[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 10, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 37470-37471]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-13316]


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 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 131 / Tuesday, July 10, 2007 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 37470]]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 50

[Docket No. PRM-50-85]


Eric Epstein, Three Mile Island Alert, Inc.; 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) is publishing for 
public comment a notice of receipt of a petition for rulemaking, dated 
April 11, 2007, which was filed with the Commission by Eric Epstein. 
The petition was docketed by the NRC on April 17, 2007, and has been 
assigned Docket No. PRM-50-85. The petitioner requests that the NRC 
amend its regulations regarding emergency preparedness to require that 
all host school pick-up centers be at a minimum distance of five to ten 
miles beyond the radiation plume exposure boundary zone to ensure that 
all school children are protected in the event of a radiological 
emergency.

DATES: Submit comments by September 24, 2007. Comments received after 
this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the 
Commission is able to assure consideration only for comments received 
on or before this date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any one of the following methods. 
Please include PRM-50-85 in the subject line of your comments. Comments 
on petitions submitted in writing or in electronic form will be made 
available for public inspection. Because your comments will not be 
edited to remove any identifying or contact information, the NRC 
cautions you against including any information in your submission that 
you do not want to be publicly disclosed.
    Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff.
    E-mail comments to: [email protected]. If you do not receive a reply e-
mail confirming that we have received your comments, contact us 
directly at (301) 415-1966. You may also submit comments via the NRC's 
rulemaking Web site at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov. Address questions 
about our rulemaking Web site to Carol Gallagher (301) 415-5905; e-mail 
[email protected]. Comments can also be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal http://www.regulations.gov.
    Hand deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 
20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. Federal workdays (telephone 
(301) 415-1966).
    Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission at 
(301) 415-1101.
    Publicly available documents related to this petition may be viewed 
electronically on the public computers located at the NRC's Public 
Document Room (PDR), Room O1 F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. The PDR reproduction contractor 
will copy documents for a fee. Selected documents, including comments, 
may be viewed and downloaded electronically via the NRC rulemaking Web 
site at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov.
    Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC after 
November 1, 1999, are available electronically at the NRC's Electronic 
Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this 
site, the public can gain entry into the NRC's Agencywide Document 
Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image 
files of NRC's public documents. If you do not have access to ADAMS or 
if there are problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, 
contact the PDR Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737 or by 
e-mail to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael T. Lesar, Chief, Rulemaking, 
Directives and Editing Branch, Division of Administrative Services, 
Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, Telephone: 301-415-7163 or Toll Free: 800-
368-5642.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Petitioner

    The petitioner is Eric Epstein, Chairman of Three Mile Island 
Alert, Inc. The petitioner states that Three Mile Island Alert, Inc., 
was founded in 1977 and is a safe-energy organization based in 
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Three Mile Island Alert, Inc., monitors Peach 
Bottom, Susquehanna, and Three Mile Island nuclear generating stations.

The Proposed Amendments

    The petitioner believes that current NRC, Department of Homeland 
Security (DHS), and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 
emergency planning requirements fail to meet the safety needs of all 
school children. Further, the petitioner believes that the current 
planning requirements of these agencies do not establish a reasonable 
standard for offsite relocation distances that adequately protects the 
public's health and safety.
    The petitioner seeks to clarify NRC, DHS, and FEMA relocation 
requirements and requests that NRC promulgate and codify relevant 
regulations pertaining to radiological emergency readiness planning. 
The petitioner requests that NRC mandate that all host school pick-up 
centers be at a minimum distance of five to ten miles beyond the 
radiation plume exposure boundary zone, and has attached several 
exhibits to the petition to support this proposal. The support material 
includes information from the West Shore School District; maps and news 
articles; data from NRC's NUREG-0654, FEMA-REP-1; and other statements 
and exhibits.

Conclusion

    The petitioner states that there is a regulatory gap, and an 
absence of minimum distance requirements, for host school pick-up 
centers in relation to radiation plume exposure boundary lines. The 
petitioner believes that allowing host school pick-up centers to be 
just outside of the 10-mile radiation plume exposure boundary zone 
fails to meet the safety needs of school children. The petitioner also 
believes that the proposed change in current regulations is necessary 
in order to ensure that all school children are properly protected in 
the event of a radiological emergency. Accordingly, the petitioner 
requests that the NRC amend its regulations related to

[[Page 37471]]

emergency preparedness as described previously in the section titled, 
``The Proposed Amendments.''

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day of July, 2007.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. E7-13316 Filed 7-9-07; 8:45 am]
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