to require 
the shutdown of nuclear facilities that are not compliant with date-
sensitive, computer-related issues regarding the Year 2000 (Y2K). The 
petitioner requests that the NRC take this action to ensure that Y2K 
issues will not cause the failure of nuclear safety systems and thereby 
pose a threat to public health and safety.

DATES: Submit comments by February 24, 1999. Comments received after 
this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but assurance 
of consideration cannot be given except as to comments received on or 
before this date.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555. Attention: Rulemakings and 
Adjudications Staff.
    Deliver comments to 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, 
between 7:30 am and 4:15 pm on Federal workdays.
    For a copy of the petition, write: Chief, Rules and Directives 
Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
    You may also provide comments via the NRC's interactive rulemaking 
website through the NRC home page (http://www.nrc.gov). This site 
provides the capability to upload comments as files (any format), if 
your web browser supports that function. For information about the 
interactive rulemaking website, contact Ms. Carol Gallagher, (301) 415-
5905 (e-mail: [email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David L. Meyer, Office of 
Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555. Telephone: 301-415-7162 or Toll-Free: 1-800-368-5642 or E-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission received three related petitions 
for rulemaking, each dated December 10, 1998, submitted by the Nuclear 
Information Resource Service concerning various aspects of Y2K issues 
and nuclear safety. This petition requests that the NRC amend its 
regulations to require that nuclear facilities be shut down if they are 
not compliant with Y2K issues. The two related petitions would require 
nuclear power plant and major fuel cycle facilities to develop and 
implement adequate contingency and emergency plans to address potential 
system failures (PRM-50-66) and to provide reliable back-up sources of 
power for nuclear facilities (PRM-50-67).
    Because of the nature of these petitions and the date-specific 
issues they address, the petitioner requests that the petitions be 
filed expeditiously and that public comment on the actions be limited 
to 30 days.

The Petitioner's Suggested Amendment

    The petitioner requests that the NRC adopt the following text as a 
rule:

    Any and all facilities licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission under 10 CFR Parts 30, 40, 50, and 70 shall be closed by 
12 pm Eastern Standard Time, December 1, 1999, unless and until each 
facility has (a) fully and comprehensively examined all computer 
systems, embedded chips, and other electronic equipment that may be 
date-sensitive to ensure that all such systems that may be relevant 
to safety are Y2K compliant; (b) repaired, modified, and/or replaced 
all such systems that are not found to be Y2K compliant; (c) made 
available to the public all information related to the examination 
and repair, modification and/or replacement of all such systems; (d) 
determined, through full-scale testing, that all repairs, 
modifications, and/or replacements of all such systems are, in fact, 
Y2K compliant.

Discussion

    The petitioner notes that in Generic Letter 98-01, the NRC has 
recognized the potential date-related problems that may affect a system 
or application (the Y2K problem). These potential problems include not 
representing the year properly, not recognizing leap years, and 
improper date calculations. These problems could result in the 
inability of computer systems to operate or to function properly. The 
petitioner states that the Y2K problem could potentially interfere with 
the proper operation of computer systems, microprocessor-based 
hardware, and software or databases relied on at nuclear power plants. 
The petitioner asserts that the Y2K problem could result in a plant 
trip and subsequent complications in tracking post-shutdown plant 
status and recovery due to a loss of emergency data collection. The 
petitioner is also concerned that power grids providing offsite power 
to nuclear stations could be impacted to the extent that localized and 
widespread grid failures could occur.
    The petitioner acknowledges that the NRC has recognized the 
potential safety and environmental problems that could result if date-
sensitive electronic systems fail to operate or provide false 
information. The petitioner also notes that NRC has, in Generic Letter 
98-01, required its reactor and major fuel cycle facilities to report 
on their programs to ensure compliance with Y2K issues by July 1, 1999.
    However, the petitioner asserts that the NRC has not made explicit 
how it will define compliance nor what it plans to do for facilities 
that cannot prove compliance. In the petitioner's suggested regulatory 
text, the petitioner defines compliance with Y2K issues as evaluation 
of all potential problems that may be safety-related, repair of all 
such problems, and full-scale testing of all solutions. The petitioner 
would also require full public disclosure of all evaluation, repair, 
and testing data so that it may be examined by independent experts and 
the public. Finally, the petitioner's suggested amendment would make it 
clear that nuclear facilities will be closed until they can demonstrate 
full compliance with Y2K issues.
    The petitioner states that the NRC is obligated to act decisively 
to protect public health and safety and the environment. The petitioner 
believes that anything short of its suggested approach is insufficient 
to fulfill this obligation and that the NRC should adopt this suggested 
regulation as soon as possible.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of January, 1999.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 99-1592 Filed 1-22-99; 8:45 am]
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