[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 186 (Wednesday, September 24, 2008)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 54931-54932]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-22355]



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  Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 186 / Wednesday, September 24, 2008 / 
Rules and Regulations  

[[Page 54931]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 50

[NRC-2008-0263; PRM-50-91]
RIN 3150-AI41


Technical Specifications--Restoring the Original Paragraph 
Designations

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its 
regulations to resolve an administrative issue raised in a petition for 
rulemaking (PRM) submitted by the Strategic Teaming and Resource 
Sharing (STARS) Integrated Regulatory Affairs Group (PRM-50-91). In 
this final rule, the NRC is restoring the original paragraph 
designations as existed in 10 CFR 50.36 before the 2007 Part 52 final 
rulemaking. This final rule eliminates the need for licensees to expend 
resources on administrative redesignations that have no safety benefit.

DATES: Effective Date: October 24, 2008.

ADDRESSES: You can access publicly available documents related to this 
document using the following methods:
    Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and 
search for documents filed under Docket ID [NRC-2008-0263]. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher 301-415-5905; e-mail 
[email protected].
    NRC's Public Document Room (PDR): The public may examine and have 
copied for a fee, publicly available documents at the NRC's PDR, Public 
File Area O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, 
Rockville, Maryland.
    NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): 
Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC are 
available electronically at the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this page, the public can gain 
entry into 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 NRC's PDR 
reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A. Jason Lising, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; Telephone 301-415-3220; e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is amending the regulations in 10 
CFR Part 50 to revise 10 CFR 50.36, ``Technical Specifications,'' and 
thereby resolve administrative issues raised in PRM-50-91 submitted by 
the STARS Integrated Regulatory Affairs Group.
    On August 28, 2007, (72 FR 49351) the final rule for Part 52, 
``Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants,'' 
redesignated Sec.  50.36(c), (d), and (e) as paragraphs (d), (e), and 
(f), respectively, and added a new paragraph (c) to 10 CFR 50.36. The 
insertion of this new paragraph caused the paragraph for the technical 
specification criteria to be redesignated from 10 CFR 50.36(c) to 10 
CFR 50.36(d). The redesignation of these paragraphs requires many 
licensees of operating nuclear power plants to modify their technical 
specifications, final safety analysis reports, and plant plans and 
procedures to correctly reference the redesignated Sec.  50.36(d). This 
would require substantial expenditures of licensee resources with no 
corresponding benefit to public health and safety, common defense and 
security, or protection of property from radiological events. By 
restoring the original paragraph designation, the final rule benefits 
all operating nuclear power plants by obviating the need for licensees 
to expend their resources on administrative corrections.

Petition for Rulemaking

    On April 11, 2008, Mr. T. Moser, Chairman, STARS Integrated 
Regulatory Affairs Group, submitted a petition for rulemaking, docketed 
PRM-50-91. Mr. Moser requested that the NRC correct a paragraph 
numbering conflict introduced by a final rule ``Licenses, 
Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants'' (August 28, 
2007; 72 FR 49351). The petitioner asserts that by granting the 
petition, potential error will be prevented by eliminating the need to 
identify and process conforming changes which reflect the redesignated 
paragraphs. There are many licensee and NRC documents affected such as 
Technical Specification Bases, implementing operation procedures, 
training programs, Technical Specification Task Force Travelers, 
NUREGs, Regulatory Guides, NRC office instructions, NRC Management 
Directives, and SECY papers. The petitioner asserts that significant 
industry and NRC effort to update documents to correct references to 10 
CFR 50.36(c) is burdensome with no safety benefit.

Rule Change

    The NRC has determined that the issue raised by PRM-50-91 can be 
resolved through an administrative rulemaking which restores the 
original paragraph designations. In this final rule, the NRC is 
restoring the original paragraph designations as existed in Sec.  50.36 
before the 2007 Part 52 rulemaking. In addition, the NRC is 
redesignating the new paragraph (c) which was adopted in the 2007 Part 
52 final rulemaking as a new paragraph (a)(2). The existing text of 
paragraph (a) is being redesignated as paragraph (a)(1). The NRC 
believes that this redesignation of paragraph (a) will not result in 
any cross-referencing issues, inasmuch as any reference to Sec.  
50.36(a) will continue to be valid with the redesignation. The NRC also 
believes it is unlikely that any technical specifications, final safety 
analysis reports, or plant procedures actually reference paragraph (a) 
given the subject matter of that paragraph. This final rule closes the 
docket on PRM-50-91.

Rulemaking Procedure

    Because this amendment constitutes a minor administrative 
correction to the regulations, the notice and comment

[[Page 54932]]

provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act do not apply pursuant to 
5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B).

Environmental Impact: Categorical Exclusion

    The NRC has determined that this final rule is the type of action 
described in categorical exclusion under 10 CFR 51.22(c)(2). Therefore, 
neither an environmental impact statement nor an environmental 
assessment has been prepared for this final rule.

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

    The final rule does not contain information collection requirements 
subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
seq.).

Public Protection Notification

    The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to 
respond to, a request for information of an information collection 
requirement unless the requesting document displays a currently valid 
OMB control number.

Congressional Review Act

    In accordance with the Congressional Review Act of 1996, the NRC 
has determined that this action is not a major rule and has verified 
this determination with the Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs of OMB.

List of Subjects for 10 CFR Part 50

    Antitrust, Classified information, Criminal penalties, Fire 
protection, Intergovernmental relations, Nuclear power plants and 
reactors, Radiation protection, Reactor siting criteria, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.


0
For the reasons set forth in the preamble and under the authority of 
the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended; the Energy Reorganization 
Act of 1974, as amended; and 5 U.S.C. 552 and 553, the NRC is adopting 
the following amendments to 10 CFR Part 50.

PART 50--DOMESTIC LICENSING OF PRODUCTION AND UTILIZATION 
FACILITIES

0
1. The authority citation for part 50 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: Secs. 102, 103, 104, 161, 182, 183, 186, 189, 68 
Stat. 936, 937, 938, 948, 953, 954, 955, 956, as amended, sec. 234, 
83 Stat. 444, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2132, 2133, 2134, 2135, 2201, 
2232, 2233, 2236, 2239, 2282); secs. 201, as amended, 202, 206, 88 
Stat. 1242, as amended, 1244, 1246 (42 U.S.C. 5841, 5842, 5846); 
sec. 1704, 112 Stat. 2750 (44 U.S.C. 3504 note); sec. 651(e), Pub. 
L. 109-58, 119 Stat. 806-810 (42 U.S.C. 2014, 2021, 2021b, 2111).
    Section 50.7 also issued under Pub. L. 95-601, sec. 10, 92 Stat. 
2951 (42 U.S.C. 5841). Section 50.10 also issued under secs. 101, 
185, 68 Stat. 955, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2131, 2235); sec. 102, Pub. 
L. 91-190, 83 Stat. 853 (42 U.S.C. 4332). Sections 50.13, 50.54(dd), 
and 50.103 also issued under sec. 108, 68 Stat. 939, as amended (42 
U.S.C. 2138). Sections 50.23, 50.35, 50.55, and 50.56 also issued 
under sec. 185, 68 Stat. 955 (42 U.S.C. 2235). Sections 50.33a, 
50.55a and appendix Q also issued under sec. 102, Pub. L. 91-190, 83 
Stat. 853 (42 U.S.C. 4332). Sections 50.34 and 50.54 also issued 
under sec. 204, 88 Stat. 1245 (42 U.S.C. 5844). Sections 50.58, 
50.91, and 50.92 also issued under Pub. L. 97-415, 96 Stat. 2073 (42 
U.S.C. 2239). Section 50.78 also issued under sec. 122, 68 Stat. 939 
(42 U.S.C. 2152). Sections 50.80-50.81 also issued under sec. 184, 
68 Stat. 954, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2234). Appendix F also issued 
under sec. 187, 68 Stat. 955 (42 U.S.C. 2237).


Sec.  50.36  [Amended]

0
2. Section 50.36 is amended by redesignating paragraph (a) as paragraph 
(a)(1), redesignating paragraph (c) as paragraph (a)(2), and 
redesignating paragraphs (d), (e), and (f) as paragraphs (c), (d), and 
(e), respectively.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 5th day of September, 2008.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Bruce S. Mallett,
Acting Executive Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. E8-22355 Filed 9-23-08; 8:45 am]
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