[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 69 (Monday, April 13, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 16802-16803]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-8319]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 50
[Docket No. PRM-50-77; NRC-2002-0020]
Bob Christie; Consideration of Petition in Rulemaking Process
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Closure of petition for rulemaking docket.
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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will consider the
issues raised in a petition for rulemaking (PRM) submitted by Bob
Christie (petitioner) in the NRC's rulemaking process. The petition was
dated May 2, 2002, and was docketed as PRM-50-77. The petitioner
requested that the NRC amend its regulations at 10 CFR Part 50,
Appendix A, to eliminate the requirement for assuming a loss-of-offsite
power (LOOP) coincident with postulated accidents. The petitioner
believes this requirement is detrimental to safety because it results
in fast start time requirements for emergency diesel generators (EDG)
and because it requires operator training to focus on unrealistic
events.
DATES: The docket for the petition for rulemaking PRM-50-77 is closed
on April 13, 2009.
ADDRESSES: You can access publicly available documents related to this
petition for rulemaking using the following methods:
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: Further NRC action on the issues
raised by this petition will be considered in the rulemaking activity
directed at decoupling an assumed LOOP from a coincident loss-of-
coolant accident (LOCA) as currently required by 10 CFR Part 50,
Appendix A, Criterion 35. This rulemaking activity is entitled,
``Decoupling of Assumed Loss of Offsite Power from Loss-of-Coolant
Accident,'' in NUREG-0936, ``NRC Regulatory Agenda: Semiannual
Report,'' and is designated with rulemaking identification number RIN
3150-AH43. Information on this rulemaking activity can be monitored at
the Federal rulemaking portal, http://www.regulations.gov, by searching
on rulemaking docket ID NRC-2008-0602. The regulatory history regarding
PRM-50-77, including the public comment received, can be found by
searching on docket ID NRC-2002-0020. 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 Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike,
Rockville, Maryland 20852.
NRC's Agencywide Document 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/NRC/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
any problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the
NRC PDR Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail
at [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barry Miller, Mail Stop O-9E3, Office
of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, United States Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone (301) 415-4117, or e-
mail [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[[Page 16803]]
The Petition
The NRC received a petition for rulemaking (ADAMS Accession No.
ML082530041) from Bob Christie (the petitioner) dated May 2, 2002,
which was docketed as PRM-50-77. The petitioner requested that the NRC
amend its regulations to eliminate the requirement for assuming a LOOP
coincident with postulated accidents. The petitioner believes this
requirement is detrimental to safety because it requires fast start
times for emergency diesel generators (EDG) and because it requires
operator training for unrealistic events. The petitioner proposed
specific changes to several of the General Design Criteria at 10 CFR
part 50, appendix A, which, if implemented, would accomplish the
petition's request. These General Design Criteria include: Criterion
17--Electric power systems; Criterion 35--Emergency core cooling;
Criterion 38--Containment heat removal; Criterion 41--Containment
atmosphere cleanup; and Criterion 44--Cooling water.
On June 13, 2002, (67 FR 40622), the NRC published a notice of
receipt for this petition in the Federal Register and requested public
comment. The public comment period ended on August 27, 2002. One
comment letter was received; it was in support of the petition. The
comment letter can be found by following the instructions given in the
ADDRESSES section of this document.
Resolution of Petition
The NRC will consider the issues raised in PRM-50-77, along with
the comment submitted on PRM-50-77, in the ongoing rulemaking activity
directed at decoupling an assumed LOOP from a coincident LOCA as
currently required by 10 CFR part 50, appendix A, Criterion 35. The NRC
believes that the underlying technical considerations regarding a
postulated accident coincident with a LOOP are sufficiently related to
this ongoing rulemaking activity; therefore, the issues raised in PRM-
50-77 are being considered in the rulemaking activity.
The NRC is continuing work to develop the technical basis for this
rulemaking. Although the NRC will consider the issues raised in the
petition, the petitioner's concerns may not be addressed exactly as the
petitioner has requested. After the conclusion of the NRC's development
of the technical basis for the rule, the NRC will determine whether to
adopt the petitioner's requested rulemaking changes. During the
rulemaking process, the NRC will solicit comments from the public and
will consider all comments before issuing a final rule.
If the ongoing work to establish the technical basis for this
rulemaking does not support the issuance of a proposed rule, the NRC
will issue a document in the Federal Register that addresses why the
petitioner's requested rulemaking changes were not adopted by the NRC.
With this action, the NRC closes the docket for PRM-50-77.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th day of March 2009.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Bruce S. Mallett,
Acting Executive Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. E9-8319 Filed 4-10-09; 8:45 am]
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